Public Health Commons^™

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Managing Ophthalmic Diseases: An International, Descriptive Study, Ethan Waisberg, Joshua Ong, Nasif Zaman, Sharif Amit Kamran, Alireza Tavakkoli, Andrew G Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Anecdotally, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more severe cases of eye disease, decreased medication compliance/availability, and decreased treatment volume due to the lockdown.

Aims: We aim to quantify and bring together a variety of international perspectives from ophthalmologists of different subspecialties to characterize the global impact of COVID-19 on managing various ophthalmic disease.

Methods: An online survey of 10 questions was conducted among ophthalmologists using a specialized survey program.

Results: Fifty-two ophthalmologists were successfully contacted. Survey respondents include ophthalmologists from USA, Canada, Korea, Mexico, and New Zealand. Based on the results of our survey, 1 year after the …

Posterior-Scleritis: Case Report Of An Uncommon Immune-Related Adverse Event In The Treatment Of Advanced Endometrial Cancer, Brandon I Ing, Derek Kuhl, Deanna Glassman, Cynae A Johnson, Shrina Patel, Amir A Jazaeri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As Immune checkpoint inhibitors are being expanded for use in gynecologic malignancies, rare immune-related adverse events are more frequently being reported. Here we describe a 63-year-old with Stage IIIB mismatch repair deficient uterine adenocarcinoma who underwent six cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel with partial response but persistent disease. She was then started on single agent pembrolizumab. After six cycles of pembrolizumab, she developed bilateral vision changes and was diagnosed with posterior scleritis. Pembrolizumab was held and she was treated with oral prednisone, with rapid resolution of symptoms. One month after completion of prednisone, vision changes were again reported and she …

Identifying The Optimal Deep Learning Architecture And Parameters For Automatic Beam Aperture Definition In 3d Radiotherapy, Skylar S Gay, Kelly D Kisling, Brian M Anderson, Lifei Zhang, Dong Joo Rhee, Callistus Nguyen, Tucker Netherton, Jinzhong Yang, Kristy Brock, Anuja Jhingran, Hannah Simonds, Ann Klopp, Beth M Beadle, Laurence E Court, Carlos E Cardenas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Two-dimensional radiotherapy is often used to treat cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries, but treatment planning can be challenging and time-consuming. Neural networks offer the potential to greatly decrease planning time through automation, but the impact of the wide range of hyperparameters to be set during training on model accuracy has not been exhaustively investigated. In the current study, we evaluated the effect of several convolutional neural network architectures and hyperparameters on 2D radiotherapy treatment field delineation.

METHODS: Six commonly used deep learning architectures were trained to delineate four-field box apertures on digitally reconstructed radiographs for cervical cancer …

Relationship Between Occupational Safety And Health Policy Principles, Organizational Action On Work-Related Stress And The Psychosocial Work Environment In Italy, Stavroula Leka, Luis Torres, Aditya Jain, Cristina Di Tecco, Simone Russo, Sergio Iavicoli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: It is acknowledged that legislation acts as a motivator for organizational action on psychosocial risks. Our study aims to provide evidence on the relationship between key occupational safety and health (OSH) policy principles and organizational action on work-related stress, and, in turn, with reported employee job demands and resources and their experience of work-related stress. We focus on Italy where specific legislation and practices on work-related stress were introduced in 2008 which are underpinned by these key OSH policy principles.

METHODS: Secondary analysis of the Italian samples from the employer ESENER-2 and employee 6th EWCS surveys was conducted, using …

Quantitative Dual-Energy Computed Tomography With Cesium As A Novel Contrast Agent For Localization Of Thermochemical Ablation In Phantoms And Ex Vivo Models, Emily A Thompson, Megan C Jacobsen, David T Fuentes, Rick R Layman, Erik N K Cressman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Thermochemical ablation (TCA) is a minimally invasive therapy under development for hepatocellular carcinoma. TCA simultaneously delivers an acid (acetic acid, AcOH) and base (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) directly into the tumor, where the acid/base chemical reaction produces an exotherm that induces local ablation. However, AcOH and NaOH are not radiopaque, making monitoring TCA delivery difficult.

Purpose: We address the issue of image guidance for TCA by utilizing cesium hydroxide (CsOH) as a novel theranostic component of TCA that is detectable and quantifiable with dual-energy CT (DECT).

Materials and methods: To quantify the minimum concentration of CsOH that can be positively …

Associations Between Avocado Intake And Measures Of Glucose And Insulin Homeostasis In Hispanic Individuals With And Without Type 2 Diabetes: Results From The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos (Hchs/Sol), Mackenzie K Senn, Mark O Goodarzi, Gautam Ramesh, Matthew A Allison, Mariaelisa Graff, Kristin L Young, Gregory A Talavera, Amanda C Mcclain, Tanya P Garcia, Jerome I Rotter, Alexis C Wood

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To investigate associations between avocado intake and glycemia in adults with Hispanic/Latino ancestry.

METHODS AND RESULTS: The associations of avocado intake with measures of insulin and glucose homeostasis were evaluated in a cross-sectional analysis of up to 14,591 Hispanic/Latino adults, using measures of: average glucose levels (hemoglobin A1c; HbA1c), fasting glucose and insulin, glucose and insulin levels after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and calculated measures of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, and HOMA-%β), and insulinogenic index. Associations were assessed using multivariable linear regression models, which controlled for sociodemographic factors and health behaviors, and which were stratified by …

Steroid Receptor Coactivator-2 Drives Epithelial Reprogramming That Enables Murine Embryo Implantation, Vineet K Maurya, Maria M Szwarc, David M Lonard, Ramakrishna Kommagani, San Pin Wu, Bert W O'Malley, Francesco J Demayo, John P Lydon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although we have shown that steroid receptor coactivator-2 (SRC-2), a member of the p160/SRC family of transcriptional coregulators, is essential for decidualization of both human and murine endometrial stromal cells, SRC-2’s role in the earlier stages of the implantation process have not been adequately addressed. Using a conditional SRC-2 knockout mouse (SRC-2 ^d/d) in timed natural pregnancy studies, we show that endometrial SRC-2 is required for embryo attachment and adherence to the luminal epithelium. Implantation failure is associated with the persistent expression of Mucin 1 and E-cadherin on the apical surface and basolateral adherens junctions of the SRC-2 …

Tumor-Infiltrating Normal B Cells Revealed By Immunoglobulin Repertoire Clonotype Analysis Are Highly Prognostic And Crucial For Antitumor Immune Responses In Dlbcl, Zijun Y Xu-Monette, Yong Li, Thomas Snyder, Tiantian Yu, Tingxun Lu, Alexandar Tzankov, Carlo Visco, Govind Bhagat, Wenbin Qian, Karen Dybkaer, April Chiu, Wayne Tam, Youli Zu, Eric D Hsi, Fredrick B Hagemeister, Yingjun Wang, Heounjeong Go, Maurilio Ponzoni, Andrés J M Ferreri, Michael B Møller, Benjamin M Parsons, Xiangshan Fan, J Han Van Krieken, Miguel A Piris, Jane N Winter, Qingyan Au, Ilan Kirsch, Mingzhi Zhang, John Shaughnessy, Bing Xu, Ken H Young

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: Tumor-infiltrating B lymphocytes (TIL-B) have demonstrated prognostic and predictive significance in solid cancers. In this study, we aimed to distinguish TIL-Bs from malignant B-cells in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and determine the clinical and biological significance.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A total of 269 patients with de novo DLBCL from the International DLBCL R-CHOP Consortium Program were studied. Ultra-deep sequencing of the immunoglobulin genes was performed to determine B-cell clonotypes. The frequencies and numbers of TIL-B clonotypes in individual repertoires were correlated with patient survival, gene expression profiling (GEP) data, and frequencies of DLBCL-infiltrating immune cells quantified by fluorescent multiplex …

Type 2 Diabetes Modifies The Association Of Cad Genomic Risk Variants With Subclinical Atherosclerosis, Natalie R Hasbani, Kenneth E Westerman, Soo Heon Kwak, Han Chen, Xihao Li, Daniel Di Corpo, Jennifer Wessel, Joshua C Bis, Chloè Sarnowski, Peitao Wu, Lawrence F Bielak, Xiuqing Guo, Nancy Heard-Costa, Gregory L Kinney, Michael C Mahaney, May E Montasser, Nicholette D Palmer, Laura M Raffield, James G Terry, Lisa R Yanek, Jessica Bon, Donald W Bowden, Jennifer A Brody, Ravindranath Duggirala, David R Jacobs, Rita R Kalyani, Leslie A Lange, Braxton D Mitchell, Jennifer A Smith, Kent D Taylor, April P Carson, Joanne E Curran, Myriam Fornage, Barry I Freedman, Stacey Gabriel, Richard A Gibbs, Namrata Gupta, Sharon L R Kardia, Brian G Kral, Zeineen Momin, Anne B Newman, Wendy S Post, Karine A Viaud-Martinez, Kendra A Young, Lewis C Becker, Alain G Bertoni, John Blangero, John J Carr, Katherine Pratte, Bruce M Psaty, Stephen S Rich, Joseph C Wu, Rajeev Malhotra, Patricia A Peyser, Alanna C Morrison, Ramachandran S Vasan, Xihong Lin, Jerome I Rotter, James B Meigs, Alisa K Manning, Paul S De Vries

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but questions remain about the underlying pathology. Identifying which CAD loci are modified by T2D in the development of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcification [CAC], carotid intima-media thickness, or carotid plaque) may improve our understanding of the mechanisms leading to the increased CAD in T2D.

METHODS: We compared the common and rare variant associations of known CAD loci from the literature on CAC, carotid intima-media thickness, and carotid plaque in up to 29 670 participants, including up to 24 157 normoglycemic controls and 5513 …

Wastewater Analysis Of Mpox Virus In A City With Low Prevalence Of Mpox Disease: An Environmental Surveillance Study, Jeremiah Oghuan, Carlos Chavarria, Scout R Vanderwal, Anna Gitter, Akpevwe Amanda Ojaruega, Carlos Monserrat, Cici X Bauer, Eric L Brown, Sara Javornik Cregeen, Jennifer Deegan, Blake M Hanson, Michael Tisza, Hector I Ocaranza, John Balliew, Anthony W Maresso, Janelle Rios, Eric Boerwinkle, Kristina D Mena, Fuqing Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Tracking infectious diseases at the community level is challenging due to asymptomatic infections and the logistical complexities of mass surveillance. Wastewater surveillance has emerged as a valuable tool for monitoring infectious disease agents including SARS-CoV-2 and Mpox virus. However, detecting the Mpox virus in wastewater is particularly challenging due to its relatively low prevalence in the community. In this study, we aim to characterize three molecular assays for detecting and tracking the Mpox virus in wastewater from El Paso, Texas, during February and March 2023.

METHODS: In this study, a combined approach utilizing three real-time PCR assays targeting the …

Metabolic Dysfunction, Triglyceride-Glucose Index, And Risk Of Severe Asthma Exacerbation, Kristen A Staggers, Charles Minard, Michelle Byers, Drew A Helmer, Tianshi David Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Metabolic conditions may worsen asthma. There is a need to define a composite biomarker of metabolic dysfunction that has relevance to asthma outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), a biomarker of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, with risk of severe asthma exacerbation.

METHODS: A 5-year retrospective cohort of patients with asthma receiving health care from the US Veterans Health Administration from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019, was constructed. Fasting TyG values were extracted. Patients were followed for a severe asthma exacerbation, defined as an asthma-related corticosteroid prescription fill or an emergency encounter …

Prevention, Diagnosis, Evaluation, And Treatment Of Hepatitis C In Chronic Kidney Disease: Synopsis Of The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline, Ahmed Arslan Yousuf Awan, Marina C Berenguer, Annette Bruchfeld, Fabrizio Fabrizi, David S Goldberg, Jidong Jia, Nassim Kamar, Rosmawati Mohamed, Mário Guimarães Pessôa, Stanislas Pol, Meghan E Sise, Ethan M Balk, Craig E Gordon, Gaelen Adam, Michael Cheung, Amy Earley, Paul Martin, Michel Jadoul

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Description: The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2022 clinical practice guideline on prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of hepatitis C in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an update of the 2018 guideline from KDIGO.

Methods: The KDIGO Work Group (WG) updated the guideline, which included reviewing and grading new evidence that was identified and summarized. As in the previous guideline, the WG used the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to appraise evidence and rate the strength of recommendations and used expert judgment to develop recommendations. New evidence led to updating of recommendations in the chapters …

Case Sampling Vs Universal Review For Evaluating Hospital Postoperative Mortality In Us Surgical Quality Improvement Programs, Vivi W Chen, Alexis P Chidi, Tracey Rosen, Yongquan Dong, Peter A Richardson, Jennifer Kramer, David A Axelrod, Laura A Petersen, Nader N Massarweh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Representative surgical case sampling, rather than universal review, is used by US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and private-sector national surgical quality improvement (QI) programs to assess program performance and to inform local QI and performance improvement efforts. However, it is unclear whether case sampling is robust for identifying hospitals with safety or quality concerns.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the sampling strategy used by several national surgical QI programs provides hospitals with data that are representative of their overall quality and safety, as measured by 30-day mortality.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This comparative effectiveness study was a national, hospital-level …

Association Of The Covid-19 Pandemic With Women, Infants, And Children (Wic) Receipt Among Pregnant Individuals: United States, 2016-2022, Savannah Busch, Jennifer A Andersen, Don E Willis, Pearl Anna Mcelfish, Sharon Reece, Dominique Dubois, Clare C Brown

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives. To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt among pregnant individuals overall and by race/ethnicity.

Methods. We measured changes in WIC receipt among Medicaid-covered births (n = 10 484 697) from the US National Center for Health Statistics Natality Files (2016–2022). Our interrupted time series logistic model included a continuous monthly variable, a binary post-COVID variable, and a continuous slope shift variable. We additionally fit separate models for each race/ethnicity relative to White individuals, using interaction terms between the time series variables and race/ethnicity.

Results. We found decreases in …

Feasibility Of Pevonedistat Combined With Azacitidine, Fludarabine, Cytarabine In Pediatric Relapsed/Refractory Aml: Results From Cog Advl1712, Katherine Tarlock, Xiaowei Liu, Charles G Minard, Emasenyie A Isikwei, Joel M Reid, Terzah M Horton, Elizabeth Fox, Brenda J Weigel, Todd Cooper

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background:

Outcomes for children with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are poor and new therapies are needed. Pevonedistat is an inhibitor of the NEDD-8 activating enzyme, a key regulator of the ubiquitin proteasome system that is responsible for protein turnover, with protein degradation regulating cell growth and survival.

Procedure:

We evaluated the feasibility, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of pevonedistat (20 mg/m² days 1, 3, 5) in combination with azacitidine, fludarabine, cytarabine (aza-FLA) in children with R/R AML and MDS (NCT03813147). Twelve patients were enrolled, median age was 13 years (range 1-21). Median …

Trajectories Of Egfr And Risk Of Albuminuria In Youth With Type 2 Diabetes: Results From The Today Cohort Study, Laure El Ghormli, Hui Wen, Diane Uschner, Morey W Haymond, Kara S Hughan, Katherine Kutney, Lori Laffel, Sherida E Tollefsen, Elia N Escaname, Jane Lynch, Petter Bjornstad, Today Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: We conducted exploratory analyses to identify distinct trajectories of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and their relationship with hyperfiltration, subsequent rapid eGFR decline, and albuminuria in participants with youth-onset type 2 diabetes enrolled in the Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study.

METHODS: Annual serum creatinine, cystatin C, urine albumin, and creatinine measurements were obtained from 377 participants followed for ≥ 10 years. Albuminuria and eGFR were calculated. Hyperfiltration peak is the greatest eGFR inflection point during follow-up. Latent class modeling was applied to identify distinct eGFR trajectories.

RESULTS: At baseline, participants' mean age …

Blood Test Result Communication In Primary Care: Mixed-Methods Systematic Review Protocol, Helen Nankervis, Alyson Huntley, Penny Whiting, William Hamilton, Hardeep Singh, Sarah Dawson, Jane Sprackman, Anna Ferguson Montague, Jessica Watson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: After testing, ensuring test results are communicated and actioned is important for patient safety, with failure or delay in diagnosis the most common cause of malpractice claims in primary care worldwide. Identifying interventions to improve test communication from the decision to test through to sharing of results has important implications for patient safety, GP workload, and patient engagement.

Aim: To assess the factors around communication of blood test results between primary care providers (for example GPs, nurses, reception staff) and their patients and carers.

Design & setting: A mixed methods systematic review including primary studies involving communication of blood …

Providers’ Perspectives On The Impact Of Culture In The Recognition And Diagnosis Of Anxiety, Darius B Dawson, Christie G-J Tsao, Patricia Chen, Traber D Giardina, Terri L Fletcher

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: We examined providers' perspectives about how culture affects diagnosing and recognizing anxiety.

Methods: We interviewed providers about diagnosing anxiety ("How do you think culture impacts expression and diagnosis of anxiety?") and used inductive analysis, with open coding, to allow themes to emerge organically.

Results: We identified three themes: (1) Impartiality toward Culture: downplaying culture in recognizing or diagnosing anxiety and not acknowledging necessary cultural diagnostic considerations; (2) Acknowledgment of Cultural Impact: detailed variations across different cultural communities in how patients present with and describe anxiety, with differing levels of stigma associated with expressing and treating anxiety; (3) Culturally Integrated …

Corrigendum To “Phenotypes Of Disease Severity In A Cohort Of Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients: Results From The Impacc Study” [Ebiomedicine 83 (2022) 104208], Al Ozonoff, Joanna Schaenman, Naresh Doni Jayavelu, Carly E Milliren, Carolyn S Calfee, Charles B Cairns, Monica Kraft, Lindsey R Baden, Albert C Shaw, Florian Krammer, Harm Van Bakel, Denise A Esserman, Shanshan Liu, Ana Fernandez Sesma, Viviana Simon, David A Hafler, Ruth R Montgomery, Steven H Kleinstein, Ofer Levy, Chris Bime, Elias K Haddad, David J Erle, Bali Pulendran, Kari C Nadeau, Mark M Davis, Catherine L Hough, William B Messer, Nelson I Agudelo Higuita, Jordan P Metcalf, Mark A Atkinson, Scott C Brakenridge, David Corry, Farrah Kheradmand, Lauren I R Ehrlich, Esther Melamed, Grace A Mccomsey, Rafick Sekaly, Joann Diray-Arce, Bjoern Peters, Alison D Augustine, Elaine F Reed, Matthew C Altman, Patrice M Becker, Nadine Rouphael, Impacc Study Group Members

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

A Multisociety Delphi Consensus Statement On New Fatty Liver Disease Nomenclature, Mary E Rinella, Jeffrey V Lazarus, Vlad Ratziu, Sven M Francque, Arun J Sanyal, Fasiha Kanwal, Diana Romero, Manal F Abdelmalek, Quentin M Anstee, Juan Pablo Arab, Marco Arrese, Ramon Bataller, Ulrich Beuers, Jerome Boursier, Elisabetta Bugianesi, Christopher D Byrne, Graciela E Castro Narro, Abhijit Chowdhury, Helena Cortez-Pinto, Donna R Cryer, Kenneth Cusi, Mohamed El-Kassas, Samuel Klein, Wayne Eskridge, Jiangao Fan, Samer Gawrieh, Cynthia D Guy, Stephen A Harrison, Seung Up Kim, Bart G Koot, Marko Korenjak, Kris V Kowdley, Florence Lacaille, Rohit Loomba, Robert Mitchell-Thain, Timothy R Morgan, Elisabeth E Powell, Michael Roden, Manuel Romero-Gómez, Marcelo Silva, Shivaram Prasad Singh, Silvia C Sookoian, C Wendy Spearman, Dina Tiniakos, Luca Valenti, Miriam B Vos, Vincent Wai-Sun Wong, Stavra Xanthakos, Yusuf Yilmaz, Zobair Younossi, Ansley Hobbs, Marcela Villota-Rivas, Philip N Newsome, Nafld Nomenclature Consensus Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The principal limitations of the terms NAFLD and NASH are the reliance on exclusionary confounder terms and the use of potentially stigmatising language. This study set out to determine if content experts and patient advocates were in favour of a change in nomenclature and/or definition. A modified Delphi process was led by three large pan-national liver associations. The consensus was defined a priori as a supermajority (67%) vote. An independent committee of experts external to the nomenclature process made the final recommendation on the acronym and its diagnostic criteria. A total of 236 panellists from 56 countries participated in 4 …

Genetics Of Predicted Platelet Reactivity, Paul S De Vries

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Outcomes Of Cardiothoracic Surgery In Women With Turner Syndrome, Lucas Ribé, Ferial D Shihadeh, Rana O Afifi, Anthony L Estrera, Siddharth K Prakash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: To describe short- and mid-term surgical outcomes of patients with Turner syndrome (TS) after cardiovascular interventions.

METHODS: All individuals >12 years of age at the time of surgical repair for cardiovascular disease (valve or coarctation repairs, aortic disease, aortic dissection) from 2002 to 2022 were eligible. The primary endpoint was complications or death within 30 days of intervention. Secondary outcomes included late complications and reinterventions within six months. Combined data from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States were included in the analysis.

RESULTS: We identified 22 patients …

Varlock: Sequencing-Independent, Rapid Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants Of Concern For Point-Of-Care Testing, Qpcr Pipelines And National Wastewater Surveillance, Xinsheng Nan, Patrick Hardinge, Sven Hoehn, Shrinivas Nivrutti Dighe, John Ukeri, Darius F Pease, Joshua Griffin, Jessica I Warrington, Zack Saud, Emma Hottinger, Gordon Webster, Davey Jones, Peter Kille, Andrew Weightman, Richard Stanton, Oliver K Castell, James A H Murray, Tomasz P Jurkowski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for rapid molecular diagnostics. Vaccination programs can provide protection and facilitate the opening of society, but newly emergent and existing viral variants capable of evading the immune system endanger their efficacy. Effective surveillance for Variants of Concern (VOC) is therefore important. Rapid and specific molecular diagnostics can provide speed and coverage advantages compared to genomic sequencing alone, benefitting the public health response and facilitating VOC containment. Here we expand the recently developed SARS-CoV-2 CRISPR-Cas detection technology (SHERLOCK) to provide rapid and sensitive discrimination of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs that can be used at point of care, …

Study Protocol: Maintaining Preventive Care During Public Health Emergencies Through Effective Coordination, Sylvia J Hysong, Traber Davis Giardina, Jennifer Freytag, Richard Sorelle, Daniel R Murphy, Jeffrey A Cully, Yvonne H Sada, Amber B Amspoker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Screening lies at the heart of preventive care. However, COVID-19 dramatically disrupted routine screening efforts, resulting in excess mortality not directly attributable to COVID-19. Screening rates during COVID varied markedly by facility and clinical condition, suggesting susceptibilities in screening and referral process workflow. To better understand these susceptibilities and identify new practices to mitigate interrupted care, we propose a qualitative study comparing facilities that exhibited high, low, and highly variable performance (respectively) in screening rates before and during the pandemic. We will be guided by Weaver et al.'s multi-team systems (MTS) model of coordination, using cancer and mental health …

Mechanisms Of Ferroptosis And Targeted Therapeutic Approaches In Lymphoma, Tiantian Yu, Zijun Y Xu-Monette, Li Yu, Yong Li, Ken H Young

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Lymphoma is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide. Under the current treatment standards, patients with lymphoma often fail to respond to treatment or relapse early and require further therapy. Hence, novel therapeutic strategies need to be explored and our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of lymphomas should be expanded. Ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic regulated cell death, is characterized by increased reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation due to metabolic dysfunction. Excessive or lack of ferroptosis has been implicated in tumor development. Current preclinical evidences suggest that ferroptosis participates in tumorigenesis, progression, and drug resistance of lymphoma, identifying a potential …

Hyperleptinemia Contributes To Antipsychotic Drug-Associated Obesity And Metabolic Disorders, Shangang Zhao, Qian Lin, Wei Xiong, Li Li, Leon Straub, Dinghong Zhang, Rizaldy Zapata, Qingzhang Zhu, Xue-Nan Sun, Zhuzhen Zhang, Jan-Bernd Funcke, Chao Li, Shiuhwei Chen, Yi Zhu, Nisi Jiang, Guannan Li, Ziying Xu, Steven C Wyler, May-Yun Wang, Juli Bai, Xianlin Han, Christine M Kusminski, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Joel K Elmquist, Olivia Osborn, Chen Liu, Philipp E Scherer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite their high degree of effectiveness in the management of psychiatric conditions, exposure to antipsychotic drugs, including olanzapine and risperidone, is frequently associated with substantial weight gain and the development of diabetes. Even before weight gain, a rapid rise in circulating leptin concentrations can be observed in most patients taking antipsychotic drugs. To date, the contribution of this hyperleptinemia to weight gain and metabolic deterioration has not been defined. Here, with an established mouse model that recapitulates antipsychotic drug-induced obesity and insulin resistance, we not only confirm that hyperleptinemia occurs before weight gain but also demonstrate that hyperleptinemia contributes directly …

Qa-Snare Syntaxin 18 Mediates Lipid Droplet Fusion With Snap23 And Sec22b, Yuhui Fu, Binbin Ding, Xiaoxia Liu, Shangang Zhao, Fang Chen, Linsen Li, Yi Zhu, Jingxuan Zhao, Zhen Yuan, Yafeng Shen, Chaofeng Yang, Mengle Shao, She Chen, Perry E Bickel, Qing Zhong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic lipid storage organelles that can sense and respond to changes in systemic energy balance. The size and number of LDs are controlled by complex and delicate mechanisms, among which, whether and which SNARE proteins mediate LD fusion, and the mechanisms governing this process remain poorly understood. Here we identified a SNARE complex, syntaxin 18 (STX18)-SNAP23-SEC22B, that is recruited to LDs to mediate LD fusion. STX18 targets LDs with its transmembrane domain spanning the phospholipid monolayer twice. STX18-SNAP23-SEC22B complex drives LD fusion in adiposome lipid mixing and content mixing in vitro assays. CIDEC/FSP27 directly binds STX18, …

Trend Of Outcome Metrics In Recent Out-Of-Hospital-Cardiac-Arrest Research: A Narrative Review Of Clinical Trials, Natalie N Htet, Daniel Jafari, Jennifer A Walker, Ali Pourmand, Anna Shaw, Khai Dinh, Quincy K Tran

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) research traditionally focuses on survival. In 2018, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) proposed more patient-centered outcomes. Our narrative review assessed clinical trials after 2018 to identify the trends of outcome metrics in the field OHCA research. We performed a search of the PubMed database from 1 January 2019 to 22 September 2023. Prospective clinical trials involving adult humans were eligible. Studies that did not report any patient-related outcomes or were not available in full-text or English language were excluded. The articles were assessed for demographic information and primary and secondary outcomes. We included 89 studies …

Eicosanoid And Eicosanoid-Related Inflammatory Mediators And Exercise Intolerance In Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction, Emily S Lau, Athar Roshandelpoor, Shahrooz Zarbafian, Dongyu Wang, James S Guseh, Norrina Allen, Vinithra Varadarajan, Matthew Nayor, Ravi V Shah, Joao A C Lima, Sanjiv J Shah, Bing Yu, Mona Alotaibi, Susan Cheng, Mohit Jain, Gregory D Lewis, Jennifer E Ho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Systemic inflammation has been implicated in the pathobiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Here, we examine the association of upstream mediators of inflammation as ascertained by fatty-acid derived eicosanoid and eicosanoid-related metabolites with HFpEF status and exercise manifestations of HFpEF. Among 510 participants with chronic dyspnea and preserved LVEF who underwent invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing, we find that 70 of 890 eicosanoid and related metabolites are associated with HFpEF status, including 17 named and 53 putative eicosanoids (FDR q-value < 0.1). Prostaglandin (15R-PGF2α, 11ß-dhk-PGF2α) and linoleic acid derivatives (12,13 EpOME) are associated with greater odds of HFpEF, while epoxides (8(9)-EpETE), docosanoids (13,14-DiHDPA), and oxylipins (12-OPDA) are associated with lower odds of HFpEF. Among 70 metabolites, 18 are associated with future development of heart failure in the community. Pro- and anti-inflammatory eicosanoid and related metabolites may contribute to the pathogenesis of HFpEF and serve as potential targets for intervention.

Increased Igfbp2 Levels By Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Glucose Metabolism In A Taa-Injured Rat Model Via Ampk Signaling Pathway, Dae-Hyun Lee, Hyeri Park, Jun-Hyeong You, Jin Seok, Dong-Wook Kwon, Young-Ran Kim, Gi-Jin Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The insulin resistance caused by impaired glucose metabolism induces ovarian dysfunction due to the central importance of glucose as a source of energy. However, the research on glucose metabolism in the ovaries is still lacking. The objectives of this study were to analyze the effect of PD-MSCs on glucose metabolism through IGFBP2-AMPK signaling and to investigate the correlation between glucose metabolism and ovarian function. Thioacetamide (TAA) was used to construct a rat injury model. PD-MSCs were transplanted into the tail vein (2 × 10