Public Health Commons^™

Prevalence Of Congenital Anomalies According To Maternal Race And Ethnicity, Texas, 1999–2018, Jeremy M Schraw, Elwin Jaime, Charles J Shumate, Mark A Canfield, Philip J Lupo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Few studies of congenital anomalies provide prevalence estimates stratified by maternal race/ethnicity. We sought to determine whether the prevalence of a broad spectrum of anomalies varies among offspring of women from different race/ethnic groups.

METHODS: We obtained information on cases with anomalies from the population-based Texas Birth Defects Registry, and denominator data on livebirths among Texas residents during 1999-2018 from the Texas Center for Health Statistics. We estimated the prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of N = 145 anomalies among offspring of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black relative to non-Hispanic White women using Poisson regression, adjusting for …

Creating A Plasma Coordination Center To Support Covid-19 Outpatient Trials Across A National Network Of Hospital Blood Banks, Anusha Yarava, Christi Marshall, David E Reichert, Aaron Ye, Preeti Khanal, Sanford H Robbins, Bruce S Sachais, David Oh, Ryan A Metcalf, Kathleen Conry-Cantilena, Karen King, Meredith Reyes, Jill Adamski, Marisa B Marques, Minh-Ha Tran, Elizabeth S Allen, Daniel Pach, Neil Blumberg, Rhonda Hobbs, Tammon Nash, Aarthi G Shenoy, Giselle S Mosnaim, Yuriko Fukuta, Bela Patel, Sonya L Heath, Adam C Levine, Barry R Meisenberg, Shweta Anjan, Moises A Huaman, Janis E Blair, Judith S Currier, James H Paxton, William Rausch, Kevin Oei, Matthew Abinante, Donald N Forthal, Martin S Zand, Seble G Kassaye, Edward R Cachay, Kelly A Gebo, Shmuel Shoham, Arturo Casadevall, Nichol A Mcbee, Daniel Amirault, Ying Wang, Erica Hopkins, David M Shade, Oliver Layendecker, Sabra L Klein, Han-Sol Park, John S Lee, Patrizio Caturegli, Jay S Raval, Daniel Cruser, Alyssa F Ziman, Jonathan Gerber, Thomas J Gniadek, Evan M Bloch, Aaron A R Tobian, Daniel F Hanley, David J Sullivan, Karen Lane

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we rapidly implemented a plasma coordination center, within two months, to support transfusion for two outpatient randomized controlled trials. The center design was based on an investigational drug services model and a Food and Drug Administration-compliant database to manage blood product inventory and trial safety.

METHODS: A core investigational team adapted a cloud-based platform to randomize patient assignments and track inventory distribution of control plasma and high-titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma of different blood groups from 29 donor collection centers directly to blood banks serving 26 transfusion sites.

RESULTS: We performed 1,351 transfusions in …

Early Immune Factors Associated With The Development Of Post-Acute Sequelae Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection In Hospitalized And Non-Hospitalized Individuals, Jacqueline M Leung, Michelle J Wu, Pouya Kheradpour, Chen Chen, Katherine A Drake, Gary Tong, Vanessa K Ridaura, Howard C Zisser, William A Conrad, Natalia Hudson, Jared Allen, Christopher Welberry, Celine Parsy-Kowalska, Isabel Macdonald, Victor F Tapson, James N Moy, Christopher R Defilippi, Ivan O Rosas, Mujeeb Basit, Jerry A Krishnan, Sairam Parthasarathy, Bellur S Prabhakar, Mirella Salvatore, Charles C Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can lead to post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) that can persist for weeks to years following initial viral infection. Clinical manifestations of PASC are heterogeneous and often involve multiple organs. While many hypotheses have been made on the mechanisms of PASC and its associated symptoms, the acute biological drivers of PASC are still unknown.

METHODS: We enrolled 494 patients with COVID-19 at their initial presentation to a hospital or clinic and followed them longitudinally to determine their development of PASC. From 341 patients, we conducted multi-omic profiling on peripheral blood …

Effects Of Covid-19 On Sleep Services Use And Its Recovery, Amin Ramezani, Amir Sharafkhaneh, Ahmed S Bahammam, Samuel T Kuna, Javad Razjouyan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the utilization of various healthcare services differentially. Sleep testing services utilization (STU), including Home Sleep Apnea Testing (HSAT) and Polysomnography (PSG), were uniquely affected. We assessed the effects of the pandemic on STU and its recovery using the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study from the VHA between 01/2019 and 10/2023 of veterans with age ≥ 50. We extracted STU data using Current Procedural Terminology codes for five periods based on STU and vaccination status: pre-pandemic (Pre-Pan), pandemic sleep test moratorium (Pan-Mor), and pandemic pre-vaccination (Pan-Pre-Vax), vaccination (Pan-Vax), and …

Vaccines Against Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia Coli (Expec): Progress And Challenges, Ling Qiu, Dylan Chirman, Justin R Clark, Yikun Xing, Haroldo Hernandez Santos, Ellen E Vaughan, Anthony W Maresso

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a principal global health crisis projected to cause 10 million deaths annually worldwide by 2050. While the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli is commonly found as a commensal microbe in the human gut, some strains are dangerously pathogenic, contributing to the highest AMR-associated mortality. Strains of E. coli that can translocate from the gastrointestinal tract to distal sites, called extraintestinal E. coli (ExPEC), are particularly problematic and predominantly afflict women, the elderly, and immunocompromised populations. Despite nearly 40 years of clinical trials, there is still no vaccine against ExPEC. One reason for this is …

Mfgm-Enriched Whey Displays Antiviral Activity Against Common Pediatric Viruses, Evelien Kramer, Ketki Patil, Vassilis Triantis, Jan A H Bastiaans, Michela Mazzon, Sasirekha Ramani, Tim T Lambers

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Among the most common mucosal viral infections in infants are rotavirus, one of the main causes of severe gastroenteritis in infants and children up to 5 years, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), one of the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections. Both human milk and bovine milk derived factors may provide protection against mucosal viral infections. More recently, a similar activity of milk derived proteins was suggested for SARS-CoV-2. The goal of the current study was to test antiviral activity of the bovine milkfat globule membrane (MFGM) against rotavirus, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 and to further characterize MFGM-enriched whey …

Variability In Chest Radiology Interpretation Between Thoracic And Non-Thoracic Radiologists: Implications For Pulmonary Fibrosis Care, Daniel M Guidot, Danielle Seaman, Roy A Pleasants, Armando Bedoya, Robert M Tighe, Bhavika Kaul

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

A Pilot Study Of A Scalable Training Programme For Coaches Delivering Webstair, Sherry Yam, Jamie S Kim, Annapoorna Ayyagari, Julianna Hogan, Jan A Lindsay, Marylene Cloitre

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Accessible, low-cost digital programmes are emerging as a means by which to address high rates of mental health problems. However, the development and assessment of scalable training programmes for effective use of digital interventions has lagged. This is particularly important, as coach-supported digital interventions provide benefits that substantially and consistently exceed those of programmes that are entirely self-guided.

Objectives: This report describes the evaluation of a brief coach training programme consisting of a two-hour workshop and six 1-hour consultation sessions for delivery of webSTAIR, a 10-module transdiagnostic web-based programme for trauma-exposed populations.

Method: The training was provided to 68 …

Corrigendum: Combining Charlson Comorbidity And Vacs Indices Improves Prognostic Accuracy For All-Cause Mortality For Patients With And Without Hiv In The Veterans Health Administration, Kathleen A Mcginnis, Amy C Justice, Vincent C Marconi, Maria C Rodriguez-Barradas, Ronald G Hauser, Krisann K Oursler, Sheldon T Brown, Kendall J Bryant, Janet P Tate

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1342466.].

Preclinical Evaluation Of A Novel Antibiotic-Eluting Bioenvelope For Cied Infection Prevention, Zerelda Esquer Garrigos, John N Catanzaro, Daniel Deegan, Ji Zhang, M Rizwan Sohail

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The risk of infection remains a significant concern with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, necessitating the development of new strategies. This study explores the efficacy of a novel antibiotic-eluting biologic envelope designed to mitigate infection risk through localized antibiotic delivery while preserving the regenerative properties of biological matrix. Antibiotics, rifampin and minocycline, are released through polymer discs, ensuring extended drug release. Utilizing an established model of infection in a New Zealand White rabbit, the study assessed performance against Gram-positive bacterial strains, including common pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis associated with CIED infections, and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Results demonstrated …

Gatekeeping At Bio, Daniel A Gorelick

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Timigp: An R Package To Depict The Tumor Microenvironment From Bulk Transcriptomics, Chenyang Li, Jianjun Zhang, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Exploring the clinical relevance of diverse immune cell types within the tumor microenvironment is pivotal for unraveling cancer intricacies and developing treatments. Here, we present a protocol for using tumor immune microenvironment illustration based on gene pairs, an R package to deduce cell-cell interactions, unveiling the association between immune cell relative abundance and patient prognoses from bulk gene expression and survival data. We describe steps for harnessing cell-type markers derived from single-cell RNA sequencing data to map the tumor immune microenvironment across a spectrum of cancer types. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer …

The Dna Glycosylase Neil2 Is Protective During Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Nisha Tapryal, Anirban Chakraborty, Kaushik Saha, Azharul Islam, Lang Pan, Koa Hosoki, Ibrahim M Sayed, Jason M Duran, Joshua Alcantara, Vanessa Castillo, Courtney Tindle, Altaf H Sarker, Maki Wakamiya, Victor J Cardenas, Gulshan Sharma, Laura E Crotty Alexander, Sanjiv Sur, Debashis Sahoo, Gourisankar Ghosh, Soumita Das, Pradipta Ghosh, Istvan Boldogh, Tapas K Hazra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced aggravation of host innate immune response not only causes tissue damage and multiorgan failure in COVID-19 patients but also induces host genome damage and activates DNA damage response pathways. To test whether the compromised DNA repair capacity of individuals modulates the severity of COVID-19 infection, we analyze DNA repair gene expression in publicly available patient datasets and observe a lower level of the DNA glycosylase NEIL2 in the lungs of severely infected COVID-19 patients. This observation of lower NEIL2 levels is further validated in infected patients, hamsters and ACE2 receptor-expressing human A549 (A549-ACE2) cells. Furthermore, delivery of recombinant …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …