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UNC-authored articles published by MDPI
Works (1066)
61. Interleukin-18 as a Potential Biomarker for Radiotherapy-Related Pain in Breast Cancer: Implications for Personalized Pain Management
- Title Tesim:
- Interleukin-18 as a Potential Biomarker for Radiotherapy-Related Pain in Breast Cancer: Implications for Personalized Pain Management
- Creator:
- Takita, Cristiane, Guo, Yan, Reis, Isildinha M., Wright, Jean L., Vaccari, Juan Pablo de Rivero, McMahon, Alexandra N., and Hu, Jennifer J.
- Date of publication:
- 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- Background: Adjuvant RT remains a standard therapy for breast cancer, reducing recurrence risk and improving survival; however, it can also induce side effects, including pain. Inflammasome-related biomarkers, such as interleukin-18 (IL-18), play a role in inflammation-mediated pain, and we hypothesize that IL-18 may serve as a potential biomarker for breast cancer RT-induced pain. Methods: The association between IL-18 and pain was assessed among breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant RT. Plasma IL-18 protein concentration was quantified before and after RT using Ella SimplePlex technology (Biotechne). Clinically relevant pain outcomes included pre-RT pain (pain score ≥ 4), post-RT pain (pain score ≥ 4), and RT-related pain (increase in pain from <4 pre-RT to ≥4 post-RT). Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between IL-18 and pain outcomes, adjusting for demographic and treatment-related factors. The joint effect of IL-18 and obesity on pain were also explored. Results: Patients in the highest pre-RT IL-18 quartile experienced higher odds of both post-RT pain (OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.15–4.87) and RT-related pain (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.20–6.26). IL-18 levels increased from pre-RT to post-RT with a mean change of 0.07 (SD = 0.35). In addition, patients with elevated pre-RT IL-18 levels and obesity experienced the highest odds of post-RT pain (OR = 3.97, 95% CI: 1.98–7.98) and RT-related pain (OR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.32–6.09), suggesting a potential combined effect. Conclusions: Elevated pre-RT IL-18 levels were associated with an increased risk of pain following adjuvant RT, particularly in breast cancer patients with obesity. Thus, IL-18 may serve as a potential biomarker for identifying patients at increased risk for RT-related pain and informing treatment decision.
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- School of Medicine and Department of Radiation Oncology
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/b2pg-p880
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18071100
- ISSN:
- 2072-6694
- Journal Issue:
- 7
- Journal Title:
- Cancers
- Journal Volume:
- 18
- Keyword:
- breast cancer, pain, inflammasome, IL-18, and radiotherapy
- Language Label:
- English
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- Other Affiliation:
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, , and Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
- Person:
- Takita, Cristiane, Guo, Yan, Reis, Isildinha M., Wright, Jean L., Vaccari, Juan Pablo de Rivero, McMahon, Alexandra N., and Hu, Jennifer J.
- Publisher:
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
- Source:
- be15e3b4-3b22-4cea-be7f-75fd0ce8222b
62. Systems-Level Interventions to Disrupt Structural Racism and Improve Black Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review
- Title Tesim:
- Systems-Level Interventions to Disrupt Structural Racism and Improve Black Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review
- Creator:
- Xu, Yinuo, Taggart, Tamara, Gao, Yutong, Ekanayake-Weber, Marcy S., O’Shea, Nisha, Lin, Wan-Chen, Mitchell, Connor, Woodard, Belinda, Nyhan, Kate, Faris, Robert W., Sawyer, Simone, Robinson, Luz E., and Espelage, Dorothy L.
- Date of publication:
- 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- Structural racism and discrimination (SRD) is a fundamental cause of health inequities that emerge during adolescence and persist throughout adulthood. This scoping review systematically synthesizes the evidence on policy and community-level interventions designed to disrupt SRD exposure among Black adolescents and mitigate its impact on their health behaviors and outcomes. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched five databases for peer-reviewed intervention studies published through October 2025. Of 3417 abstracts screened, 9 studies met inclusion criteria. We examined the study characteristics, theoretical frameworks, implementation strategies, and effectiveness of interventions targeting three primary mechanisms of SRD exposure for adolescents. The majority focused on neighborhood and social integration interventions, with limited representation of resource-based and school-based approaches. Culturally grounded, community-engaged interventions buffered SRD’s negative effects on mental health, empowered youth as change agents, and removed structural barriers to health-promotive resources. The review identified several gaps in the research, including methodological and theoretical rigor, geographic contexts, and follow-up. Findings underscore the potential of culturally grounded, multilevel interventions to reduce inequities across mental health, physical health, and social outcomes for Black youth. This review highlights the need to expand systems-level interventions that address the root causes of the persistent racial health inequities experienced by Black youth.
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- School of Education and Gillings School of Global Public Health
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/r05r-qq70
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16040112
- ISSN:
- 2075-4698
- Journal Issue:
- 4
- Journal Title:
- Societies
- Journal Volume:
- 16
- Keyword:
- interventions, structural racism, health, Black adolescents, policy, and community
- Language Label:
- English
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- Other Affiliation:
- , Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, Department of Anthropology, Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities, University at Albany State University of New York, Albany, NY, Department of Sociology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, and McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
- Person:
- Xu, Yinuo, Taggart, Tamara, Gao, Yutong, Ekanayake-Weber, Marcy S., O’Shea, Nisha, Lin, Wan-Chen, Mitchell, Connor, Woodard, Belinda, Nyhan, Kate, Faris, Robert W., Sawyer, Simone, Robinson, Luz E., and Espelage, Dorothy L.
- Publisher:
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
- Source:
- 67e62851-ffcb-4416-82c9-a9a650d762b7
63. Quality of ChatGPT-Generated Responses to Common Patient Questions About Peripheral Nerve Stimulation: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Title Tesim:
- Quality of ChatGPT-Generated Responses to Common Patient Questions About Peripheral Nerve Stimulation: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Creator:
- Comrie, Frederick K., Siddique, Muhammad Uzair, Prabhakar, Hari, Hsu, Annie W., Martins, Yuri Chaves, Locklear, Jacob, Palaniappan, Sarvesh, Abd El Sayed, Alaa, Osuagwu, Uzondu, Smith, Christina, Paek, Jonathan, Adler, Alexandra, Pokuri, Sreekrishna, Odonkor, Charles A., and Adekoya, Peju
- Date of publication:
- March 25, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Background: Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is increasingly used in selected patients with neuropathic pain, and many individuals seek supplemental online information to clarify procedural expectations and postoperative care. Large language models such as ChatGPT may provide scalable patient education; however, their performance for PNS-related questions has not been evaluated. This study assessed the reliability, accuracy, and comprehensibility of ChatGPT-5.0 responses to common PNS patient questions.</p> <p>Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of ChatGPT-5.0 responses to 21 standardized questions derived through expert consensus, spanning pre-implantation, implantation, and post-implantation domains. Sixteen board-certified interventional pain specialists and a nurse educator independently rated each response using validated scales for reliability (1–6), accuracy (1–3), and comprehensibility (1–3). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and domain-level patterns were examined.</p> <p>Results: Clinician ratings demonstrated generally strong performance across all domains. Mean reliability was 4.7 ± 1.4, mean accuracy 2.6 ± 0.6, and mean comprehensibility 2.8 ± 0.5. Foundational questions addressing mechanisms, expectations, and postoperative care received the highest ratings. Lower ratings were observed for implantation-focused items requiring procedural nuance. No response fell below predefined acceptability thresholds, and sensitivity analyses confirmed that including one partial evaluator did not alter the observed trends.</p> <p>Conclusions: ChatGPT-5.0 generated responses to PNS-related patient questions that clinicians rated as generally reliable, accurate, and understandable, particularly for foundational and postoperative topics. Performance was more variable for procedural questions, underscoring the need for clinician oversight and verification. These findings provide a benchmark of current LLM capabilities and highlight the importance of ongoing evaluation as models evolve and as patients access versions with differing functionalities.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Biology
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/pkq1-cy17
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199766768 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/clinpract16040066
- ISSN:
- 2039-7283 and 2039-7275
- Journal Issue:
- 4
- Journal Title:
- Clinics and Practice
- Journal Volume:
- 16
- Keyword:
- clinician oversight, model, verification, sensitivity analysis, expectations, foundational questions, interventional pain specialists, pain, domain, capability, study, questions, experts, analysis, procedural nuances, threshold, cross-sectional evaluation, reliability, peripheral nerve stimulation, performance, oversight, procedural expectations, postoperative care, clinician ratings, education, version, individuals, standardized questions, implantation, Descriptive statistics, function, patient questions, no response, procedural questions, pre-implantation, trends, comprehension, nerve stimulation, post-implantation, expert consensus, care, patient education, cross-section, statistically, patterns, low rate, patients, quality, nuances, items, partial evaluation, evaluation, specialists, nurses, pain specialists, neuropathic pain, consensus, benchmarks, findings, acceptance threshold, Mean reliability, accuracy, clinicians, sensitivity, online information, stimulation, rate, mechanism, topics, information, mean, language model, nursing education, response, ChatGPT, cross-sectional study, and acceptance
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Trinity Health of New England, Hartford, CT, USA, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Division of Physiatry, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, USA, Aviator Pain & Spine, Grovetown, GA, USA, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA, Department of Anesthesiology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA, , Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, WI, USA, Department of Pain Medicine, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, Houston Methodist, Department of Anesthesiology, Interventional Pain Medicine, Cypress, TX, USA, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA, and Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Person:
- Comrie, Frederick K., Siddique, Muhammad Uzair, Prabhakar, Hari, Hsu, Annie W., Martins, Yuri Chaves, Locklear, Jacob, Palaniappan, Sarvesh, Abd El Sayed, Alaa, Osuagwu, Uzondu, Smith, Christina, Paek, Jonathan, Adler, Alexandra, Pokuri, Sreekrishna, Odonkor, Charles A., and Adekoya, Peju
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
64. Assessing Membership Inference Privacy Risks in Medical Diffusion Models via Discrete Encoding-Based Inference
- Title Tesim:
- Assessing Membership Inference Privacy Risks in Medical Diffusion Models via Discrete Encoding-Based Inference
- Creator:
- Shi, Xiaoshuang, Yuan, Chenxi, Kong, Fei, Cheng, Hao, and Chen, Tianlong
- Date of publication:
- March 24, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>The rapid adoption of diffusion models in medical imaging has raised significant concerns regarding data privacy, especially their susceptibility to Membership Inference Attacks (MIAs). However, the privacy risks associated with diffusion models in the medical domain remain underexplored compared to natural images. In this study, we propose a novel grey-box attack framework, termed the Discrete Encoding-Based Membership Inference Attack (DEB), inspired by Denoising Diffusion Codebook Models (DDCM). DEB injects semantically meaningful noise via a discrete codebook strategy and identifies training samples by analyzing the model’s output trajectory under this discrete encoding, specifically measuring the average of intermediate predictions across selected time steps. We conduct an evaluation of MIAs across natural images and five representative datasets from the MedMNIST collection. Our experiments reveal that the susceptibility of diffusion models is highly dependent on the data modality; for instance, while certain datasets exhibit near-complete vulnerability, others like PathMNIST demonstrate strong inherent resistance to MIAs. Furthermore, DEB demonstrates superior performance compared to existing baselines (e.g., SecMI, PIA, SimA), particularly on challenging datasets. For example, DEB achieves a True Positive Rate at 1% False Positive Rate (TPR @ 1% FPR) of 60.3% on CIFAR-10, significantly outperforming the SimA baseline (35.9%). Notably, even on the highly resistant PathMNIST dataset, DEB attains a 10.2% TPR @ 1% FPR, establishing a substantial advantage over the PIA baseline (1.1%). This work provides practical insights into the privacy risks inherent in diffusion models and emphasizes that model providers should carefully assess these vulnerabilities when exposing intermediate generation APIs.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Computer Science
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/50yj-1h43
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app16073140 and Dimensions ID: pub.1199766634
- ISSN:
- 2076-3417
- Journal Issue:
- 7
- Journal Title:
- Applied Sciences
- Journal Volume:
- 16
- Keyword:
- inference, CIFAR-10, encoding, denoising, trajectory, positive rate, output trajectory, codebook model, natural images, framework, study, grey-box, membership inference attacks, evaluation, resistance, codebook, data, semantics, true positive rate, PIA, prediction, diffusion, membership, inference attacks, collection, average, domain, rate, API, TPR, adoption, superior performance, steps, privacy, privacy risks, time, susceptibility, samples, data privacy, attack framework, experiments, medical images, medication, performance, intermediate predictions, attacks, diffusion model, Sima, baseline, modalities, images, providers, model, time steps, medical domain, false positive rate, concerns, vulnerability, dataset, noise, FPR, model providers, MedMNIST, training samples, strategies, risk, data modalities, and training
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- School of Computer Science, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China, Department of Informatics, Ying Wu College of Computing, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA, Department of Microelectronics Thrust, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China, and
- Person:
- Shi, Xiaoshuang, Yuan, Chenxi, Kong, Fei, Cheng, Hao, and Chen, Tianlong
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
65. Examining Discordance in Perceptions of COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccine Safety During Pregnancy Among a Cohort of US Adults
- Title Tesim:
- Examining Discordance in Perceptions of COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccine Safety During Pregnancy Among a Cohort of US Adults
- Creator:
- Robertson, McKaylee, Chan, Bai Xi Jasmine, Teasdale, Chloe, Sanborn, Jenna, Penrose, Kate, Balasubramanian, Subha, Piltch-Loeb, Rachael, Nuñez Sahr, Josefina, Fleary, Sasha, and Parcesepe, Angela
- Date of publication:
- March 20, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Background/Objectives: Vaccination is an important strategy to protect pregnant people, fetuses, and infants from severe influenza and COVID-19. However, as of April 2025 in the United States, only 14% of pregnant women had received the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine, while influenza vaccine uptake among pregnant women was 38% compared to 57% in 2020. Our study assessed the perceived safety of receiving these vaccines during pregnancy within a community-based national cohort.</p> <p>Methods: Participants reported safety perceptions of vaccination during pregnancy and were categorized as (1) endorsing the safety of both COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, (2) endorsing the safety of only the influenza vaccine, (3) endorsing the safety of only the COVID-19 vaccine and (4) endorsing the safety of neither vaccine during pregnancy. We examined sociodemographics, behaviors, and beliefs correlated with these four categories. Log-binomial models were used to estimate the prevalence ratios of (a) endorsing the safety of only influenza vaccine versus endorsing the safety of both COVID-19 and influenza vaccines during pregnancy, and (b) endorsing safety of neither versus both vaccines during pregnancy.</p> <p>Results: In total, 40% of adults (N = 1725) endorsed the safety of both vaccines during pregnancy, 18% (N = 751) endorsed the safety of only the influenza vaccine, 4% (N = 183) endorsed the safety of only the COVID-19 vaccine, and 38% (N = 1621) did not endorse the safety of either vaccine during pregnancy. Participants who were non-Hispanic Black, reported inconsistent vaccination habits, and expressed low trust in government and healthcare providers were more likely to endorse the safety of only the influenza vaccine or neither vaccine compared with endorsing both vaccines.</p> <p>Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to build trust in the medical system, reduce access barriers, and use equitable, community-driven messaging to strengthen confidence in the safety of receiving the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines during pregnancy.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- Gillings School of Global Public Health and Department of Maternal and Child Health
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/9797-0639
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199617612 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/vaccines14030274
- ISSN:
- 2076-393X
- Journal Issue:
- 3
- Journal Title:
- Vaccines
- Journal Volume:
- 14
- Keyword:
- log-binomial models, healthcare, trust, study, uptake, perception of COVID-19, cohort, model, providers, access barriers, vaccine uptake, system, perception, units, safety perceptions, adults, cohort of US adults, state, safety, categories, barriers, healthcare providers, United States, COVID-19, vaccine, beliefs, influenza vaccine safety, influenza vaccine uptake, Black, pregnant women, behavior, ratio, national cohort, findings, pregnant people, sociodemographics, pregnancy, COVID-19 vaccine, participants, fetuses, people, women, medical system, confidence, severe influenza, habits, low trust, perceptions of vaccination, US adults, prevalence, vaccine safety, infants, influenza, non-Hispanic blacks, discordance, access, messages, influenza vaccine, government, vaccination habits, and prevalence ratios
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8426-6572, , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9165-8972, https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3726-3724, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7808-7439, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8540-2701, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6813-1934, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9237-2407, and https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4321-125X
- Other Affiliation:
- Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY, USA and
- Page Start:
- 274
- Person:
- Robertson, McKaylee, Chan, Bai Xi Jasmine, Teasdale, Chloe, Sanborn, Jenna, Penrose, Kate, Balasubramanian, Subha, Piltch-Loeb, Rachael, Nuñez Sahr, Josefina, Fleary, Sasha, and Parcesepe, Angela
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
66. Creation of an Engineered Oxygen-Insensitive L-Glutamate Oxidase for the Application of Electrochemical L-Glutamate Sensors
- Title Tesim:
- Creation of an Engineered Oxygen-Insensitive L-Glutamate Oxidase for the Application of Electrochemical L-Glutamate Sensors
- Creator:
- Asano, Ryutaro, Ikebukuro, Kazunori, Takamatsu, Shouhei, Tsugawa, Wakako, Sode, Koji, and Hatada, Mika
- Date of publication:
- March 20, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>L-glutamate (L-Glu) is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. Developing a real-time monitoring system is essential to understanding the onset and progression of related conditions. However, the absence of an L-Glu dehydrogenase that is insensitive to oxygen limits the development of oxygen-independent electrochemical enzymatic sensors. Additionally, the most commonly used L-Glu-specific oxidase requires site-specific proteolytic post-translational modifications in specific host microorganisms, which makes protein engineering difficult. To address these issues, L-Glu oxidase derived from Streptomyces mobaraensis (SmEOx), which does not require post-translational modifications, was engineered to function as a dehydrogenase. Residues crucial for the oxidative half reaction with oxygen in SmEOx were identified, and mutagenesis studies were conducted. Mutant SmEOx variants with suppressed oxidase activity and improved dye-mediated dehydrogenase activity compared to the wild-type enzyme were successfully obtained. The ratio of dehydrogenase activity to oxidase activity (Dh/Ox) increased ~2900-fold in mutant M117I and ~6700-fold in mutant M117F/K400N compared to wild-type recombinant SmEOx. The resulting virtually L-Glu dehydrogenases (vEDHs) were modified with a redox mediator and evaluated using transient open-circuit potential (OCP)-based L-Glu measurements. As a result, the vEDH (M117F/K400N mutant)-immobilized electrode enabled electrochemical L-Glu detection under ambient oxygen without the need for an external electron mediator, unlike the wild-type enzyme. The created vEDH, together with the OCP sensor developed using it, paves the way for future development of miniaturized, real-time L-Glu monitoring systems with high temporal and spatial resolution.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- School of Medicine and UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/anq0-mn09
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199690454 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms27062831
- ISSN:
- 1661-6596 and 1422-0067
- Journal Issue:
- 6
- Journal Title:
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Journal Volume:
- 27
- Keyword:
- OCP, L-glutamate sensor, oxygen, central nervous system, temporality, creation, dehydrogenase activity, engineering, dehydrogenase, protein, sensor, wild-type enzyme, detection, system, enzyme, issues, wild-type, electrochemical enzymatic sensors, monitoring system, spatial resolution, L-glutamate, post-translational modifications, progression, oxidative half reaction, host, mediators, Streptomyces mobaraensis, mammalian central nervous system, ratio, enzymatic sensor, modification, L-Glu, results, residues, variants, reaction, ambient oxygen, mutagenesis studies, half reaction, oxidase activity, dye-mediated dehydrogenase activity, resolution, conditions, mutagenesis, onset, absence, activity, redox, applications, real-time monitoring system, microorganisms, L-glutamate oxidase, development, nervous system, measurements, neurotransmitter, redox mediator, host microorganisms, protein engineering, oxidase, and study
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan and
- Person:
- Asano, Ryutaro, Ikebukuro, Kazunori, Takamatsu, Shouhei, Tsugawa, Wakako, Sode, Koji, and Hatada, Mika
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
67. Orthodontists’ Perceived Knowledge, Confidence, and Clinical Practices in Pediatric Temporomandibular Disorders
- Title Tesim:
- Orthodontists’ Perceived Knowledge, Confidence, and Clinical Practices in Pediatric Temporomandibular Disorders
- Creator:
- Sangalli, Linda, Sawicki, Caroline M., Southern, Thomas, and Marando, Calli A.
- Date of publication:
- March 25, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Background/Objectives: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are common in pediatric patients, yet limited data exist on orthodontists’ knowledge, confidence, and clinical practices related to pediatric TMD. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize orthodontists’ perceived knowledge, confidence, training, and practice patterns, and examine associations between routine screening behaviors and perceived confidence.</p> <p>Methods: A 34-item anonymous survey was distributed to orthodontists and orthodontic residents enrolled in or graduated from U.S. Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited programs. The survey assessed perceived knowledge, confidence in screening, diagnosis, and management of pediatric TMD, adequacy of residency training (on 0–10 numerical rating scale), frequency of routine TMD screening and examination practices, and referral patterns. Respondents were compared in study outcomes according to years of clinical practice with ANOVA. Respondents were categorized according to frequency of TMD screening (always/some of the time vs. sometimes/never) and compared in study outcomes using independent t-tests.</p> <p>Results: Out of 83 respondents, perceived knowledge (56.8 ± 26.9), confidence with screening (62.0 ± 30.5), diagnosis (59.4 ± 29.8), and management (50.8 ± 30.9) of pediatric TMD were moderate. Less than half of respondents (45.8%) reported routinely screening pediatric patients using standardized screening questions. Orthodontists who reported routine screening demonstrated significantly greater perceived knowledge and confidence in screening, diagnosis, and management compared with those who screened less frequently (all p’s ≤ 0.018, effect size between 0.57 and 0.78). Greater use of specific history-taking and clinical examination components was also associated with higher perceived confidence (all p’s between 0.001 and 0.046, effect size between 0.53 and 1.01). Confidence differed by years in practice, with lower scores reported among residents and mid-career practitioners (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions: Variability exists in orthodontists’ perceived knowledge, confidence, and clinical practices regarding pediatric TMD. Routine screening was associated with greater perceived competence. These findings highlight potential alignment between structured screening behaviors and self-reported confidence and may inform educational strategies in orthodontic training.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and Department of Orthodontics
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/1kh8-4g19
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199766760 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children13040445
- ISSN:
- 2227-9067
- Journal Issue:
- 4
- Journal Title:
- Children
- Journal Volume:
- 13
- Keyword:
- frequency, clinical practice, orthodontists' knowledge, years, screening questions, practice, knowledge, greater use, study outcomes, residents, strategies, variables, perceived confidence, scores, screening, management, temporomandibular disorders, program, lower scores, self-reported confidence, findings, examination practices, use, orthodontic training, ANOVA, adequacy, patterns, routine screening, years of clinical practice, practitioners, mid‐career practitioners, pediatric patients, examination components, survey, Pediatric, orthodontists, training, questions, study, behavior, residency training, disorders, patients, practice patterns, history-taking, adequacy of residency training, components, t-test, orthodontic residents, screening behavior, U.S. Commission, U.S., cross-sectional study, educational strategies, Commission, data, examination, outcomes, alignment, dental, diagnosis, association, competence, confidence, standardized screening question, referral patterns, perceived knowledge, and respondents
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- College of Dental Medicine—Illinois, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA and
- Page Start:
- 445
- Person:
- Sangalli, Linda, Sawicki, Caroline M., Southern, Thomas, and Marando, Calli A.
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
68. Divergent Evolution of Tuberculosis Lesions During Treatment: A Longitudinal CT-Based Analysis of Progression and Regression Patterns
- Title Tesim:
- Divergent Evolution of Tuberculosis Lesions During Treatment: A Longitudinal CT-Based Analysis of Progression and Regression Patterns
- Creator:
- Wang, Wei, Lv, Pingxin, Liu, Xiaoming, Xie, Yingda L., Takiff, Howard E., Li, Weimin, Liu, Qingyun, Qin, Liyi, Ma, Shiran, and Jiang, Jiaxin
- Date of publication:
- March 18, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Objectives: Lesion-level dynamics may reveal pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) heterogeneity and help identify factors associated with treatment outcomes.</p> <p>Methods: A total of 288 serial Computed Tomography (CT) scans from 125 PTB patients were obtained from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) TB Portals database (2008–2023). Lesions were segmented and annotated to obtain volume and imaging features, and a conservative longitudinal volume quantification method was used to characterize dynamic volume patterns. The proportion of lesions with different patterns was analyzed at the patient level to assess trajectory diversity. Firth’s penalized logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with treatment outcomes.</p> <p>Results: Among 435 lesions in 125 patients, five patterns emerged: Stable, Decrease, Increase, Mix-I-D (increase then decrease), and Mix-D-I (decrease then increase). Multiple patterns coexisted in 66.7% of treatment success patients and all treatment failure patients. Mix-D-I lesions were identified more frequently in treatment failure patients (25.0% vs. 1.4%, p = 0.027), and in multivariable analysis, the presence of Mix-D-I lesions was statistically associated with treatment failure (p = 0.024).</p> <p>Conclusions: PTB lesions showed high trajectory heterogeneity. The presence of Mix-D-I lesions may point to an unfavorable treatment course, suggesting lesion dynamics could serve as a potential indicator for poor outcomes. By quantifying lesion-level trajectories on serial CT scans, we extend PET/CT-based evidence and support the value of routine monitoring in clinical management of tuberculosis.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- School of Medicine and Department of Genetics
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/1x5w-bt02
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199542236 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060892
- ISSN:
- 2075-4418
- Journal Issue:
- 6
- Journal Title:
- Diagnostics
- Journal Volume:
- 16
- Keyword:
- computed tomography, progression, tomography, treatment failure, analysis, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, quantification method, clinical management, divergent evolution, increase, image features, patient level, proportion of lesions, regression patterns, National Institute, failure patients, lesions, routine monitoring, patterns, disease, pulmonary tuberculosis lesions, Portal database, treatment, multivariate analysis, Firth, logistic regression, course, tuberculosis lesions, database, patients, treatment course, method, regression, scanning, failure, computer, clinical management of tuberculosis, outcomes, factors associated with treatment outcome, pulmonary tuberculosis, monitoring, trajectory diversity, features, CT scan, volume quantification method, indicators, dynamics, tuberculosis, potential indicators, infectious diseases, Firth's penalized logistic regression, treatment failure patients, multiple patterns, proportion, volume patterns, management of tuberculosis, lesion dynamics, presence, factors, poor outcome, images, treatment outcomes, success patients, diversity, analysis of progress, heterogeneity, trajectory, volume, National, evidence, pulmonary tuberculosis patients, treatment success patients, decrease, associated with treatment failure, and levels
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, Department of Radiology, Being Geriatric Hospital, Beijing, China, Department of Medicine, Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA, Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela, , and Department of Biostatistics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Page Start:
- 892
- Person:
- Wang, Wei, Lv, Pingxin, Liu, Xiaoming, Xie, Yingda L., Takiff, Howard E., Li, Weimin, Liu, Qingyun, Qin, Liyi, Ma, Shiran, and Jiang, Jiaxin
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
69. Function and Modulation of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors in the Central Nervous System
- Title Tesim:
- Function and Modulation of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors in the Central Nervous System
- Creator:
- Chilamula, Aishwarya, Codispoti, Lucas J., Newton, Jason, Haidarbaigi, Ladan, Darsi, Sriya, Jung, Ashley, Gulliksen, Elizabeth, and Purohit, Devam
- Date of publication:
- March 17, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Sphingolipids, first discovered in 1874 by Johann Thudicum, are among the eight recognized classes of lipids and are present in essentially all plants, animals, and fungi, as well as some viruses and prokaryotes. In mammals, sphingolipids are enriched in the central nervous system (CNS), where they play vital roles in tissue development; membrane structure; cell adhesion and recognition; and, importantly, signaling. A subset of sphingolipids including ceramide, glucosylceramide, and sphingosine has been shown to have bioactive properties, but two sphingolipids in particular (ceramide-1-phosphate and sphingosine-1-phosphate) have been shown to exert their effects at least in part due to the activation of cell surface-expressed G protein-coupled receptors. In the CNS, sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling has specifically emerged as a productive therapeutic target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, with the first small molecule targeting sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors approved roughly 15 years ago for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. As more specific activators and inhibitors of these receptors have been developed and entered the clinical trial pipeline, now is an appropriate time to examine the current state of our knowledge of the role that these receptors play in the CNS and highlight the current landscape of available modulators targeting these pathways.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/3mxx-y049
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199504319 and DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/receptors5010009
- ISSN:
- 2813-2564
- Journal Issue:
- 1
- Journal Title:
- Receptors
- Journal Volume:
- 5
- Keyword:
- sclerosis, plants, bioactive properties, animals, sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling, lipid, tissue, treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, Johann, cell adhesion, sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors, landscape, effect, receptors, pathway, tissue development, recognition, small molecules, Thudicum, signal, sphingolipids, inhibitors, structure, mammals, virus, properties, therapeutic target, multiple sclerosis, pipeline, modulation, ceramide, glucosylceramide, membrane structure, prokaryotes, activity, development, adhesion, neurodegenerative diseases, function, G protein-coupled receptors, cells, modulator of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors, fungi, central nervous system, years, molecules, disease, system, target, clinical trial pipeline, nervous system, treatment, classes of lipids, knowledge, class, treatment of multiple sclerosis, Central, sphingosine, sphingosine-1-phosphate, and membrane
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- Other Affiliation:
- Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA and
- Page Start:
- 9
- Person:
- Chilamula, Aishwarya, Codispoti, Lucas J., Newton, Jason, Haidarbaigi, Ladan, Darsi, Sriya, Jung, Ashley, Gulliksen, Elizabeth, and Purohit, Devam
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
70. EEG and IMU Gait Signal Processing: A Comparative Assessment of the “Reza” Exponential Filter and Classical Filters
- Title Tesim:
- EEG and IMU Gait Signal Processing: A Comparative Assessment of the “Reza” Exponential Filter and Classical Filters
- Creator:
- Monroe, Derek C., Rhea, Christopher K., Pousti, Reza, and Russell, Daniel M.
- Date of publication:
- March 9, 2026
- Abstract Tesim:
- <p>Noise degrades both EEG and gait signals, and classical IIR filters (Butterworth, Chebyshev, elliptic) involve trade-offs between passband flatness, ripple, and roll-off. This study compared a novel exponential "Reza" filter with these designs for neural and locomotor data. We analyzed an open-source mobile brain-body imaging dataset with EEG and gait data from 49 healthy adults (EEG: 256-channel, 512 Hz; IMUs: six APDM Opals, 128 Hz). EEG channels were grand-averaged and band-pass filtered at 0.5-50 Hz, while IMU axes were averaged and band-pass filtered at 0.5-5 Hz. The outcomes were signal-to-noise ratio SNR (dB) and band-integrated Welch PSD (EEG:0.5-50 Hz; IMU:0.5-5 Hz). Repeated-measures ANOVAs tested the effect of filter types (Butterworth, Chebyshev I, elliptic, Reza) with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc tests for the six pairwise filter comparisons (αadj = 0.0083). We reported partial eta-squared (ηp2) as the ANOVA effect size. For EEG, PSD did not differ among filters (p = 0.146), whereas SNR differed strongly (p<0.001): Chebyshev and elliptic yielded the highest mean SNR and did not differ from each other, while both exceeded Butterworth, Reza was the lowest. For IMU, both SNR (p< 0.001) and PSD (p< 0.001) differed: Reza produced the highest mean SNR (significantly exceeding elliptic and Chebyshev), while Butterworth exceeded Chebyshev; meanwhile, IMU PSD showed a clear ordering with Reza retaining the most motion-band power, followed by Butterworth, then Chebyshev, with elliptic retaining the least. These results showed that filter choice materially shapes EEG and gait outcomes. For EEG, Chebyshev maximized SNR, while elliptic and Reza maintained comparable fidelity. For IMU gait signals, Reza matched Butterworth for denoising and preserved more signal power. Therefore, filter choice should be guided by the target outcome (SNR vs. band power) rather than a single default design.</p>
- Resource type:
- Article
- Affiliation Label Tesim:
- College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Exercise and Sport Science
- Type:
- http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.17615/h5n9-d187
- Edition:
- Publisher
- Identifier:
- Dimensions ID: pub.1199198735, PMID: 41829680, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s26051719, and PMCID: PMC12986942
- ISSN:
- 1424-8220
- Journal Issue:
- 5
- Journal Title:
- Sensors
- Journal Volume:
- 26
- Keyword:
- hoc test, target, filter, gait signals, outcomes, filter comparison, effect, healthy adults, adults, IIR, classical filters, Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc tests, study, flatness, dataset, noise, gait outcomes, Reza, passband flatness, choice, gait data, ripple, comparative assessment, assessment, passband, fidelity, roll-off, signal, EEG channels, image datasets, repeated-measures ANOVA, filter choice, exponential filter, band-pass, IMU, denoising, locomotor data, eta-squared, comparison, filter types, exponential, axis, signal power, process, size, gait, IIR filters, power, target outcomes, test, effect size, post hoc test, locomotor, type, SNR, PSD, design, trade-offs, partial eta-squared, Chebyshev, data, classics, pairwise, results, effects of filter types, signal-to-noise ratio SNR, EP2, ANOVA, signal processing, EEG, Butterworth, grand averages, and channel
- License Label:
- Attribution 4.0 International
- ORCID:
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3885-6878, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7256-4508, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1090-9688, and https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9130-1172
- Other Affiliation:
- , Ellmer College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA, and School of Exercise Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
- Page Start:
- 1719
- Person:
- Monroe, Derek C., Rhea, Christopher K., Pousti, Reza, and Russell, Daniel M.
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Rights Statement Label:
- In Copyright
Collection Details
- Total items
-
1066
- Size
-
unknown
- Date created
-
May 26, 2022