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Leveraging social media data to study disease and treatment characteristics of Hodgkin's lymphoma Using Natural Language Processing methods
Full text linkBACKGROUND: The use of social media platforms in health research is increasing, yet their application in studying rare diseases is limited. Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a rare malignancy with a high incidence in young adults. This study evaluates the feasibility of using social media data to study the disease and treatment characteristics of HL. METHODS: We utilized the X (formerly Twitter) API v2 developer portal to download posts (formerly tweets) from January 2010 to October 2022. Annotation guidelines were developed from literature and a manual review of limited posts was performed to identify the class and attributes (characteristics) of HL discussed on X, and create a gold standard dataset. This dataset was subsequently employed to train, test, and validate a Named Entity Recognition (NER) Natural Language Processing (NLP) application. RESULTS: After data preparation, 80,811 posts were collected: 500 for annotation guideline development, 2,000 for NLP application development, and the remaining 78,311 for deploying the application. We identified nine classes related to HL, such as HL classification, etiopathology, stages and progression, and treatment. The treatment class and HL stages and progression were the most frequently discussed, with 20,013 (25.56%) posts mentioning HL's treatments and 17,177 (21.93%) mentioning HL stages and progression. The model exhibited robust performance, achieving 86% accuracy and an 87% F1 score. The etiopathology class demonstrated excellent performance, with 93% accuracy and a 95% F1 score. DISCUSSION: The NLP application displayed high efficacy in extracting and characterizing HL-related information from social media posts, as evidenced by the high F1 score. Nonetheless, the data presented limitations in distinguishing between patients, providers, and caregivers and in establishing the temporal relationships between classes and attributes. Further research is necessary to bridge these gaps. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated potential of using social media as a valuable preliminary research source for understanding the characteristics of rare diseases such as Hodgkin's Lymphoma.The author(s) received no specific funding for this work
Scalable quality control on processing of large diffusion-weighted and structural magnetic resonance imaging datasets
Full text linkThorough quality control (QC) can be time consuming when working with large-scale medical imaging datasets, yet necessary, as poor-quality data can lead to erroneous conclusions or poorly trained machine learning models. Most efforts to reduce data QC time rely on quantitative outlier detection, which cannot capture every instance of algorithm failure. Thus, there is a need to visually inspect every output of data processing pipelines in a scalable manner. We design a QC pipeline that allows for low time cost and effort across a team setting for a large database of diffusion-weighted and structural magnetic resonance images. Our proposed method satisfies the following design criteria: 1.) a consistent way to perform and manage quality control across a team of researchers, 2.) quick visualization of preprocessed data that minimizes the effort and time spent on the QC process without compromising the condition/caliber of the QC, and 3.) a way to aggregate QC results across pipelines and datasets that can be easily shared. In addition to meeting these design criteria, we also provide a comparison experiment of our method to an automated QC method for a T1-weighted dataset of [Formula: see text] images and an inter-rater variability experiment for several processing pipelines. The experiments show mostly high agreement among raters and slight differences with the automated QC method. While researchers must spend time on robust visual QC of data, there are mechanisms by which the process can be streamlined and efficient.This work was supported in part by the National Institute of Health through NIH awards K01-EB032898 (Schilling) and K01-AG073584 (Archer), grant number 1R01EB017230-01A1 (Landman), and ViSE/ VICTR VR3029, UL1-TR000445, and UL1- TR002243. This work was supported by the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project Phenotype Harmonization Consortium (ADSPPHC) that is funded by NIA (U24 AG074855, U01 AG068057 and R01 AG059716). This work was conducted in part using the resources of the Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE) at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. We appreciate the National Institute of HealthS10 Shared Instrumentation grant 1S10OD020154-01, and grant 1S10OD023680-01 (Vanderbilt's HighPerformance Computer Cluster for Biomedical Research). Data collection and sharing for ADNI were supported by National Institutes of Health Grant U01-AG024904 and Department of Defense (award number W81XWH-12-2-0012). ADNI is also funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and through generous contributions from the following: AbbVie, Alzheimer's Association; Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation; Araclon Biotech; BioClinica, Inc.; Biogen; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; CereSpir, Inc.; Cogstate; Eisai Inc.; Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; EuroImmun; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and its affiliated company Genentech, Inc.; Fujirebio; GE Healthcare; IXICO Ltd.; Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development, LLC.; Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC.; Lumosity; Lundbeck; Merck & Co., Inc.; Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC.; NeuroRx Research; Neurotrack Technologies; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc.; Piramal Imaging; Servier; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and Transition Therapeutics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is providing funds to support ADNI clinical sites in Canada. Private sector contributions are facilitated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (www.fnih. org). The grantee organization is the Northern California Institute for Research and Education, and the study is coordinated by the Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute at the University of Southern California. ADNI data are disseminated by the Laboratory for Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California. Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (adni.loni.usc. edu). The ADNI was launched in 2003 as a public private partnership, led by Principal Investigator Michael W. Weiner, MD. The original goal of ADNI was to test whether serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The current goals include validating biomarkers for clinical trials, improving the generalizability of ADNI data by increasing diversity in the participant cohort, and to provide data concerning the diagnosis and progression of Alzheimer's disease to the scientific community. For up-to-date information, see adni.loni. usc.edu. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R01AG054073 and R01AG058533, R01AG070862, P41EB015922 and U19AG078109. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The data contributed from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention was supported by NIA AG021155, AG027161, AG037639, and AG054047. There was no additional external funding received for this study
Brain nitric oxide and inflammation in chronic intermittent hypoxia: Contributors to cognitive impairment and hypertension
Full text linkChronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is a key feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and leads to physiological changes that can cause cardiovascular and neurological issues. This review explores the role of nitric oxide (NO) and inflammation in the development of CIH-induced health problems, specifically focusing on hypertension and cognitive dysfunction. We synthesize current evidence regarding how CIH modulates inflammatory processes and NO signaling in different brain regions, especially autonomic control centers crucial for cardiovascular regulation. We also discuss the activation of proinflammatory transcription factors, the generation of reactive oxygen species, and the involvement of pattern recognition receptors in CIH-induced neuroinflammation. Regarding cardiovascular changes associated with CIH, we focus on the effects of NO and inflammation in central autonomic regions such as the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), subfornical organ (SFO), median preoptic nucleus (MnPO), and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), shedding light on their contributions to sustained hypertension in CIH. The review delves into the latest findings on sex differences in CIH-induced neuroinflammation. In examining the current knowledge, we have pinpointed significant gaps in understanding, especially concerning the specific mechanisms of NO and inflammation interactions in different brain regions during CIH. This review provides insights into potential therapeutic targets and emphasizes the need for further research to develop more effective treatments for OSA-related cardiovascular and neurological complications.This study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant R01 HL155977
Validation of signature molecular profiles of advanced HCV liver disease in hepatocellular carcinoma patients
Full text linkOur previous transcriptome analysis revealed that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hepatocytes regulates the expression of numerous hepatocellular genes in a liver disease stage-specific manner. Based on the fold changes at different stages and the known relevant function of the cellular genes with respect to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and through comprehensive examination with various in silico assays, such as heatmap and volcano analysis for the differential expression, the Cancer Genome Atlas - Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-HCC) analysis, and molecular approaches, such as qRT-PCR, immunoblot analyses, we have chosen the two up-regulated genes - aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) and hexokinase domain containing 1 (HKDC1), and two down-regulated genes - glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) and C-type lectin domain family 4, member M (CLEC4M), and validated their differential expressions of the genes at disparate stages of liver disease with respect to the development of potential therapeutic targets against HCV-mediated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These data suggested that the differentially expressed genes at various stages could serve as prognostic and diagnostic markers for liver disease progression and may also be utilized in developing therapeutic drugs.This research was partly supported by the National Institutes of Health grants CA283524 (PC), AI179337 (IWP) and the UNTHSC Seed Grant to PC and IWP. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Rethinking the residual approach: leveraging statistical learning to operationalize cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease
No full textCognitive resilience (CR) describes the phenomenon of individuals evading cognitive decline despite prominent Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Operationalization and measurement of this latent construct is non-trivial as it cannot be directly observed. The residual approach has been widely applied to estimate CR, where the degree of resilience is estimated through a linear model's residuals. We demonstrate that this approach makes specific, uncontrollable assumptions and likely leads to biased and erroneous resilience estimates. This is especially true when information about CR is contained in the data the linear model was fitted to, either through inclusion of CR-associated variables or due to correlation. We propose an alternative strategy which overcomes the standard approach's limitations using machine learning principles. Our proposed approach makes fewer assumptions about the data and CR and achieves better estimation accuracy on simulated ground-truth data.This project is supported by R01AG079142. Coughlan is funded by a NIH Pathway to Independence award, K99AG083063, and an Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship, AARF-23-1151259
Public health diplomacy: summary of the methods and outcome of the 1st University of Memphis School of Public Health Diplomacy Summit
Full text linkPublic health diplomacy addresses global challenges impacting societies, economies, the environment, and health by integrating foreign policy and development. The University of Memphis School of Public Health hosted a multistakeholder summit to identify strategies and competencies essential for effective public health diplomacy. A 3-day summit included 29 participants from 15 countries, representing the WHO, the World Federation of United Nations, and seven regional public health associations. An iterative human-centered design (HCD) approach and concept mapping were employed to facilitate discussions and generate actionable recommendations. Developed a working definition of Public Health Diplomacy emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaborations, communication, negotiation, and consensus building. Produced a 9-point action plan to establish a global framework, launch capacity-building initiatives, and institutionalize public health diplomacy as a public health discipline.The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article
The Development and Evaluation of Educational Sessions on Puberty and Menstrual Health Awareness Among 5th-8th Grade Girls from Multicultural Immigrant Backgrounds at a Private Islamic School
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a school educational program for puberty and menstrual health for 5th-8th grade girls from multicultural immigrant backgrounds at a local private Islamic school. The session was designed to address existing knowledge gaps and misconceptions with the goal of improving students' understanding and attitudes towards puberty and menstruation. Methods: The development and evaluation of this educational program was approved by the UNTHSC IRB as not human subjects research. We employed a pre- and post-survey evaluation design to determine the effectiveness of the educational session. The surveys were optional and anonymous, ensuring no identifying information was collected from the students. The pre-survey gathered background information, such as grade levels, cultural background, and previous education and gauged students' initial knowledge and misconceptions regarding puberty and menstrual health using a Likert scale of 1 to 5. Scientific knowledge about the topic was assessed through multiple choice questions. The 1 hour educational session provided comprehensive information tailored to their cultural and religious context. Following the session, the post-survey was administered to assess change. Results for attitude and misconceptions were analyzed by comparing Likert scale response percentages before and after the educational session. Knowledge change was determined by comparing percent correct on knowledge questions before and after the educational session. Results: This educational program was delivered to 130 girls in 5th through 8th grade. 112 students completed both surveys. They ranged in age from 10-14 years, with an average age of 11.7. There were 21 fifth grade students, 34 sixth grade students, 24 seventh grade students, and 37 eighth grade students. Change in percentages among all surveyed students in the highest Likert scale rating of 5 before to after the session was as follows: 6.4% to 27.5% for knowledge of the science behind periods, 28.1% to 66.1% for general understanding of a period, 32.1% to 58% for understanding of puberty-related changes, and 23.2% to 47.6% for comfort using material products. Among students who have started menstruating, sense of preparedness increased from 19.2% to 45.7% as compared to students who have not started menstruating, which changed from 14.5% to 36.7%. Regarding Islamic views on menstruation, the percentage of students who answered “very positive” increased from 21% to 56.8%. On the scientific knowledge section, average percent correct before the session was 75.0% and after the session was 85.4% Conclusions: Based on the percentage changes between the pre- and post-survey answers, we found that the educational session led to improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and sense of preparedness towards menstrual health and puberty among 5th through 8th grade girls at a local private Islamic school. This suggests that culturally sensitive educational sessions can improve knowledge and perception of puberty and menstrual health. The framework that was utilized could be considered a model for future projects interested in evaluating culturally sensitive educational sessions for topics in adolescent development
Alterations in Protein Patterns Following Metabolic Substrate Redistribution in Glaucomatous Mice Eyes
No full textPurpose: Glaucoma can be better understood by observing glial and ganglion cell response through protein changes. Research shows that an undamaged eye can send metabolic resources to an ocular hypertensive eye using astrocytes and gap junctions. Inflammation, glial reactivity, and ganglion cell loss persistence despite resource transfer were analyzed along with high-affinity glucose transporters on astrocytes. Methods: Control and GLUT-1 knockout mice (n=10) underwent unilateral ocular hypertension by microbead injection. Baseline intraocular pressure was measured and reassessed after 1 week. Mice were imaged using PET/MRI with [¹⁸F]FDG to visualize glucose migration. Mouse eyes were then extracted, fixed, and sectioned. Sections were immunolabeled for Vimentin, Iba1, and bIII-tubulin. Imaging and image analysis led to integrated density values for proteins to determine differences between control eyes versus ocular hypertensive eyes. Results: The loss of GLUT1 in astrocytes of the retina and optic nerve decreased movement of [¹⁸F]FDG from the control to the OHT eye. Vimentin was predicted to increase due to the glial cell response in the injured eyes, however, after 1 week of an OHT state, there was no statistical difference between control and OHT eyes (p=0.2693). Iba1 was predicted to increase due to the microglial response in the injured eyes, however, after 1 week of an OHT state, there was no statistical difference between control and OHT eyes (p= 0.8886). bIII-tubulin was used to immunolabel retinal ganglion cells and enable a cell count. While the data indicates a lower number of RGCs as predicted in the OHT eyes, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07972). GLUT1: Wildtype and GLUT1 knockout mouse eyes were observed using the same molecular markers. The prediction was that wildtype mouse eyes would sustain ability to exchange metabolic resources with the contralateral eye, while the knockout mouse eyes would not. Vimentin: No statistical difference in Vimentin was found between wildtype and knockout mouse eyes with and without an OHT state (p = 0.9136 with OHT, p = 0.8981 without OHT). Iba1: No statistical difference in Iba1 was found between wildtype and knockout mouse eyes with and without an OHT state (p = 0.9620 with OHT, p = 0.2700 without OHT). bIII-tubulin: No statistical difference in bIII-tubulin was found between wildtype and knockout mouse eyes with and without an OHT state (p = 0.9916 with OHT, p = 0.5970 without OHT). Conclusions: This study examined molecular changes in the retina after induced ocular hypertension which showed no statistical differences between control and OHT eyes for Müller glial cells and microglia. However, RGC quantification showed decreased RGCs in the OHT group. No statistical difference was found when wildtype and GLUT1 knockout for metabolic resource exchange was considered. Further studies could induce longer states of OHT, increase sample size, and focus on optic tract connections that result in similar protein changes between contralateral eyes. The results emphasize glaucoma’s complexity as protein changes at 1 week do not recapitulate those observed at 3 and 4 weeks suggesting the importance of time in glaucoma’s progression
Relationship Between Brachial Artery Stiffness, Amplitude of Blood Flow Oscillations, and Forearm Tissue Oxygenation During Simulated Hemorrhage in Humans
No full textBackground: Our laboratory has demonstrated that Pulsatile Perfusion Therapy (PPT), a method to drive 0.1 Hz hemodynamic oscillations, protects tissue oxygenation and improves tolerance to simulated blood loss (via application of lower body negative pressure, LBNP). However, it is unknown if stiffer conduit vessels lead to an increased amplitude of induced blood flow oscillations, or if the magnitude of oxygen protection is dependent upon the amplitude of these oscillations. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that during simulated hemorrhage combined with induced 0.1 Hz oscillations: 1) arterial stiffness of the brachial artery (BA) will increase from baseline; 2) individuals with higher BA stiffness will exhibit greater amplitudes of 0.1 Hz oscillations in blood flow; and 3) higher amplitudes of blood flow oscillations will be associated with smaller reductions in forearm tissue oxygenation. Methods: 8 young and healthy human participants (4 males, 4 females; age: 27.8 ± 5.5 y) completed a -60 mmHg LBNP protocol for up to 10 min. PPT was simultaneously applied via bilateral thigh cuff inflation and deflation between 0-230 mmHg every 5 sec (i.e., 10 sec cycle or 0.1 Hz). Brachial artery (BA) diameter and blood velocity was measured using duplex Doppler ultrasound, beat-to-beat arterial pressure was measured via finger photoplethysmography, and forearm muscle tissue oxygenation (SmO₂) was measured with near infrared spectroscopy. The BA β-stiffness index was calculated as the natural log of the ratio of systolic and diastolic arterial pressure divided by the normalized ratio of systolic and diastolic BA diameters. The BA β-stiffness index was calculated from an average of 10 cardiac cycles from 5 min of resting baseline and during the last 5 min of LBNP. Fast Fourier transformation was used to quantify oscillations in mean BA blood velocity at ~0.1 Hz. Results: While the amplitude of 0.1 Hz BA velocity oscillations increased from baseline (1.7 ± 1.7 (cm/s)² vs. 26.2 ± 16.0 (cm/s)², p<0.01), BA β-stiffness did not increase with LBNP + PPT (55.9 ± 26.3 au vs. 55.9 ± 33.9 au, p=0.99), and there was no relationship between BA stiffness and fold change in the amplitude of 0.1 Hz BA velocity oscillations (r=0.13, p=0.76). SmO₂ decreased from baseline during LBNP + PPT (74.6 ± 7.2% vs. 66.5 ± 6.7%, p<0.01), but there was also no relationship between the fold change in 0.1 Hz BA velocity and the decrease in SmO₂ (r=-0.21, p=0.62). Conclusions: Based upon the current analysis in a relatively small sample, BA arterial stiffness did not increase with LBNP + PPT, and there was no relationship between BA stiffness and the amplitude of 0.1 Hz oscillations, or the magnitude of oxygen desaturation. These data suggest that the efficacy of PPT to protect tissue oxygenation is independent of the amplitude of 0.1 Hz oscillations and arterial stiffness