MEDICA@MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina)
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The Role of Akt3 and Mitochondrial Function in Endothelial Cell Division and Cisplatin-Resistance in Ovarian Cancer
No full textA Proposed Alternative Business Model for Increasing Access to Care in Acute Healthcare in Rural Communities
No full textThe US Census Bureau reports that nearly 60 million Americans live in rural communities. Many rural Americans have been forced out of their communities and driven to urban centers to find work or adequate healthcare (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). A disproportionate amount of these residents have serious health conditions and limited access to the same levels of care found in urban centers. A reinvestment in rural communities that provides some level of healthcare services, including mental health resources, community outreach, and well women/well childcare, is essential to reduce barriers to healthcare. Often, traditional rural hospitals have not been able to sustain themselves, and many rural health systems do not have the capital needed for facility infrastructure maintenance or new healthcare services. Research from The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research in 2022 referencing a study from Brystana Kaufman and team in 2016, suggests the high number of rural hospital closures is associated with financial instability which could be attributed to low profit margins, high staffing costs and loss of market share. This leaves a significant number of Americans living with limited acute care in their communities, which can lead to medical deserts and larger gaps in available care for rural areas (Kaufman, 2016). Developing a new financial tool with an actionable business model both in the type of facility and how it is operated could be a cost effective opportunity to provide more rural Americans healthcare where they live
Going for the Gold: Reconnecting through Virtual Office Olympics
No full textBackground: Implementing team-building activities to boost and reinvigorate office morale has become a top priority during these unprecedented times. While it has been necessary to operate with a hybrid schedule the past two years, it has left many library employees feeling like ships passing in the night, rarely if ever seeing their colleagues in person, and sometimes not often enough virtually. Researching team-building activities led us to develop an ‘Office Olympics’ program to provide an opportunity for recently hired employees to connect with their new coworkers in an informal setting, and for library staff to renew team bonds and reconnect. Description: Coinciding with the dates of the 2022 Winter Olympics, our ‘Office Olympics’ program was held virtually to make the events accessible and open for all library employees. The staff members who opted-in to participate were sorted into interdepartmental teams and had the opportunity to compete in both team and individual, synchronous and asynchronous, virtual events. Leaderboard software was used to track the overall performance of both individual participants and teams. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded, and the team with the highest cumulative score received an extra prize during the closing ceremony. Participants were surveyed to determine our success in helping our colleagues rebuild connections while boosting office morale. Conclusion: An official closing ceremony was held during a weekly all-staff huddle, announcing the final results and bragging rights for the team who “got the gold”. A Likert survey was used to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in boosting office morale and rebuilding team bonds. Participants were asked to answer three questions about their experience throughout the ‘Office Olympics’ program. Some events were more successful than others and lessons were learned about the planning, implementing, and technology needs of coordinating a program like this. In fact, participants enjoyed our Pictionary event so much that groups have continued to spontaneously meet up to virtually play together.
Poster presentation at the Medical Library Association Annual 2022 Conference, New Orleans, LA. April 27, 2022.https://medica-musc.researchcommons.org/posters/1030/thumbnail.jp
Development of a Grant Proposal to Support Public Housing Community Health
Get PDFThere is a high percentage of seniors living in public housing that fall under the federal poverty guidelines. These senior residents in public housing live with chronic health issues exacerbated by aging. These health issues are compounded by sub-standard living conditions, poverty, lack of healthy nutrition, and all-inclusive healthcare services. This project aims to develop a comprehensive primary care program for seniors in public housing that enables them to age in place and enhances their quality of life. The chief goal of the project is to bring healthcare services to the seniors through collaboration with public housing agencies that enable the residents to have increased access to healthcare inclusive of behavioral health and supportive care. The proposal for the program is designed to create a culture of wellness amongst the underserved population in the City of Newark, NJ. The requested funds will support bringing this pilot program to public housing senior residents with enabling services, behavioral health services in addition to primary care, and wrap-around services geared for the continuum of care. The program narrative outlines a complete healthcare program that addresses existing gaps and barriers to current services available in the community
Optimization of Mental Health Appointment Mix: Telemental Health and In-person Appointment Model Maximizing Revenue and Mitigating No-shows
Get PDFMental Health care leaders are challenged with meeting revenue requirements while incorporating telemental health (TMH) to increase access. The objective of this project was to create a model to optimize revenue based on variables derived from the literature, notably no-shows, reimbursement, salary cost, and appointment type. The model was tested through sensitivity analysis. The order of sensitivity to net revenue based on a 10% variable increase was reimbursement rate (19% increase), appointment volume (10% increase), cost (8.5% decrease), and no-shows (1% decrease). 3 scenarios were run for large (10 providers), mid-sized (4 providers), and single provider facilities. In-person vs telemental health appointment mix for each scenario was set at 80%/20%, 50%/50%, and 20%/80%. Reimbursement rate for TMH was set at 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% (parity) of in-person recovery. Results showed 100% TMH reimbursement was the only scenario increased TMH appointments increased revenue. 90% reimbursement had minimal revenue loss with increased TMH (2-3%) and 70% or 80% had significant losses (9%-30%). Parity is vital to TMH revenue impact and adoption
B Cells Empower CD8+ T Cells With Potent Antitumor Immunity
No full textAdoptive T cell transfer (ACT) therapy improves outcomes in patients with advanced malignancies, yet many individuals relapse due to the infusion of T cells with poor function or persistence. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists can invigorate antitumor T cell responses when administered directly to patients, but these responses often coincide with toxicities. We posited that TLR agonists could be repurposed ex vivo to condition T cells with remarkable potency in vivo, circumventing TLR-related toxicity. Herein we reveal a new way to reverse the tolerant state of adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells against tumors using the TLR9 agonist, CpG. We repurposed CpG, commonly used in the clinic, to bolster the ex vivo expansion of T cells for ACT. T cells expanded ex vivo from a CpG-treated culture demonstrated potent antitumor efficacy and prolonged persistence in vivo. This antitumor efficacy was accomplished without in vivo administration of TLR agonists or other adjuvants such as high-dose IL-2 or vaccination, which are classically required for effective ACT therapy. CpG-conditioned CD8+ T cells acquired a unique proteomic signature hallmarked by an IL-2Ralpha high, ICOS high, CD39 low phenotype and an altered metabolic profile. Likewise, human TILs benefitted from expansion with CpG ex vivo, as they also possessed this phenotype. However, CpG did not act directly on T cells in culture but rather via an antigen-presenting cell. B cells were critical in mediating the CpG effects on CD8+ T cells. Both the signature phenotype and antitumor efficacy of CpG-expanded cells were lost when B cells were depleted from the cell culture. CpG fostered the expansion of potent CD8+ T cells by empowering a direct B-T cell interaction. Further, isolated B cells also imparted T cells with the CpG-associated phenotype and improved tumor immunity without the aid of additional APCs or other immune cells in the culture. Our results demonstrate a novel way to use TLR agonists to improve immunotherapy and reveal a vital role for B cells in the generation of potent CD8+ T cell-based therapies. Our findings have immediate implications in the clinical treatment of advanced solid tumors
Regulation of Chromatin Modifiers During Transcription and Damage Signaling in Xenopus Egg Extract
No full textModification of histones provides a dynamic mechanism to regulate chromatin structure and access to DNA. Histone acetylation and methylation, in particular, play prominent roles in controlling the interaction between DNA, histones, and other chromatin- associated proteins. Utilizing Xenopus laevis egg extracts, we have investigated how changes in both histone methylation and acetylation control different processes such as transcription of chromatinized DNA substrates and DNA repair. Defects in histone acetylation interfere with normal gene expression and underlie a wide range of human diseases. We investigate how changes in histone acetylation influence transcription of a defined gene construct. We show that inhibition of histone deacetylase 1 and 2 (HDAC1/2) specifically counteracts transcription suppression by preventing chromatin compaction and deacetylation of histone residues H4K5, H4K8, and H4K12. Acetylation of these sites supports binding of the chromatin reader and transcription regulator BRD4. We also identify HDAC1 as the primary driver of transcription suppression and show that this activity is mediated through the Sin3 histone deacetylase complex. These findings highlight functional differences between HDAC1 and HDAC2, which are often considered to be functionally redundant, and provide additional molecular context for their activity. H4K20 methylation signaling, specifically H4K20me0, has been associated with post replicated chromatin and certain DNA repair proteins. We show that introduction of exogenous methyltransferase SET8 upregulates H4K20me1 and abrogates the recruitment of certain repair proteins involved in the repair of inter-strand crosslinks
Metadata Clean up Project: Where to Start
No full textMetadata clean-up (or remediation) is a time consuming and resource heavy endeavor! • Clean-up projects can happen for any number of reasons: • Make things easier to find by users • Add context for users to know what they found • It is vital that to start with the right mindset and have things figured out before beginning so time, energy, or resources aren’t wasted • Knowing the reasoning behind the clean-up project, the expected outcomes, the systems, and the process of the remediation will make the clean-up easier and smoother for all involvedhttps://medica-musc.researchcommons.org/posters/1029/thumbnail.jp