Publications by authors named "Barnhart K"

Tobacco-etch-virus (TEV) protease is the workhorse of many laboratories in which protein expression is the linchpin of downstream experiments. TEV protease is remarkable in its sequence specificity as the cleavage sequence rarely appears in higher organisms and its ability to cleave fusion tag proteins from proteins of interest. Herein we report work done on large-scale production of TEV protease using different promotors, media, fusion tags, and expression platforms.

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Neuroinflammation is a key component underlying multiple neurological disorders, yet non-invasive and cost-effective assessment of in vivo neuroinflammatory processes in the central nervous system remains challenging. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy (dMRS) has shown promise in addressing these challenges by measuring diffusivity properties of different neurometabolites, which can reflect cell-specific morphologies. Prior work has demonstrated dMRS utility in capturing microglial reactivity in the context of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenges and serious neurological disorders, detected as changes of microglial metabolite diffusivity properties.

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Context: Dyslipidemia is common, and resultant endothelial dysfunction may impact reproductive outcomes. No prospective study has examined the effect of preconception lipid parameters in both female and male partners or their interaction on live birth.

Objective: To determine whether live birth is associated with preconception lipids in both partners by planned fertility treatment.

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Objective: To evaluate combinations of candidate biomarkers to develop a multiplexed prediction model for identifying the viability and location of an early pregnancy. In this study, we assessed 24 biomarkers with multiple machine learning-based methodologies to assess if multiplexed biomarkers may improve the diagnosis of normal and abnormal early pregnancies.

Design: A nested case-control design evaluated the predictive ability and discrimination of biomarkers in patients at risk of early pregnancy failure in the first trimester to classify viability and location.

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Objective: This study aims to understand the impact of dietary intake through supplementation of vitamins D, B6, and magnesium on elevated depressive symptoms, a mental health illness that is a leading contributor to global disability and a public health concern.

Methods: Multiple datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-March 2020 investigated the associations between vitamin D, B6, and magnesium on depression screening scores. A cross-sectional sample of adults over 20 was extracted ( = 9,232).

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Background: Persistent pregnancies of unknown location are defined by abnormally trending serum human chorionic gonadotropin with nondiagnostic ultrasound. There is no consensus on optimal management.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of 3 primary management strategies for persistent pregnancies of unknown location: (1) expectant management, (2) empirical 2-dose methotrexate, and (3) uterine evacuation followed by methotrexate, if indicated.

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Objective: To assess performance and discriminatory capacity of commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of biomarkers for predicting first trimester pregnancy outcome in a multi-center cohort.

Design: In a case-control study at three academic centers of women with pain and bleeding in early pregnancy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of biomarkers were screened for assay performance. Performance was assessed via functional sensitivity, assay reportable range, recovery/linearity, and intra-assay precision (%Coefficient of Variation).

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Background: Differentiating between a normal intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) and abnormal conditions including early pregnancy loss (EPL) or ectopic pregnancy (EP) is a major clinical challenge in early pregnancy. Currently, serial β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and progesterone are the most commonly used plasma biomarkers for evaluating pregnancy prognosis when ultrasound is inconclusive. However, neither biomarker can predict an EP with sufficient and reproducible accuracy.

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Determining early pregnancy location and viability can be cumbersome, often requiring serial evaluations. This study aimed to identify novel biomarker candidates for pregnancy location and viability using a pseudodiscovery high-throughput technique. This was a case-control study among patients presenting for early pregnancy assessment, including ectopic pregnancies, early pregnancy losses, and viable intrauterine pregnancies.

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is a chronic, complex disease for which there are vast disparities in diagnosis and treatment between sociodemographic groups. Clinical presentation of endometriosis can vary from asymptomatic disease-often identified during (in)fertility consultations-to dysmenorrhea and debilitating pelvic pain. Because of this complexity, delayed diagnosis (mean time to diagnosis is 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess a new hCG threshold model for classifying pregnancies as viable or nonviable in individuals with unknown pregnancy viability.
  • The research analyzed data from a cohort of 688 patients, revealing that the new model accurately identified 100% of viable intrauterine pregnancies while reducing misclassification of early pregnancy losses and ectopic pregnancies.
  • Results indicated that the new model decreased incorrect classifications from 24.1% to 12.1% for ectopic pregnancies and from 9.5% to 5.6% for early pregnancy losses over a 6-day period after the initial hCG test.
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Determining early pregnancy location and viability can be cumbersome, often requiring serial evaluations. This study aimed to identify novel biomarker candidates for pregnancy location and viability using a pseudodiscovery high through-put technique. This was a case-control study among patients presenting for early pregnancy assessment, including ectopic pregnancies, early pregnancy losses, and viable intrauterine pregnancies.

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Objective: To develop core outcome sets (COS) for miscarriage management and prevention.

Design: Modified Delphi survey combined with a consensus development meeting.

Setting: International.

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Objective: To evaluate heavy menstrual bleeding treatment outcomes with levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device (IUD) use in participants without body mass index (BMI) or parity restrictions.

Methods: Investigators included participants aged 18-50 years with no pelvic or systemic pathology causing heavy menstrual bleeding at 29 U.S.

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Importance: To date, recurrent implantation failure (RIF) has no clear definition and no clearly identified impaired function. Hence, the term RIF is currently used somewhat haphazardly, on the basis of clinicians' judgment.

Objective: International experts in reproductive medicine met on July 1, 2022, in Lugano, Switzerland, to review the different facets of RIF and define the diagnosis and its appropriate management.

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Objective: To address methodological deficiencies in published randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews, this study has developed a core outcome set to guide future research in ectopic pregnancy (EP).

Design: To identify potential outcomes, we performed a comprehensive literature review and interviews with individuals with lived experience in EP. Potential core outcomes were then entered into a 3-round Delphi survey.

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