Publications by authors named "Brandon Parker"

Understanding the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) among wild pigs () will aid in preventing the introduction or containment of TADs among wild populations. Given the challenges associated with studying TADs in free-ranging populations, a surrogate pathogen system may predict how pathogens may circulate and be maintained within wild free-ranging swine populations, how they may spill over into domestic populations, and how management actions may impact transmission. We assessed the suitability of Torque teno sus virus 1 (TTSuV1) to serve as a surrogate pathogen for molecular epidemiological studies in wild pigs by investigating the prevalence, persistence, correlation with host health status and genetic variability at two study areas: Archbold's Buck Island Ranch in Florida and Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

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Objective: To determine if engineered high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) overexpressing uterine primary myometrial cells recapitulate the transcriptional and epigenomic features of HMGA2-subtype leiomyomas.

Design: Isolated primary, "normal" myometrial cells from three patients were engineered to overexpress HMGA2 to determine how HMGA2 establishes transcriptomic and epigenomic features of HMGA2-overexpressing leiomyoma.

Setting: Academic research laboratory.

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Introduction: Relative to other hospitalized patients, trauma patients are younger with fewer comorbidities, but the incidence and outcomes of in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (IHCA) with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in this population is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate factors associated with survival in trauma patients after IHCA to test the hypothesis that compared to other hospitalized patients, trauma patients with IHCA have improved survival.

Methods: Retrospective review of the Trauma Quality Improvement Program database 2017 to 2019 for patients who had IHCA with CPR.

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Eighty Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement protocols from 40 test administrators were examined to determine the types and frequencies of administration and scoring errors made. Non-critical errors (e.g.

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Background: Understanding the genotype of pest species provides an important baseline for designing integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Recently developed long-read sequence technologies make it possible to compare genomic features of nonmodel pest species to disclose the evolutionary path underlying the pest species profiles. Here we sequenced and assembled genomes for 3 agricultural pest gelechiid moths: Phthorimaea absoluta (tomato leafminer), Keiferia lycopersicella (tomato pinworm), and Scrobipalpa atriplicella (goosefoot groundling moth).

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Background: Previous studies have shown improved survival for severely injured adult patients treated at American College of Surgeons verified level I/II trauma centers compared to level III and undesignated centers. However, this relationship has not been well established in pediatric trauma centers (PTCs). We hypothesize that severely injured children will have lower mortality at verified level I/II PTCs compared to centers without PTC verification.

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Rapid identification of organisms is essential for many biological and medical disciplines, from understanding basic ecosystem processes, disease diagnosis, to the detection of invasive pests. CRISPR-based diagnostics offers a novel and rapid alternative to other identification methods and can revolutionize our ability to detect organisms with high accuracy. Here we describe a CRISPR-based diagnostic developed with the universal cytochrome-oxidase 1 gene (CO1).

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Rapid identification of organisms is essential across many biological and medical disciplines, from understanding basic ecosystem processes and how organisms respond to environmental change, to disease diagnosis and detection of invasive pests. CRISPR-based diagnostics offers a novel and rapid alternative to other identification methods and can revolutionize our ability to detect organisms with high accuracy. Here we describe a CRISPR-based diagnostic developed with the universal cytochrome-oxidase 1 gene (CO1).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Several studies indicate that kidney transplant recipients (KTR) face high mortality rates from COVID-19, with ECMO being used for severe respiratory failure but showing mixed results in recovery rates.
  • - In a 10-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic, five KTR patients were treated with ECMO, but none survived to be discharged, all developing multisystem organ failure (MSOF) and hematologic issues while on the support.
  • - The findings suggest that traditional ECMO approaches may not be effective for KTR patients with COVID-19 and highlight the need for further research on better supportive treatments for respiratory failure in these individuals.
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We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the sallow kitten; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Notodontidae). The genome sequence is 736 megabases in span. The entire assembly (100%) is scaffolded into 29 chromosomal pseudomolecules, with the Z sex chromosome assembled.

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Background: Previous studies have shown improved survival for patients treated at American College of Surgeons (ACS)-verified level I trauma centers compared with level II, level III, and undesignated centers. This mortality difference is more pronounced in severely injured patients. However, a survival benefit for severely injured trauma patients has not been established at teaching institutions compared with nonteaching centers.

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MYC regulates multiple gene programs, raising questions about the potential selectivity and downstream transcriptional consequences of MYC inhibitors as cancer therapeutics. Here, we examined the effect of a small-molecule MYC inhibitor, MYCi975, on the MYC/MAX cistromes, epigenome, transcriptome, and tumorigenesis. Integrating these data revealed three major classes of MYCi975-modulated gene targets: type 1 (down-regulated), type 2 (up-regulated), and type 3 (unaltered).

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Background: Uterine leiomyomas, also known as uterine fibroids or myomas, are the most common benign gynecological tumors and are found in women of reproductive and postmenopausal age. There is an exceptionally high prevalence of this tumor in women by the age of 50 years. Black women are particularly affected, with an increased incidence, earlier age of onset, larger and faster growing fibroids and greater severity of symptoms as compared to White women.

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Article Synopsis
  • Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a deadly type of prostate cancer that can arise naturally or from ordinary prostate adenocarcinoma after hormone treatments.
  • The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 plays a crucial role in NEPC by influencing cell identity and treatment resistance, with higher levels of H19 linked to more aggressive disease characteristics.
  • H19 is proposed as both a diagnostic and predictive marker for NEPC, with its levels indicating the likelihood of cancer recurrence and metastasis in patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy.
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmentally persistent, ubiquitous pollutants. It is important to continuously monitor the presence of PFAS contamination, utilizing both legacy and new sentinels. In this study, environmental PFAS levels were evaluated using ticks as a sentinel model due to their world-wide distribution, hematophagous nature, and ease of collection and sampling.

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Cardiac xenotransplantation is believed to have approached clinical application. However, this approach to advanced heart failure is burdened with a multitude of ethical issues. These issues need to be addressed openly and be broadly discussed in public.

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Understanding the epigenomic evolution and specificity of disease subtypes from complex patient data remains a major biomedical problem. We here present DeCET (decomposition and classification of epigenomic tensors), an integrative computational approach for simultaneously analyzing hierarchical heterogeneous data, to identify robust epigenomic differences among tissue types, differentiation states, and disease subtypes. Applying DeCET to our own data from 21 uterine benign tumor (leiomyoma) patients identifies distinct epigenomic features discriminating normal myometrium and leiomyoma subtypes.

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Objectives: Blood pressure (BP) measurement is essential for managing patients with hypotension. There are differences between invasive arterial blood pressure (IABP) and noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements. However, the clinical applicability of these differences in patients with shock [need for vasopressor or serum lactate ≥ 4 millimole per liter (mmol/L)] has not been reported.

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We investigated the landscape epidemiology of a globally distributed mammal, the wild pig (Sus scrofa), in Florida (U.S.), where it is considered an invasive species and reservoir to pathogens that impact the health of people, domestic animals, and wildlife.

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Methods: We retrospectively reviewed TBI patients ≥ 18 years of age treated with VV-ECMO. The primary outcome was survival to discharge. Secondary outcomes included progression of intracranial hemorrhage, bleeding complications, and episodes of oxygenator thrombosis requiring exchange.

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Introduction: Acute intoxication (AI) related morbidity and mortality are increasing in the United States. For patients with severe respiratory failure in the setting of an acute ingestion, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) can provide salvage therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes in patients with overdose-related need for VV ECMO.

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Objective: Blood pressure (BP) measurements are important for managing patients with hypertensive emergencies (HE). Previous studies showed that there was significant difference between IABP and NIBP but no information whether these differences changed management. Our study investigated the factors associated with the differences affecting BP management of patients with HE.

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Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are a major source of gynecologic morbidity in reproductive age women and are characterized by the excessive deposition of a disorganized extracellular matrix, resulting in rigid benign tumors. Although down regulation of the transcription factor AP-1 is highly prevalent in leiomyomas, the functional consequence of AP-1 loss on gene transcription in uterine fibroids remains poorly understood. Using high-resolution ChIP-sequencing, promoter capture Hi-C, and RNA-sequencing of matched normal and leiomyoma tissues, here we show that modified enhancer architecture is a major driver of transcriptional dysregulation in MED12 mutant uterine leiomyomas.

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Loss-of-function mutations of the breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein (BRCA1) are associated with breast (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC). To identify gene signatures regulated by epigenetic mechanisms in OC cells carrying BRCA1 mutations, we assessed cellular responses to epigenome modifiers and performed genome-wide RNA- and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing in isogenic OC cells UWB1.289 (carrying a BRCA1 mutation, BRCA1-null) and UWB1.

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Small molecules that directly target MYC and are also well tolerated in vivo will provide invaluable chemical probes and potential anti-cancer therapeutic agents. We developed a series of small-molecule MYC inhibitors that engage MYC inside cells, disrupt MYC/MAX dimers, and impair MYC-driven gene expression. The compounds enhance MYC phosphorylation on threonine-58, consequently increasing proteasome-mediated MYC degradation.

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