Publications by authors named "CLAY M"

Vascular organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) recapitulate the cell type diversity and complex architecture of human vascular networks. This three-dimensional (3D) model holds substantial potential for vascular pathology modeling and in vitro drug screening. Despite recent advances, a key technical challenge remains in reproducibly generating organoids with consistent quality, which is crucial for downstream assays and applications.

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Soft tissue myoepithelial tumors (METs) are diagnostically challenging tumors that require careful histologic and immunohistochemical characterization for accurate classification. Nearly half of METs show recurrent EWSR1 or FUS gene rearrangements with a diverse set of fusion partners. The diversity of fusion partners and lack of known driver abnormalities in many cases raises the question of whether METs represent a uniformly distinct tumor entity.

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  • Peripheral soft tissue resections can result in challenging wounds that heal slowly and are susceptible to infections, prompting surgeons to use a synthetic electrospun fiber matrix (SEFM) for better repair outcomes.
  • SEFM mimics human extracellular matrix, promoting cell growth and differentiation while also showing the potential to inhibit common bacteria and fungi linked to surgical site infections.
  • Histologic studies suggest that during its degradation, SEFM may appear similar to fungal structures, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatments; thus, careful evaluation is essential.
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As part of the advancement in therapeutic decision-making for brain tumor patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH), we developed three robust classifiers, a deep learning neural network (NN), k-nearest neighbor (kNN), and random forest (RF), trained on a reference series DNA-methylation profiles to classify central nervous system (CNS) tumor types. The models' performance was rigorously validated against 2054 samples from two independent cohorts.

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Aim: To identify whether the introduction of low-low hospital beds resulted in changes in the incidence, associated patient harms and event characteristics of bed-related falls where implemented.

Design: This retrospective quality improvement study covered 36 months: 18 months pre-intervention and 18 months post-intervention.

Methods: Our analysis incorporated patient fall data from a hospital in upstate New York.

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Adrenocortical tumors (ACTs) are infrequent neoplasms in children and adolescents and are typically associated with clinical symptoms reflective of androgen overproduction. Pediatric ACTs typically occur in the context of a germline mutation, can be cured when diagnosed at an early stage, but are difficult to treat when advanced or associated with concurrent and alterations. Recent work has demonstrated DNA methylation patterns suggestive of prognostic significance.

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  • The study uses density functional theory (DFT) and linear response methods to calculate the on-site Hubbard interaction of Terbium (Tb) metal under pressures up to 65 GPa.
  • It employs a DFT+U method to analyze the magnetic properties of different high-pressure phases of Tb, finding that the lowest-energy magnetic states match experimental observations.
  • The research highlights how incorporating the Hubbard interaction enhances modeling of rare-earth materials and offers insights for further quantum many-body studies under extreme pressures.
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We have reported that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury leads to the differential dysregulation of the complement system in the synovium as compared to meniscus tear (MT) and proposed this as a mechanism for a greater post-injury prevalence of post traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). To explore additional roles of complement proteins and regulators, we determined the presence of decay-accelerating factor (DAF), C5b, and membrane attack complexes (MACs, C5b-9) in discarded surgical synovial tissue (DSST) collected during arthroscopic ACL reconstructive surgery, MT-related meniscectomy, osteoarthritis (OA)-related knee replacement surgery and normal controls. Multiplexed immunohistochemistry was used to detect and quantify complement proteins.

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Aims: Classification of renal neoplasms on small tissue biopsies is in increasing demand, and maintaining broad differential diagnostic considerations in this setting is necessary. When evaluating a renal or perirenal tumour biopsy with sarcomatoid morphology, together with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma and sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma as top diagnostic considerations, it is vital to additionally consider the possibility of well-differentiated and de-differentiated liposarcoma.

Methods And Results: This study reports a series of 30 biopsy samples from sites in or around the kidney collected from four institutions in which the correct diagnosis was either well-differentiated or de-differentiated liposarcoma.

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Microbial diversity has been extensively explored in reef-building corals. However, the functional roles of coral-associated microorganisms remain poorly elucidated. Here, we recover 191 bacterial and 10 archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the coral Acropora kenti (formerly A.

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Background: Poor weight gain has been identified as an independent risk factor for increased surgical morbidity and mortality for patients with single-ventricle physiology undergoing staged surgical palliation. Conversely, excessive weight gain has also emerged as an independent risk factor predicting increased morbidity and mortality in a single-center study. Given this novel single-center concept, we investigated the impact of excessive weight on patients with single-ventricle physiology undergoing bidirectional Glenn palliation in a multicenter study model.

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  • Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that affects kids and comes from certain developing nerve cells, and it can be really complicated with different types of cells in each tumor.
  • Researchers studied 55 tumors from kids with neuroblastoma using advanced techniques to learn more about how these cancer cells work and act in the body.
  • They discovered that the tumors have different groups of cells that can affect how serious the cancer is and how well kids can respond to treatment, and all their findings are shared online for other scientists to use.
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  • The study investigates the genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to synchronous bilateral Wilms tumor in 68 patients through various sequencing and analysis techniques.
  • Key findings indicate that predisposition can stem from pre-zygotic germline genetic variants found in blood DNA and post-zygotic epigenetic changes, particularly hypermethylation at the 11p15.5 region.
  • Among the tumors analyzed, a significant proportion exhibited either normal imprinting, loss of heterozygosity, or epigenetic hypermethylation, highlighting the complexity of the tumor's genetic background.
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  • The adrenal gland in humans makes important hormones and has different areas that do different jobs.
  • Scientists studied human adrenal glands to see how cells change and develop, especially to learn more about adrenal diseases like primary aldosteronism.
  • They found that cells in the adrenal gland develop in a specific way from the outside to the inside and discovered differences in tiny hormone-producing areas in older people, which helps us understand how the adrenal gland works normally and when it’s not healthy.
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We describe a 36-year-old man with a long-standing diagnosis of ulnar fibrous dysplasia with associated fracture of the ulna. He presented with a growing and increasingly tender forearm mass and was diagnosed with adamantinoma of the ulna, for which he underwent wide resection of the ulnar diaphysis followed by reconstruction with a vascularized fibula autograft. This case serves to emphasize the importance of performing a stepwise workup for the diagnosis of osseous neoplasms even in cases with long-standing diagnoses.

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  • Adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive cancer that often leads to hormone overproduction, with 60% of cases exhibiting this symptom.
  • A unique case is shared of a previously healthy individual diagnosed with dual-secreting ACC, resulting in high blood pressure and low potassium levels due to excess aldosterone and cortisol.
  • The patient underwent surgery to remove the tumor, which led to a resolution of symptoms and highlights the need for regular screening of cortisol levels in patients with adrenal masses to prevent complications post-surgery.
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Biomanufacturing could contribute as much as ${\$}$30 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, the success of the growing bioeconomy depends on our ability to manufacture high-performing strains in a time- and cost-effective manner. The Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) framework has proven to be an effective strain engineering approach.

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Locally aggressive mesenchymal tumors comprise a heterogeneous group of soft tissue and bone tumors with intermediate histology, incompletely understood biology, and highly variable natural history. Despite having a limited to absent ability to metastasize and excellent survival prognosis, locally aggressive mesenchymal tumors can be symptomatic, require prolonged and repeat treatments including surgery and chemotherapy, and can severely impact patients' quality of life. The management of locally aggressive tumors has evolved over the years with a focus on minimizing morbid treatments.

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The flagellum is a sophisticated nanomachine responsible for motility in Gram-negative bacteria. Flagellar assembly is a strictly choreographed process, in which the motor and export gate are formed first, followed by the extracellular propeller structure. Extracellular flagellar components are escorted to the export gate by dedicated molecular chaperones for secretion and self-assembly at the apex of the emerging structure.

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Aging markedly increases cancer risk, yet our mechanistic understanding of how aging influences cancer initiation is limited. Here we demonstrate that the loss of ZNRF3, an inhibitor of Wnt signaling that is frequently mutated in adrenocortical carcinoma, leads to the induction of cellular senescence that remodels the tissue microenvironment and ultimately permits metastatic adrenal cancer in old animals. The effects are sexually dimorphic, with males exhibiting earlier senescence activation and a greater innate immune response, driven in part by androgens, resulting in high myeloid cell accumulation and lower incidence of malignancy.

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Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and meniscal tear (MT) are major causal factors for developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), but the biological mechanism(s) are uncertain. After these structural damages, the synovium could be affected by complement activation that normally occurs in response to tissue injury. We explored the presence of complement proteins, activation products, and immune cells, in discarded surgical synovial tissue (DSST) collected during arthroscopic ACL reconstructive surgery, MT-related meniscectomy and from patients with OA.

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Unlabelled: Liposarcoma is the most commonly occurring soft-tissue sarcoma and is frequently characterized by amplification of chromosome region 12q13-15 harboring the oncogenes MDM2 and CDK4. This unique genetic profile makes liposarcoma an attractive candidate for targeted therapeutics. While CDK4/6 inhibitors are currently employed for treatment of several cancers, MDM2 inhibitors have yet to attain clinical approval.

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This study comprehensively evaluated the landscape of genetic and epigenetic events that predispose to synchronous bilateral Wilms tumor (BWT). We performed whole exome or whole genome sequencing, total-strand RNA-seq, and DNA methylation analysis using germline and/or tumor samples from 68 patients with BWT from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Oncology Group.

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Background: Missing and noncodable parental industry and occupation (I/O) information on birth certificates (BCs) can bias analyses informing parental worksite exposures and family economic stability.

Methods: We used the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) software to code parental I/O in 1989-2019 California BC data (N = 21,739,406). We assessed I/O missingness and codability by reporting period, parental sex, race/ethnicity, age, and education.

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To aid understanding of the effect of antiviral treatment on population-level influenza transmission, we used a novel pharmacokinetic-viral kinetic transmission model to test the correlation between nasal viral load and infectiousness, and to evaluate the impact that timing of treatment with the antivirals oseltamivir or baloxavir has on influenza transmission. The model was run under three candidate profiles whereby infectiousness was assumed to be proportional to viral titer on a natural-scale, log-scale, or dose-response model. Viral kinetic profiles in the presence and absence of antiviral treatment were compared for each individual (N = 1000 simulated individuals); subsequently, viral transmission mitigation was calculated.

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