Publications by authors named "Gaines C"

Background: Patients face increasing financial toxicity (FT), defined as emotional distress due to the cost of medical treatment. However, little is known regarding FT in the context of upper extremity trauma.

Methods: We surveyed patients who sustained traumatic finger amputation (October 21, 2011-January 1, 2021).

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  • The MiniMUGA genotyping array is a widely used tool for ensuring genetic quality control in laboratory mice and for genotyping various experimental crosses, particularly those of reduced complexity.
  • Recent efforts have focused on enhancing the performance of the MiniMUGA array by improving marker annotation and increasing the reliability and number of consensus genotypes for inbred strains and substrains.
  • Key updates to the informatics pipeline and report layout aim to simplify data interpretation and enhance overall utility, promoting better rigor and reproducibility in mouse-based biomedical research.
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  • Obturator hernia is a rare and often overlooked condition, primarily affecting thin, elderly women, and can present with vague symptoms like thigh pain and nausea.
  • A case study details a 75-year-old woman who experienced only thigh pain, which led to the discovery of an incarcerated obturator hernia and small bowel obstruction, requiring emergency surgery.
  • Emergency physicians need to be vigilant about this condition, as its non-specific symptoms can easily result in delayed diagnoses and increased risks of complications, morbidity, and mortality.
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Background: Black women are significantly more likely to experience severe maternal morbidity and are 3 times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to White women. Using a strengths-based wellness approach within an integrated supportive care program provided by a community doula could offer pragmatic solutions for Black maternal disparities. The Protective Assets Reinforced with Integrated Care and Technology (PARITY) program consists of a wellness technology platform, including informational links to wellness content and reinforcing motivational SMS text messages, as well as community-based doula support delivered both in person and through the technology platform to improve Black maternal wellness.

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Background: Telemedicine and health informatics are a common aspect of patient care delivery in the United States. Graduate-level nursing students must be knowledgeable of telehealth and health informatics prior to entering the workforce as an advanced practice nurse. Nursing educators must provide educational opportunities within the curriculum that focus on telehealth and health informatics concepts that align with competencies.

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Objectives: Research on Black maternal populations often focuses on deficits that can reinforce biases against Black individuals and communities. The research landscape must shift towards a strengths-based approach focused on the protective assets of Black individuals and communities to counteract bias. This study engaged the local Black community using a strengths-based approach to discuss the assets of Black maternal populations and to inform the design of a future clinical trial focused on reducing Black maternal health disparities.

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This study examines the intersectional role of citizenship and gender with career self-efficacy amongst 10,803 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in US universities. These biomedical trainees completed surveys administered by 17 US institutions that participated in the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (NIH BEST) Programs. Findings indicate that career self-efficacy of non-citizen trainees is significantly lower than that of US citizen trainees.

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The MiniMUGA genotyping array is a popular tool for genetic QC of laboratory mice and genotyping of samples from most types of experimental crosses involving laboratory strains, particularly for reduced complexity crosses. The content of the production version of the MiniMUGA array is fixed; however, there is the opportunity to improve array's performance and the associated report's usefulness by leveraging thousands of samples genotyped since the initial description of MiniMUGA in 2020. Here we report our efforts to update and improve marker annotation, increase the number and the reliability of the consensus genotypes for inbred strains and increase the number of constructs that can reliably be detected with MiniMUGA.

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A doctoral-level internship program was developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the intent to create customizable experiential learning opportunities for biomedical trainees to support career exploration, preparation, and transition into their post-graduate professional roles. We report the outcomes of this program over a five-year period. During that 5-year period, 123 internships took place at over 70 partner sites, representing at least 20 academic, for-profit, and non-profit career paths in the life sciences.

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Background: A gap exists between scientific discovery and implementation and adoption of research findings in healthcare and public health practice. This gap is due to the fact that research on treatment efficacy and safety in clinical trials ends prematurely with the publication of results, leaving a lack of knowledge of treatment effectiveness in real-world clinical and community settings. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) can facilitate the translation of research findings, reducing the gap between discovery and adoption into practice.

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  • The study investigates how race, ethnicity, and gender affect career self-efficacy among 6,077 US graduate and postdoctoral trainees in biomedical fields, using data from NIH BEST program surveys.
  • It finds significant associations between trainees' demographic identities (race, gender, career interests, and seniority) and their self-efficacy in their careers, with results consistent across different respondent groups.
  • The research highlights the importance of mentorship in enhancing self-efficacy, particularly for women and underrepresented racial/ethnic populations, and calls for reforms in the biomedical research community to promote diversity in the workforce.
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  • * Traditional genetic mapping in addiction research has identified many chromosomal regions but often fails to pinpoint the exact causal genes.
  • * This study examines 20 inbred mouse substrains to observe differences in cocaine-induced locomotor activation, paving the way for new research strategies to identify specific genetic factors linked to addiction.
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Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmental contaminants that have received significant public attention. PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s. Human exposure to PFAS is a growing public health concern.

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Structural variation in plant genomes is a significant driver of phenotypic variability in traits important for the domestication and productivity of crop species. Among these are traits that depend on functional meristems, populations of stem cells maintained by the CLAVATA-WUSCHEL (CLV-WUS) negative feedback-loop that controls the expression of the WUS homeobox transcription factor. WUS function and impact on maize development and yield remain largely unexplored.

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  • * Research has primarily focused on Wfs1 knockout mice, which mimic many WFS1 symptoms, while studies on the Cisd2 gene's role in WFS2 have been limited.
  • * The B6.DDY-Cisd2 mouse model was developed to explore Cisd2 mutations, revealing hypoactivity, heightened stress responses, and challenges in learning and memory, making it valuable for understanding WFS's neurological and psychiatric aspects.
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  • The laboratory mouse is the leading model in biomedical research due to its well-studied genome, but genetic quality control (QC) in mouse studies lacks standardization and cost-effective methods.* -
  • The MiniMUGA is a new genetic QC platform featuring over 11,000 probes that offers advantages like chromosomal sex determination, substrain discrimination, and easy-to-read reports on genetic data.* -
  • Testing MiniMUGA on nearly 7,000 samples showed it performs well, matching or exceeding earlier versions in accuracy, and it also provides new consensus genotypes for multiple inbred mouse strains.*
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Rationale: Few effective treatments exist for cocaine use disorders due to gaps in knowledge about its complex etiology. Genetically defined animal models provide a useful tool for advancing our understanding of the biological and genetic underpinnings of addiction-related behavior and evaluating potential treatments. However, many attempts at developing mouse models of behavioral disorders were based on overly simplified single gene perturbations, often leading to inconsistent and misleading results in pre-clinical pharmacology studies.

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We develop an L-platform/L-scaffold framework we hypothesize may serve as a blueprint to facilitate site-specific RNA-cleaving nucleic acid enzyme design. Building on the L-platform motif originally described by Suslov and coworkers, we identify new critical scaffolding elements required to anchor a conserved general base guanine ("L-anchor") and bind functionally important metal ions at the active site ("L-pocket"). Molecular simulations, together with a broad range of experimental structural and functional data, connect the L-platform/L-scaffold elements to necessary and sufficient conditions for catalytic activity.

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The catalytic properties of RNA have been a subject of fascination and intense research since their discovery over 30 years ago. Very recently, several classes of nucleolytic ribozymes have emerged and been characterized structurally. Among these, the twister ribozyme has been center-stage, and a topic of debate about its architecture and mechanism owing to conflicting interpretations of different crystal structures, and in some cases conflicting interpretations of the same functional data.

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A predictive understanding of the mechanisms of RNA cleavage is important for the design of emerging technology built from biological and synthetic molecules that have promise for new biochemical and medicinal applications. Over the past 15 years, RNA cleavage reactions involving 2'-O-transphosphorylation have been discussed using a simplified framework introduced by Breaker that consists of four fundamental catalytic strategies (designated α, β, γ, and δ) that contribute to rate enhancement. As more detailed mechanistic data emerge, there is need for the framework to evolve and keep pace.

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