Publications by authors named "Grace Johnson"

Purpose: To report on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with a type 1 Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) and determine its feasibility through assessment of imaging artifacts.

Methods: KPro and non-KPro subjects were matched for age, gender, and glaucoma diagnosis. OCTA images of the peripapillary optic nerve were obtained, reviewed by 2 readers masked to the diagnosis for artifacts and usability, and used for microvascular measurements.

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The increasing availability of graphics processing units (GPUs) for scientific computing has prompted interest in accelerating quantum chemical calculations through their use. However, the complexity of integral kernels for high angular momentum basis functions often limits the utility of GPU implementations with large basis sets or for metal containing systems. In this work, we report the implementation of f function support in the GPU-accelerated TeraChem software package through the development of efficient kernels for the evaluation of Hamiltonian integrals.

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Objectives: Adolescents with functional abdominal pain (FAP) often experience pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms in the context of eating, which may place them at risk for eating disorders. This study compared disordered eating and its sequalae in adolescents with FAP to those with chronic headache.

Methods: Participants in this retrospective chart review study were 270 adolescents and young adults (mean age 15.

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Bacteria commonly exist in multicellular, surface-attached communities called biofilms. Biofilms are central to ecology, medicine, and industry. The pathogen forms biofilms from single founder cells that, via cell division, mature into three-dimensional structures with distinct, yet reproducible, regional architectures.

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Recent advances in genome editing technologies are allowing investigators to engineer and study cancer-associated mutations in their endogenous genetic contexts with high precision and efficiency. Of these, base editing and prime editing are quickly becoming gold-standards in the field due to their versatility and scalability. Here, we review the merits and limitations of these precision genome editing technologies, their application to modern cancer research, and speculate how these could be integrated to address future directions in the field.

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Article Synopsis
  • The PARDSEVERE model, designed to predict mortality in pediatric ARDS patients, uses age and three plasma biomarkers measured within 24 hours of ARDS onset, evaluated for its effectiveness over the first week of diagnosis.
  • A secondary analysis of a cohort study involving 279 mechanically ventilated patients showed the model's varied predictive accuracy on days 0, 3, and 7, with area under the curve (AUROC) values ranging from 0.68 to 0.76.
  • The model maintained a high negative predictive value across all time points, indicating it reliably identifies patients with a low risk of mortality after ARDS diagnosis.
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We present QuTree, a C++ library for tree tensor network approaches. QuTree provides class structures for tensors, tensor trees, and related linear algebra functions that facilitate the fast development of tree tensor network approaches such as the multilayer multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree approach or the density matrix renormalization group approach and its various extensions. We investigate the efficiency of relevant tensor and tensor network operations and show that the overhead for managing the network structure is negligible, even in cases with a million leaves and small tensors.

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Tumor genomes often harbor a complex spectrum of single nucleotide alterations and chromosomal rearrangements that can perturb protein function. Prime editing has been applied to install and evaluate genetic variants, but previous approaches have been limited by the variable efficiency of prime editing guide RNAs. Here we present a high-throughput prime editing sensor strategy that couples prime editing guide RNAs with synthetic versions of their cognate target sites to quantitatively assess the functional impact of endogenous genetic variants.

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Background: Fibrosing interstitial lung disease (ILD) encompasses more than 200 diverse pulmonary disorders, of which up to 40% become progressive. The 4 underlying ILD types most likely to result in progression are unclassified ILD/idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), autoimmune ILDs, exposure-related ILD/hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and sarcoidosis.

Objective: To compare health care resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among patients with fibrosing ILD that has progressed ("progressive" fibrosing cohort) vs patients whose fibrosis did not meet criteria set for progression ("not yet progressed" cohort).

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Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) has been identified as a promising drug target for the development of diabetes medications an inhibition mechanism. Using a computational approach, this study investigates the binding mechanism of lead optimized natural compounds from against the human PTP1B. The molecular docking, induced-fit docking, and binding free energy calculations were analyzed using Schrödinger Suite 2021-2.

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Prcis: Using a large data set, we showed structural and functional differences between primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Primary angle closure glaucoma has relative structural preservation and worse functional loss inferiorly.

Purpose: To identify structural and functional differences in PACG and POAG.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the effectiveness of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging for evaluating glaucoma in patients with Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro) by assessing the quality and artifacts of retinal nerve fiber layer scans.
  • It found that a significantly higher percentage of KPro patients (40%) had poor signal strength in their OCT images compared to controls (5.3%), indicating challenges in obtaining quality images for glaucoma evaluation.
  • The results also revealed that only 43.1% of KPro patients had useful OCT scans for glaucoma assessment, and these patients tended to have better visual acuity and were less likely to have congenital corneal issues.
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Purpose: To assess the rates of postoperative steroid response following dropless cataract surgery using a subconjunctival depot of triamcinolone versus conventional cataract surgery using topical prednisolone.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed consecutive cataract surgery cases performed by a single surgeon to determine the likelihood of steroid response, defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) 50% above baseline or IOP > 24 mmHg postoperatively, excluding the first 72 hours. Logistic regression models were performed including baseline characteristics as exposures in the model and steroid response as the outcome.

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Case Presentation: We describe the case of a 38-year-old female patient with a history of lupus presenting with atraumatic abdominal pain and ecchymosis. The ultimate diagnosis of abdominal lupus erythematous panniculitis was determined based on physical exam and imaging findings.

Discussion: Lupus erythematous panniculitis is a rare diagnosis, but consideration is important as early recognition and treatment is important to reduce pain and lessen the possibility of irreversible disfigurement and unnecessary costs to affected patients.

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CAR T cell therapy has significantly shaped the treatment landscape for refractory hematologic malignancies including large B-cell lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and leukemias. While response rates for a previously dismal prognosis have improved, certain obstacles still remain to achieving CAR T infallibility. In this article, we review the data surrounding proposed resistance mechanisms of tumors to CAR T, including the implications of target loss, exhausted T cells as effete effectors, the necessity of maximal CAR T expansion to durable response, the negative impact of an inflammatory milieu and a suppressive tumor microenvironment, and the optimal tumor-to-effector ratio that associates with best outcomes.

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Most bacteria in the biosphere are predicted to be polylysogens harbouring multiple prophages. In studied systems, prophage induction from lysogeny to lysis is near-universally driven by DNA-damaging agents. Thus, how co-residing prophages compete for cell resources if they respond to an identical trigger is unknown.

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Real-world evidence suggests a trend toward inferior survival of patients receiving CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in Europe (EU) and with tisagenlecleucel. The underlying logistic, patient- and disease-related reasons for these discrepancies remain poorly understood. In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we studied the patient-individual journey from CAR-T indication to infusion, baseline features, and survival outcomes in 374 patients treated with tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) or axicabtagene-ciloleucel (axi-cel) in EU and the United States (US).

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Oral antidiabetic agents including the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists are available for the clinical management of diabetes mellitus (DM) but most are characterized by many adverse effects. In this study, we explore the antidiabetic properties of phytoconstituents from Trigonellafeonumgraecum (Fabaceae) as potential agonist of PPARγ; using in silico molecular docking, molecular mechanics generalized surface area (MM/GBSA)free binding energy prediction, Pharmacophore modeling experiment, and Pharmacokinetic/ toxicity analysis. One hundred and forty (140) compounds derived from Trigonellafeonumgraecum were screened by molecular docking against protein target PDB 3VI8.

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Introduction: Ibrutinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for multiple B-cell malignancies, including Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia in 2014. Although the drug portends favorable outcomes, it also bears a profile of side effects. Current literature describes only two cases of nonhemorrhagic pericardial effusion associated with ibrutinib use, and here we present the third.

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The ability to profile transcriptomes and characterize global gene expression changes has been greatly enabled by the development of RNA sequencing technologies (RNA-seq). However, the process of generating sequencing-compatible cDNA libraries from RNA samples can be time-consuming and expensive, especially for bacterial mRNAs which lack poly(A)-tails that are often used to streamline this process for eukaryotic samples. Compared to the increasing throughput and decreasing cost of sequencing, library preparation has had limited advances.

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Cannabis use for medical and recreational purposes is increasing. Inhibitory activity of cannabinoids (CB) at the CB1 and CB2 receptors centrally and peripherally mediate the therapeutic effects that are wielded for palliation of pain, anxiety, inflammation, and nausea in indicated conditions. Cannabis dependence is also associated with anxiety; however, the direction of causality is unknown, such as whether anxiety disorders lead to cannabis use, or whether cannabis contributes to the development of anxiety disorder.

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The COVID-19 pandemic posed a setback to health maintenance screenings worldwide. These delays have impacted minorities and those of low socioeconomic status in the same way that disparities in cancer screenings have historically trended. Here, we evaluated the performance of a student-run free clinic in maintaining women up-to-date with cancer screenings before, during, and after the pandemic in relation to national trends.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a type of liver cancer that is difficult to treat and resistant to chemotherapy, prompting research into alternative therapies.
  • The study focused on evaluating the compounds from the Noni tree to find potential inhibitors of B-Raf kinase, a target in HCC treatment, using various computational techniques.
  • Five compounds, including Soranjidiol, showed promising inhibitory activity against B-Raf kinase and demonstrated good drug-like properties, suggesting they could be developed into new treatments for HCC.
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Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) comprising ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and microscopic colitis are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. IBD has spread around the world and is becoming more prevalent at an alarming rate in developing countries whose societies have become more westernized. Cell therapy, intestinal microecology, apheresis therapy, exosome therapy and small molecules are emerging therapeutic options for IBD.

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