Publications by authors named "John Pham"

Background: The demand for discreet and low-compliance appliances has driven innovation in orthodontics, particularly with technological advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and CAD/CAM technology. The evolution of Programmed Non-Sliding Mechanics for precise, automated tooth movement is the latest innovation.

Aim: In this article, we aimed to demonstrate the application of a novel orthodontic lingual appliance, The Gen 2 InBrace system (InBrace, Irvine, CA), in the orthodontic-restorative treatment of an adult patient with anterior tooth-size discrepancies, anterior openbite, and incisor proclination.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cisplatin-induced ototoxicity (CIO) leads to irreversible hearing loss and is influenced by both clinical factors and genetic variants, with polygenic scores (PGS) emerging as a potential predictive tool for identifying individuals at risk for CIO.
  • * Researchers developed two PGSs based on large-scale hearing loss GWAS data and RNA sequencing from murine inner ear cells affected by cisplatin, revealing that one PGS significantly outperformed the other in predicting CIO risk.
  • * This study presents the first PGS for CIO and suggests that combining genetic data with biological insights can enhance pharmacogenomic research, ultimately aiding in personalized treatment plans for patients undergoing cisplatin therapy.
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Background: While exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution (PM ) is known to cause adverse health effects, its impact on postoperative outcomes in US adults remains understudied. Perioperative exposure to PM may induce inflammation that interacts insidiously with the surgical stress response, leading to higher postoperative complications.

Methods: We conducted a single center, retrospective cohort study using data from 49,615 surgical patients living along Utah's Wasatch Front and who underwent elective surgical procedures at a single academic medical center from 2016-2018.

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Background: Cosmetic plastic surgery in the United States is underutilized by African American and Hispanic populations compared with their White and Asian counterparts. This study evaluated whether microeconomic spending traits as a representation of financial stability can inform trends in cosmetic procedure volumes by racial group.

Methods: Annual volumes for the top five cosmetic surgical and cosmetic minimally invasive procedures by racial/ethnic group from 2012 to 2020 were collected from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual reports.

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Background: Contemporary fixed orthodontic appliances are shifting from non-customized pre-adjusted appliances to custom-designed and printed appliances with novel digital setup systems. We are one step closer to precision dentistry and orthodontics using personalized mechanics and custom appliances. However, despite the evidential enhancement and other improvements to fixed appliances, tooth movement is still limited to five degrees of freedom.

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Objective: The association between aggressive resection and improved survival for adult spinal chordoma patients has not been well characterized in the geriatric population. Thus, the present study aimed to elucidate the relationship between gross total resection (GTR) and survival outcomes for patients across different age groups.

Methods: The authors isolated all adult patients diagnosed with spinal chordoma from the 2000-2019 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database and divided patients into three surgical subgroups: no surgery, subtotal resection (STR), and GTR.

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Background: Interferon-gamma (IFNγ) exerts potent growth inhibitory effects on a wide range of cancer cells through unknown signaling pathways. We pursued complementary screening approaches to characterize the growth inhibition pathway.

Methods: We performed chemical genomics and whole genome targeting CRISPR/Cas9 screens using patient-derived melanoma lines to uncover essential nodes in the IFNγ-mediated growth inhibition pathway.

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SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we used unbiased systems approaches to study the host-selective forces driving VOC evolution. We discovered that VOCs evolved convergent strategies to remodel the host by modulating viral RNA and protein levels, altering viral and host protein phosphorylation, and rewiring virus-host protein-protein interactions.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how marital status affects overall survival in adults with craniopharyngioma by analyzing data from 1539 patients between 2000 and 2019, categorizing them into married, single, divorced/separated, and widowed groups.
  • - Results showed that widowed patients had the lowest survival rates, and marital status was found to significantly impact mortality specifically in middle-aged patients (ages 40-60), while younger and older groups did not show the same trend.
  • - The findings suggest that social and psychological support for single and divorced/separated middle-aged patients could enhance their survival rates, highlighting the importance of considering marital status in treatment planning.
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Gamma-delta (γδ) T cells contribute to the pathology of many immune-related diseases; however, no assays to study their activities are currently available. Here, we established a methodology to characterize human allergen-reactive γδ T cells in peripheral blood using an activation-induced marker assay targeting upregulated 4-1BB and CD69 expression. Broad and reproducible allergen-reactive γδ T cell responses were detected in donors sensitized to mouse, cockroach, house dust mite, and timothy grass, but the response did not differ from that in non-allergic participants.

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Orthodontic tooth movement occurs in six degrees of freedom, which includes opening and closing spaces. Traditionally, opening and closing spaces are achieved with auxiliaries such as power chains or springs because all traditional bracket systems cannot achieve this tooth movement by themselves. The InBrace system has the capability to program tooth movement in all six degrees of freedom, including opening and closing spaces, through digital customization and its use of Programmed Non-Sliding Mechanics.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multi-stage neurodegenerative disorder with largely unknown etiology. Recent findings have identified PD-associated autoimmune features including roles for T cells. To further characterize the role of T cells in PD, we performed RNA sequencing on PBMC and peripheral CD4 and CD8 memory T cell subsets derived from PD patients and age-matched healthy controls.

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Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule that is involved in a wide range of physiological and pathological events in biology. Metal coordination chemistry, especially with iron, is at the heart of many biological transformations involving NO. A series of heme proteins, nitric oxide synthases (NOS), soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), and nitrophorins, are responsible for the biosynthesis, sensing, and transport of NO.

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Despite the prevalence and medical significance of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections, a systematic analysis of the targets of T cell recognition in humans that spans the entire genome and includes recently described potential novel open reading frames (ORFs) is not available. Here, we screened a library of epitopes predicted to bind HLA class II that spans over 350 different HCMV ORFs and includes ∼150 previously described and ∼200 recently described potential novel ORFs by using an gamma interferon (IFN-γ) FluoroSpot assay. We identified 235 unique HCMV-specific epitopes derived from 100 ORFs, some previously described as immunodominant and others that were not previously described to be immunogenic.

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The mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV) has spread rapidly into regions where dengue virus (DENV) is endemic, and flavivirus cross-reactive T cell responses have been observed repeatedly in animal models and in humans. Preexisting cellular immunity to DENV is thought to contribute to protection in subsequent ZIKV infection, but the epitope targets of cross-reactive T cell responses have not been comprehensively identified. Using human blood samples from the regions of Nicaragua and Sri Lanka where DENV is endemic that were collected before the global spread of ZIKV in 2016, we employed an expansion strategy to map ZIKV T cell epitopes in ZIKV-unexposed, DENV-seropositive donors.

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The self-antigen α-synuclein (α-syn) was recently shown to be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we mapped the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of α-syn-specific T cells from six PD patients. The self-antigen α-syn-specific repertoire was compared to the repertoire of T cells specific for pertussis (PT), as a representative foreign antigen that most individuals are exposed to, revealing that the repertoire for α-syn was as diverse as the repertoire for PT.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD), a chronic multifactorial and complex neurodegenerative disorder is a leading cause of dementia. Recently, neuroinflammation has been hypothesized as a contributing factor to AD pathogenesis. The role of adaptive immune responses against neuronal antigens, which can either confer protection or induce damage in AD, has not been fully characterized.

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A diagnosis of motor Parkinson's disease (PD) is preceded by a prolonged premotor phase with accumulating neuronal damage. Here we examined the temporal relation between α-synuclein (α-syn) T cell reactivity and PD. A longitudinal case study revealed that elevated α-syn-specific T cell responses were detected prior to the diagnosis of motor PD, and declined after.

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