Publications by authors named "Katherine Wood"

Cortical circuits contain multiple types of inhibitory neurons which shape how information is processed within neuronal networks. Here, we asked whether somatostatin-expressing (SST) and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) inhibitory neurons have distinct effects on population neuronal responses to noise bursts of varying intensities. We optogenetically stimulated SST or VIP neurons while simultaneously measuring the calcium responses of populations of hundreds of neurons in the auditory cortex (AC) of male and female awake, head-fixed mice to sounds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The 15th Annual Report from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support includes 29,634 continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices from the 10-year period between 2014 and 2024. The outcomes reported here demonstrate continued improved survival in the current era of fully magnetically levitated devices, with a significantly higher 1-year (85.7% vs 78.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - This study examined the incidence and risk factors for early stroke within the first week after the implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), revealing that 5.9% of patients experienced a stroke, with about half occurring in the initial 7 days post-surgery.
  • - Key findings indicated that older age, having a temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) device, being of white race, and the presence of a left atrial clot before surgery were all associated with a higher risk of early stroke.
  • - The study highlights the need for ongoing risk assessment and improvement strategies in the management of patients undergoing LVAD implantation to reduce early stroke occurrences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

While it is widely thought that de novo mutations (DNMs) occur randomly, we previously showed that some DNMs are enriched because they are positively selected in the testes of aging men. These "selfish" mutations cause disorders with a shared presentation of features, including exclusive paternal origin, significant increase of the father's age, and high apparent germline mutation rate. To date, all known selfish mutations cluster within the components of the RTK-RAS-MAPK signaling pathway, a critical modulator of testicular homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There is an evolving role for guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in managing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction after cardiac surgery. GDMT is based on the use of pharmacologic agents from each of 4 distinct drug classes, also known as the 4 pillars of heart failure therapy: β-blockers, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, often paired with neprilysin inhibitors, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors. Despite the demonstrated benefits of GDMT in reducing mortality and hospitalization rates in the nonsurgical literature, there is conspicuous underuse of GDMT after cardiac surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The objective of this study was to examine insurance-based disparities in mortality, nonhome discharges, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation utilization in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Methods: Using a national database of U.S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: 5' untranslated regions (5'UTRs) are essential modulators of protein translation. Predicting the impact of 5'UTR variants is challenging and rarely performed in routine diagnostics. Here, we present a combined approach of a comprehensive prioritization strategy and functional assays to evaluate 5'UTR variation in two large cohorts of patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

1. Though not often examined together, both plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) and functional traits have important influences on plant community dynamics and could interact. For example, seedling functional traits could impact seedling survivorship responses to soils cultured by conspecific versus heterospecific adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The 14th Annual Report from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (Intermacs) describes outcomes of 27,493 patients with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) from the past decade (2013-2022). In 2022, 2517 primary LVADs were implanted, of which 2512 (99.8%) were fully magnetically levitated (Mag-Lev) devices.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary hematological disease with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Despite being monogenic, SCD patients display a plethora of disease-associated complications including anemia, oxidative stress, sterile inflammation, vaso-occlusive crisis-related pain, and vasculopathy, all of which contribute to multiorgan dysfunction and failure. Over the past decade, numerous small molecule drugs, biologics, and gene-based interventions have been evaluated; however, only four disease-modifying drug therapies are presently FDA approved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Smaller body surface area (BSA) frequently precludes patients from left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy. We sought to investigate the clinical outcomes in patients with small BSA undergoing less invasive LVAD implantation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 216 patients implanted with HeartMate 3 LVAD (Abbott, Chicago, IL) via less invasive surgery at our institution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We recently reported a previously unknown salutary role for xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) in intravascular heme overload whereby hepatocellular export of XOR to the circulation was identified as a seminal step in affording protection. However, the cellular signaling and export mechanisms underpinning this process were not identified. Here, we present novel data showing hepatocytes upregulate XOR expression/protein abundance and actively release it to the extracellular compartment following exposure to hemopexin-bound hemin, hemin or free iron.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitro fatty acids (NO -FAs) are endogenously generated lipid signaling mediators from metabolic and inflammatory reactions between conjugated diene fatty acids and nitric oxide or nitrite-derived reactive species. NO -FAs undergo reversible Michael addition with hyperreactive protein cysteine thiolates to induce posttranslational protein modifications that can impact protein function. Herein, we report a novel mechanism of action of natural and non-natural nitroalkenes structurally similar to ( ) 10-nitro-octadec-9-enoic acid (CP-6), recently de-risked by preclinical Investigational New Drug-enabling studies and Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials and found to induce DNA damage in a TNBC xenograft by inhibiting homologous-recombination (HR)-mediated repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitro fatty acids (NO-FAs) are endogenously generated lipid signaling mediators from metabolic and inflammatory reactions between conjugated diene fatty acids and nitric oxide or nitrite-derived reactive species. NO-FAs undergo reversible Michael addition with hyperreactive protein cysteine thiolates to induce posttranslational protein modifications that can impact protein function. Herein, we report a novel mechanism of action of natural and non-natural nitroalkenes structurally similar to (E) 10-nitro-octadec-9-enoic acid (CP-6), recently de-risked by preclinical Investigational New Drug-enabling studies and Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials and found to induce DNA damage in a TNBC xenograft by inhibiting homologous-recombination (HR)-mediated repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neurons throughout the sensory pathway adapt their responses depending on the statistical structure of the sensory environment. Contrast gain control is a form of adaptation in the auditory cortex, but it is unclear whether the dynamics of gain control reflect efficient adaptation, and whether they shape behavioral perception. Here, we trained mice to detect a target presented in background noise shortly after a change in the contrast of the background.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the use of Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD) in advanced heart failure patients, particularly those with a history of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VTA), and aims to improve outcomes through a new intra-operative ablation protocol.
  • Researchers designed a randomized clinical trial involving 100 LVAD candidates, comparing those receiving intra-operative VTA ablation against those receiving standard medical management.
  • The trial will track various outcomes for an average of 18 months post-surgery, assessing VTA recurrence, adverse events, right heart function, healthcare utilization, and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Community-academic partnerships are increasingly used in interventions to address health care disparities. Little is known about motivations and perceptions of participating community members.

Objectives: To elicit community members' perspectives of involvement in a community-academic partnership to address implicit bias in health care.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Xanthine oxidase (XO) catalyzes the catabolism of hypoxanthine to xanthine and xanthine to uric acid, generating oxidants as a byproduct. Importantly, XO activity is elevated in numerous hemolytic conditions including sickle cell disease (SCD); however, the role of XO in this context has not been elucidated. Whereas long-standing dogma suggests elevated levels of XO in the vascular compartment contribute to vascular pathology via increased oxidant production, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time, that XO has an unexpected protective role during hemolysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare the preoperative central corneal thickness (CCT) in eyes with unilateral cataract with their normal fellow eyes in the pediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted using the STORM Kids cataract database. Eyes with traumatic cataract, previous surgery or therapeutic manipulation, or age >18 years were excluded.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Following the diagnosis of a paediatric disorder caused by an apparently de novo mutation, a recurrence risk of 1-2% is frequently quoted due to the possibility of parental germline mosaicism; but for any specific couple, this figure is usually incorrect. We present a systematic approach to providing individualized recurrence risk. By combining locus-specific sequencing of multiple tissues to detect occult mosaicism with long-read sequencing to determine the parent-of-origin of the mutation, we show that we can stratify the majority of couples into one of seven discrete categories associated with substantially different risks to future offspring.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cortical circuits contain multiple types of inhibitory neurons which shape how information is processed within neuronal networks. Here, we asked whether somatostatin-expressing (SST) and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) inhibitory neurons have distinct effects on population neuronal responses to noise bursts of varying intensities. We optogenetically stimulated SST or VIP neurons while simultaneously measuring the calcium responses of populations of hundreds of neurons in the auditory cortex of male and female awake, head-fixed mice to sounds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF