Publications by authors named "Levine N"

Background: Over a century ago, Virchow proposed that cancer represents a chronically inflamed, poorly healing wound. Normal wound healing is represented by a transitory phase of inflammation, followed by a pro-resolution phase, with prostaglandin (PGE2/PGD2)-induced 'lipid class switching' producing inflammation-quenching lipoxins (LXA4, LXB4).

Objective: We explored if lipid dysregulation in colorectal cancers (CRCs) is driven by a failure to resolve inflammation.

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  • The study examined how COVID-19 restrictions influenced the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) among first-time psychosis patients in Connecticut.
  • During the early pandemic, the median DUP significantly dropped from 208 days to 56 days, but later increased to 154 days.
  • The time from when psychosis began to starting antipsychotic medication also decreased from 117 days to 35 days, indicating that tighter pandemic restrictions led to quicker treatment responses and could inform future early detection strategies.
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  • Black breast cancer patients have a higher mortality rate than White patients despite advances in early detection and treatment, prompting a study to explore the underlying patient experience disparities.
  • The research involved semi-structured interviews and medical record analysis to map the patient journey, identifying key challenges in the four stages of cancer care: diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy/radiation, and follow-up.
  • Both groups faced financial, treatment, and emotional support issues, but Black patients encountered additional hurdles like communication difficulties and delayed diagnoses, underscoring the need for improved provider relationships and support systems.
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  • A drowning definition has been tested using National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) data to assess its effectiveness in identifying unintentional and undetermined intent drowning (UUID) visits in the Houston region from 2016 to 2022.
  • The review revealed that 98% of visits classified as drowning were true positives, with a significant majority (79%) of patients being children under 18.
  • The study concludes that syndromic surveillance is a reliable tool for real-time monitoring of drowning incidents in metropolitan areas.
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Background: Percutaneous tripod fixation of periacetabular lesions is performed at our institution for patients with metastatic bone disease and a need for quick return to systemic therapy. We have begun to use the IlluminOss Photodynamic Bone Stabilization System instead of the metal implants previously described in the literature because of the success of the IlluminOss implant in fixing fragility fractures about the pelvis.

Description: At our institution, the procedure is performed in the interventional radiology suite in order to allow for the use of 3D radiographic imaging and vector guidance systems.

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  • * A study recorded brain activity in different mouse strains after TBI to analyze how brain oscillations changed shortly after the injury and their relationship to PTE development.
  • * The findings revealed specific changes in brain rhythms following injury in a mouse strain that later developed PTE, suggesting early oscillatory patterns could help predict this complication and inform future treatments.
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Background: Rennes, a midsize city in France, features many opportunities for active travel. City officials seek to increase walking and cycling by 2030 to improve public health. Physical inactivity, a leading risk factor for premature mortality around the globe, has been shown to be associated with many chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

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Although most cases of Parkinson's disease (PD) are sporadic, mutations in over 20 genes are known to cause heritable forms of the disease. Recessive loss-of-function mutations in ATP13A2, a lysosomal transmembrane P5-type ATPase and polyamine exporter, can cause early-onset familial PD. Familial ATP13A2 mutations are also linked to related neurodegenerative diseases, including Kufor-Rakeb syndrome, hereditary spastic paraplegias, neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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We investigated the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). First-episode psychosis admissions (n=101) to STEP Clinic in Connecticut showed DUP reduction (p=.0015) in the pandemic, with the median reducing from 208 days during the pre-pandemic to 56 days in the early pandemic period and subsequently increasing to 154 days (p=.

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Oscillations, a highly conserved brain function across mammalian species, are pivotal in brain physiology and pathology. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to subacute and chronic brain oscillatory alterations associated with complications like post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in patients and animal models. Our recent work longitudinally recorded local field potential from the contralateral hippocampus of 12 strains of recombinant inbred Collaborative Cross (CC) mice alongside classical laboratory inbred C57BL/6J mice after lateral fluid percussion injury.

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Phytoplankton are photosynthetic marine microbes that affect food webs, nutrient cycles and climate regulation. Their roles are determined by correlated phytoplankton functional traits including cell size, chlorophyll content and cellular composition. Here, we explore patterns of evolution in interrelated trait values and correlations.

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Climate change jeopardizes human health, global biodiversity, and sustainability of the biosphere. To make reliable predictions about climate change, scientists use Earth system models (ESMs) that integrate physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring on land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. Although critical for catalyzing coupled biogeochemical processes, microorganisms have traditionally been left out of ESMs.

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Microbial community dynamics on sinking particles control the amount of carbon that reaches the deep ocean and the length of time that carbon is stored, with potentially profound impacts on Earth's climate. A mechanistic understanding of the controls on sinking particle distributions has been hindered by limited depth- and time-resolved sampling and methods that cannot distinguish individual particles. Here, we analyze microbial communities on nearly 400 individual sinking particles in conjunction with more conventional composite particle samples to determine how particle colonization and community assembly might control carbon sequestration in the deep ocean.

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Background: Pediatric firearm injury is often associated with socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Most studies only include fatal injuries and do not differentiate by shooting intent. We hypothesized that differences in neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage would be observed among shooting intents of fatal and nonfatal cases.

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Objective: Prolonged duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) predicts poor outcomes of first-episode psychosis (FEP) and is often linked to low socioeconomic status (SES). The authors sought to determine whether patients' personal income, used as a proxy for SES, predicts length of DUP and whether personal income influences the effect of an early psychosis detection campaign-called Mindmap-on DUP reduction.

Methods: Data were drawn from a trial that compared the effectiveness of early detection in reducing DUP across the catchment area of an FEP service (N=147 participants) compared with an FEP service with no early detection (N=75 participants).

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex and heterogeneous condition that can cause wide-spectral neurological sequelae such as behavioral deficits, sleep abnormalities, and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). However, understanding the interaction of TBI phenome is challenging because few animal models can recapitulate the heterogeneity of TBI outcomes. We leveraged the genetically diverse recombinant inbred Collaborative Cross (CC) mice panel and systematically characterized TBI-related outcomes in males from 12 strains of CC and the reference C57BL/6J mice.

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Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA), a marker of disease severity in sepsis, is a recognized driver of thromboinflammation and a potential therapeutic target. In sepsis, plasma cfDNA is mostly derived from neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) degradation. Proposed NET-directed therapeutic strategies include preventing NET formation or accelerating NET degradation.

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Marine microbes like diatoms make up the base of marine food webs and drive global nutrient cycles. Despite their key roles in ecology, biogeochemistry, and biotechnology, we have limited empirical data on how forces other than adaptation may drive diatom diversification, especially in the absence of environmental change. One key feature of diatom populations is frequent extreme reductions in population size, which can occur both in situ and ex situ as part of bloom-and-bust growth dynamics.

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Phytoplankton are responsible for half of all oxygen production and drive the ocean carbon cycle. Metabolic theory predicts that increasing global temperatures will cause phytoplankton to become more heterotrophic and smaller. Here, we uncover the metabolic trade-offs between cellular space, energy, and stress management driving phytoplankton thermal acclimation and how these might be overcome through evolutionary adaptation.

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Background: Mutations in the vacuolar protein sorting 35 ortholog (VPS35) gene cause late-onset, autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD), with a single missense mutation (Asp620Asn, D620N) known to segregate with disease in families with PD. The VPS35 gene encodes a core component of the retromer complex, involved in the endosomal sorting and recycling of transmembrane cargo proteins. VPS35-linked PD is clinically indistinguishable from sporadic PD, although it is not yet known whether VPS35-PD brains exhibit α-synuclein-positive brainstem Lewy pathology that is characteristic of sporadic cases.

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Heterotrophic microbes play an important role in the Earth System as key drivers of major biogeochemical cycles. Specifically, the consumption rate of organic matter is set by the interaction between diverse microbial communities and the chemical and physical environment in which they reside. Modeling these dynamics requires reducing the complexity of microbial communities and linking directly with biogeochemical functions.

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Objective: To describe the presentation of giant cell tumors (GCT) of the bone in the pediatric population to (1) improve the differential diagnosis of pediatric bone tumors and (2) identify the origin of GCT. Understanding the origin of bone tumors assists in establishing appropriate diagnoses and recommending treatment options. This is particularly important in children, where evaluating the need for invasive procedures is balanced with the desire to avoid overtreatment.

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Kettlebell training provides multiple health benefits, including the generation of power. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the kinematics and kinetics of lower-body joints during a repeated, maximum effort kettlebell swing protocol. Sixteen resistance and kettlebell swing experienced males performed 10 rounds of a kettlebell swing routine (where one round equates to 30s of swings followed by 30s of rest).

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Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are abundant in sepsis, and proposed NET-directed therapies in sepsis prevent their formation or accelerate degradation. Yet NETs are important for microbial entrapment, as NET digestion liberates pathogens and NET degradation products (NDPs) that deleteriously promote thrombosis and endothelial cell injury. We proposed an alternative strategy of NET-stabilization with the chemokine, platelet factor 4 (PF4, CXCL4), which we have shown enhances NET-mediated microbial entrapment.

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Our Grassroots Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Initiative works to build the capacity of individuals and organizations in zip codes with persistently high infant mortality rates to bring about systems change that will improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes. Foundational to the Initiative is the training and mentoring of local women to become Grassroots MCH Leaders. We greatly honor that these women possess community expertise, essential to the Initiative's success.

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