Publications by authors named "Steven Blair"

The distinct human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I expression pattern of human extravillous trophoblasts (EVT) endows them with unique tolerogenic properties that enable successful pregnancy. Nevertheless, how this process is elaborately regulated remains elusive. Previously, E74 like ETS transcription factor 3 (ELF3) was identified to govern high-level HLA-C expression in EVT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and trigeminal ganglion (TG) are specialized to detect and transduce diverse environmental stimuli to the central nervous system. Single-cell RNA sequencing has provided insights into the diversity of sensory ganglia cell types in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans, but it remains difficult to compare cell types across studies and species. We thus constructed harmonized atlases of the DRG and TG that describe and facilitate comparison of 18 neuronal and 11 non-neuronal cell types across six species and 31 datasets.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Significance: Holographic display technology is a promising area of research that can lead to significant advancements in cancer surgery. We present the benefits of combining bioinspired multispectral imaging technology with holographic goggles for fluorescence-guided cancer surgery. Through a series of experiments with 43D-printed phantoms, small animal models of cancer, and surgeries on canine patients with head and neck cancer, we showcase the advantages of this holistic approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Peripheral sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and trigeminal ganglion (TG) are responsible for detecting different environmental stimuli like touch, temperature, and pain, sending this information to the central nervous system.* -
  • Using single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), researchers created cross-species atlases of DRG and TG cell types, identifying 18 neuronal and 11 non-neuronal types across 6 species and 19 studies, enhancing our understanding of sensory neuron diversity.* -
  • The study found that while sensory neuron subtypes display similar transcriptomic profiles among vertebrates, there's significant variation in the expression of certain neuropeptides and channels, providing valuable resources for
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Significance: Fluorescently guided minimally invasive surgery is improving patient outcomes and disease-free survival, but biomarker variability hinders complete tumor resection with single molecular probes. To overcome this, we developed a bioinspired endoscopic system that images multiple tumor-targeted probes, quantifies volumetric ratios in cancer models, and detects tumors in samples.

Aim: We present a new rigid endoscopic imaging system (EIS) that can capture color images while simultaneously resolving two near-infrared (NIR) probes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Real-time guidance through fluorescence imaging improves the surgical outcomes of tumor resections, reducing the chances of leaving positive margins behind. As tumors are heterogeneous, it is imperative to interrogate multiple overexpressed cancer biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity to improve surgical outcomes. However, for accurate tumor delineation and ratiometric detection of tumor biomarkers, current methods require multiple excitation wavelengths to image multiple biomarkers, which is impractical in a clinical setting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the relationship between diet (specifically the Dietary Inflammatory Index) and sleep patterns, noting how inflammation from diet can impact sleep quality and duration.
  • Using data from the Energy Balance Study and analyzing food intake over several years, researchers observed that higher pro-inflammatory diets were linked to poorer sleep outcomes, such as longer wake times after initially falling asleep and reduced sleep efficiency.
  • The findings suggest demographic variations in these effects, particularly among African American participants, highlighting the importance of understanding dietary impact on sleep for different groups and emphasizing the need for further research on this topic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Restrictive spirometry pattern (RSP) suggests an impairment of lung function associated with a significantly increased risk of premature mortality. We evaluated the independent and joint associations of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body mass index with incident RSP.

Methods: Data from the Aerobics Centre Longitudinal Study included 12 360 participants (18-82 years).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tumor-targeted fluorescent probes in the near-infrared spectrum can provide invaluable information about the location and extent of primary and metastatic tumors during intraoperative procedures to ensure no residual tumors are left in the patient's body. Even though the first fluorescence-guided surgery was performed more than 50 years ago, it is still not accepted as a standard of care in part due to the lack of efficient and non-toxic targeted probes approved by regulatory agencies around the world. Herein, we report protease-activated cationic gelatin nanoparticles encapsulating indocyanine green (ICG) for the detection of primary breast tumors in murine models with high tumor-to-background ratios.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dual-mode visible/near-infrared imaging systems, including a bioinspired six-channel design and more conventional four-channel implementations, have transitioned from a niche in surveillance to general use in machine vision. However, the demosaicing routines that transform the raw images from these sensors into processed images that can be consumed by humans or computers rely on assumptions that may not be appropriate when the two portions of the spectrum contribute different information about a scene. A solution can be found in a family of demosaicing routines that utilize interpolating polynomials and splines of different dimensionalities and orders to process images with minimal assumptions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Significance: Near-infrared fluorescence image-guided surgery is often thought of as a spectral imaging problem where the channel count is the critical parameter, but it should also be thought of as a multiscale imaging problem where the field of view and spatial resolution are similarly important.

Aim: Conventional imaging systems based on division-of-focal-plane architectures suffer from a strict relationship between the channel count on one hand and the field of view and spatial resolution on the other, but bioinspired imaging systems that combine stacked photodiode image sensors and long-pass/short-pass filter arrays offer a weaker tradeoff.

Approach: In this paper, we explore how the relevant changes to the image sensor and associated image processing routines affect image fidelity during image-guided surgeries for tumor removal in an animal model of breast cancer and nodal mapping in women with breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This retrospective cohort study examined the relationship between self-reported participation in flexibility and muscular strengthening activities and the development of functional limitation (i.e., once an individual has difficulty with or becomes unable to perform activities of daily living).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: The amount and intensity of physical activity required to prevent stroke are yet to be fully determined because of previous reliance on self-reporting measures. Furthermore, the association between objectively measured time spent being sedentary as an independent risk factor for stroke is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the associations of accelerometer-measured sedentary time and physical activity of varying intensity and duration with the risk of incident stroke.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To examine the association between change in nonexercise estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) and mortality risk in adult men.

Patients And Methods: A total of 10,445 men (mean age, 44.6±9.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We sought to determine the effects of 12 months of power training on cognition, and whether improvements in body composition, muscle strength, and/or aerobic capacity (VO2peak) were associated with improvements in cognition in older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Participants with T2D were randomized to power training or low-intensity sham exercise control condition, 3 days per week for 12 months. Cognitive outcomes included memory, attention/speed, executive function, and global cognition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: We examined differences in the volume and pattern of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior between adults with and without stroke.

Methods: We studied cohort members with an adjudicated or self-reported stroke (n=401) and age-, sex-, race-, region of residence-, and body mass index-matched participants without a history of stroke (n=1203) from the REGARDS study (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke). Sedentary behavior (total volume and bouts), light-intensity PA, and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA were objectively measured for 7 days via hip-worn accelerometer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of major morbidity and CVD- and all-cause mortality in most of the world. It is now clear that regular physical activity (PA) and exercise training (ET) induces a wide range of direct and indirect physiologic adaptations and pleiotropic benefits for human general and CV health. Generally, higher levels of PA, ET, and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are correlated with reduced risk of CVD, including myocardial infarction, CVD-related death, and all-cause mortality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Health benefits of resistance exercise (RE), particularly in lowering cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks, are less understood in comparison to aerobic exercise (AE). Motivated by big data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), we study the direct and indirect effects of RE on CVD risks. The primary outcome in our study, total CVD events (CVD morbidity and mortality combined), is modeled as a survival outcome.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Obesity is a significant and growing public health problem in high-income countries. Little is known about the relationship between resistance exercise (RE), alone and in combination with aerobic exercise (AE), and the risk of developing obesity. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to examine the associations between different amounts and frequencies of RE, independent of AE, and incident obesity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cancer affects one in three people worldwide. Surgery remains the primary curative option for localized cancers, but good prognoses require complete removal of primary tumors and timely recognition of metastases. To expand surgical capabilities and enhance patient outcomes, we developed a six-channel color/near-infrared image sensor inspired by the mantis shrimp visual system that enabled near-infrared fluorescence image guidance during surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of cardiorespiratory fitness, general adiposity, and central adiposity with incident intermediate hyperglycemia (IH) in women. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1534 women aged 20-79 years old who had an annual health check-up with no history of major chronic diseases. At baseline, fitness was assessed by a Balke graded exercise test, and the estimated metabolic equivalents were used to create quartile groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The effects of compliance with the US Physical Activity (PA) Guidelines and changes in compliance over time on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality are unknown.

Methods: Male participants in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (n = 15,411; 18-100 y) reported leisure-time PA between 1970 and 2002. The frequency of and time spent in PA were converted into metabolic equivalent minutes per week.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Increased resting heart rate (RHR) is a predictor of mortality. RHR is influenced by cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Little is known about the combined associations of RHR and CRF on cancer mortality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We examined the effect of power training on habitual, intervention and total physical activity (PA) levels in older adults with type 2 diabetes and their relationship to metabolic control.

Materials And Methods: 103 adults with type 2 diabetes were randomized to receive supervised power training or sham exercise three times/week for 12 months. Habitual, intervention, and total PA, as well as insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), were measured.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF