Publications by authors named "Willis B"

Purpose: Holistic review for admissions is designed to mitigate the common systemic barriers applicants may face in their medical school application journey and the common mistakes committed by admissions committees, but limited literature outlines how this can be modeled. This study examined a blinded holistic admissions approach that emphasized mission and value alignment and the resulting characteristics of applicants by admission status.

Method: Application data from 2,027 applicants to The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine with complete secondary applications for the 2022 to 2023 cycle were analyzed.

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Background: Evolutionary tradeoffs between life-history strategies are important in animal evolution. Because microbes can influence multiple aspects of host physiology, including growth rate and susceptibility to disease or stress, changes in animal-microbial symbioses have the potential to mediate life-history tradeoffs. Scleractinian corals provide a biodiverse, data-rich, and ecologically-relevant host system to explore this idea.

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  • Statins are often underutilized for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and understanding factors influencing adherence is crucial.
  • This study aims to explore the connection between shared decision making (SDM)—reflected through recorded CVD risk scores—and patients' adherence to statins and overall health outcomes.
  • By analyzing data from English primary care records of patients aged 40-84 who started statin therapy, the research will assess how the presence of a CVD risk score at initiation impacts ongoing medication adherence and CVD-related results.
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  • Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) can be either hormone-secreting or non-secreting, have serious health implications, and an average survival of 75-124 months.
  • Research shows that key genes involved in the tumor's development, especially epigenetic regulators like MEN1, DAXX, and ATRX, are often mutated, but their effects are not well understood.
  • The calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) is significantly reduced in GEP-NETs, potentially due to DNA methylation and chromatin modifications, suggesting it functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cell growth in pancreatic NETs.
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  • The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of front-door discharge decision tools in predicting mortality rates for patients.
  • Researchers analyzed data from three databases, including studies that tested various prediction tools linked to patient discharge and their correlation with mortality or readmission rates.
  • Results showed that while low-risk patients had lower mortality rates (0-1.7%), they experienced higher readmission rates (0-8%) compared to those who were admitted or classified as control.
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Background: Competence-based medical education requires robust data to link competence with clinical experiences. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic abruptly altered the standard trajectory of clinical exposure in medical training programs. Residency program directors were tasked with identifying and addressing the resultant gaps in each trainee's experiences using existing tools.

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This retrospective observational study, building on prior research that demonstrated the efficacy of the Digital Twin (DT) Precision Treatment Program over shorter follow-up periods​​, aimed to examine glycemic control and reduced anti-diabetic medication use after one-year in a DT commercial program. T2D patients enrolled had adequate hepatic and renal function and no recent cardiovascular events. DT intervention powered by artificial intelligence utilizes precision nutrition, activity, sleep, and deep breathing exercises.

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  • The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) creates and studies mouse lines with specific gene mutations to better understand gene functions, using advanced techniques such as the Cas9 nuclease for enhanced efficiency.
  • The IMPC has produced 3313 knockout mouse lines, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of factors that influence successful gene editing in living organisms.
  • The research highlights that the essentiality of genes significantly affects the success rates in producing null alleles, and offers best practice guidelines for using Cas9 in gene engineering linked to human diseases.
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  • Targeting PI3K/AKT/PTEN signalling offers promising therapy options for B-cell malignancies, particularly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), despite challenges with existing PI3K inhibitors due to toxicity.
  • The AKT inhibitor capivasertib, when used with the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, shows significant therapeutic benefits in preclinical DLBCL models, inducing tumor cell death effectively.
  • Adding rituximab to this drug combination enhances treatment outcomes, suggesting a potentially effective strategy for managing DLBCL patients who are resistant to standard therapies.
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  • Lecanemab (Leqembi®) has been approved for early Alzheimer's disease treatment and shows effectiveness in patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia when amyloid beta pathology is present.
  • The pharmacokinetics (PK) of lecanemab were studied in a large group of subjects, revealing that body weight, sex, and Japanese ethnicity can influence its clearance and distribution, but age does not significantly affect its pharmacokinetics.
  • The relationship between lecanemab exposure and ARIA-E (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities) was noted, with higher incidence in APOE4 carriers, whereas isolated ARIA-H occurrences were similar between groups receiving lecanemab and placebo.
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This manuscript investigates the efficient synthesis of copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) nanoparticles for CZTS thin film solar cell applications with a primary focus on environmental sustainability. Underpinning the investigation is an initial life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. This LCA analysis is conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of different synthesis volumes, providing crucial insights into the sustainability of the synthesis process by considering the flows of material and energy associated with the process.

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Epigenetic-mediated gene regulation orchestrates brain cell-type gene expression programs, and epigenetic dysregulation is a major driver of aging and disease-associated changes. Proteins that mediate gene regulation are mostly localized to the nucleus; however, nuclear-localized proteins are often underrepresented in gene expression studies and have been understudied in the context of the brain. To address this challenge, we have optimized an approach for nuclei isolation that is compatible with proteomic analysis.

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Despite a substantial body of research, we lack fundamental understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) including pulmonary and cardiovascular outcomes, in part due to limitations of murine models. Most models use transgenic mice (K18) that express the human (h) angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (), knock-in (KI) mice, or mouse-adapted strains of SARS-CoV-2. Further, many SARS-CoV-2 variants produce fatal neurologic disease in K18 mice and most murine studies focus only on acute disease in the first 14 days post inoculation (dpi).

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Introduction: Promoting interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) is necessary. Consequently, investigating strategies associated with increased interprofessional socialization, the beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes underlying socialization toward IPCP is suggested. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, in the presence of control variables, between students' perception of servant leadership by physical therapy faculty mentors and interprofessional socialization.

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Unlabelled: Oncology drug combinations can improve therapeutic responses and increase treatment options for patients. The number of possible combinations is vast and responses can be context-specific. Systematic screens can identify clinically relevant, actionable combinations in defined patient subtypes.

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Background: Female sex workers (FSW) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately vulnerable to poor health, social, and economic outcomes. The children of female sex workers (CFSW) experience health risks based on these challenging circumstances and the unique conditions to which they are exposed. Although country child mortality data exist, little is known about the causes of death among CFSW specifically, thereby severely limiting an effective public health response to the needs of this high-risk group of children.

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  • The study investigates how combining the AKT inhibitor capivasertib with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel affects prostate tumors that lack the PTEN protein and those that have it.
  • In prostate cancer models, this combination showed enhanced anti-tumor activity, particularly in PTEN null tumors, by affecting cell cycle progression and reducing tumor growth.
  • The findings suggest that capivasertib helps overcome resistance in docetaxel-persister cells by reducing activation of key signaling pathways and promoting cell death, primarily through the involvement of GSK3β.
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Background: Zagotenemab (LY3303560), a monoclonal antibody, preferentially binds to extracellular, misfolded, aggregated tau that has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics of multiple doses of zagotenemab in participants with AD.

Methods: This was a Phase Ib, multi-site, participant- and investigator-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study in participants with mild cognitive impairment due to AD or mild to moderate AD.

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Intramembranous bone regeneration plays an important role in fixation of intramedullary implants used in joint replacement and dental implants used in tooth replacement. Despite widespread recognition of the importance of intramembranous bone regeneration in these clinical procedures, the underlying mechanisms have not been well explored. A previous study that examined transcriptomic profiles of regenerating bone from the marrow space showed that increased periostin gene expression preceded increases in several osteogenic genes.

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Mental and behavioral health conditions among school-aged children, including substance use disorders and overall emotional well-being, are a public health concern in the United States. Timely data on seasonal patterns in child and adolescent conditions can guide optimal timing of prevention and intervention strategies. CDC examined emergency department (ED) visit data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program for 25 distinct conditions during January 2018-June 2023 among U.

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Previous studies have found high levels of unintended pregnancy among female sex workers (FSW), but less attention has been paid to their abortion practices and outcomes. This study is the first to investigate abortion-related mortality among FSW across eight countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The Community Knowledge Approach (CKA) was used to survey a convenience sample of FSW ( = 1280).

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