University Of Mississippi Medical Center Research Articles

BackgroundHypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a main cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide, and it is estimated that approximately 60% of maternal deaths in the United States occur during the postpartum period. The utilization of telehealth modalities such as home blood pressure monitoring has shown improvement in blood pressure control and adherence with follow up visits. Our study sought to determine if standardized education improved patient hypertension knowledge and if this when combined with home blood pressure telemonitoring increased participants’ postpartum self-blood pressure monitoring and postpartum visit attendance.MethodsThis is an Institutional Review Board approved prospective cohort study conducted at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Women with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy who met the inclusion criteria and provided written informed consent to participate were enrolled. Participants received a baseline pre-education questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge of their hypertensive diagnosis, hypertension management, and postpartum preeclampsia (PreE). Participants then received standard education, a blood pressure monitor, and were scheduled a follow-up visit during the first 10 days following discharge. Remote home blood pressure monitoring was performed via text messages and voice calls for 6-weeks postpartum. At the conclusion of the study, participants repeated their original questionnaire.Results250 women provided informed consent to participate in the study and were included in this analysis. Relative to the baseline survey, there was a significant increase (p = 0.0001) in the percentage of correct responses. There was not an association between study engagement and percentage of correct responses on end of study questionnaire (p = 0.33) or postpartum visit attendance (p = 0.69). Maternal age was found to drive study engagement, even when adjusted for community-level distress (p = 0.03) and maternal race (p = 0.0002).ConclusionImplementing a standardized postpartum education session was associated with improvement in patient’s knowledge. Further studies are needed with more longitudinal follow up to assess if this program would also result in improved long-term outcomes and decreased hospital readmission rates.Trial registrationNCT04570124.

Abstract Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 10-15% of all breast cancers nationwide with disparities of incidence and outcomes among races, geographic locations, and other factors. This study is aimed to analyze the differences in the rate of TNBC, patient conditions at time of diagnosis, and death from TNBC among women in Mississippi. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to serially review breast cancer cases diagnosed in the University of Mississippi Medical Center during May 2016 to May 2023. The entire breast cancer population was then stratified by race. The rate of TNBC, age and BMI at time of diagnosis, the rate of expiration were compared between African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) women with breast cancer. Two-tailed Student’s T-test was used to calculate the difference in mean values, and Chi-Square Test was used to compare the difference in rates or percentages. The significant p value was set at p&lt;0.05. Results: In total 291 women with breast cancer, AA patients were 195 (67.01%), CA patients were 88 (30.24%), and other were 8 (2.75%). The mean age of all patients was 58.3 years-old (ranged 24-97). The mean BMI was 31.19. The patients with TNBC were 109 (37.46%) in entire studied population. A total of 32 (1.6%) patients, including 14 TNBC and 18 non-TNBC were expired with an average age of 61.84 and an average survival time of 20 months from diagnosis to expiration. As compared to CA patient population, AA breast cancer patients had onset at younger age (58.08±0.88 vs. 59.18±1.36), had a higher BMI (31.79±0.62 vs. 28.25±1.05, p=0.017), higher percentage of TNBC (41.54% vs. 30.68%, p=0.082 and OR=1.605), and higher rate of expiration (11.28% vs, 9.1%). Also, as compared to CA expired patients with breast cancer, AA expired patients had higher BMI (29.57 vs. 28.61), shorter survival time (17.5 months vs. 19.4 months), and died at younger age (61.84-year old vs. 66.38-year old) with a higher proportion of TNBC subtype (54.6% vs 12.5%, p=0.045, OR=9.6). Conclusions: Breast cancer is greatly disparate racially between AA and CA and geographically between Mississippi and US national average. The disparities are manifested in the proportion of TNBC subtype, age at onset of breast cancer, BMI at time of diagnosis, and death rate. Citation Format: Navdeep Kaur, Javaria A. Khan, Jinghe Mao, Diva Melvin, Muhammad M. Hassan, Xinchun Zho. Disparities of triple negative breast cancer in Mississippi [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1014.

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Studies report that the incidence of, and mortality from HCC vary significantly by age, sex, and race/ethnicity; however, disparities in the expression level of tumor biomarkers, liver functions, lipid profiles, and comorbidities have not been thoroughly investigated among subpopulations of patient with HCC. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to review 247 serial HCC cases enrolled in the University of Mississippi Medical Center during June 2000 to May 2023. The entire HCC population was stratified into subpopulations by race, gender, age and BMI. Then comparisons were performed between two corresponding subpopulations in the expression level of HCC-related biomarkers including Alpha-FP, liver functions including albumin, ALT, AST, and ALP, plasma lipid profiles including cholesterol, and comorbidity conditions including cirrhosis in benign liver tissues, smoking, alcohol using, and illness with viral hepatitis. Two-tailed Student’s T-test was used to calculate the difference in mean values, and Chi-Square Test was used to compare the difference in rates or percentages. The significant p value was set at p&lt;0.05. Results: In total 247 HCC cases, males were 178 (72.1%) and females were 69 (27.9%) with a male to female ratio of 2.6:1; black patients were 108 (43.7%), white patients were 127 (51.4%), and others were 4.9%. The mean age was 59.6 years and mean BMI was 27.04. AFP was the only one of detected tumor biomarkers showing disparities: it was significantly higher in patients of male (p=0.026), younger age (p&lt;0.0001), lower BMI (p=0.039), smokers (p=0.0325) and illness with viral hepatitis (p=0.0007). Disparities in liver functions included: 1) AST was significantly higher in Black HCC patients (p=0.027); 2) no statistical difference of liver functions in gender; 3) younger HCC patients had significantly lower level of Albumin (p=0.006), and higher levels of ALT (p=0.014) and AST (p=0.0032); 4) HCC patients with lower BMI also had lower level of Albumin (p=0.015), and higher levels of AST (p=0.0480 and ALP (p=0.0057). There was no statistical difference of plasma lipid profiles between subpopulations, Black HCC patients except that Black HCC patients had significantly higher levels of cholesterol (p=0.0006) and HDL (p=0.048). In comorbidity, Black HCC patients had higher rates of alcohol using and existence of cirrhosis; and male HCC patients had higher rates of smoking, alcohol usage and viral hepatitis. Conclusions: HCC patients are greatly disparate in the expression level of tumor biomarkers, liver functions, plasma lipid profiles and comorbidity conditions between subpopulations stratified by race, gender, age and BMI. These results could provide useful information for clinical management and prognosis of patients with HCC. Citation Format: Xinchun Zhou, Barrett Aldridge, Nazar Rahmanov, Zhirong Liu, Jinghe Mao, Neha Varshney. A retrospective study on the disparities of hepatocellular carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 822.

Background: Research surrounding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on patients who are atopic has mainly focused on adults. After the delta variant showed increased rates of COVID-19 in children, the pediatric population needs to be assessed as well. Objective: The objective was to assess and report outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and with and without certain atopic diseases in our patient cohort at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients by using a de-identified data base that allows querying via medical claims codes from the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Research Data Warehouse. We searched for patients who were COVID-19 positive and ages 0-21 years from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. We then divided this population into two cohorts: an atopic population and a non-atopic population. The incidence of hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, death, length of stay, inhaled corticosteroid prescription history, and the incidence of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) outcomes in the two populations were collected. Results: There were 5261 patients ages 0-21 years and with confirmed COVID-19. After exclusion criteria were applied, there were 1420 patients in the atopic cohort and 2525 patients in the non-atopic cohort. There were more hospitalizations and a longer length of stay in the atopic population. Mortality was equivalent in the atopic and non-atopic populations. There were more ICU admissions in the atopic population. There were 101 patients total with the diagnosis of MIS-C, and the incidence of MIS-C was similar in the atopic and non-atopic populations. There were more patients who were atopic on inhaled corticosteroid than were the patients who were non-atopic. Conclusion: This study sought to further elucidate whether asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis in pediatric patients was associated with severe COVID-19. Our study showed increased hospitalizations, length of stay, and intensive care in the atopic population but similar outcomes in mortality and the development of MIS-C. Future longitudinal prospective studies are needed to assess the long-term effects on patient's atopic disease after COVID-19 infection.

Abstract Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are significant respiratory viruses that adversely affect pediatric patients in Mississippi. SARS- CoV-2, a positive-strand RNA virus, causes COVID-19, a contagious respiratory disease that carries profound morbidity and mortality. Infection with RSV, a negative-strand RNA virus, has recently experienced increased inter-seasonal activity in the Southern US, particularly in Mississippi. Symptoms of COVID-19 and RSV commonly overlap within pediatric patients and include clinical manifestations of fever, cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath. Both viruses are spread person-to-person via aerosol penetration into the upper respiratory tract and lungs via inhalation. Of the two viruses, RSV has previously been shown to impact children more frequently. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has led to a resurgence of interest in upper respiratory viruses within pediatric patients. Methods Nasopharyngeal and buccal samples were collected from pediatric patients at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, a large tertiary referral hospital, from May 2021 to November 2022. The cohort was prospectively enrolled and consisted of 132 patients who reported upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, fever, wheezing, dyspnea, and nasal congestion. Ultimately, 72% of these symptomatic patients tested positive for a viral respiratory infection of RSV or SARS-CoV-2. Results The data showed three specific trends in: age, gender, and race. First, a higher prevalence of certain respiratory viruses was demonstrated amongst specific age groups. In the age cohort of 0-2 years old, there were fewer cases of SARS-CoV-2 and an increased number of cases of RSV. In the age cohort of 7-12 years old, there were an increased number of cases of both SARS-CoV-2 and RSV. Furthermore, the age cohort of 13-17 years old demonstrated an increased number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 and a reduced number of cases of RSV. A two-tailed t-test indicated a significant difference between the mean age of patients infected with RSV verses SARS-CoV-2 (t=2.05, p=.04). Secondly, while analyzing gender and race, black males were disproportionately represented by increased positive viral results, comprising 46% of the positive viral detection results, while only making up 29% of the total patient cohort. Conversely, white females comprised 29% of the total patient cohort, but only 14% of the positive viral testing results. Figure 1: Illustration of the processing of nasopharyngeal swabs utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing. Conclusions This data potentially points to differences in immunologic makeup of different groups within the pediatric population that would protect one age group or racial group from a certain respiratory illness but make them more susceptible to another. Additionally, the collected nasopharyngeal and buccal samples are being further characterized using single cell RNA sequencing. While many efforts to blunt the effects of these viruses in pediatric populations rely on prevention strategies and public awareness, this empirical information could allow scientists to better target the presence of these viruses within high-risk populations.

Diabetes is a costly epidemic in the United States associated with both health and economic consequences. These consequences can be mitigated by participation in structured lifestyle change programs such as the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mississippi consistently has among the highest rates of diabetes and prediabetes nationally. Implementing the National DPP through large health care systems can increase reach and accessibility for populations at the highest risk for diabetes. Translational research on the National DPP in Mississippi has not been studied. This study aims to evaluate the implementation and impact of the National DPP delivered using telehealth modalities at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. An effectiveness-implementation hybrid type III research design is proposed. The study design is guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework and the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model. Participants are being recruited via provider referral, and the DPP is being delivered by trained lifestyle coaches. Study participants include adult (≥18 years) patients eligible for the DPP with at least 1 encounter at 1 of 3 ambulatory clinic specialties (lifestyle medicine, family medicine, and internal medicine) between January 2019 and December 2023. The National DPP eligibility criteria include a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and hemoglobin A1c between 5.7% and 6.4%. The University of Mississippi Medical Center criteria include Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries. The University of Mississippi Medical Center's a priori implementation plan was developed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and includes 23 discrete strategies. The primary aim will use an embedded mixed method process analysis to identify and mitigate challenges to implementation. The secondary aim will use a nonrandomized quasi-experimental design to assess the comparative effectiveness of the DPP on health care expenditures. A propensity score matching method will be implemented to compare case subjects to control subjects. The primary outcomes include patient referrals, participant enrollment, retention, engagement, the incidence of diabetes, and health care resource use and costs. At baseline, of the 26,151 patients across 3 ambulatory clinic specialties, 1010 (3.9%) had prediabetes and were eligible for the National DPP. Of the 1010 patients, more than half (n=562, 55.6%) were aged 65 years or older, 79.5% (n=803) were Medicare beneficiaries, 65.9% (n=666) were female, and 70.8% (n=715) were obese. This is the first translational study of the National DPP in Mississippi. The findings will inform implementation strategies impacting the uptake and sustainability of the National DPP delivered in an academic medical setting using distance learning and telehealth modalities. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04822480; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03622580. DERR1-10.2196/50183.

Background: Hypertensive emergency, defined as a blood pressure ≥ 180/110mmHg with target organ damage, is a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is a lack of data on the impact of race and socioeconomic factors on hypertensive emergency incidence and outcomes. Thus, we investigated these associations in a diverse population at a large tertiary-care academic medical center. Methods: Utilizing the Patient Cohort Explorer Epic electronic health records system at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 1/1/2013 to 7/31/2021, we identified patients diagnosed with hypertensive emergency. Sociodemographic factors related to hypertension and patient status (alive/deceased) were also examined. Descriptive statistics were used to examine differences in means across groups. Results: 2,483 patients diagnosed with hypertensive emergency were included in this analysis. Among these patients, the mean (SD) age was 52 (17) years, 49% were women, and 82.2% were Black. Nearly half (44.4%) of those diagnosed with hypertensive emergency were uninsured, 46.7% had Medicaid or Medicare, and 7.9% had private insurance. Black patients with hypertensive emergency were significantly younger compared with White patients (51 vs 57 years, p<0.001). There was no significant correlation between race and insurance status in this population. Over the 8-year period, 14.1% were deceased at the time of analysis. Conclusions: Among patients admitted to a large academic medical center with hypertensive emergency, most were Black individuals with Medicaid or lacking health insurance. Black individuals present at significantly younger ages compared to White patients. Our findings are much different than data published from the Nationwide Readmissions Database reporting a mean age of 66 years and nearly 90% insured rate in patients with hypertensive emergency. Further, race was not reported in that analysis. Our findings suggest that hypertensive emergency disproportionately affects minority and underserved populations. Further work is needed to characterize risk factors and improve outcomes for this high-risk population.

Background: The use of Impella assist device for high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (HR-PCI) and cardiogenic shock (CS) has increased in the last decade and requires a large bore arterial access (LBA). However, LBA closure following Impella removal is associated with significant complications. Objective: To describe the safety and efficacy of a novel method of LBA closure using arterial recoil following Impella removal. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective review of electronic medical records in all patients that underwent LBA closure using this novel method from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022, was performed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The procedure involves controlled downsizing of the arterial sheath from 12 French (Fr) to 6 Fr with intermittent compression to allow patent hemostasis facilitated by arterial recoil. Baseline characteristics and outcomes including closure success, immediate or delayed (>6 hours) bleeding, and access site hematoma/pseudoaneurysm were included. Results: Of 103 patients with Impella placement, 20 (19%) underwent LBA closure with the arterial recoil method. Patients were predominantly male (80%) and White (55%) with a mean age of 65 + 16 years. The most common indication for Impella placement was HR-PCI (40%), followed by non-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) CS (35%), and AMI-CS (25%). After downsizing of the femoral sheath to 6 Fr, 14 patients (70%) underwent manual compression, 3 patients had a 6 Fr sheath left in place to maintain access, 2 patients underwent placement of a Perclose device, and 1 patient underwent placement of a Vascade device. Successful LBA closure was performed in all patients with no immediate or delayed bleeding complications. A total of 5 patients (25%) died inpatient, including one patient who had palliative removal of the Impella device; the deaths were unrelated to complications of Impella removal. Conclusions: LBA closure post-Impella removal with this novel method is safe and effective. Further prospective studies are needed to ascertain its comparative efficacy.

339 Background: Limited health insurance literacy (HIL) has been linked to problems paying medical bills or delaying care among patients with cancer. In this study, we describe the prevalence and correlates of HIL in a cohort of cancer patients measured using a ten-question HIL quiz developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Methods: We examined HIL in 393 adult patients (aged >18 years) receiving cancer treatment in two ambulatory infusion centers, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona (12/2019 to 2/2020 and 8/2020 to 10/2020) and University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi (9/2020 to 1/2021). HIL was categorized as low, moderate, or high based on the total number of correct answers: 0-4 (low), 5-6 (moderate), and 7-10 (high). Descriptive statistics characterized the sample and chi-square statistics compared HIL by sociodemographic factors. Results: Most patients understood basic insurance terms, such as premiums and deductibles (Table). However, fewer patients answered questions correctly about provider networks (46.1%), formularies (48.6%), and calculating out-of-pocket (OOP) spending (16.8%). 53 (13.5%), 69 (17.6%), and 271 (69.0%) patients had low, moderate, and high HIL scores, respectively. Lower HIL was more common among patients of younger age (<65 years: 17.8%, 65+ years: 8.7%), lower educational attainment (less than college: 23.2%; college or higher: 4.4%), and lower household income (<$4999: 21.1%, $5000+: 6.1%) (all p-values<0.05). Conclusions: Although HIL in our cohort of cancer patients was relatively high - 69% answered at least 7 questions correctly - there were gaps in understanding of provider networks, formularies, and calculation of OOP spending. Efforts to improve HIL and help with navigation of health insurance plans may be required, especially for socioeconomically vulnerable patients.[Table: see text]

Background Atrial fibrillation (AFIB) is a common atrial arrhythmia that affects millions of people worldwide. However, most of the time, AFIB is paroxysmal and can pass unnoticed in medical exams; therefore, regular screening is required. This paper proposes machine learning (ML) methods to detect AFIB from short-term electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. Aim Several experiments were conducted across five different databases, with three of them containing ECG signals and the other two consisting of only PPG signals. Experiments were conducted to investigate the hypothesis that an ML model trained to predict AFIB from ECG segments could be used to predict AFIB from PPG segments. Materials and methods A random forest (RF) ML algorithm achieved the best accuracy and achieved a 90% accuracy rate on the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) dataset (216 samples) and a 97% accuracy rate on the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III datasets (2,134 samples). Results A total of 269,842 signal segments were analyzed across all datasets (212,266 were of normal sinus rhythm (NSR) and 57,576 corresponded to AFIB segments). Conclusions The ability to detect AFIB with significant accuracy using ML algorithms from PPG signals, which can be acquired via non-invasive contact or contactless, is a promising step forward toward the goal of achieving large-scale screening for AFIB.

Dear Colleagues, We are delighted to share another issue (September 2023, Volume 29, Issue 3) of the European Journal of Therapeutics (Eur J Ther). We believe this issue’s valuable and exciting works will be read with interest. As you will notice at first glance, you will see that this issue contains many editorials and letters to the editor, unlike the previous issues. As the new editorial team, we aim to publish current developments, interesting notes, or important historical anecdotes in medicine as Editorials, Special Editorials, or Letters to the Editor. We would like to inform you that you can submit all of your articles that meet these criteria to our journal. In this editorial, we would like to share the developments that we think are important for Eur J Ther, since our previous editorial [1]. First, we would like to share that the Eur J Ther is approved for inclusion in ERIH PLUS [2]. Moreover, the Eur J Ther now also appears in the Journal Section of the ResearchGate [3]. In this way, it will be possible to follow the Eur J Ther through ResearchGate. We wish to inform you that our editorial team is diligently striving to deliver enhanced advancements in the forthcoming editions. Another significant development is that an application to the Index Copernicus was submitted for the Eur J Ther on July 31, 2023 [4]. In the previous issue, it was reported that some of the cited references made to the previous articles published in the Eur J Ther were not reflected in the Web of Science, and applications via “data changes form” were made to correct them [1]. Most of these applications have been completed, updated in the Web of Science database, and corrected missing references. With these corrections and new citations in the last three to four months, the average per-item value (total number of citations for all articles divided by the number of articles) of the Eur J Ther has increased from 0.52 to 0.78 [5]. In addition, the journal’s H-Index has risen from 8 to 10. The current metrics of Eur J Ther in the Web of Science are as follows, as of August 16, 2023 [5]. Total number of publications: 800 (between 2007 to 2023) Citing Articles (total): 593 Citing Articles (without self-citations): 558 Times Cited (total): 620 Times Cited (without self-citations): 570 Average per item: 0.78 (620/800) H-Index: 10 Although these metrics may be insufficient for Eur J Ther, which has been published for over thirty years, we, the New Editorial Team, anticipate that we can achieve better levels in the long run with our updated policies. Another significant development is that the Journal Impact Factor value of the Eur J Ther was calculated for the first time, and this value was 0.3. As is known, the Web of Science calculated Journal Impact Factors for the first time for journals in the E-SCI index as of 2023 [6]. Although a Journal Impact Factor of 0.3 is not satisfactory, it is not bad for a journal whose Journal Impact Factor is calculated for the first time. On the other hand, we believe that this value will increase in the coming years, as essential and valuable studies will be published in our journal. The previous issue reported that there are significant changes in the Editorial Board of Eur J Ther [1, 7]. We are pleased to inform you that we continue to expand our editorial team in this issue. Information about our esteemed editors, who have recently joined our team, is below. Ricardo Grillo, DDS, MBA, MSc, is a new Editorial Board Member of the Eur J Ther for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr Grillo is the Head of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at IPESP (Brasília). He has more than 20 years of experience in Orthognathic Surgery, Oral Surgery and Maxillofacial Aesthetics. He is also a court expert in the topic. His special interest is related to new technologies including algorithms, virtual surgical planning, CAD and biotechnology. Figen Govsa (Gokmen), MD, finished her higher education at the Faculty of Medicine at Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir between 1982 and 1988. In 1989, she worked as a general practitioner at the Cal Health Center in Denizli Province. From 1990 to 1992, she served as an assistant at the Department of Anatomy at Ege University’s Faculty of Medicine. She worked as an associate professor at the Department of Anatomy between 1996 and 2001, and since 2001, she has been a professor. She has served in various faculty and upper management positions in Ege University’s institutional structure, continuing her education-focused administrative roles in several councils and committees at the Faculty of Medicine. She has contributed to undergraduate and postgraduate education across Ege University’s faculties, mentoring master’s, doctoral, and specialist students, helping them become academics in the field of anatomy. Her research interests include clinical anatomy (surgical anatomy, head and neck surgery, vascular surgery, reconstructive surgery), radio-anatomy, anatomy teaching, and personalized treatment algorithms. She is the founder of the Digital Imaging and Three-Dimensional Modeling Laboratory- Ege 3D Lab (www.ege3dlab.com), where personalized surgical plans have increased surgical success in complex cases involving orthopedics, general surgery, neurosurgery, eye surgery, radiation oncology, and thoracic surgery. With 150 SCI-expanded indexed academic journal articles, she has served as editor and chapter author for several scientific books published by national and international publishers. She has been an executor and researcher on numerous national projects in collaboration with national and international scientists. She is the Education and Terminology theme editor of the Surgical Radiological Anatomy journal and serves as an editor and reviewer for many foreign journals. She was the only anatomist from Turkey to be included in Stanford University's list of the World's Most Influential Scientists. Her joint publication with Prof. Dr. Yelda Pınar, titled "Anatomy of the superficial temporal artery and its branches: its importance for surgery", was ranked among the top 50 most-cited articles in the face rejuvenation theme by Mayo Clinic's Department of Plastic Surgery since 1950. It's the only study from Turkey in the "Landmarks in Facial Rejuvenation Surgery: The Top 50 Most Cited Articles. Aesthet Surg J, 2020." From 2010 to 2012, Govsa contributed as a member of the TÜBA Turkish Medical Terminology Dictionary Working Group and was invited to rejoin the TÜBA working group starting in 2021. Since its establishment, she has been a member of the Turkish Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy Association, serving on its Qualification Board and Ethical Committee. She is also a member of the European Clinical Anatomy Association (EACA). Özgür Kasapçopur, MD, is a Professor in Pediatrics at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics, and is currently Head of Pediatric Rheumatology. He serves as the Chairman of the Institutional Review Board and Clinical Research Ethical Committee of Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty. Professor Kasapçopur received his undergraduate education in Medicine at Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty and also completed here both his residency and fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics. Professor Kasapçopur is a member of the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS), the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO), the Turkish Pediatric Association and the Turkish National Society of Pediatric Rheumatology. Professor Kasapçopur’s research interests include vaccine response, cytokine pathway, and medical ethics, with clinical emphases on juvenile idiopathic arthritis, familial Mediterranean fever, autoinflammatory disease and juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis and scleroderma. Professor Kasapçopur has published 83 book chapters in Turkish medical textbooks, and more than 315 original peer-reviewed articles (and case reports) in medical journals. The h-index of Professor Kasapçopur is 55 in Google Scholar and 43 in Web of Science. He had more than 8800 citations in the Web of Science. Professor Kasapcopur is Editor-in-Chief of Turkish Archives Pediatrics. Additionally, Professor Kasapcopur is the Associate Editor of Archives of Rheumatology, Frontiers in Pediatrics, and Case Report in Pediatrics. He is also on the editorial board of many scientific national and international journals. Harry Pantazopoulos, PhD is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr Pantazopoulos received his A.L.M. degree from Harvard University and his doctoral degree in Neurobiology from Northeastern University in Boston. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow and a Junior Faculty at Mclean Hospital, Harvard Medical School before joining the University of Mississippi. The research of the Pantazopoulos lab is focused on identifying the neuropathological correlates of psychiatric disorders with an emphasis on the role of the extracellular matrix and circadian rhythms. He pursues these questions using a combination of human postmortem and animal model approaches. His long-term research goal is to develop a foundation of changes in neurocircuitry in several diseases, including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression and Substance Use Disorders, that he can leverage to develop more effective treatments. In addition, he aims to identify basic biological mechanisms that will provide insight into how the circadian system and the extracellular matrix regulate neural functions in a brain region-specific manner, linked to specific behaviors. Ghada Shahrour, PhD, PMHCNS, RN is a faculty member at the Faculty of Nursing in Jordan University of Science and Technology. She is an associate professor in the field of psychiatric nursing and currently is the Chairman of the Community and Mental Health Nursing Department. Dr Shahrour received her PhD in 2017 and Master’s degrees in 2011 from Kent State University in the USA and her BSN from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Her research interest is in the area of mental health nursing and more specifically researching bullying among adolescent school children and college students. Although Dr Shahrour has been appointed in 2018 to work at Jordan University of Science and Technology, she has 30 publications so far in the field of mental health. Dr Shahrour is a co-founder and a previous vice president of the Psychological Sciences Association in Jordan. She has worked on national and international projects as a co-investigator. Dr Shahrour aspires to improve the lives of adolescents and college students through her research on bullying and mental health in general.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced institutions of higher education into an emergency remote teaching practice. In this study, the researchers utilized a convergent triangulation mixed-methods study design to investigate the technological challenges and growth that faculty experienced in seven schools at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as a result of the transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative data were collected through an anonymous online survey that asked faculty to rate their competency in each of the 14 technology-related tasks twice—once for the pre-pandemic period and once for the current period. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted virtually or in person. One hundred faculty participated in the quantitative survey. A significant difference between faculty self-rated competency levels in the pre-pandemic period and the current period was observed, suggesting technology knowledge growth from the forced transition. Qualitative interviews of 19 faculty revealed five overarching themes: inconsistency in instructional support, pandemic-induced technological growth, power of togetherness, maintaining continuity through flexibility, and resilience against adversity. This study provided faculty with the experience to perform effective self-reflection and gain insights into their pedagogical practices. Future research should focus on professional development that can help faculty remain up-to-date on technology utilization and establish a contingency plan to better prepare for the unknown.

JACCP: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CLINICAL PHARMACYVolume 6, Issue 6 p. 655-656 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Reply to comment on “Evaluation of pharmacy residency recruitment and interview processes during the COVID-19 pandemic” Kayla R. Stover Pharm.D., FCCP, Corresponding Author Kayla R. Stover Pharm.D., FCCP [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-8635-0137 University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Correspondence Kayla R. Stover, University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorDavid A. Cretella Pharm.D., David A. Cretella Pharm.D. University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorKatie E. Barber Pharm.D., Katie E. Barber Pharm.D. University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorJamie L. Wagner Pharm.D., Jamie L. Wagner Pharm.D. orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-7894 University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorMary Joyce B. Wingler Pharm.D., Mary Joyce B. Wingler Pharm.D. University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this author Kayla R. Stover Pharm.D., FCCP, Corresponding Author Kayla R. Stover Pharm.D., FCCP [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-8635-0137 University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Correspondence Kayla R. Stover, University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorDavid A. Cretella Pharm.D., David A. Cretella Pharm.D. University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorKatie E. Barber Pharm.D., Katie E. Barber Pharm.D. University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorJamie L. Wagner Pharm.D., Jamie L. Wagner Pharm.D. orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-7894 University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this authorMary Joyce B. Wingler Pharm.D., Mary Joyce B. Wingler Pharm.D. University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 June 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1824Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. REFERENCES 1Kulawiak J, Hovey S, Ohler K. Comment on “Evaluation of pharmacy residency recruitment and interview processes during the COVID-19 pandemic”. J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2023; 6: 654. 2Wingler MJB, Cretella DA, Wagner JL, Barber KE, Bookstaver PB, Freeman L, et al. Evaluation of pharmacy residency recruitment and interview processes during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021 application cycle). J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2023; 6(3): 241– 51. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1684 3Beechinor RJ, Eche IM, Edmonds N, Mordino J, Serafin H, Roller L, et al. Perceptions of a virtual interview process for pharmacy residents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multisite survey of residency candidates, preceptors, and residency program directors. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2022; 79(16): 1385– 92. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxac130 4Hovey SW, Arif SA, Khan AM, Hyderi AF, Varughese C, Peksa GD, et al. More than a buzz word: building diversity, equity, and inclusion into pharmacy residency recruitment. J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2023; 6: 154– 64. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac.5.1716 5Grace AJ, Teigen K, Buck K, Clark MS, Seavey A, Brennan J, et al. Evaluating changes in family medicine applicant characteristics following the onset of virtual interviewing. Fam Med. 2022; 54(10): 791– 7. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2022.625652 6Alexandraki I, Ismail N, Lai CJ, Duca NS, Ratcliffe T, Kisielewski M, et al. Medical student advising during virtual residency recruitment: results of a national survey of internal medicine clerkship and sub-internship directors. Med Educ Online. 2023; 28(1):2143926. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2022.2143926 7Carmody JB, Rosman IS, Carlson JC. Application fever: reviewing the causes, costs, and cures for residency application inflation. Cureus. 2021; 13(3):e13804. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.13804 8Stewart DW, Neumeister JR. What we learned in the pandemic about graduate teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2021 Available from: https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-we-learned-in-the-pandemic-about-graduate-training 9 ASHP Match Statistics. ASHP Match. 2023 Available from: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats.html Volume6, Issue6June 2023Pages 655-656 ReferencesRelatedInformation

HomeCirculation: Cardiovascular ImagingAhead of PrintCoronary Artery Calcification and One-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in the 75-and-Older Population: The ARIC Study No AccessResearch ArticleRequest AccessAboutView PDFSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toNo AccessResearch ArticleRequest AccessCoronary Artery Calcification and One-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in the 75-and-Older Population: The ARIC Study Yejin Mok, Yasuyuki Honda, Frances M. Wang, Candace M. Howard, Aaron R. Folsom, Josef Coresh, Matthew Budoff, Michael J. Blaha and Kunihiro Matsushita Yejin MokYejin Mok https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8511-604X Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Y.M., Y.H., F.M.W., J.C., K.M.). Search for more papers by this author , Yasuyuki HondaYasuyuki Honda https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6710-9890 Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Y.M., Y.H., F.M.W., J.C., K.M.). Search for more papers by this author , Frances M. WangFrances M. Wang Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Y.M., Y.H., F.M.W., J.C., K.M.). Search for more papers by this author , Candace M. HowardCandace M. Howard https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6537-3551 University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson (C.M.H.). Search for more papers by this author , Aaron R. FolsomAaron R. Folsom https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2635-2699 Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (A.R.F.). Search for more papers by this author , Josef CoreshJosef Coresh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4598-0669 Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Y.M., Y.H., F.M.W., J.C., K.M.). Search for more papers by this author , Matthew BudoffMatthew Budoff https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9616-1946 Endowed Chair of Preventive Cardiology, Lundquist Institute, Torrance, CA (M.B.). Search for more papers by this author , Michael J. BlahaMichael J. Blaha https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5138-9683 Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (M.J.B.). Search for more papers by this author and Kunihiro MatsushitaKunihiro Matsushita Correspondence to: Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, 2024 E. Monument St, Ste 2-600, Baltimore, MD 21287. Email E-mail Address: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7179-718X Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (Y.M., Y.H., F.M.W., J.C., K.M.). Search for more papers by this author Originally published7 Jun 2023https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.122.015026Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. 2023;0:e015026FootnotesFor Sources of Funding and Disclosures, see page xxx.Correspondence to: Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, 2024 E. Monument St, Ste 2-600, Baltimore, MD 21287. Email kuni.[email protected]edu Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2023 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.122.015026PMID: 37283057 Originally publishedJune 7, 2023 Keywordssample sizeatherosclerosiscardiovascular diseasepolypharmacyprevalencePDF download Advertisement SubjectsCardiovascular DiseaseEpidemiology

The purpose of this evidence implementation project was to promote evidence-based practices regarding the delivery of diabetes self-management education via telehealth in conjunction with remote patient monitoring within the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Center for Telehealth. Diabetes self-management education plays a critical role in supporting self-care behaviors that can improve glycemic control, but certain patient populations have poor access to this service. Telehealth offers an innovative approach to addressing geographical and socioeconomic barriers to diabetes self-management education. This evidence implementation project used the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (JBI PACES) and Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) framework for promoting evidence-based healthcare. A baseline audit was conducted to identify areas of strengths where best practices were already being implemented and areas of opportunity for improvement. The project team aligned on practical and sustainable interventions for delivering optimal diabetes self-management education via telehealth. Postimplementation audits were conducted to determine success of the interventions. Baseline audits revealed an average compliance of 47.7% with five best practices for diabetes self-management education for adults with type 2 diabetes via telehealth. After strategies to improve compliance were implemented, compliance improved to 80%. The objectives of this project were realized. The team was able to promote evidence-based practices regarding the delivery of education via telehealth in conjunction with remote patient monitoring, as evidenced by a measurable improvement in adherence to best practices. The primary intervention focused on individualization of education based on patient-specific needs.

Biopreservation and BiobankingAhead of Print AbstractsFree AccessThe International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories Presents Abstracts from Its Annual Meeting“Come As You Are: Building Biobanking Bridges” In‐Person: May 3–6, 2023 Seattle, Washington Virtual: June 6–7, 2023Published Online:14 Apr 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2023.29118.abstractsAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail The abstracts that follow demonstrate the broad range of timely issues addressed in the contributed Oral and Poster presentations at ISBER's 2023 Annual Meeting & Exhibits.Oral AbstractO‐01 Accelerating Translational Research by Enabling Access to Specimens and DatasetsS. Joshi1, E. Matzke2, D. Galipeau31Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States, 2Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 3Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United StatesStatement of the Problem: Finding appropriate clinical specimens and associated data often causes bottlenecks in the translational research pipeline. Often investigators procure specimens through only one or a small number of sources which often have limited volume of participants and demographics of the patient population. Seemingly paradoxical, groups with large numbers of banked specimens often struggle to increase awareness and use of their collected specimens, which can lead to limited return on investment for high infrastructure costs.Proposed Solution: To address the above‐mentioned challenges the Specimen & Data Acquisition Network (SAN) was formed in 2019 to increase opportunities for resource exchange in the Pacific Northwest region (Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia). The concept of SAN, a hub and spoke network to speed sharing of resources and ideas, originated in response to sparse specimen resources within our translational research program which was a key bottleneck to research endeavors. Building on existing local connections and those from our research network in other academic institutions, we began collaborations with 7 additional institutions that were aligned with our objectives and goals. SAN serves as a liaison for investigators to leverage collective resources and works to support researchers in their biobanking activities. SAN is a conduit for collaborative science across the regional translational research community.Conclusions: Currently, the SAN consists of 10 member organizations, each with representation on the governance committee. SAN began serving investigators in 2020 and, to date, has received 80 requests and connected more than 40 investigators to critical project resources spanning 12 institutions. SAN works with researchers to provide support across 6 service areas: 1) Access to specimens, 2) Access to datasets, 3) Data Management Support, 4) Research Connections, 5) Regulatory Guidance, and 6) Resource Lifecycle Management. These supportive services are catered to give researchers more time to focus on their next big discovery. Five SAN member institutions are signatory to an umbrella material/data transfer agreement that has expedited resource sharing. We envision that this will be a valuable resource for the translational research community.O‐02 Power of Consortium Shared Resources When External Threats OccurS. Hume4, 1, S. Higgins1, 2, A. J. Mountain1, 3, C. Gilfillan4, W. Ng1, 21Victorian Cancer Biobank Consortium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3Austin Health Tissue Bank, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, 4Eastern Health Tissue Bank, Eastern Health, Box Hill, Victoria, AustraliaStatement of Problem: The Eastern Health Tissue Bank (EHTB) is a hospital‐integrated cancer biobank and a member of Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB) Consortium. In 2021, the biobank responded to several external threats that affected daily operations. These included a cyber‐threat incident at the hosting institution and multiple COVID‐19‐related disruptions as the city experienced one of the longest pandemic lockdowns globally.Unplanned events can severely and suddenly restrict biobanking activities, and small biobanks require support to ensure sustainability and business continuity.Proposed Solution: As part of the VCB Consortium, the EHTB has a strong resilience and ability to respond to external threats or incidents. As a hub‐and‐spoke Consortium (comprising a central lead agency with five cancer tissue banks), the VCB utilises shared resources to strengthen business continuity.This presentation depicts two scenarios (cyber threat and pandemic) which demonstrate the combined use of tools across a networked biobank to reduce risks and impacts from large‐scale organisational disruptions.Three Consortium‐wide tools were utilised:1) A robust Business Continuity Plan, incorporating key stakeholders' responsibilities in risk management.2) A Consortium Business Plan with local (institution) and networked (consortium) goals.3) Implementation of harmonised Standardised Operating Procedures (SOPs).Scenario Outcomes Included:1) Central Operations “Hub” provided immediate contingency support as part of a framework for rapid response/recovery, including facilitating communications with stakeholders.2) A partner “Spoke” Site allowed EHTB staff access to Biobank shared databases, group business communication platforms, and shared biospecimen storage.3) Harmonised Consortium SOPs allowed large‐scale multisite dispatches to still be completed.Conclusions: In responding to external threat incidents, a robust business continuity plan and immediate access to shared resources enabled the EHTB to retain some functionality. If the EHTB had been a standalone biobank, capacity to operate would have been diminished, resulting in the loss or suspension of activity.The resources described cannot be underestimated in their effectiveness when an external threat occurs.O‐03 The Qualification in Biorepository Science (QBRS) Examination: Progress Report on its Global ReachB. Schacter1, 2, D. Simeon‐Dubach31Medical Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 2Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 3medservice Daniel Simeon Dubach, Walchwil, ZG, SwitzerlandBackground: The importance of quality parameters in biobanking of biological materials like human tissues has been emphasized in the past: Biobanking standards by ISO (ISO 20387), CAP accreditation, Best Practices (ISBER Best Practices 4th ed.), OECD standards, and Standard Operating Practices and Policies by CTRNet were developed to address these challenges.While these procedures are proving invaluable to biobanks to ensure that their processes for accessing, processing, and distributing biobanked materials result in reproducibility and quality performance, they do not address the question of quality performance in the biobanking professionals themselves.Methods: The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) and ASCP BOC (American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification) as two leading organisations in their fields joined forces to develop the QBRS (Qualification in Biorepository Science) examination, in order to further enhance reproducible and sustainable quality biobanking in biobanking professionals. The exam is administered online and is unique in its field.Well trained and skilled staff are essential to ensure high quality biospecimens for reproducible results in precision medicine, biomarker development, and biomedical research as a whole, while aiming for sustainable biobanking activities.Results: To date, over 58 individuals in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, Wales, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Costa Rica, and the USA have taken and passed the exam to qualify for the QBRS, demonstrating its global appeal.Conclusions: The QBRS has become the standard which defines the required level of knowledge and skill in biobanking professionals that will assure sustained quality and reproducibility in biobanking laboratories worldwide. Successful applicants have acknowledged that achieving the QBRS makes them more desirable in hiring competitions and enhances their career trajectory. Conversely, biobanks that hire a QBRS qualified biobanker have acknowledged that they are striving for quality in their biobanking operation. The QBRS qualification establishes that the biobank in which the qualified biobanker works is one that promotes and establishes quality within its biobanking staff. Biobank directors have indicated that the QBRS exam provides further impetus for professional training for their staff.O‐04 A New Tool to Match Organ, Tissue, and Eye Post‐mortem Donors to Research Project CriteriaK. D. Kunkle, G. H. Grossman, T. Cattell, A. AbbottPrecision Ocular Biobank, Advancing Sight Network, Birmingham, Alabama, United StatesBackground: Post‐mortem repositories recover organs, tissues, and eyes for research from authorized donors. However, due to the rapid nature of the donation process conflicting with the laborious task of matching donors to research project criteria, organizations miss opportunities to identify donors for prospective recovery. The ReSync app was developed by the Precision Ocular Biobank to assist in the real‐time identification of research donors at the initial point of the referral call.Methods: ReSync is an app built in Claris FileMaker 19, a low‐code relational database engine. Although ReSync is a closed system, open‐source functionality of Claris FileMaker allows it to universally connect to external donation referral databases. Research project criteria are entered into a table in ReSync prior to activation. Exclusion and inclusion criteria in categories such as donor demographics, medical history, and referral status act as triggers to match with donor information. Once active, referral coordinators enter donor information into the host database during the initial call from the hospital with a recent or impending death. Filtering occurs through connecting pairs of fields in tables in ReSync and the host database to validate or invalidate a donor candidate against each project. When a match between a project and donor occurs, a flag alerts the coordinator in real‐time. Matching projects appear in a pop‐up window, and referral coordinators can then consult with research specialists or directly assign the case to one of the projects and initiate recovery dispatch.Results: Since its employment, ReSync has allowed the Precision Ocular Biobank to expand its open research requests from 3 to 18 at any given point, representing a six‐fold increase in concomitant projects. This also led to a dramatically decrease in the time a donor was matched to a project, from twenty minutes to five (400% decrease). Even with more projects open simultaneously, request fulfillment time decreased by 25%.Conclusions: Low‐code, automated donor matching solutions allow post‐mortem repositories with limited software developing capability to better fulfil prospective research requests. While simultaneously reducing missed opportunities and eligibility times, programs like ReSync allow for the expansion of enrolled projects.O‐05 Determining Pre‐analytical Variables and Molecular Determinants to Ensure High Quality of Luxor BiobankN. Kordy, S. Ezzat, S. Mahmoud, R. Mohamed, A. Hagag, A. M. Gamal, M. M. Saady, A. SalehResearch Department, Shefa Al Orman Hospital, Luxor, EgyptBackground: Biobank sample preparation methods must ensure long‐term functionality of the products obtained. Preanalytical variables affect the integrity of the biospecimens, and results of analyses. The quality of nucleic acids has a major importance for molecular biology techniques used in genetic analysis. Quality indicators are the tool to measure these parameters; purity and integrity are the determinants for DNA quality. This study aims to determine the quality of SOH Biobank (SOHB) by independently evaluating the preanalytical variables in terms of measurement of processing time, aliquots position audit, and the quality of DNA samples.Methodology: SOHB biospecimen collection is performed after SOH‐IRB approval. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were written with strict adherence by the team. Blood samples are collected after participant recruitment in the biobank program and obtaining informed consent. After blood collection, the blood is processed within one‐hour and stored in ‐80 degree Celsius freezers. Quality control was determined first, through recording sample withdrawal, receiving, and processing time. Second, aliquots position audits were performed manually on recruited patients for the last 6 months of 2021 to ensure 100% accurate aliquots position, Finally, DNA extracted from buffy coat samples was stored in the duration of 01‐2017 to 02‐2022 using QIAamp DNA kit (Qiagen). Concentration and purity are measured by spectrophotometer (Multisky scan, Thermofisher). Pure DNA ratio should be between 1.8 to 2.0; a higher ratio reveals DNA degradation, while a lower ratio indicates protein contamination.Results: Mean value of processing time for 6600 samples is calculated to ensure that samples are processed and stored in ‐80 degree Celsius freezers within 1 hour of sample withdrawal. Results showed the mean value is 23 ± 0.08 minutes. Manual aliquots position audit was performed for samples stored from July to December 2021; 1087 cases showed 96% accuracy, while 4% aliquot misassigned position inside box. Purity detection for 980 samples out of 6600 samples were analyzed and showed a mean of A260/A280ratio of 1.8 ± 0.025.Conclusion: SOHB quality control results are satisfactory ensuring that SOHB can provide high‐quality samples for genomic studies. Quality control should be performed in a regular manner to ensure the appropriate management of the samples, avoiding low confidence in results, high costs, and sample wasting.O‐06 MIRRI‐ERIC: A Pan‐European Research Infrastructure for Making Microbial Science and Innovation HappenR. Aznar1, M. Bosschaerts2, N. Lima3, L. Soares41Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología and Colección Española de Cultivos Tipo (CECT), Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain, 2BCCM Coordination Cell, Belgian Science Policy, Brussels, Belgium, 3CEB‐Universidade do Minho, Micoteca da Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal, 4MIRRI‐ERIC Central Coordinating Unit, MIRRI‐ERIC, Braga, PortugalStatement of the Problem: Several hurdles hamper microbial research and cause inefficient, ineffective, and costly science and innovation: difficulty to access strains cited in papers and databases; sharing of unverified strains; gaps in the current offer; fragmentation of resources, data, services, and expertise; and deficient support to individual culture collections (CCs).Proposed Solution: The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure ‐ European Research Infrastructure Consortium (MIRRI‐ERIC) has been created as a pan‐European distributed research infrastructure, with the goal of solving/mitigating these bottlenecks, promoting complementarity, reducing redundancy, and continuously improving the capacity of its Partner Microbial domain Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs). MIRRI brings together ∼50 mBRCs, CCs, and research institutes from ten European countries working for the preservation, systematic investigation, provision, and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity, with a special focus on the domains of Health & Food, Agro‐Food, and Environment & Energy.MIRRI serves the bioscience and the bioindustry communities by facilitating the access, through a single point, to a catalogue of 400,000+ high‐quality microbial resources, such as bacteria, cyanobacteria, archaea, yeasts, filamentous fungi, micro‐algae, bacteriophages, viruses, and other microbiological material, such as microbiomes, plasmids, and genomic DNA. The MIRRI Information System will also provide users with resources' associated data, as available – e.g., taxonomy, ecology, pathogenicity, morphology, physiology, chemical characterization, DNA barcoding, or genomics.Based on its partner organisations' state‐of‐the‐art facilities/equipment and top‐level expertise, MIRRI also offers its users a diverse catalogue of high‐quality services, including pipelines of integrated, product‐oriented services made available as tailor‐made, turnkey solutions.Conclusions: The resources, services, and expertise provided by MIRRI and its partners can help researchers and bioindustries deliver the maximum value and impacts from their projects, technologies, and products.MIRRI is continuously engaged in enlarging its coverage in Europe and beyond. EU Member States, associated countries, third countries other than associated countries, and intergovernmental organisations may become a Member or an Observer of MIRRI‐ERIC. Individual organisations may become Partners of MIRRI‐ERIC.O‐07 Developing Genomic and Biomaterials Resources for Establishing Nonhuman Primate Models of Human DiseaseE. J. Vallender1, 2, S. M. Peterson3, A. Lewis3, A. J. Ericsen4, 5, K. G. Ray3, B. N. Bimber3, B. Ferguson31The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, United States, 2Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, Louisiana, United States, 3Oregon Health & Science University Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon, United States, 4Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 5Emory National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia, United StatesBackground: Animal models of human disease play a vital role in biomedical research and therapeutic development. Nonhuman primates, in particular rhesus macaques, share behavioral, anatomical, physiological, and genetic similarities with humans that make them excellent translational models. The wealth of information developed on these animals through diverse research efforts can be leveraged through interconnected repositories of phenotypic data, biomaterials, and genomic information. Through the development of a centralized framework it is possible to accelerate the generation of nonhuman primate models of human disease and effect vital synergies that go beyond individual laboratories or research programs.Methods: The macaque Genotype and Phenotype (mGAP) resource serves as a repository for genomic data derived from rhesus macaques, largely those found at NIH‐funded Primate Research Centers. A standardized bioinformatic pipeline is used to call single nucleotide variation (SNV) and to cross reference human data on regulatory elements, disease‐associated variation, and evolutionary conservation. SNVs are also annotated using variant effect prediction tools. Data are made openly available to the research community both in aggregate as well as at the individual animal level. This information can then be tied back to specific animal health records, phenotypic information, and biomaterials through the contributing centers.Results: mGAP currently houses genomic information from 2,985 rhesus macaques including nearly 52 million variants. Of these, 11.5 thousand overlap with human ClinVar annotations and 33.2 thousand overlap with GWAS associations housed in GRASP. Many more, 125 thousand, are predicted deleterious by Polyphen2 or high impact by SnpEff. Coupled with phenotypic information derived from animal health records and pathology reports, spontaneously occurring genetic models of multiple rare human diseases have been identified and are being used for novel therapeutic development and biomarker discovery.Conclusions: Through the integration of genomic and phenotypic information, rhesus macaques are being developed and harnessed for translationally important nonhuman primate animal models. These efforts can occur at scale only through resources that bring together diverse data and research expertise while still allowing for the connection to individual animals and samples.O‐08 AI in Medicine Based on Biobank Data ‐ New Opportunities and (Not) Known RisksK. SargsyanInternational Biobanking and Education, Medical University of Graz, Graz, STMK, AustriaThe possibilities for improving effectiveness and interoperability clearly show the directions in which BBs will develop soon. Today, virtual links between different DAs allow an exchange of data and samples, which previously could only occur with great effort and long waiting times or even rejections of queries, have decreased. Furthermore, the notion of a biological “sample” is extended to imaging samples, which multiplies the amount and dimensionality of the data obtained and thus provides biobanks with a more complete picture of individual patients and entire disease patterns. With the integration of digitalization into biobanks, a steady flow of data is ensured that, in the best case, does not cease for the duration of a patient's lifetime. This steady flow of data updates and exchange enables better tracking of the health status of individual patients and populations and can provide far‐reaching and as yet unknown information for the epidemiology of certain diseases in terms of course, treatment response, and prognosis. Particularly concerning genotype‐phenotype predictions, there is the potential to use genetic traits to develop new personalized therapies or targeted therapies and to identify subgroups that, for example, have an increased risk of developing certain diseases based on their genetic features or to facilitate the early detection of the respective diseases and, among other things, to single out non‐responders and to focus more specifically on their specific needs. The consent forms that patients and donors have to fill out and accept with their signature and consent when providing samples to clinical institutes or biobanks, or similar repositories will also evolve into more flexible, dynamic, digitally accessible forms that enable patients/donors to track their own samples and their informative value or usefulness in research whenever and wherever they are. They can withdraw their consent at any time and thus exercise complete control over their genetic material processing. Thus, they will be better treated, jet better informed, and educated.O‐09 Biobanking during War: Experience of Audubon BioscienceM. Yanovytska, B. Shkurupii, H. Chytaieva, E. Serdyukova, A. Shekhovtsov, I. Voievoda, A. Yudchenko, N. Sobetska‐Koloda, T. Nguyen, A. Giardina, A. Popova, R. SemikovAudubon Bioscience, Kyiv, UkraineOn February 24, 2022, the large‐scale Russian army invasion severely interrupted the operations of our biobank in Ukraine. Our team globally and especially in Ukraine faced and is still facing many challenges. Before the events occurred (when risks of the war escalation increased), we prepared our contingency and business continuity plans. They were partially executed. We have since been able to resume operations in Ukraine.On the first day of the large‐scale war, the Operations team, together with Revenue and HR teams, organized the evacuation of the staff with all documentation and laptops, as well as laboratory equipment and ambient storage specimens to the Western region of Ukraine. We were able to eventually move the ambient specimens to the US. Once in our US operations facility, we reorganized and cataloged every specimen and reestablished our biobank there. For frozen specimens, since we can't relocate them due to the lack of proper transportation at that time, we decided to seal all freezers with specimens and installed surveillance cameras to keep them safe. Together with our temperature monitoring system, we were able to keep track of our freezers' temperature and ensured that the specimens were properly stored during the 2‐month period when only a few members of our team remained at the biobank.Ongoing Ukrainian projects were immediately transferred to other countries of operations such as Turkey, USA, Armenia, etc. In three months (May 2022) we achieved financial break‐even (monthly) confirming the fact that global organization was stabilized. After two months, when active warfare was stopped in the Kyiv region, new logistic chains were organized and we started to rebuild our workflow. By August 2022, the Ukrainian operations reached the level of pre‐war collection rates. However, we continue to distribute projects among all of our affiliates in other countries to minimize risks for our partners.In conclusion, the operations of Ukrainian biobanking have been faced with severe difficulties due to the Russian‐Ukrainian war. Although we were not able to execute our contingency and business continuity plans in full, right planning together with good execution and improvisation helped minimize the negative effect. Solutions that we put in place to ensure proper specimen storage were implemented and proved to be effective. Our ability to redistribute projects globally enabled us to continue supporting precision medicine researchers.O‐10 Survey of Adolescents Regarding Their Opinion of Research and Vaccination During the COVID‐19 PandemicQ. Aujla1, I. Kayda1, A. Ellis1, D. Goldfarb1, 2, J. Bettinger2, 3, L. Mâsse2, 3, J. Bush1, 2, S. Vercauteren1, 21Pathology and Lab Medicine, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 3BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaBackground: The COVID‐19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of research into disease biology, prevention, and treatment of emerging diseases and pathogens. Currently, there is limited understanding on adolescent perceptions towards biobanking, research participation, vaccinations, and how the pandemic has altered these perceptions. The BC Children's Hospital BioBank (BCCHB) surveyed Grade 8‐12 students in British Columbia (BC) to determine perceptions before and after the pandemic about topics such as research, pediatric biobanking, vaccinations, and public health policies.Methods: A voluntary, anonymous, 15‐question online survey was distributed through student emails, online school portals, and parent newsletters. Phase 1 of the survey was conducted from May to June 2021 and Phase 2 was conducted from Sept 2021 to June 2022. Questions were edited between Phases 1 and 2 to reflect vaccine availability for adolescents, and the emergence of new variants of COVID‐19.Results: We received a total of 1,022 completed survey responses, from participants aged 12‐19 years in 13 BC school districts and compared the findings to a previous completed school survey [1]. The majority of participants (94%) agreed that COVID‐19 is a serious disease and 95% stated that the pandemic has shown them how important medical research is. While many (95%) agreed on the importance of research before the COVID‐19 pandemic, this increased to 97% after pandemic onset. This desire to contribute to research was reflected by the 80% of participants willing to donate an extra blood sample for biobanking purposes during the COVID‐19 pandemic, compared to 64% from a 2016 school survey conducted among the same age group [1]. Participants (97%) also agreed that research participation would allow them to help others. Of the adolescents surveyed, the majority (85%) were comfortable with making the decision on their own to donate a sample specifically to research. Considering the current public health climate, 92% of participants stated that they will be vaccinated, for reasons such as knowing vaccines are safe, allowing them to engage in social activities, and protecting them from COVID‐19.Conclusion: Adolescents across BC were found to be more willing to participate in research after living through the COVID‐19 pandemic. They also were found to be more willing to donate leftover samples towards biobanking after knowing the importance of research in disease diagnosis and treatment.Reference: [1] Kong CC, Tarling TE, Strahlendorf C, Dittrick M, Vercauteren SM. Opinions of Adolescents and Parents About Pediatric Biobanking. J Adolesc Health, 2016; 58(4):474‐480. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.12.015. PMID: 27013273.O‐11 Tissue Microarrays: Turning Hidden Resources in Research GemsA. Yuksel1, M. Krivanek2, D. R. Catchpoole11Children's Cancer Research Unit, Kids Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, SCHN, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia, 2Anatomical Pathology, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, AustraliaIt is expected that biobanks provide critical tissue resources to researchers to conduct fundamental investigation into disease states and to ensure the best research use of all tissue biospecimens by linking them to key questions being asked in research. Recognizing the rarity of childhood cancers, small tumour specimen volumes, and the burgeoning need for tissue‐directed research, we describe here the impact of a research‐focussed biospecimen resource. The Tumour Bank at The Children's Hospital at Westmead (TB‐CHW) has initiated alongside the main source of all such tissue, our histopathology department. In 2012 we leveraged the hospital's formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tissue block archive to commence a tissue microarray (TMA) construction program. Our purpose was to provide rationalised access to FFPE tissue whilst not impacting on the availability of blocks for future diagnostic or medico‐legal review. Construction of the TMAs that represented a single childhood cancer subtypes required a deep dive into the block archives with blocks selected covering sample collected over a couple of decade‐long periods or more. This resulted in a tissue resource where enough rare paediatric tumours representing all patients seen at a single centre are dr

Biopreservation and Biobanking

Jun 1, 2023

Attending college in the 1990s, my focus was financial independence and the possibility of travel funded by my employer. I believed the best route to both was in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and therefore I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in computer science. Entering the workforce in 1994 with knowledge and skills in software development worked out well. While working for consulting firms that specialized in custom software development and traveling weekly to some fun locations (Toronto, ON, Canada) and some less-fun locations (Warsaw, IN, USA), I also relocated to Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Most of the friendships I developed while living in Jackson were with people I met through my spouse, and most of them worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), including Gerry McAlpin.1 In 2003, when my software consulting job ceased to exist,* Gerry had an idea for my next position. In her role as the managing editor of Hypertension, an American Heart Association (AHA) journal, Gerry was in the midst of a transition to use BenchPress for online peer review. Gerry made the case to the Editor-in-chief, Dr. John Hall, that someone with strong computer skills was just what the journal needed to develop and maintain the configurable letter templates. It only took a couple of weeks working part-time to set up the templates, and then Gerry was eager for help in clearing the backlog of email in the journal inbox. Answering email was surprisingly satisfying. Problem-solving and strong communication skills acquired in my […]

HomeCirculationVol. 147, No. 16STRONG-HF and Implementing Heart Failure Therapies: Godspeed … With Care No AccessArticle CommentaryRequest AccessFull TextAboutView Full TextView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toNo AccessArticle CommentaryRequest AccessFull TextSTRONG-HF and Implementing Heart Failure Therapies: Godspeed … With Care Javed Butler, Khawaja M. Talha and Gregg C. Fonarow Javed ButlerJaved Butler Correspondence to: Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, 3434 Live Oak St, Dallas, TX 75204. Email E-mail Address: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7683-4720 Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson (J.B., K.M.T.). Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, Dallas, TX (J.B.). Search for more papers by this author , Khawaja M. TalhaKhawaja M. Talha https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0351-4464 Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson (J.B., K.M.T.). Search for more papers by this author and Gregg C. FonarowGregg C. Fonarow https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3192-8093 Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, Division of Cardiology, University of California Los Angeles (G.C.F.). Search for more papers by this author Originally published17 Apr 2023https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.063811Circulation. 2023;147:1189–1191FootnotesThe opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association.For Sources of Funding and Disclosures, see page 1191.Circulation is available at www.ahajournals.org/journal/circCorrespondence to: Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, 3434 Live Oak St, Dallas, TX 75204. Email javed.[email protected]org

Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), or diastolic failure, accounts for half of all HF cases and differs from HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Patients with HFpEF are typically older, female, and commonly seen with chronic kidney disease (CKD), one of the leading independent risk factors for mortality in these patients. Unfortunately, drugs that had shown significant improvements in mortality in HFrEF have not shown similar benefits in HFpEF. Recently, sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in HFrEF patients and slow down CKD progression. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of this drug class on mortality and risk of end stage renal disease in patients with HFpEF, which is currently unclear. We retrospectively analysed the Research Data Warehouse containing electronic health records from de-identified patients (n=1266290) from the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 2013 to 2022. HFpEF patients had an average follow-up of 4±2years. Factors associated with increased all-cause mortality during HFpEF included age, male sex, and CKD. Interestingly, the only treatments associated with significant improvements in survival were angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers and SGLT2i, regardless of CKD or diabetes status. Additionally, SGLT2i use was also associated with significant decrease in the risk of end stage renal disease. Our results support the use of SGLT2i in an HFpEF population with relatively high rates of hypertension, CKD, and black race and suggests that improvements in mortality may be through preserving kidney function.

One does not have to look far to see that health-care workers are suffering from burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma at alarming rates. In 2019, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) began searching for ways to reconnect our teams to the purpose of our work and to find joy again. Then, there was a global pandemic. Now, UMMC has committed to using the Communicate with HEART principles to refocus our teams on human connection and relational medicine.

University Of Mississippi Medical Center Research Articles

Articles published on University Of Mississippi Medical Center

Report from a text-based blood pressure monitoring prospective cohort trial among postpartum women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Abstract 1014: Disparities of triple negative breast cancer in Mississippi

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The Influence of Age, Gender, and Race on Pediatric Upper Respiratory Infections of COVID-19 and RSV in Mississippi

Telehealth Diabetes Prevention Program for Adults With Prediabetes in an Academic Medical Center Setting: Protocol for a Hybrid Type III Trial.

Abstract 17986: Impact of Race and Socioeconomic Factors on Hypertensive Emergency

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Health insurance literacy among patients receiving outpatient cancer treatment.

Evaluation of Atrial Fibrillation Detection in Short-Term Photoplethysmography (PPG) Signals Using Artificial Intelligence.

Welcome to the New Issue (Vol: 29, No: 3, 2023) and Current News of the European Journal of Therapeutics

Exploring Technological Challenges and Growth in Faculty Transition to Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

Reply to comment on “Evaluation of pharmacy residency recruitment and interview processes during the COVID‐19 pandemic”

Coronary Artery Calcification and One-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in the 75-and-Older Population: The ARIC Study.

Diabetes self-management education for adults with type 2 diabetes via telehealth in conjunction with remote patient monitoring: a best practice implementation project.

The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories Presents Abstracts from Its Annual Meeting

Origin Story: Denise Kuo

STRONG-HF and Implementing Heart Failure Therapies: Godspeed … With Care

Retrospective analysis of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Practicing Relational Medicine: The Postpandemic Path Back to Human Connection

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