University of Alabama at Birmingham

Prepregnancy Obesity Versus Excessive Gestational Weight Gain: A Comparative Evaluation of Adverse Outcomes

Background/Objectives: Obesity and excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) are known risk factors for adverse outcomes in pregnancy, but the comparative risk is less well defined and increasingly relevant in an era of increasing use of weight loss medications. We aimed to determ...

Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscapes of MEN1-Wild-Type Low-Grade Metastatic Pancreatic NETs Uncover Key Oncogenic Drivers and Targetable Pathways

Sporadic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) with wild type MEN1 represent a major yet largely ignored subset whose biology and metastatic potential remain poorly understood. Because metastasis can occur despite low histologic grade and modest mutational burden, we hypothesi...

Tree Canopy and Self-Reported Mental and Physical Health in Urban Alabama: A Census Tract-Level Ecological Study

Background: Urban tree canopy, the proportion of a city’s land surface covered by trees, has been linked to physical and mental health benefits. This association is understudied in the U.S. Deep South despite its high burden of poor health and environmental inequity. This study e...

Development and benchmark validation of PubChat for PubMed-grounded multilingual biomedical literature retrieval

The rapid growth of biomedical literature has rendered traditional systematic reviews unsustainable. Although large language models (LLMs) offer automation potential, citation fabrication and unreliable evidence discrimination remain critical barriers. Here, using PubChat as a Pu...

Care Models for the Genetic Evaluation of Dilated Cardiomyopathy at Sites of the DCM Consortium

Abstract Background Clinical genetic evaluation for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is minimally implemented and models of care are not defined. To understand current genetics care for DCM, a systematic needs assessment was conducted. Methods Principal Investigators (P...

Substance Use Disorder and Cognitive Impairment

(1) Substance use disorder (SUD) is a global issue, which affects people for their physical and mental health. However, it remains unclear about how SUD is associated with cognitive impairment. (2) A literature search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Schola...

Talquetamab for people living with relapsed/ refractory multiple myeloma: plain language summary of the MonumenTAL-1 study

Plain Language SummaryWhat is this summary about?This summary describes how well talquetamab worked and its safety at a median (midpoint) of 17–26 months follow-up from the MonumenTAL-1 study, which tested talquetamab treatment for a type of cancer called relapsed/refractory mult...

Small extracellular vesicles induced by Angiotensin-(1-7) enhance cardioprotection following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Although Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)], a non-classical peptide of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), is widely recognized for alleviating cardiovascular stress through activation of the Mas receptor. we identified a largely Mas receptor-independent pathway that expands its ther...

Time-resolved laser speckle contrast imaging (TR-LSCI) of cerebral blood flow response to intracranial pressure elevation

Significance: Cerebral autoregulation (CA) reflects the dynamic coupling among cerebral blood flow (CBF), intracranial pressure (ICP), and arterial blood pressure (ABP); its failure contributes to secondary brain injury. Existing bedside methods rely on indirect or spatially limi...

A Multilevel Intervention to Identify Individuals for Genetic Testing and Treatment

Importance Cascade genetic testing (CGT) is a key strategy for cancer prevention in families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) and Lynch syndrome (LS), yet uptake among at-risk relatives remains persistently low, particularly in medically underserved popul...

Endothelial Cells Offer a Better Option than Smooth Muscle Cells for the Treatment of Ischemic Limb Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is estimated to affect at least 10 million people in the United States and over 200 million individuals worldwide. The clinical manifestations of PAD range from impaired mobility and pain with activity to chronic limb-threatening ischemia with ri...

A bundled anti-parallel cytochrome nanowire structure suggests roles in cell-cell electron transfer and biofilm formation

ABSTRACT Long-range extracellular electron transfer enables respiring microbes to use minerals, organisms, or electrodes as electron acceptors by transporting electrons microns away from the cell surface. This process is primarily studied in Geobacter sulfurreducens , which produ...

Effect of Perioperative Tranexamic Acid on Blood Loss in Posterior Acetabular Fracture Fixation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of perioperative intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid (TXA) on total blood loss (TBL) and transfusion requirements in patients who underwent acetabular fracture fixation (AO/OTA 62) via a posterior surgical approach. The authors hypothesized that pat...

Cost of Article Processing Charges to Adhere to National Institutes of Health Public Access Policy

This economic evaluation estimates investigator payments of article processing charges to journal publishers to allow immediate public access to their published federally funded research.

Mitophagy and Noncoding RNA Regulation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Molecular Mechanisms, Tissue-Specific Evidence and Translational Perspective

Despite significant therapeutic advances, T2DM remains a global public health challenge that leads to multiple complications, including cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, and neurodegenerative disorders. Mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitophagy remain fundamental, yet incomp...

Summary of Where Alabama's Dental School Graduates Practice: Rural vs. Urban and Dental Workforce Needs

OBJECTIVES: Rural communities have substantial dental workforce needs. Alabama has the nation's fewest dentists per capita, and almost half of its residents reside in rural areas. Understanding where dental school graduates practice helps inform workforce needs. METHODS: This cro...

BRD2 impedes iPSC reprogramming by regulating lipid biosynthesis and the matrisome via its ET tail

Induction of human pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from somatic cells encounters significant barriers that remain poorly understood. Lipids are fundamental cellular molecules with many essential roles. However, the roles of lipids in reprogramming are unknown. Here, we show that...

Weight Loss Improves Predicted 10‐Year MACE and Type 2 Diabetes Risk, but Benefits Partially Rebound at 1 Year

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to quantify changes in predicted 10‐year risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) across weight loss, post–weight loss (Post‐WL), and 1‐year follow‐up and to determine whether trajectories varied by exercise...

Time-dependent divergence in infection risks among patients with multiple sclerosis treated with fumarates versus anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) treated with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies have an elevated infection risk, yet long-term comparative data with oral fumarates are limited. Objective: To compare infection incidence, healthcare resource utilization, and relapse...

3D assessment of the marginal and internal gap and fracture load of ceramic surveyed inlays designed for removable partial denture support: An in vitro comparative study

PURPOSE: To assess the internal and marginal gaps and the fracture load of different machinable ceramics for an inlay acting as a support for a removable partial denture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty extracted human teeth (first maxillary premolar) were collected (n = 10 for each...