University of Pittsburgh

Single-cell atlas of transcriptomic vulnerability across brain disorders

Abstract Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases impose a considerable societal and public health burden. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these highly complex conditions remains limited 1,2 . Here, to gain deeper insights into the aetiolo...

Personalized single-cell transcriptomics reveals molecular diversity in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is highly heterogeneous and driven by diverse molecular and cellular mechanisms. Functional genomics investigates these mechanisms from genetic variants to gene expression and regulation. We performed personalized functional genomics analysis on populatio...

Single-nucleus atlas of cell-type specific genetic regulation in the human brain

Abstract Genetic risk variants for common diseases are predominantly located in non-coding regulatory regions and modulate gene expression. Although bulk tissue studies have elucidated shared mechanisms of regulatory and disease-associated genetics, the cellular specificity of th...

Sour grapes or strategic choice? Socially disadvantaged tourism entrepreneurs' pursuit of ‘break out’

While structural conditions impacting immigrant entrepreneurs' ‘break out’ are well-documented in tourism research, the underlying psychological processes remain underexplored. Informed by self-determination theory and adaptive preferences, this ethnographic study conducted betwe...

Effect of electroacupuncture on postoperative delirium in older patients undergoing major surgery: a prospective, multicenter, randomized sham-controlled trial

Abstract Purpose Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common complication in older patients undergoing major surgery and is associated with prolonged hospitalization, delayed recovery, and increased mortality. This study evaluated whether perioperative electroacupuncture (EA) reduce...

Actionable genetic landscape and dynamics in circulating DNA from 12,827 patients with metastatic breast cancer

Abstract Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a sensitive, noninvasive tool for monitoring the genomic landscape, heterogeneity, and evolution of cancer, aggregating genetic information from multiple metastatic sites. Here, we study 15,564 cfDNA samples from 12,827 patients with metas...

IBI-DT as a complementary framework for prioritizing candidate genes, interactions, and pathways in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) has a complex and heterogeneous genetic architecture. Conventional population-level association analyses can identify average genetic effects across a cohort but may miss subgroup-specific, individualized, and interaction-related signals. To address...

Gabapentin Use in Medicaid After Descheduling

This cross-sectional study investigates the association of descheduling of gabapentin with use among Medicaid enrollees in Michigan.

PROFILING THE MOLECULAR STATE OF THE LIVING BRAIN IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE USING BRAINGENIE: THE BRAIN GENE EXPRESSION AND NETWORK IMPUTATION ENGINE

In 2005, Professor Ming T. Tsuang and his team published the first blood-based transcriptomic study of a psychiatric disorder in the journal he founded, Neuropsychiatric Genetics. In that pioneering work, Tsuang et al. established the validity of blood-based gene-expression profi...

Propaganda, Administrative Deformation, and the Erosion of State Capacity: The Case of the “Censorship Industrial Complex”

ABSTRACT This paper examines how a propaganda frame alleging the existence of a “Censorship Industrial Complex” was institutionalized and then helped justify the dismantling of US election information resilience infrastructure across multiple federal agencies. Drawing on document...

Isolating Ligand Steric Effects on Metal Ion Reduction and Gold Nanoparticle Formation Pathways Using Au(I)–Phosphine Complexes

Abstract Steric effects are widely used to control molecular reactivity, yet their role in nanoparticle (NP) synthesis remains difficult to isolate and leverage because changes in ligand structure often alter both precursor electronic structure and resulting reduction thermodynam...

Extreme Risk Protection Order Policies and Suicide Risk Among Handgun Owners

Importance Extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) are state laws intended to prevent gun violence by preemptively and temporarily removing firearms from gun owners judged to be at risk of self-harm or violence against others. Evidence of their population-level impact on suicide r...

Experimental versus clinical studies capture distinct types of relapse in tuberculosis

(Mtb) currently infects a quarter of the world's population. Though many TB patients cure infection with short-course treatment, regimens shorter than 4 months risk post-treatment relapse. This is facilitated by the presence of granulomas, spatially heterogeneous immune structure...

Diastereo- and Enantioselective Photobiocatalytic α-Alkylation of α-Heteroaryl Amines Enabled by Pyridoxal Photochemistry

Abstract We report a photobiocatalytic system for the enantio- and diastereoselective α-alkylation of α-heteroaryl amines, a largely underexplored class of synthetically valuable non-native amine donors. Evaluation and directed evolution of thermophilic threonine aldolases, enabl...

Intraoperative Evaluation of Sarcoma Surgical Margins With Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging: Results From an Observational Study

ABSTRACT Introduction Sarcomas are rare malignancies that affect both adults and children. Surgical removal with negative histopathological margins is the foundation of sarcoma treatment. Failure to achieve negative margins puts patients at risk of local recurrence (LR). LR rates...

Pharmacokinetics and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Mycobacteriophages: Insights into Pulmonary Distribution and Clearance

Abstract Bacteriophage therapy is being explored as an alternate therapeutic approach for treating drug-resistant bacteria, including mycobacteria. However, rational phage dosing remains limited by scarce pharmacokinetic (PK) data and an incomplete understanding of tissue distrib...

Colony morphogenesis regulates sporulation dynamics in bacterial biofilms

In multicellular systems, organized phenotypic heterogeneity emerges from the interplay of processes spanning scales from the molecular to the population level. Using Bacillus subtilis , we investigated feedback between the collective process of colony expansion and the distribut...

Impact of Voice Onset Time on Phoneme Perception and Implications for a Language-Agnostic Hearing Assessment

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of native language on phoneme perception in normal-hearing (NH) adults representing the three most commonly spoken languages in the United States (English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese). Method: A prospective cross-sectio...

Expanding the Utility of Colistin Adjuvants To Encompass Next-Generation Polymyxins against Polymyxin-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract Current treatment options for multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative infections are effectively limited to last-resort antibiotics, such as the polymyxins. Clinical use of polymyxins remains limited due to significant nephrotoxic side effects, and is further limited as...

Knotworking With Artificial Intelligence: A Case Study of Emergent Student User-Experience Composition With AI-Assisted Cocreation

This case study examines how technical communication students used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in user-experience (UX) design via Figma. Over a semester, they engaged with Figma Jambot, AI plug-ins, and other GenAI tools. Reporting on the findings from students’ in...