Wake Forest University

An archaeology of natural dyes and mordants: bridging gaps in Iron Age textile chaînes opératoires

Throughout the history of textile production, plant-derived adjective dyes were applied to alter the color of fiber yarns and fabrics. A chaîne opératoire approach to conceptualizing textile workflows, including dyeing and mordanting processes, enables recognition of durable trac...

Increase in fracture-related infection in open distal femur fractures treated with locally delivered antibiotics

Abstract Objectives: Local antibiotic delivery may reduce fracture-related infections (FRIs), but its efficacy in distal femur fractures remains unclear. This study evaluated (1) usage patterns of local antibiotics in distal femur fractures and (2) their impact on infection rates...

Insights into Microbiota–Vaccine Crosstalk in Humans: Mechanisms, Modulators, and Translational Horizons

Vaccine responses differ substantially among individuals and across populations. Although factors such as age, genetics, and vaccine type are recognized contributors, they do not fully explain this heterogeneity. Emerging evidence suggests that the human microbiota, particularly...

Evaluating the Implementation Fidelity of the REJOIN (Using Exercise to Relieve Joint Pain and Improve Aromatase Inhibitor Adherence in Older Breast Cancer Survivors) Pilot Trial

Implementation fidelity (IF), the extent to which interventions are delivered as intended, is essential for assessing program integrity and informing future dissemination/scalability. The REJOIN pilot trial adapted Fit & Strong! ( F&S! ) to deliver an education/exercise intervent...

Efficacy of sodium channel blockers in treating myotonia is independent of action potential sodium current block

Abstract The prevailing view holds that the therapeutic benefit of sodium channel blockers arises from use‐dependent inhibition of the transient sodium current (NaT) that is responsible for action potentials. This assumption underlies decades of drug development but has never bee...

Strategies to Promote HIV Self-Testing and Long-Acting Injectable PrEP Among Ghanaian Youth: Results from the Y-FIT GH National Crowdsourcing Open Call

Abstract Crowdsourcing is a participatory problem-solving approach that engages a large and diverse group of individuals to generate ideas or solutions. In HIV prevention, it provides a structured mechanism for involving youth in shaping intervention strategies. The Innovative To...

External Validation of an Injury Risk Prediction Algorithm in US Army Paratroopers

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) pose a major threat to military readiness, affecting nearly 40% of personnel annually, driving over 5 million medical visits and 24 million limited duty days. Validated methods for identifying and preventing injuries are a priority for...

Estimating the effect of very low nicotine content cigarettes on abstinence by menthol status using novel statistical methods: A reanalysis of a randomized trial in an experimental marketplace with alternative nicotine systems

Abstract Introduction Very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes have been proposed to reduce cigarette consumption. However, previous studies were not adequately powered to analyze the effects of VLNC cigarettes on abstinence, especially within subpopulations (e.g., people who...

Feasibility and Operator-Reported Utility of Transesophageal Lung Ultrasound As an Adjunct to Resuscitative Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Shock: A Multicenter Observational Study

Objectives: To describe the utilization, feasibility, and operator-reported diagnostic and management impact of transesophageal lung ultrasound (TELUS) integrated into resuscitative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for the assessment of mechanically ventilated adults with s...

Greater D3-Creatine Muscle Mass and MRI Thigh Muscle Volume are Associated with Higher Bone Strength in Older Adults: Exploratory Findings in The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA)

Abstract Low bone mineral density (BMD) and impaired bone strength are established risk factors for fractures in older adults. Decreased muscle size also contributes to fracture risk, however, the relationship between muscle size and bone density, microarchitecture, and strength...

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...

Matrix and intermembrane space-specific mitochondrial stress response in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) lacks effective therapies, partly due to an incomplete understanding of mitochondrial dysfunction, a key driver of neurodegeneration. Mitochondria activate the unfolded protein response (UPR mt ) to maintain proteostasis, but the roles of matrix- and inte...

Blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration in an indigenous African cohort using both Simoa and NULISA platforms

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) constitute a growing public health burden. Indeed, the lack of awareness and easy screening tools, such as blood-based biomarkers, leaves many patients undiagnosed. In this study, we...

Assessing Emergency Clinicians' Needs From Trauma Clinical Guidance: A Mixed-Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, emergency clinicians are often the first to care for injured patients in the hospital setting. Current trauma clinical guidance does not consistently meet the needs of emergency clinicians caring for this population. OBJECTIVES: To better underst...

Effort and substance use: differentiating tobacco use through reinforcement learning of effort based decision making

BACKGROUND: Effort-based decision making evaluates rewards relative to the effort required to obtain it, an important process of healthy goal-directed motivation and behavior. Computational models provide mechanistic insights underlying choice behavior and potential alterations i...

A pilot study of circulating DPP3 and renin to identify high-risk phenotypes and mortality in septic shock

Sepsis and septic shock are life-threatening conditions associated with high mortality and limited treatment options. Rapid identification of patients at risk for worse outcomes and/or targeted therapeutics are needed. Elevated levels of renin and dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3) in...

Responses to operant conditioning in the corn snake, Pantherophis guttatus, using olfactory and visual stimuli

Abstract Operant conditioning experiments have shown that a broad variety of animal species reliably form associations between a reinforced cue and the consequences of choosing it. Once established, these associations can serve as a basis for assessing behavioral flexibility, the...

Evaluation of an institutional leadership program’s impact on skills and confidence

The Career Development for Women Leaders (CDWL) program was developed to enhance leadership skills for mid- and senior-career faculty through monthly sessions addressing leadership topics. Participants completed pre-, post-, and two-year follow-up program surveys, using items fro...

Long-Term Fatigue After Treatment for Breast Cancer

Importance Patients with breast cancer (BC) may have long-term fatigue after treatment, which is associated with reduced quality of life. Objective To identify cardiac, psychological, and cancer treatment factors associated with fatigue before and 24 months after BC treatment. De...

Probing the neurochemical mechanisms of rTMS for alcohol use disorder: Results from a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, crossover, proton MR Spectroscopy study

Abstract With growing knowledge of the neural circuitry involved in alcohol use disorder (AUD), interest in developing neural-circuit-based therapeutic tools, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), for people with AUD has increased. While mounting evidence supports th...