Scholars@TAMU Texas A&M University Libraries’

Texas A&M University Libraries has been using VIVO in production since 2015. In that time, we have come up with many creative solutions to meet the needs of our users. In early 2019, we began developing a replacement front end for the VIVO interface to formally address campus demands here at Texas A&M University. Initial requirements: * Align the technology stack as much as possible with the existing VIVO stack to assist with implementation by others if they choose especially smaller libraries. * The majority of the front end is customizable by others. * Read only UI. No updating back to the triple store. * All data is retrieved via a REST API endpoint using Spring Data for Apache Solr. * 100% Search Engine Optimization. IE: A person / crawler can disable JavaScript and still have the same experience. Server side, and Client side rendering if needed

Scholars@TAMU Texas A&M University Libraries’

Texas A&M University Libraries has been using VIVO in production since 2015. In that time, we have come up with many creative solutions to meet the needs of our users. In early 2019, we began developing a replacement front end for the VIVO interface to formally address campus demands here at Texas A&M University. Initial requirements: * Align the technology stack as much as possible with the existing VIVO stack to assist with implementation by others if they choose especially smaller libraries. * The majority of the front end is customizable by others. * Read only UI. No updating back to the triple store. * All data is retrieved via a REST API endpoint using Spring Data for Apache Solr. * 100% Search Engine Optimization. IE: A person / crawler can disable JavaScript and still have the same experience. Server side, and Client side rendering if needed

Lifelong running reduces oxidative stress and degenerative changes in the testes of mice

Regular exercise can counteract the adverse effects of aging on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. In males, the normal aging process is associated with reductions in testosterone production and impaired spermatogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential modification by exercise are unknown. Here, we report that lifelong regular exercise (running) protects the testes against the adverse effects of advancing age, and that this effect of running is associated with decreased amounts of oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Six-month-old male mice were divided into a sedentary group and a group that ran an average of 1.75 km/day, until the mice reached the age of 20 months. Seminiferous tubules of runners exhibited a full complement of cells at different stages of the spermatogenic process and a clear central lumen with large numbers of spermatozoa, in contrast to sedentary mice that exhibited disorganized spermatogenic cells and lacked spermatocytes in a central lumen. Levels of protein carbonyls, nitrotyrosine, lipid peroxidation products, and oxidatively modified DNA were significantly greater in spermatogenic and Leydig cells of sedentary mice compared with runners. These findings suggest that lifelong regular exercise suppresses aging of testes by a mechanism that involves reduced oxidative damage to spermatogenic and Leydig cells

Abstract 3876: Actionable somatic mutations in head and neck cancer prognosis

Abstract Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a devastating illness with racial/ethnic disparities in survival. Using a retrospective study design, we evaluated 210 somatic mutation sties of 10 cancer genes (i.e., CDKN2A, EGFR, FGFR3, HRAS, KRAS, MET, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, STK11, and TP53) in 214 HNSCC patients: 98 Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW; 46%), 72 Hispanic Whites (HW; 34%), and 44 African Americans (AA; 20%). HW and AA had significantly higher mutation rates for EGFR, HRAS, KRAS, and TP53 compared to that in NHW. Significantly higher proportions of HW (30%) and AA (18%) had at least 3 mutations compared to that in NHW (p&amp;lt;0.001). In logistic regression models using 2-year as the cut-off for early death, we evaluated the overall and racial/ethnic-specific somatic mutations that are associated with early death. Although there was no significant association between somatic mutation and early death in the total population, NOTCH1 mutations were significantly associated with early death in NHW (odds ratio [OR] = 5.51, 95% confidence internal [CI] = 1.22, 24.83). More importantly, the NOTCH1 mutation C6814T (P2272S) within the PEST domain was associated with early death (OR = 13.13 (95%CI = 1.61, 107.36). TP53 mutations were significantly associated with early death in HW (OR = 3.84; 95%CI = 1.08, 13.68) in multivariate analysis after adjustment for age, gender, tumor site, and tumor stage. With limited sample size, no association was observed in AA. This is the first pilot study evaluating the association between somatic mutations and HNSCC early death in a tri-racial/ethnic population. Our data suggest that HW and AA have higher EGFR mutations and these patients may benefit from mutation-targeted precision medicine to improve survival. Citation Format: Omar L. Nelson, Evan S. Wu, Jong Y. Park, Joseph Zeitouni, Carmen R. Gomez, Isildinha M. Reis, Wei Zhao, Eunkyung Lee, Hui-Yi Lin, Elizabeth J. Franzman, Jason Savell, Thomas V. McCaffrey, W. Jarrard Goodwin, Jennifer J. Hu. Actionable somatic mutations in head and neck cancer prognosis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3876. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3876</jats:p

National Beef Quality Audit–2016: assessment of cattle hide characteristics, offal condemnations, and carcass traits to determine the quality status of the market cow and bull beef industry

To continue the series that began in 1994, the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) – 2016 was conducted to quantify the quality status of the market cow and bull beef sector, as well as determine improvements made in the beef and dairy industry since 2007. The NBQA-2016 was conducted from March through December of 2016, and assessed hide-on carcasses (n = 5,278), chilled carcasses (n = 4,285), heads (n = 5,720), and offal items (n = 4,800) in 18 commercial processing facilities throughout the United States. Beef cattle were predominantly black-hided; 68.0% of beef cows and 67.2% of beef bulls possessed a black hide. Holstein was the predominant type of dairy animal observed. Just over half (56.0%) of the cattle surveyed had no mud contamination on the hide, and when mud was present, 34.1% of cattle only had small amounts. Harvest floor assessments found 44.6% of livers, 23.1% of lungs, 22.3% of hearts, 20.0% of viscera, 8.2% of heads, and 5.9% of tongues were condemned. Liver condemnations were most frequently due to abscess presence. In contrast, contamination was the primary reason for condemnation of all other offal items. Of the cow carcasses surveyed, 17.4% carried a fetus at the time of harvest. As expected, mean carcass weight and loin muscle area values observed for bulls were heavier and larger than cows. The marbling scores represented by cull animal carcasses were most frequently slight and traces amounts. Cow carcasses manifested a greater amount of marbling on average than bull carcasses. The predominant fat color score showed all carcasses surveyed had some level of yellow fat. Only 1.3% of carcasses exhibited signs of arthritic joints. Results of the NBQA-2016 indicate there are areas in which the beef and dairy industries have improved and areas that still need attention to prevent value loss in market cows and bulls

Effect of actionable somatic mutations on racial/ethnic disparities in head and neck cancer prognosis

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and minorities have the worst survival. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying survival disparities have not been elucidated.In a retrospective study, we assessed association between HNSCC early death (<2 years) and 208 somatic mutations of 10 cancer-related genes in 214 patients: 98 non-Hispanic whites (46%), 72 Hispanic whites (34%), and 44 African Americans (20%).Hispanic whites and African Americans had significantly higher mutation rates for EGFR, HRAS, KRAS, and TP53. HNSCC early death was significantly associated with 3+ mutations (odds ratio [OR] = 2.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16, 6.69), NOTCH1 mutations in non-Hispanic whites (OR = 5.51; 95% CI = 1.22-24.83) and TP53 mutations in Hispanic whites (OR = 3.84; 95% CI = 1.08-13.68) in multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, tumor site, and tumor stage.We have provided the proof-of-principal data to link racial/ethnic-specific somatic mutations and HNSCC prognosis and pave the way for precision medicine to overcome HNSCC survival disparities. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38:1234-1241, 2016

Post-9/11 service members: Associations between gender, marital status, and psychiatric aeromedical evacuations from combat zones

Psychiatric aeromedical evacuations are one of the leading causes of medical related evacuations of US military personnel from combat. Currently, no studies have examined gender and marital status of individuals who were evacuated from combat for a psychiatric diagnosis. Psychiatric aeromedical evacuation data from 5,957 United States military personnel deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2013 were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence, odds ratios (OR), and standardized residuals. Analyses showed that female service members were evacuated at higher rates (178 per 100,000) than males (115 per 100,000). When compared to nonmarried females, married females did not present with increased risk of psychiatric aeromedical evacuation on any diagnosis. Married males, however, were more likely to be evacuated than married females for PTSD (OR = 1.98) and TBI (OR = 1.14). Likewise, married males, compared to nonmarried males, were more likely to be evacuated for PTSD (OR = 1.66) and anxiety (OR = 1.38). Although deployments can be extremely stressful experiences for some military service members, they may be especially so among unmarried females and married males. This study provides a unique contribution to enhancing the understanding of risk factors related to psychiatric aeromedical evacuation for deployed service members