August 2025 Member Publications

  1. Shields LBE, Iyer VG, Kluthe T, Jawad K, Cai J, Zhang YP, Shields CB. Clinical and Electrodiagnostic Correlations of Ultrasound-Detected Markedly Enlarged Median Nerve at the Wrist. Neurol Int. 2025 Aug 7;17(8):124. doi: 10.3390/neurolint17080124. PMID: 40863993; PMCID: PMC12389687.
    Impact Statement: This study found that ultrasound can detect a rare but important sign of severe carpal tunnel syndrome, an unusually enlarged median nerve. Early recognition allows timely treatment and careful surgical planning to prevent nerve injury, helping preserve hand function, improve quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs. 
  2. Narain M, Breen M, Carll AP, Hazari M, Farraj A, Ward-Caviness CK. Modification of associations between ambient PM2.5 and vital signs by β-blocker prescription status among individuals with heart failure. Environ Health. 2025 Aug 7;24(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s12940-025-01203-5. PMID: 40775722; PMCID: PMC12333237.
    Impact Statement: This study demonstrates that β-blocker usage significantly reduces the association between short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and increased heart rate among individuals with heart failure. These findings highlight the importance of considering medication effects when evaluating cardiovascular risks from air pollution and suggest potential avenues for mitigating PM2.5-related morbidity. 
  3. Xie Z, Sutaria SR, Chen JY, Gao H, Conklin DJ, Keith RJ, Srivastava S, Lorkiewicz P, Bhatnagar A. Human exposure to green spaces and monoterpenes: discovery and use of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers. Environ Int. 2025 Aug;202:109710. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109710. Epub 2025 Aug 4. PMID: 40763643.
    Impact Statement: This study’s identification of α-pinene metabolites as biomarkers enhances the ability to quantify human exposure to green spaces, informing public health strategies to promote access to nature environments. This finding could guide urban planning to improve green space availability, supporting better cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
  4. Sar BK, Harris LM, Archuleta AJ, Rhema SH, Adams NB, Nyerges E, Sato D. Resettlement Workforce Perspectives on Mental Health Care of Refugees. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Aug 9;22(8):1247. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22081247. PMID: 40869833; PMCID: PMC12386608.
    Impact Statement: This study highlights the perspectives of the refugee resettlement workforce on barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health care for resettled refugees. Findings provide actionable recommendations to improve programming, policies, and services that support refugees’ mental health, self-sufficiency, and successful community integration.
  5. Jones SP, O'Leary N, Pena Calderin E, Singhal R, Hellmann J, Damacena de Angelis C, Brittian KR, Welling PA, Nong Y, Sears SM. Exercise sensitizes the pressure diuresis response: shifting immune landscapes may underlie renal adaptations. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2025 Sep 1;329(3):F362-F373. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00218.2025. Epub 2025 Aug 11. PMID: 40789206.
    Impact Statement: This study demonstrates that exercise induces functional and cellular adaptations in the kidneys, including increased cortical microvascular volume, improved pressure diuresis efficiency, and expansion of kidney resident macrophages. These findings provide new insights into how physical activity supports renal health and suggest potential mechanisms by which exercise protects against kidney injury and age-related decline.
  6. Habil MR, Hein DW. Mini-review: Human N-acetyltransferase genetic polymorphisms in susceptibility to aromatic amine and alkylaniline genotoxicity. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2025 Jul 28;392(9):103670. doi: 10.1016/j.jpet.2025.103670. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40834652.
    Impact Statement: Mammalian models transfected with recombinant human N-acetyltransferase (NAT) alleles have been constructed to investigate the role of NAT polymorphisms in metabolism or genotoxicity of these carcinogens. This mini-review describes biological plausibility for aromatic amine and alkylaniline carcinogenicity that further supports NAT polymorphisms as important factors for aromatic amine and alkylaniline risk assessments.
  7. Hein DW. Report on the 2024 international phase II/N-acetyltransferase workshop. Arch Toxicol. 2025 Aug 30. doi: 10.1007/s00204-025-04180-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40885834.
    Impact Statement: The major focus of the workshop was a roundtable describing and discussing new N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene nomenclature which very recently has undergone substantial revisions and upgrades consistent with Pharmacogene Variation Consortium (PharmVar) standards. The roundtable generated an extensive discussion of NAT2 nomenclature, allele functions, and clinical implementation among the participants which informed the various PharmVar and CPIC NAT2 expert panels in making their consensus recommendations. The roundtable was followed by six platform sessions addressing: (1) diversity in NAT2 and other pharmacogenes; (2) NATs in chronic diseases; (3) NAT2 allele definition and function; (4) NATs and mitochondrial function; (5) NAT functions in xenobiotic metabolism and beyond; and (6) UDP-glucuronosyltransferases. 
  8. Li L, Wang J, Hu T, Xu J, Huang J. The Effect of Ultrasound-Guided Multipoint Thoracic Paravertebral Nerve Block in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MBS): A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial. Obes Surg. 2025 Aug 18. doi: 10.1007/s11695-025-08154-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40824552.
    Impact Statement: Multipoint nerve blocks improves the quality of postoperative recovery in patients undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery and reduces postoperative pain and opioid use.
  9. Robertson KM, Cermack K, Woodruff T, Carter SR, Jala VR, Buonpane C. Review: microbial metabolites - a key to address gut inflammation and barrier dysfunction in the premature infant. Gut Microbes. 2025 Dec;17(1):2551117. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2551117. Epub 2025 Aug 31. PMID: 40887742.
    Impact Statement: This review highlights the critical role of microbiome-derived metabolites in shaping gut barrier development and inflammation in preterm infants, with implications for conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). By exploring potential protective mechanisms, the findings underscore opportunities for developing targeted strategies to strengthen gut integrity and improve outcomes in this vulnerable population. Christie Buonpane is the corresponding author. 
  10. Hu H, Zheng Q, Kong M. Statistical methods for assessing treatment effects on ordinal outcomes using observational data. Commun Stat Simul Comput. 2025 Apr 14:10.1080/03610918.2025.2488945. doi: 10.1080/03610918.2025.2488945. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40857455; PMCID: PMC12338247.
    Impact Statement: We propose a marginal structural ordinal logistic regression model to evaluate treatment effects on ordinal outcomes, which are common yet less frequently studied. This approach uses inverse probability of treatment weighting to adjust for confounding, ensuring that treatment effects are estimated appropriately. 
  11. Griffin G, Delnicki ME, Lu H, Meaza I, Williams A, Vielee ST, Bolatimi OE, Wise RM, Liu R, Kouokam JC, Wise SS, Wise JP Sr, Cave MC, Wise JP Jr, Wise JL. Exposure to low levels of hexavalent chromium in drinking water alters diet-induced steatotic liver disease in male rats. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2025 Aug 23;91:127731. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127731. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40886507.
    Impact Statement: This manuscript emphasizes the need to reevaluate current regulatory standards for hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in U.S. public drinking water and is the first to demonstrate that exposure to Cr(VI) and a high-fat diet—two prevalent factors among U.S. populations—exacerbates diet-induced steatotic liver disease. These findings provide critical insight into environmental and dietary interactions that may contribute to liver pathology, with direct relevance to public health policy. 
  12. Lim AS, Cruz SN, Uddin AA, Malysheva O, Caudill MA, Alonso C, Montilla A, Karsdal MA, Leeming DJ, Mayorca-Guiliani AE, Svejsø FH, McClain CJ, Morgan TR. Pilot trials of oral betaine in participants with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and elevated alanine aminotransferase. Hepatology. 2025 Aug 4. doi: 10.1097/HEP.0000000000001477. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40758380.
    Impact Statement: This publication demonstrates that lower doses of betaine (2–8 g/day) significantly reduce ALT levels and other markers of liver injury in individuals with clinically defined MASLD and elevated ALT. These findings suggest that betaine may be a safe and effective therapeutic option for improving liver health in this population. 
  13. Navarro-Corcuera A, Zhu Y, Ma F, Gupta N, Asplund H, Cogliati B, Chipuk JE, Rom O, Friedman SL, Sansbury BE, Huang X, Cai B. Resolvin D1-mediated cellular crosstalk protects against MASH. JHEP Rep. 2025 May 14;7(8):101454. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101454. PMID: 40671835; PMCID: PMC12260426.
    Impact Statement: This study reveals that resolvin D1 (RvD1) protects against metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) progression by reducing hepatocyte death, inflammation, and fibrosis through alleviation of ER stress and modulation of intercellular signaling. These findings provide novel mechanistic insights into RvD1-mediated cellular crosstalk and support its potential as a therapeutic strategy for MASH. 
  14. Gornitzka MB, Røsjø E, Jana U, Ford EE, Tourancheau A, Lees W, Vanwinkle Z, Smith ML, Watson CT, Lossius A. Ultra-long sequencing for contiguous haplotype resolution of the human immunoglobulin heavy chain locus. Genome Res. 2025 Aug 21:gr.280400.125. doi: 10.1101/gr.280400.125. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40841171.
    Impact Statement: This study introduces a novel sequencing and bioinformatic approach that generates haplotype-resolved, single-contig assemblies of the human immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus, overcoming previous limitations in phasing and structural characterization. By uncovering 28 novel alleles and complex structural variants, this method provides a powerful foundation for advancing immunological research and understanding genetic factors influencing immune function and disease susceptibility. 
  15. Book Chapter: Smith, T. Generative artificial intelligence for research translation in environmental toxicology. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Toxicology and Environmental Health. Zhoumeng Lin, Wei-Chun Chou (Editors). Elsevier 2025.ISBN: 9780443300103.
    Impact Statement: This book chapter provides environmental toxicologists with a practical framework to use generative AI and community-informed prompt development to translate complex environmental toxicology research into accessible language for non-scientists. This translation can empower communities and inform evidence-based policymaking. 
  16. Lin Q, Hui X, Gu C, Min K, Xiong L, Zhou W, Xu J, Watson SE, Wintergerst KA, Cai L, Deng Z, Tan Y. High-Fat Diet Differentially Regulates Fibroblast Growth Factor Expression in Metabolic Tissues of Young and Aged Male Mice. J Endocr Soc. 2025 May 29;9(8):bvaf096. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvaf096. PMID: 40585885; PMCID: PMC12203008.
    Impact Statement: This study reveals that fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) exhibit tissue-specific expression patterns in response to high-fat diet-induced metabolic stress, with the heart, liver, and kidney showing the most pronounced changes. Identifying FGF1 as the most responsive factor highlights its potential as a therapeutic target for obesity- and aging-related metabolic dysfunction.