Saint Francis University

About: Saint Francis University is a education organization based out in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Osteoblast. The organization has 1694 authors who have published 2038 publications receiving 87149 citations.

Nurturing diversity and inclusion in AI in Biomedicine through a virtual summer program for high school students

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the power to improve our lives through a wide variety of applications, many of which fall into the healthcare space; however, a lack of diversity is contributing to flawed systems that perpetuate gender and racial biases, and limit how broadly AI can help people. The UCSF AI4ALL program was established in 2019 to address this issue by promoting diversity and inclusion in AI. The program targets high school students from underrepresented backgrounds in AI and gives them a chance to learn about AI with a focus on biomedicine. In 2020, the UCSF AI4ALL three-week program was held entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus students participated virtually to gain experience with AI, interact with diverse role models in AI, and learn about advancing health through AI. Specifically, they attended lectures in coding and AI, received an in-depth research experience through hands-on projects exploring COVID-19, and engaged in mentoring and personal development sessions with faculty, researchers, industry professionals, and undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom were women and from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. At the conclusion of the program, the students presented the results of their research projects at our final symposium. Comparison of pre- and post-program survey responses from students demonstrated that after the program, significantly more students were familiar with how to work with data and to evaluate and apply machine learning algorithms. There was also a nominally significant increase in the students’ knowing people in AI from historically underrepresented groups, feeling confident in discussing AI, and being aware of careers in AI. We found that we were able to engage young students in AI via our online training program and nurture greater inclusion in AI.

The Association between Aortic Valve Weight, Echocardiographic Indices, and All-Cause Death in 1,046 Patients Undergoing Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement for Aortic Stenosis.

Abstract: Background: Aortic valve weight (AVW), a flow independent measure of aortic stenosis (AS) severity, is reported to have heterogeneous associations with the echocardiographic variables used for AS evaluation. Controversy exists regarding its impact on survival after aortic valve replacement (AVR). Objective: We sought to determine the association between AVW with echocardiographic measures of AS severity and all-cause mortality after surgical AVR. Methods: One thousand and forty-sixconsecutive patients underwent surgical AVR for AS, the excised valves were weighed, and an echocardiogram was done before surgery. Results: Males had heavier valves than females, for both absolute and body surface are (BSA)-indexed values (2.78 ± 1.23 vs. 2.08 ± 0.68 g, p < 0.001; and 1.38 ± 0.61 vs. 1.19 ± 0.41 g/m2, p < 0.001, respectively). In a restricted cohort of 634 patients with isolated severe AS and normal ejection fraction, the correlations of AVW with echocardiographic variables of AS were modest, the strongest being with the dimensionless index (r = –0.27 and –0.26 for male and female, both p < 0.01). Stratified by stroke volume index and mean gradient (MG), no associations were found in the low-gradient groups (i.e., MG <40 mmHg). At a median follow-up of 3.5 years, there were only 244 deaths in the entire cohort. Mortality was not related to AVW, except in females who displayed an inverse relationship (HR = 0.67; 95% CI 0.47–0.95) only when it was analyzed as a continuous variable. Conclusions: The weak correlation between AVW with the echocardiographic indices of AS may reflect its complex pathophysiology, heterogeneous hemodynamics, and possible pitfalls in the current echocardiographic methods used in clinical practice. The prognostic value of AVW after AVR warrants further evaluation.

Scrotal abcess mimicking testicular torsion in a premature infant.

Abstract: The differential diagnosis between testicular torsion and scrotal abscess in the neonate can be extremely difficult. Early surgical exploration in all cases is the intervention of choice in the postnatal acute scrotum.