Wichita State University

Later this year, Dr. Preskorn will be stepping down from his position as Psychopharmacology Columnist for the Journal of Psychiatric Practice after over 30 years in that role. This column is intended to provide readers who have read or will read Dr Preskorn's articles on psychopharmacology in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice and other journals with a perspective on the author. Over his 50+ year career, the author has been and continues to be passionate about bringing science to the practice of psychiatry. The column describes the author's contributions in the following areas: (1) direct impact on psychiatric drug development and approval, (2) publication of peer-reviewed publications that have influenced both researchers and practitioners, (3) influence on psychiatrists and other prescribers to improve the prescribing of psychiatric medications for patients, and (4) regulatory, translational, and mechanistic contributions to the understanding of the science of psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology.

Identifying a metabolic rescue for mitochondrial toxins induced neurodegeneration is a promising therapeutic target. Dopaminergic neurons are high energy dependent neurons, owing to their metabolic functions, and this makes them vulnerable in conditions of bioenergetic failure and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this study, we explored the protective potential of sodium propionate, a short-chain fatty acid and metabolic precursor of succinate, against mitochondrial toxin-induced neurotoxicity in MN9D dopaminergic cells. Cells were treated with 200 µM sodium propionate after exposure to 1.5 µM rotenone or 10 µM antimycin A, and cell viability, intracellular ATP levels, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and dopaminergic markers were assessed. Our results show that sodium propionate significantly attenuates mitochondrial toxin-induced loss of cell viability and ATP depletion while reducing oxidative stress and preserving the expression of enzymes involved in catecholamine biosynthesis pathway, including tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH). These findings suggest that sodium propionate confers functional protection to dopaminergic neurons under mitochondrial toxin stress. Sodium propionate is proposed to act as a metabolic precursor to succinyl-CoA, thereby replenishing tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and supporting cellular metabolic homeostasis. Under Complex I inhibition (rotenone) and complex III inhibition (antimycin A), sodium propionate treatment was associated with preservation of cellular ATP levels. Across conditions, sodium propionate treatment was associated with improved cell viability, reduced oxidative stress associated signals, and preservation of dopaminergic function. Together, these data indicate that sodium propionate supports dopaminergic neuronal resilience through toxin-dependent metabolic and cellular stress modulating effects.

Smart transportation networks face increasing demands for efficiency and sustainability. This study presents a reinforcement learning approach that optimizes eco-driving strategies for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) in urban environments, with a particular application to healthcare logistics. Specifically, we propose a novel approach using reinforcement learning, specifically a twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm, to dynamically optimize CAV trajectories at signalized intersections. The proposed healthcare eco-driving trajectory optimization (TD3-HETO) model incorporates real-time traffic conditions, signal timing information, and healthcare urgency levels to generate optimal acceleration profiles. The reward function is designed to balance energy efficiency, traffic flow, safety, comfort, and healthcare delivery timeliness. Additionally, the model introduces a dynamic exploration strategy that adapts to healthcare task urgency, enabling efficient balancing between energy consumption and delivery timelines. Experimental results show that TD3-HETO reduces energy consumption by up to 28.7% compared to baseline methods while improving average speeds by 3.7% for urgent healthcare deliveries. The model achieves superior safety performance with 98.7% of time steps showing zero conflicts, compared to 95.3% for the best baseline. TD3-HETO also demonstrates remarkable adaptability to varying traffic demands and signal timings, maintaining consistent performance even at high traffic volumes. This research contributes to developing intelligent transportation systems to enhance environmental sustainability and healthcare accessibility in smart cities, potentially improving patient outcomes and operational efficiency in urban healthcare logistics.

Recognizing the strategic importance of establishing a talent pipeline for the growth of Facilities Management, the local chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) sought to collaborate with academic institutions.Initial attempts to connect with various programs were unsuccessful.Concurrently, the Applied Engineering program (formerly Engineering Technology), known for hands-on pedagogy and strong industry collaboration, learned of IFMA's interest in developing certified facility managers.Through a series of meetings between the local IFMA Chapter and academic faculty, a draft program was developed.Faculty, teaching suitable content from other colleges, were included in the initial discussion to minimize the need for creating new content classes, and thus reducing barriers for implementation.It was also decided to add the new curriculum as a concentration under the Engineering Technology program which would expedite the launch process.At the time IFMA was directly accrediting programs and our development team, led by industry, had several conversations with IFMA accreditors to ensure alignment with the program.Leveraging a university wide competition to encourage interdisciplinary programs, a final program was developed and submitted to the competition, winning first place.This provided the needed resources and encouragement to finalize and launch the new program concentration.A new concentration in Facilities Management was launched in Fall 2019.In addition, IFMA's local chapter supported the initiative through funding for recruitment and paid internship positions.Using cross college collaboration, only one new class was added which was developed and is taught by IFMA Chapter members as adjuncts.

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is a well-established alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis, particularly in patients at high surgical risk. However, in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a notable long-term complication, occurring in up to 20% of patients within five years. The optimal management strategy for ISR remains unclear, as endovascular reintervention carries a significant risk of recurrence, and evidence supporting surgical explantation is limited.We present two patients who developed severe carotid ISR and were successfully treated with CEA and complete stent explantation followed by bovine pericardial patch angioplasty. The first patient, an 84-year-old woman with bilateral carotid disease and a history of left carotid stenting, developed 90% restenosis at surveillance and underwent staged bilateral carotid revascularization with durable patency at three-year follow-up. The second patient, a 70-year-old man, presented with acute visual loss and imaging demonstrating near-occlusive thrombosis within a previously placed carotid stent. He underwent urgent surgical stent removal and patch angioplasty, achieving full recovery and maintaining patency at one year. Neither patient experienced perioperative neurological or cardiovascular complications.These cases highlight the feasibility and safety of surgical stent explantation in the management of carotid ISR. Compared with repeat endovascular interventions, surgical removal directly addresses the underlying mechanical and neointimal causes of restenosis and may provide superior long-term durability in appropriately selected patients.CEA with stent explantation represents an effective treatment option for ISR, particularly when endovascular options are limited by calcification, thrombus, or mechanical failure. Larger prospective studies are needed to establish patient selection criteria and optimize management strategies for this challenging clinical scenario.

A framework is presented for simulating and controlling multiple urban air mobility vehicles in air corridors with real-time vehicle-to-vehicle communication. We use a framework developed in MATLAB, interfaced with X-Plane flight simulation software, to develop strategies to adapt to changing air traffic as well as environmental conditions, ensuring safe and efficient flight operations. Simulation of multiple vehicles within an air corridor enable evaluation of the effectiveness of various approaches in generating optimal navigation paths and collision avoidance for the simulated traffic in an air corridor. An example of how this framework can be utilized to evaluate an overtaking aircraft collision avoidance strategy is presented along with the control method used for the collision avoidance.