Publications by authors named "A Barron"

Aim: Previous studies have demonstrated that contact lenses coated with the antimicrobial cationic peptide Mel4, a derivative of melimine, can reduce the occurrence of keratitis. However, the antimicrobial activity of Mel4 weakened over time due to its susceptibility to proteolytic degradation. Oligo-N-substituted glycine peptoids such as TM5 and TM18 possess antimicrobial properties and are resistant to proteolytic breakdown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy may contribute to psychiatric disorders in children, but its effects on brain development and sex differences are not fully understood.
  • A study analyzed data from 2,635 mother-child pairs to explore how maternal levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, correlate with offspring brain structure, focusing on cortical thickness, surface area, and volume.
  • Findings reveal that normal maternal CRP levels show different effects on brain development in boys and girls, while higher CRP levels are linked to changes in brain structure in both sexes, highlighting the importance of sex and inflammation in neurodevelopment.
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Early-onset pre-eclampsia is believed to arise from defective placentation in the first trimester, leading to placental ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) and oxidative stress. However, our current understanding of the effects of I/R and oxidative stress on trophoblast function is ambiguous in part due to studies exposing trophoblasts to hypoxia instead of I/R, and which report conflicting results. Here, we present a model of simulated ischaemia/reperfusion (SI/R) to recapitulate the pathophysiological events of early-onset pre-eclampsia (PE), by exposing first trimester cytotrophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cells to a simulated ischaemia buffer followed by reperfusion.

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The periodontal disease pathobiont () may exert a range of detrimental effects on periodontal diseases in general and, more specifically, with the initiation and progression of Localized Stage III Grade C periodontitis (molar-incisor pattern). In this review of the biogeography of this pathobiont, the full range of geographical scales for , from global origins and transmission to local geographical regions, to more locally exposed probands and families, to the individual host, down to the oral cavity, and finally, to spatial interactions with other commensals and pathobionts within the plaque biofilms at the micron/nanoscale, are reviewed. Using the newest technologies in genetics, imaging, in vitro cultures, and other research disciplines, investigators may be able to gain new insights to the role of this pathobiont in the unique initial destructive patterns of Localized Stage III Grade C periodontitis.

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Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)/mRNA complexes have great therapeutic potential but their PEG chains can induce the production of anti-PEG antibodies. New LNPs that do not contain PEG are greatly needed. We demonstrate here that poly-glutamic acid-ethylene oxide graft copolymers can replace the PEG on LNPs and outperform PEG-LNPs after chronic administration.

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