Publications by authors named "A J Wittwer"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the relationship between the structure and function of the corticospinal tract (CST) in predicting motor recovery after a stroke, focusing on patients within a week of experiencing an acute ischemic stroke.
  • Involving 70 patients with unilateral upper extremity weakness, it utilized clinical assessment, MRI scans to check CST lesion load, and transcranial magnetic stimulation to gauge motor functions.
  • Results show that a high CST lesion load can accurately predict a lack of motor response, and the relationship between CST structure and function varies based on the amplitude of the motor evoked potentials (MEP), influencing recovery patterns in stroke patients.
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Background: Early prediction of poststroke motor recovery is challenging in clinical settings. The Prediction recovery potential (PREP2) algorithm is the most accurate approach for prediction of Upper Limb function available to date but lacks external validation.

Objectives: (i) To externally validate the PREP2 algorithm in a prospective cohort, (ii) to study the characteristics of patients misclassified by the algorithm, and (iii) to compare the performance according to the presence of cognitive syndromes (aphasia, neglect, cognitive disorders).

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The complement system plays a critical role in the innate immune response, acting as a first line of defense against invading pathogens. However, dysregulation of the complement system is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's to age-related macular degeneration and rare blood disorders. As such, complement inhibitors have enormous potential to alleviate disease burden.

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Organic products have received longstanding, widespread attention for their nutritional and ecological benefits, as they are said to have certain positive health attributes and contain fewer harmful compounds than conventional (or non-organic) products. We reviewed the recent literature to examine potential associations between nutrient composition, gut microbiota, and gut health effects in recent comparative studies of organic and conventional dairy products. Trends of increased ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and unsaturated to saturated fat, increased fat-soluble vitamin content, and decreased levels of certain pernicious contaminants in organic milk were observed across the studies reviewed.

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Zoo animal husbandry is a skill that should be developing constantly. In theory, this should lead to an improvement of zoo animal survivorship over time. Additionally, it has been suggested that species that are at a comparatively higher risk of extinction in their natural habitats (in situ) might also be more difficult to keep under zoo conditions (ex situ).

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