Publications by authors named "ALLEN M"

Cocaine-use disorders (CUDs) continue to be a major public health problem that requires effective treatments. Despite decades of preclinical research, there are no FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for cocaine use. While there are numerous potential reasons why no efficacious treatments have been identified or approved for cocaine use, we discuss two possible reasons in this review: the low number of studies incorporating social variables and the overlooking of the clinical reality of polysubstance use.

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In recent years, workplace violence has become an escalating concern, particularly within the healthcare sector. Healthcare workers, who dedicate their lives to caring for others, are increasingly facing violence within their workplaces as evidenced by existing studies. However, literature overlooks complex associations between workplace violence, workplace stress, and domestic violence and stress.

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Objectives: Antibacterial-resistant gram-negative hospital-acquired infections result in significant morbidity and mortality. In clinical trials, ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) has been effective against these infections; however, real-world findings are limited.

Methods: SPECTRA was a global, retrospective, observational inpatient study of adults treated with C/T for ≥48 hours, conducted between 2016 and 2020.

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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Frailty is defined as a state of minimal "physiologic reserve." The modified 5 factor frailty index (mFI-5) is a recently proposed metric for assessing frailty and has been previously studied as a predictor of morbidity and mortality.

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The brain presents various structural and functional sex differences, for which multiple factors are attributed: genetic, epigenetic, metabolic, and hormonal. While biological sex is determined by both sex chromosomes and sex hormones, little is known about how these two factors interact to establish this dimorphism. Sex differences in the brain also affect its resident immune cells, microglia, which actively survey the brain parenchyma and interact with sex hormones throughout life.

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Background: Evidence for Mobile Stroke Units (MSUs) demonstrates that onset to treatment times for intravenous thrombolysis can be reduced and access to mechanical thrombectomy might be improved. Despite growing use of MSUs internationally, to date there have been no studies in NHS England and NHS Wales exploring the acceptability of MSUs to clinicians, patient and public representatives and other key stakeholders, which are important when considering potential feasibility and implementation.

Methods: This study used a mixed methods design with a cross-sectional survey and qualitative workshops and interviews between October 2023 to May 2024.

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The widespread use of gadolinium-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in recent decades has led to a growing demand for Gd and raised environmental concerns due to their direct discharge into wastewater systems. In response, we developed an electrochemical filtration method to recover Gd from patient urine following contrast-enhanced MRI. This method involves modifying a conventional vacuum filtration apparatus by introducing electrodes into the filter membrane, creating a strong electric field of ∼5 kV/m and a steep three-zone pH gradient within the filter membrane.

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We hypothesized that daily exercise promotes joint health by upregulating anti-inflammatory mediators via adaptive molecular and metabolic changes in the infrapatellar fat pad (IFP). We tested this hypothesis by conducting time-resolved analyses between 1 and 14 days of voluntary wheel running exercise in C57BL/6J mice. IFP structure and cellularity were evaluated by histomorphology, picrosirius red collagen staining, and flow cytometry analysis of stromal vascular fraction cells.

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Objective: When creating minimally invasive spine fusion constructs, accurate pedicle screw fixation is essential for biomechanical strength and avoiding complications arising from delicate surrounding structures. As research continues to analyze how to improve accuracy, long-term patient outcomes based on screw accuracy remain understudied. The objective of this study was to analyze long-term patient outcomes based on screw accuracy.

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Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) accounts for ~20% of all breast cancer diagnoses but whilst known to be a precursor of invasive breast cancer (IBC), evidence suggests only one in six patients will ever progress. A key challenge is to distinguish between those lesions that will progress and those that will remain indolent. Molecular analyses of neoplastic epithelial cells have not identified consistent differences between lesions that progressed and those that did not, and this has focused attention on the tumour microenvironment (ME).

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Background: Injury causes significant burden on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. However, a considerable portion of the research conducted in this area has been carried out by Western researchers. It has been acknowledged that historical research methodologies and discourses around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research may not be suitable or beneficial.

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This experiment determined the effects of two different starch sources when offered twice a day to cows during the early postpartum period (1 to 23 d postpartum, treatment period) on dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, and milk production. The subsequent effects on milk production in the carryover period (24 to 72 d) where cows received a common diet (grazed perennial ryegrass pasture plus concentrate supplements) were also measured. Thirty-two multiparous dairy cows were offered concentrate feed (8 kg DM/d) containing 5 kg DM of crushed wheat grain or ground corn grain (7 h in vitro starch digestibility of 65.

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Study Question: Do recent changes in European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) clinical guidelines result in more comprehensive diagnosis of women with endometriosis?

Summary Answer: The latest shift in clinical guidelines results in diagnosis of more women with endometriosis but current ESHRE diagnostic criteria do not capture a sizable percentage of women with the disease.

What Is Known Already: Historically, laparoscopy was the gold standard for diagnosing endometriosis, a complex gynecological condition marked by a heterogeneous set of symptoms that vary widely among women. More recently, changes in clinical guidelines have shifted to incorporate imaging-based approaches such as transvaginal sonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study compares heparin and 0.9% sodium chloride for locking peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in blood cancer patients.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to either locking method for up to 7 days, with no significant difference in PICC patency between the two.
  • Heparin led to more side effects, higher costs, and increased nursing time, suggesting that 0.9% sodium chloride is a safer and more cost-effective option for maintenance.
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Despite long-standing recognition that providers should discuss DNR (do-not-resuscitate) orders prior to surgery, there is evidence that perioperative code status discussions are frequently of limited quality. Limited attention has been paid to patient perspectives. Determine the scope of literature on management of perioperative DNR orders from the patient perspective.

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Background And Purpose: There are multiple MRI perfusion techniques, with limited available literature comparing these techniques in the grading of pediatric brain tumors. For efficiency and limiting scan time, ideally only one MRI perfusion technique can be used in initial imaging. We compared DSC, DCE, and IVIM along with ADC from DWI for differentiating high versus low grade pediatric brain tumors.

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Introduction: Fatigue and gait speed are established determinants of fall risk in patients with neurological disorders. However, data on adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is limited. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate falls and risk factors in adults with SMA.

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Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between surgical levels and coronal deformity to identify risk factors for failing to achieve a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) following short-segment isolated decompression or fusion surgery in patients with degenerative scoliosis (DS) and concurrent lumbar canal stenosis (LCS), without severe sagittal deformity malalignment.

Methods: Patients with degenerative scoliosis who underwent 1- or 2-level lumbar isolated decompression or fusion surgery were included. Surgical level was labeled as "Cobb-related" when decompression or surgical levels spanned or were between end vertebrae, and "outside" when the operative levels did not include the end vertebrae.

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Prior research has found inconsistent results regarding gender differences in confidence and metacognitive ability. Different studies have shown that men are either more or less confident and have either higher or lower metacognitive abilities than women. However, this research has generally not used well-controlled tasks or used performance-independent measures of metacognitive ability.

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Article Synopsis
  • Poor muscle health, indicated by the normalized total psoas area (NTPA), is linked to negative recovery outcomes in spinal deformity surgery, which is a gap in current research.
  • The study aims to explore how NTPA correlates with patient mobility and the incidence of adverse events (AEs) post-surgery by analyzing data from 279 patients over a nine-year period.
  • Results include assessing postoperative ambulation and complications like urinary issues and delayed healing, using data from MRI to establish cut-off values for NTPA related to patient recovery.
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