Publications by authors named "Ashley Alexander"

Chronic bacterial infections are often polymicrobial, comprising multiple bacterial species or variants of the same species. Because chronic infections may last for decades, they have the potential to generate high levels of intraspecific variation through within-host diversification over time, and the potential for superinfections to occur through the introduction of multiple pathogen populations to the ongoing infection. Traditional methods for identifying infective agents generally involve isolating one single colony from a given sample, usually after selecting for a specific pathogen or antibiotic resistance profile.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The case series examines the use of sirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, as an additional treatment for hyperinsulinemic hypoglycaemia (HH) in infants who don't respond to standard therapies.
  • - Four infants from two pediatric centers in Australia were treated with sirolimus, with their clinical responses and side effects tracked through chart reviews.
  • - Results showed sirolimus to be effective and mostly safe, leading to hospital discharges, but suggested a need for careful monitoring and lower dosing to mitigate risks, highlighting the necessity for more research on its use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: In the era of rising antimicrobial resistance and successful protocols for empiric and prophylactic antimicrobial therapy in elective surgical procedures, it is important to consider the specific needs of the trauma population based on injury location, severity, and environmental exposures. In this study, we aim to compare outcomes of high-activation trauma patients who received antibiotics during initial evaluation with those who did not.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients focusing on antimicrobial administration who presented as the highest trauma activation criteria during the year 2021 was conducted at a single urban institution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Physical activity improves physical and psychological health in cancer survivors. This study evaluated Active Living After Cancer (ALAC), a community-based program to improve physical activity, physical function, and quality of life (QOL) in minority and medically underserved cancer survivors and their caregivers.

Methods: Participants completed 12 weekly ALAC sessions and assessments of physical activity, physical functioning, and QOL at baseline and follow-up (week 12).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

When cultured together under standard laboratory conditions has been shown to be an effective inhibitor of . However, and are commonly observed in coinfections of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and in chronic wounds. Previous work from our group revealed that isolates from CF infections are able to persist in the presence of strain PAO1 with a range of tolerances with some isolates being eliminated entirely and others maintaining large populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare proliferative disorder characterised as an inflammatory myeloid neoplasia. Endocrine manifestations of LCH, particularly central diabetes insipidus (CDI), have been described from the 1940s, through case studies and small cohort analyses. There are limited Australian paediatric data described in recent literature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

and are the most common bacterial pathogens isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) related lung infections. When both of these opportunistic pathogens are found in a coinfection, CF patients tend to have higher rates of pulmonary exacerbations and experience a more rapid decrease in lung function. When cultured together under standard laboratory conditions, it is often observed that effectively inhibits growth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The late-stage functionalization of peptides and proteins holds significant promise for drug discovery and facilitates bioorthogonal chemistry. This selective functionalization leads to innovative advances in in vitro and in vivo biological research. However, it is a challenging endeavor to selectively target a certain amino acid or position in the presence of other residues containing reactive groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Parkinson's disease is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with distinctive gut microbiome patterns suggesting that interventions targeting the gut microbiota may prevent, slow, or reverse disease progression and severity.

Objective: Because secretory IgA (SIgA) plays a key role in shaping the gut microbiota, characterization of the IgA-Biome of individuals classified into either the akinetic rigid (AR) or tremor dominant (TD) Parkinson's disease clinical subtypes was used to further define taxa unique to these distinct clinical phenotypes.

Methods: Flow cytometry was used to separate IgA-coated and -uncoated bacteria from stool samples obtained from AR and TD patients followed by amplification and sequencing of the V4 region of the 16 S rDNA gene on the MiSeq platform (Illumina).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vascular access in hypotensive trauma patients is challenging. Little evidence exists on the time required and success rates of vascular access types. We hypothesized that intraosseous (IO) access would be faster and more successful than peripheral intravenous (PIV) and central venous catheter (CVC) access in hypotensive patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: The intestinal microbiome plays a primary role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders and may provide an opportunity for disease modification. We performed a pilot clinical study looking at the safety of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), its effect on the microbiome, and improvement of symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study, wherein orally administered lyophilized FMT product or matching placebo was given to 12 subjects with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease with constipation twice weekly for 12 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

IgA-coated bacteria in the gut (IgA-biome) provide a homeostatic function in healthy people through inhibition of microbial invaders and by protecting the epithelial monolayer of the gut. The laboratory methods used to detect this group of bacteria require flow cytometry and DNA sequencing (IgA-Seq). With dysbiosis (reduced diversity of the microbiome), the IgA-biome also is impaired.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Patients often discuss information obtained from Internet sources during clinic visits, which can be of variable quality and depth. We sought to review and assess information on the Internet regarding common operations within endocrine surgery.

Methods: Using Google's search engine, the top 100 websites from the search phrase "parathyroid surgery," and the top 100 websites from the phrase "thyroid surgery" were identified.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent nosocomial pathogen that causes several life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia and bacteremia. S. aureus modulates the expression of its arsenal of virulence factors through sensing and integrating responses to environmental signals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: An expanding body of research documents the benefits of physical activity for cancer survivors' physical functioning and quality of life, but few successful models provide community-based physical activity programs to cancer survivors. This report presents an evaluation of Active Living After Cancer, an evidence-based physical activity program for breast cancer survivors, adapted for community delivery to minority and medically underserved survivors.

Methods: Survivors were recruited from health care and community settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: With this study, we aim to evaluate inpatient adolescent screening for tobacco, as well as the relationship between tobacco and other substance use, tobacco types used, and cessation interventions.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of inpatient hospital admissions of adolescents aged ≥13 years to a tertiary care, freestanding, urban children's hospital in 2018 was performed. Tobacco use-related variables were entered into a multiple logistic regression model in which the adjusted odds ratios were determined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Reduced microbiota diversity (dysbiosis) in people with HIV (PWH) likely contributes to inflammation, a driver of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of 6 weekly oral fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) administered to reverse this dysbiosis.

Methods: Six PWH on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) received 6 weekly doses of lyophilized fecal microbiota product from healthy donors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

has recently overtaken as the most commonly recognized bacterial pathogen that infects the respiratory tracts of individuals with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF) in the United States. Most studies of in CF patient lung infections have focused on a few isolates, often exclusively laboratory-adapted strains, and how they are killed by Less is known about the diversity of CF patient lung isolates in terms of both their virulence and their interaction with To begin to address this gap, we recently sequenced 64 clinical isolates and a reference isolate, JE2. Here, we analyzed the antibiotic resistance genotypes, sequence types, clonal complexes, types, types, and presence/absence of other known virulence factor genes of these isolates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The productivity of a biological community often correlates with its diversity. In the microbial world this phenomenon can sometimes be explained by positive, density-dependent interactions such as cross-feeding and syntrophy. These metabolic interactions help account for the astonishing variety of microbial life and drive many of the biogeochemical cycles without which life as we know it could not exist.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Standardized pain assessment and interventions are recommended for youth hospitalized for pain. This quality improvement (QI) project integrated into a pediatric psychology service aimed to increase the standardized assessment of pain-related functional ability for youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) hospitalized for pain.

Methods: Children and adolescents (n=102) with SCD referred for psychology consultation for poor coping in response to pain during hospitalization completed a validated self-report of functional ability in addition to pain intensity during inpatient psychology visits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) via colonoscopy or enema has become a commonly used treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI).

Aims: To compare the safety and preliminary efficacy of orally administered lyophilized microbiota product compared with frozen product by enema.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To create and validate a simulation model for corneal rust ring removal.

Methods: Rust rings were created on cadaveric eyes with the use of small particles of metal. The eyes were mounted on suction plates at slit lamps and the trainees practiced rust ring removal.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Freezing donor fecal microbiota has simplified fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in the treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI). However, the optimal storage time for the frozen FMT products remains unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: HIV-infected individuals are at increased risk of neurocognitive impairment compared to the general population. Studies suggest that, despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV infection causes immune activation which results in neural damage; however, few data exist in HIV-infected youth.

Methods: HIV-infected youth 8-26-years-old on cART with virological suppression were prospectively enrolled along with healthy controls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF