Publications by authors named "B M Silber"

Previous randomized controlled trials examining cognitive and mood effects of combination multivitamin supplements in healthy, non-clinical adults have reported mixed results. One purported explanation for this is that the dietary status of participants at the start of supplement interventions may influence the magnitude of the effect of supplementation. In this study, we evaluated the effect of a multinutrient formula containing B group vitamins, and on memory, attention, mood and biochemical markers of nutrient status in middle-aged adults ( 52.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

CRISPR-Cas systems (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) have shown great potential as efficient gene editing tools in disease therapeutics. Although numerous CRISPR-Cas systems have been developed, detailed mechanisms of target recognition and DNA cleavage are still unclear. In this work, we dynamically observe the entire process of conjugation, target recognition and DNA cleavage by single particle spectroscopy of CRISPR-Cas systems on single particle surfaces (gold) with the unique advantage of extended time periods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: There is increasing emphasis on the importance of patient and family engagement for improving patient safety. Our purpose in this study was to understand health care team perspectives on parent-provider safety partnerships for hospitalized US children to complement a parallel study of parent perspectives.

Methods: Our research team, including a family advisor, conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups of a purposive sample of 20 inpatient pediatric providers (nurses, patient care technicians, physicians) in an acute-care pediatric unit at a US urban tertiary hospital.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Caffeine induces positive effects on sustained attention, although studies assessing the acute effects of low caffeine dose (<75 mg) on sustained attention are limited and use short-term tests. Therefore, we investigated the acute effects of a 60 mg dose of caffeine on sustained attention in tests lasting up to 45 minutes using 82 low or non-caffeine-consuming healthy male ( n=41) and female ( n=41) adults aged between 40 and 60 years. Vigilance was measured using Mackworth Clock test, Rapid Visual Information Processing Test, adaptive tracking test, saccadic eye movement and attention switch test.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) prevalent in the aging population remains a daunting challenge. With the growing understanding that many NDs progress by conformational self-templating of specific proteins, the prototypical prion diseases offer a platform for ND drug discovery. We evaluated high-throughput screening hits with the aryl amide scaffold and explored the structure-activity relationships around three series differing in their N-aryl core: benzoxazole, benzothiazole, and cyano.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF