Publications by authors named "B R Foy"

Background: Early, accurate determination of disease severity in an emergency setting is paramount for improving patient outcomes and healthcare costs. Monocyte anisocytosis, quantified as monocyte distribution width (MDW), has been shown to correspond with immune dysregulation. We hypothesize that MDW is broadly associated with illness severity related to sepsis and serious infection in children.

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The complete blood count (CBC) is an important screening tool for healthy adults and a common test at periodic exams. However, results are usually interpreted relative to one-size-fits-all reference intervals, undermining the precision medicine goal to tailor care for patients on the basis of their unique characteristics. Here we study thousands of diverse patients at an academic medical centre and show that routine CBC indices fluctuate around stable values or setpoints, and setpoints are patient-specific, with the typical healthy adult's nine CBC setpoints distinguishable as a group from those of 98% of other healthy adults, and setpoint differences persist for at least 20 years.

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The epidemiologic effects of Zika virus (ZIKV) sexual transmission in virus-endemic countries remain unclear. We conducted a 2-level, linear mixed-effects logistic regression analysis by using a recently acquired population-based ZIKV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) serologic dataset obtained from persons residing in Northeast Brazil (n = 2,070 participants). We adjusted mathematical models for housing type and age of participants; the models indicated a significantly higher likelihood of ZIKV seropositivity among persons engaged in a sexual relationship within the same household (odds ratio 1.

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Air quality managers in areas exceeding air pollution standards are motivated to understand where there are further opportunities to reduce NO emissions to improve ozone and PM air quality. In this project, we use a combination of aircraft remote sensing (i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • Research revealed that the diaphragm shows less myotonia due to lower potassium (K) build-up in its muscle membrane structures called t-tubules, largely because of the smaller size of diaphragm fibers and differences in membrane conductance.
  • Computer simulations indicate that while potassium channels have a minimal effect on K build-up during action potentials, their activation during the time between signals may help prevent excessive depolarization, reducing myotonia severity without worsening K accumulation.
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