Publications by authors named "Brown Stephen"

AbstractThis analysis of professional organizational policies regarding potentially inappropriate life-sustaining medical treatment (LSMT) focuses on the specific threshold criteria that policies apply for limiting LSMT, as well as when (if ever) override of patient/surrogate preferences may be reasonable. Our article offers a critical analysis of one influential approach, proffered by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, that applies a prognosis-based definition of nonbeneficial/inappropriate treatment to determine that ethical threshold. We observe that this prognosis-based threshold resembles rationing in important ways, though it pertains to settings where resources may not be limited.

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Introduction: The significant burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not recognized as a global public health priority, although policies aimed at delaying progression to later stages are required. Therefore, there is need for a holistic disease model to inform decision making that accounts for the multidimensional impact of CKD, and the interrelated factors that modulate progression.

Methods: IMPACT CKD is a microsimulation model that simulates CKD progression and incorporates the effect of clinical events and comorbidities.

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: Despite advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapies, traditional treatments like microtubule stabilizers (paclitaxel, docetaxel), DNA-intercalating platinum drugs (cisplatin), and radiation therapy remain essential for managing locally advanced and metastatic lung cancer. Identifying novel molecular targets could enhance the efficacy of these treatments. : We hypothesize that BUB1 (Ser/Thr kinase) is overexpressed in lung cancers and its inhibition will sensitize lung cancers to chemoradiation.

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  • This study investigates the role of paraspinal muscle dysfunction in spinal degeneration by examining surgical patients with varying degrees of spinal imbalance.
  • Twelve patients were divided into three groups based on their sagittal balance and compensatory mechanisms, with muscle biopsies taken to assess contractile properties.
  • The findings reveal that patients with sagittal imbalance show impaired muscle force generation, and all patients demonstrate abnormal muscle structure, shedding light on the underlying issues of muscle weakness in spinal degeneration.
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  • Glioblastoma (GBM) tumors show diverse genetic and transcriptional profiles, leading to significant variations in how cancer stem cells (CSCs) respond to standard treatments like radiation and temozolomide (TMZ).
  • Through targeted proteomics and RNA sequencing, the study found that while differentiating CSCs to an astrocytic state activates certain oncogenic pathways and retains some "stemness," it also increases resistance to TMZ treatment.
  • The transcriptional response to treatments was largely influenced by the p53 status of the cells, revealing that both mutant and wild-type p53 models activated a DNA-damage related immune response, indicating potential pathways for improving GBM treatment strategies.
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Twin girls born at 30 weeks' gestation with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) received onsasemnogene-abeparvovec (OA) at 3.5 weeks of life. They had no treatment-related adverse events, normal acquisition of motor milestones, and normal neurological examination at 19 months.

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Neighboring genes within a shared promoter arrangement (i.e. opposite direction with the neighboring ends as the transcriptional start sites) are expected to have a high similarity in genotype tissue expression due to the potential overlap in the promoter region.

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Background: Investigating movement strategies that can be utilized to avoid pain-provocation could enhance the management of low back pain episodes.

Objective: To assess the effect of visual cues at different heights on the kinematics of sit-to-stand movements, as well as perceived difficulty and pain levels.

Design: Cross-over design comparing individuals with low back pain to healthy controls.

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Introduction: Muscles play a critical role in supporting joints during activities of daily living, owing, in part, to the phenomenon of short-range stiffness. Briefly, when an active muscle is lengthened, bound cross-bridges are stretched, yielding forces greater than what is predicted from the force length relationship. For this reason, short-range stiffness has been proposed as an attractive mechanism for providing joint stability.

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Mechanical stress and fluid flow influence glioma cell phenotype in vitro, but measuring these quantities in vivo continues to be challenging. The purpose of this study was to predict these quantities in vivo, thus providing insight into glioma physiology and potential mechanical biomarkers that may improve glioma detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Image-based finite element models of human U251N orthotopic glioma in athymic rats were developed to predict structural stress and interstitial flow in and around each animal's tumor.

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Big data have become increasingly important for policymakers and scientists but have yet to be employed for the development of spatially specific groundwater contamination indices or protecting human and environmental health. The current study sought to develop a series of indices via analyses of three variables: Non-E. coli coliform (NEC) concentration, E.

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Purpose: Best current practice in the analysis of dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI is to employ a voxel-by-voxel model selection from a hierarchy of nested models. This nested model selection (NMS) assumes that the observed time-trace of contrast-agent (CA) concentration within a voxel, corresponds to a singular physiologically nested model. However, admixtures of different models may exist within a voxel's CA time-trace.

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Pain is common in paediatric populations and is best treated with a multi-disciplinary approach. Art therapy interventions are gaining popularity in paediatrics; however, there is limited evidence on its impact on pain outcomes in children and adolescents. The objective of this scoping review is to map current research on art therapy's impact as an intervention in paediatric populations experiencing any type of pain (i.

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BUB1 is overexpressed in most human solid cancers, including breast cancer. Higher BUB1 levels are associated with a poor prognosis, especially in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Women with TNBC often develop resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which are still the mainstay of treatment for TNBC.

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  • * The manuscript details a dataset collected from January 2021 to March 2023, including RT-qPCR results from 107 sites, with data covering a significant portion of Ontario's population.
  • * This initiative has been vital for public health as it provides crucial information for monitoring disease trends, particularly during the rise of the Omicron variant, and emphasizes the importance of wastewater surveillance in understanding disease incidence.
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Titanium-oxo clusters can undergo photochemical reactions under UV light, resulting in the reduction of the titanium-oxo core and oxidation of surface ligands. This is an important step in photocatalytic processes in light-absorbing Ti/O-based clusters, metal-organic frameworks, and (nano)material surfaces; however, studying the direct outcome of this photochemical process is challenging due to the fragility of the immediate photoproducts. In this report, titanium-oxo clusters [TiO(OPr)(L)] ( = 4, L = OPPh, or = 6, L = OCCHBu) undergo a two-electron photoredox reaction in the single-crystal state via an irreversible single-crystal to single-crystal (SC-SC) transformation initiated by a UV laser.

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Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer subtype often treated with radiotherapy (RT). Due to its intrinsic heterogeneity and lack of effective targets, it is crucial to identify novel molecular targets that would increase RT efficacy. Here we demonstrate the role of BUB1 (cell cycle Ser/Thr kinase) in TNBC radioresistance and offer a novel strategy to improve TNBC treatment.

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Seasonally abundant arthropods are a crucial food source for many migratory birds that breed in the Arctic. In cold environments, the growth and emergence of arthropods are particularly tied to temperature. Thus, the phenology of arthropods is anticipated to undergo a rapid change in response to a warming climate, potentially leading to a trophic mismatch between migratory insectivorous birds and their prey.

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We report on a new radioprotector, UTS-1401, a small molecule that was synthesized (by one of us, JS) and evaluated here for its radioprotective effect against total-body irradiation (TBI). Female and male NIH Swiss mice were subjected to TBI at doses of 6.5, 7.

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The association between low back pain and lumbar spine local dynamic stability (LDS) appears to be modulated by if and how someone catastrophizes about pain, suggesting that the cognitive perceptions of pain may influence an individual's ability to control lumbar spine motion. Previous work also demonstrates that directing cognitive resources and attentional focus can influence movement performance. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether distracting attentional focus would influence lumbar spine LDS during repetitive flexion-extension movements.

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Global climate change has altered the timing of seasonal events (i.e., phenology) for a diverse range of biota.

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Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer subtype often treated with radiotherapy (RT). Due to its intrinsic heterogeneity and lack of effective targets, it is crucial to identify novel molecular targets that would increase RT efficacy. Here we demonstrate the role of BUB1 (cell cycle Ser/Thr kinase) in TNBC radioresistance and offer a novel strategy to improve TNBC treatment.

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Background: Lung cancer is a major public health concern, with high incidence and mortality. Despite advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy, microtubule stabilizers (paclitaxel, docetaxel), DNA intercalating platinum drugs (cisplatin) and radiation therapy continue to play a critical role in the management of locally advanced and metastatic lung cancer. Novel molecular targets would provide opportunities for improving the efficacies of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

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