Publications by authors named "Buck L"

Background: Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) is characterized by excessive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to physical symptoms irrespective of their etiology. Estimates of SSD frequency assessed via self-report questionnaires range between 6.7% (general population) and 53% (specialized setting).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * In a study using EcoHIV mouse models, researchers found that HIV infection enhances cocaine locomotor sensitization and induces changes in astrocytes, specifically an increase in Sox9 expression in the NAc.
  • * Chemogenetic activation of NAc astrocytes showed potential in reversing the effects of EcoHIV on cocaine sensitization, suggesting that targeting these astrocytes could offer strategies for managing cocaine-related behaviors in PLWH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The audit aimed to assess and improve the completeness and accuracy of the National Joint Registry (NJR) dataset specifically for elbow arthroplasty surgeries.
  • In a two-phase approach, Phase 1 compared NJR data with NHS England Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), identifying thousands of unmatched and inaccurate records, particularly for radial head arthroplasties (RHAs).
  • Phase 2 involved collaboration among 142 NHS hospitals to correct and update records, resulting in an improved completeness of the NJR dataset from 63% to 93% and accuracy from 94% to 98%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Turtle hepatocytes are a nonexcitable model for metabolic depression during low-temperature and/or anoxic overwintering conditions. Cytoskeletal structure and mitochondrial distribution are continuously modified in cells, and we hypothesized that metabolic depression would inhibit such processes as cell attachment and spreading and promote withdrawal of cell protrusions and peripheral mitochondria. After developing a methodology for culturing painted turtle hepatocytes, two-dimensional (2-D) area and maintenance of cell attachment after a media change were used as indicators of structural rearrangement and spreading/volume.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) suffer from a variety of physical complaints such as fatigue, itching or joint pain. Since little is known about the experience of symptoms and the corresponding coping strategies in this patient group, a qualitative study was conducted in which 15 patients with PBC were interviewed. The patients reported being burdened by numerous physical complaints, some of which require extensive coping and adaptation processes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The concept of peripersonal space (PPS) is crucial for distinguishing our bodily self from others and is believed to be disrupted in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ).
  • A study using immersive virtual reality tested how perceived threats from approaching avatars affected the PPS of individuals with SZ and matched controls (CO).
  • Results indicated that while CO could sharpen their self-boundary in response to perceived threats, SZ individuals showed a shallower response, linking it to symptoms like delusions and loneliness, highlighting the need for more research on the self-boundary regulation in SZ.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is highly comorbid with HIV infection and worsens HIV outcomes. Preclinical research on the outcomes of HIV infection may yield crucial information on neurobehavioral changes resulting from chronic drug exposure in people living with HIV (PLWH). Repeated exposure to cocaine alters behavioral responses to cocaine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

HIV infection is an ongoing global health issue, despite increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). People living with HIV (PLWH) who are virally suppressed through ART still experience negative health outcomes, including neurocognitive impairment. It is increasingly evident that ART may act independently or in combination with HIV infection to alter the immune state, though this is difficult to disentangle in the clinical population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

HIV infection is an ongoing global health issue despite increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). People living with HIV (PLWH) who are virally suppressed through ART still experience negative health outcomes, including neurocognitive impairment. It is increasingly evident that ART may act independently or in combination with HIV infection to alter immune state, though this is difficult to disentangle in the clinical population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anoxia in the mammalian brain leads to hyper-excitability and cell death; however, this cascade of events does not occur in the anoxia-tolerant brain of the western painted turtle, Chrysemys picta belli. The painted turtle has become an important anoxia-tolerant model to study brain, heart, and liver function in the absence of oxygen, but being anoxia-tolerant likely means that decapitation alone is not a suitable method of euthanasia. Many anesthetics have long-term effects on ion channels and are not appropriate for same day experimentation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly comorbid with HIV infection, necessitating an understanding of the interactive effects of drug exposure and HIV. The relationship between HIV infection and cocaine use disorder is likely bidirectional, with cocaine use directly impacting immune function while HIV infection alters addiction-related behavior. To better characterize the neurobehavioral and immune consequences of HIV infection and cocaine exposure, this study utilizes a humanized mouse model to investigate the outcomes of HIV-1 infection on cocaine-related behaviors in a conditioned place preference (CPP) model, and the interactive effects of cocaine and HIV infection on peripheral and central nervous system inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anesthetics have varying physiological effects, but most notably alter ion channel kinetics. Alfaxalone is a rapid induction and washout neuroactive anesthetic, which potentiates γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-activated GABA receptor (GABA-R) currents. This study aims to identify any long-term effects of alfaxalone sedation on pyramidal neuron action potential and GABA-R properties, to determine if its impact on neuronal function can be reversed in a sufficiently short timeframe to allow for same-day electrophysiological studies in goldfish brain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypoxia is a significant source of metabolic stress that activates many cellular pathways involved in cellular differentiation, proliferation, and cell death. Hypoxia is also a major component in many human diseases and a known driver of many cancers. Despite the challenges posed by hypoxia, there are animals that display impressive capacity to withstand lethal levels of hypoxia for prolonged periods of time and thus offer a gateway to a more comprehensive understanding of the hypoxic response in vertebrates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Understanding the factors shaping human crania has long been a goal of biological anthropology, and climate, diet, and population history are three of the most well-established influences. The effects of these factors are, however, rarely compared within a single, variable population, limiting interpretations of their relative contribution to craniofacial form. Jomon prehistoric foragers inhabited Japan throughout its climatic and ecological range and developed correspondingly varied modes of subsistence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Antipsychotic maintenance treatment has been shown to be superior to discontinuation for up to 24 months in patients with schizophrenia, but long-term trials indicate potential benefits of discontinuation on functioning.
  • The study analyzed 35 trials comparing maintenance treatment versus discontinuation regarding social functioning and quality of life, finding no significant overall differences.
  • Subgroup analyses indicated that, for follow-up durations of 2-5 years and over 5 years, discontinuation may provide better outcomes, though the overall quality of evidence remains very low.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly comorbid with HIV infection, necessitating an understanding of the interactive effects of drug exposure and HIV. The relationship between HIV infection and cocaine use disorder is likely bidirectional, with cocaine use directly impacting immune function while HIV infection alters addiction-related behavior. To better characterize the neurobehavioral and immune consequences of HIV infection and cocaine exposure, this study utilized a humanized mouse model to investigate the outcomes of HIV-1 infection on cocaine-related behaviors in a conditioned place preference (CPP) model, and the interactive effects of cocaine and HIV infection on peripheral and central nervous system inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly comorbid with HIV infection, necessitating an understanding of the interactive effects of drug exposure and HIV. The relationship between progressive HIV infection and cocaine use disorder is likely bidirectional, with cocaine use having direct effects on immune function while HIV infection can alter addiction-related behavior. To better characterized the neurobehavioral and immune consequences of HIV infection and cocaine exposure, this study utilized a humanized mouse model to investigate the outcomes of progressive HIV infection on cocaine-related behaviors in a cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) model, and the interactive effects of cocaine and HIV infection on peripheral and central nervous system inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Motivation: Mixed molecular data combines continuous and categorical features of the same samples, such as OMICS profiles with genotypes, diagnoses, or patient sex. Like all high-dimensional molecular data, it is prone to incorrect values that can stem from various sources for example the technical limitations of the measurement devices, errors in the sample preparation, or contamination. Most anomaly detection algorithms identify complete samples as outliers or anomalies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma (RPS) is characterized by high recurrence rates. Since complete tumor resection, often necessitating multivisceral resection, enables long-term survival in both primary and recurrent disease, health related quality of life (QoL) after RPS resection has attracted increasing interest. However, data regarding this topic is limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Adolescent alcohol use is associated with an increased likelihood of developing an alcohol use disorder in adulthood, potentially due to the effects of alcohol exposure on reward-seeking behavior. However, it remains unclear whether adolescent drinking is sufficient to alter nondrug reward seeking in adulthood. As adolescence is a period of both brain and sexual maturation, which occur in a sex-dependent manner, males and females may be differentially sensitive to the consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Residents often feel unprepared to care for dying patients and may benefit from more training. Little is known about factors in the clinical setting that promote resident learning about end of life (EOL) care.

Objectives: This qualitative study aimed to characterize the experiences of residents caring for dying patients and elucidate the impact of emotional, cultural, and logistical factors on learning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how different types of endothelial cells contribute to brain capillaries, crucial for brain function and homeostasis.
  • Researchers analyzed vascular formation in zebrafish brain regions, finding that certain genetic factors are essential for the blood-brain barrier (BBB) but not for fenestrated capillary formation.
  • They identified a complex interaction between different vascular growth factors (Vegfs) that influences angiogenesis, highlighting the specialized roles of endothelial and non-neuronal cells in different brain regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although casual drinkers are a majority of the alcohol drinking population, understanding of the long-term effects of chronic exposure to lower levels of alcohol is limited. Chronic exposure to lower doses of ethanol may facilitate the development of alcohol use disorders, potentially because of ethanol effects on reward learning and motivation. Indeed, our previously published findings showed that chronic low-dose ethanol exposure enhanced motivation for sucrose in male, but not female, mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF