Publications by authors named "C Speer"

Purpose: Ureaplasma species (spp.) are relevant contributors to preterm birth but may also cause invasive infections particularly in very immature preterm infants. This study aimed to assess the incidence of neonatal Ureaplasma infections of the central nervous system (CNS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Torque teno virus load (TTVL) is being studied as a way to measure immune health in kidney transplant patients, particularly how different medications affect TTVL levels.
  • In a study of 134 patients, TTVL levels peaked at 90 days post-transplant and were significantly higher in those who received anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) compared to interleukin-2 receptor antagonists (IL2-RA).
  • Higher TTVL levels may indicate a greater risk of infections for patients, though this trend wasn't statistically significant, suggesting that monitoring TTVL could help manage immunosuppressive therapy post-transplant.
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As transplant programmes have evolved to allow a wider donor pool, organ acceptance decisions have become increasingly complex and lack transparency and equality. Clinical scoring tools exist but there is limited consensus on their use. From a prospective observation of consecutive deceased-donor kidney offers in a large urban transplant centre, a simple score was developed based on donor age and other risk characteristics, excluding ischemia time and graft histology.

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Co-active synaptic connections are often spatially clustered to facilitate local dendritic computations underlying learning, memory, and basic sensory processing. In the mammalian visual system, retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons converge to form clustered synaptic inputs that enable local signal integration in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the thalamus. While visual experience promotes retinogeniculate synapse clustering after eye-opening, the earliest events in cluster formation prior to visual experience are unknown.

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