Publications by authors named "Dugan L"

E-cigarettes (E.cigs) cause inflammation and damage to human organs, including the lungs and heart. In the gut, E.

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Background: E-cigarettes (E.cigs) cause inflammation and damage to human organs, including the lungs and heart. In the gut, E.

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Background: Criminal justice agencies are well positioned to help prevent the radicalisation of individuals and groups, stop those radicalised from engaging in violence, and reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks. This Evidence and Gap Map (EGM) presents the existing evidence and gaps in the evaluation research.

Objectives: To identify the existing evidence that considers the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism.

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Dramatic advances in the management of congenital heart disease (CHD) have improved survival to adulthood from less than 10% in the 1960s to over 90% in the current era, such that adult CHD (ACHD) patients now outnumber their pediatric counterparts. ACHD patients demonstrate domain-specific neurocognitive deficits associated with reduced quality of life that include deficits in educational attainment and social interaction. Our hypothesis is that ACHD patients exhibit vascular brain injury and structural/physiological brain alterations that are predictive of specific neurocognitive deficits modified by behavioral and environmental enrichment proxies of cognitive reserve (e.

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Objective: Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) can rapidly cross the blood-brain barrier and provide an alternative energy source for the brain. This study aims to determine 1) whether plasma caprylic acid (C8:0) is associated with risk of incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among baseline cognitively normal (CN) participants, and incident Alzheimer's Disease (AD) among baseline MCI participants; and 2) whether these associations differ by sex, comorbidity of cardiometabolic diseases, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 alleles, and ADAS-Cog 13.

Methods: Within the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort, plasma C8:0 was measured at baseline in 618 AD-free participants aged 55 to 91.

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This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: to identify the existing evidence that considers the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in preventing terrorism and radicalisation and to identify existing gaps in the evidence where new primary research could be undertaken and where future synthesis could be conducted.

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Delirium is a common, morbid, and costly syndrome that is closely linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD) as a risk factor and outcome. Human studies of delirium have advanced our knowledge of delirium incidence and prevalence, risk factors, biomarkers, outcomes, prevention, and management. However, understanding of delirium neurobiology remains limited.

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Background & Aims: Ketogenic medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) with profound health benefits are commonly found in dairy products, palm kernel oil and coconut oil. We hypothesize that magnesium (Mg) supplementation leads to enhanced gut microbial production of MCFAs and, in turn, increased circulating MCFAs levels.

Methods: We tested this hypothesis in the Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial (PPCCT) (NCT01105169), a double-blind 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial enrolling 240 participants.

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Emissions from volatile chemical products (VCPs) are emerging as a major source of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors. Paints and coatings are an important class of VCPs that emit both volatile and intermediate volatility organic compounds (VOCs and IVOCs). In this study, we directly measured I/VOC emissions from representative water- (latex) and oil-based paints used in the U.

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Mechanospray ionization (MoSI) is a technique that produces ions directly from solution-like electrospray ionization (ESI) but without the need of a high voltage. In MoSI, mechanical vibrations aerosolize solution phase analytes, whereby the resulting microdroplets can be directed into the inlet orifice of a mass spectrometer. In this work, MoSI is applied to biomolecules up to 80 kDa in mass in both denatured and native conditions as well as polymers up to 12 kDa in mass.

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N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are critical for higher-order nervous system function, but in previously published protocols to convert human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to mature neurons, functional NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are often either not reported or take an extended time to develop. Here, we describe a protocol to convert human iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to mature neurons in only 37 days. We demonstrate that the mature neurons express functional NMDARs exhibiting ligand-activated calcium flux, and we document the presence of NMDAR-mediated electrically evoked postsynaptic current.

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Human serum albumin (HSA) is the frontline antioxidant protein in blood with established anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation functions. Here, we report that COVID-19-induced oxidative stress inflicts structural damages to HSA and is linked with mortality outcome in critically ill patients. We recruited 39 patients who were followed up for a median of 12.

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: Over the past decade, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology has played an important role in molecular diagnostics. Amongst numerous nucleic acid amplification assays, LAMP stands out in terms of sample-to-answer time, sensitivity, specificity, cost, robustness, and accessibility, making it ideal for field-deployable diagnostics in resource-limited regions.: In this review, we outline the front-end LAMP design practices for point-of-care (POC) applications, including sample handling and various signal readout methodologies.

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Parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PV-INs) are highly vulnerable to stressors and have been implicated in many neuro-psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, autism spectrum disorder, and bipolar disorder. We examined the literature about the current knowledge of the physiological properties of PV-INs and gathered results from diverse research areas to provide insight into their vulnerability to stressors. Among the factors that confer heightened vulnerability are the substantial energy requirements, a strong excitatory drive, and a unique developmental trajectory.

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Humans and orcas are among the very rare species that have a prolonged post-reproductive lifespan (PRLS), during which the aging process continues. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from mitochondria and from the NADPH oxidase (NOX) enzymes of innate immune cells are known to contribute to aging, with the former thought to be dominant. CD33-related-Siglecs are immune receptors that recognize self-associated-molecular-patterns and modulate NOX-derived-ROS.

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Asphyxia is the most common cause of brain damage in newborns. Substantial evidence indicates that leukocyte recruitment in the cerebral vasculature during asphyxia contributes to this damage. We tested the hypothesis that superoxide radical ( ) promotes an acute post-asphyxial inflammatory response and blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown.

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Purpose: Using nonenrichment-based, potentially more sensitive Epic Sciences circulating tumor cell (CTC) platform, we sought to detect and characterize CTCs in untreated, high-risk localized prostate cancer and to evaluate their clinical implication.

Methods: Between 2012 and 2015, blood samples were prospectively collected from patients with National Comprehensive Cancer Network high-risk localized prostate cancer undergoing either radiotherapy (XRT) plus androgen deprivation therapy or radical prostatectomy (RP) with curative intent. Samples were analyzed with the Epic Sciences platform with 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, CD45, cytokeratin (CK), and androgen receptor (AR) -terminal staining.

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Background: While two-dimensional (2D) video running analysis is commonly performed in the clinical setting, the reliability of quantitative measurements as well as effect of clinical experience has not been studied.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of six different raters using 2D video analysis of sagittal and frontal plane kinematic variables while running on a treadmill.

Study Design: Cross-sectional Study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Fullerene-based compounds like C are being researched for their potential in biomedical applications, specifically as neuroprotective agents in diseases such as Parkinson's.
  • The study analyzed the toxicity and pharmacokinetics of C in mice and monkeys, revealing an 8.2-hour plasma half-life and stable characteristics even after prolonged treatment.
  • Results showed no significant toxicity in primates at therapeutic doses, indicating that C is well tolerated over long-term use in both mice and monkeys.
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Highly concentrated radionuclide waste produced during the Cold War era is stored at US Department of Energy (DOE) production sites. This radioactive waste was often highly acidic and mixed with heavy metals, and has been leaking into the environment since the 1950s. Because of the danger and expense of cleanup of such radioactive sites by physicochemical processes, bioremediation methods are being developed for cleanup of contaminated ground and groundwater.

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Biosurfactants have several desirable characteristics in the industrial sector: detergency, antimicrobial effects, skin hydration, and emulsibility. Several yeast glycolipids are currently being utilized in these capacities: sophorolipids, ustilagic acid, and mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). An emerging class of glycolipids, termed polyol esters of fatty acids (PEFA), have recently been reported for Rhodotorula babjevae, a basidiomycetous yeast species that secretes hyperacetylated congeners of PEFA (typically with 3-6 acetylation modifications).

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Fullerene-based compounds are being developed for an extensive range of biomedical applications, and may provide a completely new class of biologically useful reagents. In support of our continuing investigation and characterization of one such compound, -fullerene(60)-63-tris malonic acid () we optimized the conditions for obtaining mass spectra. Both positive and negative ion mass spectra are obtained using electrospray ionization (ESI).

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Many animal models of disease are suboptimal in their representation of human diseases and lack of predictive power in the success of pivotal human trials. In the context of repurposing drugs with known human safety, it is sometimes appropriate to conduct the "last experiment first," that is, progressing directly to human investigations. However, there are not accepted criteria for when to proceed straight to humans to test a new indication.

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