Publications by authors named "Eden K"

Purpose: To determine the bioavailability, safety, and tolerability of a single dose of oral docetaxel plus encequidar (oDox + E) and compare its pharmacokinetic exposure with current standard of care IV docetaxel.

Introduction: Docetaxel is a taxane widely used as an anti-neoplastic agent. Due to low oral bioavailability secondary to gut P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux, its current use is limited to intravenous administration.

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  • Dysregulated colonic epithelial cell (CEC) proliferation is significant in colorectal cancer, with NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) playing a key role in regulating CEC regeneration and differentiation through noncanonical NF-kB signaling.
  • Studies using knockout mice showed that the absence of NIK resulted in severe colitis, increased tumor burdens, and an altered microbiome favoring colitis, while the effects varied with the type of cell (CEC vs. myeloid) involved in NIK knockout.
  • The research highlights the complex relationship between noncanonical NF-κB signaling and colorectal cancer, suggesting that targeting NIK may offer a strategic approach to managing gastrointestinal inflammation and cancer development.
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Background: Young adults with low sexual health literacy levels may find it difficult to make informed decisions about contraceptive methods. We developed and pilot-tested a web-based decision aid-Healthy Sex Choices-designed to support diverse young adults with their contraceptive decision-making.

Objective: This pilot study aimed to evaluate whether the Healthy Sex Choices decision aid is acceptable and feasible to patients and clinicians.

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Objective: To investigate the effect of the South East Ontario Vision Rehabilitation Service (SOVRS), a centrally administered, regionally delivered vision rehabilitation service, on access to vision rehabilitation care.

Design: Pre-implementation (n = 1196) and post-implementation (n = 414) observational study.

Participants: Patients referred for low-vision assessment at the hospital-based Kingston Health Sciences Centre Vision Rehabilitation Clinic and community-based Southeastern Vision Loss Rehabilitation Ontario clinics from 2014 to 2019.

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Pancreatic cancer is a malignant disease associated with poor survival and nearly 80% present with unresectable tumors. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy have shown overall improved survival benefits, albeit limited. Histotripsy is a noninvasive, non-ionizing, and non-thermal focused ultrasound ablation modality that has shown efficacy in treating hepatic tumors and other malignancies.

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Background: Contraceptive care is a key element of reproductive health, yet only 12%-30% of women report being able to access and receive the information they need to make these complex, personal health care decisions. Current guidelines recommend implementing shared decision-making approaches; and tools such as patient decision aid (PtDA) applications have been proposed to improve patients' access to information, contraceptive knowledge, decisional conflict, and engagement in decision-making and contraception use. To inform the design of meaningful, effective, elegant, and feasible PtDA applications, studies are needed of all users' current experiences, needs, and barriers.

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  • New therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer are urgently needed, and the current lack of effective pre-clinical animal models limits the development of treatments.
  • The researchers established an orthotopic porcine model using immunocompromised pigs to better simulate human pancreatic cancer and tested histotripsy as a treatment method.
  • The study successfully demonstrated tumor engraftment and targeted ablation, highlighting histotripsy's potential as a non-invasive treatment while also addressing challenges in ultrasound-guided ablation in the pancreas.
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Background: Nearly half of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors experience their first abusive relationship at college age (18-24 years). Most often they disclose the violence to friends. Existing college campus "bystander" interventions training peers to safely intervene have been effective in sexual assault prevention; similar interventions have rarely been tested for IPV.

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Objective: Evidence-based decision support resources do not exist for persons with lung cancer. We sought to develop and refine a treatment decision support, or conversation tool, to improve shared decision-making (SDM).

Methods: We conducted a multi-site study among patients with stage I-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who completed or had ongoing lung cancer treatment using semi-structured, cognitive qualitative interviews to assess participant understanding of content.

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Both physiology and pathophysiology are essential disciplines in health professional education however, clinicians do not use this knowledge in isolation. Instead, physicians use inter-disciplinary concepts embedded within integrated cognitive schema (illness scripts) established through experience/knowledge that manifest as expert-level thinking. Our goal was to develop a pre-clerkship curriculum devoid of disciplinary boundaries (akin to the physician's illness script) and enhance learners' clerkship and early clinical performance.

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The horseshoe kidney (HSK) is the most common congenital abnormality of the upper urinary tract with an incidence of approximately 1 in 500 in the general population. Although individuals with HSK are often asymptomatic, they are at increased risk for neoplasms, infections, ureteropelvic obstruction secondary to lithiasis or vascular compression. Direct injury from trauma is increased in these individuals as is the risk of intraoperative complications secondary to damage involving the typically complex renal or adrenal vascular supply.

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Background: Phenotypic studies have identified distinct patterns of autistic characteristics in genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability (ID), leading to diagnostic uncertainty and compromised access to autism-related support. Previous research has tended to include small samples and diverse measures, which limits the generalisability of findings. In this study, we generated detailed profiles of autistic characteristics in a large sample of > 1500 individuals with rare genetic syndromes.

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Importance: Unintended pregnancy is common in the US and is associated with adverse maternal and infant health outcomes; however, estimates of these associations specific to current US populations are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate associations of unintended pregnancy with maternal and infant health outcomes during pregnancy and post partum with studies relevant to current clinical practice and public health in the US.

Data Sources: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Database of Systematic Reviews, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, and MEDLINE databases (January 1, 2000, to June 15, 2022) and manual review of reference lists.

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A 10-year-old intact female Chinese Crested dog was presented for evaluation and further diagnostics due to persistent symptoms of vulvar swelling, vaginal discharge, and an 8-year history of acyclicity. At presentation, generalized hyperpigmentation and truncal alopecia were identified, with no aberrations of the female phenotype. Vaginal cytology confirmed the influence of estrogen at multiple veterinary visits, and hormonal screening of progesterone and anti-Mullerian hormone indicated gonadal presence.

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Previous studies have reported that deletion of the transcription factor, early growth response protein 2 (EGR2), in normal C57BL/6 (B6) resulted in the development of lupus-like autoimmune disease. However, increased EGR2 expression has been noted in human and murine lupus, which challenges the notion of the autoimmune suppressive role of EGR2 in B6 mice. In this study, we derived both conditional EGR2B6/ and EGR2B6 mice to elucidate the immune and autoimmune regulatory roles of EGR2 in autoinflammation (B6/lpr) versus physiologically normal (B6) conditions.

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Objective: This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of technology-based decision aids on contraceptive use, continuation, and patient-reported and decision-making outcomes.

Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted in OVID MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX databases from January 2005 to April 2022. Eligible references from a concurrent systematic review evaluating contraceptive care were also included for review.

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Background: The effectiveness and harms of contraceptive counseling and provision interventions are unclear.

Purpose: To evaluate evidence of the effectiveness of contraceptive counseling and provision interventions for women to increase use of contraceptives and reduce unintended pregnancy, as well as evidence of their potential harms.

Data Sources: English-language searches of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, and MEDLINE (1 January 2000 to 3 February 2022) and reference lists of key studies and systematic reviews.

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  • Patients with gluten sensitivities, especially those with Celiac Disease, have gut microbiome imbalances that get worse with a strict gluten-free diet.
  • Genetic factors play a role, but other factors like the innate immune system also contribute to gluten sensitivities, and NOD-like receptors (NLRs) may play a key role in this.
  • Research shows that loss of a specific NLR called NLRX1 disrupts the gut microbiome and leads to decreased beneficial bacteria and increased harmful bacteria, affecting metabolic balance in the gut.
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New therapeutic strategies are direly needed in the fight against cancer. Over the last decade, several tumor ablation strategies have emerged as stand-alone or combination therapies. Histotripsy is the first completely noninvasive, nonthermal, and nonionizing tumor ablation method.

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  • Targeting tumor necrosis factor (TNF) with biologics like infliximab effectively treats inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but many patients either do not respond or stop responding over time.
  • This study explores the role of noncanonical NF-κB signaling in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, finding that it is significantly upregulated in IBD patients and linked to increased inflammation and immune response.
  • Noncanonical NF-κB signaling levels differ between responsive and unresponsive patients to anti-TNF therapy, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for treatment response and a target for future IBD management.
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Public health experts emphasize the need for quick, point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 detection as an effective strategy for controlling virus spread. To this end, many "antigen" detection devices were developed and commercialized. These devices are mostly based on detecting SARS-CoV-2's nucleocapsid protein.

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Infants are prone to enteric infections due to an underdeveloped immune system. The maternal microbiota, through shaping the neonatal microbiota, helps establish a strong immune system in infants. We and others have observed the phenomenon of enhanced early neonatal immunoglobulin A (IgA) production in preweaning immunocompetent mice nursed by immunodeficient dams.

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The objective of this study was to examine differences in change over time in health and safety outcomes among female college students randomized to myPlan, a tailored safety planning app, or usual web-based safety planning resources. Three hundred forty-six women (175 intervention, 171 control) from 41 colleges/universities in Oregon and Maryland completed surveys at baseline, 6- and 12-months from July 2015 to October 2017. Generalized estimating equations were used to test group differences across time.

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Objective: This study piloted a patient education and decision aid tool about prescription pain relievers to determine potential impact on: comfort receiving an opioid prescription; knowledge about opioids; decisional conflict about whether to take an opioid; and shared decision making with the prescribing physician.

Methods: Patients with acute pain were recruited from two emergency departments (ED), and randomized to complete the tool (N = 65) or a time-matched control (N = 59) on a tablet. Data collection involved: a baseline survey; a post-test immediately following the assigned program; a discharge survey after seeing the physician; and a 6-week follow-up survey.

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Hypersensitivity reactions and immune dysregulation have been reported with the use of quaternary ammonium compound disinfectants (QACs). We hypothesized that QAC exposure would exacerbate autoimmunity associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). Surprisingly, however, we found that compared to QAC-free mice, ambient exposure of lupus-prone mice to QACs led to smaller spleens with no change in circulating autoantibodies or the severity of glomerulonephritis.

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