Publications by authors named "G E Hicks"

In the United States, Black autistic youth face elevated risk of negative outcomes during police interactions. Although the outcomes of these interactions are well-documented, less is known about Black autistic youths' experiences during police encounters, as the current literature has largely examined the experiences of autistic adults, mostly White American samples, and/or autistic youth abroad. This study utilizes qualitative methods to examine the perceptions and concerns of 43 Black caregivers (N = 43; 98% parents; 2% legal guardians; 93% mothers) of Black autistic children (mean age: 16.

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Introduction: Changes in the composition of the gut microbiota have been associated with the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, to what extent specific bacterial species relate to clinical symptoms remains poorly characterized. We investigated the clinical relevance of bacterial species linked with increased proteolytic activity, histamine production, and superantigen (SAg) production in patients with IBS.

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects an estimated 2-5% of North Americans. FASD is induced by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) during pregnancy and while there is a clear genetic contribution, few genetic factors are currently identified or understood. In this study, using a candidate gene approach, we performed a genetic variant analysis of retinoic acid (RA) metabolic and developmental signaling pathway genes on whole exome sequencing data of 23 FASD-diagnosed individuals.

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Though pain sensitivity impairments contribute to chronic pain in younger adults, it is unclear if pain hypersensitivity manifests with aging and is heightened in the geriatric chronic low back pain population. The cross-sectional study preliminarily addressed this gap by measuring pain sensitivity in older adults with chronic low back pain (n = 25) as well as pain-free sex-matched older (n = 25) and younger adults (n = 25). Pain sensitivity was quantified by 8 distinct measures that were subdivided as static (ie, pressure pain thresholds, heat pain thresholds, fixed mechanical pain, and fixed cold pain) and dynamic pain sensitivity (ie, mechanical temporal summation, thermal ramp and hold, heat pain aftersensations, and conditioned pain modulation).

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