Publications by authors named "Harschica Fernando"

Introduction: Decentralized molecular testing for infectious disease diagnosis at the point-of-care (POC) is critical to address inequities in access to timely, informed health care. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand, development and adoption of POC tests for infectious diseases globally. This has provided opportunities to maximize the individual benefits and public health impact of POC testing, particularly in remote and resource-limited primary care settings.

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Particulate matter 2.5 (PM) exposure is responsible for skin inflammation, aging, and disruption of skin homeostasis. The objective of this investigation was to assess the potential of myricetin in protecting against skin damage caused by PM.

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The crystal structure of the title compound, [Ni(CHN)(NO)]NO, at room temperature, has monoclinic (2/) symmetry. The structure displays inter-molecular hydrogen bonding. The nickel displays a distorted bipyramidal geometry with the symmetric bidentate bonded nitrate occupying an equatorial site.

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γ-Radiation resistance is a major obstacle to the success of radiotherapy in colorectal cancer. Antioxidant-related factors contribute to resistance to radiation therapy and, therefore, are targets for improving the therapeutic response. In this study, we evaluated the molecular mechanisms underlying γ-radiation resistance using the colorectal cancer cell line SNUC5 and γ-radiation-resistant variant SNUC5/RR, including analyses of the role of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), a transcription factor that regulates antioxidant enzymes, and related epigenetic regulators.

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To date, 770 million people worldwide have contracted COVID-19, with many reporting long-term "brain fog". Concerningly, young adults are both overrepresented in COVID-19 infection rates and may be especially vulnerable to prolonged cognitive impairments following infection. This calls for focused research on this population to better understand the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment post-COVID-19.

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Glioblastoma (GB) is the most prevalent and aggressive primary brain tumor with fatal outcome due to a lack of effective treatments. We previously identified C1q-tumor necrosis factor-related protein 8 (CTRP8), a new member of the adiponectin family, as a novel agonist of the relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) and showed that the CTRP8-RXFP1 ligand-receptor system facilitates increased invasiveness and chemoresistance in GB cells. In the present study, we have investigated the role of the CTRP8-RXFP1 signaling axis in glioma progression using an orthotopic mouse model xenografted with human U251 glioma cells stably expressing CTRP8 and RXFP1.

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Tetracycline analogs from the minocycline family have recently shown promise for the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. However, current tetracycline and minocycline therapeutics can be limited by tolerability, stability, or inactivation by TetX. In this study, a series of novel 9-heteroaryl substituted minocycline analogs were designed and synthesized, which resulted in analogs with good in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abscessus, stability in water for more than 7 days, avoidance of TetX inactivation in M.

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Objective: To identify quality and safety indicators routinely used to monitor, evaluate, and improve care transitions for older adults globally.

Design: A scoping literature review.

Setting And Participants: This review identified indicators used internationally to monitor and evaluate the quality and safety of care transitions by older adults.

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Impact cratering is one of the fundamental processes throughout the history of the Solar System. The formation of new impact craters on planetary bodies has been observed with repeat images from orbiting satellites. However, the time gap between images is often large enough to preclude detailed analysis of smaller-scale features such as secondary impact craters, which are often removed or buried over a short time period.

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Background: In the United States, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded public and private health coverage, increased health insurance affordability, reduced healthcare costs, and improved healthcare quality for many. Despite ACA provisions, lack of insurance and other factors continue to affect working-age women's access to primary care services.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-method systematic review to identify factors that affect women's access to primary care services since the ACA.

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Introduction: The full extent of interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, injection drug use, and the human microbiome is unclear. In this study, we examined the microbiomes of HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals, both drug-injecting and non-injecting, to identify bacterial community changes in response to HIV and drug use. We utilized a well-established cohort of people who inject drugs in Puerto Rico, a region with historically high levels of injection drug use and an HIV incidence rate disproportionately associated with drug use.

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Article Synopsis
  • Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a significant health issue for cancer patients, with this study exploring their prevalence and the types of resistance genes present.
  • Among 165 bacterial isolates from cancer patients, 57% were Enterobacteriaceae, and 46.8% of these were found to be carbapenem-resistant, with Klebsiella pneumoniae being the most common strain.
  • The majority of the CRE strains produced carbapenemase, with the blaNDM gene being the most frequently detected, marking the first identification of blaVIM in Enterobacteriaceae in Sri Lanka.
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Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by acute episodes called vaso-occlusive crises (VOC). VOC is marked by severe pain due to blocked blood vessels by sickled cells. Ketamine has been reported to be effective and safe in managing VOC in SCD patients.

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Connecting peptide (C-peptide), a byproduct of insulin biosynthesis, has diverse cellular and biological functions. Particulate matter 2.5 (PM) adversely affects human skin, leading to skin thickening, wrinkle formation, skin aging, and inflammation.

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Background: There has been increasing adoption of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (uVATS) for lung resection. We undertook a single-institution retrospective study, comparing these approaches.

Methods: An analysis was performed of patients who underwent lung resection by either uVATS or RATS.

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Background: Accuracy of genomic prediction depends on the heritability of the trait, the size of the training set, the relationship of the candidates to the training set, and the , where is the number of QTL and is the number of independently segregating chromosomal segments. Due to LD, the number of independently segregating QTL (effective QTL) can be lower than . In this paper, we show that is inversely associated with the trait-specific genomic relationship of a candidate to the training set.

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Starch has multiple uses in the food industry as a stabilizer, adhesive, gelling agent, thickener, and water retention agent. Nonetheless, native starch presents limitations that restrict its applications. Thus, starch can be chemically modified by reactive extrusion (REX) to overcome these disadvantages.

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Water samples were collected during each of the 2012-2019 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) cruises aboard the U.S. EPA R/V Lake Guardian as part of the Great Lakes Fish Monitoring and Surveillance Program (GLFMSP) lower food web contaminant assessment.

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Objectives: To compare the use of orifice barriers (OB) in root-filled teeth (RFT) between specialist endodontic practitioners (SEP) and general and other specialist practitioners (GDP+), and identify common materials, reasons for selection, and techniques.

Methods: An online survey was distributed to SEP and GDP+ practising in Australia. Demographic and multiple-choice questions relating to material selection and technique choices were asked to evaluate and relate usage patterns to practising and training backgrounds.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Research on citrus plants focuses on discovering species with insect-repelling properties due to their phytochemical content, like limonene and citronellol, which vary by location.
  • - The effectiveness of these insect repellents is influenced by the extraction methods and dosages of the phytochemicals used.
  • - Modern scientific advancements, such as encapsulation and emulsion techniques, are expanding the possibilities for developing innovative citrus-based insect repellents.
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Background: Continuous waveform monitoring is standard-of-care for patients at risk for or with critically illness. Derived from waveforms, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure variability contain useful diagnostic and prognostic information; and when combined with machine learning, can provide predictive indices relating to severity of illness and/or reduced physiologic reserve. Integration of predictive models into clinical decision support software (CDSS) tools represents a potential evolution of monitoring.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The research explored how the shape and confinement of CAFs on specially designed surfaces influence their morphology and gene expression, finding that certain conditions led to changes toward more inflammatory and desmoplastic CAF types.
  • * The findings suggest that the way CAFs are physically arranged affects their response to cancer therapies, suggesting that understanding CAF plasticity can help develop better treatment strategies.
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Cardiovascular diseases rank among the leading causes of mortality worldwide and the early identification of diseases is of paramount importance. This work focuses on developing a novel machine learning-based framework for early detection and classification of heart murmurs by analysing phonocardiogram signals. Our heart murmur detection and classification pipeline encompasses three classification settings.

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Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a neurovascular disease with symptoms such as strokes, hemorrhages and neurological deficits. With surgery being the only treatment strategy, understanding the molecular mechanisms of CCM is crucial in finding alternative therapeutic options for CCM. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were recently reported in CCM, and NETs were shown to have positive or negative effects in different disease contexts.

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