Publications by authors named "Heather Thomson"

Patient partners (PP) are well positioned to make meaningful contributions to healthcare through their lived experiences and personal narratives. However, researchers must ensure that patients are engaged authentically and collaboratively in knowledge generation. As part of a larger project, 4 PP were engaged in the co-design of a virtual reality video aimed at promoting an understanding of patients' lived experience with COVID-19 during the initial phase of the pandemic.

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Understanding the patient's experience with COVID-19 was essential to providing high-quality, person-centered care during the pandemic. Having empathy or being able to understand and respond to the patient's experience may lead to improved outcomes for both patients and clinicians. There is mixed evidence about how best to teach empathy, particularly related to promoting empathy during COVID-19.

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Evasion of apoptosis is critical for the development and growth of tumors. The pro-survival protein myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) is an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, associated with tumor aggressiveness, poor survival, and drug resistance. Development of Mcl-1 inhibitors implies blocking of protein-protein interactions, generally requiring a lengthy optimization process of large, complex molecules.

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Introduction: The prevalence of smoking is high among people living with severe mental illness (SMI). Evidence on feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions among smokers with SMI is lacking, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We aim to test the feasibility and acceptability of delivering an evidence-based intervention,i.

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Purpose: The International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability created a COVID-19 Task Force with the goal of understanding the global impact of COVID-19 on children with disabilities and their families. The aim of this paper is to synthesize existing evidence describing the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities, derived from surveys conducted across the globe.

Methods: A descriptive environmental scan of surveys was conducted.

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Migraine is the second most common cause of disability worldwide. Understanding the relationship between migraine and employment status is critical for policymakers, as disability-related unemployment is associated with eligibility for private or governmental disability insurance payments and other associated support for those unable to work because of disability. To assess the association between migraine frequency and selfreported employment status and overall disability in a US representative survey.

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Libraries of DNA-Encoded small molecules created using combinatorial chemistry and synthetic oligonucleotides are being applied to drug discovery projects across the pharmaceutical industry. The majority of reported projects describe the discovery of reversible, i.e.

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Herein we report the discovery of 2,4-1-imidazole carboxamides as novel, biochemically potent, and kinome selective inhibitors of transforming growth factor β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). The target was subjected to a DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) screen. After hit analysis a cluster of compounds was identified, which was based on a central pyrrole-2,4-1-dicarboxamide scaffold, showing remarkable kinome selectivity.

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Introduction: Smokeless tobacco (ST) is a significant South Asian public health problem. This paper reports a qualitative study of a sample of South Asian ST users.

Methods: Interviews, using a piloted topic guide, with 33 consenting, urban dwelling adult ST users explored their ST initiation, continued use, and cessation attempts.

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The structural mechanisms of single-pass transmembrane enzymes remain elusive. Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) is a mitochondrial protein involved in the eukaryotic tryptophan catabolic pathway and is linked to various diseases. Here, we report the mammalian full-length structure of KMO in its membrane-embedded form, complexed with compound 3 (identified internally) and compound 4 (identified via DNA-encoded chemical library screening) at 3.

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The activity of the secreted phosphodiesterase autotaxin produces the inflammatory signaling molecule LPA and has been associated with a number of human diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We screened a single DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) of 225 million compounds and identified a series of potent inhibitors. Optimization of this series led to the discovery of compound (X-165), a highly potent, selective, and bioavailable small molecule.

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Introduction: We report on second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure based on saliva cotinine levels among children in Bangladesh-a country with laws against smoking in public places.

Methods: A survey of primary school children from two areas of the Dhaka district was conducted in 2015. Participants completed a questionnaire and provided saliva samples for cotinine measurement to assess SHS exposure with a cut-off range of ≥0.

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Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and test factors hypothesized to influence quality of Emergency Department nurse-to-nurse shift handover communication.

Background: Nurse-to-nurse shift handover communication includes the transfer of information and responsibility for patients at shift change. The unique environment of the Emergency Department, where there is a high degree of patient unpredictability, increased patient volumes and rapid patient turnover, can create challenges for high quality handover communication.

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Objectives: The intranasal route of administration for naloxone delivery is one treatment for opioid overdose, but treatment failures with this modality have been documented. This study determines the incidence of obstructive nasal pathology in patients who experienced serious opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD).

Design: Retrospective analysis of the IMS LifeLink: Health Plan Claims Database to detect patients with at least one opioid pharmacy claim from 2009 to 2013 and who experienced serious OIRD.

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We have identified and characterized novel potent inhibitors of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) from a single DNA-encoded library of over 110 million compounds by using multiple parallel selection conditions, including variation in target concentration and addition of known binders to provide competition information. Distinct binding profiles were observed by comparing enrichments of library building block combinations under these conditions; one enriched only at high concentrations of BTK and was competitive with ATP, and another enriched at both high and low concentrations of BTK and was not competitive with ATP. A compound representing the latter profile showed low nanomolar potency in biochemical and cellular BTK assays.

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Background: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in the antenatal and postnatal period is associated with a detrimental health impact to the foetus and newborn baby and is recognised as a preventable public health challenge. The aim of the mother's learning about secondhand smoke (MLASS) study was to test the feasibility of delivering and evaluating the effectiveness of a smoke-free homes (SFH) health education intervention in the antenatal and postnatal period to reduce foetal and newborn exposure to SHS.

Methods: Pregnant women aged 17-40 years old who attended their first community-based antenatal appointment in Leeds, UK, were eligible to participate if they currently smoked, or if they were non-smokers but lived in a household where someone else smoked, or had regular visitors to the home who smoked.

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Background: People of South Asian-origin are responsible for more than three-quarters of all the smokeless tobacco (SLT) consumption worldwide; yet there is little evidence on the effect of SLT cessation interventions in this population. South Asians use highly addictive and hazardous SLT products that have a strong socio-cultural dimension. We designed a bespoke behaviour change intervention (BCI) to support South Asians in quitting SLT and then evaluated its feasibility in Pakistan and in the UK.

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Background: Health care is shifting out of hospitals into community settings. In Ontario, Canada, home care organizations continue to experience challenges recruiting and retaining nurses. However, factors influencing home care nurse retention that can be modified remain largely unexplored.

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Introduction: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) increases children's risk of acquiring chest and ear infections, tuberculosis, meningitis and asthma. Smoking bans in public places (where implemented) have significantly reduced adults' exposure to SHS. However, for children, homes remain the most likely place for them to be exposed to SHS.

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Background: Patient overdoses on prescription opioid analgesics in the United States continue to rise, resulting in increased emergency department and hospitalization costs. Opioid overdose is readily reversible with naloxone, a fast-acting opioid antagonist. A new naloxone autoinjector (NAI), Evzio, which does not require medical training to use, was approved by the FDA in April 2014.

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Objective: To examine how pain affects health care utilization and direct medical costs in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared to patients with other chronic diseases.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort analysis using administrative data of a managed health care system in the Southwestern US for years 2006-2010.

Methods: COPD patients age ≥40 years were matched to similar patients with other chronic conditions on age, sex, insurance type, and a health care event (outpatient visit, emergency department visit, or inpatient stay).

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Background: Exposure to second-hand smoke is a threat to children's health. We developed a school-based smoke-free intervention (SFI) to support families in implementing smoke-free homes in Bangladesh, and gathered preliminary evidence of its effectiveness.

Methods: A feasibility cluster randomized controlled trial of SFI was conducted in 24 schools in Mirpur, an urban area within Dhaka.

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