Publications by authors named "Hicks L"

In photosynthetic organisms, light acts as an environmental signal to control their development and physiology, as well as energy source to drive the conversion of CO into carbohydrates used for growth or storage. The main storage carbohydrate in green algae is starch, which accumulates during the day and is broken down at night to meet cellular energy demands. The signaling role of light quality in the regulation of starch accumulation remains unexplored.

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Natural product peptides embody a suite of inherent bioactivities and serve as a template to inspire new chemistries and molecular scaffolds in drug discovery and agrotechnology. Mapping the vast and diverse bioactive peptidome, however, is largely obfuscated by unpredictable molecular transformations in both non-ribosomal sequences and highly post-translationally modified ribosomal protein products. Mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique with modern instrumentation achieving unprecedented resolving power, rapid and sensitive gas-phase separations, and versatile multistage fragmentation techniques.

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Background: Dentists play a role in combatting antimicrobial resistance. This analysis characterizes antibiotic prescribing changes by dentists after the American Dental Association's dental infection treatment guideline was released in 2019.

Methods: The Xponent (IQVIA) database was used to extract antibiotic prescriptions dispensed from 2018 through 2022.

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Climate change and land-use change represent a dual threat to terrestrial ecosystem functioning. In the tropics, forest conversion to agriculture is occurring alongside warming and more pronounced periods of drought. Rainfall after drought induces enormous dynamics in microbial growth (potential soil carbon storage) and respiration (determining carbon loss), affecting the ecosystem carbon budget.

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Spanish-speaking Latinas in the United States encounter significant barriers when seeking culturally responsive treatment for perinatal mental health disorders, resulting in treatment disparities and elevated rates of mental health symptoms. To address these challenges, peer-delivered support may be one promising strategy. This study examined the efficacy of Alma, a peer-delivered behavioral activation (BA) program comprising 6-8 sessions.

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Background: Filgotinib, an oral Janus kinase 1 preferential inhibitor, has been shown to be an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC) in pre-registration studies. We aimed to describe the treatment population, effectiveness and safety of filgotinib in a real-world cohort of patients with UC.

Methods: A retrospective observational cohort evaluation was conducted across nine UK inflammatory bowel disease centres.

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Description: The American College of Physicians (ACP) developed this clinical guideline for clinicians caring for adults with episodic migraine headache (defined as 1 to 14 headache days per month) in outpatient settings.

Methods: ACP based these recommendations on systematic reviews of the comparative benefits and harms of pharmacologic treatments to prevent episodic migraine, patients' values and preferences, and economic evidence. ACP evaluated the comparative effectiveness of the following interventions: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (lisinopril), angiotensin II-receptor blockers (candesartan and telmisartan), antiseizure medications (valproate and topiramate), β-blockers (metoprolol and propranolol), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonist-gepants (atogepant or rimegepant), CGRP monoclonal antibodies (eptinezumab, erenumab, fremanezumab, or galcanezumab), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (fluoxetine and venlafaxine), and a tricyclic antidepressant (amitriptyline).

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The U.S. opioid epidemic is an extraordinary public health crisis that started in 1990 and significantly accelerated in the last decade.

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Purpose: overexpression/amplification in wild-type (WT) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC; human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]-positive mCRC) appears to be associated with limited benefit from anti-EGFR antibodies and promising responses to dual-HER2 inhibition; however, comparative efficacy has not been investigated. We conducted a randomized phase II trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of dual-HER2 inhibition against standard-of-care anti-EGFR antibody-based therapy as second/third-line treatment in HER2-positive mCRC.

Methods: Patients with -WT mCRC after central confirmation of HER2 positivity (immunohistochemistry 3+ or 2+ and in situ hybridization amplified [HER2/CEP17 ratio >2.

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In recognition of accelerating health care spending and alignment with the American College of Physicians (ACP) principles of promoting high-value care, the ACP Clinical Guidelines Committee (CGC) developed a framework to standardize its approach to identifying, appraising, and considering economic evidence in the development of ACP clinical guidelines. This article presents the CGC's process for incorporating economic evidence, which encompasses cost-effectiveness analyses, economic outcomes in randomized controlled trials, and resource utilization (intervention cost) data. Economic evidence is one component of ACP recommendations.

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Objective: To explore the role of local public health organisations in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted. Peer-reviewed and grey literature from countries within the organisation for economic co-operation and development was searched between 1999 and 2023 using the concepts of local public health, AMR and AMS.

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Background: Studies in the UK and North America have suggested a distinct disease profile in South Asians compared to that of White populations. Disparities in the medical and surgical management of IBD in minority ethnic groups (including Black Americans and Asians) in the US have been shown, while data from Europe, including the UK, have been lacking. This study sought to evaluate South Asian (SA) and White (WH) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) phenotypes, and to explore treatment approach variations between these cohorts in the UK using the IBD BioResource database.

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Background: Feedback reports summarizing clinician performance are effective tools for improving antibiotic use in the ambulatory setting, but the effectiveness of feedback reports in the hospital setting is unknown.

Methods: Quasi-experimental study conducted between December 2021 and November 2023 within a pediatric health system measuring the impact of clinician feedback reports delivered by email and reviewed in a monthly meeting on appropriate antibiotic use in children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We used an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) to estimate the immediate change and change over time in the proportion of CAP encounters adherent to validated metrics of antibiotic choice and duration, then used Poisson regression to estimate intervention effect as a risk ratio (RR).

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Article Synopsis
  • Long-term care pharmacy data from 2013 to 2021 was analyzed to assess antibiotic prescribing trends in U.S. facilities.
  • The study found that overall antibiotic prescribing rates decreased during this period, with significant reductions in the use of fluoroquinolones and macrolides.
  • Monitoring antibiotic usage in long-term care can reveal chances to improve how these medications are prescribed.
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  • Laparoscopy is commonly used to investigate pelvic pain, but many patients end up with no clear diagnosis, leading to unmet expectations and emotional distress.
  • A study involving interviews with 15 patients revealed themes such as the desire for diagnosis, hope as a coping mechanism, and challenges with communication and mental health post-procedure.
  • The findings stress the need for effective pre- and postoperative counseling from clinicians to better prepare patients for the possibility of inconclusive results and to address their mental health concerns.
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The prenatal period is a critical developmental juncture with enduring effects on offspring health trajectories. An individual's gut microbiome is associated with health and developmental outcomes across the lifespan. Prenatal stress can disrupt an infant's microbiome, thereby increasing susceptibility to adverse outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The EPIC study analyzed data from 2,272 adults hospitalized for pneumonia to understand the prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) using PCR testing on throat swabs from 2010 to 2012.
  • - Only 43 patients (1.8%) tested positive for Mp, primarily affecting younger adults (median age: 45), with some experiencing severe cases leading to ICU admissions, but no in-hospital deaths were reported.
  • - Factors linked to higher Mp detection included being younger and having certain radiographic findings, indicating the need for better testing methods to improve diagnosis and treatment options for pneumonia patients.
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Importance: Multiplex molecular syndromic panels for diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) lack clinical data supporting their use in routine clinical care. They also have the potential to exacerbate inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Objective: To describe the frequency of unspecified multiplex testing in administrative claims with a primary diagnosis of UTI in the Medicare population over time, to assess costs, and to characterize the health care professionals (eg, clinicians, laboratories, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) and patient populations using these tests.

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Background: Many tumors contain hypoxic microenvironments caused by inefficient tumor vascularization. Hypoxic tumors have been shown to resist conventional cancer therapies. Hypoxic cancer cells rely on glucose to meet their energetic and anabolic needs to fuel uncontrolled proliferation and metastasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The perinatal period involves significant changes for women, including psychological and social stressors, which heighten vulnerabilities and impact mental health during and after pregnancy.
  • A systematic review was conducted on English-language publications, focusing on randomized controlled trials that assessed postpartum mental health using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
  • The review found that higher physical activity levels during pregnancy are linked to better mental health outcomes postpartum, with low-intensity exercises like yoga being particularly effective in reducing depressive symptoms.
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We updated a descriptive analysis of national outpatient antibiotic prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prescribing volume was lower during 2020 and January-June in 2021 and 2022 compared to corresponding baseline months in 2019. Prescribing approached or exceeded baseline during July-December of 2021 and 2022 for all antibiotics, especially for azithromycin.

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