Publications by authors named "Houston D"

Deep-UV microscopy enables high-resolution, label-free molecular imaging by leveraging biomolecular absorption properties in the UV spectrum. Recent advances in UV-imaging hardware have renewed interest in this technique for quantitative live cell imaging applications. However, UV-induced photodamage remains a concern for longitudinal dynamic imaging studies.

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Antibody-based research applications are critical for biological discovery. Yet there are no industry standards for comparing the performance of antibodies in various applications. We describe a knockout cell line-based antibody characterization platform, developed and approved jointly by industry and academic researchers, that enables the systematic comparison of antibody performance in western blot, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence.

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Infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Precise estimates of infection frequency and severity with modern therapies are uncertain. We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort enrolled in a Canadian MDS registry and characterized the frequency and severity of infectious complications.

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Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are severe myeloid disorders associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Because of patient and disease factors, many older adults are treated as outpatients with less-intensive therapy. Optimal supportive care strategies to minimize bleeding and infectious complications in this patient population have not been systematically evaluated.

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Wayfinding is the process of navigating from one's present location to their desired location. While wayfinding technologies are increasingly used by people with disabilities, there is little understanding of the barriers specific to wayfinding technology. The objective of this study was to understand the wayfinding technology barriers experienced by Canadians with disabilities.

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Objectives: We developed a novel measure for older U.S. adults called the Nutrition Equity Index (NEI), which includes functional ability.

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This study examined the relationship between parental self-efficacy in parents of young deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children and children's spoken language skills. A retrospective within-subjects study design was used that included 24 mother-child dyads with DHH children. Parental self-efficacy was assessed using the Scale of Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy-Revised.

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Article Synopsis
  • Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can lead to serious inflammatory and thrombotic responses, and the use of antiplatelet agents may positively influence patient outcomes, although their impact on non-COVID-19 CAP is unclear.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of antiplatelet agents on mortality in hospitalized patients with non-COVID-19 CAP, analyzing data from observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
  • The findings suggest that antiplatelet agents are linked to lower mortality in observational studies, but the evidence from RCTs is inconclusive and overall trust in the results is low due to potential biases.
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  • Antibodies are important in scientific research, but many of them haven't been properly tested, making some research results questionable.
  • There have been efforts to fix this problem, especially for antibodies that work with human proteins.
  • The article suggests ways that different people and organizations, like researchers and universities, can help make sure future studies with antibodies are more reliable.
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  • tDCS applied to the dominant primary motor cortex (M1) increases its excitability and motor performance, but its effect on the non-dominant contralateral M1 was not previously quantified.
  • This study used a double-blind, randomized design with 18 participants to assess the impact of tDCS on the excitability of the non-dominant M1, employing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to measure motor evoked potentials (MEP) at various time points.
  • Results showed that tDCS did not significantly affect the excitability of the contralateral M1 during or right after the stimulation, suggesting that the typical parameters for tDCS may not modulate this area.
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Background: Obesity combined with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is the dominant form of HF among older persons. In a randomized trial, we previously showed that a 5-month calorie restriction (CR) program, with or without aerobic exercise training (AT), resulted in significant weight and fat loss and improved exercise capacity. However, little is known regarding the long-term effects of these outcomes after a short-term (5-month) intervention of CR with or without AT in older patients with obesity and HFpEF.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous implications for the world of work. However, there has been relatively little focus on the employment and workforce challenges of the virus in relation to workforce health, beyond the immediate management of the spread of the disease. There is an important gap in understanding the ongoing workforce issues created by the significant incidence of Long COVID in the population.

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Background And Purpose: Conclusions from prior literature regarding the impact of sex, age, and height on spinal cord (SC) MRI morphometrics are conflicting, while the effect of body weight on SC morphometrics has been found to be nonsignificant. The purpose of this case-control study is to assess the associations between cervical SC MRI morphometric parameters and age, sex, height, and weight to establish their potential role as confounding variables in a clinical study of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to a cohort of healthy volunteers.

Methods: Sixty-nine healthy volunteers and 31 people with MS underwent cervical SC MRI at 3 Tesla field strength.

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Infants experience the world through their actions with objects and their interactions with other people, especially their parents. Prior research has shown that school-age children with hearing loss experience poorer quality interactions with typically hearing parents, yet little is known about parent-child interactions between toddlers with hearing loss and their parents early in life. In the current study, we used mobile eye-tracking to investigate parent-child interactions in toddlers with and without hearing loss (mean ages: 19.

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Ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) can be pivotal for identifying potential drug leads, especially when the target protein's structure is unknown. However, current LBVS methods are limited in their ability to consider the ligand conformational flexibility. This study presents AutoDock-SS (Similarity Searching), which adapts protein-ligand docking for use in LBVS.

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  • A UK study examined the long-term employment effects of Long Covid on individuals aged 16-64, revealing that a significant portion experienced labor market inactivity or long-term workplace absence following their COVID-19 infection.
  • Data from over 206,000 participants showed that those with Long Covid experienced a higher likelihood of being inactive in the labor market, particularly 30 to 52 weeks after infection.
  • The researchers estimate that approximately 27,000 working-age adults in the UK were inactive due to Long Covid as of July 2022, suggesting it impacts labor participation but may not be the only factor involved.
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  • A study found that higher diet quality scores are linked to lower biological aging, as measured by DNA methylation, in postmenopausal women.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 4,500 women aged 50-79, using food frequency questionnaires to score diet quality and assess epigenetic aging markers.
  • Results showed significant inverse associations between three diet quality scores and measures of epigenetic aging, particularly with the DunedinPACE measure, meaning better diets may lead to slower biological aging.
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The growth of renewable energy sources presents a pressing challenge to the operation and maintenance of existing fossil fuel power plants, given that fossil fuel remains the predominant fuel source, responsible for over 60% of electricity generation in the United States. One of the main concerns within these fossil fuel power plants is the unpredictable failure of boiler tubes, resulting in emergency maintenance with significant economic and societal consequences. A reliable high-temperature sensor is necessary for in situ monitoring of boiler tubes and the safety of fossil fuel power plants.

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Introduction/purpose: Lower cardiorespiratory fitness and obesity may accelerate aging processes. The degree to which changes in fitness and body mass index (BMI) may alter the rate of aging may be important for planning treatment. We assessed cross-sectional and longitudinal associations that cardiorespiratory fitness and BMI had with a deficit accumulation frailty index (FI).

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Within drug discovery, the goal of AI scientists and cheminformaticians is to help identify molecular starting points that will develop into safe and efficacious drugs while reducing costs, time and failure rates. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to represent molecules in a digital format that makes them machine-readable and facilitates the accurate prediction of properties that drive decision-making. Over the years, molecular representations have evolved from intuitive and human-readable formats to bespoke numerical descriptors and fingerprints, and now to learned representations that capture patterns and salient features across vast chemical spaces.

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Background: Imaging investigation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is understudied. Development of noninvasive methods to detect pathological CSF changes would have a profound effect on MS diagnosis and would offer insight into MS pathophysiology and mechanisms of neurological impairment.

Objective: We propose magnetization transfer (MT) MRI as a tool to detect macromolecular changes in spinal CSF.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine parent-reported ratings of temperament in toddlers with and without prelingual hearing loss.

Method: The parent-completed Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) was used to assess temperament in toddlers aged 18-36 months. Three dimensions of temperament were examined: surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control.

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  • Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has primarily been used in brain studies, particularly for conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS), but there's limited research on its application in the spinal cord.
  • This study includes a comparison of the cervical spinal cord in 9 MS patients and 12 healthy controls using high-field SWI techniques, revealing significant vascular differences and unique lesion characteristics in the MS group.
  • Results demonstrated better visibility of blood vessels and distinct changes associated with MS pathology, suggesting that SWI could enhance our understanding of spinal cord disease processes in MS patients.
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Introduction: Diabetes and overweight/obesity are described as accelerating aging processes, yet many individuals with these conditions maintain high levels of cognitive and physical function and independence late into life. The Look AHEAD Aging study is designed to identify 20-year trajectories of behaviors, risk factors, and medical history associated with resilience against geriatric syndromes and aging-related cognitive and physical functional deficits among individuals with these conditions.

Methods: Look AHEAD Aging extends follow-up of the cohort of the former 10-year Look AHEAD trial.

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