Publications by authors named "Jeffries C"

Article Synopsis
  • Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a technique utilized in various scientific fields to analyze the structure of non-crystalline samples, with a focus on proteins and biomacromolecules in solution.
  • The review discusses different advanced techniques for interpreting SAXS data and building models, including rigid body modelling and molecular dynamics, especially for both ideal and more complex polydisperse samples.
  • It emphasizes the potential of solution SAXS combined with innovative data analysis methods to expand our understanding of protein structures and their dynamic behaviors beyond traditional approaches.
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In 2018 the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) initiated a review and revision of the System of Radiological Protection which will lay the foundation for radiation protection (RP) standards, regulations, guidance and practice worldwide for the next 40 years. On the 25 April 2023 the Society for Radiological Protection ran a workshop at their Annual Conference presenting the current status and progress in the ICRP Review and Revision, along with inviting a number of panellist's across different areas of the profession and wider audience to share their thoughts. The outputs of the workshop are summarised in this paper showing the views from a variety of practitioners working across the RP sectors on the key factors to be considered in the review.

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Introduction: Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is difficulty manipulating a food bolus from the mouth to the throat. Up to 70% of older adults develop OD; however, it is unmanaged in primary care, leading to avoidable hospitalisation.

Objective: This behavioural science realist review aimed to develop programme theories to describe how interventions facilitate primary care healthcare professionals (HCPs) to proactively manage OD.

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Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a highly prevalent, yet heterogenous condition linked to anxiety, reward sensitivity, and cognitive biases. Understanding cognitive mechanisms of specific AUD symptoms is crucial for developing tailored, effective interventions. This pilot study sought to assess whether two potential cognitive correlates of AUD-intolerance of uncertainty and delay discounting-differentially influence the relationship between AUD, anxiety sensitivity, and drinking motives.

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Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening utilization is low among low-income, uninsured, and minority populations that receive care in community health centers (CHCs). There is a need for evidence-based interventions to increase screening and follow-up care in these settings.

Methods: A multilevel, multi-component pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial is being conducted at 8 CHCs in two metropolitan areas (Boston and Los Angeles), with two arms: (1) Mailed FIT outreach with text reminders, and (2) Mailed FIT-DNA with patient support.

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Cancer dependency maps have accelerated the discovery of tumor vulnerabilities that can be exploited as drug targets when translatable to patients. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a compendium of 'maps' detailing the genetic, epigenetic and molecular changes that occur during the pathogenesis of cancer, yet it lacks a dependency map to translate gene essentiality in patient tumors. Here, we used machine learning to build translational dependency maps for patient tumors, which identified tumor vulnerabilities that predict drug responses and disease outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on an invasive mosquito species known for spreading serious diseases like Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) across various continents, including Europe and Australia.
  • It employs laboratory experiments and genetic analysis to confirm that mosquitoes from Greece are effective vectors for JEV and reveals significant genetic diversity among populations in different regions.
  • The research underscores the importance of monitoring this mosquito species and its microbiome due to its expanding distribution and potential health impacts in Europe.
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Introduction: Negative symptoms impact the quality of life of individuals with psychosis and current treatment options for negative symptoms have limited effectiveness. Previous studies have demonstrated that complement and coagulation pathway protein levels are related to later psychotic experiences, psychotic disorder, and functioning. However, the prognostic relationship between complement and coagulation proteins and negative symptoms is poorly characterised.

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IHMCIF (github.com/ihmwg/IHMCIF) is a data information framework that supports archiving and disseminating macromolecular structures determined by integrative or hybrid modeling (IHM), and making them Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). IHMCIF is an extension of the Protein Data Bank Exchange/macromolecular Crystallographic Information Framework (PDBx/mmCIF) that serves as the framework for the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to archive experimentally determined atomic structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes with one another and small molecule ligands (e.

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This article describes the rationale, aims, and methodology of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). This is the largest international collaboration to date that will develop algorithms to predict trajectories and outcomes of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and to advance the development and use of novel pharmacological interventions for CHR individuals. We present a description of the participating research networks and the data processing analysis and coordination center, their processes for data harmonization across 43 sites from 13 participating countries (recruitment across North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America), data flow and quality assessment processes, data analyses, and the transfer of data to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (NDA) for use by the research community.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Psychosis risk prediction in psychiatry is challenging, and a study aimed to evaluate whether a specific proteomic model could accurately predict the transition to psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk, using plasma samples from three cohorts totaling 754 participants.
  • - The study found that only 20.4% of participants developed psychosis over about 4.4 years, and the prediction model had poor accuracy (C-statistic: 0.51), suggesting that the proteomic factors didn't reliably predict outcomes.
  • - Some proteins, like Complement C8B and LRG1, showed weak associations with psychosis transition but did not reach significant levels when correcting for multiple comparisons, indicating that previous claims based on small sample sizes should
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Background: Immune dysregulation has been observed in patients with schizophrenia or first-episode psychosis, but few have examined dysregulation in those at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether the peripheral blood-based proteome was dysregulated in those with CHR. Secondly, we examined whether baseline dysregulation was related to current and future functioning and clinical symptoms.

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Background: Choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement exists in first-episode and chronic psychosis, but whether enlargement occurs before psychosis onset is unknown. This study investigated whether ChP volume is enlarged in individuals with clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis and whether these changes are related to clinical, neuroanatomical, and plasma analytes.

Methods: Clinical and neuroimaging data from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study 2 (NAPLS2) was used for analysis.

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Free-electron lasers (FEL) are revolutionizing X-ray-based structural biology methods. While protein crystallography is already routinely performed at FELs, Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) studies of biological macromolecules are not as prevalent. SAXS allows the study of the shape and overall structure of proteins and nucleic acids in solution, in a quasi-native environment.

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The endosymbiotic bacterium infects numerous species of insects and transinfection of mosquito species is now being used for biocontrol programs as strains can both inhibit arboviruses and invade wild mosquito populations. The discovery of novel, resident strains in mosquito species warrants further investigation as potential candidate strains for biocontrol strategies. We obtained mosquito specimens from diverse Culicine mosquitoes from Cameroon including ecologically diverse locations in the Central and West Regions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Characterizing post-translational modifications in acidic variants of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is complex and remains a key research area.
  • This study explored the idea that chromatographically separated acidic fractions of an IgG1 mAb could signify conformational variants by employing a refolding process.
  • Findings showed that while the stepwise refolding increased the presence of acidic variants, small-angle X-ray scattering indicated minor overall conformational changes, primarily localized around aromatic amino acid regions.
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Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are essential for membrane receptor regulation but often remain unresolved in structural studies. TRPV4, a member of the TRP vanilloid channel family involved in thermo- and osmosensation, has a large N-terminal IDR of approximately 150 amino acids. With an integrated structural biology approach, we analyze the structural ensemble of the TRPV4 IDR and the network of antagonistic regulatory elements it encodes.

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An unambiguous description of an experiment, and the subsequent biological observation, is vital for accurate data interpretation. Minimum information guidelines define the fundamental complement of data that can support an unambiguous conclusion based on experimental observations. We present the Minimum Information About Disorder Experiments (MIADE) guidelines to define the parameters required for the wider scientific community to understand the findings of an experiment studying the structural properties of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs).

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The nucleocapsid protein (N) of SARS-CoV-2 plays a pivotal role during the viral life cycle. It is involved in RNA transcription and accounts for packaging of the large genome into virus particles. N manages the enigmatic balance of bulk RNA-coating versus precise RNA-binding to designated cis-regulatory elements.

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To understand why people "troll" (i.e., engage in disruptive online behaviour intended to provoke and distress for one's own amusement), researchers have explored a range of individual differences.

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This study combines molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements to investigate the range of conformations that can be adopted by a pH/ionic strength (IS) sensitive protein and to quantify its distinct populations in solution. To explore how the conformational distribution of proteins may be modified in the environmental niches of biological media, we focus on the periplasmic ferric binding protein A (FbpA) from Haemophilus influenzae involved in the mechanism by which bacteria capture iron from higher organisms. We examine iron-binding/release mechanisms of FbpA in varying conditions simulating its biological environment.

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The cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM, L1 in short) plays crucial roles during neural development, regeneration after injury, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity and tumor cell migration. L1 belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily and comprises in its extracellular part six immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains and five fibronectin type III homologous repeats (FNs). The second Ig-like domain has been validated for self- (so-called homophilic) binding between cells.

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In 2017, guidelines were published for reporting structural modelling of small-angle scattering (SAS) data from biomolecules in solution that exemplified best-practice documentation of experiments and analysis. Since then, there has been significant progress in SAS data and model archiving, and the IUCr journal editors announced that the IUCr biology journals will require the deposition of SAS data used in biomolecular structure solution into a public archive, as well as adherence to the 2017 reporting guidelines. In this context, the reporting template tables accompanying the 2017 publication guidelines have been reviewed with a focus on making them both easier to use and more general.

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