Publications by authors named "Jim Malone"

Sleep loss is associated with cognitive decline in the aging population and is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considering the crucial role of immunomodulating genes such as that encoding the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells type 2 (TREM2) in removing pathogenic amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and regulating neurodegeneration in the brain, our aim was to investigate whether and how sleep loss influences microglial function in mice. We chronically sleep-deprived wild-type mice and the 5xFAD mouse model of cerebral amyloidosis, expressing either the humanized TREM2 common variant, the loss-of-function R47H AD-associated risk variant, or without TREM2 expression.

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Enkephalins are opioid peptides that modulate analgesia, reward, and stress. detection of enkephalins remains difficult due to transient and low endogenous concentrations and inherent sequence similarity. To begin to address this we previously developed a system combining in vivo optogenetics with microdialysis and a highly sensitive mass spectrometry-based assay to measure opioid peptide release in freely moving rodents (Al-Hasani, 2018, eLife).

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The visual arts are rooted in the life of the wider community and may lack explicit medical physics reference. Nevertheless, they can be influential and can illustrate, communicate, and inform. They may also inspire, challenge, heal, give pleasure, help put one's life in perspective and enrich the experience of being a practicing scientist working in medical physics.

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Starting from Röntgen's discovery and the first radiograph of his wife's hand, the curtain was raised on a new technique with remarkable possibilities for contributing to human health. While growth in applications proceeded rapidly, it was accompanied by significant harms to those involved and by inappropriate opportunistic application. This paper places the attempts to deal with the harms and inappropriate activities side by side with the positive developments.

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Medical physics and other contributions from physics to medicine are relatively well known, if not well documented in Ireland. Less well known are contributions from medicine to the development of physics, which can and do occur. This paper addresses examples of all three.

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An international expert consultation was convened by the World Health Organization (WHO). The purpose of the meeting was to review the use of CT in examining asymptomatic people. This is often referred to as individual health assessment (IHA).

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Objective: Medical ethics has a tried and tested literature and a global active research community. Even among health professionals, literate and fluent in medical ethics, there is low recognition of radiation protection principles such as justification and optimization. On the other hand, many in healthcare environments misunderstand dose limitation obligations and incorrectly believe patients are protected by norms including a dose limit.

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Data management and sharing are growing concerns for scientists and funding organizations throughout the world. Funding organizations are implementing requirements for data management plans, while scientists are establishing new infrastructures for data sharing. One of the difficulties is sharing data among a diverse set of research disciplines.

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In a working group of the Belgian Hospital Physicists Association (BHPA), a new protocol has been developed for comprehensive testing of computed tomography scanners. The tests were selected to verify if the scanner is technically adequate, if preprogrammed patient protocols are up-to-date, and if exposure values displayed at the console are sufficiently correct. In addition, they will ensure that the participating medical physics expert (MPE) gets a full understanding of the system to enable him/her to guide optimization processes and allow automated patient dosimetry.

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The EC (European Commission) Directive on radiation protection of patients requires that Criteria for Acceptability of Equipment in Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy be established throughout the member states. This paper reviews the background to this requirement and to its implementation in practice. It notes parallel requirements in the EC medical devices directive and International Electrotechnical Commission standards.

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Medical application of ionizing radiation is a massive and increasing activity globally. While the use of ionizing radiation in medicine brings tremendous benefits to the global population, the associated risks due to stochastic and deterministic effects make it necessary to protect patients from potential harm. Current issues in radiation protection of patients include not only the rapidly increasing collective dose to the global population from medical exposure, but also that a substantial percentage of diagnostic imaging examinations are unnecessary, and the cumulative dose to individuals from medical exposure is growing.

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Background: Most patients with type 2 diabetes begin pharmacotherapy with metformin, but eventually need additional treatment. We assessed the safety and efficacy of once weekly exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, versus maximum approved doses of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin, or the thiazolidinedione, pioglitazone, in patients treated with metformin.

Methods: In this 26-week randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, superiority trial, patients with type 2 diabetes who had been treated with metformin, and at baseline had mean glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)) of 8.

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We compared eggshell thickness of hatched eggs with that of non-developed eggs in endangered falcon taxa to explore the effect of embryo development on eggshell thinning. To our knowledge, this has never been examined before in falcons, despite the fact that eggshell thinning due to pollutants and environmental contamination is often considered the most common cause of egg failure in falcons. Because of the endangered nature of these birds, and the difficulty in gaining access to the nests and their eggs, there is a large gap in our knowledge regarding eggshell thickness variation and the factors affecting it.

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We compared membrane thickness of fully developed eggs with those of non-developed eggs in different endangered falcon taxa. To our knowledge, membrane thickness variation during development has never been examined before in falcons or any other wild bird. Yet, the egg membrane constitutes an important protective barrier for the developing embryo.

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We examined experimentally whether fertilizers or herbicides commonly used by farmers affect mortality of the adult grain beetle Tenebrio molitor. After a period of 4 weeks in direct contact with all treatments, a higher percentage of mortality occurred in contact with nitrates than with pig manure or turkey litter. Herbicides (a mixture of glyphosate and 2,4-D: ) caused 100% mortality.

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This summary report presents aspects of work that was carried out as part of the European Commission SENTINEL Project (Safety and Efficacy for New Techniques and Imaging using New Equipment to Support European Legislation). It arises from the discussions at a workshop organised by the first author at Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride in September 2006. The second author facilitated the workshop and moderated the discussion.

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