Publications by authors named "Kirk C"

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  • A study analyzed childbirth outcomes in male adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, identifying a sample of nearly 43,000 cases over a 20-year period.
  • The research found that 18% of these AYAs had live births within ten years post-diagnosis, with higher rates observed in those with thyroid cancer compared to gastrointestinal cancer.
  • Results indicated increased chances of preterm birth and low birth weight among offspring of male AYAs with cancer, emphasizing the need for reproductive counseling for this group.
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With advancing age, achievement of dietary adequacy for all nutrients is increasingly difficult and this is particularly so for minerals. Various factors impede mineral acquisition and absorption including reduced appetite, depressed gastric acid production and dysregulation across a range of signalling pathways in the intestinal mucosa. Minerals are required in sufficient levels since they are critical for the proper functioning of metabolic processes in cells and tissues, including energy metabolism, DNA and protein synthesis, immune function, mobility, and skeletal integrity.

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  • Children born small or sick in rural Rwanda often lack proper follow-up care, which the Pediatric Development Clinics (PDC) aim to address by providing structured support after hospital discharge.
  • The study compared the impact of PDC on children's health and development in two districts, using surveys and statistical analysis to measure outcomes such as survival and growth.
  • Results showed that children attending PDC had lower mortality rates and developmental delays, along with reduced stunting, highlighting the importance of improving access to such clinics across Rwanda.
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  • Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) is a protozoan parasite that causes trichomoniasis, the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection globally, but current treatment options are limited and facing resistance issues.
  • Researchers are targeting the proteasome, a key enzyme complex in eukaryotes, to develop new treatments by isolating the enzyme and identifying specific inhibitors for its three catalytic subunits (β1, β2, β5).
  • By creating specialized substrates for each subunit and screening a library of inhibitors, the study found that targeting the Tv β5 subunit is particularly effective in killing the parasite, which may lead to improved drug development strategies against trichomoniasis.
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  • The study investigates the relationship between aerobic capacity and performance in mixed martial arts (MMA), focusing on the impact of aerobic variables during sparring bouts.
  • Ten MMA participants underwent a treadmill test to measure their maximum oxygen uptake (V̇Omax) and engaged in sparring sessions while their external load and internal intensity were monitored.
  • Results showed that higher aerobic capacity (V̇Omax ≥ 53 ml∙kg∙min) correlated with better performance, as indicated by lower perceived exertion and improved load metrics during sparring, suggesting that aerobic training is important for MMA athletes.
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Objective: We examined the roles of Narcissistic Admiration and Narcissistic Rivalry in gift giving. We hypothesized that Admirative and Rivalrous individuals diverge in their likelihood of giving gifts.

Method: Across six studies (ΣN = 2198), we used correlational and experimental methodology and capitalized on both scenarios and actual gift giving.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate how caregiver practices for children aged 0-23 months changed after a 10-month integration of Responsive Care and Early Learning (RCEL) counseling into nutrition services.
  • Data was collected through surveys and observations before and after the intervention, which trained health staff and community volunteers to support caregivers in their practices.
  • Results showed significant improvements in RCEL practices, home learning opportunities, reduced parenting stress, and better feeding practices, indicating that combining RCEL with nutrition counseling enhanced overall caregiver support without disrupting services.
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Medical sciences education emphasizes basic science learning as a prerequisite to clinical learning. Studies exploring relationships between achievement in the basic sciences and subsequent achievement in the clinical sciences generally suggest a significant positive relationship. Basic science knowledge and clinical experience are theorized to combine to form encapsulated knowledge- a dynamic mix of information that is useful for solving clinical problems.

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The simple diamide ligand was previously shown to selectively precipitate gold from acidic solutions typical of e-waste leach streams, with precipitation of gallium, iron, tin, and platinum possible under more forcing conditions. Herein, we report direct competition experiments to afford the order of selectivity. Thermal analysis indicates that the gold-, gallium-, and iron-containing precipitates present as the most thermodynamically stable structures at room temperature, while the tin-containing structure does not.

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Pediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are commonly treated with the prostacyclin analog treprostinil in IV, SQ, inhaled or oral form, or the prostacyclin receptor agonist selexipag. Patients who transition between these medications often follow recommendations for gradual up- and down-titrations that take place over several days in the hospital or several weeks as an outpatient. However, hospital resources are limited, and long transitions are inconvenient for patients and families.

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Background: Wrist-worn inertial sensors are used in digital health for evaluating mobility in real-world environments. Preceding the estimation of spatiotemporal gait parameters within long-term recordings, gait detection is an important step to identify regions of interest where gait occurs, which requires robust algorithms due to the complexity of arm movements. While algorithms exist for other sensor positions, a comparative validation of algorithms applied to the wrist position on real-world data sets across different disease populations is missing.

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  • * A new electrochemical method has been developed to effectively convert metal Zn clusters into isolated single atoms, enhancing their stability.
  • * The optimized SACs show a significant increase in lithium storage capacity, achieving over 300 Wh/kg after 500 cycles, highlighting their potential for energy applications.
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Divergent conceptualization of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (11th ed..

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Cotransins target the Sec61 translocon and inhibit the biogenesis of an undefined subset of secretory and membrane proteins. Remarkably, cotransin inhibition depends on the unique signal peptide (SP) of each Sec61 client, which is required for cotranslational translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. It remains unknown how an SP's amino acid sequence and biophysical properties confer sensitivity to structurally distinct cotransins.

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Weldon, A, Cloak, R, Kirk, C, Ruddock, A, Langan-Evans, C, Detanico, D, Loturco, I, and Kons, R. Strength and conditioning (S&C) practices of judo athletes and S&C coaches: A survey-based investigation. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): e160-e173, 2024-The benefits of strength and conditioning (S&C) for improving judo performance and reducing injuries have been widely studied.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently published a framework on fairness, inclusion, and nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations. Although we appreciate the IOC's recognition of the role of sports science and medicine in policy development, we disagree with the assertion that the IOC framework is consistent with existing scientific and medical evidence and question its recommendations for implementation. Testosterone exposure during male development results in physical differences between male and female bodies; this process underpins male athletic advantage in muscle mass, strength and power, and endurance and aerobic capacity.

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  • The study focused on inherited heart diseases and the effectiveness of cardiac gene panel testing over an 18-year period in Ireland, emphasizing the need for diagnosing familial pathogenic variants to inform at-risk relatives.
  • The initial diagnostic yield of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants was found to be 28.4%, which increased to 33.1% after re-evaluating cases with uncertain variant significance, affecting nearly half the patients reviewed.
  • The findings also highlighted that females were more likely to carry significant variants, with the highest diagnostic success seen in very young children and those tested for specific cardiomyopathy-related genes.
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Immunoproteasomes are a special class of proteasomes, which can be induced with IFN-γ in an inflammatory environment. In recent years, it became evident that certain immune cell types constitutively express high levels of immunoproteasomes. However, information regarding the basal expression of proteolytically active immunoproteasome subunits in different types of immune cells is still rare.

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Introduction: Child maltreatment affects a substantial number of children. However current evidence relies on either longitudinal studies, which are complex and resource-intensive, or linked data studies based on social services data, which is arguably the tip of the iceberg in terms of children who are maltreated. Reliable, linked, population-level data on children referred to services due to suspected abuse or neglect will increase our ability to examine risk factors for, and outcomes following, abuse and neglect.

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Ceramic membranes are taking center stage for separation technologies in water treatment. Among them, ceramic nanofiltration membranes are at the forefront of membrane technologies. The desalination of seawater using ceramic nanofiltration membranes is a potential application toward increasing the global water supply and tackling water scarcity.

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