Publications by authors named "Kirk T"

The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning physically impaired wheelchair sport athletes attributed to wheelchair basketball participation as well as potential physical, psychological, and social health-related quality of life (HRQOL) benefits. Specifically, the experiences of wheelchair sport athletes from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) affected by ongoing or recent conflict were examined. Focus group participants for this study included 108 wheelchair basketball athletes (77 men and 31 women) from seven men's and three women's national teams at an international wheelchair basketball tournament held in India.

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Livestock provide meat, milk, draught labour, are used for breeding, and act as a store of value for smallholder farmers. High young stock mortality (YSM) has the potential to cause significant financial loss. The Young Stock Mortality Reduction Consortium collaborated on a project to deliver a package of basic health and husbandry interventions to reduce YSM for cattle and small ruminants in mixed and pastoral production systems in Ethiopia.

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Article Synopsis
  • The UK Health Security Agency reported a surge in scarlet fever and invasive diseases caused by Group A Streptococcus (StrepA) at the end of 2022 and early 2023, leading to a study of 341 throat and skin isolates collected in Sheffield.
  • The study found that most common types in throat isolates were types 1, 12, and 22, while skin isolates included types 1, 12, 76, and 49, showing a mix of lineages different from previous years (2016-2017).
  • Analysis indicated that only 51% of throat isolates produce a capsule, compared to 78% of skin isolates, and a significant number of throat isolates exhibited high
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Here, the novel technique of extended-range high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection (XR-HERFD) has successfully observed the n = 2 satellite in manganese to a high accuracy. The significance of the satellite signature presented is many hundreds of standard errors and well beyond typical discovery levels of three to six standard errors. This satellite is a sensitive indicator for all manganese-containing materials in condensed matter.

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This study sought to understand the lived experiences of wheelchair basketball athletes from low- and middle-income countries of recent or current armed conflict and the meaning that they ascribed to their participation. Wheelchair basketball athletes (N = 108) from eight national teams participated in semistructured focus-group interviews. Study data were analyzed thematically using an interpretive descriptive approach.

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Food and formulation characteristics are crucial factors affecting the gastrointestinal release and absorption kinetics of oral solid preparations. In the present study, the dynamic continuous release and bioaccessibility of metformin hydrochloride immediate-release (IR) and sustained-release (SR) tablets were investigated in the dynamic human stomach-intestine (DHSI-IV) system simulating fasted and fed states in healthy adults. Both tablet formulations (particularly IR tablet) exhibited a postponed release in the fed state compared to the fasted state.

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Citrullination and homocitrullination are stress induced post-translational modifications (siPTMs) which can be recognized by T cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from healthy donors and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were stimulated with nine siPTM-peptides. CD45RA/CD45RO depletion was employed to determine if peptide-specific responses are naïve or memory.

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The discovery of a new physical process in manganese metal is reported. This process will also be present for all manganese-containing materials in condensed matter. The process was discovered by applying our new technique of XR-HERFD (extended-range high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection), which was developed from the popular high-resolution RIXS (resonant inelastic X-ray scattering) and HERFD approaches.

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To increase Soldiers' access to HPV vaccination, we evaluated the feasibility and sustainability of a nurse-led intervention to integrate HPV vaccination into medical processing procedures for Soldiers. We partnered with nursing staff to introduce HPV vaccine into existing vaccination services at a nurse-led clinic that serves Soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In addition to stocking the vaccine, the intervention included training nursing staff ( = 11) strategies for recommending HPV vaccination for Soldiers ages 18-26.

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During the United Kingdom's Covid-19 vaccination campaign, general practitioners (GPs) have held responsibility for vaccinating housebound patients. This presented them with a large, complex and unfamiliar logistical challenge, namely determining the most time-efficient route to visit multiple patients at their home address. In response to a lack of existing solutions tailored specifically to vaccination, and in light of overwhelming demand, Vaximap ( https://www.

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Molecular bioimaging of enzyme activity is rapidly emerging as a powerful strategy for accurate disease diagnostics. This work aims to prove that bioimaging of enzyme activity in food digestion with a fluorescent probe is feasible. In this study, a dual-labeled fluorescent probe with dextran-tetramethylrhodamine (TMR)-biotin conjugate (DTB) as the enzyme-cleavable unit, and biotin-(5-fluorescein) conjugate (FB) as the reference unit, was developed.

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Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a non-invasive MRI technique that allows for quantitative measurement of cerebral perfusion. Incomplete or inaccurate reporting of acquisition parameters complicates quantification, analysis, and sharing of ASL data, particularly for studies across multiple sites, platforms, and ASL methods. There is a strong need for standardization of ASL data storage, including acquisition metadata.

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Background: Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), Haegele et al. created the beliefs of individuals with visual impairments about physical activity scale (BIVIPA-1) to examine individuals with visual impairments' (VI) motivation toward physical activity (PA). The overall factorial tenability of the BIVIPA-1 remains unclear due to its item configuration.

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Managing risk is a necessary component of living a full moral life. Evaluating which risks are acceptable, for what reasons, in what conditions, and then taking actions based on those evaluations, are exercises of moral agency-of intentionally actualizing values that shape an embodied personhood. Health-care institutions in the United States are risk averse, designed to manage risk in ways that can impede the full exercise of patients' moral agency.

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Novel gene-editing (GE) technologies provide promising opportunities to increase livestock productivity and to tackle several global livestock production sustainability and food security challenges. However, these technologies, as with previous genetic modification technologies in food production, are very likely to generate social controversy and opposition toward their use in the meat industry. Here, we explored public attitudes and consumption predisposition toward gene-edited meat products and their potential added benefits to livestock farming.

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Purpose: Research priorities are often set by expert clinicians and researchers. We sought to apply an established process in patient-centered research to engage survivors and their caregivers in prioritizing research topics in prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: A prostate cancer patient survey network, formed in partnership with Us TOO and the National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions, engaged in a series of mixed-methods studies to prioritize comparative effectiveness research questions.

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Background: The manufacturing of any standard mechanical ventilator cannot rapidly be upscaled to several thousand units per week, largely due to supply chain limitations. The aim of this study was to design, verify and perform a pre-clinical evaluation of a mechanical ventilator based on components not required for standard ventilators, and that met the specifications provided by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for rapidly-manufactured ventilator systems (RMVS).

Methods: The design utilises closed-loop negative feedback control, with real-time monitoring and alarms.

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Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major source of skin damage, resulting in inflammation, premature ageing, and cancer. While several UVR-induced changes, including extracellular matrix reorganisation and epidermal DNA damage, have been documented, the role of different fibroblast lineages and their communication with immune cells has not been explored. We show that acute and chronic UVR exposure led to selective loss of fibroblasts from the upper dermis in human and mouse skin.

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Injection of a hydrogel loaded with drugs with simultaneous anti-inflammatory and tissue regenerating properties can be an effective treatment for promoting periodontal regeneration in periodontitis. Nevertheless, the design and preparation of an injectable hydrogel with self-healing properties for tunable sustained drug release is still highly desired. In this work, polysaccharide-based hydrogels were formed by a dynamic cross-linked network of dynamic Schiff base bonds and dynamic coordination bonds.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated how ketone oxidation rates in athletes are affected by different metabolic conditions, specifically varying carbohydrate (CHO) and fat availability levels during exercise.
  • - Six male athletes completed cycling exercises while consuming a ketone ester and following specific high or low CHO diets, with additional lipid infusions, to assess how these factors influenced β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) oxidation rates.
  • - Results showed that lower CHO availability modestly impaired βHB oxidation rates during exercise, while higher fat availability led to greater intramuscular βHB levels post-exercise, indicating complex interactions between glycogen stores and fat utilization.
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Fibroblasts are the major cell population in the connective tissue of most organs, where they are essential for their structural integrity. They are best known for their role in remodelling the extracellular matrix, however more recently they have been recognised as a functionally highly diverse cell population that constantly responds and adapts to their environment. Biological memory is the process of a sustained altered cellular state and functions in response to a transient or persistent environmental stimulus.

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Tendinopathy of the Achilles tendon contributes to a large range of disorders, including mechanical damage and degenerative diseases. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), are thought to play a role in the mechanical strength of tendons by forming cross-links between collagen molecules and allowing the transmission of forces between fibrils. This study assessed the response of GAG-depleted tendons to damage induced by fatigue loading, investigating the mechanical damage (stiffness, hysteresis and maximum load), macrostructural changes (tenocyte morphology, fiber anisotropy and waviness) assessed by confocal imaging and nanostructural changes (fibril D-periodicity length) within the same non-viable intact tendons.

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