Publications by authors named "LOCKE B"

Honeybees, Apis mellifera, have experienced the full impacts of globalisation, including the recent invasion by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, now one of the main causes of colony losses worldwide. The strong selection pressure it exerts has led some colonies to develop defence strategies conferring some degree of resistance to the parasite. Assuming these traits are partly heritable, selective breeding of naturally resistant bees could be a sustainable strategy for fighting infestations.

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  • Hickam's dictum suggests patients can have multiple diseases, challenging Ockham's razor which favors a single diagnosis; however, multiple diagnoses haven't been studied in depth before.* -
  • Researchers analyzed multiple diagnoses through case reports, New England Journal of Medicine entries, and an online survey, identifying common categories of additional diagnoses associated with primary conditions.* -
  • Findings indicate that while multiple diagnoses are common, most cases involve causally linked conditions or pre-existing diseases, which clinicians generally find unsurprising, leading to a framework that examines time, probability, and causation in these diagnoses.*
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  • Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and incurable neurodegenerative condition that is becoming more common globally, prompting the need for research beyond current treatments targeting amyloid and tau proteins.
  • The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) protein is central to lipid metabolism in the brain, with the ApoE4 allele significantly increasing the risk and lowering the age of onset for AD, while ApoE2 is protective and ApoE3 is neutral.
  • Recent studies highlight ApoE’s complex role in AD development, focusing on its interactions in various brain cell types which could guide the creation of new therapies aimed at targeting ApoE.
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Varroa destructor is one of the greatest threats to Apis mellifera worldwide and if left untreated will kill a colony in less than three years. A Varroa-resistant population from Gotland, Sweden, has managed to survive for 25 years with little to no Varroa treatment by reducing the mite's reproductive success. The underlying mechanisms of this trait is currently not known, though previous research indicates that it is the honey bee brood, and not adult bee influence, that contributes to this phenotype.

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Background: In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multimorbidity with obesity and type 2 diabetes is common and increasing. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are increasingly being prescribed for patients with IBD, yet their impact on patients with IBD is largely unknown. We aimed to assess the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists on the course of IBD.

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Background: Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a promising therapy to improve the experience of patients with critical illness and may help avoid postdischarge functional impairments. However, the determinants of interest and usability may vary locally and reports of uptake in the literature are variable.

Objective: The aim of this mixed methods feasibility study was to assess the acceptability and potential utility of immersive VR in critically ill patients at a single institution.

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Digital Mental Health and Peer support has the potential to bridge gaps in support through its scalability and accessibility. Despite the increasing use of these platforms, there remains a lack of understanding of how they operate in real life, from initial engagement to longer-term impact. We aimed to explore the key inputs, processes, user interactions, assumptions, barriers, facilitators, outcomes, and impacts associated with the use of DMH and peer support platforms by developing a Theory of Change with stakeholders.

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Lipid metabolism hinges on a balance between lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Disruptions in this balance can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress triggering the unfolded protein response (UPR) and contribute to metabolic diseases. The UPR protein, Luman or CREB3, has recently been implicated in metabolic regulation-CREB3 knockout mice exhibit resistance to diet-induced obesity and altered insulin sensitivity.

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An emerging body of literature describes the prevalence and consequences of hypercapnic respiratory failure. While device qualifications, documentation practices, and previously performed clinical studies often encourage conceptualizing patients as having a single "cause" of hypercapnia, many patients encountered in practice have several contributing conditions. Physiologic and epidemiologic data suggest that sleep-disordered breathing-particularly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-often contributes to the development of hypercapnia.

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  • An urban community-based organization, active since 1996, focuses on addressing health needs through its Life Points harm reduction program, offering screening, testing, and access to treatment for substance use disorders and diseases like HIV.
  • In 2021, the organization conducted a survey involving 55 active drug users to explore their substance use, healthcare accessibility, and barriers to services, using outreach efforts and encrypted data collection methods.
  • The survey found that most participants were middle-aged, predominantly white, and reported high rates of substance use, with the majority having health insurance and a significant number having felony arrests, while many received services from health agencies.
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Introduction: Weight loss is recommended for individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and overweight or obesity, but there is limited evidence to guide the selection of weight management strategies for patients who do not lose sufficient weight with diet and lifestyle changes. We evaluated the relationship between weight loss caused by pharmacologic or surgical interventions and subsequent improvement in OSA by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and EMBASE were searched for randomized trials comparing pharmacologic or surgical obesity interventions to usual care, placebo, or no treatment in adults with OSA.

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Purpose: Guidelines recommend considering an initial trial of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat central sleep apnea (CSA). However, practice patterns vary widely. This study investigated predictors for an initial trial of CPAP in patients with central apneas and whether those factors predict adequate treatment response in patients receiving an initial CPAP trial.

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Purpose: Guidelines recommend considering an initial trial of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat central sleep apnea (CSA). However, practice patterns vary widely. This study investigated predictors for an initial trial of CPAP in patients with central apneas and whether those factors predict adequate treatment response in patients receiving an initial CPAP trial.

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Novel transmission routes can allow infectious diseases to spread, often with devastating consequences. Ectoparasitic varroa mites vector a diversity of RNA viruses, having switched hosts from the eastern to western honey bees ( to ). They provide an opportunity to explore how novel transmission routes shape disease epidemiology.

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The spread of the parasite Varroa destructor and associated viruses has resulted in massive honey bee colony losses with considerable economic and ecological impact. The gut microbiota has a major role in shaping honey bees tolerance and resistance to parasite infestation and viral infection, but the contribution of viruses to the assembly of the host microbiota in the context of varroa resistance and susceptibility remains unclear. Here, we used a network approach including viral and bacterial nodes to characterize the impact of five viruses, Apis Rhabdovirus-1 (ARV-1), Black Queen Cell virus (BQCV), Lake Sinai virus (LSV), Sacbrood virus (SBV) and Deformed wing virus (DWV) on the gut microbiota assembly of varroa-susceptible and Gotland varroa-surviving honey bees.

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The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is an invasive species of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) and the largest pathogenic threat to their health world-wide. Its successful invasion and expansion is related to its ability to exploit the worker brood for reproduction, which results in an exponential population growth rate in the new host. With invasion of the mite, wild honeybee populations have been nearly eradicated from Europe and North America, and the survival of managed honeybee populations relies on mite population control treatments.

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The surface of the eye is directly exposed to the external environment, protected only by a thin tear film, and may therefore be damaged by contact with ambient particulate matter, liquids, aerosols, or vapors. In the workplace or home, the eye is subject to accidental or incidental exposure to cleaning products and pesticides. Organic matter may enter the eye and cause infection.

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  • Findings show that enlarged pulmonary artery diameter (PAd) and increased pulmonary artery to ascending aorta ratio (PA:AA) on CT scans can indicate higher mortality in certain cardiopulmonary disease patients.
  • In a study of 990 emergency department patients, 27.9% had enlarged PAd, particularly among older individuals and those with obesity or heart failure, while 34.2% had an increased PA:AA, more common in younger patients with peripheral vascular disease or obesity.
  • Both enlarged PAd and increased PA:AA were independently linked to increased mortality risk, highlighting their significance as prognostic indicators in the emergency setting.
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are present in landfill leachate, posing potential challenges to leachate disposal and treatment. This work represents the first study of a thin-water-film nonthermal plasma reactor for PFAS degradation in landfill leachate. Of the 30 PFAS measured in three raw leachates, 21 were above the detection limits.

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Study Objectives: Considerable disparities in the prevalence, diagnosis, and management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) exist for minority groups in the United States. However, the impact of OSA on Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) has not been evaluated.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patient records of NHPIs who underwent sleep apnea testing between 2014 and 2021 at a single center in Utah to characterize the distribution of comorbidities, disease severity, and treatment adherence.

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Natural resource governance is inherently complex owing to the socio-ecological systems in which it is embedded. Working arrangements have been fundamentally transformed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with potential negative impacts on trust-based social networks foundational to resource management and transboundary governance. To inform development of a post-pandemic new-normal in resource management, we examined trust relationships using the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America as a case study.

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Monitoring virus infections can be an important selection tool in honey bee breeding. A recent study pointed towards an association between the virus-free status of eggs and an increased virus resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) at the colony level. In this study, eggs from both naturally surviving and traditionally managed colonies from across Europe were screened for the prevalence of different viruses.

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