Publications by authors named "Laura Murphy"
The influence of early childhood education and care on the relation between early-life social adversity and children's mental health in the environmental influences for Child Health Outcomes Program.
Dev Psychopathol
December 2024
Early adversity increases risk for child mental health difficulties. Stressors in the home environment (e.g.
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- Bioimage analysis (BIA) enhances biological research by providing objective, quantitative methods for microscopy, overcoming biases linked to subjective analysis.
- Establishing dedicated BIA support in academic institutions is essential for improving research quality and facilitating scientific advancements.
- The document outlines challenges facing BIA, such as lack of training and recognition, and proposes strategies for improvement, including better training resources, standardization of tools, and increased collaboration and funding.
Article Synopsis
- The study aims to identify demographic and clinical groups experiencing racial and gender disparities in emergency department admissions, focusing on White and African-American adults.* -
- Analysis involved nearly 94,000 patients and highlighted that African-American women were notably less likely to be admitted than White men across various subpopulations, while African-American men and White women also faced lower admission odds in certain age and insurance categories.* -
- The research suggests that young patients and those with low comorbidity scores or Medicaid/self-pay insurance are particularly vulnerable to these disparities, indicating a need for targeted interventions in these demographics.*
Introduction: Cranio-spinal radiotherapy (CSI) is used to treat central nervous system malignancies in paediatric, adolescent/young adult (AYA), and adult patients. Its delivery in the paediatric/AYA population is particularly challenging across different age groups. This study aims to assess the setup variations and dosimetric impact of CSI in paediatric and AYA patients.
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- Scientists found that a specific marker in melanoma (a type of skin cancer), called ALDH1A3, works with another protein called ACSS2 to help cancer cells use sugar (glucose) better and change their genes.
- They discovered that acetaldehyde, which is a toxic substance, plays a role in this process and can help change gene activity in cancer cells.
- In experiments with zebrafish that have melanoma, they showed that blocking ALDH1A3 can stop cancer cells from becoming resistant to treatment and may help doctors find new ways to fight the disease.
Article Synopsis
- Executive functions, crucial for problem-solving and planning, develop rapidly in childhood, but prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may hinder this development.
- The study analyzed 814 children from non-smoking mothers, measuring urine levels of PAH metabolites during pregnancy and evaluating their executive functions at age 8-9, focusing on cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control.
- Results showed mostly null associations between PAH exposure and executive functions, although some interactions between specific PAH metabolites and working memory were observed, highlighting the need for further research in this area.
Background: Executive function, which develops rapidly in childhood, enables problem-solving, focused attention, and planning. Animal models describe executive function decrements associated with ambient air pollution exposure, but epidemiologic studies are limited.
Methods: We examined associations between early childhood air pollution exposure and school-aged executive function in 1235 children from three US pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.
As signalling organelles, cilia regulate their G protein-coupled receptor content by ectocytosis, a process requiring localised actin dynamics to alter membrane shape. Photoreceptor outer segments comprise an expanse of folded membranes (discs) at the tip of highly-specialised connecting cilia, into which photosensitive GPCRs are concentrated. Discs are shed and remade daily.
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- Tubulin is a key component of the cytoskeleton and has various isotypes in animals, but it's unclear how these isotypes influence microtubule structures in different cell types.
- Research on 12 patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia and mouse models uncovered variants in the tubulin isotype that disrupted the formation of centrioles and cilia, impacting microtubule dynamics.
- The study identified different variants causing distinct effects on tubulin interactions, allowing for the classification of patients into three types of ciliopathic diseases, highlighting the unique roles of specific tubulin isotypes in cellular functions.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) to determine its accuracy as a screening tool for autism in a large sample of nearly 3,400 children from the ECHO program, particularly focusing on both term and preterm children.
- Results indicated that while the M-CHAT showed high specificity (88-99%), its sensitivity was relatively low (36-60%), suggesting it is better at identifying low-risk children rather than accurately diagnosing those at higher risk for autism.
- Overall, the findings support the use of M-CHAT as a valuable tool for identifying developmental delays and behavioral concerns in children, even though it has limitations in detecting all cases of autism risk effectively.
Objective: Many population-based breast screening programmes temporarily suspended routine screening following the COVID-19 pandemic onset. This study aimed to describe screening mammography utilisation and the pattern of screen-detected breast cancer diagnoses following COVID-19-related screening disruptions in Ireland.
Methods: Using anonymous aggregate data from women invited for routine screening, three time periods were examined: (1) January-December 2019, (2) January-December 2020, and (3) January-December 2021.
The correct establishment of DNA methylation patterns is vital for mammalian development and is achieved by the de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B. DNMT3B localises to H3K36me3 at actively transcribing gene bodies via its PWWP domain. It also functions at heterochromatin through an unknown recruitment mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytochrome b561 (cytb561) proteins comprise a family of transmembrane oxidoreductases that transfer single electrons across a membrane. Most eukaryotic species, including insects, possess multiple cytb561 homologs. To learn more about this protein family in insects, we carried out a bioinformatics-based investigation of cytb561 family members from nine species representing eight insect orders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: There is limited evidence on sex, racial, and ethnic disparities in Emergency Department (ED) triage across diverse settings. We evaluated differences in the assignment of Emergency Severity Index (ESI) by patient sex and race/ethnicity, accounting for age, clinical factors, and ED operating conditions.
Methods: We conducted a multi-site retrospective study of adult patients presenting to high-volume EDs from January 2019-February 2020.
Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose disrupts hepatocellular lysosomes, which release ferrous iron (Fe) that translocates into mitochondria putatively via the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) to induce oxidative/nitrative stress, the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), and hepatotoxicity. To investigate how MCU deficiency affects mitochondrial Fe uptake and hepatotoxicity after APAP overdose, global MCU knockout (KO), hepatocyte specific (hs) MCU KO, and wildtype (WT) mice were treated with an overdose of APAP both in vivo and in vitro. Compared to strain-specific WT mice, serum ALT decreased by 88 and 56%, respectively, in global and hsMCU KO mice at 24 h after APAP (300 mg/kg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction The Routine Opioid Outcome Monitoring (ROOM) Tool was developed for use in community pharmacies in Australia. It facilitates pharmacists' screening and brief interventions regarding an individual's opioid use for chronic pain. At our academic teaching hospital, the ROOM Tool was adapted to incorporate a communication tool that includes a pharmacist's assessment and recommendations for primary care providers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adding docetaxel to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves survival in patients with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, but uncertainty remains about who benefits most. We therefore aimed to obtain up-to-date estimates of the overall effects of docetaxel and to assess whether these effects varied according to prespecified characteristics of the patients or their tumours.
Methods: The STOPCAP M1 collaboration conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data.
Autophagy is an intracellular lysosomal degradation pathway by which cytoplasmic cargoes are removed to maintain cellular homeostasis. Monitoring autophagy flux is crucial to understand the autophagy process and its biological significance. However, assays to measure autophagy flux are either complex, low throughput or not sensitive enough for reliable quantitative results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone (herein referred to as abiraterone) or enzalutamide added at the start of androgen deprivation therapy improves outcomes for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes and test whether combining enzalutamide with abiraterone and androgen deprivation therapy improves survival.
Methods: We analysed two open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trials of the STAMPEDE platform protocol, with no overlapping controls, conducted at 117 sites in the UK and Switzerland.