Publications by authors named "Laura Owens"

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) or acquired brain insult (ABI) present with motor disorders affecting movement, muscle tone, and posture. While CP is commonly a consequence of perinatal brain insult (PBI), pediatric ABI can occur between birth and adolescence, with movement patterns that may not be consistent with CP.

Research Question: Are gait patterns associated with CP different from those with pediatric ABI?

Materials/methods: Children with unilateral motor impairment and history of ABI at ≥18 months of age were identified from gait lab records and matched with children with CP having a history of PBI at ≤ 1 year old.

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Introduction: Effective trauma care requires the rapid management of injuries. Rural and remote areas face inequity in trauma care due to time, distance and resource constraints, and experience higher morbidity and mortality rates than urban settings. A training needs analysis (TNA) conducted with stakeholders across Queensland, Australia, revealed a lack of contextual, accessible and interprofessional trauma education for clinicians.

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Purpose: To examine the role of multiple factors, including therapy dose, on recovery of mobility function during post-single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS) rehabilitation in youth with cerebral palsy.

Methods: Several factors expected to influence postoperative change in Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) were examined: age, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level, cognition, number of osteotomies, surgical complications, medical comorbidities, number of therapy sessions, and preoperative measures of gait, balance, and gross motor function.

Results: Sixty-nine youth with cerebral palsy, GMFSC levels I-IV, who had undergone SEMLS and rehabilitation had on average 2.

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Brain-state transitions are readily apparent from changes in brain rhythms,1 but are difficult to predict, suggestive that the underlying cause is latent to passive recording methods. Among the most important transitions, clinically, are the starts of seizures. We here show that an 'active probing' approach may have several important benefits for epileptic management, including by helping predict these transitions.

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Introduction And Hypothesis: Although pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is an option for female mixed incontinence (MUI), the role of PFMT prior to midurethral sling (MUS) surgery is not well defined. We hypothesize that preoperative PFMT (pretraining) positively impacts urinary storage and voiding symptoms prior to retropubic MUS.

Methods: We carried out an institutional review board-approved, retrospective chart review of women with stress-predominant MUI undergoing a retropubic MUS.

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Pediatric autoresuscitation is extremely rare, with only 4 documented cases in the literature. The longest recorded time between stopping cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and return of spontaneous circulation is 2 minutes. We report a previously well 18-month-old who attended the emergency department after an unexplained cardiac arrest.

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Objectives: To compare antiretroviral adherence (measured as the proportion of days covered [PDC]) and change in viral load in insured, HIV-infected, adult outpatients enrolled and not enrolled in a medication synchronization program.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, pilot cohort study. Fifty-eight insured, HIV-infected, outpatients at least 18 years of age receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 3 months as of August 2015 were included.

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Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient care. The authors provide the front-line nurse providers with an overview of critical concepts related to quality management of patient care. A historical approach provides the reader with an overview of the trajectory or the quality in health care movement.

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Background: The protein kinase GSK-3 is constitutively active in quiescent cells in the absence of growth factor signaling. Previously, we identified a set of genes that required GSK-3 to maintain their repression during quiescence. Computational analysis of the upstream sequences of these genes predicted transcription factor binding sites for CREB, NFκB and AP-1.

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The average woman will take many medications, both prescription and nonprescription, as well as herbs or other dietary supplements over the course of her lifetime. These chemicals can produce therapeutic benefits but can also cause toxic effects. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapy, adverse drug reactions, and research in pharmacology are discussed as applied to women's health.

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Transcription factor LSF is essential for cell cycle progression, being required for activating expression of the thymidylate synthase (Tyms) gene at the G1/S transition. We previously established that phosphorylation of LSF in early G1 at Ser-291 and Ser-309 inhibits its transcriptional activity and that dephosphorylation later in G1 is required for its reactivation. Here we reveal the role of prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1 in activating LSF, by facilitating dephosphorylation at both Ser-291 and Ser-309.

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Background: Hurler Syndrome is associated with a deficiency of a specific lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in early infancy is undertaken to help prevent the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans and improve organ function.

Aim: To investigate the oral features and dental health of patients with Hurler Syndrome who have undergone successful HSCT.

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Cell cycle progression is dependent upon coordinate regulation of kinase and proteolytic pathways. Inhibitors of cell cycle transitions are degraded to allow progression into the subsequent cell cycle phase. For example, the tyrosine kinase and Cdk1 inhibitor Wee1 is degraded during G(2) and mitosis to allow mitotic progression.

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Cell cycle progression in mammalian cells from G(1) into S phase requires sensing and integration of multiple inputs, in order to determine whether to continue to cellular DNA replication and subsequently, to cell division. Passage to S requires transition through the restriction point, which at a molecular level consists of a bistable switch involving E2Fs and pRb family members. At the G(1)/S boundary, a number of genes essential for DNA replication and cell cycle progression are upregulated, promoting entry into S phase.

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We asked teachers and parents to assess the self-determination prospects of 135 youth with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. Teachers typically reported that youth evidenced limited knowledge about self-determined behavior, ability to perform these behaviors, and confidence regarding the efficacy of their self-determination efforts. Parents and teachers diverged in their evaluations of the self-determination capacities of youth but agreed that opportunities to engage in self-determined behavior were available both at school and home.

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The delivery of assistive technology (AT) within the state and federal vocational rehabilitation systems in the United States has been developing and refining itself over the last twenty years. Many challenges have been confronted in an attempt to use this relatively new service to increase the employment options and success for individuals with disabilities. In this process, the rehabilitation counselor serves as a critical player in the planning and delivery of AT as it articulates with other rehabilitation services.

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