Publications by authors named "Lauren Webster"

Eight monoterpene indole alkaloids (-), including one new picraline-type alkaloid, 2-hydroxyakuammiline () and seven known compounds: akuammigine (), akuammine (), akuammidine (), akuammiline (), akuammiline N-oxide (), akuammiline (), rhazimol (), and alstonine () were isolated from the seeds of . Structure elucidation was done by analysis of their MS and NMR spectroscopic data. The antiplasmodial effects of compounds - were moderate.

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The approved anthelmintic salicylanilide drug niclosamide has shown promising anticancer and antimicrobial activities. In this study, new niclosamide derivatives with trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethylsulfanyl, and pentafluorosulfanyl substituents replacing the nitro group of niclosamide were prepared (including the ethanolamine salts of two promising salicylanilides) and tested for their anticancer activities against esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) cells. In addition, antifungal activity against a panel of strains, the most abundant causative agent of the neglected tropical disease eumycetoma, was evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, results in approximately 10,000 deaths annually, with the only available treatments, nifurtimox and benznidazole, having significant side effects and limited effectiveness.
  • Researchers discovered new inhibitors targeting the acidic M17 leucyl-aminopeptidase (LAPTc) enzyme from T. cruzi, identifying a compound (compound 4) that shows strong potential as a new treatment option.
  • Compound 4 demonstrated a selective inhibitory effect on LAPTc with minimal toxicity to human cells, suggesting its viability as a candidate for further development in combating Chagas disease.
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Working in drug discovery is difficult for many institutions due to the need for resources, funding, and in-country expertise. The Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infective Research (WCAIR) is responding to the unmet training needs for individuals/institutions working in drug discovery in low-middle income countries. Through their training program, individuals can undertake a practical placement, either online or at the center, with access to a dedicated trainer from their field of research.

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The synthesis and evaluation of twenty six new phenylurea substituted 2,4-diamino-pyrimidines against () 3D7 are reported. Compounds were prepared to improve both anti-malarial activity and selectivity of the series previously reported by our group. Additional properties have been determined to assess their potential as anti-malarial leads including; HepG2 cytotoxicity, solubility, permeability, and lipophilicity, as well as stability in human and rat microsomes.

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Twenty eight new N,N-diphenylpyrimidine-2,4-diamines have been prepared in order to expand our understanding of the anti-malarial SAR of the scaffold. The aim of the study was to make structural modifications to improve the overall potency, selectivity and solubility of the series by varying the anilino groups attached to the 2- and 4-position. We evaluated the activity of the compounds against Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) 3D7, cytotoxicity against HepG2, % inhibition at a panel of 10 human kinases, solubility, permeability and lipophilicity, and human and rat in vitro clearance.

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Article Synopsis
  • Leucyl aminopeptidases (LAPs), especially the major M17-LAP (LAPTc), are key players in cell functions and are potential drug targets for treating Chagas disease due to their role in pathogen-host interactions.* -
  • A high-throughput screening method was developed for LAPTc, featuring two optimized assays: a fluorogenic assay and a RapidFire mass spectrometry (RapidFire MS) assay that uses a specific peptide substrate.* -
  • RapidFire MS offers advantages over traditional fluorescence assays, including better signal quality and lower enzyme usage, and has been validated with known LAP inhibitors, making it ideal for finding specific LAPTc inhibitors.*
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This article aims to provide an overview of drug discovery with a focus on application within dermatology. The term "drug" can be used to describe a wide variety of agents, including small molecules, cell therapies, and antibodies, which may be dosed intravenously, orally, topically, or by other routes of administration. We summarize the economics and risks involved in drug discovery.

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The folate pathway has been extensively studied in a number of organisms, with its essentiality exploited by a number of drugs. However, there has been little success in developing drugs that target folate metabolism in the kinetoplastids. Despite compounds being identified which show significant inhibition of the parasite enzymes, this activity does not translate well into cellular and animal models of disease.

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  • The study focused on identifying and validating effective algorithms to detect diabetes cases using health care administrative data from Ontario, Canada.
  • By linking these databases with primary care electronic medical records, various definitions of diabetes cases were tested for their accuracy.
  • The best-performing algorithm included at least one hospitalization or physician claim along with a prescription for anti-diabetic medication, achieving high sensitivity and specificity, which can aid in analyzing diabetes trends and outcomes in health care research.
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Few patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) receive care by cardiac electrophysiologists. Although previous work has highlighted differential care for patients with AF treated by electrophysiologists, it is unclear whether this is associated with improved clinical outcomes. This retrospective population-level propensity score-matched cohort study included patients aged 20 to 80 years with new-onset AF presenting to an emergency department (ED) in Ontario, Canada, between 2010 and 2012.

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Background: Increased mortality is well described in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), primarily related to death from cardiovascular causes. One may hypothesize that cardiology care may be associated with a reduction in cardiovascular deaths in patients with AF, thereby improving their overall survival. The aim of this study was to assess the association between cardiologist care and clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality, in patients with new-onset AF.

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Objectives: This study sought to determine factors associated with cardiac electrophysiologist assessment and atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in patients with new-onset AF.

Background: Factors driving variation in the use of AF ablation have not been well described.

Methods: All individuals with new-onset AF in Ontario, Canada, between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012, were identified.

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Purpose: Despite more frequent use of health services by people living with disability, the quality of preventive care received may be suboptimal. In this retrospective cohort study, we used administrative data to examine the relationship between cholesterol testing and levels of disability and morbidity among women and men in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: We linked multiple provincial-level databases in this study.

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Aims: Young children with neurodevelopmental conditions are often limited in their ability to explore and learn from their environment. The purposes of this case series were to (1) describe the outcomes of using an alternative power mobility device with young children who had multiple, severe impairments; (2) develop power mobility training methods for use with these children; and (3) determine the feasibility of using various outcome measures.

Methods: Three children with cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification System Levels IV, V, and V) ages 17 months to 3.

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Background: Despite the increased availability of anti-retroviral therapy, in-hospital HIV mortality remains high in sub-Saharan Africa. Reports from Senegal, Malawi, and Tanzania show rates of in-hospital, HIV-related mortality ranging from 24.2% to 44%.

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Background: Administrative database research can provide insight into the real-world effectiveness of invasive electrophysiology procedures. However, no validated algorithm to identify these procedures within administrative data currently exists.

Objective: To develop and validate algorithms to identify atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter (AFL), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) catheter ablation procedures, and diagnostic electrophysiology studies (EPS) within administrative data.

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Background: Treatment protocols and prices of antiretroviral therapy (ART) have changed over time. Yet, limited data exist to evaluate the impact of these changes on patient outcomes and treatment costs in resource-poor settings.

Methods: We compared patient-level data on outcomes, utilization, and cost for the first 2 years of ART for a cohort of adult patients initiating ART in 2003-2004 and a cohort initiating ART in 2006-2008 at the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections clinic (GHESKIO) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

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Background: This study explores the patterns of use and co-use of tobacco and cannabis among Ontario adolescents over 3 decades and if characteristics of co-users and single substance users have changed.

Methods: Co-use trends for 1981-2011 were analyzed using the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, which includes 38,331 students in grades 7, 9, and 11. A co-user was defined as someone reporting daily tobacco and/or cannabis use in the past month.

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Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an emerging problem in many parts of the world, and levels of MDR-TB among new TB patients are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. We reviewed the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of MDR-TB in East Africa, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. In 16 epidemiologic surveys, the prevalence of MDR among new cases ranges from 0.

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Early, efficient and inexpensive methods for the detection of pulmonary tuberculosis are urgently needed for effective patient management as well as to interrupt transmission. These methods to detect M. tuberculosis in a timely and affordable way are not yet widely available in resource-limited settings.

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The clinical efficacy and safety of a drug is determined by its activity profile across many proteins in the proteome. However, designing drugs with a specific multi-target profile is both complex and difficult. Therefore methods to design drugs rationally a priori against profiles of several proteins would have immense value in drug discovery.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study expands the use of copper(II) tetrafluoroborate as a catalyst to open epoxides with various types of alcohols.
  • It explores different solvents to enhance the reaction process during the catalytic opening.
  • Additionally, the research includes a method for purifying the resulting products from these reactions.
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We examined an approach aimed at training consciously-controlled recollection, introduced by Jennings and Jacoby (2003) , for its ability to replicate and generalize. A continuous recognition task, requiring recollection to identify the occurrence of repeated items over gradually increasing lag intervals (number of intervening items between the first and second presentation of a repeated word), was given to a group of older adults twice a week for three weeks. Pre-and-post training performance was assessed on multiple measures and compared with a recognition practice and no contact control group.

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