Publications by authors named "Leshawn Richards"

Background: Breast cancer screening in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) still has persistent inequitable coverage by ethnicity, especially for Indigenous Māori women. This project aimed to undertake systematic data linkage to identify and invite eligible Māori women to participate in breast screening.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted in Northern New Zealand between 1/01/2020 and 30/06/2021.

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Anthropogenic activities have led to increased stress on our marine and other aquatic environments. There is a pressing need to monitor, measure, understand and mitigate causes of these pressures. This paper presents a novel optical head for monitoring and measuring marine based optical phenomena.

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Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization among US infants. Characterizing service utilization during infant RSV hospitalizations may provide important information for prioritizing resources and interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the procedures and services received by infants hospitalized during their first RSV episode in their first RSV season, in addition to what proportion of infants died during this hospitalization.

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Objective: Transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) sensors provide a multidimensional characterization of drinking events that self-reports cannot. These profiles may differ in their associated day-level alcohol-related consequences, but no research has tested this. We address this using multilevel latent profile analysis.

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Background: Kinase D-interacting substrate of 220 kDa ("KIDINS220") is an integral plasma membrane protein essential to signaling throughout the body; abnormalities are linked to a variety of disorders, including obesity, but have never been directly linked to chronic- or end-stage renal disease.

Methods: Retrospective chart review identified patients with severe obesity who presented for pre-kidney transplant weight management. 20 individuals met criteria for testing for genetic causes of obesity.

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Background: Neurohormonal blocking drugs, like beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), are recommended for treating anthracycline-induced left ventricular dysfunction (AILVD). However, there is limited evidence supporting their benefit. Therefore, this study evaluated associations of neurohormonal blockers and other clinical factors with recovery of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients with AILVD.

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Grading activity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using standardized histopathological scoring systems remains challenging due to limited availability of pathologists with IBD expertise and inter-observer variability. In this study, a deep learning model was developed to classify activity grades in hematoxylin and eosin-stained whole slide images (WSIs) from patients with IBD, offering a robust approach for general pathologists. This study utilized 2,077 WSIs from 636 patients who visited Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in 2018 and 2019, scanned at 40× magnification (0.

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Background: Digitally Enhanced Hands-on Surgical Training (DEHST) platform was introduced to overcome the lack of training capabilities for the challenging task of freehand distal interlocking of intramedullary nails. It demonstrates high perceived realism for surgeons, and novices perform significantly better after DEHST training. However, characterization of how performance improves remained unexplored.

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Introduction: Bortezomib is a reversible proteasome inhibitor that is a first-line chemotherapeutic agent for multiple myeloma. Bortezomib can be administered intravenously or subcutaneously with similar efficacy. Subcutaneous administration has fewer side effects.

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Background: COVID-19 patients exhibit higher incidence of thrombosis in arteries and veins, including those in lungs. Vasa vasorum, which support large blood vessels, have shown involvement in these pathologic processes.

Methods: To further explore the extent of microvascular damage caused by COVID-19 infection, we examined resected main, right, or left pulmonary artery specimens from patients undergoing bilateral lung transplantation for COVID-19- or non-COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis compared with organ donors by histologic and immunohistologic analyses.

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Precision, or personalised medicine has advanced requirements for medical data management systems (MedDMSs). MedDMS for precision medicine should be able to process hundreds of parameters from multiple sites, be adaptable while remaining in sync at multiple locations, real-time syncing to analytics and be compliant with international privacy legislation. This paper describes the LogiqSuite software solution, aimed to support a precision medicine solution at the patient care (LogiqCare), research (LogiqScience) and data science (LogiqAnalytics) level.

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Objective: Although the efficacy of mepolizumab in reducing exacerbations and oral corticosteroid (OCS) use in severe asthma is well-established, real-world long-term effectiveness data are limited. This study evaluated the real-world impact of mepolizumab treatment in patients with severe asthma over a 4-year follow-up period.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with asthma initiating mepolizumab (index date: first claim, November 2015-September 2019) using the Merative MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Databases.

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Hexaanionic cyclophosphazenate ligands [(RN)PN] provide versatile platforms for the assembly of multinuclear metal arrays due to their multiple coordination sites and highly flexible ligand core structure. This work investigates the impact of incrementally increasing the steric demand of the ligand periphery on the coordination behavior of ethylzinc arrays. It shows that the increased congestion around the ligand sites is alleviated by progressive condensation with the elimination of diethylzinc.

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Introduction: While clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for pediatric oncology infection prophylaxis and management exist, few data describe actual management occurring at pediatric oncology centers.

Methods: An electronic survey querying infection management practices in nontransplant pediatric oncology patients was iteratively created by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Cancer Control and Supportive Care Infectious Diseases Subcommittee and sent to leaders at all COG institutions, limiting each site to one response to represent their institution.

Results: The response rate was 57% (129/227 institutions).

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In flow-through reactors, the photodegradation rate can be improved by enhancing contact and increasing the photocatalyst loading. Both can be attained with a higher surface-to-volume ratio. While previous studies focused on thin membranes (30 - 130 µm) with small pore sizes of 20 - 650 nm, this work employed poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) supports, of which pore sizes are in the order of 10 µm, while the porosities and thicknesses are variable (22.

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Childhood-onset antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) represents a heterogeneous group of multi-system autoimmune conditions associated with chronic inflammation, characteristically affecting small blood vessels, leading to various organ and system manifestations. Although rare in paediatric populations, AAV poses challenges in early recognition, diagnosis and management of refractory cases. This review highlights the characteristics of clinical presentation and outcomes of AAV in children, as well as its current classification and progress achieved in understanding the disease pathogenesis, with a focus on adult and paediatric genetic studies.

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The CDK4/6 inhibitor Ribociclib has shown limited efficacy as a monotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, combining Ribociclib with targeted therapies could present a viable strategy for treating CRC. This study evaluated the combination of Ribociclib and the PI3K inhibitor Alpelisib across four distinct cell lines representing different mutational statuses ( wild-type, -mutated, -mutated, and -mutated).

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Unlabelled: Crosstalk between autophagy, host cell death, and inflammatory host responses to bacterial pathogens enables effective innate immune responses that limit bacterial growth while minimizing coincidental host damage. ( ) thwarts innate immune defense mechanisms in alveolar macrophages (AMs) during the initial stages of infection and in recruited bone marrow-derived cells during later stages of infection. However, how protective inflammatory responses are achieved during infection and the variation of the response in different macrophage subtypes remain obscure.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 resulted in restrictions in didactic and clinical rotations while sites denied entry or limited numbers of nursing student placements to decrease impact staff nurse workload. Pandemic incidences of hospital-acquired infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) increased, underscoring the importance of increasing workforce-ready nurses.

Method: To increase the number of nursing students permitted into the hospital, hospital and school administrators devised the nurse assist program (NAP), which is a collaborative approach developed to address increased staff workloads and personnel shortages and facilitate student return to clinical settings.

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People in prison are at an increased risk of long-term conditions that have been associated with poor nutrition intake, low levels of physical activity, and obesity. We aim to identify the necessary components of nutrition education to impact the health and health behaviors of people in prison. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines informed the structure of this article.

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Individual differences in how the brain responds to novelty are present from infancy. A common method of studying novelty processing is through event-related potentials (ERPs). While ERPs possess millisecond precision, spatial resolution remains poor, especially in infancy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Purple tea contains bioactive compounds like caffeine, catechins, and a unique compound called GHG, which shows promise in helping manage obesity by potentially reducing BMI and body weight.
  • A systematic literature review was conducted, yielding 246 articles, with 173 retained, to examine the effects of GHG on obesity through mechanisms such as inhibiting fat absorption and preventing fat formation.
  • Current findings suggest that consuming purple tea extracts rich in GHG can lead to notable reductions in BMI and body weight, along with additional metabolic benefits, though further research is necessary to confirm optimal dosage and long-term effects.
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Linkers in chemical biology provide more than just connectivity between molecules; their intrinsic properties can be harnessed to enhance the stability and functionality of chemical probes. In this study, we explored the incorporation of a peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based linker into RNA-targeting probes to improve their affinity and specificity. By integrating a PNA linker into a small molecule probe of the Riboglow platform, we enabled dual binding events: cobalamin (Cbl)-RNA structure-based recognition and sequence-specific PNA-RNA interaction.

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Background: This commentary highlights the evolution of our understanding of physical function (PF) and key models/frameworks that have contributed to the current holistic understanding of PF, which encompasses not only a person's performance but also the environment and any adaptations an individual utilizes. This commentary also addresses how digital health tools can facilitate and complement the assessment of holistic PF and enable both objective and subjective input from the participant in their real-world environment. Lastly, we discuss how successful implementation of digital tools within clinical research requires patient input.

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This article updates the prior 2018 consensus statement by the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of depression, incorporating recent research and clinical developments. Publications on TMS and depression between September 2016 and April 2024 were identified using methods informed by PRISMA guidelines. The NNDC Neuromodulation Work Group met monthly between October 2022 and April 2024 to define important clinical topics and review pertinent literature.

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