Publications by authors named "McKenna A"

Background: Skin cancer prevention relies on effective sun safety practices. Previous studies have shown that LGBTQ+ individuals exhibit lower sunscreen use and higher tanning bed usage compared to their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. This study is the first to assess skin cancer risk factors, sun-protective behaviors, and skin cancer concerns among LGBTQ+ individuals across Canada.

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Objectives: To audit prospectively the accuracy, time saving and utility of a commercial artificial intelligence auto-contouring tool (AIAC). To assess the reallocation of time released by AIAC.

Methods: We audited the perceived usefulness (PU), clinical acceptability and reallocation of time during the introduction of a commercial AIAC.

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  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) for children aged 2-17 and quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) for others in Ireland over two flu seasons.
  • A test-negative case control methodology was used to compare vaccination status of individuals with confirmed influenza versus those without, analyzing data from primary care presentations for acute respiratory infections (ARI).
  • Results showed that vaccination significantly lowered the risk of influenza in both seasons, particularly for children, highlighting the importance of ongoing public health campaigns to promote influenza vaccination, especially for LAIV among children.
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Background: Dopaminergic antipsychotics for schizophrenia have modest effects on symptoms and can cause important side effects. KarXT is an investigational drug for schizophrenia with a novel mechanism targeting muscarinic receptors that may limit these side effects.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and Bayesian random-effects network meta-analyses of short-term RCTs (3-8 weeks) that enrolled adults with schizophrenia.

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  • Hematopoietic stem cells are influenced by their surrounding niche of endothelial and mesenchymal stromal cells in bone marrow, which plays a crucial role in leukemia development.
  • Researchers discovered that leukemic cells release a peptide called apelin, which causes changes in the niche cells that promote the progression of leukemia.
  • Blocking apelin in leukemic zebrafish showed a reduction in disease symptoms, suggesting that targeting apelin could be a promising new treatment approach for leukemia.
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Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry of dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from environmental samples provides molecular speciation that enables visualization of compositional trends in the fate and cycling of biogenic and anthropogenic organics. Often, chemical contamination is introduced during field sampling (i.e.

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  • Skin cancer rates in Canada are increasing rapidly, with 1 in 3 Canadians at risk, highlighting the urgent need for better understanding of risky sun exposure behaviors.* -
  • A study in Manitoba revealed significant deficiencies in sun protection habits, with over 65% of participants reporting sunburns and more than 50% having used tanning beds, coupled with misconceptions about tanning benefits.* -
  • The findings indicate a critical lack of awareness and protective actions among different demographic groups, underscoring the need for improved public health messaging to combat rising skin cancer rates.*
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  • - The management of hepatic adenoma in transgender individuals on hormone therapy is not clearly defined, particularly in relation to sex assigned at birth versus the therapy received.
  • - A case study is presented involving a transgender man who experienced hepatic adenomatosis with a molecular profile different from typical cases seen in cisgender males on testosterone.
  • - Discontinuing testosterone led to the self-resolution of the adenoma, suggesting the need for personalized treatment strategies in transgender patients, challenging the current norms based on biological sex.
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  • Bio-oils have many oxygenated hydrocarbons that are unstable during storage and refining, prompting this study to analyze hydroxyl groups and their aging behavior in different bio-oil fractions.
  • Five bio-oil fractions were created (water-soluble and water-insoluble) and were examined using advanced mass spectrometry and viscosity tests to understand their chemical properties and stability.
  • An unsupervised learning technique, k-means clustering, helped identify specific hydroxyl functionalities in the fractions, revealing that water-soluble fractions were more stable despite high oxygen content, while the water-insoluble fractions experienced increased viscosity as they aged.
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Nutrient pollution has become an important issue to solve in stormwater runoff due to the fast population growth and urbanization that impacts water quality and triggers harmful algal blooms. There is an acute need to link the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) decomposition with the coupled nitrification and denitrification pathways to realize the pattern shifts in the nitrogen cycle. This paper presented a lab-scale cascade upflow biofiltration system for comparison of nitrate and phosphate removal from stormwater matrices through two specialty adsorbents at three influent conditions.

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  • A 33-year-old woman was found unresponsive after taking what she believed were Valium pills, but tests revealed she had ingested sulfonylureas, leading to severe hypoglycemia.
  • Her blood glucose levels were critically low (15-18 mg/dL), and treatment required intravenous dextrose to stabilize her condition.
  • The case highlights the potential for sulfonylureas to cause hypoglycemia and the importance of recognizing drug substitution or contamination in patients suspected of using illicit drugs.
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In electrokinetic remediation (EKR), the sedimentary dissolved organic matter (DOM) could impede remediation by scavenging reactive species and generating unintended byproducts. Yet its transformation and mechanisms remained largely unknown. This study conducted molecular-level characterization of the water-extractable DOM (WEOM) in EKR using negative-ion electrospray ionization coupled to 21 tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (21 T FT-ICR MS).

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Background: Within influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies at primary care level with a laboratory-confirmed outcome, clinical case definitions for recruitment of patients can vary. We used the 2022-23 VEBIS primary care European multicentre study end-of-season data to evaluate whether the clinical case definition affected IVE estimates.

Methods: We estimated VE using a multicentre test-negative case-control design.

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. Photon-counting micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is a major advance in small animal preclinical imaging. Small molecule- and nanoparticle-based contrast agents have been widely used to enable the differentiation of liver tumors from surrounding tissues using photon-counting micro-CT.

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The comprehensive chemical characterization of crude oil is important for the evaluation of the transformation and fate of components in the environment. Molecular-level speciation of naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFCs) was investigated in a mesoscale spill tank using both negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI) Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) and positive-ion atmospheric pressure photoionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (APPI-FT-ICR-MS). Both ionization techniques are coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometric detectors (ESI: Orbitrap MS; APPI: FT-ICR-MS at 9.

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The presence of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in stormwater treatment processes is a continuous challenge because of the intertwined nature of its decomposition, bioavailability, and biodegradability and its unclear molecular characteristics. In this paper, 21 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) in combination with quantitative polymerase chain reaction was applied to elucidate the molecular change of DON and microbial population dynamics in a field-scale water filtration system filled with two specialty adsorbents for comparison in South Florida where the dry and wet seasons are distinctive annually. The adsorbents included CPS (clay-perlite and sand sorption media) and ZIPGEM (zero-valent iron and perlite-based green environmental media).

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Generating balanced populations of CD8 effector and memory T cells is necessary for immediate and durable immunity to infections and cancer. Yet, a definitive understanding of CD8 differentiation remains unclear. We used CARLIN, a processive lineage recording mouse model with single-cell RNA-seq and TCR-seq to track endogenous antigen-specific CD8 T cells during acute viral infection.

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BackgroundScarce European data in early 2021 suggested lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages than previous variants.AimWe aimed to estimate primary series (PS) and first booster VE against symptomatic BA.1/BA.

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Influenza A viruses circulated in Europe from September 2023 to January 2024, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 predominance. We provide interim 2023/24 influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) estimates from two European studies, covering 10 countries across primary care (EU-PC) and hospital (EU-H) settings. Interim IVE was higher against A(H1N1)pdm09 than A(H3N2): EU-PC influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 IVE was 53% (95% CI: 41 to 63) and 30% (95% CI: -3 to 54) against influenza A(H3N2).

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Global wildfire activity has increased since the 1970s and is projected to intensify throughout the 21st century. Wildfires change the composition and biodegradability of soil organic matter (SOM) which contains nutrients that fuel microbial metabolism. Though persistent forms of SOM often increase postfire, the response of more biodegradable SOM remains unclear.

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Mineral adsorption-induced molecular fractionation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) affects the composition of both DOM and OM adsorbed and thus stabilized by minerals. However, it remains unclear what mineral properties control the magnitude of DOM fractionation. Using a combined technique approach that leverages the molecular composition identified by ultrahigh resolution 21 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and adsorption isotherms, we catalogue the compositional differences that occur at the molecular level that results in fractionation due to adsorption of Suwannee River fulvic acid on aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) oxides and a phyllosilicate (allophane) species of contrasting properties.

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Photon-counting micro computed tomography (micro-CT) offers new potential in preclinical imaging, particularly in distinguishing materials. It becomes especially helpful when combined with contrast agents, enabling the differentiation of tumors from surrounding tissues. There are mainly two types of contrast agents in the market for micro-CT: small molecule-based and nanoparticle-based.

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