Publications by authors named "McKenna N"

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Nurses and nursing students are in an optimum role to assess, manage and promote lifestyle changes associated with CVD risk. Patients and service users are more likely to adopt these changes if the person delivering the information embodies this lifestyle themselves.

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Internationally, there has been a decline in the use of juvenile legal facilities (Puzzanchera et al., 2022). Yet, it is well documented that the process of reentering the community following placement in these settings presents numerous challenges for young people.

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Macrophages play a pivotal role in clearing debris and microbes from the microenvironment via phagocytosis and orchestrating local inflammation. While mostly understood to be through the synthesis and secretion of soluble mediators such as cytokines and eicosanoids, it has been recently proposed that macrophages can release previously phagocytosed and processed PAMPs and DAMPs into the local microenvironment via a process termed eructophagy, and that these, in turn, can activate recently vicinal leukocytes. Additionally, it has been commonly observed that local macrophages physically interact with other leukocytes, such as neutrophils and T cells, recruited to sites of inflammation.

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Adaptive immunity is critical in eliminating tumors, but cancer-intrinsic factors can subvert this function. Melanoma antigen-A4 (MAGE-A4), a cancer-testis antigen, is expressed in solid tumors and correlates with poor survival, but its role in tumorigenesis and antitumor immunity remains unclear. We found that expression of MAGE-A4 was highly associated with the loss of , a tumor suppressor, in human non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).

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Importance: Tumor deposits have prognostic value in colon cancer, but the current American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging only considers them if there are no concurrent positive lymph nodes.

Objective: To devise a staging system for colon cancer by integrating counts of tumor deposits with positive lymph nodes while retaining the current AJCC staging framework.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study examines data from a large-volume, tertiary care center database (January 2010 through March 2023 with follow-up until December 2023) and the population-based National Cancer Database (January 2010 through December 2020 with follow-up until December 2021).

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Background: The incidence of rectal cancer has decreased overall, but the incidence of early-onset rectal cancer (eoRC) has increased. Early-onset rectal cancer and late-onset rectal cancer (loRC) differ due to phenotypical, genetic characteristics, and higher stage presentations in eoRC. Thus, eoRC patients undergo more aggressive neoadjuvant treatments.

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Brevetoxins are a type of neurotoxin produced in red tide blooms. Northern quahogs () are extensively used in commercial aquaculture farming, and early-stage metabolomics studies can provide early warnings of brevetoxins for farmers. In this study, NMR-based metabolomics was performed to investigate the response of clam gills and digestive glands under a series of sublethal doses of brevetoxins.

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Anal Melanoma (AM) is a rare and aggressive disease lacking standardized treatment protocols. Despite advancements in medical oncology, the 5-year overall survival (OS) remains at 20%. Local surgery (LS) has gained popularity over radical surgery (RS) due to its comparable OS when negative margins are achieved.

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Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) generate protective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against extracellular pathogens and tumors. This is achieved through a process known as cross-presentation (XP), and, despite its biological importance, the mechanism(s) driving XP remains unclear. Here, we show that a cDC-specific pore-forming protein called apolipoprotein L 7C (APOL7C) is up-regulated in response to innate immune stimuli and is recruited to phagosomes.

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Introduction: Ileocolonic anastomoses have a low anastomotic leak (AL) risk, resulting in infrequent diverting loop ileostomy use. Identifying patients who warrant diverting loop ileostomy with right-sided resection is challenging due to this low incidence of AL. Therefore, a multicenter database was used to develop an AL risk score to help inform when diversion should be strongly considered after right-sided resections.

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Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of MIS approaches for rectal cancer with long-term postoperative bowel dysfunction.

Materials And Methods: This was an Institutional Review Board-approved observational cohort study including consecutive patients with rectal or rectosigmoid cancer who underwent surgical resection between 2007 and 2017. The primary exposure was surgical approach, defined as open surgery or MIS (laparoscopy or robotic surgery).

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Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is an autoimmune-driven connective tissue disorder that results in fibrosis of the skin and internal organs such as the lung. Fibroblasts are known as the main effector cells involved in the progression of SSc through the induction of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and myofibroblast differentiation. Here, we demonstrate that 4'-(cyclopropylmethyl)-N2-4-pyridinyl-[4,5'-bipyrimidine]-2,2'-diamine (PIK-III), known as class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3C3/VPS34) inhibitor, exerts potent antifibrotic effects in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) by attenuating transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced ECM expression, cell contraction and myofibroblast differentiation.

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Introduction: Penetrating Crohn's disease (CD) often necessitates surgical intervention, with the open approach traditionally favored. Robotic-assisted surgery offers potential benefits but remains understudied in this complex patient population. Additionally, the lack of standardized surgical complexity scoring in CD hinders research and comparisons.

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Adaptive immunity is critical to eliminate malignant cells, while multiple tumor-intrinsic factors can alter this protective function. Melanoma antigen-A4 (MAGE-A4), a cancer-testis antigen, is expressed in several solid tumors and correlates with poor survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its role in altering antitumor immunity remains unclear. We found that expression of MAGE-A4 was highly associated with the loss of , a tumor suppressor, in human NSCLC.

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Background: There has been concern among colon and rectal surgery residency programs in the United States that IPAA procedures have been decreasing, but evidence is limited.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the number of IPAAs performed by colon and rectal surgery residents in the United States and analyze the distribution of these cases on a national level.

Design: Retrospective.

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Postoperative bowel dysfunction following restorative proctectomy, commonly referred to as Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS), is a common long term sequela of rectal cancer treatment. While many of the established risk factors for LARS are non-modifiable, others may be well within the surgeon's control. Several pre-, intra-, and postoperative decisions may have a significant impact on postoperative bowel function.

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The aim was to determine whether on-call case volumes differ amongst colorectal surgeons, and what cases are performed on-call in an academic colorectal surgery practice. The on-call schedule for the year 2021 of a colorectal surgery practice was analyzed. Details of the case origin and operative details were collected.

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Raspberry ketone (RK) is a product of the phenylpropanoid pathway in a variety of plants and is the second most expensive natural flavouring in the world. It is also widely used as a nutritional supplement due to its reported ability to promote lipolysis and fat oxidation in vivo. We have evaluated the thermodynamics of RK using the correlation consistent ccCA-CBS-2 approach which afforded calculation of (inter alia) the enthalpy of formation.

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Analysis of lung alveolar type 2 (AT2) progenitor stem cells has highlighted fundamental mechanisms that direct their differentiation into alveolar type 1 cells (AT1s) in lung repair and disease. However, microRNA (miRNA) mediated post-transcriptional mechanisms which govern this nexus remain understudied. We show here that the miRNA family serves a homeostatic role in governance of AT2 quiescence, specifically by preventing the uncontrolled accumulation of AT2 transitional cells and by promoting AT1 differentiation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chronic thermogenic activation in brown adipose tissue (BAT) affects energy balance and could be crucial for obesity and diabetes treatment, leading researchers to explore how this process modifies DNA and histones.
  • Using innovative proteomic techniques, researchers analyzed the effects of different chronic cold exposures on epigenetic changes in BAT, revealing significant changes in DNA methylation and histone modifications.
  • The study demonstrates how varying cold stimuli regulate transcriptional signals in BAT, while also introducing a new method to quantitatively assess histone modifications, advancing the understanding of thermogenic responses.
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Background: Operative options for duodenal Crohn's disease include bypass, stricturoplasty, or resection. What factors are associated with operation selection and whether differences exist in outcomes is unknown.

Methods: Patients with duodenal Crohn's disease requiring operative intervention across a multi-state health system were identified.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global healthcare systems, notably delaying surgical treatments for colorectal cancer (CRC) in the US, as shown by a study analyzing the National Cancer Database.
  • The study found that surgical cases decreased by 17.3% in 2020, with patients undergoing surgery that year having more advanced cancer stages compared to those in 2019, indicating worse outcomes for marginalized populations, including Black patients and those with low incomes.
  • These findings highlight the need for comprehensive analysis of the long-term effects of the pandemic on cancer care, underscoring the ongoing disparities and challenges in treatment access.
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