Publications by authors named "Meek S"

Article Synopsis
  • The exocyst is a key protein complex that helps with the process of exocytosis by linking secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane and coordinating various proteins involved in cell trafficking.
  • Despite known structural details, its complex and adaptable roles make understanding its full function challenging.
  • The review discusses current and potential future experimental methods to study the exocyst, ranging from isolated lab experiments to real-time imaging in living cells, to better understand its dynamics and functions in a natural context.
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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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Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of using intravenous insulin infusion (IVII) therapy for managing hyperglycemia in a non-intensive care unit (ICU) versus an ICU setting.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on patients who received IVII for hyperglycemia. The analysis compared variables associated with hypoglycemic events while on IVII, and point-of-care blood glucose control and insulin regimens at discharge.

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  • The p75NTR neurotrophin receptor plays both helpful and harmful roles in nerve cell survival, but studying its effects has been complicated by the presence of different forms in mouse models.* -
  • Researchers created a mutant rat that completely lacks the p75NTR protein using advanced genetic techniques, allowing for a clearer understanding of its function.* -
  • These p75NTR-deficient rats are healthy and show no major brain structure changes, indicating that p75NTR is not essential for normal growth, but they offer a valuable model for exploring p75NTR's role in injury and repair processes.*
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  • Recent evidence challenges the previous belief that MeCP2 contributes to heterochromatin formation through liquid-liquid phase separation.
  • Studies show that MeCP2 localization occurs independently of heterochromatin organization, as MeCP2 foci remain intact even when heterochromatin is disrupted.
  • The research also indicates that animal models, especially mice, are not typical, as most mammals, including humans, show a diffuse distribution of MeCP2, which is influenced mainly by global DNA methylation rather than the formation of condensates.
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This study explores the factors associated with passenger satisfaction on the UK railways. To uncover taste variation, the data was segmented into three homogeneous groups of passengers through a latent class ordered logit model, whereby the class allocation was based on observed personal and trip characteristics. The findings suggest that there is significant variation in the impact of service attributes on overall satisfaction across the segments, 'class a', 'class b' and 'class c'.

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A practical method for the preparation of quaternary and tertiary allyl-substituted heteroarenes by site-selective couplings of heteroaryl nitriles and allylic nucleophiles is disclosed. Transformations utilize readily accessible stable reagents, proceed in the presence of a Lewis base activator, and undergo aryl-C(sp ) quaternary and tertiary carbon formation with high γ-selectivity (up to >98 : 2 γ : α).

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Background: The majority of post-neonatal deaths in children under 5 are due to malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia (MDP). The WHO recommends integrated community case management (iCCM) of these conditions using community-based health workers (CHW). However iCCM programmes have suffered from poor implementation and mixed outcomes.

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The inSCALE cluster randomised controlled trial in Uganda evaluated two interventions, mHealth and Village Health Clubs (VHCs) which aimed to improve Community Health Worker (CHW) treatment for malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia within the national Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) programme. The interventions were compared with standard care in a control arm. In a cluster randomised trial, 39 sub-counties in Midwest Uganda, covering 3167 CHWs, were randomly allocated to mHealth; VHC or usual care (control) arms.

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Animals adjust their leg stiffness and stride angle in response to changing ground conditions and gait parameters, resulting in improved stability and reduced energy consumption. This paper presents an online learning algorithm that attempts to mimic such animal behavior by maximizing energy efficiency on the fly or equivalently, minimizing the cost of transport of legged robots by adaptively changing the leg stiffness and stride angle while the robot is traversing on grounds with unknown characteristics. The algorithm employs an approximate stochastic gradient method to change the parameters in real-time, and has the following advantages: (1) the algorithm is computationally efficient and suitable for real-time operation; (2) it does not require training; (3) it is model-free, implying that precise modeling of the robot is not required for good performance; and (4) the algorithm is generally applicable and can be easily incorporated into a variety of legged robots with adaptable parameters and gaits beyond those implemented in this paper.

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Purpose: Young age at breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and family history of BC are strongly associated with high prevalence of pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. There is limited evidence for such associations with moderate/high penetrance BC-risk genes such as ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2.

Methods: We analyzed multi-gene panel testing results (09/2013-12/2019) for women unaffected by any cancer (N = 371,594) and those affected with BC (N = 130,151) ascertained for suspicion of hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer.

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Objectives: Hyperglycemia and increased preoperative hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are associated with perioperative morbidity and death. For nonurgent operations, adequate glycemic control before surgery is recommended. Our surgical practice needed a process for preoperative diabetes mellitus (DM) diagnosis and glycemic optimization.

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A practical method for the efficient and enantioselective preparation of versatile ketones and aldehydes that contain an α-quaternary stereocenter is described. Reactions utilize simple carboxylic acid or ester starting materials, a monodentate chiral phosphine, and afford a variety of aryl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and alkyl-substituted ketone and aldehyde products in 25-94 % yield and 90 : 10 to >99 : 1 enantiomeric ratio. Reactions proceed by acyl substitution with in situ formed chiral allylic nucleophiles, and display selectivity and conversion dependence on a protic additive.

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Objective: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and hyperglycemia require frequent glucose monitoring, usually performed with glucometers. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are common in the outpatient setting but not yet approved for hospital use. We evaluated CGM accuracy, safety for insulin dosing, and CGM clinical reliability in 20 adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and hyperglycemia.

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Nearly half of the adult population in the United States has been diagnosed with hypertension. Adrenal hormonal hypersecretion is a leading cause of secondary hypertension. Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) may assist in differentiating between unilateral and bilateral adrenal hormonal hypersecretion to identify patients who are candidates for adrenalectomy.

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The enantioselective synthesis of bis-homoallylic alcohols through nickel-catalyzed three-component fragment couplings of simple aldehydes, dienes, and aryl organoborons is disclosed. The reactions proceed through diene dicarbofunctionalization that concurrently forms two C-C bonds and two stereogenic centers. The transformations are promoted by a 5.

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Article Synopsis
  • The EndoPredict assay, previously validated for post-menopausal women with ER+, HER2- breast cancer, was tested for its effectiveness in predicting outcomes in pre-menopausal women with the same cancer type.
  • A study involving 385 pre-menopausal women found that both the EP molecular score and the EPclin score were significant predictors of distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS) over a 9.7-year follow-up, with low-risk patients showing much better survival rates.
  • These results suggest that pre-menopausal women classified as low-risk by the EPclin score can safely be treated with endocrine therapy alone, potentially avoiding the need for chemotherapy.
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Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease caused by affected individuals' autoimmune response to their own pancreatic beta-cell. It affects millions of people worldwide. Exercise has numerous health and social benefits for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus; however, careful management of blood glucose is crucial to minimize the risk of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.

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The 46-gene Prolaris cell cycle progression test provides information on the risk of prostate cancer progression. Here we developed and validated a 16-gene kit-based version. RNA was extracted from prostate cancer biopsy tissue.

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In this paper we present a method for control and stabilizing a pacing quadruped robot using state feedback switching. In the pacing gait, a quadruped cycles between the left and right pairs of legs to achieve locomotion. This results in two discrete stance configurations, each being unstable.

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Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of integrating a hereditary cancer risk assessment (HCRA) process in the community urology practice setting for patients with prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: In this prospective intervention, an HCRA process was implemented across six different community urology clinics between May 2019 and April 2020. The intervention included a process integration during which the workflow at each site was refined, a post-integration period during which HCRA was conducted in all patients with PCa, and a follow-up period during which healthcare providers and patients reported their satisfaction with the HCRA and genetic testing process.

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  • Infectious diseases in farmed and wild animals threaten food security and human health, highlighting the importance of understanding how macrophages interact with pathogens for better disease management.* -
  • Researchers demonstrated that porcine pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages (PSCdMs) can be cultured in the lab, showing key characteristics of natural macrophages and being susceptible to significant pig pathogens like PRRSV and ASFV.* -
  • The ability to genetically modify these PSCs and PSCdMs opens new avenues for studying macrophage biology and host-pathogen dynamics, offering a promising and ethical platform for research in livestock health.*
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Complex and rapidly evolving work contexts augment industry calls for future-capable graduates that can demonstrate enterprise capabilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and value creation. Gaps between employers' expectations and evaluations of higher education (HE) graduates' enterprise capabilities continue to drive university curriculum renewal. There is a particular focus on work-integrated learning (WIL), a spectrum of industry-student engagement activities which provide valuable opportunities for developing and applying skills and knowledge, including enterprise capabilities.

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The importance of integrative biobehavioral responses to complex challenges cannot be overlooked. In this study, the synergetic effects of icariin (a flavonoid present in the plant Epimedium brevicornum), natural enrichment (NaEn), and play behavior were investigated. Rats (n = 60) were assigned to standard housing or NaEn; these two groups were subsequently divided into controls, rats receiving icariin treatments, and rats receiving icariin and allowed to play with an individual from another cage.

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Purpose: Breast cancer risks for and pathogenic variant (PV) carriers are modified by an 86-single nucleotide polymorphism polygenic risk score (PRS) and individual clinical factors. Here, we describe comprehensive risk prediction models for women of European ancestry combining PV status, PRS, and individual clinical variables.

Materials And Methods: This study included deidentified clinical records from 358,095 women of European ancestry who received testing with a multigene panel (September 2013 to November 2019).

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