Publications by authors named "Merrill S"

The [4Fe-4S] cluster is an important cofactor of the base excision repair (BER) adenine DNA glycosylase MutY to prevent mutations associated with 8-oxoguanine (OG). Several MutYs lacking the [4Fe-4S] cofactor have been identified. Phylogenetic analysis shows that clusterless MutYs are distributed in two clades suggesting cofactor loss in two independent evolutionary events.

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Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

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Early Life Adversity (ELA) has been linked to accelerated epigenetic aging. While positive parenting is hypothesized to buffer the detrimental effects of ELA on child development, its role in mitigating epigenetic age acceleration remains unclear. Data from 2,039 children (49.

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Experiences of complex trauma and adversity, especially for children, are ongoing global crises necessitating adaptation. Bioadaptability to adversity and its health consequences emphasizes the dynamism of adaptation to trauma and the potential for research to inform intervention strategies. Epigenetic variability, particularly DNA methylation, associates with chronic adversity while allowing for resilience and adaptability.

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Saliva is a widely used sample in epigenetic research with children due to its non-invasive nature. Since DNA methylation (DNAm) profile is cell type (CT) specific, salivary DNAm associations with exposures may be influenced by CT compositions, which is highly variable in saliva as it contains immune and buccal epithelial cells (BEC). Reference-based CT deconvolution and statistically adjusting estimated CT in DNAm analyses have become an increasingly common practice.

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Fang et al. report a retrospective analysis of paediatric patients with haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) associated with autoimmune/autoinflammatory disorders treated with ruxolitinib. Responses were impressive and rapid, and ruxolitinib was well tolerated.

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Changing climate patterns will likely affect insect pressure on many agricultural crops. Mild winters may decrease the number of insects that experience reduced fecundity or that are killed during hard freezes. This may result in larger populations in subsequent years and allow for range expansion.

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This editorial introduces the 12 articles collected in this special issue on s. It frames the articles within current debates in the field of memory studies and social movement studies on the entanglements between memory work, on the one hand, and activism directed towards social transformation, on the other. In particular, it highlights the ways in which the memory of earlier activism is mobilised within later movements; in the process, it also identifies various forms of activist memory work where remembrance is an integral part of the activist repertoire and one of the means used to achieve political ends.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explored how early life adversity, specifically home threat, influences epigenetic age acceleration in adolescents through various sleep characteristics like duration, efficiency, and timing.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 861 participants at age 15, linking childhood home-threatening experiences to decreased sleep quality and patterns.
  • Results suggested that poor sleep mediated the connection between early home threat exposure and faster aging, highlighting the need for improved pediatric sleep health to mitigate the negative impact of early adversity.
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Calcium channels at synaptic boutons are critical for synaptic function, but their number and distribution are poorly understood. This gap in knowledge is primarily due to the resolution limits of fluorescence microscopy. In the last decade, the diffraction limit of light was surpassed, and fluorescent molecules can now be localized with nanometer precision.

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We examined whether prenatal exposure to two classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was associated with infant epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a DNA methylation biomarker of aging. Participants included 224 maternal-infant pairs from a Canadian pregnancy cohort study. Two bisphenols and 12 phthalate metabolites were measured in maternal second trimester urines.

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Early-life adversity increases the risk of health problems. Interventions supporting protective and responsive caregiving offer a promising approach to attenuating adversity-induced changes in stress-sensitive biomarkers. This study tested whether participation in an evidence-based dyadic psychosocial intervention, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), was related to lower epigenetic age acceleration, a trauma-sensitive biomarker of accelerated biological aging that is associated with later health impairment, in a sample of children with trauma histories.

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The 2018 African swine fever (ASF) outbreak highlighted the importance of biosecurity in food production systems. Despite the significant economic impacts, the sociopsychological consequences on decision-making have been overlooked. Previous studies have focused on algebraic models and simulation-based models without considering the complex psychological and social factors that influence farmers' biosecurity behaviors and decision-making processes.

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Importance: Children with developmental delays are at a heightened risk of experiencing mental health challenges, and this risk is exacerbated among racially minoritized children who face disproportionate adversity. Understanding the impact of parenting interventions on biological markers associated with these risks is crucial for mitigating long-term health disparities.

Objective: To examine the effect of 20 weeks of an internet-based parent-child interaction training (iPCIT) program on biomarkers associated with aging and chronic inflammation among preschoolers with developmental delay at 12-month follow-up.

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Objective: To examine longitudinal associations between early life threat and deprivation on epigenetic age acceleration at ages 9 and 15 years, and to examine associations of age acceleration on later internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Method: The study examines a large (n = 2,039) and racially diverse (Black/African American = 44%, Latino = 18%, White = 5%) sample from a national dataset. Epigenetic age acceleration was estimated using the pediatric buccal epigenetic clock.

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Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an alternative treatment of IgE-mediated food allergy that has been shown to increase tolerance threshold to many of the top food allergens, although this effect may be dependent on age, dose, frequency, and duration. OIT has been shown to be effective and safe in infants, and early initiation can improve rates of desensitization even for those foods whose natural history favors loss of allergy. Studies looking at protocol modification to improve OIT success are ongoing as is the evaluation of clinical tools to help monitor OIT effects.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how sex, genetics, and pesticide exposure impact the risk of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD), emphasizing that these factors together may influence epigenetic changes associated with PD.
  • Analyzing blood DNA methylation patterns in agricultural workers, the research found significantly more associations in females compared to males, highlighting 69 regions in females versus only 2 in males.
  • The study suggests that genetic factors and their interaction with pesticide exposure play important roles in explaining differences in DNA methylation related to PD, indicating a need for further research with larger populations and better exposure measurements.
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Background: Providing optimal care for patients with bleeding disorders according to national standards remains a challenge at designated Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs). Improved care may reduce bleeds and costs.

Objectives: To improve care and demonstrate cost savings by 1) reducing preventable hospitalizations and emergency room visits (PHER) for bleeding, 2) increasing use of prophylaxis in severe hemophilia, and 3) improving patient-HTC communication and primary care engagement.

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Array tomography (AT) allows one to localize sub-cellular components within the structural context of cells in 3D through the imaging of serial sections. Using this technique, the z-resolution can be improved physically by cutting ultra-thin sections. Nevertheless, conventional immunofluorescence staining of those sections is time consuming and requires relatively large amounts of costly antibody solutions.

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Animal disease outbreaks, such as the recent outbreak of African Swine Fever in 2018, are a major concern for stakeholders across the food supply chain due to their potential to disrupt global food security, cause economic losses, and threaten animal welfare. As a result of their transboundary nature, discussions have shifted to preventive measures aimed at protecting livestock while ensuring food security and safety. Emergency assistance has been a critical response option during pandemics.

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Base excision repair (BER) enzymes are genomic superheroes that stealthily and accurately identify and remove chemically modified DNA bases. DNA base modifications erode the informational content of DNA and underlie many disease phenotypes, most conspicuously, cancer. The "OG" of oxidative base damage, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG), is particularly insidious due to its miscoding ability that leads to the formation of rare, pro-mutagenic OG:A mismatches.

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Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a common plasticizer that can affect immune system development and susceptibility to infection. Aging processes (measured as epigenetic age acceleration (EAA)) may mediate the immune-related effects of prenatal exposure to DEHP. This study's objective was to examine associations between prenatal DEHP exposure, EAA at three months of age, and the number of upper respiratory infections (URIs) from 12 to 18 months of age using a sample of 69 maternal-child pairs from a Canadian pregnancy cohort.

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Objective: To determine if a discrepancy exists in the number and type of cases logged between female and male urology residents.

Materials And Methods: ACGME case log data from 13 urology residency programs was collected from 2007 to 2020. The number and type of cases for each resident were recorded and correlated with resident gender and year of graduation.

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