Publications by authors named "Neal L"

Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) are a major complication of diabetes, with treatment requiring offloading. This study aimed to capture how the accelerometer-assessed physical activity profile differs in those with DFUs compared to those with diabetes but without ulceration (non-DFU). Participants were requested to wear an accelerometer on their non-dominant wrist for up to 8days.

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Learning requires the ability to link actions to outcomes. How motivation facilitates learning is not well understood. We designed a behavioral task in which mice self-initiate trials to learn cue-reward contingencies and found that the anterior cingulate region of the prefrontal cortex (ACC) contains motivation-related signals to maximize rewards.

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Background: We present a checklist of annelids from recent United Kingdom Seabed Resources (UKSR) expeditions (Abyssal Baseline - ABYSSLINE project) to the eastern abyssal Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) polymetallic nodule fields, based on DNA species delimitation, including imagery of voucher specimens, Darwin Core (DwC) data and links to vouchered specimen material and new GenBank sequence records. This paper includes genetic and imagery data for 129 species of annelids from 339 records and is restricted to material that is, in general, in too poor a condition to describe formally at this time, but likely contains many species new to science. We make these data available both to aid future taxonomic studies in the CCZ that will be able to link back to these genetic data and specimens and to better underpin ongoing ecological studies of potential deep-sea mining impacts using the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusuable) data and specimens that will be available for all.

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Learning requires the ability to link actions to outcomes. How motivation facilitates learning is not well understood. We designed a behavioral task in which mice self-initiate trials to learn cue-reward contingencies and found that the anterior cingulate region of the prefrontal cortex (ACC) contains motivation-related signals to maximize rewards.

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The DNA taxonomy of six species of the annelid family Lumbrineridae collected from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Central Pacific, an area of potential mining interest for polymetallic nodules, is presented. Lumbrinerids are an ecologically important and understudied annelid family within the deep sea, with many species still undescribed. This study aims to document the taxonomy and biodiversity of the CCZ using specimens collected from the UK-1, OMS, and NORI-D exploration contract areas and Areas of Particular Environmental Interest.

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IL-17-producing antigen-specific human T cells elicit potent antitumor activity in mice. Yet, refinement of this approach is needed to position it for clinical use. While activation signal strength regulates IL-17 production by CD4 T cells, the degree to which T cell antigen receptor (TCR) and costimulation signal strength influences Th17 immunity remains unknown.

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This is a contribution in a series of taxonomic publications on benthic fauna of polymetallic nodule fields in the eastern abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The material was collected during environmental surveys targeting exploration contract areas 'UK-1', 'OMS' and 'NORI-D', as well as an Area of Particular Environmental Interest, 'APEI-6'. The annelid families Amphinomidae and Euphrosinidae are investigated here.

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Female mosquitoes impose a severe global public health burden as vectors of multiple viral pathogens. Under optimal environmental conditions, females have access to human hosts that provide blood proteins for egg development, conspecific males that provide sperm for fertilization, and freshwater that serves as an egg-laying substrate suitable for offspring survival. As global temperatures rise, females are faced with climate challenges like intense droughts and intermittent precipitation, which create unpredictable, suboptimal conditions for egg-laying.

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Recent epidemiological research has found food insecurity to be a growing public health concern among college students. This study investigated food insecurity, mental health, and substance use behaviors among state university undergraduate students. Cross-sectional survey.

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Difficulty controlling anger is a significant concern among combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet few controlled studies have examined the efficacy of anger treatments for this population. This study examined the effects of a group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention compared with a group present-centered therapy (PCT) control condition in male and female combat veterans with PTSD. Thirty-six combat veterans with PTSD and anger difficulties began group treatment (CBT, = 19; PCT, = 17).

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Objective: We sought to explore the technical and legal readiness of healthcare institutions for novel data-sharing methods that allow clinical information to be extracted from electronic health records (EHRs) and submitted securely to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) blockchain through a secure data broker (SDB).

Materials And Methods: This assessment was divided into four sections: an institutional EHR readiness assessment, legal consultation, institutional review board application submission, and a test of healthcare data transmission over a blockchain infrastructure.

Results: All participating institutions reported the ability to electronically extract data from EHRs for research.

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In this paper, we proposed a multi-method modeling approach to community-level spreading of COVID-19 disease. Our methodology was composed of interconnected age-stratified system dynamics models in an agent-based modeling framework that allowed for a granular examination of the scale and severity of disease spread, including metrics such as infection cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and ICU usage. Model parameters were calibrated using an optimization technique with an objective function to minimize error associated with the cumulative cases of COVID-19 during a training period between March 15 and October 31, 2020.

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Objective: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of collecting risk factor information and accessing digitized mammographic data in a medically marginalized population. A secondary aim was to examine the association between vitamin D status and mammographic density.

Methods: Breast-screening examinations were provided for age-appropriate patients, and a referral for no-cost screening mammography was offered.

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Article Synopsis
  • The neuroscience community is focusing on improving the replicability of research linking brain activity to cognitive functions by conducting well-designed studies with high statistical power.
  • A new initiative called #EEGManyLabs has been launched to replicate key findings in electroencephalography (EEG) research by testing 20 influential studies across multiple independent labs.
  • The project aims to enhance confidence in EEG results, create a comprehensive open-access database for future research, and foster a collaborative research culture among EEG scientists.
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Background: Deep sternal wound infections are a financially costly complication of cardiac surgery with serious implications for patient morbidity and mortality. Prophylactic antimicrobials have been shown to reduce the incidence of infection significantly. In 2018, the European Association for CardioThoracic Surgery (EACTS) provided clear guidance advising that third-generation cephalosporins are the first-line prophylactic antimicrobial of choice for cardiac surgery via median sternotomy as a result of their broad spectrum of activity and association with reduced postoperative mortality.

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Styrene is an important commodity chemical that is highly energy and CO intensive to produce. We report a redox oxidative dehydrogenation (redox-ODH) strategy to efficiently produce styrene. Facilitated by a multifunctional (Ca/Mn)O@KFeO core-shell redox catalyst which acts as (i) a heterogeneous catalyst, (ii) an oxygen separation agent, and (iii) a selective hydrogen combustion material, redox-ODH auto-thermally converts ethylbenzene to styrene with up to 97% single-pass conversion and >94% selectivity.

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Article Synopsis
  • Three future scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP6.0, RCP8.5) predict changes in air quality in the UK for the 2050s, showing increases in ozone levels due to reduced nitrogen oxide emissions, while nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter concentrations are expected to decrease.
  • Long-term exposure to increasing ozone levels correlates with higher mortality rates, while reductions in nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter lead to decreased health risks across all scenarios.
  • The overall health impacts, influenced by population growth projections, indicate a significant increase in ozone-related mortality burdens but mixed effects for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of future emissions and demographics.
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Vitamin D deficiency and high breast density may be associated with increased breast cancer risk. We examined a possible association between vitamin D levels and mammographic breast density in a population of Alaskan women. Patients seen in the Mayo Clinic-Alaska Native Medical Center telemedicine program from December 2014 to December 2017 were enrolled in the study.

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Endocrine therapy is underutilized to reduce breast cancer incidence among women at increased risk. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) assessing 77 breast cancer genetic susceptibility loci personalizes risk estimates. We examined effect of personalized PRS breast cancer risk prediction on intention to take and endocrine therapy uptake among women at increased risk.

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Sex-specific synaptic connectivity is beginning to emerge as a remarkable, but little explored feature of animal brains. We describe here a novel mechanism that promotes sexually dimorphic neuronal function and synaptic connectivity in the nervous system of the nematode . We demonstrate that a phylogenetically conserved, but previously uncharacterized Doublesex/Mab-3 related transcription factor (DMRT), , is expressed in two classes of sex-shared phasmid neurons specifically in hermaphrodites but not in males.

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Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) is the major cause of infection-related neurological death, typically seen in immunocompromised patients. However, T cell-driven inflammatory response has been increasingly implicated in lethal central nervous system (CNS) immunopathology in human patients and murine models. Here, we report marked up-regulation of the chemokine receptor CXCR3 axis in human patients and mice with CM.

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Benthic environmental impact assessments and monitoring programs accompanying offshore hydrocarbon industry activities result in large collections of benthic organisms. Such collections offer great potential for systematics, biodiversity and biogeography research, but these opportunities are only rarely realised. In recent decades, the hydrocarbon industry has started exploration activities in offshore waters off the Falkland Islands.

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Purpose: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of genetic testing criteria for the detection of germline pathogenic variants in women with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Women with breast cancer enrolled in a breast cancer registry at a tertiary cancer center between 2000 and 2016 were evaluated for germline pathogenic variants in 9 breast cancer predisposition genes (, and ). The performance of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) hereditary cancer testing criteria was evaluated relative to testing of all women as recommended by the American Society of Breast Surgeons.

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