Publications by authors named "Nicholas G"

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the utility of ultrasound (US) imaging for diagnosis of abnormal tracheal morphology, such as tracheal cartilaginous sleeves (TCS), in patients with syndromic craniosynostosis (SC).

Study Design: Age-matched cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary pediatric hospital.

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Article Synopsis
  • * This contributes to the hospital crisis, causing issues like overcrowded emergency departments and reduced capacity for elective surgeries.
  • * The authors suggest improving care by focusing on detailed goal discussions and shared decision-making about treatment, which could better empower patients and improve healthcare outcomes.
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Purpose: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) prophylaxis is required by provincial and national drug monographs during glioma treatment using temozolomide (TMZ) concurrently with radiation (TMZ-RT). However, real-world data suggest the potential benefits of PJP prophylaxis may not outweigh its potential harms in this population.

Methods: We conducted a single-center patient survey and a national physician survey to explore the role of PJP prophylaxis amongst glioma patients undergoing TMZ-RT.

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Background: Land snails are considered a delicacy in many countries in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. However, the interaction of microbial pathogens with land snails may present a public health threat when handling and/or consuming snails. This study examines the survival of in edible land snails in a model system.

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Background: Standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma includes surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy (TMZ/RT→TMZ). The proteasome has long been considered a promising therapeutic target because of its role as a central biological hub in tumor cells. Marizomib is a novel pan-proteasome inhibitor that crosses the blood-brain barrier.

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Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has shown promise in capturing primary resistance to immunotherapy. BR.36 is a multi-center, randomized, ctDNA-directed, phase 2 trial of molecular response-adaptive immuno-chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report intermediate-term outcomes following carpal tunnel release using ultrasound guidance and wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet, including a subset of patients with preoperative and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: In this observational study, patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were treated with carpal tunnel release using ultrasound guidance and wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet in a procedure room at a single center. Main outcomes were complications; return to activity and work at 2 weeks; Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand and Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire scores through 6 months; and postoperative morphological changes of the transverse carpal ligament, median nerve, and carpal tunnel evaluated using MRI.

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The ethics of the scientific study of Ancestors has long been debated by archaeologists, bioanthropologists, and, more recently, ancient DNA (aDNA) researchers. This article responds to the article "Ethics of DNA research on human remains: five globally applicable guidelines" published in 2021 in by a large group of aDNA researchers and collaborators. We argue that these guidelines do not sufficiently consider the interests of community stakeholders, including descendant communities and communities with potential, but yet unestablished, ties to Ancestors.

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Ultrasonography is gaining popularity as a diagnostic imaging modality for airway pathology. Tracheal ultrasound (US) has several nuances that are important for clinicians, including imaging artifacts, which can be mistaken for pathology. Tracheal mirror image artifacts (TMIAs) occur when the US beam is reflected back to the transducer in a nonliner direction or with multiple timesteps.

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When irradiated with blue light in the presence of a Lewis base (L), [CpW(CO)] undergoes metal-metal bond cleavage followed by a disproportionation reaction to form [CpW(CO)L] and [CpW(CO)]. Here, we show that in the presence of pyridinium tetrafluoroborate, [CpW(CO)] reacts further to form a metal hydride complex CpW(CO)H. The rection was monitored through photo H NMR spectroscopy experiments and the mechanism of light-driven hydride formation was investigated by determining quantum yields of formation.

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Background: Snail meat is an important source of nutrition in Cameroon, but the food safety risks are poorly understood. We characterized public health risks from snail meat consumption as a social system in Cameroon, by examining local snail practices that expose snail meat handlers and consumers to foodborne pathogens.

Methods: We used exploratory qualitative approaches, that is, lived experience, face-to-face in-depth interviews, participant observation and a focus group, to explore fifteen key informants' routines and lived experiences, and perceptions of two health officials on the food safety practices around snail meat consumption in Cameroon.

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In tropical countries, land snails are an important food source; however, foodborne disease risks are poorly quantified. We detected Campylobacter spp., Yersinia spp.

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The African American population of Buffalo, New York experiences striking race-based health disparities due to adverse social determinants of health. A team of community leaders and university faculty determined that a community dialogue was needed to focus research and advocacy on the root causes of these disparities. In response, we organized the annual conference series that has become the premier conference on health disparities in the region.

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Purpose: Antitumor activity in preclinical models and a phase I study of patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DD-LPS) was observed with selinexor. We evaluated the clinical benefit of selinexor in patients with previously treated DD-LPS whose sarcoma progressed on approved agents.

Methods: SEAL was a phase II-III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Autonomous experimentation systems utilize algorithms and past data to intelligently select and conduct new experiments to achieve specific goals, particularly in experimental chemistry where data can be scarce and costly to obtain.
  • Active learning methods focus on choosing experiments based on machine learning predictions and uncertainties, while meta-learning techniques aim to quickly adapt models to new tasks with limited data.
  • This study applied the MAML and PLATIPUS approaches to investigate halide perovskite growth, using a dataset of 1870 reactions to optimize the use of historical data in predicting successful reaction compositions, with PLATIPUS outperforming other algorithms in experiments.
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Aim: Conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of systemic therapies for adult recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM).

Methods: We electronically searched for randomized controlled trials from three major databases and four conferences from 2009-Dec 2020. Two independent reviewers conducted screening, data extraction, and quality assessment.

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Background: Understudied elderly patients comprise a large segment of high-risk patients with glioblastoma (GBM) that are challenging to treat. Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) is a locoregional, noninvasive, antimitotic therapy delivering low-intensity, intermediate-frequency alternating electric fields to the tumor. In the phase 3 EF-14 clinical trial, TTFields (200 kHz) improved median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) in patients with newly diagnosed GBM (ndGBM) when added concomitantly to maintenance temozolomide (TMZ).

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  • Glioblastoma (GBM) employs immune suppression mechanisms like PD-L1 expression, and prior treatments targeting PD-1 didn’t show effectiveness; avelumab is a new PD-L1 targeting antibody capable of enhancing immune response.
  • A phase II study added avelumab (10 mg/kg IV every two weeks) to the standard treatment for newly diagnosed GBM, focusing on safety and evaluating progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
  • Out of 30 patients, 23.3% showed a positive response, with median PFS of 9.7 months and OS of 15.3 months, but the study revealed no new safety concerns or significant survival benefits from adding avelumab.
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Public health problems are often complex and 'wicked' in nature. Wicked problems have multi-factorial causation, are dynamic and often understood and acted upon differently by different actors. Multi-sectoral collaboration is increasingly emphasized for tackling wicked problems through developing a strategic multi-sectoral plan and then taking collective action.

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Purpose: Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency syndrome (CMMRD) is a lethal cancer predisposition syndrome characterized by early-onset synchronous and metachronous multiorgan tumors. We designed a surveillance protocol for early tumor detection in these individuals.

Patients And Methods: Data were collected from patients with confirmed CMMRD who were registered in the International Replication Repair Deficiency Consortium.

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Background: A successful lung cancer screening program requires a patient cohort at sufficient risk of developing cancer who are willing to participate. Among other factors, a patient's lung cancer risk perception may inform their attitudes toward screening and smoking cessation programs.

Research Question: This study analyzed data from the Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer (PanCan) Study to address the following questions: Which factors are associated with the perception of lung cancer risk? Is there an association between risk perception for lung cancer and actual calculated risk? Is there an association between risk perception for lung cancer and the intent to quit smoking? Are there potential targets for lung cancer screening awareness?

Study Design And Methods: The PanCan study recruited current or former smokers aged 50 to 75 years who had at least a 2% risk of developing lung cancer over 6 years to undergo low-dose screening CT.

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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an underdiagnosed condition sharing risk factors with lung cancer. Lung cancer screening may provide an opportunity to improve COPD diagnosis. Using Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer (PanCan) study data, the present study sought to determine the following: 1) What is the prevalence of COPD in a lung cancer screening population? 2) Can a model based on clinical and screening low-dose CT scan data predict the likelihood of COPD?

Methods: The single arm PanCan study recruited current or former smokers age 50-75 who had a calculated risk of lung cancer of at least 2% over 6 years.

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Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc) is the most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with a 5-year survival of 17%. The low survival rate observed in patients with nsclc is primarily attributable to advanced stage of disease at diagnosis, with more than 50% of cases being stage iv at presentation. For patients with advanced disease, palliative systemic therapy can improve overall survival (os); however, a recent review at our institution of more than 500 consecutive cases of advanced nsclc demonstrated that only 55% of the patients received palliative systemic therapy.

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