Publications by authors named "Nicholas Webb"

Background: Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) are ultra-rare chronic kidney diseases with an overall poor prognosis, with approximately 40-50% of patients progressing to kidney failure within 10 years of diagnosis. C3G is characterized by a high rate of disease recurrence in the transplanted kidney. However, there is a lack of published data on clinical outcomes in the pediatric population following transplantation.

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Rangelands and the supply chains connected to them are central to the agrifood systems of the Southwestern United States. Local ranchers are simultaneously arid lands managers, herd managers, and marketing managers. To stay in business, they must adapt to unpredictable forage resources and markets while conserving soils and vegetation resources for the long term.

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Unlabelled: HIV-1 entry kinetics reflect the fluid motion of the HIV envelope glycoprotein through at least three major structural configurations that drive virus-cell membrane fusion. The lifetime of each state is an important component of potency for inhibitors that target them. We used the time-of-addition inhibitor assay and a novel analytical strategy to define the kinetics of pre-hairpin exposure (using T20) and co-receptor engagement (via.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immune complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) is a rare and quickly worsening kidney condition linked to infections, autoimmune diseases, or monoclonal gammopathies, with no current targeted treatments available.
  • A phase 3 clinical study called APPARENT will assess the effectiveness and safety of iptacopan, a new oral complement inhibitor, in patients aged 12-60 with biopsy-confirmed idiopathic IC-MPGN, monitoring outcomes like proteinuria reduction and kidney function.
  • The study aims to enroll up to 68 patients and will compare the effects of iptacopan against a placebo over a total of one year, gathering evidence on its potential as a
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  • The kidneys are crucial for drug elimination, so understanding their physiology and pathology is essential for drug developers.
  • Drug-induced nephrotoxicity (DIN) can be influenced by existing renal issues, previous nephrotoxic drugs, or natural aging, complicating diagnosis.
  • The manuscript aims to introduce new biomarkers for earlier and more precise detection of kidney damage, ultimately reducing DIN effects during drug development in clinical trials.
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  • Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a rare kidney disease caused by issues with the immune system, and iptacopan is being tested as a potential treatment in a study examining its effectiveness and safety.
  • In a phase 2 clinical trial with 27 patients, those with native C3G saw a 45% reduction in protein in their urine, while kidney transplant recipients had a significant decrease in C3 deposits in their biopsies after 84 days of treatment.
  • Overall, iptacopan showed promising results in improving kidney function and safety, as it normalized certain complement levels and had manageable side effects, with no reported deaths during the study.
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Dust models are essential for understanding the impact of mineral dust on Earth's systems, human health, and global economies, but dust emission modelling has large uncertainties. Satellite observations of dust emission point sources (DPS) provide a valuable dichotomous inventory of regional dust emissions. We develop a framework for evaluating dust emission model performance using existing DPS data before routine calibration of dust models.

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  • Research highlights that the immune response after breakthrough infections with Delta or Omicron variants shows significant expansion of antibodies targeting the conserved S2 domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.
  • * The study finds that while the initial response to vaccination may wane, the anamnestic (memory) immune response can enhance protection against various SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  • * Results suggest that focusing on these conserved antibody responses could inform future vaccine designs for broader protection against SARS-related coronaviruses.
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Mini-tablets are advantageous over liquid formulations in overcoming challenges related to stability, taste, and dosage. This open-label, single-dose, cross-over study investigated the acceptability and safety of drug-free, film-coated mini-tablets in children aged 1 month-6 years (stratified: 4-6 years, 2-<4 years, 1-<2 years, 6-<12 months, and 1-<6 months), and their preference for swallowing either a high quantity of 2.0 mm or a low quantity of 2.

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Two decades of drought in the southwestern USA are spurring concerns about increases in wind erosion, dust emissions, and associated impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, human health, and water supply. Different avenues of investigation into primary drivers of wind erosion and dust have yielded mixed results depending on the spatial and temporal sensitivity of the evidence. We monitored passive aeolian sediment traps from 2017 to 2020 across eighty-one sites near Moab, Utah to understand patterns of sediment flux.

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Establishing mineral dust impacts on Earth's systems requires numerical models of the dust cycle. Differences between dust optical depth (DOD) measurements and modelling the cycle of dust emission, atmospheric transport, and deposition of dust indicate large model uncertainty due partially to unrealistic model assumptions about dust emission frequency. Calibrating dust cycle models to DOD measurements typically in North Africa, are routinely used to reduce dust model magnitude.

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Article Synopsis
  • Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a rare kidney disease linked to issues with the alternative pathway of the complement system, often leading to kidney failure within a decade of diagnosis, and there are currently no approved treatments.
  • Iptacopan is a new oral medication that inhibits factor B in the complement system and showed promise in reducing proteinuria in initial studies.
  • The ongoing Phase III APPEAR-C3G study is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of iptacopan by comparing it to a placebo in 68 adults over a 12-month period, with a focus on reducing protein levels in urine and improving kidney function.
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Cystinosis, a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder, results in an abnormal accumulation of the amino acid cystine in multiple organs and tissues of the body. Renal symptoms typically develop in the first few months of life, with extra-renal manifestations becoming apparent over the next 10-20 years, which require coordinated multidisciplinary care. Here, we describe a consensus-based guidance to support the management of adolescents and adults living with cystinosis.

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Objectives: To develop a Pediatric glucocorticoid toxicity index (pGTI), a standardized, weighted clinical outcome assessment that measures change in glucocorticoid (GC) toxicity over time.

Methods: Fourteen physician experts from 7 subspecialties participated. The physician experts represented multiple subspecialties in which GCs play a major role in the treatment of inflammatory disease: nephrology, rheumatology, oncology, endocrinology, genetics, psychiatry, and maternal-fetal medicine.

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Background: Childhood steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome is a frequently relapsing disease with significant short- and long-term complications, leading to high healthcare costs and reduced quality of life for patients. The majority of relapses are triggered by upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and evidence shows that daily low-dose prednisolone at the time of infection may reduce the risk of relapse.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of a 6-day course of low-dose prednisolone at the start of a URTI when compared with placebo.

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Thomas Drysdale Buchanan, MD (1876-1940), founding president of the American Board of Anesthesiology, was the first person in the United States to hold the title "Professor of Anesthesiology" in a medical school faculty position dedicated exclusively to the specialty. An 1897 graduate of New York Medical College, Dr Buchanan joined the faculty of his alma mater in 1902 in response to demands by medical students and recent graduates for a dedicated instructor in anesthesia. Within a decade, the instructorship had become a professorship, and Dr Buchanan was on his way to distinction as one of the founders of academic anesthesiology.

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The central nervous system (CNS) has emerged as a critical HIV reservoir. Thus, interventions aimed at controlling and eliminating HIV must include CNS-targeted strategies. Given the inaccessibility of the brain, efforts have focused on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), aimed at defining biomarkers of HIV-disease in the CNS, including HIV-specific antibodies.

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Background: Most children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome have relapses that are triggered by upper respiratory tract infections. Four small trials, mostly in children already taking maintenance corticosteroid in countries of different upper respiratory tract infection epidemiology, showed that giving daily low-dose prednisone/prednisolone for 5-7 days during an upper respiratory tract infection reduces the risk of relapse.

Objectives: To determine if these findings were replicated in a large UK population of children with relapsing steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome on different background medication or none.

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Importance: In children with corticosteroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome, many relapses are triggered by upper respiratory tract infections. Four small studies found that administration of daily low-dose prednisolone for 5 to 7 days at the time of an upper respiratory tract infection reduced the risk of relapse, but the generalizability of their findings is limited by location of the studies and selection of study population.

Objective: To investigate the use of daily low-dose prednisolone for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infection-related relapses.

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Dust emission is an important mechanism for carbon exchange between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon pools. However, undetermined soil organic carbon (SOC) enrichment in aeolian sediment limits the accurate estimation of SOC loss induced by wind erosion. Herein, we examined wind erosion and SOC loss measurements in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.

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Ecological studies require quality data to describe the nature of ecological processes and to advance understanding of ecosystem change. Increasing access to big data has magnified both the burden and the complexity of ensuring quality data. The costs of errors in ecology include low use of data, increased time spent cleaning data, and poor reproducibility that can result in a misunderstanding of ecosystem processes and dynamics, all of which can erode the efficacy of and trust in ecological research.

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Background: Studies have shown that losartan reduces serum uric acid in adults, unlike angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A previous study demonstrated that losartan and enalapril had comparable effects on proteinuria in children.

Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of results from a prospective trial in which the proteinuria-reducing effects of losartan and enalapril were compared.

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Steroids are the cornerstone of the treatment of childhood nephrotic syndrome. The optimal duration for the first episode remains a matter of debate. The aim of this study is to determine whether the 8 weeks International Study of Kidney Disease in Children (ISKDC) regimen is equally effective as the 12 weeks steroid regimen from the German society of pediatric nephrology (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pädiatrische Nephrologie [APN]).

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Objective: We established a paediatric demand management (PDM) service in our paediatric department in 2017. The aim of this consultant-delivered service is to manage referrals more efficiently by providing active triage of all referrals, daily rapid access clinics and easily accessible advice for primary healthcare professionals. This study presents an evaluation of this service.

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Pathogen-specific immunity evolves in the context of the infected tissue. However, current immune correlates analyses and vaccine efficacy metrics are based on immune functions from peripheral cells. Less is known about tissue-resident mechanisms of immunity.

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