Publications by authors named "Noeel Walker"

Background/objectives: The goals of sports nutrition are to support athletic performance. However, the diet quality of athletes remains poorly understood. This scoping review aims to synthesise the existing body of literature, evaluating the diet quality of adult athletes.

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From fertilisation to delivery, calcium must be transported into and within the foetoplacental unit for intracellular signalling. This requires very rapid, precisely located Ca transfers. In addition, from around the eighth week of gestation, increasing amounts of calcium must be routed directly from maternal blood to the foetus for bone mineralisation through a flow-through system, which does not impact the intracellular Ca concentration.

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Background: Colorectal cancers (CRCs) from people with biallelic germline likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants in MUTYH or NTHL1 exhibit specific single base substitution (SBS) mutational signatures, namely combined SBS18 and SBS36 (SBS18+SBS36), and SBS30, respectively. The aim was to determine if adenomas from biallelic cases demonstrated these mutational signatures at diagnostic levels.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing of FFPE tissue and matched blood-derived DNA was performed on 9 adenomas and 15 CRCs from 13 biallelic MUTYH cases, on 7 adenomas and 2 CRCs from 5 biallelic NTHL1 cases and on 27 adenomas and 26 CRCs from 46 non-hereditary (sporadic) participants.

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Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (InO) is an antibody-calicheamicin conjugate with striking efficacy in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). However, there is wide inter-patient variability in treatment response, and the genetic basis of this variation remains largely unknown. Using a genome-wide CRISPR screen, we discovered the loss of DNTT as a primary driver of InO resistance.

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Geologic records of tropical cyclones (TCs) in low-energy, back-barrier environments are established by identifying marine sediments via their allochthonous biogeochemical signal. These records have the potential to reconstruct TC intensity and frequency through time. However, modern analog studies are needed to understand which biogeochemical indicators of overwash sediments are best preserved and how post-depositional changes may affect their preservation.

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Corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG; SERPINA6) binds >85% of circulating glucocorticoids but its influence on their metabolic actions is unproven. Targeted proteolytic cleavage of CBG by neutrophil elastase (NE; ELANE) significantly reduces CBG binding affinity, potentially increasing 'free' glucocorticoid levels at sites of inflammation. NE is inhibited by alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT; SERPINA1).

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A primary pull-through for Hirschsprung's disease (HD) requires confirmation of normal ganglionic bowel by intraoperative biopsies to determine the level of resection. Despite this, aganglionic bowel that is not fully resected (so-called "transition zone pull-throughs") is reported in 15%-19% of patients. We hypothesize that this may result from insufficient biopsies sent for intraoperative diagnosis.

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Motivation: Recent advancements in parallel sequencing methods have precipitated a surge in publicly available short-read sequence data. This has encouraged the development of novel computational tools for the de novo assembly of transcriptomes from RNA-seq data. Despite the availability of these tools, performing an end-to-end transcriptome assembly remains a programmatically involved task necessitating familiarity with best practices.

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Purpose: Existing studies documenting cancer-related sexual concerns among hematological cancer patients tend to group all types of hematological cancer together, overlooking potentially unique concerns associated with multiple myeloma (MM). This study is the first to characterize sexuality in MM and to examine predictors of sexual satisfaction for MM, comparatively with participants with other hematological cancer types.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional self-report survey-based study.

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Anadromous salmonids migrate seaward to exploit feeding and growth opportunities in marine habitats, yet how smolt biological characteristics influence their marine migratory behavior remains poorly understood. This study used 9 years of trout (Salmo trutta) population monitoring data from 15,595 tagged age-0+ parr, 1033 smolts detected migrating downstream in spring, and 99 adults detected returning from their first marine migration to the River Frome (Dorset, UK) to investigate the influence of smolt biological characteristics on their migration timing and maiden marine sojourn duration. Age-specific differences in the influence of smolt length on migration timing were found, with longer 1-year-old smolts emigrating later than their shorter counterparts within the same age class, but the opposite association existed for 2-year-old smolts.

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Background: Luminal and hemodynamic evaluations of the cervical arteries inform the diagnosis and management of patients with cervical arterial disease.

Purpose: To demonstrate a 3D nonenhanced quantitative quiescent interval slice-selective (qQISS) magnetic resonance angiographic (MRA) strategy that provides simultaneous hemodynamic and luminal evaluation of the cervical arteries.

Study Type: Prospective.

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Introduction: Despite myriad wellness programs, training demands restrict resident access. This study aimed to evaluate barriers to accessing mental health resources(MHR) and determine if differences exist between medical(MT) and surgical trainees(ST).

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in one health system assessing awareness of and barriers to accessing MHR.

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Overly broad recalls following an FDA advisory occur when the source of an outbreak is originally misidentified or cannot be promptly identified. In this situation, an entire product category might be recalled (e.g.

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Background: New catheter materials for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) may reduce the risk of device failure due to infectious, thrombotic, and catheter occlusion events. However, data from randomized trials comparing these catheters are lacking.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled, superiority trial in three Australian tertiary hospitals.

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Background: Although many individuals return to work after cancer treatment, supports to facilitate this transition are ineffective or lacking. Transitions Theory can be useful to conceptually explain the transition back to work after cancer; however, no known studies have used Transitions Theory to empirically examine this transition.

Objective: To explore how and why Transition Theory concepts can be used to understand individuals' transition back to work after cancer treatment.

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The placenta is vital to maternal and child health but often overlooked in pregnancy studies. Addressing the need for a more accessible and cost-effective method of placental assessment, our study introduces a computational tool designed for the analysis of placental photographs. Leveraging images and pathology reports collected from sites in the United States and Uganda over a 12-year period, we developed a cross-modal contrastive learning algorithm consisting of pre-alignment, distillation, and retrieval modules.

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Ocular microtremor (OMT) is a fixational eye movement that cannot be seen with the naked eye but is always present, even when the eye appears motionless/still. The link between OMT and brain function provides a strong rationale for investigation as there lies potential for its use as a biomarker in populations with neurological impairments. OMT frequency is typically 70-80Hz in healthy adults and research suggests that this will be reduced in those with neurological disease such as Parkinson's Disease (PD).

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Traditional medicine is widely used in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Ghana, where it is commonly integrated with modern orthodox medicine. This study examines the barriers that delay the pursuit of orthodox medical care for prostate cancer (PCa) in Ghana's Central region, where a blend of traditional and modern orthodox medicine exists. The preference for indigenous traditional medicine often results in late-stage presentations of PCa, adversely affecting patient outcomes.

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Workers in electronics waste and lamp recycling facilities are at risk of exposure to elemental mercury through inhalation of mercury vapor and mercury-containing dust. Employers at an electronics waste and lamp recycling facility in Ohio that crushes mercury-containing lamps expressed concerns about mercury exposure from work processes and requested a health hazard evaluation by CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). In April 2023, NIOSH conducted a multidisciplinary investigation to assess elemental and inorganic mercury exposures, including epidemiologic, environmental, and ventilation assessments.

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Background: One factor considered essential to successful implementation is organizational readiness. The purpose of this study was to explore ways to improve the measurement of organizational readiness, and in particular to refine a preliminary measure based on the Readiness = Motivation x innovation Specific Capacity x General Capacity (R = MC2) heuristic. We assessed the experiences of staff in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) implementing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) designed to increase colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) who previously completed the survey and aimed to understand their perspectives on why our data were positively skewed.

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Background: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) modulates the blood-brain barrier and cerebrovascular integrity, likely influencing the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline.

Objective: This study aims to identify HDL protein cargo associated with brain amyloid deposition and brain volume in regions vulnerable to AD pathology in older adults.

Methods: HDL was separated from the plasma of 65 non-demented participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study using a fast protein liquid chromatography method.

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Background: Males and females exhibit distinct anatomic and functional characteristics of the heart, predisposing them to specific disease states.

Methods: We identified microRNA (miRNAs/miR) with sex-differential expression in mouse hearts.

Results: Four conserved miRNAs are present in a single locus on the X-chromosome and are expressed at higher levels in females than males.

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