Publications by authors named "Percival S"

Premise: The selection of as a model organism played a pivotal role in advancing genomic science. The competing frameworks to select an agricultural- or ecological-based model species were rejected, in favor of building knowledge in a species that would facilitate genome-enabled research.

Methods: Here, we examine the ability of models based on gene expression data to predict tissue identity in other flowering plants.

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Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) have been shown to increase patient morbidity and mortality, impact on quality of life and place a significant economic burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Irrigation using wound cleansing and antiseptic effective solutions during surgical procedures is a key part of SSI prevention. The optimal solution would have minimal cytotoxicity to the patient while maintaining a minimum concentration required for antimicrobial activity necessary to prevent opportunistic pathogens and biofilm formation.

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  • Eschar and slough in wounds contribute to persistent inflammation and infection risks by harboring microorganisms, biofilms, and inflammatory substances.
  • This study developed an in vitro model simulating wound conditions with artificial slough to test the effectiveness of a new antibacterial technology featuring silver-zinc EDTA complexes.
  • Findings indicate that this new technology can effectively disrupt biofilms and may be beneficial in treating chronic wound infections.
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The tunability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) makes them exceptional materials for the development of highly selective, low-power sensors for toxic gas detection. Herein, we demonstrate enhanced detection of NO gas by a MOF-based electrical impedance sensor made using a unique mixed metal MOF-on-MOF synthesis. A combined experimental and computational study was performed using the exemplar NiMg-MOF-74 to understand the fundamental structure-property relationships behind metal mixing and MOF film synthesis methods on sensor performance.

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  • The way electrons are shot out from a source depends a lot on how the laser is shaped when it hits the material.
  • Using a special mask to shape the laser can be tricky because it can't perfectly recreate the sharp edges we want.
  • This study found that the way the laser travels through small openings can create uneven patterns, and while these patterns usually don't change the overall statistics, they might still cause problems for machines that use these electron bunches.
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Nanoporous, gas-selective membranes have shown encouraging results for the removal of CO from flue gas, yet the optimal design for such membranes is often unknown. Therefore, we used molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the behavior of CO within aqueous and ionic liquid (IL) systems ([EMIM][TFSI] and [OMIM][TFSI]), both confined individually and as an interfacial aqueous/IL system. We found that within aqueous systems the mobility of CO is reduced due to interactions between the CO oxygens and hydroxyl groups on the pore surface.

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Leaves are often described in language that evokes a single shape. However, embedded in that descriptor is a multitude of latent shapes arising from evolutionary, developmental, environmental, and other effects. These confounded effects manifest at distinct developmental time points and evolve at different tempos.

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Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is thought to contribute to neuroprotection and, thus, may influence pain symptoms experienced by adults with demyelination-related trigeminal neuralgia (TN). This study aimed to determine the feasibility of daily intake of EVOO and its potential to alleviate facial pain of TN. Adults, self-reporting as female and affected by TN, were enrolled in a 16-week nonblinded, parallel study.

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  • Flowering plants have adapted over 125 million years to thrive in diverse environments, shaped by interconnected genetic pathways.
  • Researchers used topological data analysis (TDA) to effectively analyze complex gene expression data related to plant tissues and stress responses.
  • The results show distinct gene expression patterns across different plant types, highlighting core processes essential for plant growth, development, and stress management.
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A major hurdle in utilizing carbon dioxide (CO) lies in separating it from industrial flue gas mixtures and finding suitable storage methods that enable its application in various industries. To address this issue, we utilized a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and experiments to investigate the behavior of CO in common room-temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) when in contact with aqueous interfaces. Our investigation of RTILs, [EMIM][TFSI] and [OMIM][TFSI], and their interaction with a pure water layer mimics the environment of a previously developed ultrathin enzymatic liquid membrane for CO separation.

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Microbial biofilms are a major hindrance in the wound healing process, prolonging the inflammatory response phase, thus making them a target in treatment. The aim of this study is to assess the antibacterial properties of commercially available wound dressings, of various material composition and antibacterial agents, towards multiple in vitro microbial and biofilm models. A variety of in vitro microbial and biofilm models were utilised to evaluate the ability of wound dressing materials to sequester microbes, prevent dissemination and manage bioburden.

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Chemically robust, low-power sensors are needed for the direct electrical detection of toxic gases. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer exceptional chemical and structural tunability to meet this challenge, though further understanding is needed regarding how coadsorbed gases influence or interfere with the electrical response. To probe the influence of competitive gases on trace NO detection in a simulated flue gas stream, a combined structure-property study integrating synchrotron powder diffraction and pair distribution function analyses was undertaken, to elucidate how structural changes associated with gas binding inside Ni-MOF-74 pores correlate with the electrical response from Ni-MOF-74-based sensors.

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  • Antimicrobial wound dressings are vital for preventing surgical site infections and chronic wound complications but require frequent changes to assess their effectiveness, which can hinder healing and increase costs.
  • A new concept to monitor antimicrobial levels in dressings aims to ensure they remain effective without unnecessary changes, potentially improving clinical outcomes.
  • The paper presents a patented electrochemical silver sensor that assesses silver ion levels in the presence of challenging conditions like serum and chloride, linking these measurements to the antimicrobial activity against harmful bacteria.
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The field of plant science has grown dramatically in the past two decades, but global disparities and systemic inequalities persist. Here, we analyzed ~300,000 papers published over the past two decades to quantify disparities across nations, genders, and taxonomy in the plant science literature. Our analyses reveal striking geographical biases-affluent nations dominate the publishing landscape and vast areas of the globe have virtually no footprint in the literature.

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Wound infection is a major challenge for clinicians globally, with accurate and timely identification of wound infection being critical to achieving clinical and cost-effective management, and promotion of healing. This paper presents an overview of the development of the International Wound Infection Institute (IWII)'s 2022 Wound Infection in Clinical Practice consensus document. The updated document summarises current evidence and provides multidisciplinary healthcare providers with effective guidance and support on terminology, paradigms related to biofilm, identification of wound infection, wound cleansing, debridement and antimicrobial stewardship.

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  • Sister chromatid cohesion (SCC) is crucial for proper chromosome segregation, and the ESCO2 gene is vital for establishing SCC; alterations in ESCO2 are linked to various human cancers.
  • Research shows that reduced ESCO2 (haploinsufficiency) leads to decreased SCC and faster tumor development in specific genetic contexts, particularly in p53 heterozygous models, but not in those with full p53 mutations.
  • The study also reveals that while reduced SCC causes chromosome instability, this instability isn't the direct driver of quicker tumor onset; instead, increased mitotic recombination in ESCO2 deficient cases seems to contribute to faster cancer progression.
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Context: Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is associated with transient reductions in strength and athletic performance. Muscle microvascular damage and disruption of blood flow are believed to be among the causes. Previous researchers reported modulations in muscle blood flow, oxygenation, and strength with vibration therapy (VT).

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Multiple in vitro models were utilised to evaluate the biofilm management capabilities of seven commercially-available wound dressings, varying in composition and antibacterial ingredients, to reduce common aerobic, anaerobic, and multispecies biofilms. The Center for Disease Control bioreactor was used to evaluate single species Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.

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Treatment of chronic wounds that are at risk of infection, or that are infected, require the use of antimicrobial dressings, most often those that contain silver. Silver exerts its antimicrobial effects by binding to multiple cellular components and, as such, bacterial resistance to it is low; however, molecular silver resistance has been documented and is attributed to the presence of the sil operon or changes in genes encoding porin and efflux pump expression. The aim of this study was to evaluate spontaneous silver resistance development in common opportunistic pathogens, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Enterococcus cloacae, as well as resistance development when exposed to subtherapeutic concentrations over a prolonged period.

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A combination of electrodeposition and thermal reduction methods have been utilized for the synthesis of ligand-free FeNiCo alloy nanoparticles through a high-entropy oxide intermediate. These phases are of great interest to the electrocatalysis community, especially when formed by a sustainable chemistry method. This is successfully achieved by first forming a complex five element amorphous FeNiCoCrMn high-entropy oxide (HEO) phase via electrodeposition from a nanodroplet emulsion solution of the metal salt reactants.

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In the pursuit of highly stable and selective metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the adsorption of caustic acid gas species, an entire series of rare earth MOFs have been explored. Each of the MOFs in this series (RE-DOBDC; RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu; DOBDC = 2,5-dihydroxyterepthalic acid) was synthesized in the tetragonal space group 4/. Crystallized MOF samples, specifically Eu-DOBDC, were seen to have a combination of monodentate and bidentate binding when synthesized under typical reaction conditions, resulting in a contortion of the structure.

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Infection and the formation of biofilms have been shown to have a significant role in increased inflammation and delayed wound healing. Wound irrigation solutions are used to debride wounds, removing cell debris and infecting microorganisms, therefore preventing infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate a Polihexanide (PHMB) based wound irrigation solution, Octenidine HCl based wound irrigation solution and electrolysed water based wound care solution for antibiofilm efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a multispecies biofilm in several models to gain a broad understanding of ability.

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The addition of a common amino acid, phenylalanine, to a Layer-by-Layer (LbL) deposited polyelectrolyte (PE) film on a nanoporous membrane can increase its ionic selectivity over a PE film without the added amino acid. The addition of phenylalanine is inspired by detailed knowledge of the structure of the channelrhodopsins family of protein ion channels, where phenylalanine plays an instrumental role in facilitating sodium ion transport. The normally deposited and crosslinked PE films increase the cationic selectivity of a support membrane in a controllable manner where higher selectivity is achieved with thicker PE coatings, which in turn also increases the ionic resistance of the membrane.

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Electrodialysis (ED) desalination performance of different conventional and laboratory-scale ion exchange membranes (IEMs) has been evaluated by many researchers, but most of these studies used their own sets of experimental parameters such as feed solution compositions and concentrations, superficial velocities of the process streams (diluate, concentrate, and electrode rinse), applied electrical voltages, and types of IEMs. Thus, direct comparison of ED desalination performance of different IEMs is virtually impossible. While the use of different conventional IEMs in ED has been reported, the use of bioinspired ion exchange membrane has not been reported yet.

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