Publications by authors named "Pollock J"

: The main aim of this study is to analyze the outcomes of NSTEMI admissions and test the relevance of TIMI as a risk score in a real-world setting. We also examine any potential social or health care disparities involved with outcomes of NSTEMI admissions. This study also investigates factors associated with mortality in NSTEMI admissions and its correlation with heart catheterization during admission.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Excess dietary salt and salt-sensitivity contribute to cardiovascular disease. Distinct T cell phenotypic responses to high salt and hypertension as well as influences from environmental cues are not well understood. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is activated by dietary ligands, promoting T cell and systemic homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genetic disruption of the RAS binding domain (RBD) of PI 3-kinase (PI3K) prevents the growth of mutant RAS driven tumors in mice and does not impact PI3K's role in insulin mediated control of glucose homeostasis. Selectively blocking the RAS-PI3K interaction may represent an attractive strategy for treating RAS-dependent cancers as it would avoid the toxicity associated with inhibitors of PI3K lipid kinase activity such as alpelisib. Here we report compounds that bind covalently to cysteine 242 in the RBD of PI3K p110α and block the ability of RAS to activate PI3K activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Current NICE guidelines state that in high-risk melanoma patients, imaging should not be offered before SLNB unless lymph node or distant metastases are suspected. Our experience has been that in patients with pT3b, pT4a and pT4b melanomas, the rate of management-changing findings on axial imaging prior to SLNB was high and that 'stage before operating' is a better approach. We now offer full axial imaging as staging to all high-risk melanoma patients prior to SLNB and advise other skin cancer MDTs to follow this approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Phase contrast x-ray imaging (PCXI) provides high-contrast images of weakly-attenuating structures like the lungs. PCXI, when paired with 4D X-ray Velocimetry (XV), can measure regional lung function and non-invasively assess the efficacy of emerging therapeutics. Bacteriophage therapy is an emerging antimicrobial treatment option for lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF), particularly with increasing rates of multi-drug-resistant infections.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Posterior fossa tumors (PFTs) comprise 15%-20% of adult brain tumors, with the reported frequency of hydrocephalus (HCP) ranging between 3.7% and 58%. Most HCP resolves after resection of PFTs, but studies report persistent or new-onset HCP occurring in between 2% and 7% of cases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pituitary macroadenomas are neuroendocrine tumors residing in the base of the skull. First-line therapies for prolactin-secreting adenomas (prolactinoma) include medical treatment with dopamine agonists and neurosurgical intervention. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is a well-known complication following skull base tumor treatment; however, spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea as the initial presenting feature of such tumors is rare.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * In research using mice, SCD was found to enhance vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) through the alpha-1 adrenergic receptor, particularly by increasing the expression of the alpha-1a receptor in the aortic tissue of SCD mice compared to controls.
  • * Treatment with ambrisentan, an ETA receptor blocker, improved blood vessel function in both mice and SCD patients, suggesting that targeting the ET-1 pathway could help improve vascular health in individuals with
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Various formulations of dog allergen extracts, including conventional dog (also known as dog epithelium) and acetone precipitated (AP) dog, have been used for skin-prick testing (SPT), with AP dog showing improved antigen content but experiencing stability issues due to precipitant formation. Ultrafiltered (UF) dog extract has been developed to address these concerns by offering comparable allergen content to AP dog. This study retrospectively compared UF dog with conventional dog and AP dog in SPT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Aspergillus species are linked to various conditions in bronchiectasis, including ABPA, AS, and increased IgG levels indicating exposure or infection.
  • A study of nearly 10,000 bronchiectasis patients revealed 6.1% with ABPA, 5.7% with AS, and 8.1% with elevated Aspergillus-specific IgG levels, with these conditions associated with more severe lung issues and exacerbations.
  • Long-term follow-up showed that those with raised IgG levels faced more frequent and severe exacerbations, particularly affecting patients not on inhaled corticosteroids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on the effectiveness of percutaneous synovial biopsy (PSB) and joint aspiration in diagnosing prosthetic infections in patients undergoing revision shoulder arthroplasty, comparing their results to those from open culture biopsies.
  • Conducted across four medical centers with 69 patients, the research found that 19% tested positive for infection with PSB, while 23% tested positive through open biopsy, showing that PSB had lower sensitivity but fairly good specificity.
  • Results indicated that while PSB is somewhat reliable, its diagnostic accuracy is limited, highlighted by a 37% sensitivity rate and 81% specificity, and the study also explored how the biopsy location within the shoulder might relate to infection
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - A cochlear implant patient experienced repeated infections that led to the device being pushed out, requiring it to be removed and replaced two times.
  • - To address these issues, a special technique involving a washout with vancomycin (an antibiotic) was used along with a flap surgery to help secure the implant.
  • - This innovative surgical approach aimed to preserve the cochlear implant and prevent further complications related to infections and device extrusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how immune responses, specifically IgA and IgG antibodies, interact with bacteria in the female genital tract and their potential role in inflammation and bacterial colonization.
  • Researchers analyzed cervicovaginal secretions from 200 HIV-uninfected women in Kenya and found that these antibodies frequently bind to specific vaginal bacteria, such as Gardnerella vaginalis and Lactobacillus species.
  • Surprisingly, the presence of these microbe-binding antibodies was not linked to the abundance of the corresponding bacteria, suggesting they might help control inflammation rather than regulate immune responses like they do in the gut.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fluorocarbon oils are uniquely suited for many biomedical applications due to their inert, bioorthogonal properties. In order to interface fluorocarbon oils with biological systems, non-ionic fluorosurfactants are necessary. However, there is a paucity of non-ionic fluorosurfactants with low interfacial tension (IFT) to stabilize fluorocarbon phases in aqueous environments (such as oil-in-water emulsions).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Deficiencies or abnormalities in complement proteins can lead to health issues like increased infection risk, autoimmune diseases, and thrombosis, depending on which protein is affected.
  • * Diagnosis is done through functional assays to assess overall complement activity and specific factors, while management includes vaccinations, antibiotics, and monitoring for autoimmune conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Circadian disruption is a disturbance in biological timing, which can occur within or between different organizational levels, ranging from molecular rhythms within specific cells to the misalignment of behavioral and environmental cycles. Previous work from our group showed that less than 1 wk of food restriction to the light (inactive) period is sufficient to invert diurnal blood pressure rhythms in mice. However, kidney excretory rhythms and functions remained aligned with the light-dark cycle.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Violence, poor mental health, and harmful substance use are commonly experienced by female sex workers (FSWs) in sub-Saharan Africa, all of which are associated with increased HIV susceptibility. We aimed to investigate the associations between violence, poor mental health and harmful alcohol/substance use with hair cortisol concentration (HCC) levels as a potential biological pathway linking the experiences of these stressors and HIV vulnerability. We used the baseline data of the Maisha Fiti study of FSWs in Nairobi, Kenya.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Violence, alcohol use, substance use and poor mental health have been linked with increased HIV acquisition risk, and genital inflammation enhances HIV susceptibility. We examined whether past 6 month experience of these exposures was associated with increased genital inflammation, thereby providing a biological link between these exposures and HIV acquisition risk. The Maisha Fiti study was a longitudinal mixed-methods study of female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: As the Medicare population continues to grow, financial pressure is placed upon hospitals, physicians, and other providers as the payer mix has an increasing proportion of Medicare patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of reimbursement trends surrounding the five levels of emergency department (ED) examinations (CPT codes 99281-99285) from 2010 to 2018 and determine how they have changed with respect to each procedure.

Methods: CPT codes were filtered into the 2010 and 2018 Physician/Supplier Procedure Summaries from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' website to gather data on emergency physician submissions and Medicare denials and payments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: We aimed to test the hypothesis that a high-salt diet (HS) impairs NO signaling in kidney microvascular endothelial cells through a histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1)-dependent mechanism.

Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed normal salt diet (NS; 0.49% NaCl) or HS (4% NaCl) for 2 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To use Google trends to explore differences in public interest among types of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) autografts, specifically quadriceps tendon, patellar tendon, and hamstring tendon autografts, between 2008 and 2019.

Methods: Data were obtained by querying Google Trends for key terms and phrases for online search data ranging from January 2008 to December 2019. Relative search volumes were created based on searches related to ACL reconstruction with comparative analysis generated for search terms related to quadriceps ACL, patellar tendon ACL, and hamstring ACL autografts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patella baja is a known complication of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). There is a limited understanding of the association between patellar resurfacing and the incidence of patella baja. We aimed to compare rates of patella baja between unresurfaced and resurfaced patellas in patients undergoing TKA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF