Publications by authors named "Preston J"

Methylglucuronoxylans (MeGXn) and methylglucuronoarabinoxylans (MeGAXn) respectively comprise most of the hemicellulose fractions in dicots and monocots and, next to cellulose, are the major resources for the production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosics. With either MeGXn or MeGAXn as a substrate, Bacillus subtilis 168 accumulates acidic methylglucuronoxylotriose as a limit product following the uptake and metabolism of neutral xylooligosaccharides. Secreted GH11 endoxylanase (Xyn11A), GH30 endoxylanase (Xyn30C), and GH43 arabinoxylan arabinofuranohydrolase (Axh43) respectively encoded by the xynA, xynC, and xynD genes collectively contribute to the depolymerization of MeGAXn.

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Background: To avoid adverse patient outcomes from inappropriate treatment, it is recommended that an atrial electrogram (AEG) be recorded whenever atrial arrhythmias develop in patients after cardiac surgery. However, AEGs are not commonly performed because nurses lack knowledge about differentiating atrial rhythms on AEGs.

Objective: To investigate whether completing a novel online evidence-based education program on interpreting AEGs would improve critical care nurses' AEG interpretation.

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Consulting with users is considered best practice and is highly recommended in designing new trials. As part of our feasibility work, we undertook a consultation exercise with parents, ex-patients and young people prior to designing a trial of protocol-based ventilator weaning. Our aims were to (1) ascertain views on the relevance and importance of the trial; (2) determine the important parent/patient outcome measures; and (3) ascertain views on informed consent in a cluster randomized controlled trial.

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Children with speech sound disorders may perceive speech differently than children with typical speech development. The nature of these speech differences is reviewed with an emphasis on assessing phoneme-specific perception for speech sounds that are produced in error. Category goodness judgment, or the ability to judge accurate and inaccurate tokens of speech sounds, plays an important role in phonological development.

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Duplicated petunia clade-VI SPL genes differentially promote the timing of inflorescence and flower development, and leaf initiation rate. The timing of plant reproduction relative to favorable environmental conditions is a critical component of plant fitness, and is often associated with variation in plant architecture and habit. Recent studies have shown that overexpression of the microRNA miR156 in distantly related annual species results in plants with perennial characteristics, including late flowering, weak apical dominance, and abundant leaf production.

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Objective: To explore the feasibility of conducting a Phase III randomized controlled trial evaluating sensory dynamic orthoses for upper limb tremor in multiple sclerosis.

Design: Mixed methods: double blind randomized placebo controlled pilot study and semi-structured interviews.

Setting: Rehabilitation centre.

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Purpose: This archival investigation examined the relationship between preliteracy speech sound production skill (SSPS) and spelling in Grade 3 using a dataset in which children's receptive vocabulary was generally within normal limits, speech therapy was not provided until Grade 2, and phonological awareness instruction was discouraged at the time data were collected.

Method: Participants (N = 250), selected from the Templin Archive (Templin, 2004), varied on prekindergarten SSPS. Participants' real word spellings in Grade 3 were evaluated using a metric of linguistic knowledge, the Computerized Spelling Sensitivity System (Masterson & Apel, 2013).

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Research and innovation are critical to improving the health and well-being of the world's children; clinical trials yield important information on a medical product's safety, dosing, and effectiveness. While the prescribing information available to pediatric providers has substantially improved, approximately 50% of medicines still do not have data on their labels to guide their appropriate use in children. Regulatory bodies have recently taken measures to ensure, if drugs have a potential pediatric indication, that the safety and efficacy clinical trials include the pediatric population.

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Ultrasound visual feedback of the tongue is one treatment option for individuals with persisting speech sound errors. This study evaluated children's performance during acquisition and generalisation of American English rhotics using ultrasound feedback. Three children aged 10-13 with persisting speech sound errors associated with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) were treated for 14 one-hour sessions.

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The visualization of variability in surfaces embedded in 3D, which is a type of ensemble uncertainty visualization, provides a means of understanding the underlying distribution of a collection or ensemble of surfaces. This work extends the contour boxplot technique to 3D and evaluates it against an enumeration-style visualization of the ensemble members and other conventional visualizations used by atlas builders. The authors demonstrate the efficacy of using the 3D contour boxplot ensemble visualization technique to analyze shape alignment and variability in atlas construction and analysis as a real-world application.

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One of the most striking innovations in flower development is the congenital or postgenital union of petals (sympetaly) which has enabled dramatic specialization in flower structure and possibly accelerated speciation rates. Sympetalous flowers exhibit extraordinary variation in development, including the degree and timing of fusion, and fusion with other floral organs. Different axes of corolla tube complexity can be disentangled at the developmental level, with most variation being explained by differences in coordinated growth between interconnected and lobed regions of neighboring petal primordia, and between lower and upper portions of the corolla tube, defined by the stamen insertion boundary.

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Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is advocated in clinical trials yet evidence on how to optimise its impact is limited. We explored researchers' and PPI contributors' accounts of the impact of PPI within trials and factors likely to influence its impact.

Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers and PPI contributors accessed through a cohort of randomised clinical trials.

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Background: Training in patient and public involvement (PPI) is recommended, yet little is known about what training is needed. We explored researchers' and PPI contributors' accounts of PPI activity and training to inform the design of PPI training for both parties.

Methods: We used semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers (chief investigators and trial managers) and PPI contributors, accessed through a cohort of clinical trials, which had been funded between 2006 and 2010.

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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a novel nanocarriers with interesting physical and chemical properties. Here we investigate the ability of amino-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs-NH3(+)) to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) in vitro using a co-culture BBB model comprising primary porcine brain endothelial cells (PBEC) and primary rat astrocytes, and in vivo following a systemic administration of radiolabelled f-MWNTs. Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that MWNTs-NH3(+) crossed the PBEC monolayer via energy-dependent transcytosis.

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Background: Our objective was to determine if cholecystectomy for biliary dyskinesia (BD) was performed more commonly in the United States than in 4 comparator countries around the world.

Methods: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we extracted and analyzed data for cholecystectomy from 1991 to 2011 using ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision) procedure codes. To derive the number of cholecystectomies performed for BD, we used the ICD-9 code 575.

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Measles.

Nurs Stand

March 2015

Before the introduction of measles vaccination, measles was considered an inevitable part of childhood and occurred in 96-98% of children by the age of 18 years. At that time there were approximately 100 reported deaths per year associated with measles in the UK.

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Xanthomonas citri pv. citri strain 306 (Xcc306), a causative agent of citrus canker, produces endoxylanases that catalyze the depolymerization of cell wall-associated xylans. In the sequenced genomes of all plant-pathogenic xanthomonads, genes encoding xylanolytic enzymes are clustered in three adjacent operons.

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Background: High-energy radial head injuries often present with a large partial articular displaced fragment with any number of surrounding injuries. The objective of the study was to determine the characteristics of large fragment, partial articular radial head fractures and determine any significant correlation with specific injury patterns.

Materials And Methods: Patients sustaining a radial head fracture from 2002-2010 were screened for participation.

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Xylans, including methylglucuronoxylans (MeGX(n)) and methylglucuronoarabinoxylans (MeGAXn), are the predominant polysaccharidesin hemicellulose fractions of dicots and monocots available for conversion to biofuels and chemicals. Paenibacillus sp. strain JDR-2 (Pjdr2) efficiently depolymerizes MeGX(n) and MeGAX(n) and assimilates the generated oligosaccharides, resulting in efficient saccharification and subsequent metabolism of these polysaccharides.

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Herein we describe the evaluation of GW0742 analogs in respect to their ability to modulate transcription mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) δ. The GW0742 analog bearing a carboxylic ester functionality in place of the carboxylic acid was partially activating both nuclear receptors at low concentration and inhibited transcription at higher compound concentrations. The GW0742 alcohol derivative was more active than the ester in respect to VDR but less active in regard to PPARδ.

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Unlabelled: : Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is increasingly required, although evidence to inform its implementation is limited.

Objective: Inform the evidence base by describing how plans for PPI were implemented within clinical trials and identifying the challenges and lessons learnt by research teams.

Methods: We compared PPI plans extracted from clinical trial grant applications (funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme between 2006 and 2010) with researchers' and PPI contributors' interview accounts of PPI implementation.

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Introduction: Jejuno-ileal diverticulitis (JID) is a rare entity, presenting with symptoms of failure to thrive, abdominal pain, obstruction, bleeding, and acute or chronic perforation with associated pneumoperitoneum. Currently no specific genetic abnormality has been identified that leads to JID. Treatment is based on control of symptoms associated with the disease.

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