Publications by authors named "ROBERTSON D"

(PA) is an opportunistic gram-negative pathogen that can infect the cornea, leading to permanent vision loss. Autophagy is a cannibalistic process that drives cytoplasmic components to the lysosome for degradation and/or recycling. Autophagy has been shown to play a key role in the removal of intracellular pathogens and, as such, is an important component of the innate immune response.

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Introduction: We sought to understand the impact of locum tenens surgeons on pediatric surgical care delivery.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Children's Hospital Association pediatric surgical practices. Anonymous electronic surveys were used to investigate locum tenens utilization, primary reason for use, limitations on clinical activities, and variations in practice standards or quality.

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Purpose: Keratin contamination is a common problem in mass spectrometry proteomic analyses, particularly in bottom-up mass spectrometry. The purpose of this study was to determine the protein contaminants introduced during the proteomic analysis of tear fluid.

Methods: Human tear fluid samples were collected using Schirmer strips.

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SARS-CoV-2 variants are mainly defined by mutations in their spike. It is therefore critical to understand how the evolutionary trajectories of spike affect virus phenotypes. So far, it has been challenging to comprehensively compare the many spikes that emerged during the pandemic in a single experimental platform.

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Article Synopsis
  • Lake Michigan's nearshore regions, influenced significantly by nearby rivers, show total phosphorus (TP) concentrations exceeding the GLWQA's target of 7 μg L, raising concerns about nutrient-related issues.
  • A monitoring program utilizing phosphorus-based models linked to hydrodynamic models was implemented to assess these nearshore conditions, revealing variability in TP concentrations due to the area's dynamic nature.
  • The study found that while model predictions varied, they successfully illustrated temporal and spatial trends, indicating that hydrodynamics and river loads critically influence TP levels, thereby making the TP model a valuable tool for future assessments.
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Electrochemically-formed disordered rock salt compounds are an emerging class of Li-ion electrode materials for fast-charging energy storage. However, the specific factors that govern the formation process and the resulting charge storage performance are not well understood. Here, we characterize the transformation mechanism and charge storage properties of an electrochemically-formed disordered rock salt from VMoO (VMO).

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Study Design: Single-center retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To compare the correction of fractional curve and L5 tilt in 2RVBT versus PSF with LIV in the lumbar spine.

Summary Of Background Data: Vertebral body tethering, an AIS fusion-alternative, avoids rigid constructs, allowing for lower instrumented vertebra (LIV) selection.

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Genomes are organised into DNA loops by the Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) proteins. SMCs establish functional chromosomal sub-domains for DNA repair, gene expression and chromosome segregation, but how SMC activity is specifically targeted is unclear. Here, we define the molecular mechanism targeting the condensin SMC complex to specific chromosomal regions in budding yeast.

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The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 and then a pandemic on 11 March 2020. In early 2020, a group of UK scientists volunteered to provide the public with up-to-date and transparent scientific information. The group formed the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Independent SAGE) and provided live weekly briefings to the public via YouTube.

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Objectives: We aimed to assess the effects of risk-based travel restrictions on (1) international travel frequency, (2) SARS-CoV-2 case importation risk, (3) national SARS-CoV-2 incidence and (4) importation of SARS-CoV-2 variants into Scotland.

Design: Population-based surveillance study.

Setting: The study utilises SARS-CoV-2 community testing from February 2021 to May 2022 in Scotland, UK and spans the introduction of the UK's 'traffic light system' policy in May 2021.

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Introduction: Real-world studies in the USA report that 41-56% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are ≥ 50 years old, yet data on their response to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is limited. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an oral DMT approved for treating relapsing MS. This analysis evaluated the safety, efficacy, and immunophenotype changes of DMF in patients ≥ 50 years compared with patients < 50 years.

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Predicting virus-host associations is essential to determine the specific host species that viruses interact with, and discover if new viruses infect humans and animals. Currently, the host of the majority of viruses is unknown, particularly in microbiomes. To address this challenge, we introduce EvoMIL, a deep learning method that predicts the host species for viruses from viral sequences only.

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  • The tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) is characterized by isolated oceanic islands, complex ocean dynamics, and high biodiversity, particularly in reef and shore fishes.
  • Scorpaenodes xyris, a reef-dwelling scorpionfish, serves as a model for studying the evolutionary history of tropical reef fishes due to its wide distribution across the TEP.
  • Genetic analysis reveals that S. xyris consists of two main clades with distinct evolutionary subunits, influenced by geographical isolation and oceanographic processes.
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Objectives: To assess the feasibility and accuracy of a new prototype robotic implant system for the placement of zygomatic implants in edentulous maxillary models.

Methods: The study was carried out on eight plastic models. Cone beam computed tomographs were captured for each model to plan the positions of zygomatic implants.

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Background: Motion of lung tumors during radiotherapy leads to decreased accuracy of the delivered dose distribution. This is especially true for proton radiotherapy due to the finite range of the proton beam. Methods for mitigating motion rely on knowing the position of the tumor during treatment.

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Background: Ublituximab is a novel anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody glycoengineered for enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. The phase 3 ULTIMATE I and II studies showed significant improvements in annualized relapse rate, total number of gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) T1 lesions, and total number of new or enlarging T2 at Week 96, as well as improvement in the proportion of participants with no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) from Weeks 24-96 with ublituximab vs. teriflunomide.

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  • The article outlines recent updates to virus taxonomy approved by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in April 2024.
  • The ICTV invited members to vote on 203 taxonomic proposals, resulting in significant additions across various levels, including one new phylum and 3,547 new species.
  • The total number of established virus species now stands at 14,690, following the ratification of proposals for species name formatting to the binomial system.
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Objective: Subcutaneous ocrelizumab is being developed to provide treatment flexibility and additional choice to patients with multiple sclerosis. OCARINA I (NCT03972306) is an open-label, multicenter, Phase 1b, dose-finding study to investigate the pharmacokinetics, safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of subcutaneous ocrelizumab and to select a dose for the Phase 3 OCARINA II study (NCT05232825).

Methods: Patients with relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (aged 18-65 years; Expanded Disability Status Scale score 0.

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Quantifying nutrient sources in streams, their temporal and spatial variability, and drivers of that variability can support effective water resources management. Yet a lack of data and modeling capabilities has previously prevented comprehensive quantification across both space and time. Here a dynamic SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes) model that accounts for a lagged delivery of nutrients to streams was developed and applied to simulate seasonal and source-specific total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in streams across the Illinois River basin (IRB).

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Decision makers are often confronted with inadequate information to predict nutrient loads and yields in freshwater ecosystems at large spatial scales. We evaluate the potential of using data mapped at large spatial scales (regional to global) and often coarse resolution to predict nitrogen yields at varying smaller scales (e.g.

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  • The study aimed to reduce the rate at which patients do not respond to validation letters sent by hospitals, using a redesigned letter that included "nudges" as an intervention.
  • A total of 2,855 participants were divided into a control group receiving the standard letter and an intervention group receiving the new version.
  • Results showed that the intervention group had a significantly lower non-response rate (19.24%) compared to the control group (23.97%), leading to improved patient compliance with the validation process, which has now been adopted by public hospitals in Ireland.
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argue that foresight approaches are key to preparedness for emergencies such as covid-19 and that these must be integrated within policy making at all levels

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The Tropical Indo-Pacific (TIP) includes about two thirds of the world's tropical oceans and harbors an enormous number of marine species. The distributions of those species within the region is affected by habitat discontinuities and oceanographic features. As well as many smaller ones, the TIP contains seven large recognized biogeographic barriers that separate the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, the Indian from the Pacific Ocean, the central and eastern Pacific, the Hawaiian archipelago, the Marquesas and Easter Islands.

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Objective: This study analyzes gender disparities between men and women otolaryngology faculty in the top 20 otolaryngology departments ranked by research output and discusses the implications of these disparities.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all articles published by faculty from January 2020 to December 2021 at the top 20 otolaryngology departments as ranked by Doximity's 2022 research output report. Integrated data from Web of Science, faculty directories, and NIH RePORT were used to collect data on faculty.

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