Publications by authors named "Robert Long"

Management of labor in women with diabetes is challenging due to the high risk of peri- and postpartum complications. To avoid cesarean section and assist with labor progression, Pitocin, a synthetic oxytocin, is frequently used to induce and augment labor. However, the efficacy of Pitocin is often compromised in diabetic pregnancies, leading to increased cesarian delivery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Wolverines in North America have seen a reduction in their distribution due to human activities during the 19th and 20th centuries, leading to their threatened status in the US and special concern status in Canada.
  • A study collected 882 genetic samples to analyze landscape connectivity factors, focusing on terrain complexity, human disturbance, forest configuration, and climate across a vast region of southwestern Canada and northwestern US.
  • Findings showed that human disturbance negatively affects wolverine genetic connectivity, while forest cover and snow persistence help maintain genetic diversity, which can inform future conservation management efforts.
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Background: Spontaneous labor and birth peak during the late evening and early morning hours, indicating an endogenous rhythm in labor onset and birth. We hypothesize that the time-of-day of labor induction will define labor duration and the risk of cesarian section.

Methods: In a retrospective study of pregnant women who were induced for labor (n =3,688), time-of- day of labor induction was studied across maternal phenotypes.

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Psoriasis predisposes to cardiovascular dysfunction. We investigated whether glycocalyx dietary supplement (GDS), which contains glycosaminoglycans and fucoidan, improves endothelial glycocalyx and arterial stiffness in psoriatic patients. Fifty participants with psoriasis under biological agents were randomly assigned to GDS (n = 25) or placebo (n = 25) for 4 months.

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Linear barriers pose significant challenges for wildlife gene flow, impacting species persistence, adaptation, and evolution. While numerous studies have examined the effects of linear barriers (e.g.

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Camera traps deployed with olfactory attractants are used to survey rare and elusive carnivores. Study areas with deep snowpack and rugged terrain present challenges and risks to field personnel, who traditionally must revisit camera stations regularly to refresh attractants. In such locations, alternative overwinter survey protocols that include a persistent attractant would improve both the safety and efficiency of camera-trap surveys.

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SNAPSHOT USA is a multicontributor, long-term camera trap survey designed to survey mammals across the United States. Participants are recruited through community networks and directly through a website application (https://www.snapshot-usa.

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While there is increasing recognition that social processes in cities like gentrification have ecological consequences, we lack nuanced understanding of the ways gentrification affects urban biodiversity. We analyzed a large camera trap dataset of mammals (>500 g) to evaluate how gentrification impacts species richness and community composition across 23 US cities. After controlling for the negative effect of impervious cover, gentrified parts of cities had the highest mammal species richness.

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Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely.

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Human-driven environmental changes shape ecological communities from local to global scales. Within cities, landscape-scale patterns and processes and species characteristics generally drive local-scale wildlife diversity. However, cities differ in their structure, species pools, geographies and histories, calling into question the extent to which these drivers of wildlife diversity are predictive at continental scales.

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(1) Damage to the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC), a protective layer lining the endothelial luminal surface, is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which leads to a worsening of cardiovascular outcomes in these patients. Currently, there are no targeted therapeutic approaches. Whether the dietary supplement Endocalyx (ECX) protects against endothelial damage caused by uremic toxins is unknown.

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Background: In the critical care environment, individuals who undergo tracheostomy are highly susceptible to tracheostomy-related pressure injuries.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce tracheostomy-related pressure injury in the critical care setting.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies of pediatric or adult patients in intensive care units conducted to evaluate interventions to reduce tracheostomy-related pressure injury.

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Background: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries, including those related to airway devices, are a significant source of morbidity in critically ill patients.

Objective: To determine the incidence of endotracheal tube-related pressure injuries in critically ill patients and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent injury.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies of pediatric or adult patients in intensive care units that evaluated interventions to reduce endotracheal tube-related pressure injury.

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Signaling through the platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) plays a critical role in multiple cellular processes during development. The two PDGFRs, PDGFRα and PDGFRβ, dimerize to form homodimers and/or heterodimers. Here, we overcome previous limitations in studying PDGFR dimer-specific dynamics by generating cell lines stably expressing C-terminal fusions of each PDGFR with bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) fragments corresponding to the N-terminal or C-terminal regions of the Venus fluorescent protein.

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Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals, but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the USA. This project involved 152 scientists setting camera traps in a standardized protocol at 1485 locations across 103 arrays in 43 states for a total of 52,710 trap-nights of survey effort.

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Preeclampsia complicates 2-8% of pregnancies and is associated with prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction. Cholesterol and sterol transport is a key function of the placenta and it is elicited through ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters. ABCA1 expression changes during trophoblast cell fusion, a process required to form the placental syncytium that enables maternal-fetal nutrient transfer.

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Urban biodiversity provides critical ecosystem services and is a key component to environmentally and socially sustainable cities. However, biodiversity varies greatly within and among cities, leading to human communities with changing and unequal experiences with nature. The "luxury effect," a hypothesis that predicts a positive correlation between wealth, typically measured by per capita income, and species richness may be one indication of these inequities.

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With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August-24 November of 2019).

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Epidemiological studies indicate that elevated alkaline phosphatase activity is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Other epidemiological data demonstrate that mothers giving multiple childbirths (multipara) are also at increased risk of developing late-onset cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that these two associations stem from a common cause, the insufficient plasma level of the ectopic mineralization inhibitor inorganic pyrophosphate, which is a substrate of alkaline phosphatase.

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Cranial neural crest cells (cNCCs) are migratory, multipotent cells that originate from the forebrain to the hindbrain and eventually give rise to the cartilage and bone of the frontonasal skeleton, among other derivatives. Signaling through the two members of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases, alpha and beta, plays critical roles in the cNCC lineage to regulate craniofacial development during murine embryogenesis. Further, the PDGFRs have been shown to genetically interact during murine craniofacial development at mid-to-late gestation.

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Background: A placental microbiome, which may be altered in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), has been described. However, publications raising doubts about the existence of a placental microbiome that is different than contaminants in DNA extraction kits and reagents ("kitomes") have emerged. The aims of this study were to confirm the existence of a placental microbiome distinct from contaminants and determine if it is altered in GDM mothers.

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Lymphocyte migration is essential for the function of the adaptive immune system, and regulation of T cell entry into tissues is an effective therapy in autoimmune diseases. Little is known about the specific role of cytoskeletal effectors that mediate mechanical forces and morphological changes essential for migration in complex environments. We developed a new Formin-like-1 (FMNL1) knock-out mouse model and determined that the cytoskeletal effector FMNL1 is selectively required for effector T cell trafficking to inflamed tissues, without affecting naïve T cell entry into secondary lymphoid organs.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, incidence rates for dental diseases will continue unabated. However, the intent to prevent the spread of this lethal respiratory disease will likely lead to reduced treatment access due to restrictions on population movements. These changes have the potential to increase dental-related emergency department visits and subsequently contribute to greater viral transmission.

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