Publications by authors named "S K O'Rourke"

Human astroviruses (HAstVs) are a leading cause of viral childhood diarrhea that infects nearly every individual during their lifetime. Although human astroviruses are highly prevalent, no approved vaccine currently exists. Antibody responses appear to play an important role in protection from HAstV infection; however, knowledge about the neutralizing epitope landscape is lacking, as only three neutralizing antibody epitopes have previously been determined.

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Receptors for the vasoactive adipokine apelin, termed APJ receptors, are G-protein-coupled receptors and are widely expressed throughout the cardiovascular system. APJ receptors can also signal via G-protein-independent pathways, including G-protein-coupled-receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), which inhibits nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelial cells. Apelin causes endothelium-dependent, NO-mediated relaxation of coronary arteries from normotensive animals, but the effects of activating APJ receptor signaling pathways in hypertensive coronary arteries are largely unknown.

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Magnusiomyces capitatus is an environmental fungus found in soil, water, air, plants, and dairy products which may cause opportunistic infections in patients with haematological disorders resulting in high mortality rates. This series of the first reported cases in Ireland discusses investigation of two patients with underlying haematological disorders, hospitalised in the Irish National Adult Stem Cell Transplant Unit (NASCTU), who developed line-related fungaemias with M. capitatus within a three-month period.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Airway macrophages (AM) are key immune cells in the lungs that help protect against infections, making them important for targeted therapies aimed at enhancing immune responses.
  • - The study investigates how different types of macrophages respond to signaling molecules (IFN-γ and IL-4) that represent immune responses in the lungs, finding that AM rely heavily on glycolysis for their functions, especially in cytokine production.
  • - Results show that AM exhibit unique metabolic responses and functional plasticity compared to monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM), suggesting that AM could be effective targets for new inhaled treatments for lung diseases.
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Background: Patients requiring lower limb immobilization after injury have an increased venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. The extent of this risk in published studies varies. The Thrombosis Risk Prediction for Patients with Cast Immobilization (TRiP[cast]) model quantifies VTE risk using clinical parameters.

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