Publications by authors named "S M Laird"

Background: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has proved ineffective in treating patients hospitalised with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), but uncertainty remains over its safety and efficacy in chemoprevention. Previous chemoprevention randomised controlled trials (RCTs) did not individually show benefit of HCQ against COVID-19 and, although meta-analysis did suggest clinical benefit, guidelines recommend against its use.

Methods And Findings: Healthy adult participants from the healthcare setting, and later from the community, were enrolled in 26 centres in 11 countries to a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial of COVID-19 chemoprevention.

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A public health practitioner's mission is to protect and promote the health of all people in all communities. Components of being successful in that mission include understanding who is at risk of negative outcomes, identifying effective actions to promote and protect health, and communicating information accordingly. Information must be scientifically rigorous, provide appropriate contextualizing information, and refer to and visually represent people through words and images in respectful ways.

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Throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, diagnostic technology played a crucial role in managing outbreaks on a national and global level. One diagnostic modality that has shown promise is breath analysis, due to its non-invasive nature and ability to give a rapid result. In this study, a portable FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red) spectrometer was used to detect chemical components in the breath from Covid positive symptomatic and asymptomatic patients versus a control cohort of Covid negative patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • Maternal immunomodulation plays a crucial role in early pregnancy, marked by a shift from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokines following embryo transfer (ET).
  • This study analyzed serum samples at various time points post-ET to compare cytokine profiles in women who miscarried versus those who had live births, revealing significant differences after day ET+9.
  • Key findings include increased pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-17, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in women who miscarried, alongside decreased anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and TGF-β1, highlighting the importance of an anti-inflammatory environment for early pregnancy maintenance.
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