Publications by authors named "Sandy J"

Introduction: Pre-implantation testing (PGT) is often suggested by healthcare professionals (HCP) to parents of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) considering subsequent children. Despite this, some families choose to conceive naturally without genetic testing and intervention. The aims of this study were to explore fertility choices of couples with a child with CAH and the decision making process and perceptions behind these choices, and to explore the families' lived experiences with CAH and the couples' subsequent fertility journey.

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Orofacial clefts are the most common craniofacial congenital malformation in humans. Approximately 30% of clefts arise as part of a syndrome or sequence, characterised by co-existing structural and functional anomalies. Many syndromes are thought to be undiagnosed, although the presence of multiple anomalies may indicate the presence of a syndrome or sequence.

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Objective: The primary aim was to assess the cost (£) to the National Health Service (NHS) of hospital treatment for individuals born with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), and cleft palate (CP), from birth to 20 years. The secondary aim was to assess the number of scheduled clinical outpatient and inpatient/outpatient surgical visits for this cohort.

Design: Retrospective micro-costing analysis.

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A group of three deep-learning tools, referred to collectively as CHiMP (Crystal Hits in My Plate), were created for analysis of micrographs of protein crystallization experiments at the Diamond Light Source (DLS) synchrotron, UK. The first tool, a classification network, assigns images into categories relating to experimental outcomes. The other two tools are networks that perform both object detection and instance segmentation, resulting in masks of individual crystals in the first case and masks of crystallization droplets in addition to crystals in the second case, allowing the positions and sizes of these entities to be recorded.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study examined testicular lesions in cats in Hong Kong from 2018 to 2024, focusing on both neoplastic (tumor-related) and non-neoplastic (non-tumor-related) findings.
  • - Out of 26 testis samples from 18 cats, non-neoplastic lesions were more common, especially inflammation and conditions like cryptorchidism, while neoplastic lesions were found in three older cats, including Sertoli cell tumor, leiomyoma, and fibrosarcoma.
  • - The research highlights that non-neoplastic lesions are prevalent and identifies new instances of leiomyoma and fibrosarcoma in cats’ testes, suggesting the need for awareness about these possible conditions.
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(syn. ) (Bancroft, 1893) is a nematode, which colonises the liver of a wide range of hosts including humans. The worldwide prevalence of infection in the genus can be as high as 100% and the Norway rat () and black rat () are considered the main host species.

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Rabbits are popular pets in the urban environment of Hong Kong, ranking third behind cats and dogs. Here we describe the frequency of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions in biopsies from pet rabbits submitted to the CityU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory between 2019 and 2022, comprising 247 tissue samples from 243 rabbits collected by veterinarians in 19 veterinary clinics. Among the 243 rabbits, there were 128 females (65 spayed), 114 males (54 castrated); sex information was not provided for 1 rabbit.

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Introduction: Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) affects 1 in 700 live births globally. Children born with CL/P and their families face various challenges throughout the child's development. Extant research is often limited by small numbers and single-centre data.

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Protocols for robotic protein crystallization using the Crystallization Facility at Harwell and in situ room temperature data collection from crystallization plates at Diamond Light Source beamline VMXi are described. This approach enables high-quality room-temperature crystal structures to be determined from multiple crystals in a straightforward manner and provides very rapid feedback on the results of crystallization trials as well as enabling serial crystallography. The value of room temperature structures in understanding protein structure, ligand binding, and dynamics is becoming increasingly recognized in the structural biology community.

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A considerable bottleneck in serial crystallography at XFEL and synchrotron sources is the efficient production of large quantities of homogenous, well diffracting microcrystals. Efficient high-throughput screening of batch-grown microcrystals and the determination of ground-state structures from different conditions is thus of considerable value in the early stages of a project. Here, a highly sample-efficient methodology to measure serial crystallography data from microcrystals by raster scanning within standard in situ 96-well crystallization plates is described.

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Objective: To compare demographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of children with type 1 diabetes age <6 years across three international registries: Diabetes Prospective Follow-Up Registry (DPV; Europe), T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Network (T1DX-QI; U.S.), and Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN; Australasia).

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Clinical Relevance: In contrast to superficial fungal infections, such as dermatophytosis, invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are characterised by penetration of tissues by fungal elements. Disease can spread locally within a region or can disseminate haematogenously or via the lymphatics. The environment is the most common reservoir of infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and fungal-like infections (IFLIs) are challenging to treat due to long treatment times, the potential for relapse, and variable antifungal drug effectiveness.
  • The article aims to review the activity, mechanisms, and side effects of antifungal drugs, while discussing the treatment and prognosis for specific infections such as cryptococcosis and mucormycosis.
  • Information is primarily based on pharmacokinetic studies in cats, along with data from preclinical and human studies, combining insights from various veterinary specialties.
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  • X-linked hypophosphataemia (XLH) is a genetic condition leading to rickets, with prevalence estimates between 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 200,000; study in Australia and New Zealand aimed to better understand its prevalence and characteristics.
  • A total of 75 cases in Australia and 18 in New Zealand were identified, revealing a minimum estimated prevalence of 1.33 per 100,000 in Australia and 1.60 per 100,000 in New Zealand, but many cases go undiagnosed until after age 2, impacting treatment and outcomes.
  • Common symptoms include leg bowing, bone pain, and short stature, with significant complications like nephrocalc
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The utility of X-ray crystal structures determined under ambient-temperature conditions is becoming increasingly recognized. Such experiments can allow protein dynamics to be characterized and are particularly well suited to challenging protein targets that may form fragile crystals that are difficult to cryo-cool. Room-temperature data collection also enables time-resolved experiments.

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Cartilages are unique in the family of connective tissues in that they contain a high concentration of the glycosaminoglycans, chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate attached to the core protein of the proteoglycan, aggrecan. Multiple aggrecan molecules are organized in the extracellular matrix via a domain-specific molecular interaction with hyaluronan and a link protein, and these high molecular weight aggregates are immobilized within the collagen and glycoprotein network. The high negative charge density of glycosaminoglycans provides hydrophilicity, high osmotic swelling pressure and conformational flexibility, which together function to absorb fluctuations in biomechanical stresses on cartilage during movement of an articular joint.

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Canine hemangiosarcoma is a common, highly fatal tumor of older dogs, and predictors of survivability may provide clinically useful information. The objectives of this case series were to determine if a previously published tumor histological grading scheme, the level of tumor cellular atypia, clinical staging, or the level of CD 31 expression were useful for predicting the survival time in dogs with splenic hemangiosarcoma. Canine splenic hemangiosarcomas from 16 dogs were histologically graded, clinically staged, and assessed for CD 31 expression.

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Clinically detectable thyroid nodules are less common in children than adults. However, they are associated with an increased risk of malignancy. Therefore, thorough evaluation of paediatric thyroid nodules is necessary, and an understanding of the features associated with a higher risk of malignancy is important to guide management and referral.

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Bruck syndrome is a rare collagen disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance caused by pathogenic variants in either FKBP10 or PLOD2 genes. It is characterized by bone fragility and fractures similar in severity and variability to osteogenesis-imperfecta as well as congenital joint contractures. This article describes an infant with a homozygous (partial) gene deletion of PLOD2 that includes the start codon and would be expected to lead to nonfunctional protein product.

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Objectives: To estimate both the association of surgical variables in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (cUCLP) in the UK with outcomes at age 5 years, and the association of secondary speech surgery, volume of surgery, and surgeon with the same outcomes.

Setting And Sample Population: The Cleft Care UK study, a cross-sectional study of 268 5-year-olds, born from 2005 to 2007, with cUCLP.

Materials And Methods: Information on surgical variables was extracted from a standardized questionnaire.

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Article Synopsis
  • All eight dogs in the kennel were tested, revealing that only the local dog was infected, while the others showed no signs of the disease.
  • The case is significant as it's the first autochthonous occurrence of canine leishmaniasis in Hong Kong, raising concerns about its potential impact on local dogs and human health.
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Objectives: To determine the UK prevalence of behavioral problems in 5-year-old children born with isolated or syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) compared to the general population and identify potentially associated factors.

Design: Observational study using questionnaire data from the Cleft Collective 5-Year-Old Cohort study and three general population samples.

Main Outcome Measure: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

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In macromolecular crystallography, radiation damage limits the amount of data that can be collected from a single crystal. It is often necessary to merge data sets from multiple crystals; for example, small-wedge data collections from micro-crystals, in situ room-temperature data collections and data collection from membrane proteins in lipidic mesophases. Whilst the indexing and integration of individual data sets may be relatively straightforward with existing software, merging multiple data sets from small wedges presents new challenges.

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