Publications by authors named "Simons C"

Aims: For new medicines, drug companies obtain regulatory approval on the strategy to generate evidence in the paediatric population, which can be supported by extrapolation of evidence obtained in a reference population. This study investigated whether paediatric marketing authorization applications (PMAAs) supported by extrapolation based on exposure-matching were more successful-i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) frequently co-occur in patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD). Patients with SSD and OCS experience increased clinical and social challenges, including diminished quality of life and subjective well-being. However, it is unknown whether co-morbid OCS are associated with personal recovery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

People living with HIV (PLWH) experience HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), even though combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) suppresses HIV replication. HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (HIV-1 Tat) contributes to the development of HAND through neuroinflammatory and neurotoxic mechanisms. C-C chemokine 5 receptor (CCR5) is important in immune cell targeting and is a co-receptor for HIV viral entry into CD4+ cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Case-based peer review of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is used by many hospitals for quality improvement and to make decisions regarding physician competency. However, there are no studies testing the reliability or validity of peer review for PCI performance evaluation.

Methods: We recruited interventional cardiologists from 12 Veterans Affairs Health System facilities throughout the United States to provide PCI cases for review.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The capture of carbon dioxide (CO) is crucial for reducing greenhouse emissions and achieving net-zero emission goals. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) present a promising solution for carbon capture due to their structural adaptability, tunability, porosity, and pore modification. In this research, we explored the use of a copper (Cu(II))-based MOF called .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Symptom severity and social functioning are important outcomes after first episode psychosis (FEP), yet current evidence about associations between them is inconsistent and lacks (subclinical) momentary insights.

Methods: The current Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study was conducted in 58 people in remission from FEP, as part of the HAMLETT (Handling Antipsychotic Medication: Long-term Evaluation of Targeted Treatment) trial. At baseline, participants were prompted to report momentary mental states and social context 10x/day for eight consecutive days, including psychotic experiences (PEs), motivation/drive and negative affect, that may indicate proxies of (subclinical) psychotic, negative and general affective symptoms, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Individuals with schizophrenia commonly experience poor social functioning (SF), influenced by stigmatization and linked to low self-esteem. The intricate role of self-esteem in this context remains insufficiently explored. This study delves into the short and long-term impact of perceived stigma on SF, investigating the mediating or moderating effects of self-esteem and momentary fluctuations in self-esteem.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The study found minimal influence of familial clustering on these unmet financial needs, indicating that family relationships do not strongly predict financial challenges in individuals with psychosis.
  • * Additionally, substance use, particularly cannabis and tobacco, was linked to higher levels of unmet financial needs, highlighting the importance of addressing both financial and substance-related issues in support strategies for people with psychosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Hypothesis: Psychotic disorders (PDs) have huge personal and societal impact, and efforts to improve outcomes in patients are continuously needed. Environmental risk factors (ERFs), especially modifiable risk factors, are important to study because they pose a target for intervention and prevention. No studies have investigated ERFs, cognition, and psychotic symptoms together in a network approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Families living with mitochondrial diseases (MD) often endure prolonged diagnostic journeys and invasive testing, yet many remain without a molecular diagnosis. The Australian Genomics Mitochondrial Flagship, comprising clinicians, diagnostic, and research scientists, conducted a prospective national study to identify the diagnostic utility of singleton genomic sequencing using blood samples.

Methods: A total of 140 children and adults living with suspected MD were recruited using modified Nijmegen criteria (MNC) and randomized to either exome + mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing or genome sequencing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Researchers studied mutations in a gene that affects a key protein involved in cell signaling, which is linked to severe health issues like impaired immunity in patients.
  • The mutations were found to disrupt normal cell behavior by promoting excessive cell growth and responses to immune signals, specifically T cell receptor stimulation.
  • The mutant protein was shown to interfere with a regulatory protein, leading to heightened activity of important signaling pathways that contribute to cell growth and survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Clinical microbiology laboratories are responsible for confirming the aetiology of infectious diseases and providing antimicrobial susceptibility testing results. Traditional culture-based testing can be augmented by more rapid testing modalities to provide clinically actionable information as quickly as possible. Despite improvements in patient outcomes, many clinical microbiology laboratories are facing challenges to in-sourcing these technologies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Astringency, commonly described as a drying, roughening, and/or puckering sensation associated with polyphenol-rich foods affects their palatability. While the compounds eliciting astringency are known, its mechanism of action is debated. This study investigated the role of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels A1 and V1 in astringency perception.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Restoring relevant context during consumer sensory testing using virtual reality (VR) technologies may facilitate evaluations reflective of real-world experiences, enabling reliable data collection to better predict product success. Prior research has applied the same consumption scenario to all participants without accounting for variations in individual consumption habits. Thus, a consumption scenario of low personal relevance can lead to misleading conclusions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Several automated programs have been developed to facilitate body composition analysis of images from abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans. External validation in patients with colorectal cancer is necessary for use in research and clinical practice. Our aim was to validate an automatic method (AutoMATiCA) of segmenting CT images at the third lumbar level (L3) from patients with colorectal cancer, by comparing with manual segmentation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess if a smartphone app using experience sampling methods (ESM) could help monitor changes in subjective well-being and psychotic experiences during the reduction of antipsychotic medication doses in two participants with psychotic disorders.
  • Results revealed varied effects: one participant showed improved well-being and fewer psychotic experiences, while the other experienced worsened conditions during the dose reduction.
  • The findings suggest that self-monitoring through the ESM app can empower individuals, enhance their control over their treatment, and aid in optimizing medication dosages tailored to personal experiences, essential in managing diverse psychotic disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Previous studies found no or weak positive associations between height and lung cancer (LC) risk, with differences between sexes. Few studies stratified the association by smoking status and LC subtype. This prospective study investigated the association between height and risks of overall LC and LC subtypes (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Long-term energy balance-related factors (i.e., lifestyle and physiologic factors that influence the equilibrium between energy intake and energy expenditure over an extended period) such as body mass index (BMI) are linked to colorectal cancer risk, but their impact on colorectal cancer survival is unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA) is a recently identified haematoxylin & eosin (H&E)based histopathologic biomarker in gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC), defined as direct contact between tumour cells and adipocytes at the tumour invasion front. The current study aimed at validating the prognostic relevance of SARIFA in a large population-based CRC series as well as at investigating the relationship between SARIFA-status and previously established Warburg-subtypes, both surrogates of the metabolic state of the tumour cells.

Methods: SARIFA-status (positive versus negative) was determined on H&E slides of 1,727 CRC specimens.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The study identifies RNU4-2, a non-coding RNA gene, as a significant contributor to syndromic NDD, revealing a specific 18-base pair region with low variation that includes variants found in 115 individuals with NDD.
  • * RNU4-2 is highly expressed in the developing brain, and its variants disrupt splicing processes, indicating that non-coding genes play a crucial role in rare disorders, potentially aiding in the diagnosis of thousands with NDD worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is commonly diagnosed using thresholds developed for adults, yet emerging evidence indicates these levels may not be appropriate for children and adolescents. This misalignment can lead to underdiagnosis in younger populations, with potential long-term health implications.

Case Summary: Chief Complaint: The 17-year-old female patient experienced severe fatigue, menstrual irregularities, psychological distress, and neurological symptoms over several years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The voltage penalty driving water dissociation (WD) at high current density is a major obstacle in the commercialization of bipolar membrane (BPM) technology for energy devices. Here we show that three materials descriptors, that is, electrical conductivity, microscopic surface area and (nominal) surface-hydroxyl coverage, effectively control the kinetics of WD in BPMs. Using these descriptors and optimizing mass loading, we design new earth-abundant WD catalysts based on nanoparticle SnO synthesized at low temperature with high conductivity and hydroxyl coverage.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report three siblings homozygous for CSF1R variant c.1969 + 115_1969 + 116del to expand the phenotype of "brain abnormalities, neurodegeneration, and dysosteosclerosis" (BANDDOS) and discuss its link with "adult leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia" (ALSP), caused by heterozygous CSF1R variants. We evaluated medical, radiological, and laboratory findings and reviewed the literature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • About 25% of patients with unexplained kidney failure have a genetic cause, specifically related to monogenic disorders.
  • A study explored the effectiveness of whole genome sequencing (WGS) combined with broad gene panel analysis in diagnosing these cases, finding it to be a viable method for identifying genetic mutations.
  • Among 100 participants aged ≤50 with stage 5 chronic kidney disease, a genetic diagnosis was reached in 25%, with a higher likelihood of positive results in those with a family history of chronic kidney disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Loss-of-function variants in MME (membrane metalloendopeptidase) are a known cause of recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy (CMT). A deep intronic variant, MME c.1188+428A>G (NM_000902.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF