Publications by authors named "Smart M"

Spirituality is widely recognized as a potential moderator of the adverse effects of hemodialysis on mental health. Understanding its impact on mental health in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, however, remains a significant research gap. Hence, this study aims to explore the correlations between spirituality, anxiety, and depression among Saudi Arabian patients undergoing hemodialysis.

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Habituation-a phenomenon in which a dynamical system exhibits a diminishing response to repeated stimulations that eventually recovers when the stimulus is withheld-is universally observed in living systems from animals to unicellular organisms. Despite its prevalence, generic mechanisms for this fundamental form of learning remain poorly defined. Drawing inspiration from prior work on systems that respond adaptively to step inputs, we study habituation from a nonlinear dynamics perspective.

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How do variations in nutrient levels influence cellular lifespan? A dynamical systems model of a core circuit involved in yeast aging suggests principles underlying lifespan extension observed at static and alternating glucose levels that are reminiscent of intermittent fasting regimens.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on the safety concerns of residual undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in cell therapy products (CTPs), which could lead to tumor formation in clinical applications.
  • - Researchers tested a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method to detect leftover induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in cardiomyocyte samples by varying their concentrations and measuring specific iPSC markers for accuracy.
  • - Findings indicated that the RT-ddPCR assay effectively identifies iPSC impurities in CTPs, with variability primarily arising from how iPSCs were added to samples, showcasing the method's potential for ensuring safety in PSC-derived therapies.
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This paper exploits the potential of Global Positioning System datasets sourced from mobile phones to estimate the racial composition of road users, leveraging data from their respective Census block group. The racial composition data encompasses approximately 46 million trips in the Chicago metropolitan region. The research focuses on the relationship between camera tickets and racial composition of drivers vs.

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Rationale: The shift toward virtual academic detailing (AD) was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aims And Objectives: We aimed to examine the role of external, contextual, and intrinsic programme-specific factors in virtual engagement of healthcare providers (HCPs) and delivery of AD.

Methods: AD groups throughout North America were contacted to participate in semistructured interviews.

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Context: The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) is a commonly used clinical tool to evaluate postural control that is traditionally performed through visual assessment and subjective evaluation of balance errors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an automated computer-based scoring system using an instrumented pressure mat compared to the traditional human-based manual assessment.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate the performance of the automated versus human BESS scoring methodology in healthy individuals.

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When a founder cell and its progeny divide with incomplete cytokinesis, a network forms in which each intercellular bridge corresponds to a past mitotic event. Such networks are required for gamete production in many animals, and different species have evolved diverse final network topologies. Although mechanisms regulating network assembly have been identified in particular organisms, we lack a quantitative framework to understand network assembly and inter-species variability.

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The sulfur oxidation kinetics of an industrial strain of Acidithiobacillus caldus (At. caldus) cultured on elemental sulfur was explored in batch experiments in the absence and presence of thiocyanate (SCN), a toxin inherent within cyanidation tailings wastewater. The Contois rate expression accurately described At.

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Background Aims: Roux en y anastomosis is a preferred method of biliary reconstruction in liver transplantation that involves living donors or pediatric patients. However, biliary stricture is a frequent and serious complication, accounting for up to 40% of biliary complications in these patients. Previously, we demonstrated that extraluminal delivery of adipose-derived (AD) mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) decreased peri-biliary fibrosis and increased neo-angiogenesis in a porcine model of duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis.

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We recently reported the first examples of S-Cl⋅⋅⋅O halogen bonding complemented by short F⋅⋅⋅F contacts between neighboring chains that resulted in stabilized crystals of ClSO (CF ) SO Cl and ClSO (CF ) SO Cl. More recently, other researchers studied our crystallographic data further using an Independent Gradient Model (IGM), and they suggested if one goes beyond IUPAC's proposed 'less than the sum of the van der Waals radii' criterion that even more noncovalent interactions between fluorine atoms on neighboring chains as well as Cl⋅⋅⋅Cl, Cl⋅⋅⋅S, O⋅⋅⋅F, and O⋅⋅⋅S attractive interactions can be found. With that said, we have prepared samples of the related BrSO (CF ) SO Br derivatives (where n=4, 6, 8, and others), which give rise to even stronger S-Br⋅⋅⋅O halogen bonding interactions complemented minimally by O⋅⋅⋅F and F⋅⋅⋅F intermolecular interactions as shown by X-ray crystallography and computational chemistry using IGM isosurface plots.

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Background: The Illinois Naloxone Standing Order allows community pharmacists to dispense naloxone; however, this policy initiative may be underutilized.

Objective: Our study aims to characterize naloxone dispensing barriers, overall and by pharmacy type, make recommendations that can inform future policies to improve naloxone access, and evaluate outreach initiative effectiveness from academic detailers' perspectives.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of semistructured data collected as part of an educational outreach program targeting Illinois community pharmacists in 2021.

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Perioperative anaphylaxis is a rare, but life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction for patients undergoing surgical procedures. Sugammadex is a relatively new drug used to reverse the neuromuscular blockade of specific anesthetics in surgery. Several case reports indicate that there may be a risk of anaphylaxis associated with the use of sugammadex This review examines the literature in order to evaluate the strength of the association between sugammadex use and anaphylaxis.

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Leveraging community engagement from past research may yield frameworks on which to build new inquiries. We previously integrated community voice into the development of a healthfulness index to increase awareness of social determinants of health in the built environment and inform deployment of public health interventions in the Flint (Michigan, USA) Center for Health Equity Solutions. Here we combine the healthfulness index with self-reported chronic disease and health outcomes (n = 12,279) from a community-based healthcare entity, the Genesee Health Plan.

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) surpasses other BC subtypes as the most challenging to treat due to its lack of traditional BC biomarkers. Nearly 30% of TNBC patients express the androgen receptor (AR), and the blockade of androgen production and AR signaling have been the cornerstones of therapies for AR-positive TNBC. However, the majority of women are resistant to AR-targeted therapy, which is a major impediment to improving outcomes for the AR-positive TNBC subpopulation.

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Understanding the fundamental controls that govern the generation of mine drainage is essential for waste management strategies. Combining the isotopic composition of water (H and O) and dissolved sulfate (S and O) with hydrogeochemical measurements of surface and groundwater, microbial analysis, composition of sediments and precipitates, and geochemical modeling results in this study we discussed the processes that control mine water chemistry and identified the potential source(s) and possible mechanisms governing sulfate formation and transformation around a South African colliery. Compared to various South African water standards, water samples collected from the surroundings of a coal waste disposal facility had elevated Fe (0.

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Purpose: There are approximately 150,000 women living with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in the United States. Disparities in de novo mBC incidence and mortality exist across race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and rurality. However, how SES and rurality independently impact mBC outcomes across different racial/ethnic groups is not fully understood.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological phenotypes of persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) on insulin therapy to better inform personalized diabetes education strategies to improve self-management behaviors.

Methods: Q-methodology, a research approach combining the quantitative rigor of statistical analysis with qualitative data on perception of diabetes self-management by persons with T2D on insulin therapy, was used. The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activity measure and A1C in the past 6 months were used to further describe self-management behaviors of each P-sample, Q-sorter.

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Introduction: Academic detailing (AD) is an educational outreach strategy to provide clinicians with current evidence-based information, which has been shown to change prescribing behaviours. The overall effectiveness of AD interventions is associated with prescriber satisfaction; however, most approaches use single items or non-validated measures. This study aims to develop and validate an instrument to assess prescriber satisfaction with AD interventions.

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Background: Over half of US adults have at least one chronic disease, including obesity. Although physical activity is an important component of chronic disease self-management, few reach the recommended physical activity goals. Individuals who identify as racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionally affected by chronic diseases and physical inactivity.

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Background: Academic detailing (AD) is a tailored, interactive educational outreach intervention that may improve patient outcomes. Insight into the design of AD interventions and the extent to which they are effective can help inform future AD-based programmes. The objective of this scoping review was to characterize opioid-focused AD interventions and describe their findings.

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Introduction: Decreased sleep quality and lower heart rate variability (HRV) have both independently been associated with diabetes and may contribute to risks for cardiovascular disease. Although poor sleep quality has been associated with lower HRV in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), studies of sleep quality in adolescents with (T2D) or studies examining the possible association of poor sleep quality with lower HRV in adolescents with T2D or T1D are not available.

Aim: Thus, we conducted a secondary analysis of data from an existing study to determine if there were associations between sleep quality and HRV in adolescents with T1D or T2D.

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The number of people counting calories through apps is increasing, yet concerns have been raised that this could trigger symptoms of eating disorders. Although associations between calorie tracking and eating disorder symptomatology have been identified, further research is needed to understand motives for, and the perceived impact of, using a calorie tracking app. This study addressed these gaps with data collected from 1357 adults.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how genetic factors influence DNA methylation (DNAm), which is crucial for understanding gene regulation and diseases, using data from 32,851 participants.
  • Researchers identified genetic variants linked to DNAm at over 420,000 sites and created a database of more than 270,000 independent mQTLs, highlighting the complexity and polygenic nature of DNAm levels.
  • The findings suggest that while some shared genetic variants are linked to both DNAm and complex diseases, only a few cases indicate a direct causal relationship, revealing a complicated connection between genetics and phenotypes.
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Objective: Alcohol use continues to be a major public health problem in Uganda. This study sought to estimate the availability of sachet alcohol among retail food and beverage establishments in two Ugandan districts (Kampala and Jinja) before and after enactment of the national sachet alcohol ban.

Method: Independent observations in 100 establishments were conducted by a pair of trained observers during the peak hours of 7 P.

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