Publications by authors named "Smith D"

Article Synopsis
  • Blood-CNS barriers help protect the central nervous system (CNS) by blocking immune cells and harmful molecules, but their integrity may decline with age, impacting CNS function.
  • Research showed that aging primarily affects genes linked to immune responses and pericyte function in certain CNS regions, particularly the spinal cord, but does not significantly alter endothelial cell junctions or vascular structures.
  • The study found no evidence of increased paracellular permeability in blood-brain and blood-spinal cord barriers with normal aging in mice, suggesting that while gene expression changes occur, they do not directly lead to permeability issues unless there are additional stressors.
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Background: Since 2015, malaria vector control on Bioko Island has relied heavily upon long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) to complement other interventions. Despite significant resources utilised, however, achieving and maintaining high coverage has been elusive. Here, core LLIN indicators were used to assess and redefine distribution strategies.

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Predators regulate communities through top-down control in many ecosystems. Because most studies of top-down control last less than a year and focus on only a subset of the community, they may miss predator effects that manifest at longer timescales or across whole food webs. In southeastern US salt marshes, short-term and small-scale experiments indicate that nektonic predators (e.

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"Despite ART, we detected occasional microglia containing cell-associated HIV RNA and HIV DNA integrated into open regions of the host's genome (∼0.005%)" should be corrected to: "Despite ART, we detected occasional microglia containing cell-associated HIV RNA and HIV DNA integrated into open regions of the host's genome (∼0.5%).

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  • The study aimed to compare the accuracy of open-source AI language models against human authors in generating a systematic review on pulsed-Thulium:YAG laser.
  • Five manuscripts were assessed by both independent certified endourologists and four different AI models, with the human review serving as the benchmark for accuracy.
  • Results indicated that while human-generated content was significantly more accurate than AI outputs, ChatGPT3.5 performed the best among the AI models, suggesting that AI can be useful with human oversight in technical fields.
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Evolution of dispersal is a fascinating topic at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary dynamics that has generated many challenging problems in the analysis of reaction-diffusion equations. Early results indicated that lower random diffusion rates are generally beneficial. However, in riverine environments with downstream drift, high diffusion may be optimal, depending on downstream boundary conditions.

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The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a key role in memory and behavioral flexibility, and a growing body of evidence suggests that the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) subregions contribute differently to these processes. Studies of fear conditioning and goal-directed learning suggest that the PL promotes behavioral responses and memory retrieval, while the IL inhibits them. Other studies have shown that the mPFC is engaged under conditions of high interference.

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SARS-CoV-2 vaccine uptake variation remains a significant barrier to overcoming the spread of COVID-19. Individual beliefs/attitudes about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine vary significantly across generations due to personal experiences, access to accurate information, education levels, political beliefs, and trust in healthcare systems. This analysis used data from the baseline visit of , a cohort of Americans of Mexican descent (AoDM) and African American individuals (n = 1052) in San Diego, CA, along the U.

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For most individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the acute illness resolves completely. However, for millions of people, symptoms or sequelae from COVID-19 recur or persist for months to years after infection. Post-COVID-19 sequelae are wide-ranging, often affecting the musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and cardiovascular systems.

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During 2016-2022, Medicare part D beneficiaries filled 8,674,460 clotrimazole-betamethasone dipropionate prescriptions. Annual rates were stable (30.9 prescriptions/1,000 beneficiary-years in 2022, enough for one in every 33 beneficiaries).

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This study evaluated the influence of organic matter (OM) constituents on the potential for recovery of P from wastewaters when FeCl treatment is employed for P removal. The presence of OM constituents did not influence P release from Fe-P sludges when alkaline and ascorbic acid treatments were employed. However, the overall recovery of P from wastewater was impacted by the presence of selected OM constituents through the reduction of P uptake during coagulation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ross River virus (RRV) and Barmah Forest virus (BFV) are related viruses found in Australia and Papua New Guinea, showing evidence of convergent evolution in their genetic development.
  • Analysis of multiple genomes revealed that specific mutations in key proteins are important for their replication and interaction with host cells, indicating similarities in how both viruses adapt to their environments.
  • Although some mutations appear to have benefited their evolution, the overall selection pressures suggest that RRV and BFV have undergone purifying selection, maintaining stable functions during their replication in different hosts like mosquitoes and vertebrates.
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  • - Long-term research in agroecosystems is crucial for balancing increased agricultural production with environmental sustainability and social acceptance, requiring collaboration among various stakeholders.
  • - The LTAR network's "Common Experiment" aims to produce multi-region scientific data to support innovative, sustainable agricultural practices while enhancing food security and environmental resilience.
  • - This experiment contrasts different agricultural production systems and adapts treatments through stakeholder input, though site-specific challenges may hinder uniform implementation and engagement.
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Chromoblastomycosis, an implantation mycosis, is a neglected tropical disease that causes decreased quality of life, stigma, and disability. The global burden of disease is unknown and data on disease epidemiology and outcomes are severely limited by a lack of access to needed diagnostic tools and therapeutics. The World Health Organization outlined targets for chromoblastomycosis in the Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030, but little progress has been made in initiating and implementing an effective control program globally.

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  • Higher preoperative HDL levels can reduce the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) after major cardiac and vascular surgery, likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
  • A study involving 100 adults with chronic kidney disease on statins found that those with dysfunctional, pro-inflammatory HDL had a significantly higher rate of AKI post-surgery.
  • The ability of HDL to suppress inflammatory markers in the blood was shown to be a better predictor of AKI than HDL concentration alone, suggesting that the quality of HDL matters more than just its quantity.
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  • A new low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) made from a modified amino acid and an aldehyde can incorporate different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in distinct ways.
  • Basic APIs like propranolol and atropine can mix with the gelator before it forms a gel, while acidic APIs like naproxen and rosuvastatin disrupt its bonding and must be incorporated afterward.
  • Atropine showed effective release properties and holds promise for use in treating conditions like myopia, indicating the potential for further research and development using these supramolecular gels.
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We explored viral and symptom rebound after coronavirus disease 2019 amubarvimab-romlusevimab monoclonal antibody therapy versus placebo in the randomized ACTIV-2/A5401 trial. Participants underwent nasal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction testing at study days 3, 7, 14, and 28. Viral rebound was defined as RNA ≥3 and ≥0.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study was retrospective and involved matching patients based on age and antibiotic usage to analyze recurrence rates, finding a significantly lower recurrence rate in the tapered vancomycin group (5.3%) compared to the standard group (28%).
  • * The results suggest that tapering vancomycin might be a more effective treatment for initial CDI infections, but more extensive studies are needed to confirm these findings.
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  • - The proteasome is essential for maintaining cellular balance by breaking down damaged or unnecessary proteins, and its regulation—especially through proteins with the HbYX motif—is crucial for understanding its function.
  • - ProEnd is a new database created to identify and catalog proteins containing the HbYX motif from a vast analysis of around 73 million proteins across 22,000 reference proteomes, revealing the motif's importance and evolutionary conservation in many organisms, particularly in viruses.
  • - The database also validated two newly discovered HbYX proteins that interact with the proteasome, with one of them shown to activate it, paving the way for new research and potential therapies for diseases like neurodegenerative disorders and cancer.
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The transcriptional interplay of human RNA polymerase I (RNA Pol I), RNA Pol II, and RNA Pol III remains largely uncharacterized due to limited integrative genomic analyses for all three enzymes. To address this gap, we applied a uniform framework to quantify global RNA Pol I, RNA Pol II, and RNA Pol III occupancies and identify both canonical and noncanonical patterns of gene localization. Most notably, our survey captures unexpected RNA Pol III recruitment at promoters of specific protein-coding genes.

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  • * The study tested five different types of DOC on the transepithelial potential (TEP) in rainbow trout at pH levels 7 and 4, finding that each DOC impacted TEP differently due to their unique physicochemical properties.
  • * The research identified three key physicochemical indices—specific absorbance coefficient at 340 nm, octanol-water partition coefficient, and proton binding index—as significant predictors of changes in TEP across different pH levels in rainbow trout.
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  • The study evaluates the long-term effects of RPE65 gene therapy in middle-aged dogs with RPE65 mutations, highlighting variability in treatment effectiveness among different animals and regions of the retina.
  • Key findings reveal significant downregulation of genes related to retinal health in untreated mutant dogs, while treated ones show less degeneration but ongoing photoreceptor stress and synaptic loss.
  • The research concludes that there is a shift from harmful degenerative processes to more compensatory mechanisms in advanced stages of retinal disease, potentially due to resilient cells, which may affect future treatment outcomes.
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  • Age-related susceptibility to sepsis involves hyperactive immune systems and changes in macrophages, which show chronic inflammation and a dysfunctional response to pathogens.
  • In older mice, a cytokine called GDF3 increases inflammatory responses in adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) during endotoxemia, leading to more CD11c+ ATMs and inflammatory cytokines.
  • Targeting the GDF3-SMAD2/3 signaling pathway can reduce inflammation and improve outcomes in older organisms, suggesting it could be a potential therapeutic target for age-related inflammation issues.
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