Publications by authors named "Thomson D"

Introduction: Fear of recurrence is a transdiagnostic problem experienced by people with psychosis, which is associated with anxiety, depression and risk of future relapse events. Despite this, there is a lack of available psychological interventions for fear of recurrence, and psychological therapies for schizophrenia are often poorly implemented in general. However, low-intensity psychological therapy is available for people who experience fear of recurrence in the context of cancer, which means there is an opportunity to learn what has worked in a well-implemented psychological therapy to see if any learning can be adapted for schizophrenia care.

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In this paper, we present a microfluidic flow cytometer for simultaneous imaging and dielectric characterization of individual biological cells within a flow. Utilizing a combination of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and high-speed imaging, this system offers a dual-modality approach to analyze both cell morphology and dielectric properties, enhancing the ability to analyze, characterize, and discriminate cells in a heterogeneous population. A high-speed camera is used to capture images of and track multiple cells in real-time as they flow through a microfluidic channel.

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Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness with early detection and intervention critical to slowing disease progression. However, half of those affected are undiagnosed. This is largely due to the early stages of disease being asymptomatic; current population-based screening measures being unsupported; and a lack of current efficient prediction models.

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Bulk electrical impedance spectroscopy (bio-capacitance) probes, hold significant promise for real-time cell monitoring in bioprocesses. Focusing on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, we present a sensitivity analysis framework to assess the impact of cell and culture properties on the complex permittivity spectrum, ε, and its associated parameters, permittivity increment, Δε, critical frequency, f, and Cole-Cole parameter, α, measured by bio-capacitance probes. Our sensitivity analysis showed that Δε is highly sensitive to cell size and concentration, making it suitable for estimating biovolume during the exponential growth phase, whereas f provides information about cumulative changes in cell size, membrane permittivity, and cytoplasm conductivity during the transition to death phase.

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Introduction: Studies reported inferior outcomes when radiotherapy starts >6-8 weeks post-surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) but are limited due to time variable dichotomization. We assessed the relationship between survival and the time between surgery and radiotherapy as a continuous variable, hypothesising there would be no change in patients' survival at 6-8 weeks post-surgery.

Methods/materials: Inclusion criteria: patients with HNSCC who underwent surgery and adjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy, Jan 2014-Dec 2020.

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Background: Blood group incompatibility previously represented an obstacle to living related donor (LRD) options; desensitization modalities have expanded LRD options. ABO-incompatible kidney transplants have been successful in adults and pediatric liver transplants, but to date not yet in pediatric kidney transplants in South Africa.

Case Report: Patient X is a 5 year old male with end-stage kidney failure due to Posterior Urethral Valves, requiring peritoneal dialysis pre-transplant.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on aiding Children with Medical Complexity (CMC) as they transition to adult healthcare, addressing gaps in support and coordination that negatively impact their care.
  • PITCare is a randomized controlled trial involving 154 CMC and their caregivers, assessing an intensive transition support program that connects patients with a multidisciplinary team for two years post-18.
  • Outcomes will include successful care transition rates and patient satisfaction, with qualitative interviews to gather insights on the experience of various stakeholders, while ethics approval has been secured for the study.
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Purpose: The aim of the current study was to determine whether gait control (muscle synergies) or gait stability (margin of stability (MoS)) were different between younger and older adults when walking on level or downhill slopes. Further, it sought to determine associations between either age or physical activity with muscle synergy widths.

Methods: Ten healthy younger (28.

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Background: Exposure to fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, can elicit potent allergic inflammation that triggers and worsens asthmatic disease. Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate allergic inflammatory responses to allergic stimuli. However, it is unclear if Af spores during isotropic growth (early spore swelling) can activate DCs to initiate allergic responses or if germination is required.

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  • Antifungal proteins (AFPs), particularly PeAfpA from Penicillium expansum, exhibit strong antifungal activity, though their mechanisms remain unclear.
  • PeAfpA influences the morphology and growth of P. digitatum without causing a spike in reactive oxygen species like the less effective PdAfpB.
  • Live-cell imaging showed PeAfpA's dynamic interaction with various P. digitatum states, leading to its eventual internalization in hyphae and triggering cell death, providing insights for future biofungicide development.
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  • The Organización Nacional de Trasplantes hosted a Global Summit in Santander on November 9-10, 2023, focusing on the challenges in advancing global organ transplantation.
  • Working Group 2 identified two main challenges: establishing a unified definition of death based on brain function and addressing disparities in deceased organ donation.
  • To tackle these challenges, they recommended adopting consistent criteria for determining death and enhancing organ utilization through techniques like donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) and advanced perfusion technologies.
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A strategic vision toward global convergence in transplantation must encourage and remove barriers to living organ donation and transplantation. Here, we discuss deliberations of a working group of the 2023 Santander Summit charged with formulating recommendations for the safe expansion of living donor kidney transplantation and living donor liver transplantation worldwide. Living donor kidney transplantation has grown to be the preferred treatment for advanced kidney failure.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential ergogenic effects of an oral lactate supplement. For this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover design, fifteen recreational exercisers (nine males, six females) ingested a placebo or a commercially available lactate supplement prior to cycle ergometer exercise. Primary outcomes included peak oxygen uptake (VO; via indirect calorimetry), VO at the ventilatory threshold, and work rate at the lactate threshold (arterialized venous blood from a heated hand) determined during incremental exercise to fatigue, and power output during a 20-min cycling time trial.

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Background: Since 2011 when the Canadian Institutes of Health Research launched the Strategy for Patient Oriented Research, there has been a growing expectation to embed patient-oriented research (POR) in the health research community in Canada. To meet this expectation and build capacity for POR in the field of neurodevelopmental disability and child health, in 2017 researchers and family leaders at CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University partnered with Kids Brain Health Network and McMaster Continuing Education to develop and implement a 10-week online Family Engagement in Research (FER) Course.

Main Text: From its inception, the FER Course has been delivered in partnership with family leaders and researchers.

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Background: At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, the number of deceased organ donors has declined over the past 2 decades, necessitating a more liberal approach to donor selection. In 2007, measures to expand the deceased kidney donor pool were implemented, including an HIV positive-to-positive transplant programme and the utilisation of extended-criteria donors as well as donors after circulatory death (DCDs).

Objectives: To report on our institutional experience with DCD kidney transplants and to encourage this approach among other African centres to improve access to transplantation.

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Background: Solid-organ transplantation (SOT) has been proven to be a highly effective and life-saving treatment modality for adults and children suffering from end-stage organ failure. However, high paediatric waiting-list mortality has been reported, and children may suffer irreversible physical and deleterious psychological effects if not transplanted timeously.

Objectives: To identify in-hospital barriers to organ donation and gain a better understanding of the paediatric donor landscape.

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Background: Communities of practice support evidence-based practice and can be, in and of themselves, applied learning spaces in organizations. However, the variety of ways that communities of practice can support learning health systems are poorly characterized. Furthermore, health system leaders have little guidance on designing and resourcing communities of practice to effectively serve learning health systems.

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Background: Forearm fractures are a common ED presentation. This study aimed to compare the resource utilisation of three anaesthetic techniques used for closed forearm fracture reduction in the ED: haematoma block (HB), Bier's block (BB) and procedural sedation (PS).

Methods: A retrospective multicentre cohort study was conducted of adult patients presenting to either Port Macquarie Base Hospital ED or Kempsey District Hospital ED in New South Wales, Australia, from January 2018 to June 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to compare stroke incidences and mortality rates in critically ill COVID-19 patients from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs).
  • The results showed that stroke incidence was significantly higher in LMICs (35.7 per 1000 admitted-days) compared to HICs (17.6 per 1000 admitted-days), with patients from LMICs also facing higher mortality rates (43.6% vs. 29.2%).
  • The findings highlight the need for better stroke diagnosis and healthcare resource allocation in LMICs, as both higher income status and the presence of stroke are associated with increased risk of death
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Recurrent hamstring injuries are highly prevalent amongst sporting populations. It has been hypothesised that pain from an initial hamstring injury may induce reorganisation of somatosensory representations that could contribute to reinjury. However, because of the cross-sectional nature of existing research, it remains unknown whether somatosensory changes are a cause or effect of pain or if they are driven by other potentially confounding factors.

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  • Robust definitions of time-to-event endpoints are essential for evaluating treatment effects and the clinical value of interventions in trials.
  • The Head and Neck Cancer International Group reviewed 92 phase 3 trials from 2008 to 2021 focused on curative treatments for mucosal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
  • The study found significant variability in how core endpoint components, like overall survival and progression-free survival, were reported, emphasizing the need for standardization and collaboration among stakeholders for clearer endpoint reporting.
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Optical modulators play an important role in communication systems, and silicon has been a focal point in this field thanks to its compatibility with CMOS fabrication. However, silicon's lack of inherent electro-optic behavior makes it suboptimal for modulation purposes. Conversely, potassium tantalate niobate (KTN) materials boast an improved electro-optic coefficient, presenting a path for improving modulation efficiency.

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Hundreds of spores of are inhaled daily by human beings, representing a constant, possibly fatal, threat to respiratory health. The small size of spores suggests that interactions with alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) are frequent; thus, we hypothesized that spore uptake by AECs is important for driving fungal killing and susceptibility to -related disease. Using single-cell approaches to measure spore uptake and its outcomes , we demonstrate that spores are internalized and killed by AECs during whole-animal infection.

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