Publications by authors named "WEST C"

Background: Access to liver transplantation (LT) is affected by geographic disparities. Higher waitlist mortality is observed in patients residing farther from LT centres, but the impact of distance on post-LT outcomes is unclear.

Aims: To evaluate whether the distance LT recipients reside from their LT centre affects graft and patient outcomes.

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Conventional pelvic exenteration (PE) comprises the removal of all or most central pelvic organs and is established in clinical practise. Previously, tumours involving bone or lateral sidewall structures were deemed inoperable due to associated morbidity, mortality, and poor oncological outcomes. Recently however high-complexity PE is increasingly described and is defined as encompassing conventional PE with the additional resection of bone or pelvic sidewall structures.

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The increasing global demand for plastic has raised the need for effective waste plastic management due to its long lifetime and resistance to environmental degradation. There is a need for rapid plastic identification to improve the mechanical waste plastic sorting process. This study presents a novel application of Temperature-Programmed Desorption-Direct Analysis in Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (TPD-DART-HRMS) that enables rapid characterization of various plastics.

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Purpose: Overlapping genes are involved with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and DNA repair pathways. Therefore, we hypothesised that patients with a high polygenic risk score (PRS) for RA will have an increased risk of radiotherapy (RT) toxicity given the involvement of DNA repair.

Methods: Primary analysis was performed on 1494 prostate cancer, 483 lung cancer and 1820 breast cancer patients assessed for development of RT toxicity in the REQUITE study.

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The light-absorbing chemical components of atmospheric organic aerosols are commonly referred to as Brown Carbon (BrC), reflecting the characteristic yellowish to brown appearance of aerosol. BrC is a highly complex mixture of organic compounds with diverse compositions and variable optical properties of its individual chromophores. BrC significantly influences the radiative budget of the climate and contributes to adverse air pollution effects such as reduced visibility and the presence of inhalable pollutants and irritants.

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Background And Purpose: We investigate discrepancies in the assessment of treatment-related symptoms in lung cancer between healthcare professionals and patients, and factors contributing to these discrepancies.

Materials And Methods: Data from 515 participants in the REQUITE study were analysed. Five symptoms (cough, dyspnoea, bronchopulmonary haemorrhage, chest wall pain, dysphagia) were evaluated both before and after radiotherapy.

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Background: Respiratory infections in early life is one identified risk factor for asthma. We hypothesized that infection preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the risk of respiratory morbidity and aeroallergen sensitization in early childhood.

Objective: To compare respiratory morbidity and aeroallergen sensitization in children born before and during the pandemic.

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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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Objective: Our primary aim was to identify a low-risk subgroup of older adults (aged 65 and older) presenting to ED with minor head trauma which can be safely managed without a cranial CT (cCT).

Methods: This was a single-site, prospective, observational, cohort study conducted at a major-referral ED. Alert, haemodynamically stable, older adults with suspected head trauma were eligible.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ventricular catheterization using pressure-volume (PV) catheters is essential for accurately assessing heart function in animal studies, particularly for understanding cardiovascular disease in rats and mice.
  • There is significant inconsistency in how these PV studies are conducted, including variations in protocols, data analysis, and reporting, which impacts the reliability of results.
  • The manuscript aims to provide standardized guidelines for conducting, analyzing, and interpreting PV studies in rodents, enhancing best practices and improving reproducibility across the research field.
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Proprioceptive input is essential for coordinated locomotion and this input must be properly gated to ensure smooth and effective movement. Presynaptic inhibition mediated by GABAergic interneurons provides regulation of sensory afferent feedback. Serotonin not only promotes locomotion, but also modulates feedback from sensory afferents, both directly and indirectly, potentially by acting on the GABAergic interneurons that mediate presynaptic inhibition.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts the body's ability to control heart and blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) due to loss of medullary control.
  • It explores acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) as a potential treatment to stimulate sympathetic nerve activity and promote neuroplastic changes called long-term facilitation (LTF) in the sympathetic circuits after SCI.
  • Results show that a single session of AIH can effectively boost sympathetic nerve activity in a rat model of SCI, opening possibilities for chronic AIH treatment to manage complications from sympathetic hypoactivity.
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Objective: There is sometimes concern over the use of radiotherapy for cancer in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but little evidence to support its avoidance. Identifying any association between RA and risk of radiotherapy toxicity could impact current guidance. We aimed to review the evidence base.

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Purpose Of Program: Access to exercise and rehabilitation is often lower in rural or remote areas and hemodialysis (HD) dependence imposes additional barriers. Intradialytic cycling (IDC) can improve HD-related symptoms, such as leg cramping, restless legs, and symptoms of depression, as well as physical function and fitness, but access to exercise professionals with this expertise is limited. To promote access to IDC in rural and remote HD units, we describe the implementation and initial evaluation of a novel IDC program using virtual assessment to safely prescribe and individualize IDC.

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Cellular adaptations to change often involve post-translational modifications of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. An example found in protists and plants is the modification of serine and threonine residues of dozens to hundreds of nucleocytoplasmic proteins with a single fucose (O-Fuc). A nucleocytoplasmic O-fucosyltransferase (OFT) occurs in the pathogen , the social amoeba , and higher plants, where it is called Spy because mutants have a spindly appearance.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on optimizing recruitment and participant retention strategies for the Active Women over 50 trial, which aims to help women aged 50+ engage in more physical activity in New South Wales, Australia.
  • Researchers conducted a focus group and numerous interviews with women in this age group to gather feedback on recruitment materials and program components such as health coaching and online resources.
  • Five key themes emerged related to recruitment effectiveness, highlighting the importance of representation, readability, and accessibility, which led to refinements in the program design despite some technological and budgetary limitations.
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Background: Despite widespread HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa, regular testing among at-risk populations is crucial for effective prevention. However, reports increasingly indicate retesting among people living with HIV (PLHIV), a group that would not require additional testing since they would already have received a confirmed diagnosis. We describe the demographic characteristics of PLHIV retesters in Lesotho, report the average number of HIV tests post-diagnosis among PLHIV, and share motivations for retesting.

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Purpose: Men with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and radiation therapy, but the disease reoccurs in 30% of patients. Biochemical recurrence of PCa after treatment is influenced by tumor hypoxia. Tumors with high levels of hypoxia are aggressive, resistant to treatment, and have increased metastatic capacity.

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Observation of the decay.

Eur Phys J C Part Fields

October 2024

Using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of collected by the CMS experiment at , the decay is observed for the first time, with a statistical significance exceeding 5 standard deviations. The relative branching fraction, with respect to the decay, is measured to be , where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is related to the uncertainties in and .

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the cardiovascular dysfunction caused by spinal cord injury (SCI) and assesses the efficacy of four neuroprotective agents in aiding cardiovascular recovery.
  • Male Wistar rats were given spinal contusions and treated with Fluoxetine, Glyburide, Valproic acid, and Indomethacin, with outcomes measured through blood pressure changes, locomotor function, and lesion area.
  • The results showed that Indomethacin and Valproic acid led to high mortality rates, while Fluoxetine and Glyburide were tolerated, but none of the treatments significantly improved blood pressure control or locomotor function compared to the control group.
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Objective: The empty pelvis syndrome (EPS) is common after pelvic exenteration (PE), causing fluid collections, bowel obstruction, perineal sinuses, and fistulas. The best approach to fill the pelvis to mitigate this remains controversial, and the impact of EPS on health-related quality of life (HrQoL) is unknown. This study is the first to begin to explore lived-experiences of EPS complications.

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Purpose: This study examines sense of belonging (belongingness) in a large population of medical students, residents, and fellows and associations with learner burnout, organizational recruitment retention indicators, and potentially modifiable learning environment factors.

Method: All medical students, residents, and fellows at Mayo Clinic sites were surveyed between October and November 2020 with items measuring sense of belonging in 3 contexts (school or program, organization, and surrounding community), burnout (2 Maslach Burnout Inventory items), recruitment retention indicators (likelihood of recommending the organization and accepting a job offer), potentially modifiable learning environment factors, and demographic factors (age, gender, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identification, disability, and socioeconomic background).

Results: Of 2,257 learners surveyed, 1,261 (56%) responded.

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Article Synopsis
  • IBDM for breast radiotherapy needs better spatial normalisation due to differences in treatment positioning and breast characteristics, prompting an optimization study.
  • Data from 996 patients were analyzed using various deformable image registration methods to improve the accuracy of spatial normalisation during treatment.
  • The B-spline algorithm with normalised mutual information was identified as the most effective method, with supine registrations achieving the highest accuracy, while arm positioning did not significantly affect outcomes.
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