Niemann Pick Disease Type C (NP-C), a rare neurogenetic disease with no known cure, is caused by mutations in the cholesterol trafficking protein NPC1. Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) are thought to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases; however, little is known about how these cells are altered in NP-C. In this study, we investigated how NPC1 inhibition perturbs BMEC metabolism in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived BMEC (hiBMEC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper investigates the performance of continuous fibre-reinforced 3D printed components in salt water medium at room temperature. Markforged Mark Two 3D printer was employed to fabricate standard specimens made of Onyx and reinforced Onyx specimens with continuous carbon, high-strength high-temperature glass, and Kevlar fibres. Aging process was conducted to characterize the long-term effect of salt water on the mechanical behaviour of fibre-reinforced 3D printed samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Question: Does exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution prior to oocyte retrieval or subsequent frozen embryo transfer (FET) affect the odds of live birth?
Summary Answer: Live birth rates are lower when particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) levels are higher prior to oocyte retrieval, regardless of the conditions at the time of embryo transfer.
What Is Known Already: Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes, including reduced fecundity and ovarian reserve, and an increased risk of infertility and pregnancy loss.
Background: Assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancies are at greater risk of birth defects than non-ART pregnancies. Teratogenic medication exposure is a potential cause of birth defects that has not been compared between ART and non-ART pregnancies.
Aims: To determine whether the prevalence of exposure to teratogenic medicines during pregnancy varies by conception method (ART and three non-ART groups: ovulation induction (OI), subfertile untreated, and fertile naturally conceiving).
Purpose: We performed this study to explore family member experiences with restrictions to family presence during their child's PICU admission, leveraging the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic to aid in future ethical and informed decision-making.
Methods: Qualitative interpretive descriptive study with family members of Canadian PICU patients admitted from March 2020 to April 2021 who experienced restricted family presence (RFP) policies. Respondents were purposively sampled for demographic-based maximum variation.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
November 2024
Mainstream approaches to nutrition typically focus on diet consumption, overlooking multi-dimensional aspects of nutrition that are important to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. To address health challenges faced by AI/AN communities, strengths-based measures of nutrition grounded in community worldviews are needed. In collaboration with AI/AN communities in Baltimore and Minneapolis, we developed the Indigenous Nourishment Scales through three phases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Integrated multidisciplinary care is required to manage the progressive and debilitating symptoms associated with motor neurone disease. Professionals can find providing the level of care required by this population clinically and emotionally challenging. To support those working with these patients it is important to understand the experience of the entire multidisciplinary team involved and the impact of working with motor neurone disease on their emotional and psychological well-being.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Indigenous communities in the United States experience disproportionate rates of overdose morbidity and mortality due to a range of historical traumas and ongoing oppression. Limited health and harm reduction service access on some Tribal lands exacerbate these challenges. To date, little is known about naloxone access on tribal reservation lands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCentral European forests have been shaped by complex human interactions throughout the Holocene, with significant changes following the introduction of domesticated animals in the Neolithic (∼7.5-6.0 ka before present [BP]).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThrough the late-twentieth century, physicians endorsed the denial of life-saving surgeries to infants because they had Down syndrome. Grim physician assessments of the inevitable burden of Down syndrome found ideological footing in the 1970s crusade to eradicate the condition, a public health goal made possible by new genetic diagnostics and a weakened abortion law. What is most striking about this physician-sanctioned passive euthanasia is that it persisted even in an era of unprecedented expansion of disability rights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: The role of alcohol varies considerably among Indigenous Peoples and is the backdrop of persistent stereotypes despite decades of research. This paper provides an updated narrative review on the alcohol literature among Indigenous communities, highlighting recent studies published since 2017.
Recent Findings: We examined published literature involving alcohol use rates, including abstinence; risk and protective factors; treatment; and recovery, as well as future directions for alcohol prevention and intervention efforts with Indigenous communities.
The purpose of this scoping review was to determine the extent to which accessibility and acceptability of federal food assistance programs in the United States have been evaluated among indigenous peoples and to summarize what is currently known. Twelve publications were found that examine aspects of accessibility or acceptability by indigenous peoples of 1 or more federal food assistance programs, including the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and/or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (n = 8), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, infants, and children (WIC) (n = 3), and the national school lunch program (n = 1). No publications were found to include the commodity supplemental food program or the child and adult care food program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) worldwide restricted family presence in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to explore the experiences and impact of restricted family presence policies on Canadian PICU clinicians.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative study that followed an interpretive phenomenological design.
Purpose: To identify and characterise appropriate comparison groups for population studies of health outcomes in ART-conceived births: ovulation induction (OI), subfertile untreated and fertile natural conceptions. Our secondary objective was to examine whether known risks of pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes in ART births are elevated in comparison with subfertile (untreated and OI) conception groups.
Methods: We linked State and Commonwealth datasets to identify all live and stillbirths (≥ 20 weeks) in Western Australia from 2003 to 2014 by method of conception.
Introduction: Health research that focuses on Indigenous Peoples must ensure that the community in question is actively engaged, and that the results have context relevance for Indigenous Peoples. Context relevance is "the benefits, usability, and respectful conduct of research from the perspective of Indigenous communities." The purpose of this study was to apply two tools within an already-published scoping review of 76 articles featuring research on cognitive impairment and dementia among Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndogenous biomolecular condensates, composed of a multitude of proteins and RNAs, can organize into multiphasic structures with compositionally distinct phases. This multiphasic organization is generally understood to be critical for facilitating their proper biological function. However, the biophysical principles driving multiphase formation are not completely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: PICUs across Canada restricted family presence (RFP) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from allowing two or more family members to often only one family member at the bedside. The objective of this study was to describe the experiences and impact of RFP on families of critically ill children to inform future policy and practice.
Hypothesis: RFP policies negatively impacted families of PICU patients and caused moral distress.
Introduction: Parental presence at the bedside during a stressful pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission may improve child comfort, reduce parental anxiety, and enable family engagement. We performed this study to identify factors that parents perceive impact their capability, opportunity, and motivation to be at the bedside in PICU.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).
The transfer of two H-atom equivalents to the titanium-doped polyoxovanadate-alkoxide, [TiVO(OCH)], results in the formation of a V(III)-OH site at the surface of the assembly. Incorporation of the group (IV) metal ion results in a weakening of the O-H bonds of [TiVO(OH)(OCH)] in comparison to its homometallic congener, [VO(OH)(OCH)], resembling more closely the thermodynamics reported for the one-electron reduced derivative, [VO(OH)(OCH)]. An analysis of early time points of the reaction of [TiVO(OCH)] and 5,10-dihydrophenazine reveals the formation of an oxidized substrate, suggesting that proton-coupled electron transfer proceeds via initial electron transfer from substrate to cluster prior to proton transfer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo decrease the introduction of COVID-19, in-person visitation programs were temporarily limited at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities. After consultation with the California Department of Public Health, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, in-person visitation was reintroduced on April 10, 2021, with COVID-19 mitigation strategies. To assess the risk of visitation as a mode of entry for COVID-19 into a prison setting, data were gathered demonstrating the number of visitors who were not allowed into the prison due to a positive COVID-19 test prior to visitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
December 2023
The need of carbon sources for the chemical industry, alternative to fossil sources, has pointed to CO as a possible feedstock. While CO electroreduction (CO R) allows production of interesting organic compounds, it suffers from large carbon losses, mainly due to carbonate formation. This is why, quite recently, tandem CO R, a two-step process, with first CO R to CO using a solid oxide electrolysis cell followed by CO electroreduction (COR), has been considered, since no carbon is lost as carbonate in either step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn recent years, the creative use of polymers has been expanded as the range of achievable material properties and options for manufacturing and post-processing continually grows. The main goal of this research was to design and develop a fully-functioning material extrusion additive manufacturing device with the capability to produce functionally graded high-temperature thermoplastic PEEK (polyether ether ketone) materials through the manipulation of microstructure during manufacturing. Five different strategies to control the chamber temperature and crystallinity were investigated, and concepts of thermal control were introduced to govern the crystallisation and cooling mechanics during the extrusion process.
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