Publications by authors named "Watts K"

The location of a patient's colorectal cancer (CRC) influences their outcome but inherited factors may also be involved. We studied 1899 patients with advanced CRC (514 had proximal colonic, 493 distal colonic and 892 rectal tumours) and carried out genome-wide association studies for survival. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) suggestive of association (P < 1.

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One of the most surprising and important findings of the first human landings on the Moon was the discovery of a very fine layer of lunar dust covering the entire surface of Moon along with the negative impacts of this dust on the well-being and operational effectiveness of the astronauts, their equipment, and instrumentation. The United States is now planning for human missions to Mars, a planet where dust can also be expected to be ubiquitous for many or most landing sites. For these missions, the design and operations of key hardware systems must take this dust into account, especially when related to crew health and safety.

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Importance: Health disparities among racial and ethnic minoritized populations, particularly for cancer mortality rates, remain a major public health concern. Men from underrepresented backgrounds (Black and Hispanic men, specifically) face the pervasive effects of discrimination in their daily lives, which also contribute to the complex associations among allostatic load (a marker of chronic stress), educational opportunities, and elevated risks of cancer mortality.

Objective: To elucidate the associations among educational attainment, allostatic load, and cancer mortality risk among men.

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Objective: To assess whether clinical trials guiding kidney stone care adequately describe the race, ethnicity, and other key demographic variables of their study populations. Guidelines such as those from the American Urological Association represent the highest level of evidence informing clinical practice. We aim to investigate if studies on which they are based include sufficiently diverse patient populations for generalizable results.

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The continuous advancement of molecular biology techniques requires that molecular biology curricula are regularly refined to effectively prepare students to enter the workforce with modern competencies. In particular, the emergence of Gibson Assembly, a highly customizable and adaptive molecular cloning technique, has advanced the landscape of molecular cloning in numerous research environments. Thus, we created a Gibson Assembly cloning module for deployment in a molecular biology laboratory course at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and evaluated student learning outcomes from the module.

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Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between the use of beta-adrenergic antagonist atenolol and risk of pathologic upgrade in patients on active surveillance, considering growing literature implicating adrenergic innervation with disease progression mediated through beta-adrenergic signalling.

Patients And Methods: Men with low-risk or favourable intermediate-risk prostate cancer who were placed on an active surveillance protocol between 2006 and 2020 across three diverse urban hospitals were included. Exposure was duration of atenolol use, and outcome was pathologic grade group upgrading (to GG ≥ 3) on final prostate biopsy.

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Objective: To assess internet usage among new patients seen by urologists and impact on post-consultation understanding for 4 common conditions: kidney stones, elevated prostate-specific antigen, male voiding, and female voiding.

Methods: We performed a prospective study of new urology patients at our diverse urban, academic urology practice for the above conditions over a 1-year period. A voluntary questionnaire assessed patients' internet use related to referred conditions prior to encounters.

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Article Synopsis
  • Global prevalence of knee osteoarthritis exceeds 300 million, with uncontrollable risk factors including age, sex, and height, and controllable ones like trauma, weight, and waist circumference.
  • The study evaluated data from 4,602 participants aged 45-79 from the Osteoarthritis Initiative to examine the correlation between knee osteoarthritis and anthropometric measures, focusing on weight, height, and waist circumference.
  • Findings showed that higher weight significantly predicted knee osteoarthritis discomfort, particularly in females, while waist circumference also played a notable role for males; quality of life was more adversely affected in females compared to males.
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Objective: To examine elevated PSA follow-up within our system and identify areas for improvement in the timely diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Methods: We queried the Mass General Brigham's Enterprise Data Warehouse from 2018-2021, identifying patients with elevated PSA and documented time to follow-up. Timely follow-up was defined as having a urologist appointment, prostate biopsy, or prostate magnetic resonance imaging within 6 months from diagnosis.

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  • Duplication of the vas deferens is a rare condition often found during surgeries like inguinal hernia repair and vasectomy.
  • Proper identification of this condition during surgery is essential to prevent damage and complications.
  • The text reports a specific case involving a patient with both duplicated vas deferens and an incarcerated urinary bladder during a laparoscopic surgery.
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Women are disproportionately affected by symptoms of angina with nonobstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA) which is associated with significant mortality and economic impact. Although distinct endotypes of ANOCA have been defined, it is underdiagnosed and is often incompletely characterized when identified. Patients are often unresponsive to traditional therapeutic options, which are typically antianginal, and the current ability to guide treatment modification by specific pathways is limited.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by (). Following infection, immune responses to antigens can be measured using the tuberculin skin test or an interferon-γ release assay. The gain of immunoreactivity, a change from a negative to a positive tuberculin skin test or interferon-γ release assay result, is called conversion and has long been used as a measure of exposure.

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  • The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Stockholm3 test for prostate cancer detection in a diverse group of men, particularly those underrepresented in clinical trials.
  • Conducted over several years across 17 sites, the study compared Stockholm3's performance against the traditional prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, focusing on its ability to detect clinically significant cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsies.
  • Findings revealed that Stockholm3 had similar sensitivity to PSA while offering significantly improved specificity, potentially lowering the number of benign biopsy results by up to 52% across various racial and ethnic groups.
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In Baton Rouge, LA, and nationally, youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting the lives of community members. Fortunately, Black fathers have responded to the urgent call to prevent youth violence in Louisiana. In 2021, the SUPPORT project was launched to unearth stories of Black fathers' prevention practices and interventions.

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Background: The role of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in prostate cancer (PCa) screening has evolved over recent decades with multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) spurring guideline changes. At present, controversy exists due to the indolent nature of many prostate cancers and associated risks of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. This review examines major RCTs evaluating PSA screening to inform clinical practices.

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Introduction: Social determinants of health (SDH) are nonbiologic influencers of disease and health care disparities. This study focused on understanding the association between SDH and urology clinic "no-show" visits within a diverse urban population.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients scheduled for urology clinic visits from October 2015 to June 2022 who completed a 10-question social needs screener.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study compares the effectiveness of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and biparametric MRI (bpMRI) in detecting prostate cancer (PCa) in a diverse urban population.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 566 men who underwent prostate biopsies and found that bpMRI had a higher likelihood of detecting both overall and clinically significant prostate cancer compared to mpMRI.
  • The results suggest that bpMRI has comparable diagnostic performance to mpMRI and can be used effectively in evaluating suspected cases of clinically significant prostate cancer, particularly in non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic men.
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CAR T-cell therapy has transformed relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) management and outcomes, but following CAR T infusion, interventions are often needed. In a UK multicentre study, we retrospectively evaluated tisagenlecleucel outcomes in all eligible patients, analysing overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) with standard and stringent definitions, the latter including measurable residual disease (MRD) emergence and further anti-leukaemic therapy. Both intention-to-treat and infused cohorts were considered.

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The yeast-based postbiotic EpiCor is a well-studied formulation, consisting of a complex mixture of bioactive molecules. In clinical studies, EpiCor postbiotic has been shown to reduce intestinal symptoms in a constipated population and support mucosal defense in healthy subjects. Anti-inflammatory potential and butyrogenic properties have been reported , suggesting a possible link between EpiCor's gut modulatory activity and immunomodulation.

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Purpose: Transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy remains the most used method for the detection of prostate cancer. We recently reported that detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (cs-CaP) using image-guided fusion biopsies (IGFB) varied by race/ethnicity, which calls for further comparison between cognitive fusion biopsy (CFB) and IGFB among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic populations. Therefore, the aim of our study is to compare the rates of detection of cs-CaP and overall CaP by CFB and IGFB in a multiethnic community.

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Against the background of the climate crisis, there is an urgent need to include environmental sustainability recommendations in clinical practice guidelines. We highlight five domains for which suitable recommendations could help in mitigating the environmental impact of urology practice. PATIENT SUMMARY: Climate change is an urgent issue that requires global action.

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Introduction: Previous research indicates ethnic/race group differences in pain and neurodegenerative diseases. Accounting for socioenvironmental factors reduces ethnic/race group differences in clinical and experimental pain. In the current study sample, we previously reported that in individuals with knee pain, ethnic/race group differences were observed in bilateral temporal lobe thickness, areas of the brain associated with risk for Alzheimer's disease, and related dementias.

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