Publications by authors named "Weir J"

Purpose: Workers' compensation claims can negatively affect the wellbeing of injured workers. For some, these negative effects continue beyond finalisation of the workers' compensation claim. It is unclear what factors influence wellbeing following finalisation of a workers' compensation claim.

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Objective: Injured workers can be disadvantaged after a workers' compensation claims ends. This study investigated the association of a range of variables with well-being in injured workers who had finalized a workers' compensation claim >3 months prior.

Methods: On-line, cross-sectional survey (n = 129, 55.

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Reciprocal structure-function relationships underlie both healthy and pathological behaviours in complex neural networks. Thus, understanding neuropathology and network dysfunction requires a thorough investigation of the complex interactions between structural and functional network reconfigurations in response to perturbation. Such adaptations are often difficult to study in vivo.

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  • - Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) above T6 often experience issues with blood pressure regulation, leading to persistent low blood pressure.
  • - A study tested the effects of daily midodrine (10 mg) versus placebo over 30 days on blood pressure, cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv), and cognitive performance in hypotensive SCI patients.
  • - Results showed that midodrine significantly increased systolic blood pressure and diastolic CBFv compared to placebo, but did not significantly affect cognitive performance, indicating a need for further research on effective treatments.
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  • The study focuses on soft-tissue balancing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), emphasizing a new method called the modified pendulum knee drop (PKD) test to quantitatively assess knee stiffness rather than relying on subjective observations.
  • Eleven cadaver specimens were used in robotic-assisted TKA procedures, with some receiving cruciate-retaining and others posterior-stabilized implants, while the PKD test was applied to analyze the stiffness changes due to varying insert thicknesses.
  • An inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor recorded the knee's range of motion and oscillation characteristics to calculate stiffness, with results averaged over multiple trials for each insert thickness tested.
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  • Climate change may disrupt the timing of interactions between species, such as winter moth caterpillars and oak trees, as caterpillars may advance their lifecycle more than the trees.
  • A large study involving over 3500 caterpillars showed that these pests perform well on various host plants, suggesting that adaptability to different plants can mitigate negative effects of mismatched timing.
  • Contrary to common belief, oaks may not be the best host for these caterpillars, indicating that a broad diet could help them cope with changes in plant availability due to climate change.
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Tumor progression is driven by dynamic interactions between cancer cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Investigating the spatiotemporal evolution of tumors can provide crucial insights into how intrinsic changes within cancer cells and extrinsic alterations in the microenvironment cooperate to drive different stages of tumor progression. Here, we integrate high-resolution spatial transcriptomics and evolving lineage tracing technologies to elucidate how tumor expansion, plasticity, and metastasis co-evolve with microenvironmental remodeling in a -driven mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma.

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We present a genome assembly from an individual male specimen (the Vapourer moth; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Erebidae). The genome sequence is 480.1 megabases in span.

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Background: The potency of inactivated and recombinant influenza vaccines is measured using the single-radial immunodiffusion (SRID) assay. The strain-specific antigen and antibody potency reagents required for the assay are prepared and distributed by regulatory agencies to ensure vaccine standardization, but timely reagent production is always challenging. This poses unique concerns for rapid pandemic responses.

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  • Scientists think that oxidative stress, which means damage from too many harmful substances in the body, is linked to Parkinson's disease (PD).
  • A specific gene called LRRK2 has mutations that make it more active and can increase the risk of getting PD, and this is related to more oxidative stress.
  • In studies with special lab techniques and cells from people with PD, it was found that blocking LRRK2 activity helps reduce harmful reactions, suggesting that controlling LRRK2 could help manage oxidative stress in PD.
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This study examined sex-related differences in fatigability and neuromuscular responses using surface electromyographic (sEMG) and mechanomyographic (sMMG) amplitude (AMP) and frequency (MPF) during fatiguing, maximal, bilateral isometric leg extensions.Twenty recreationally active males and females with resistance training experience performed continuous, maximal effort, bilateral isometric leg extensions until their force reduced by 50%. Linear mixed effect models analyzed patterns of force, sEMG, and sMMG AMP and MPF responses in the dominant limb.

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This study investigated skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation (StO) desaturation in males and females across the adult lifespan. One hundred-two individuals (51 females) of 41 young, 34 midlife, and 27 older adults completed a vascular occlusion test with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS + VOT). This included five minutes of arterial occlusion, inducing transient ischemia in the forearm flexor muscle group while recording StO The magnitude of desaturation (StO) was quantified as the difference between baseline StO and the minimum StO value observed during ischemia.

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Ever since Alfred Russel Wallace's nineteenth-century observation that related terrestrial species are often separated on opposing riverbanks, major Amazonian rivers have been recognized as key drivers of speciation. However, rivers are dynamic entities whose widths and courses may vary through time. It thus remains unknown how effective rivers are at reducing gene flow and promoting speciation over long timescales.

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Linoleic acid (LA) is an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a family of LA isomers that includes both a trans fatty acid and a cis fatty acid. Both fatty acids play a nutritional role in maintaining health.

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Tissue organization arises from the coordinated molecular programs of cells. Spatial genomics maps cells and their molecular programs within the spatial context of tissues. However, current methods measure spatial information through imaging or direct registration, which often require specialized equipment and are limited in scale.

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Mutations in that increase its kinase activity are strongly linked to genetic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the regulation of endogenous wild-type (WT) LRRK2 kinase activity remains poorly understood, despite its frequent elevation in idiopathic PD (iPD) patients. Various stressors such as mitochondrial dysfunction, lysosomal dyshomeostasis, or vesicle trafficking deficits can activate WT LRRK2 kinase, but the specific molecular mechanisms are not fully understood.

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The potential for climate change to disrupt phenology-mediated interactions in interaction networks has attracted considerable attention in recent decades. Frequently, studies emphasize the fragility of ephemeral seasonal interactions, and the risks posed by phenological asynchrony. Here, we argue that the fitness consequences of asynchrony in phenological interactions may often be more buffered than is typically acknowledged.

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  • The study aimed to compare two approaches to treating low blood pressure in patients with spinal cord injuries: one based on a blood pressure threshold regardless of symptoms (TXT) and the other based on treating symptoms (usual care, UC).
  • A total of 66 participants were involved, with 32 providing data on how low blood pressure affected their therapy sessions; results showed that low BP concerns impacted therapy sessions similarly in both groups.
  • The findings suggest that treating asymptomatic hypotension and orthostatic hypotension does not significantly change the amount of therapy received compared to treating symptomatic hypotension in this patient population.
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The "Amazon tipping point" is a global change scenario resulting in replacement of upland forests by large-scale "savannization" of mostly southern and eastern Amazon. Reduced rainfall accompanying the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been proposed to have acted as such a tipping point in the past, with the prediction that inhabiting species should have experienced reductions in population size as drier habitats expanded. Here, we use whole-genomes of an Amazonian endemic organism (Scale-backed antbirds - spp.

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Programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is a crucial feature of meiosis in most organisms. DSBs initiate recombination-mediated linking of homologous chromosomes, which enables correct chromosome segregation in meiosis. DSBs are generated on chromosome axes by heterooligomeric focal clusters of DSB-factors.

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Entomology is key to understanding terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems at a time of unprecedented anthropogenic environmental change and offers substantial untapped potential to benefit humanity in a variety of ways, from improving agricultural practices to managing vector-borne diseases and inspiring technological advances.We identified high priority challenges for entomology using an inclusive, open, and democratic four-stage prioritisation approach, conducted among the membership and affiliates (hereafter 'members') of the UK-based Royal Entomological Society (RES).A list of 710 challenges was gathered from 189 RES members.

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Meiotic recombination, a cornerstone of eukaryotic diversity and individual genetic identity, is essential for the creation of physical linkages between homologous chromosomes, facilitating their faithful segregation during meiosis I. This process requires that germ cells generate controlled DNA lesions within their own genome that are subsequently repaired in a specialised manner. Repair of these DNA breaks involves the modulation of existing homologous recombination repair pathways to generate crossovers between homologous chromosomes.

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  • This study looked at how workers who get hurt on the job feel after their compensation claims are finished.
  • Researchers found that while many articles talked about parts of wellbeing, none really studied how these workers' overall wellbeing is affected.
  • It's suggested that there should be more focus on helping injured workers feel better after their claims and that rules might need to change to support them better.
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Purpose: Ano-uro-genital (AUG) Mucosal Melanoma UK guidelines recommended a less radical surgical strategy for anorectal melanoma (ARM) where possible. We report our experience of ARM consistent with that approach including clinical presentation, intervention undertaken and prognosis.

Methods: We present a retrospective study of 15 consecutive patients with ARM surgically treated between November 2014 and April 2023.

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