Publications by authors named "Weston W"

This review provides an integrative framework for understanding flaxseed () as an antimicrobial alternative for poultry production. We begin by familiarizing the reader with the global legislation of antibiotics in animal husbandry; highlighting gaps and current issues for () and (coccidiosis-inducing). We then discuss the natural, symbiotic characteristics of the Galliformes order (chicken-like birds) and (the flaxes).

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  • * A study compared the effectiveness of a human placental amnion/chorion membrane product (RE-AC) with SOC for treating chronic DFUs, analyzing data from 21 patients receiving RE-AC and 21 matched SOC patients.
  • * Results showed that RE-AC had nearly a 10% higher wound closure rate at 12 weeks, and significantly better area reduction for wounds that did not fully close, suggesting RE-AC is more effective than SOC for hard-to-heal DFUs. *
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Secreted proteins regulate the balance between cellular proliferation and G0 arrest and therefore play important roles in tumour dormancy. Tumour dormancy presents a significant clinical challenge for breast cancer patients, where non-proliferating, G0-arrested cancer cells remain at metastatic sites, below the level of clinical detection, some of which can re-enter proliferation and drive tumour relapse. Knowing which secreted proteins can regulate entry into and exit from G0 allows us to manipulate their signalling to prevent tumour relapse.

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Ozone exposure induces a myriad of adverse cardiopulmonary outcomes in humans. Although advanced age and chronic disease are factors that may exacerbate a person's negative response to ozone exposure, there are no molecular biomarkers of susceptibility. Here, we examine whether epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) is associated with responsiveness to short-term ozone exposure.

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Abnormal increases in cell size are associated with senescence and cell cycle exit. The mechanisms by which overgrowth primes cells to withdraw from the cell cycle remain unknown. We address this question using CDK4/6 inhibitors, which arrest cells in G0/G1 and are licensed to treat advanced HR+/HER2- breast cancer.

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This article illustrates how dietary flaxseed can be used to reduce cancer risk, specifically by attenuating obesity, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We utilize a targeted metabolomics dataset in combination with a reanalysis of past work to investigate the "metabo-bioenergetic" adaptations that occur in White Leghorn laying hens while consuming dietary flaxseed. Recently, we revealed how the anti-vitamin B6 effects of flaxseed augment one-carbon metabolism in a manner that accelerates S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) biosynthesis.

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Tumour dormancy and recurrent metastatic cancer remain the greatest clinical challenge for cancer patients. Dormant tumour cells can evade treatment and detection, while retaining proliferative potential, often for years, before relapsing to tumour outgrowth. Cellular quiescence is one mechanism that promotes and maintains tumour dormancy due to its central role in reducing proliferation, elevating cyto-protective mechanisms, and retaining proliferative potential.

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  • The study focuses on converting fibroblasts and urinary stem cells into myogenic cells for researching neuromuscular disorders without needing muscle biopsies.
  • A high-efficiency lentivirus-mediated protocol was developed, allowing for the easy conversion of both healthy and DMD patient-derived fibroblasts into myoblasts and then into myotubes.
  • The research includes profiling muscle-specific markers and discusses the potential use of this model to evaluate therapeutic strategies, including the testing of an antisense drug on DMD patient cells.
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Background: The favorable biological and mechanical properties of the most common components of the placenta, the amnion and chorion, have been explored for regenerative medical indications. The use of the combination of amnion and chorion has also become very popular. But, published data from placental tissues in their final, useable form is lacking.

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Brilacidin (PMX-30063), a non-peptide defensin-mimetic small molecule, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 viral infection but the anti-viral mechanism is not defined. Here we determined its effect on the specific step of the viral life cycle. Brilacidin blocked SARS-CoV-2 infection but had no effect after viral entry.

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Objectives: There is limited understanding of learners' perceptions of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the use of virtual modalities for interprofessional education (IPE) in primary care. Four of 7 in-person annual "Booster Day" IPE sessions for health professionals working in primary care-based memory clinics in Ontario, Canada, were canceled when the pandemic was declared; these sessions were replaced with 2 sessions delivered via live-streamed videoconferencing. This study compares Booster Day session participants' perceptions of the in-person and virtual sessions and assesses their preferences for in-person or virtual sessions in the future.

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We used an LC-MS/MS metabolomics approach to investigate one-carbon metabolism in the plasma of flaxseed-fed White Leghorn laying hens (aged 3.5 years). In our study, dietary flaxseed (via the activity of a vitamin B6 antagonist known as "1-amino d-proline") induced at least 15-fold elevated plasma cystathionine.

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Aims: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health subspecialist training in Paediatric Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics has been delivered in the UK for 20 years, but no specialist clinical services have been set up previously.

Methods: Prospective audit and service evaluation of paediatric clinical pharmacology service pilot phase and dedicated service at a UK children's hospital.

Results: Pilot scheme (May-October 2019), then weekly service (established June 2020).

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the newly emergent causative agent of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), has resulted in more than two million deaths worldwide since it was first detected in 2019. There is a critical global need for therapeutic intervention strategies that can be deployed to safely treat COVID-19 disease and reduce associated morbidity and mortality. Increasing evidence shows that both natural and synthetic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also referred to as Host Defense Proteins/Peptides (HDPs), can inhibit SARS-CoV-2, paving the way for the potential clinical use of these molecules as therapeutic options.

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Background: Exposure to household air pollution is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in children in low- and middle-income countries; however, exposure-response data are limited, and there are uncertainties around the extent to which biomass-fueled cookstoves can reduce these exposures.

Research Question: What is the association between exposure to household air pollution and pneumonia in children under the age of 5 years in rural Malawi and what are the effects of a biomass-fueled cookstove intervention on personal exposure to household air pollution?

Study Design And Methods: We measured personal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO; 48 hours of continuous measurement and transcutaneous carboxyhemoglobin) every 6 months in children who participated in a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a cleaner burning biomass-fueled cookstove intervention to prevent pneumonia in children under the age of 5 years in rural Malawi (the Cooking And Pneumonia Study). Exposure-response and multivariable analyses were done.

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Introduction: Limited knowledge of dementia among health professionals is a well-documented barrier to optimal care. This study examined the self-perceived challenges with dementia care and learning needs among primary care clinicians and assessed whether these were associated with years of practice and perceived preparedness for dementia care.

Methods: Participants were multi-disciplinary clinicians attending a 5-day team-based dementia education program and physicians attending a similar condensed continuing medical education workshop.

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Exosomes are very small extracellular vesicles secreted by cells to local and distant tissues. These mini signal transporters elicit acute and chronic effects on recipient cells. Studies regarding exosomes and their relationship to disease, as well as healthy functions, are eliciting extraordinary excitement as data pours in from groups around the world.

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Family physicians often find themselves inadequately prepared to manage dementia. This article describes the curriculum for a resident training intervention in Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinics (PCCMC), outlines its underlying educational principles, and examines its impact on residents' ability to provide dementia care. PCCMCs are family physician-led interprofessional clinic teams that provide evidence-informed comprehensive assessment and management of memory concerns.

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Background And Objectives: Dementia often goes undiagnosed. A workshop was developed to provide primary care clinicians with a structured clinical reasoning approach to dementia diagnosis and brain map tool to differentiate type of dementia. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of this approach on self-perceived changes in knowledge, confidence, and ability to assess and manage memory problems and on self-reported application of learning to clinical practice.

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This study explores the value of a Booster Day education initiative for clinicians working in interprofessional Primary Care Collaborative Memory Clinics (PCCMC) to share updates in dementia care, challenging cases, key lessons learned, and best practices, as a mechanism to foster learning and support the PCCMC Community of Practice (CoP). Between 2010 and 2016, 17 annual Booster Days were delivered to health professionals who completed the PCCMC training program. All participants were invited to complete an evaluation survey in which they identified the ways in which the sessions have been helpful; 89% (1361/1530) completed surveys.

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Problem Addressed: In 2006, leaders of undergraduate family medicine education programs faced a series of increasing curriculum mandates in the context of limited time and financial resources. Additionally, it became apparent that a hidden curriculum against family medicine as a career choice was active in medical schools.

Objective Of Program: The Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine was developed by the Canadian Undergraduate Family Medicine Education Directors and supported by the College of Family Physicians of Canada as a national collaborative project to support medical student training in family medicine clerkship.

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