Publications by authors named "Whitney J"

Background: The use of mechanical circulatory support devices for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has increased over the past decade despite limited data of benefit. We sought to examine the association between intravascular microaxial left ventricular assist device (LVAD) versus intra-aortic balloon pump use in patients without cardiogenic shock (CS) undergoing PCI.

Methods And Results: This retrospective study analyzed claims data from a large, insured population who underwent PCI without CS from April 1, 2016 to July 31, 2022.

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Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) are widespread bacterial protein secretion machines that inject toxic effector proteins into nearby cells, thus facilitating both bacterial competition and virulence. Pseudomonas aeruginosa encodes three evolutionarily distinct T6SSs that each export a unique repertoire of effectors. Owing to its genetic tractability, P.

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Background: Rehabilitation in hospital is effective in reducing mortality after hip fracture. However, there is uncertainty over optimal in-hospital rehabilitation treatment ingredients, and the generalizability of trial findings to subgroups of patients systematically excluded from previous trials. The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial which aims to assess the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of adding a stratified care intervention to usual care designed to improve outcomes of acute rehabilitation for all older adults after hip fracture.

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Metal pollution from mining is a threat to lotic fishes, although legislation that requires improved water quality and provides funding for remediation has been enacted to combat this stressor. The Spring River in southeastern Kansas historically received inputs of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc that reduced the prevalence of several sensitive and imperiled fishes. Long-term reductions in these toxic metals have occurred since the 1990's because of management activities, but presently it is unknown how riffle fish communities responded to improved water quality.

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Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) are macromolecular assemblies that deliver toxic effector proteins between adjacent bacteria. These effectors span a wide range of protein families that all lack canonical signal sequences that would target them for export. Consequently, it remains incompletely understood how conserved structural components of the T6SS apparatus recognize a diverse repertoire of effectors.

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The human gastrointestinal tract is a competitive environment inhabited by dense polymicrobial communities. Bacteroides, a genus of Gram-negative anaerobes, are prominent members of this ecological niche. Bacteroides spp.

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Background: An unmet need exists when clinically assessing retinal and layer-based features of retinal diseases. Therefore, quantification of retinal-layer-thicknesses/fluid volumes using deep-learning-augmented platforms to reproduce human-obtained clinical measurements is needed.

Methods: In this analysis, 210 spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans (30 without pathology, 60 dry age-related macular degeneration [AMD], 60 wet AMD, and 60 diabetic macular edema [total 23,625 B-scans]) were included.

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Background: Advanced practitioner (AP) roles are becoming increasingly common in primary care and community settings for supporting older people and those living with frailty.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore health and social work AP roles in primary care and community settings in the UK, and understand how they support older people and factors that may impact on APs use of technology in practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was adopted to explore the views and perspectives of APs.

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Objective: What are the core capabilities physiotherapists need to deliver quality care when working with people with dementia and their families/caregivers?

Design: A three-round modified e-Delphi study.

Participants: Panel members were physiotherapists experienced in working with people with dementia and/or educating and/or researching in the dementia field.

Methods: A steering group (16 international physiotherapists and a consumer) developed a draft framework including 129 core capabilities across 5 domains for panel members to rate their appropriateness for inclusion as a core capability to provide high quality care to people with dementia and their caregivers/families.

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The prevalence of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections continues to rise as the development of antibiotics needed to combat these infections remains stagnant. MDR enterococci are a major contributor to this crisis. A potential therapeutic approach for combating MDR enterococci is bacteriophage (phage) therapy, which uses lytic viruses to infect and kill pathogenic bacteria.

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Introduction: Understanding genetic contributors to sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle strength and mass) is key to finding effective therapies. Variants of the bradykinin receptor 2 (BDKRB2) have been linked to athletic and muscle performance. The rs1799722-9 and rs5810761 T alleles have been shown to be overrepresented in endurance athletes, possibly due to increased transcriptional rates of the receptor.

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Unlabelled: Conducted physically, supervised group-based falls prevention exercise programs have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the risk of falls among older adults. In this study, we aimed to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of a virtual supervised group-based falls prevention exercise program (WE-SURF™) for community-dwelling older adults at risk of falls.

Method: A preliminary study utilizing virtual discussions was conducted to assess the acceptability of the program among six older adults.

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Background: Screening for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) retinopathy is crucial to detecting early disease. A novel machine-learning-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarker, Ellipsoid Zone (EZ) At-Risk, can quantitatively measure EZ alterations and at-risk areas for progressive EZ loss in a fully automated fashion. The purpose of this analysis was to compare the EZ At-Risk burden in eyes with HCQ toxicity to eyes without toxicity.

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Purpose Of Review: HIV-1 infection contributes substantially to global morbidity and mortality, with no immediate promise of an effective prophylactic vaccine. Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses HIV replication, but latent viral reservoirs allow the virus to persist and reignite active replication if ART is discontinued. Moreover, inflammation and immune disfunction persist despite ART-mediated suppression of HIV.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compared fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of geographic atrophy (GA) to evaluate the effectiveness of avacincaptad pegol (ACP) treatment in a clinical trial called GATHER1.
  • A post hoc analysis showed a strong correlation (r = 0.93) between FAF and OCT measurements, indicating that both methods provided similar results in assessing GA area.
  • The OCT showed a significant reduction in GA growth between ACP and sham groups at 12 and 18 months, confirming that OCT can be a reliable method for measuring GA in clinical settings.
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  • The PARDSEVERE model, designed to predict mortality in pediatric ARDS patients, uses age and three plasma biomarkers measured within 24 hours of ARDS onset, evaluated for its effectiveness over the first week of diagnosis.
  • A secondary analysis of a cohort study involving 279 mechanically ventilated patients showed the model's varied predictive accuracy on days 0, 3, and 7, with area under the curve (AUROC) values ranging from 0.68 to 0.76.
  • The model maintained a high negative predictive value across all time points, indicating it reliably identifies patients with a low risk of mortality after ARDS diagnosis.
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We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in 327 children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their biological parents. We classified 37 of 327 (11.3%) children as having pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants and 58 of 327 (17.

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Objective: With advancing age comes the increasing prevalence of frailty and increased risk of adverse outcomes (eg, hospitalisation). Evidence for comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), a multidimensional holistic model of care, is mixed in community settings. Uncertainties remain, such as the key components of CGA, who delivers it, and the use of technology.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on overcoming the challenge of eradicating the viral reservoir to find a clinical cure for HIV-1 by using a combination of N-803 and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in rhesus macaques that were previously treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART).
  • Researchers found that while the treatment induced some immune activation and transient viral levels, it did not significantly lower the viral reservoir. However, about 70% of treated macaques achieved sustained control of the virus after stopping ART.
  • The success of viral control was linked to changes in CD8 T cells induced by the combination treatment, suggesting that eliminating the viral reservoir may not be necessary for long-term remission
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Type VII secretion systems are membrane-embedded nanomachines used by Gram-positive bacteria to export effector proteins from the cytoplasm to the extracellular environment. Many of these effectors are polymorphic toxins comprised of an N-terminal Leu-x-Gly (LXG) domain of unknown function and a C-terminal toxin domain that inhibits the growth of bacterial competitors. In recent work, it was shown that LXG effectors require two cognate Lap proteins for T7SS-dependent export.

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Island communities, like the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), depend on marine resources for food and economics, so plastic ingestion by those resources is a concern. The gastrointestinal tracts of nine species of reef fish across five trophic groups (97 fish) were examined for plastics >1 mm. Over 2100 putative plastic particles from 72 fish were identified under light microscopy.

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Bacterial competition is a significant driver of toxin polymorphism, which allows continual compensatory evolution between toxins and the resistance developed to overcome their activity. Bacterial Rearrangement hot spot (Rhs) proteins represent a widespread example of toxin polymorphism. Here, we present the 2.

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The prevalence of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections continues to rise as the development of antibiotics needed to combat these infections remains stagnant. MDR enterococci are a major contributor to this crisis. A potential therapeutic approach for combating MDR enterococci is bacteriophage (phage) therapy, which uses lytic viruses to infect and kill pathogenic bacteria.

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Background: Ageing is associated with changes in body composition including an overall reduction in muscle mass and a proportionate increase in fat mass. Sarcopenia is characterised by losses in both muscle mass and strength. Body composition and muscle strength are at least in part genetically determined, consequently polymorphisms in pathways important in muscle biology (e.

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