Publications by authors named "Wills R"

Unlabelled: "Single Model initial-condition Large Ensembles" (SMILEs) conducted with Earth system models have transformed our ability to quantify internal climate variability and forced climate change at local and regional scales. An important consideration in their experimental design is the choice of initialization procedure as this influences the duration of initial-condition memory, with implications for interpreting the temporal evolution of both the ensemble-mean and ensemble-spread. Here we leverage the strategic design of the 100-member Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) SMILE to investigate the dependence of ensemble spread on the method of initialization (micro- vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • The primary goal of the study was to analyze how long patients used their cochlear implants (CIs) at 12 and 24 months after surgery for single-sided deafness (SSD), while also looking at factors influencing usage.
  • The study involved reviewing data from SSD patients who received CIs between January 2015 and March 2020, assessing their usage and correlating it with hearing loss duration, tinnitus scores, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at 12 months.
  • Results showed that 18.4% of patients were non-users at 24 months, with an average CI usage of 7.0 hours per day, and improved SNR scores were linked to greater CI usage, while
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Background: Urinary acidification with ammonium chloride (AC) for urolith dissolution is a common treatment for goats with urolithiasis. Studies have reported increased fractional excretion of calcium (FECa) following AC administration, which could increase calcium-based urolithiasis. D,L methionine (MET) may result in similar acidification with less calcium excretion.

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Background: Progressive auditory dysfunction is common in patients with generalized neurodegenerative conditions, but clinicians currently lack the diagnostic tools to determine the location/degree of the pathology and, hence, to provide appropriate intervention. In this study, we present the white-matter microstructure measurements derived from a novel diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) technique in a patient with axonal auditory neuropathy and consider the findings in relation to the auditory intervention outcomes.

Methods: We tracked the hearing changes in an adolescent with Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency (Type 2), evaluating the sound detection/discrimination, auditory evoked potentials, and both structural- and diffusion-weighted MRI findings over a 3-year period.

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Aldehydes, pervasive in various environments, pose health risks at elevated levels due to their collective toxic effects shared mechanisms. Monitoring total aldehyde content in living systems is crucial due to their cumulative impact. Current methods for detecting cellular aldehydes are limited to UV and visible ranges, restricting their analysis in living systems.

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Despite various roles of phosphatidic acid (PA) in cellular functions such as lipid homeostasis and vesicular trafficking, there is a lack of high-affinity tools to study PA in live cells. After analysis of the predicted structure of the LNS2 domain in the lipid transfer protein Nir1, we suspected that this domain could serve as a novel PA biosensor. We created a fluorescently tagged Nir1-LNS2 construct and then performed liposome binding assays as well as pharmacological and genetic manipulations of HEK293A cells to determine how specific lipids affect the interaction of Nir1-LNS2 with membranes.

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Background: The Patient Cloud ePRO app was adopted by the National Cancer Institute National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) to facilitate capturing electronic patient-reported (ePRO) outcome data, but use has been low. The study objectives were to test whether a patient-targeted ePRO educational resource (ePRO-E) would increase ePRO intent (number of users) and improve data quality (high quality: ≥80% of the required surveys submitted) within an ongoing NCTN study.

Methods: The ePRO-E intervention, a patient-targeted educational resource (written material and 6-minute animated YouTube video), was designed to address ePRO barriers.

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Membrane polyphosphoinositides (PPIs) are lipid-signaling molecules that undergo metabolic turnover and influence a diverse range of cellular functions. PPIs regulate the activity and/or spatial localization of a number of actin-binding proteins (ABPs) through direct interactions; however, it is much less clear whether ABPs could also be an integral part in regulating PPI signaling. In this study, we show that ABP profilin1 (Pfn1) is an important molecular determinant of the cellular content of PI(4,5)P (the most abundant PPI in cells).

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Cyclic tetrapeptides exhibit high cellular permeability and a wide range of biological properties and thus have gained great interest in the field of medicinal chemistry. We synthesized highly strained 12-membered head to tail cyclic peptides with varying reactive amino acids, without oligomerization using the exclusively intramolecular CyClick chemistry. This occurs by a two-step process involving the low-energy formation of a 15 atom-containing cyclic imine, followed by a chemoselective ring contraction of the peptide backbone generating a highly strained 12 atom-containing cyclic tetrapeptide.

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The effectiveness of lemon myrtle (LM) () essential oil (EO) was investigated to combat by agar diffusion and vapour assay and in artificially infected oranges. The main constituent of LM EO was revealed as citral when analysed in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Pure citral was also included in the experiment for comparison.

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Background: Hormone receptor-positive (HR +) breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer in the USA but has excellent long-term outcomes in recent decades, in part due to effective oral endocrine therapy (ET). ET medications are typically prescribed for 5 to 10 years, depending on the risk of recurrence, and must be taken daily. One limiting factor to ET efficacy is nonadherence, with high-risk groups for nonadherence including younger women and Black women.

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Objective: To assess the use of a standing position during abdominal point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) examination when evaluating dogs for peritoneal effusion.

Design: Randomized prospective study over 17 months.

Setting: Single-center, university veterinary teaching hospital.

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Aliphatic aldehydes are reactive electrophilic carbonyls that cross-link with DNA and proteins leading to cellular toxicity and disease pathogenesis. This toxicity is due to the cooperative effect of multiple aldehydes a common mechanism. Therefore, live-cell imaging of total aliphatic aldehydes, small-to-long chain (C-C), is highly desired to decipher their physiological and pathological functions.

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Objective: To evaluate corneal sensitivity and acute side effects following application of ropivacaine hydrochloride 0.5% and lidocaine hydrochloride 2% on the healthy equine cornea.

Animals Studied: Eight healthy adult horses.

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The lipid molecule phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] controls all aspects of plasma membrane (PM) function in animal cells, from its selective permeability to the attachment of the cytoskeleton. Although disruption of PI(4,5)P2 is associated with a wide range of diseases, it remains unclear how cells sense and maintain PI(4,5)P2 levels to support various cell functions. Here, we show that the PIP4K family of enzymes, which synthesize PI(4,5)P2 via a minor pathway, also function as sensors of tonic PI(4,5)P2 levels.

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Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a novel screw type on stiffness and failure characteristics of a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) construct under cyclic loading conditions. The authors hypothesized that bone-screw-fasteners (BSF) would result in superior biomechanical stability compared with locking buttress screws (LBS).

Materials And Methods: Twelve pairs of canine cadaveric pelvic limbs were included in this biomechanical study.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated corneal sensitivity and any side effects from injecting three types of local anesthetics (liposomal bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and mepivacaine) into the eyes of horses.
  • All horses received each anesthetic in one eye and saline in the other, with corneal sensitivity measured before and after injections, along with monitoring for adverse effects over time.
  • Results showed that ropivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine provided longer pain relief than the saline control, while mepivacaine's effects were similar to saline, suggesting ropivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine could be good options for pain management in horses' eyes.
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Breast cancer affects one in 8 females with a 5-year survival rate of 89%. Up to 72% of breast cancer survivors have trouble with activities of daily living (ADL) following treatment. Increased time-from-treatment improves some measures of function, yet ADL limitations persist.

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Limited data exist to predict the severity of pancreatitis in cats. In this retrospective case series, we reviewed the medical records of 45 cats with SP from June 2014 to June 2019. Case definition was based on an internist's review of clinopathologic data, Spec fPL concentration, and AUS findings.

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Background: Evidence supporting the effectiveness of therapeutic protocols for nonassociative immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (na-IMHA) is weak.

Hypothesis/objectives: Investigate the efficacy of various drugs in na-IMHA.

Animals: Two hundred forty-two dogs.

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Canine chronic ulcerative stomatitis (CCUS) is a spontaneously occurring, painful, and often debilitating condition of the oral cavity, with a suspected immune-mediated component. The response to pharmacological treatment is generally poor, thus the need to identify more effective medical therapies for this condition. This article describes a prospective clinical trial that was designed to evaluate the efficiency of a combination of cyclosporine and metronidazole in managing CCUS.

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Background: Advances in precision medicine have given oncologists new evaluative tools to better individualize treatments for patients with curable breast cancer. These innovations have revealed a need to improve patient understanding of novel, often complex information related to breast cancer treatment decisions. Ensuring patients have the emotional support to face consequential treatment decisions, as well as the opportunity to engage and discuss with their clinicians, is key to improving patient-centered communication and patient understanding.

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The lipid phosphatidyl-D-myo-inositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] is a master regulator of plasma membrane (PM) function. Its effector proteins regulate transport, signaling, and cytoskeletal processes that define PM structure and function. How a single type of lipid regulates so many parallel processes is unclear.

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Radial immunodiffusion (RID) is used to quantify IgG concentration in neonatal beef or dairy calf serum; variability has been noted that may affect the precision and accuracy of assay results. We determined the source, range, and homogeneity of variance in the results of a commercial bovine IgG RID assay (Triple J Farm). To estimate the variance in the precipitin ring diameter, we used 6 sera, measured 28 times across 8 plates and 4 lots, and 3 standards with known IgG concentrations, measured 75 times across 69 plates and 5 lots.

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Background: The potential effects of glucocorticoid administration on rivaroxaban's anticoagulant bioactivity in dogs, and an appropriate rivaroxaban dosage regimen for dogs receiving glucocorticoid therapy are unknown.

Hypothesis/objectives: The objective was to determine whether glucocorticoid administration influences the anticoagulant effects of rivaroxaban in healthy dogs. We hypothesized that administration of rivaroxaban and prednisone would reduce the anticoagulant intensity compared with rivaroxaban alone.

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