Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Cult Health Sex 2021 Apr 1:1-14. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL, London, UK.

The emergence of COVID-19 precipitated varied responses from public health officials in London, England. In April 2020, clinicians at 56 Dean Street sexual health and advice clinic in central London described social isolation as 'a unique window of opportunity' to 'break the chain' in HIV transmission. This was followed by critical responses within HIV prevention circles. Read More

BMC Public Health 2021 Mar 29;21(1):610. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Background: The Prime-Time Sister Circles® (PTSC) program is a multifaceted, community-based peer support intervention targeting African American women who are 40 to 75 years of age. It aims to reduce hypertension disparities observed among African American women by promoting adherence to antihypertensive therapies, including lifestyle modification and therapeutic regimens.

Methods: The PTSC randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the PTSC Program on improved blood pressure control, healthcare utilization attributed to cardiovascular events, and healthcare costs. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2021 Feb 12;17(2):e1009258. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) recombinants in the world are believed to be generated through recombination between distinct HIV-1 strains among coinfection or superinfection cases. However, direct evidence to support transmission of HIV-1 recombinants from a coinfected/superinfected donor to putative recipient is lacking. Here, we report on the origin and evolutionary relationship between a set of recombinants from a CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC superinfected putative donor and diverse CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC recombinants from five putative recipients. Read More

PLoS Genet 2021 Feb 1;17(2):e1009346. Epub 2021 Feb 1.

Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, Mohali, India.

Ethanol is a widely used drug, excessive consumption of which could lead to medical conditions with diverse symptoms. Ethanol abuse causes dysfunction of memory, attention, speech and locomotion across species. Dopamine signaling plays an essential role in ethanol dependent behaviors in animals ranging from C. Read More

Cells 2020 11 28;9(12). Epub 2020 Nov 28.

IBMCP (CSIC-UPV), Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.

Circular DNAs, such as most prokaryotic and phage genomes, are a frequent form of nucleic acids, whereas circular RNAs had been regarded as unusual macromolecules until very recently. The first reported RNA circles were the family of small infectious genomes of viroids and circular RNA (circRNA) satellites of plant viruses, some of which contain small self-cleaving RNA motifs, such as the hammerhead (HHR) and hairpin ribozymes. A similar infectious circRNA, the unique human hepatitis delta virus (HDV), is another viral satellite that also encodes self-cleaving motifs called HDV ribozymes. Read More

J Healthc Eng 2020 10;2020:8869134. Epub 2020 Oct 10.

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA.

Measuring physical activity using wearable sensors is essential for quantifying adherence to exercise regiments in clinical research and motivating individuals to continue exercising. An important aspect of wearable activity tracking is counting particular movements. One limitation of many previous models is the need to design the counting for a specific exercise. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 10 5;10(10):e042973. Epub 2020 Oct 5.

University of Alberta School of Public Health, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Objectives: Patient experiences with health systems constitute a crucial pillar of quality care. Across the Arctic, patients' interactions with the healthcare system are influenced by challenges of access, historical inequities and social determinants. This scoping review sought to describe the range and nature of peer-reviewed literature on patient experience studies conducted within the circumpolar region. Read More

Transcult Psychiatry 2020 12 20;57(6):775-785. Epub 2020 Sep 20.

Institute for Ethics, History, and Philosophy of Medicine, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany.

This article examines Fischl Schneersohn's (1887-1958) "science of man" as a psychotherapeutic approach situated between modern psychology and Chassidic mysticism. While almost forgotten today, Schneersohn was a prolific writer, well-known in Yiddish-speaking circles as a psychologist, educationalist, novelist, and psychotherapist. As a descendant of an important dynasty of Chassidic rebbes, he grew up inside the Chabad movement, but followed a secular career. Read More

Indian Dermatol Online J 2020 Jul-Aug;11(4):534-539. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

Consultant Dermatologist, Derma Circles Clinic, New Delhi, India.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has changed the homeostasis of the medical world. In this critical phase, in addition to the general recommendations issued by World Health Organization (WHO) for medical practitioners and health care givers, certain other precautions and safe care practices need to be emphasized which are unique to each branch of medicine. Aesthetic dermatology is no exception. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2020 09 20;124(3):994-1004. Epub 2020 Aug 20.

Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Skillful manipulation requires forming memories of object dynamics, linking applied force to motion. Although it has been assumed that such memories are linked to objects, a recent study showed that people can form separate memories when these are linked to different controlled points on an object (Heald JB, Ingram JN, Flanagan JR, Wolpert DM. 2: 300-311, 2018). Read More

Am J Transplant 2021 03 10;21(3):1179-1185. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Department of Mathematics, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, USA.

Recently, the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network approved a plan to allocate kidneys within 250-nm circles around donor hospitals. These homogeneous circles might not substantially reduce geographic differences in transplant rates because deceased donor kidney supply and demand differ across the country. Using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data from 2016-2019, we used an integer program to design unique, heterogeneous circles with sizes between 100 and 500 nm that reduced supply/demand ratio variation across transplant centers. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2020 12 27;50(12):2099-2101. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

RAG complexes recognise (cryptic) RSS sites both in and outside immunoglobulin sites. Excision circles may be reinserted into V(D)J rearrangements as long templated insertions to diversify the adaptive immune repertoire. We show that such VDJ with templated insertions are incidentally found in the repertoire of healthy donors. Read More

J Pediatr Urol 2020 Oct 23;16(5):657.e1-657.e9. Epub 2020 Jul 23.

Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. Electronic address:

Background: Non-operative management of higher-grade renal injuries has gradually become accepted in pediatric circles following multiple studies over the past decade which showed good renal salvage rates. However, some children do fail this conservative approach and need interventions which are mostly minimally invasive. There is still paucity of studies on the functional outcomes in this unique subgroup of patients. Read More

Nucleic Acids Res 2020 08;48(14):7883-7898

Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark.

Circular DNA can arise from all parts of eukaryotic chromosomes. In yeast, circular ribosomal DNA (rDNA) accumulates dramatically as cells age, however little is known about the accumulation of other chromosome-derived circles or the contribution of such circles to genetic variation in aged cells. We profiled circular DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations sampled when young and after extensive aging. Read More

Front Psychol 2020 11;11:994. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Rahim Yar Khan Division, MEPCO, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.

Workplace incivility is a common phenomenon that is frequently found across all organizations and cultures. This study was planned to investigate the impact of workplace incivility on job and non-job related gossips through the mediating role of cynicism and psychological contract violation. The perspective of low-ranked unionized employees was explored through a survey method by using stratified sampling in eight strata, which were formulated based on geographical distribution. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020 Jul 17;12(26):29393-29403. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, P. R. China.

Developing novel bifunctional electrocatalysts with advanced oxygen electrocatalytic activity is pivotal for next-generation energy-storage devices. Herein, we present ultrathin oxygen-doped FePSe (FePSe-O) nanosheets by Ar/O plasma treatment, with remarkable surface atom reorganization. Such surface atom reorganization generates multiple crystalline-amorphous interfaces that benefit the kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction, achieving a low overpotential of only 261 mV at 10 mA cm with a small Tafel slope of 41. Read More

Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2020 Feb 6;8(2):e2633. Epub 2020 Feb 6.

Cosmetic Refinement Clinic, Geelong, Australia.

Background: The nasojugal groove or tear trough (TT) area deformity produces visible, pigmented, difficult-to-treat hollows. Hyaluronic acid (HA) filler-based correction yields variable results and complications. We developed an alternative, minimally invasive treatment for this area. Read More

IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell 2020 Jul 13;42(7):1594-1605. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Recovering the shape and reflectance of non-Lambertian surfaces remains a challenging problem in computer vision since the view-dependent appearance invalidates traditional photo-consistency constraint. In this paper, we introduce a novel concentric multi-spectral light field (CMSLF) design that is able to recover the shape and reflectance of surfaces of various materials in one shot. Our CMSLF system consists of an array of cameras arranged on concentric circles where each ring captures a specific spectrum. Read More

Pediatr Res 2021 Jan 31;89(1):102-109. Epub 2020 Mar 31.

Department of Pediatrics A, Pediatric Immunology Service, Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) Center, Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.

Background: Patients with Down syndrome (DS) are at increased risk for infections and autoimmune disorders. Although several immunological abnormalities were previously found, differences in T cell receptor repertoire have never been shown. Thus we compared the T cell receptor gamma (TRG) repertoire in DS and non-syndromic pediatric patients by next-generation sequencing, in addition to other immunological markers. Read More

J Eye Mov Res 2019 Oct 9;12(4). Epub 2019 Dec 9.

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA.

This study sought to investigate whether stimulation to the fovea or the parafovea with different color combinations influenced the temporal and dynamic features of 4° disparity vergence step responses. Twelve unique types of stimuli were displayed within a haploscope presented along the participant's midsagittal plane. Vergence eye movement responses from fifteen naïve participants were recorded using video-based infrared eye tracking instrumentation. Read More

J Genet Couns 2020 06 27;29(3):435-439. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.

With changes in our understanding of gender identity and disorders of sex differentiation (DSDs), as well as a need to promote medical care that appropriately reflects the intersectional personal identities of patients with respect to sex and gender, we explored possible modifications of pedigree nomenclature to better represent such patient diversity. There are currently no widely accepted standard symbols to simultaneously represent both gender identity and assigned sex at birth within a pedigree. Previous studies assessing perspectives from members of the transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) community have highlighted the need for a unique symbol to represent non-binary individuals and better ways to represent core gender identities for gender minorities such as transgender individuals. Read More

Qual Health Res 2020 05 31;30(6):894-905. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Drawing from a socioecological framework of health, this community-based participatory research study examined key cultural health perspectives of transitionally housed, food insecure Indigenous children (aged 8-12 years) by utilizing talking circles and a 4-day photovoice (PV) curriculum. In total, 18 Indigenous children portrayed their health perceptions by taking photographs of their living environment and categorizing photos as , or . And, 10 of the 18 children completed pre- and post-evaluations, where data elucidated that urban Indigenous children experiencing food and housing insecurity demonstrate unique holistic and socioecological perceptions about health. Read More

Nurs Outlook 2020 Jan - Feb;68(1):33-44. Epub 2019 Dec 31.

En Route Care Research Division, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Dayton, OH.

Background: Moral distress in healthcare providers occurs when the perceived right action cannot or is not taken and results in a loss of moral integrity. Critical Care Air Transport (CCAT) nurses are elite U.S. Read More

Mol Cancer Res 2019 12 14;17(12):2480-2491. Epub 2019 Oct 14.

Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.

A key hallmark of cancer, unlimited replication, requires cancer cells to evade both replicative senescence and potentially lethal chromosomal instability induced by telomere dysfunction. The majority of cancers overcome these critical barriers by upregulating telomerase, a telomere-specific reverse transcriptase. However, a subset of cancers maintains telomere lengths by the telomerase-independent Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway. Read More

J Chem Phys 2019 Sep;151(10):104703

Department for the Modelling of Physico-Chemical Processes, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland.

Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the self-organization of Janus disks confined in two-dimensional slits. Janus particles are modeled as circles composed of attractive and repulsive parts. We consider the slits with identical walls and slits with competing walls (the so-called Janus-like pores). Read More

Acta Parasitol 2019 Dec 22;64(4):779-796. Epub 2019 Jul 22.

Molecular Taxonomy Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, UP, 250004, India.

Background: Most (82%) of the 46 recognized species of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) Verma and Datta, 1929 are known from Asian freshwater fishes. Only three species of Acanthosentis are known from marine or brackish water fishes from India and Pakistan. We have discovered another marine species of Acanthosentis in the Pacific Ocean, off Vietnam. Read More

Immunol Res 2019 06;67(2-3):166-175

Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the effective mean of immune restoration in severe combined immunodefiency (SCID). Usually, HSCT without cytoreductive conditioning is attempted. Nevertheless, conditioning procedures are still preferred in a subset of patients. Read More

J Invest Surg 2020 Sep 9;33(8):709-714. Epub 2019 May 9.

Department of Breast Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Hangzhou, China.

The removal of the giant breast fibroadenoma (GFA) with esthetic repair of the severe deformed breast is a surgical challenge. This was a retrospective study of data of 10 patients with GFAs who treated with a modified round block technique at the Department of Breast Surgery, Hangzhou First People's Hospital (Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China) from March 2014 to June 2017. Preoperatively, according to the degree of excess skin and asymmetry, a four-point approach was designed. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2019 Jun 21;237:236-244. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Biosystematics Group, Wageningen University and Research, Radix Building 107, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands; Clusius Chair of History of Botany and Gardens, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Around 1800, Amsterdam was a global trade hub for materia medica of Dutch, European and exotic origin. Contemporary knowledge on medicinal plants in academic circles has been well documented in local pharmacopoeia, illustrated herbals and catalogues of botanic gardens. Until the end of the ancient regime, physicians, surgeons and apothecaries were trained how to use plants in their specific guild or Collegium Medicum. Read More