Rewriting the history of leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka: An untold story since 1904. (2022)
Journal Article
Nuwangi, H., Weerakoon, K., Agampodi, T., Price, H., Dikomitis, L., & Agampodi, S. (2022). Rewriting the history of leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka: An untold story since 1904. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, e0010918 - ?. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010918

Leishmaniasis is widely considered a disease that emerged in Sri Lanka in the 1990s. However, a comprehensive case report from 1904 suggests that the presence of Leishmaniasis was well demonstrated in Sri Lanka long before that. The Annual Administra... Read More about Rewriting the history of leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka: An untold story since 1904..

Alteration of the expression of sirtuins and var genes by heat shock in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (2022)
Journal Article
Anagu, L. O., Hulse, D. R., Horrocks, P. D., & Chakravorty, S. J. (2022). Alteration of the expression of sirtuins and var genes by heat shock in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 111458 - 111458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molbiopara.2022.111458

Background
In Plasmodium falciparum the monoallelic expression of var virulence genes is regulated through epigenetic mechanisms. A study in the Gambia showed that an increase in var gene expression is associated with fever, high blood lactate with... Read More about Alteration of the expression of sirtuins and var genes by heat shock in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Blood biochemical parameters as predictors of disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients- an updated systematic review and meta-analysis (2021)
Other
Majid, A., Mishra, P., Parveen, R., Bajpai, R., Khan, M., & Agarwal, N. (2021). Blood biochemical parameters as predictors of disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients- an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

<h4>ABSTRACT</h4> <h4>Background</h4> The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading across the globe and poses a great risk to human health. Patients with abnormalities in laboratory parameters are more susceptible to... Read More about Blood biochemical parameters as predictors of disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients- an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

A genome-wide association study suggests correlations of common genetic variants with peritoneal solute transfer rates in patients with kidney failure receiving peritoneal dialysis. (2021)
Journal Article
Davies, & Lambie. (2021). A genome-wide association study suggests correlations of common genetic variants with peritoneal solute transfer rates in patients with kidney failure receiving peritoneal dialysis. Kidney International, 1101-1111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2021.05.037

Movement of solutes across the peritoneum allows for the use of peritoneal dialysis to treat kidney failure. However, there is a large inter-individual variability in the peritoneal solute transfer rate (PSTR). Here, we tested the hypothesis that com... Read More about A genome-wide association study suggests correlations of common genetic variants with peritoneal solute transfer rates in patients with kidney failure receiving peritoneal dialysis..

Geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine burials of murder victims to aid forensic investigators (2021)
Journal Article
Davenward, B., Mirosch, N., Spencer, F., Jervis, J. R., Pringle, J. K., Stimpson, I. G., …Heaton, V. (2021). Geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine burials of murder victims to aid forensic investigators. Geology Today, 37(2), 63-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.12344

Locating murder victims buried within clandestine graves is one of the most important and difficult challenges for forensic search teams. This article details how applied geoscientists have been geophysically monitoring simulated clandestine burials,... Read More about Geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine burials of murder victims to aid forensic investigators.

Mapping Gene-by-Gene Single-Nucleotide Variation in 8,535 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genomes: a Resource To Support Potential Vaccine and Drug Development (2021)
Journal Article
Papakonstantinou, D., Dunn, S. J., Draper, S. J., Cunningham, A. F., O’Shea, M. K., & McNally, A. (2021). Mapping Gene-by-Gene Single-Nucleotide Variation in 8,535 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genomes: a Resource To Support Potential Vaccine and Drug Development. mSphere, 6(2), https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.01224-20

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for millions of deaths annually. More effective vaccines and new antituberculous drugs are essential to control the disease. Numerous genomic studies have advanced our knowledge about M. tuberculosis drug resistance,... Read More about Mapping Gene-by-Gene Single-Nucleotide Variation in 8,535 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genomes: a Resource To Support Potential Vaccine and Drug Development.

Optimisation of sample preparation using glass slides for spectral pathology (2020)
Journal Article
Dowling, L., Roach, P., Rutter, A., Yousef, I., Pillai, S., Latham, D., …Sule-Suso, J. (2020). Optimisation of sample preparation using glass slides for spectral pathology. Applied Spectroscopy, 75(3), 343-350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003702820945748

The clinical translation of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy in pathology will require bringing this technique as close as possible to standard practice in pathology departments. An important step is sample preparation for both FTI... Read More about Optimisation of sample preparation using glass slides for spectral pathology.

Rapid implementation and validation of a cold-chain free SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing workflow to support surge capacity (2020)
Journal Article
Bosworth, A., Whalley, C., Poxon, C., Wanigasooriya, K., Pickles, O., Aldera, E. L., …Beggs, A. D. (in press). Rapid implementation and validation of a cold-chain free SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing workflow to support surge capacity. Journal of Clinical Virology, 128, Article 104469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104469

Background In January 2020 reports of unidentified severe respiratory illness were described in Wuhan, China. A rapid expansion in cases affecting most countries around the globe led to major changes in the way people live their daily lives. In the U... Read More about Rapid implementation and validation of a cold-chain free SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing workflow to support surge capacity.

Muscle overexpression of Klf15 via an AAV8-Spc5-12 construct does not provide benefits in spinal muscular atrophy mice (2020)
Journal Article
Bowerman, Ahlskog, N., Hayler, D., Krueger, A., Kubinski, S., Claus, P., …Bowerman, M. (2020). Muscle overexpression of Klf15 via an AAV8-Spc5-12 construct does not provide benefits in spinal muscular atrophy mice. Gene Therapy, 27, 505–515. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41434-020-0146-8

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by loss of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene. While there are currently two approved gene-based therapies for SMA, availability, high cost, and differences in patient response indicat... Read More about Muscle overexpression of Klf15 via an AAV8-Spc5-12 construct does not provide benefits in spinal muscular atrophy mice.

Molecular characterisation of human atopic asthma and house dust mite induced pulmonary inflammation in a murine experimental model (2020)
Thesis
Whittle, E. L. (2020). Molecular characterisation of human atopic asthma and house dust mite induced pulmonary inflammation in a murine experimental model. (Thesis). Keele University

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of the 21st century, affecting over 300 million people worldwide 1. It is an inflammatory disorder of the airways that is a major public concern globally due to increasing prevalence and rates of mort... Read More about Molecular characterisation of human atopic asthma and house dust mite induced pulmonary inflammation in a murine experimental model.

Comparison of cough plates and cough swabs for detecting respiratory pathogens in non-expectorating children with cystic fibrosis (2019)
Thesis
Kemball, B. M. H. (2019). Comparison of cough plates and cough swabs for detecting respiratory pathogens in non-expectorating children with cystic fibrosis. (Thesis). Keele University

Background
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive, multisystem disorder affecting ion transportation across epithelial membranes. Respiratory complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality and CF lung disease is characterised... Read More about Comparison of cough plates and cough swabs for detecting respiratory pathogens in non-expectorating children with cystic fibrosis.

Hydrogen cyanide as an in-vitro and in-vivo marker of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection
Thesis
(2014). Hydrogen cyanide as an in-vitro and in-vivo marker of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

The work presented in this thesis uses Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry to investigate if hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a marker of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). The initial in-vitro studies measure the HCN released into the gas phase by cultures... Read More about Hydrogen cyanide as an in-vitro and in-vivo marker of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

An evaluation of tailored magnetic nanoparticles in the induction of stem cell differentiation
Thesis
Moise, S. (2016). An evaluation of tailored magnetic nanoparticles in the induction of stem cell differentiation

Improving the differentiation capacity of stem cells by defining the ideal physico-chemical and spatial parameters will enhance the efficiency of stem cell-based clinical therapies. In this thesis the hypothesis that heat shock (elevated temperatures... Read More about An evaluation of tailored magnetic nanoparticles in the induction of stem cell differentiation.

The aggregation and reduction of iron minerals by the Alzheimer’s disease peptide ß-amyloid (1-42): an X-ray absorption study
Thesis
Everett, J. (2015). The aggregation and reduction of iron minerals by the Alzheimer’s disease peptide ß-amyloid (1-42): an X-ray absorption study

Iron is vital for healthy brain function. However when present in a redox-active form or in excess concentrations it can be toxic. Interestingly, increased levels of redox-active iron biominerals have been shown to exist in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) t... Read More about The aggregation and reduction of iron minerals by the Alzheimer’s disease peptide ß-amyloid (1-42): an X-ray absorption study.

Expression and functionality of beta-chemokines in endothelial cells of the rheumatoid synovium
Thesis
Rump-Goodrich, L. (2016). Expression and functionality of beta-chemokines in endothelial cells of the rheumatoid synovium

RA is a destructive and chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease. The inflammation of the synovium is associated with the local invasion of inflammatory cells across blood vessel endothelial cells (ECs), increases in synovial fluid volume and local pa... Read More about Expression and functionality of beta-chemokines in endothelial cells of the rheumatoid synovium.

The role of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in reversing age-related and pathological muscle atrophy
Thesis
Griffiths, L. (2016). The role of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in reversing age-related and pathological muscle atrophy

An ageing population increases the number of frail, elderly individuals. Physiotherapists are increasingly treating frail individuals due to the associated rate of rapid muscle atrophy. A rapid loss of muscle strength can result in difficulty perform... Read More about The role of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in reversing age-related and pathological muscle atrophy.