Research

Elsevier, Neuron, Volume 103, 7 August 2019
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one the most common human afflictions, contributing to long-term disability in survivors. Emerging data indicate that functional improvement or deterioration can occur years after TBI. In this regard, TBI is recognized as risk factor for late-life neurodegenerative disorders. TBI encompasses a heterogeneous disease process in which diverse injury subtypes and multiple molecular mechanisms overlap.
Elsevier, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Volume 274, 15 August 2019
Manual chamber-based measurements of CO2 (and H2O) fluxes are important for understanding ecosystem carbon metabolism. Small opaque chambers can be used to measure leaf, stem and soil respiration. Larger transparent chambers can be used to measure net ecosystem exchange of CO2, and small jars often serve this purpose for laboratory incubations of soil and plant material. We developed an Android application (app), called Flux Puppy, to facilitate chamber-based flux measurements in the field and laboratory.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, Volume 18, August 2019
In the last couple of years, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been raising a lot of attention mainly due to their versatility and their easy and speedy preparation without the need of further purification. Moreover, the vast array of very different compounds that can be selected for their preparation has led to the full tailoring of their relevant properties as solvents.
Elsevier,

World Development, Volume 120, August 2019

This study analyzes the relationship between social inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and economic development. It uses legal and economic data for 132 countries from 1966 to 2011. Previous studies and reports provide substantial evidence that LGBT people are limited in their human rights in ways that also create economic harms, such as lost labor time, lost productivity, underinvestment in human capital, and the inefficient allocation of human resources.

Elsevier,

World Development, Volume 120, August 2019

The number of countries with a national development plan has more than doubled, from about 62 in 2006 to 134 in 2018. More than 80 per cent of the global population now lives in a country with a national development plan of one form or another. This is a stunning recovery of a practice that had been discredited in the 1980s and 1990s as a relic of directed economies and state-led development. Several factors have fostered this re-emergence but from about 2015 the momentum for producing plans has accelerated, driven in part by a need to plan for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Elsevier,

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Volume 112, August 2019

This paper relates to remote sensing of water use and water stress in the African savanna ecosystem at a local scale, as well as the development and validation of a monitoring tool.
Elsevier,

Effects of Lifestyle on Men's Health, 2019, Pages 149-168

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how obesity is a significant health problem, especially among the people living in developed countries, which also has detrimental effects on the male urogenital system.
High-Throughput Surface Liquid Absorption and Secretion Assays to Identify F508del CFTR Correctors Using Patient Primary Airway Epithelial Cultures
Elsevier,

SLAS Discovery, Volume 24, 1 August 2019

High-throughput screening for drug discovery is increasingly utilizing cellular systems of high physiological relevance, such as patient primary cells and organoid cultures. We used 3D-cultured cystic fibrosis patient bronchial epithelial cells to screen for new small-molecule correctors of the disease-causing F508del mutation in CFTR. Impaired mucociliary clearance due to insufficient airway hydration is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis and we used a simple measure of surface liquid levels to quantify F508del CFTR correction in cultured bronchial epithelial cells. Two robust assay formats were configured and used to screen more than 100,000 compounds as mixtures or individual compounds in 96-well format. The corrector discovery success rate, as measured by the number of hits confirmed by an electrophysiology assay on patient primary bronchial epithelial cells, was superior to screens in cell lines expressing recombinant F508del CFTR. Several novel corrector scaffolds were discovered that when combined with the clinical corrector VX-809 delivered combination responses greater than double that of VX-809 alone. This work exemplifies the advantages of a disease-relevant readout and 3D-cultured patient primary cells for the discovery of new drug candidates.
Elsevier,

Nutritional Epigenomics, 2019, Pages 51-65

This chapter addresses SDG10 and SDG3 by investigating how studying the impact of race and ethnicity on epigenetic differences related to disease may shed light on the biological pathways through which environments contribute to health disparities.
Elsevier,

The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 6, August 2019

This Commission supports SDG 3 by summarising advances in understanding on the topic of physical health in people with mental illness, and presents clear directions for health promotion, clinical care, and future research. The report describes how disparities could be reduced through evidence-based prescribing and better integration of physical and mental health care.

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