University of British Columbia

Breast Tumour Tissue Subtypes Are Associated with Distinct Microbiome Composition and Functional Profiles

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide and encompasses multiple tumour subtypes that arise from distinct anatomical and histological regions of the breast. Although previous research has shown that the breast microbiome influences tumour developmen...

Asymptotic linear dependence and ellipse statistics for multivariate two-sample homogeneity test

Statistical depth, which measures the center-outward rank of a given sample with respect to its underlying distribution, has become a popular and powerful tool in nonparametric inference. In this paper, we investigate the use of statistical depth in multivariate two-sample proble...

Greater Gut Microbial Diversity and Several Reduced Taxonomic Group Abundances Are Associated with Higher Humoral Responsiveness to Single-dose Oral Typhoid Ty21a Vaccination

Variability across individuals in immune responses to oral vaccines poses a challenge for achieving uniform protection against enteric pathogens, and the gut microbiome has emerged as a potential modulator of vaccine immunogenicity. The live-attenuated oral typhoid vaccine Ty21a...

Preterm Risk Factors, Epigenetic Age, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

Importance Studies examining biological factors associated with neurodevelopment in the preterm population are limited. It was previously demonstrated that epigenetic age acceleration was associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes among children born preterm. It is unclea...

Increased pathological severity of Familial Dysautonomia enriches murine gut microbial composition

Familial dysautonomia (FD) is the most prevalent type of Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathies, which are rare genetic neurological disorders that affect both the peripheral and central nervous systems. Previous studies have found significant alterations in the gut microb...

Recombinant Chitinase C produced through cell-free protein synthesis retains chitin-binding capabilities

Optimizing high-yield production of target proteins is often a time-consuming process for many experiments. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is a potential solution, as it eliminates preliminary processes, such as cell transformation, while providing high protein concentration....

Cellulose-Mediated Hydration Interactions Enable Mechanically Durable Hydrosetting Geopolymers

Abstract Developing geopolymers that combine a low-carbon composition with high performance through tailored rheology, hydration-guided curing, and mechanical reinforcement is essential for commercial and residential construction. Herein, we examined biobased cellulose nanocrysta...

Systematic review of clinical trials and cohort studies evaluating HIV post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) regimens to inform updated Canadian guidelines

Abstract Background We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials and cohort studies on HIV post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) regimens to inform updated 2025 Canadian guidelines. Methods We searched Medline and Embase (July 2017–June 2024) for studies reporting on: HIV acquis...

Study buddy learning is associated with academic success in undergraduate science courses

for undergraduate science students. The study tested three hypotheses: (i) Do students benefit academically from a formalized study buddy peer learning program? (ii) Do mentors and protégés benefit equally from participation in the study buddy program? (iii) Does heterogeneity in...

Increase in gut microbiota taxonomic sensitivity to inflammation from 6 to 12 month infants

Inflammation is a biological response typically indicative of a diseased state, and long-term inflammation is also potentially pathological. Recent studies have highlighted the important relationship between the gut microbiota and inflammation in the human body, identifying a pot...

Respiratory System Resistance and Bronchodilator Responsiveness in Paralympic Athletes with Spinal Cord Injury

INTRODUCTION: Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) may impair autonomic regulation of airway caliber, whereas repeated exposure to high ventilatory loads may modify airway function through mechanical stretch. PURPOSE: To compare airway function and bronchodilator responsiveness betw...

The Vaginal and Rectal Microbiome Profiles of Chronic Pelvic Pain Patients Cannot Delineate Chronic Pelvic Pain With and Without Endometriosis

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is defined as the persistent or recurrent pain in the pelvic region lasting for six months or longer. It is a heterogeneous and multifactorial condition, with endometriosis representing one of its major gynecological causes. However, diagnosing endometri...

Optimization of expression in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), IMAC purification, storage, and preliminary functional characterization of recombinant Chitinase C from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Chitin is a homopolymer that is found in the abdominal lining and exoskeleton of various insects. Given the increasing environmental pollution due to chemical insecticides used in agriculture, there is great interest in the development of bioinsecticides. Proteins that hydrolyze...

Dietary fiber consumption is associated with the selection of key microbial species but does not affect overall microbial diversity in a Colombian cohort

The gut microbiome is known to be affected by factors in the host diet. In particular, dietary fiber intake is associated with changes to gut microbial diversity, as one of the key functions of the microbiota is to degrade non-digestible fibers into nutrients and beneficial compo...

Tracking recent extremes and interannual variability of global fire emissions using a near-real-time extension to the Global Fire Emissions Database

Abstract. The Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) is widely used to quantify spatiotemporal variability and long-term trends in burned area and fire emissions, supporting assessments of fire impacts on ecosystems and atmospheric composition. GFED has historically relied on obse...

Examination into the HI-SEAS IV crew member microbiome reveals potential role of preferred interactions on skin microbial community structure

Astronauts experiencing prolonged space travel report increased skin hypersensitivity and delayed wound healing as a result of changes to the skin microbiome during space travel. In this study, we explored the effects of close social relationships within isolated built environmen...

LIGO Detector Characterization in the Second and Third Parts of the Fourth Observing Run

Abstract LIGO detector characterization efforts enabled the confident detection of gravitational waves from hundreds of compact binary coalescences during the fourth observing run. Reliable production of high quality detector data and rapid noise mitigation efforts allow the extr...

Utilizing BrkA Passenger Domain to Surface Display Lead Remediator EC10 on Escherichia coli

According to the WHO, lead contamination poses significant environmental and health challenges globally and is responsible for 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2021. One natural bioremediation strategy involves the use of phytochelatins, a cysteine-rich peptide naturally synthesiz...

A Remotely Delivered Exercise-Based Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Persistent Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (EX-CIPN): A Phase I Feasibility Trial

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) affects two-thirds of patients who receive neurotoxic chemotherapy. In almost half of these patients, CIPN is persistent, with limited treatment options. Exercise-based rehabilitation shows promising results in improvi...

Soluble O16-antigen LPS complex delays T4 bacteriophage adsorption to Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655

MG1655 is an Escherichia coli K-12 strain that does not express O-antigen, a distal sugar component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on Gram-negative bacteria. DFB1655 L9 is an isogenic strain of MG1655 with O16-antigen expression restored. Studies have shown that DFB1655 L9 is resist...