University of British Columbia

Models and theories investigating the interactions of SARS-CoV-2 infection with the blood-brain barrier

The neurological effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain largely unclear. With the ever-mounting concerns surrounding the neurological harm of SARS-CoV-2, it is important to elucidate these effects and how they transpire. Given that these sy...

Autoimmunity and autoinflammation in COVID-19: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies

As of May 2021, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 150 million people worldwide. The mechanisms of immune dysregulation in resulting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have not yet been fully elucidated. There is growing evidence to su...

Assembling an understanding: the critical role of SARS-CoV-2 envelope and membrane proteins in virion formation

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Since then, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 2 million people and is continuing to spread at an alarming rate, straining public health systems and crippling economie...

Syncytia Formation: A trademark of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and a potential target for novel drug therapies

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is characterized by its symptoms and complications primarily affecting the upper respiratory tract. Infected multinucleated syncytial pneumocytes have been observed i...

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...

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...

Blue-sky vision: Targeting microRNA-21 as a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Approach

Emerging and re-emerging human viruses pose ongoing global health threats and have been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as priority pathogens. The lack of effective therapies for these viruses of pandemic concerns highlights the urgent need for the development o...

Construction of plasmid pRMGS22 for the expression and His-tag purification of recombinant chitinase encoded by the chiC gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1

The use of chemical pesticides has been the leading approach in agriculture to protect crops from pest and insect-induced damage. However, environmental pollution and human health problems have resulted from excessive chemical pesticide use. As such, there is an urgent need to ex...

The Road Less Traveled: Advancing SARS-CoV-2 research with the exploration of non-structural proteins using organoid models

Until recently, the study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogenesis has primarily focused on surface structural proteins, with non-structural proteins (NSPs) regarded as less important. However, recent findings have shown the critical role of NS...

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...

Targeting TMEM16F‑Driven Membrane Remodeling: A Promising Strategy for Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Development

With the continuous rise of epidemics with potential for global threats, the need for antiviral drug development continues to be essential. Most drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are direct-acting agents (DAAs), targeting specific viral proteins, thus restr...

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...

Increased body mass is associated with decreased gut microbiome diversity in Parkinson’s Disease patients

Parkinson’s Disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder that results in both motor and non-motor symptoms. The subtle nature of early Parkinson’s Disease symptoms is often misinterpreted as normal signs of aging, and a lack of definitive tests to confirm Parkinson’s Disease co...

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...

On the Turán Number of the G3×3 in Linear Hypergraphs

ABSTRACT We construct dense 3‐uniform linear hypergraphs without grids. This improves the known lower bound for their Turán number. We also discuss some related problems.

Use of Telestroke Prior to Endovascular Stroke Treatment in Canada: Results from the OPTIMISE Registry

BACKGROUND: Telestroke allows rapid assessment of acute stroke patients for intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). While its safety and efficacy for thrombolysis are well established, evidence regarding EVT decision-making via telestroke is scarce. METHODS:...

Effects of neighbourhood socioeconomic disparity on preterm birth during the pandemic: secondary analysis of pregnancy during the pandemic cohort

Preterm birth (PTB) is a major public health concern with significant socioeconomic disparities. While stress-response pathways link neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) to PTB risk, overall PTB rates unexpectedly remained stable or declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Give...

Distribution of relaxation time analysis for stage-resolved flexural damage sensing in carbon black-modified ultra-high-performance concrete

Self-sensing cement composites convert mechanical deformation and cracking into measurable electrical responses. However, the conductive-network evolution underlying resistance variation and their ability to track loading-induced damage remain insufficiently understood. Here, we...

Oil Encapsulation in Core–Shell Filaments from Cellulose Nanocrystals and Methylcellulose via Dry-Jet Wet Spinning

Abstract The incorporation of oils into structured and water-compatible materials remains a key challenge for cellulose-based materials. Here, we demonstrate the production of core–shell filaments from cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and methylcellulose (MC) via a dry-jet wet spinn...

Stacking and the Triviality of Invertible Phases

Abstract We study the superselection sectors of two quantum lattice systems stacked onto each other in the operator algebraic framework. We show in particular that all irreducible sectors of a stacked system are unitarily equivalent to a product of irreducible sectors of the fact...