Early Introductions of Candida auris Detected by Wastewater Surveillance, Utah, USA, 2022-2023.

Candida auris is considered a nosocomial pathogen of high concern and is currently spreading across the United States. Infection control measures for C. auris focus mainly on healthcare facilities, yet transmission levels may already be significant in the community before outbreaks are detected in healthcare settings.

Community-Scale Wastewater Surveillance of during an Ongoing Outbreak in Southern Nevada.

is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and an emerging global public health threat, given its high mortality among infected individuals, antifungal resistance, and persistence in healthcare environments. This study explored the applicability of wastewater surveillance for in a metropolitan area with reported outbreaks across multiple healthcare facilities. Influent or primary effluent samples were collected over 10 weeks from seven sewersheds in Southern Nevada.

Pre-treatment chest X-ray stability duration and tuberculosis disease in San Diego, California, 2012-2017.

Background: Overseas screening for tuberculosis (TB) has sought to reduce the burden of active TB in the United States. The duration of time between two unchanged, or stable, chest X-rays (CXRs) taken four to six months apart has been considered clinically useful in the evaluation of suspected pulmonary TB disease, but this relationship has not been previously quantified.

Objective: To investigate the association between pre-treatment CXR stability duration and future clinical or culture-confirmed (Class 3) diagnosis of pulmonary TB in San Diego, California, USA.

Differential expression patterns of phospholipase D isoforms 1 and 2 in the mammalian brain and retina.

Phosphatidic acid is a key signaling molecule heavily implicated in exocytosis due to its protein-binding partners and propensity to induce negative membrane curvature. One phosphatidic acid-producing enzyme, phospholipase D (PLD), has also been implicated in neurotransmission. Unfortunately, due to the unreliability of reagents, there has been confusion in the literature regarding the expression of PLD isoforms in the mammalian brain which has hampered our understanding of their functional roles in neurons.

Identification of Synaptic DGKθ Interactors That Stimulate DGKθ Activity.

Lipids and their metabolic enzymes are a critical point of regulation for the membrane curvature required to induce membrane fusion during synaptic vesicle recycling. One such enzyme is diacylglycerol kinase θ (DGKθ), which produces phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) that generates negative membrane curvature. Synapses lacking DGKθ have significantly slower rates of endocytosis, implicating DGKθ as an endocytic regulator.

Naturalistic Topography Assessment in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Smoking Unfiltered Cigarettes: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations.

Smoking topography (ST) is a set of measures profiling the behavioral characteristics of smoking in various settings. The CReSS portable device can measure ST in the natural environment. No standard protocol exists for measuring ST longitudinally with the CReSS.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development BUILD Las Vegas 2019 Event: Lessons Learned in Public Health Community Engagement.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) BUILD Las Vegas 2019 event brought together Las Vegas Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program (LVLHCHHP) staff, community leaders, and volunteers from multiple organizations for a neighborhood clean-up and community resource fair in a low-income, historic west Las Vegas neighborhood.

Effects of Unfiltered Cigarettes on Smoking Behavior and Toxicant Exposure: Protocol for a Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.

Background: Plastic filters on cigarette butts are a widespread source of nonbiodegradable, toxic environmental waste. State and local legislation to ban the sale of single-use cigarettes may be considered to prevent this waste, but scientific evidence on the impact of switching smokers to unfiltered cigarettes on smoking behavior and toxicant exposures is needed to inform this policy. We have designed an open-label, randomized, 9-week, crossover clinical trial of adult filtered-cigarette smokers who switch to unfiltered cigarettes.

Roles of DGKs in neurons: Postsynaptic functions?

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) contribute to an important part of intracellular signaling because, in addition to reducing diacylglycerol levels, they generate phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) Recent research has led to the discovery of ten mammalian DGK isoforms, all of which are found in the mammalian brain. Many of these isoforms have studied functions within the brain, while others lack such understanding in regards to neuronal roles, regulation, and structural dynamics. However, while previously a neuronal function for DGKθ was unknown, it was recently found that DGKθ is required for the regulation of synaptic vesicle endocytosis and work is currently being conducted to elucidate the mechanism behind this regulation.

Lipid Metabolism Crosstalk in the Brain: Glia and Neurons.

Until recently, glial cells have been considered mainly support cells for neurons in the mammalian brain. However, many studies have unveiled a variety of glial functions including electrolyte homeostasis, inflammation, synapse formation, metabolism, and the regulation of neurotransmission. The importance of these functions illuminates significant crosstalk between glial and neuronal cells.

Phosphatidic acid-producing enzymes regulating the synaptic vesicle cycle: Role for PLD?

In cortical and hippocampal neurons of the mammalian brain, the synaptic vesicle cycle is a series of steps that tightly regulate exo- and endocytosis of vesicles. Many proteins contribute to this regulation, but lipids have recently emerged as critical regulators as well. Of all the many lipid signaling molecules, phosphatidic acid is important to the physical processes of membrane fusion.

Health Hazards in the Home: An Assessment of a Southern Nevada Community.

As a sub-grantee of a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Department of Environmental and Occupational Health performed lead and Healthy Homes investigations and collected data regarding conditions in the home environment in Henderson, Nevada. The purpose of this research is to characterize housing conditions in southern Nevada, compare data to census data, and to highlight the health outcomes associated with adverse housing conditions. Visual home assessments were conducted in 106 homes in southern Nevada, and specific hazards were characterized using the Healthy Homes Rating System.

Phosphatidic acid and neurotransmission.

Lipids play a vital role in the health and functioning of neurons and interest in the physiological role of neuronal lipids is certainly increasing. One neuronal function in which neuronal lipids appears to play key roles in neurotransmission. Our understanding of the role of lipids in the synaptic vesicle cycle and neurotransmitter release is becoming increasingly more important.

Compensatory plasticity in the olfactory epithelium: age, timing, and reversibility.

Like other biological systems, olfaction responds "homeostatically" to enduring change in the stimulus environment. This adaptive mechanism, referred to as compensatory plasticity, has been studied almost exclusively in developing animals. Thus it is unknown if this phenomenon is limited to ontogenesis and irreversible, characteristics common to some other forms of plasticity.