ACOT1 deficiency attenuates high-fat diet-induced fat mass gain by increasing energy expenditure.

Acyl-CoA thioesterase 1 (ACOT1) catalyzes the hydrolysis of long-chain acyl-CoAs to free fatty acids and CoA and is typically upregulated in obesity. Whether targeting ACOT1 in the setting of high-fat diet-induced (HFD-induced) obesity would be metabolically beneficial is not known. Here we report that male and female ACOT1KO mice are partially protected from HFD-induced obesity, an effect associated with increased energy expenditure without alterations in physical activity or food intake.

Direct wastewater extraction as a simple and effective method for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and COVID-19 community-level monitoring.

Wastewater surveillance has proven to be an effective tool to monitor the transmission and emergence of infectious agents at a community scale. Workflows for wastewater surveillance generally rely on concentration steps to increase the probability of detection of low-abundance targets, but preconcentration can substantially increase the time and cost of analyses while also introducing additional loss of target during processing. To address some of these issues, we conducted a longitudinal study implementing a simplified workflow for SARS-CoV-2 detection from wastewater, using a direct column-based extraction approach.

Accelerating problem-solving capacities of sub-national public health professionals: an evaluation of a digital immunization training intervention.

Background: This article reports an evaluation of the Immunization Training Challenge Hackathons (ITCH), invented by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) for national and sub-national immunization staff who strive to develop the knowledge and capacity of others to improve immunization program performance. ITCH, a fully-digital program focused on networked collaborative problem-solving between peers, provided an "opt-in" activity for learners in the Teach to Reach (T2R) Accelerator Program designed to improve training effectiveness in the immunization sphere.

Methods: Conducted by a team from the University of Georgia, this mixed method evaluation consisted of thematic analysis of recorded sessions and open-ended comments; and statistical analyses of application and follow-up survey data.

Ophthalmic Findings Associated with NEDD4L-related Disorder.

Pathogenic variants in the NEDD4L gene are associated with a very rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by periventricular nodular heterotopia, developmental delay, 2-3 toe syndactyly, and cleft palate. Ophthalmic findings associated with this disorder have not been well described in literature. We have summarized the clinical findings that have been reported in this disorder previously and highlight a novel ophthalmic finding of foveal hypoplasia in a new case of NEDD4L-related disorder.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and e-cigarette use, binge drinking, and other associated risk factors in a college population.

In the summer of 2020, SARS-CoV-2 infection rates among the U.S. population aged 20-39 years exceeded other age groups, with the largest increases occurring in the southern US.

Value-based care through postacute home health under CMS PACT regulations.

Objectives: To assess in a Medicare Advantage population (1) whether discharge to home health, compared with discharge to home, following an inpatient stay subject to CMS postacute care transfer (PACT) regulations, is associated with better outcomes or lower expenditures and (2) whether the impact differs among subpopulations.

Study Design: Claims-based retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Instrumental variable (IV) analysis, with prior hospital-level probability of discharge to home health as the IV, to control for unobservable as well as observable confounders.

Association between antimicrobial treatment of subclinical pneumonia in foals and selection of macrolide- and rifampicin-resistant strains at horse-breeding farms in central Kentucky.

Objective: To compare soil concentrations of macrolide- and rifampicin-resistant strains (MRRE) on horse-breeding farms that used thoracic ultrasonographic screening (TUS) to identify foals with subclinical pneumonia combined with subsequent administration of macrolides and rifampin to affected foals (TUS farms) versus soil concentrations on farms that did not (non-TUS farms), determine whether the combined use of TUS and antimicrobial treatment of subclinically affected foals was associated with soil concentration of MRRE, and assess whether there were temporal effects on soil concentrations of MRRE during the foaling season.

Samples: 720 soil samples and 20 completed questionnaires from 20 horse-breeding farms (10 TUS farms and 10 non-TUS farms) in central Kentucky.

Procedures: A questionnaire was used to gather information from participating farms about their 2019 foaling season.

Molecular Imaging of Viologen Adlayers and In Situ Monitoring Structural Transformations at Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces.

The effects of temperature and molecular concentration on the ordering of two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures have been investigated at the well-defined Au(111)-electrolyte interface. In comparison to the assembly of thiolated alkanes or hydrogen-bonded nonthiolated molecules, fabricating large aromatic thiolated molecules into a highly ordered adlayer on a surface remained a challenge. In this study, we demonstrated the importance of controlling the assembly conditions and procedures for the formation of ordered adlayers of redox-active viologen derivatives.

Horizontal Spread of Rhodococcus equi Macrolide Resistance Plasmid pRErm46 across Environmental .

Conjugation is one of the main mechanisms involved in the spread and maintenance of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. We recently showed that the emerging macrolide resistance in the soilborne equine and zoonotic pathogen is conferred by the (46) gene carried on the 87-kb conjugative plasmid pRErm46. Here, we investigated the conjugal transferability of pRErm46 to 14 representative bacteria likely encountered by in the environmental habitat.

Relationship Between Pregnancy-Associated Malaria and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes like preterm birth (PTB) and low birthweight (LBW), which are among the leading causes of infant mortality globally. Rates of PTB and LBW are high in countries with a high burden of malaria. PAM may be a contributing factor to PTB and LBW, but is not well understood.

Information within residency monthly evaluation forms at two institutions.

Periodic review of resident performance is an important aspect of residency training. Amongst allopathic residency programs, it is expected that the performance of resident physicians which can be grouped based on the ACGME core competencies, be assessed so as to allow for effective feedback and continuous improvement. Review of monthly evaluation forms for residents in the core ACGME programs at Marshall University and the University of Toledo demonstrated a wide spread in the number of Likert questions that faculty were asked to complete.

Molecular evolution of hepatitis C virus in China: A nationwide study.

The evolutionary and epidemic history and the regional differences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are complex and remain unclear in the vast territory China. Here we recruited 1540 HCV-RNA positive patients sampled in 29 provinces across whole China, which is the largest sample capacity and the most comprehensive geographic coverage of China to our knowledge. 1b, 2a, 3b, 6a and 3a were the major subtypes in China.

Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites.

Cosmological observations indicate that dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. Dark matter could arise from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects. Here we use the global positioning system as a ~ 50,000 km aperture dark matter detector to search for such objects in the form of domain walls.

The ctenophore genome and the evolutionary origins of neural systems.

The origins of neural systems remain unresolved. In contrast to other basal metazoans, ctenophores (comb jellies) have both complex nervous and mesoderm-derived muscular systems. These holoplanktonic predators also have sophisticated ciliated locomotion, behaviour and distinct development.

Automated method for analysis of tryptophan and tyrosine metabolites using capillary electrophoresis with native fluorescence detection.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced native fluorescence (LINF) detection offers the ability to characterize low levels of selected analyte classes, depending on the excitation and emission wavelengths used. Here a new automated CE-LINF system that provides deep ultraviolet (DUV) excitation (224 nm) and variable emission wavelength detection was evaluated for the analysis of small molecule tryptophan- and tyrosine-related metabolites. The optimized instrument design includes several features that increase throughput, lower instrument cost and maintenance, and decrease complexity when compared with earlier systems using DUV excitation.

Serotonin of mast cell origin contributes to hippocampal function.

In the central nervous system, serotonin, an important neurotransmitter and trophic factor, is synthesized by both mast cells and neurons. Mast cells, like other immune cells, are born in the bone marrow and migrate to many tissues. We show that they are resident in the mouse brain throughout development and adulthood.

The effect of initial treatment of periodontitis on systemic markers of inflammation and cardiovascular risk: a randomized controlled trial.

Observational studies indicate that chronic periodontal disease is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether initial periodontal treatment has a beneficial effect on systemic markers of inflammation and cardiovascular risk. One hundred and thirty-six adults with chronic periodontitis were allocated to either intervention or control groups in a 3-month randomized controlled intervention study.

Marginal zone B-cell depletion impairs murine host defense against Borrelia burgdorferi infection.

Marginal zone B (MZB) cells are a B-cell subset that produces T-cell-independent antibodies to blood-borne antigens. In this study, we examined the effects of MZB cell depletion on the immune response to the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, an extracellular pathogen for which T-cell-independent antibody is an important host defense. MZB cell depletion of C3H/HeJ mice using monoclonal antibody to LFA-1 and alpha(4)beta(1) integrins reduced B.

Iron deficiency affects acoustic startle response and latency, but not prepulse inhibition in young adult rats.

Iron deficiency is associated with alterations in dopamine and serotonin transporters as well as changes in dopamine receptor (DR) density, monoamine concentrations, and in vivo extracellular contents of monoamines in terminal fields. Human infants with iron deficiency have both delayed maturation as well as lengthened central conduction times in auditory evoked potential studies. The current study utilizes the magnitude of the acoustic startle response (ASR), prepulse inhibition (PPI), and mean latency to maximum startle response (T(max)), to examine the functional integrity of response to environmental cues.

Iron deficiency: differential effects on monoamine transporters.

In this study, we extend previous work on iron deficiency and dopamine (DA) transporters to include an examination of central serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenergic (NE) transporters. Rats were fed either iron deficient (ID) or iron adequate (CN) diets from weaning until adulthood. In males, an additional group of iron deficient animals (IR) were given iron supplementation.

Pregnancy after gastric bypass surgery and internal hernia formation.

Background: Gastric bypass is a surgical procedure that is increasingly performed in the United States to treat morbid obesity. Because of the changes associated with pregnancy, women with a history of gastric bypass surgery may be at an increased risk of gastrointestinal complications during the antepartum period, as demonstrated by these cases.

Cases: The first patient presented at 12 weeks of gestation with abdominal pain.

Infection-induced marginal zone B cell production of Borrelia hermsii-specific antibody is impaired in the absence of CD1d.

Ab that arise in the absence of T cell help are a critical host defense against infection with the spirochetes Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia hermsii. We have previously shown that CD1d-deficient (CD1d(-/-)) mice have impaired resistance to infection with B. burgdorferi.