ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENTS IN ANESTHETIZED CAPTIVE RED PANDAS ().

A recent review of mortality in captive red pandas () listed cardiac pathology as the most common cause of death in the adult age group. The aim of this study was to describe the standard echocardiographic variables in 13 captive, healthy, adult red pandas that underwent an elective health examination. In addition, differences between the two subspecies of red panda, than in , and association of these echocardiographic variables with age, sex, and body condition score, were examined.

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency.

Objective: Radon exposure is a proven cause of lung cancer and is a possible cause of other diseases. Recently, several ecologic studies explored the correlation of county-wide incidence rates for non-lung cancers with residential radon levels, using radon data reported by a commercial laboratory. However, the validity of the commercial radon data, i.

Semen and oocyte collection, sperm cryopreservation and IVF with the threatened North American giant salamander .

Semen of high to moderate quality was collected following the hormonal induction of North American giant salamanders Cryptobranchus alleganiensis . Oocytes from one female yielded the first C. alleganiensis produced while maintained in aquaria under human care and the first externally fertilising salamander produced with cryopreserved spermatozoa and IVF.

EFFICACY OF SUBCUTANEOUS IMPLANTS TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS PLASMA TERBINAFINE IN HELLBENDERS () FOR FUTURE PROPHYLACTIC USE AGAINST CHYTRIDIOMYCOSIS.

() is an important fungal pathogen present in wild hellbender () populations that appears to cause disease during novel exposure and acute stress. Hellbender repatriation efforts are ongoing to combat declining populations, but mortality by chytridiomycosis (disease from ) after release has been reported. The goal was to determine whether a safe antifungal agent could be administered and provide prolonged plasma concentrations without repeated handling.

Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet.

Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions (NSECs) are associated with resident diet, but most research has been cross-sectional. We capitalized on a natural experiment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which 1 neighborhood experienced substantial investments and a sociodemographically similar neighborhood that did not, to examine pathways from neighborhood investments to changed NSECs and changed dietary behavior. We examined differences between renters and homeowners.

Does Large-Scale Neighborhood Reinvestment Work? Effects of Public-Private Real Estate Investment on Local Sales Prices, Rental Prices, and Crime Rates.

During the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $6 billion in competitive grants called HOPE VI to spur neighborhood redevelopment.

Feasibility of Social Distancing Practices in US Schools to Reduce Influenza Transmission During a Pandemic.

Background: Schools are socially dense environments, and school-based outbreaks often predate and fuel community-wide transmission of seasonal and pandemic influenza. While preemptive school closures can effectively reduce influenza transmission, they are disruptive and currently recommended only for pandemics. We assessed the feasibility of implementing other social distancing practices in K-12 schools as a first step in seeking an alternative to preemptive school closures.

Broken Windows, Broken Zzs: Poor Housing and Neighborhood Conditions Are Associated with Objective Measures of Sleep Health.

African Americans and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals have higher rates of a variety of sleep disturbances, including short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and fragmented sleep. Such sleep disturbances may contribute to pervasive and widening racial and socioeconomic (SES) disparities in health. A growing body of literature demonstrates that over and above individual-level SES, indicators of neighborhood disadvantage are associated with poor sleep.

School and preparedness officials' perspectives on social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic: Considerations to guide future work.

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of school and preparedness officials on the feasibility of implementing a range of social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic. In the summer of 2017, we conducted 36 focus groups by teleconference and webinar lasting 90 min with school and preparedness stakeholders from across the United States. We identified and characterized 11 themes arising from the focus group protocol's domains as well as unanticipated emergent themes.

School practices to promote social distancing in K-12 schools: review of influenza pandemic policies and practices.

Background: During an evolving influenza pandemic, community mitigation strategies, such as social distancing, can slow down virus transmission in schools and surrounding communities. To date, research on school practices to promote social distancing in primary and secondary schools has focused on prolonged school closure, with little attention paid to the identification and feasibility of other more sustainable interventions. To develop a list and typology of school practices that have been proposed and/or implemented in an influenza pandemic and to uncover any barriers identified, lessons learned from their use, and documented impacts.

Health implications of social networks for children living in public housing.

This study sought to examine whether: (1) the health composition of the social networks of children living in subsidized housing within market rate developments (among higher-income neighbors) differs from the social network composition of children living in public housing developments (among lower-income neighbors); and (2) children's social network composition is associated with children's own health. We found no significant differences in the health characteristics of the social networks of children living in these different types of public housing. However, social network composition was significantly associated with several aspects of children's own health, suggesting the potential importance of social networks for the health of vulnerable populations.

Intergenerational Social Networks and Health Behaviors Among Children Living in Public Housing.

Objectives: In a survey of families living in public housing, we investigated whether caretakers' social networks are linked with children's health status.

Methods: In 2011, 209 children and their caretakers living in public housing in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, were surveyed regarding their health and social networks. We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between the perceived health composition of caretaker social networks and corresponding child health characteristics (e.

The impact of public housing on social networks: a natural experiment.

Objectives: We assessed whether 2 types of public housing-scattered among market-rate housing developments or clustered in small public housing projects-were associated with the perceived health and health behaviors of residents' social networks.

Methods: Leveraging a natural experiment in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which residents were randomly assigned to different types of public housing, we surveyed 453 heads of household in 2011. We asked residents about their own health as well as the perceived health of their network members, including their neighbors.

Regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor ubiquitination and trafficking by the USP8·STAM complex.

Reversible ubiquitination of activated receptor complexes signals their sorting between recycling and degradation and thereby dictates receptor fate. The deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8/UBPy) has been previously implicated in the regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); however, the molecular mechanisms governing its recruitment and activity in this context remain unclear. Herein, we investigate the role of USP8 in countering ligand-induced ubiquitination and down-regulation of EGFR and characterize a subset of protein-protein interaction determinants critical for this function.