The Effect of Sleep Position Preference on Eyelid and Eyebrow Symmetry.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between sleep position preference and eyebrow and eyelid position and degree of upper eyelid dermatochalasis.

Methods: A prospective study evaluating the impact of sleep position on facial asymmetry was conducted at an academic ophthalmology department. Eligibility criteria included the absence of periocular-altering trauma or surgery, contact lens use, or other periorbital disease processes.

Utilizing the Four Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine as an intersectional framework for approaching sexual orientation and gender identity disclosure as a provider.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and other (LGBTQI+) community continues to experience health inequity and unmet needs. This manuscript examines the application of the Four Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine (FTOM) during a patient's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity to the provider, also known as coming out. Tenet One discusses the interplay between intersectionality and coming out.

Impact of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants on mRNA vaccine-induced immunity.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutations in major neutralizing antibody-binding sites can affect humoral immunity induced by infection or vaccination. Here we analysed the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody and T cell responses in individuals who were previously infected (recovered) or uninfected (naive) and received mRNA vaccines to SARS-CoV-2. While individuals who were previously infected sustained higher antibody titres than individuals who were uninfected post-vaccination, the latter reached comparable levels of neutralization responses to the ancestral strain after the second vaccine dose.

Human neocortical expansion involves glutamatergic neuron diversification.

The neocortex is disproportionately expanded in human compared with mouse, both in its total volume relative to subcortical structures and in the proportion occupied by supragranular layers composed of neurons that selectively make connections within the neocortex and with other telencephalic structures. Single-cell transcriptomic analyses of human and mouse neocortex show an increased diversity of glutamatergic neuron types in supragranular layers in human neocortex and pronounced gradients as a function of cortical depth. Here, to probe the functional and anatomical correlates of this transcriptomic diversity, we developed a robust platform combining patch clamp recording, biocytin staining and single-cell RNA-sequencing (Patch-seq) to examine neurosurgically resected human tissues.

Comparative cellular analysis of motor cortex in human, marmoset and mouse.

The primary motor cortex (M1) is essential for voluntary fine-motor control and is functionally conserved across mammals. Here, using high-throughput transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of more than 450,000 single nuclei in humans, marmoset monkeys and mice, we demonstrate a broadly conserved cellular makeup of this region, with similarities that mirror evolutionary distance and are consistent between the transcriptome and epigenome. The core conserved molecular identities of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types allow us to generate a cross-species consensus classification of cell types, and to infer conserved properties of cell types across species.

Electrical impedance tomography for non-invasive identification of fatty liver infiltrate in overweight individuals.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of cardiometabolic diseases in overweight individuals. While liver biopsy is the current gold standard to diagnose NAFLD and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive alternative still under clinical trials, the former is invasive and the latter costly. We demonstrate electrical impedance tomography (EIT) as a portable method for detecting fatty infiltrate.

Fluoride Prescribing Behaviors for Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Oregon.

Introduction: This study aims to examine physician and dentist fluoride prescription patterns and identify the factors associated with fluoride prescriptions for Medicaid-enrolled children. The hypothesis is that dentists will be the primary prescribers of fluoride and that caries risk factors will be associated with fluoride prescriptions.

Methods: Data were analyzed for Oregon children aged 0-17 years enrolled in Medicaid for ≥300 days in both 2016 and 2017.

Willingness to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine among Residents of Slum Settlements.

Slum residents are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Without a specific treatment, vaccination became the main strategy against COVID-19. In this study, we determined the rate and factors associated with the willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 among slum residents and their main reasons associated with the vaccine intention.

Signature morpho-electric, transcriptomic, and dendritic properties of human layer 5 neocortical pyramidal neurons.

In the neocortex, subcerebral axonal projections originate largely from layer 5 (L5) extratelencephalic-projecting (ET) neurons. The unique morpho-electric properties of these neurons have been mainly described in rodents, where retrograde tracers or transgenic lines can label them. Similar labeling strategies are infeasible in the human neocortex, rendering the translational relevance of findings in rodents unclear.

Heterogeneous development of children with Congenital Zika Syndrome-associated microcephaly.

Objective: To describe the neurological and neurodevelopmental outcomes of children with Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) associated microcephaly beyond 2 years of age.

Method: We followed children with CZS-associated microcephaly in an outpatient clinic in Salvador, Brazil. Neurological and neurodevelopmental assessments were performed using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Neurodevelopment (Bayley-III) respectively.

The gut microbiome in konzo.

Konzo, a distinct upper motor neuron disease associated with a cyanogenic diet and chronic malnutrition, predominately affects children and women of childbearing age in sub-Saharan Africa. While the exact biological mechanisms that cause this disease have largely remained elusive, host-genetics and environmental components such as the gut microbiome have been implicated. Using a large study population of 180 individuals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where konzo is most frequent, we investigate how the structure of the gut microbiome varied across geographical contexts, as well as provide the first insight into the gut flora of children affected with this debilitating disease using shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

Implementation of an Embedded In-Clinic Genetic Testing Station to Optimize Germline Testing for Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Germline genetic testing is universally recommended for patients with pancreatic cancer, but testing remains infrequent. In May 2018, we implemented a systematic patient intake workflow featuring an in-clinic genetic testing station (GTS) at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to expedite genetic counseling and facilitate sample collection. We sought to determine the impact of this innovation on rates of genetic counseling and testing.

Effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine in older adults during a gamma variant associated epidemic of covid-19 in Brazil: test negative case-control study.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of the inactivated whole virus vaccine, CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech), against symptomatic covid-19 in the elderly population of São Paulo state, Brazil during widespread circulation of the gamma variant.

Design: Test negative case-control study.

Setting: Community testing for covid-19 in São Paulo state, Brazil.

Effectiveness of CoronaVac among healthcare workers in the setting of high SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant transmission in Manaus, Brazil: A test-negative case-control study.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, Gamma, emerged in the city of Manaus in late 2020 during a large resurgence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and has spread throughout Brazil. The effectiveness of vaccines in settings with widespread Gamma variant transmission has not been reported.

Methods: We performed a matched test-negative case-control study to estimate the effectiveness of an inactivated vaccine, CoronaVac, in healthcare workers (HCWs) in Manaus, where the Gamma variant accounted for 86% of genotyped SARS-CoV-2 samples at the peak of its epidemic.

Farmer social networks: The role of advice ties and organizational leadership in agroforestry adoption.

With the decline in public budgets for agricultural extension support, ties between members of farmer groups are becoming more important to facilitate information transfer about agroforestry. This paper examines the role of social network ties in predicting organizational leadership in an agroforestry-based farmer group. Using social network data derived from interviews with members of farming groups based in the Ayeyarwady Delta of Myanmar, we established a positive relationship between advice-seeking ties and organizational leadership.

Metastatic urinary bladder paraganglioma on Ga-68 DOTATATE PET/CT.

Paragangliomas are extra-adrenal catecholamine-secreting neuroendocrine tumors that can present with adrenergic signs and symptoms. The urinary bladder is a rare location for a paraganglioma, and these tumors must be distinguished from other more common bladder neoplasms. In this case report, we discuss a 59 year-old woman who initially presented with tachycardia, palpitations, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and weight loss.

Differential behavioral functioning in the offspring of rats with high vs. low self-administration of the opioid agonist remifentanil.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) has a variety of adverse effects on both the users and their offspring. In the current study, a random group of Sprague-Dawley rats (25 females and 15 males) were tested for intravenous self-administration of the opioid agonist remifentanil to determine the range of acquisition for opioid. One-month after the end of self-administration of remifentanil, rats with the highest intake were mated together and rats with lowest intake were mated together.

Urban Entomology Highlights From 2020-Monitoring and Control of Urban Pests.

Pest management professionals aim to answer two primary questions for their customers: 1) 'Where/What is the pest?' and 2) 'How do I kill it?'. These two questions drive at the core of any pest management program. 2020 was an exciting year for entomology research, with much work being done on novel technologies and methods for detecting and controlling pests.

Identification of TBX15 as an adipose master trans regulator of abdominal obesity genes.

Background: Obesity predisposes individuals to multiple cardiometabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). As body mass index (BMI) cannot reliably differentiate fat from lean mass, the metabolically detrimental abdominal obesity has been estimated using waist-hip ratio (WHR). Waist-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (WHRadjBMI) in turn is a well-established sex-specific marker for abdominal fat and adiposity, and a predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, such as T2D.

Social determinants associated with Zika virus infection in pregnant women.

Unlabelled: This study aims to describe the sociodemographic determinants associated with exposure to Zika Virus (ZIKV) in pregnant women during the 2015-2016 epidemic in Salvador, Brazil.

Methods: We recruited women who gave birth between October 2015 and January 2016 to a cross-sectional study at a referral maternity hospital in Salvador, Brazil. We collected information on their demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics, and evaluated their ZIKV exposure using a plaque reduction neutralization test.