Low-Cost Lower Extremity Screening to Predict Shoulder Distraction Force in College Softball Pitchers.

Background: During a windmill softball pitch, the throwing shoulder experiences forces greater than the pitcher's body weight. Various kinematic, kinetic, and performance factors have been related to shoulder forces and torques in softball pitchers, and softball research has examined clinical screening measures such as range of motion, muscular strength, and/or neuromuscular control. However, no studies have explicitly identified low-cost, clinic-friendly screening measures predictive of shoulder distraction forces in softball pitchers.

Comparison of In-Game Trunk and Upper Extremity Kinematics Between Fastballs, Breaking Balls, and Changeups in NCAA Division I Collegiate Baseball Pitchers.

Background: Previous biomechanical analyses of baseball pitching report similar kinematics between pitch types. However, prior studies were conducted in a controlled laboratory environment.

Purpose/hypothesis: This study aimed to compare in-game trunk and upper extremity kinematics between fastballs, breaking balls, and changeups to determine whether there are kinematic differences that may affect performance as well as to provide new insights into potential risk factors for injury.

Normative In-Game Data for Collegiate Baseball Pitchers Using Markerless Tracking Technology.

Background: The current standard for motion capture data collection in baseball biomechanics is marker-based optical motion capture. Recent advancement in markerless motion capture capabilities has greatly improved accessibility to in-game, high-precision motion capture data, but specific values may differ from markered systems, necessitating separate normative values. For future data comparison, reference data are needed.

Predicting the Presence of Pain in Youth Baseball Pitchers Using the Concept of Biomechanical Efficiency.

Background: Increases in peak shoulder distraction force and peak elbow valgus torque may influence throwing-arm pain and injury risk in youth pitchers.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine whether shoulder distraction force and elbow valgus torque while accounting for anthropometrics and pitch velocity can predict the presence of pain in youth baseball pitchers. It was hypothesized that throwing-arm pain could be predicted using the concept of biomechanical efficiency, where a pitcher who is less efficient (having higher force or torque with the same pitch velocity) is more likely to experience pain.

Neolithic Yersinia pestis infections in humans and a dog.

Yersinia pestis has been infecting humans since the Late Neolithic (LN). Whether those early infections were isolated zoonoses or initiators of a pandemic remains unclear. We report Y.

Ancient genomes lack the virulence-associated Ypf prophage present in modern pandemic strains.

is the causative agent of at least three major plague pandemics (Justinianic, Medieval and Modern). Previous studies on ancient genomes revealed that several genomic alterations had occurred approximately 5000-3000 years ago and contributed to the remarkable virulence of this pathogen. How a subset of strains evolved to cause the Modern pandemic is less well-understood.

Comparison of Peak Shoulder Distraction Forces Between Pain and Pain-Free Youth Baseball Pitchers.

Background: Increased shoulder distraction force during a baseball pitch may make a pitcher susceptible to rotator cuff or glenohumeral labral injuries. A precursor to a pitching injury may be pain experienced in the throwing arm.

Purpose: To (1) compare peak shoulder distraction (PSD) forces in youth baseball pitchers with and without upper extremity pain when throwing a fastball and (2) assess if PSD forces across trials differ between pain and pain-free groups.

Current allele distribution of the human longevity gene APOE in Europe can mainly be explained by ancient admixture.

Variation in apolipoprotein E (APOE) has been shown to have the strongest genetic effect on human longevity. The aim of this study was to unravel the evolutionary history of the three major APOE alleles in Europe by analysing ancient samples up to 12,000 years old. We detected significant allele frequency shifts between populations and over time.

Pathogen genomics study of an early medieval community in Germany reveals extensive co-infections.

Background: The pathogen landscape in the Early European Middle Ages remains largely unexplored. Here, we perform a systematic pathogen screening of the rural community Lauchheim "Mittelhofen," in present-day Germany, dated to the Merovingian period, between fifth and eighth century CE. Skeletal remains of individuals were subjected to an ancient DNA metagenomic analysis.

Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial of Speech After Early Neurostimulation in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: The EARLYSTIM trial demonstrated for Parkinson's disease patients with early motor complications that deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) and best medical treatment (BMT) was superior to BMT alone.

Objective: This prospective, ancillary study on EARLYSTIM compared changes in blinded speech intelligibility assessment between STN-DBS and BMT over 2 years, and secondary outcomes included non-speech oral movements (maximum phonation time [MPT], oral diadochokinesis), physician- and patient-reported assessments.

Methods: STN-DBS (n = 102) and BMT (n = 99) groups underwent assessments on/off medication at baseline and 24 months (in four conditions: on/off medication, ON/OFF stimulation-for STN-DBS).

Long-Lived Individuals Show a Lower Burden of Variants Predisposing to Age-Related Diseases and a Higher Polygenic Longevity Score.

Longevity is a complex phenotype influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. The genetic contribution is estimated at about 25%. Despite extensive research efforts, only a few longevity genes have been validated across populations.

Detailed stratified GWAS analysis for severe COVID-19 in four European populations.

Given the highly variable clinical phenotype of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deeper analysis of the host genetic contribution to severe COVID-19 is important to improve our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. Here, we describe an extended genome-wide association meta-analysis of a well-characterized cohort of 3255 COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and 12 488 population controls from Italy, Spain, Norway and Germany/Austria, including stratified analyses based on age, sex and disease severity, as well as targeted analyses of chromosome Y haplotypes, the human leukocyte antigen region and the SARS-CoV-2 peptidome. By inversion imputation, we traced a reported association at 17q21.

A family cluster of schistosomiasis acquired in Solenzara River, Corsica (France) - Solenzara River is clearly a transmission site for schistosomiasis in Corsica.

We report a patient with urogenital schistosomiasis and three cases of subclinical infection within one family acquired from Solenzara River, Corsica, in 2019. Our cases confirm that transmission of schistosomiasis in Corsica is ongoing and has been extended from the Cavu River to the Solenzara River. Solenzara River is clearly a transmission site for schistosomiasis in Corsica.

Corrigendum: Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variation and its Association With Cognitive Function in Rural-Dwelling Older South Africans.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.

Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variation and Its Association With Cognitive Function in Rural-Dwelling Older South Africans.

Apolipoprotein E () 𝜀4 allele carrier status is well known for its association with an increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, but its independent role in cognitive function is unclear. genetic variation is understudied in African populations; hence, this cross-sectional study in a rural South African community examined allele and genotype frequencies, and their associations with cognitive function. Cognitive function was assessed using two different screening methods to produce a total cognition score and four domain-specific cognition scores for verbal episodic memory, executive function, language, and visuospatial ability.

Rare genetic coding variants associated with human longevity and protection against age-related diseases.

Extreme longevity in humans has a strong genetic component, but whether this involves genetic variation in the same longevity pathways as found in model organisms is unclear. Using whole-exome sequences of a large cohort of Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians to examine enrichment for rare coding variants, we found most longevity-associated rare coding variants converge upon conserved insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling and AMP-activating protein kinase signaling pathways. Centenarians have a number of pathogenic rare coding variants similar to control individuals, suggesting that rare variants detected in the conserved longevity pathways are protective against age-related pathology.

Ancient DNA Study in Medieval Europeans Shows an Association Between HLA-DRB1*03 and Paratyphoid Fever.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases repeatedly affected medieval Europe, leaving behind a large number of dead often inhumed in mass graves. Human remains interred in two burial pits from 14 century CE Germany exhibited molecular evidence of Paratyphi C ( Paratyphi C) infection. The pathogen is responsible for paratyphoid fever, which was likely the cause of death for the buried individuals.

Levels of GHB in hair after regular application.

Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a central nervous system depressant that is an approved drug for the treatment of narcolepsy with cataplexy and other syndromes. Due to its dose dependent stimulating, relaxing or sedative effects, illicit abuses include recreational use by young people and cases of drug-facilitated crime (DFC). Since GHB is also produced endogenously, for forensic questions, it is important to be able to differentiate between endogenous GHB and elevated levels due to additional intake.

A 5,000-year-old hunter-gatherer already plagued by Yersinia pestis.

A 5,000-year-old Yersinia pestis genome (RV 2039) is reconstructed from a hunter-fisher-gatherer (5300-5050 cal BP) buried at Riņņukalns, Latvia. RV 2039 is the first in a series of ancient strains that evolved shortly after the split of Y. pestis from its antecessor Y.

Liquid silicone embolism syndrome (SES) in lungs and liver - A case report.

Silicone embolism syndrome (SES) is a well known complication after injection of silicone gel as well as liquid silicone. Rarely, men use physiologic salt solution or liquid silicone injected into the subcutaneous tissue of the scrotum, the penis, the upper genital or the inguinal region. Those men, who call themselves "siliconers", want to get a larger penis and scrotum, also visible when wearing clothes.

Mass burial genomics reveals outbreak of enteric paratyphoid fever in the Late Medieval trade city Lübeck.

Medieval Europe was repeatedly affected by outbreaks of infectious diseases, some of which reached epidemic proportions. A Late Medieval mass burial next to the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital in Lübeck (present-day Germany) contained the skeletal remains of more than 800 individuals who had presumably died from infectious disease. From 92 individuals, we screened the ancient DNA extracts for the presence of pathogens to determine the cause of death.