A novel herpesvirus in blue penguins putatively associated with myocardial degeneration and necrosis.

We identified a novel herpesvirus in 2 deceased captive blue penguins (). Moderate-to-severe myocardiocyte atrophy and necrosis, and eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies (INIBs), were seen in myocardiocytes in one bird; reticuloendothelial (RE) cell INIBs and multifocal RE cell necrosis were seen in both birds. The histologic findings were suggestive of viral infection.

Community pharmacy chlamydia and gonorrhea test-to-treat program: Development of an implementation toolkit.

Background: Sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance showed more than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis nationally in the United States in 2022. Individuals often seek out nonemergency medical care at pharmacies.

An Atypical Presentation of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is notorious for spreading to various organs, however, its occurrence in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is uncommon and poses diagnostic challenges due to vague symptoms. Here, we present the case of a 64-year-old man experiencing recurrent RCC metastasis in the GI tract. He presented with multiple episodes of hematochezia and was found to have masses in the colon, liver, and peritoneum, with histopathology confirming RCC.

Multiple Myeloma: A Review of the Literature and a Case Report Highlighting the Immunocompromised State of Myeloma Patients.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy involving plasma cells, disproportionately affects older adults with an average age of diagnosis of about 70 years. Oftentimes, the therapies used in the treatment of MM are associated with a risk for immunotoxicity, lowering the ability of the immune system to fight off opportunistic infections. This is an important relationship for clinicians to realize as the incidence of opportunistic infections in myeloma patients is increasing.

Pylephlebitis-induced acute liver failure: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Pylephlebitis is an extremely rare form of septic thrombophlebitis involving the portal vein, carrying high rates of morbidity and mortality.

Case Summary: We present a case of a 42-year-old male with no past medical history who presented with acute onset of abdominal pain and altered mental status with laboratory tests demonstrating new-onset acute liver failure. Pylephlebitis was determined to be the underlying etiology due to subsequent workup revealing polymicrobial gram-negative anaerobic bacteremia and complete thrombosis of the main and left portal veins.

Development of a Pharmacy Point-of-Dispensing Toolkit for Anthrax Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for Allegheny County Postal Workers.

Context: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Postal Service (USPS) consider anthrax to be a potential threat to USPS workers. A county health department-owned pharmacy supports local USPS response in the event of an exposure. The pharmacy team identified the need to review and update the local anthrax response plan.

HELICOBACTER SCREENING OF GRAND CAYMAN BLUE IGUANA () AND NORTH ANTILLEAN SLIDER () ON GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS.

The endemic Grand Cayman or blue iguana () is endangered. Beginning in 2015 significant morbidity and mortality occurred in captive and wild blue iguanas within Grand Cayman's Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park (QEIIBP). Investigation identified a novel sp.

A new multiplex qPCR assay to detect and differentiate big cat species in the illegal wildlife trade.

All species of big cats, including tigers, cheetahs, leopards, lions, snow leopards, and jaguars, are protected under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This is due in large part to population declines resulting from anthropogenic factors, especially poaching and the unregulated and illegal trade in pelts, bones, teeth and other products that are derived from these iconic species. To enhance and scale up monitoring for big cat products in this trade, we created a rapid multiplex qPCR test that can identify and differentiate DNA from tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), leopard (Panthera pardus), lion (Panthera leo), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), and jaguar (Panthera onca) in wildlife products using melt curve analysis to identify each species by its unique melt peak temperature.

First year junior doctors and medical uncertainty - a qualitative study.

Background: Few studies have investigated how doctors in Norway deal with medical uncertainty. The purpose of the study was to explore how first year junior doctors perceive and manage uncertainty in clinical practice.

Material And Methods: Ten first year junior doctors at two hospitals in Norway were recruited for interviews following response pattern analysis from a mapping questionnaire.

Self-Compassion May Have Benefits for Body Image among Women with a Higher Body Mass Index and Internalized Weight Bias.

Negative attitudes towards one's own body are common among women and are linked to adverse consequences including negative affect, low self-esteem, and eating pathology. Self-compassion has been found effective in improving body image; however, few published studies have examined self-compassion in populations with higher BMIs despite the positive correlation between weight and body dissatisfaction. The current study examined the efficacy of a self-compassion letter-writing exercise versus two active control groups in response to a negative body image induction.

Estimating biodiversity across the tree of life on Mount Everest's southern flank with environmental DNA.

Species composition in high-alpine ecosystems is a useful indicator for monitoring climatic and environmental changes at the upper limits of habitable environments. We used environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to document the breadth of high-alpine biodiversity present on Earth's highest mountain, Mt. Everest (8,849 m a.

A Review of the Proposed Mechanistic Actions of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors in the Treatment of Heart Failure.

Diabetes mellitus is a well-known risk factor for heart failure, and the reasons why are well understood. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is continuing to rise, posing a major concern in the medical world. The comorbidities associated with diabetes mellitus create a major hindrance on daily living, and promote the development of a plethora of other diseases.

Why would I want to be more self-compassionate? A qualitative study of the pros and cons to cultivating self-compassion in individuals with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Although self-compassion facilitates eating disorder symptom remission, individuals with eating disorders are fearful of developing it and higher fears of self-compassion are associated with poorer treatment outcomes. In-depth exploration of individuals' pros and cons of behaviour change is generally helpful at resolving ambivalence; however, no research has examined the pros and cons individuals with eating disorders perceive to be associated with developing self-compassion, limiting our understanding of their personal experiences when confronted with self-compassion. Given the research suggesting higher resistance to self-compassion development in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), the present study used qualitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of their perceived pros and cons to self-compassion.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy genetic test reports: A qualitative study of patient understanding of uninformative genetic test results.

Studies have shown that patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) may misinterpret the meaning of uninformative genetic testing results to mean that a genetic etiology and family members' risk is ruled out. We hypothesized that poor comprehension of the laboratory genetic test report may contribute to this misunderstanding. We conducted a qualitative study to examine patient understanding of uninformative laboratory results and reports and elicit suggestions for an improved report.

Disordered Eating Among Individuals with Excess Weight: a Review of Recent Research.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review was to examine different forms of disordered eating among individuals with excess weight, including their rates, correlates, and psychosocial treatments.

Recent Findings: Binge eating/binge eating disorder, loss of control eating, emotional eating, and food addiction are all fairly prevalent among individuals with excess weight. They appear to share many of the same correlates, including broader eating disorder psychopathology, body/shape/weight concerns, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Teaching Brief Motivational Interventions for Diabetes to Family Medicine Residents.

Background And Objectives: As time and resource constraints grow in primary care, so does the value of efficient strategies to promote patient self-management, particularly for chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM). To that end, incorporating motivational interviewing (MI) into clinical practice has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with DM. Brief motivational interventions (BMI) draw from MI and may be integrated into more concise office visits.

Helmsman is expressed in both trachea and photoreceptor development: partial inactivation alters tracheal morphology and visually guided behavior.

We have identified helmsman (hlm), which is expressed in the fruit fly photoreceptor cells during neural network development. Hlm is also expressed in the elongating cells of the embryonic trachea. Both photoreceptor neurons and embryonic trachea cells elongate in precise, targeted growth for cell-to-cell specific recognition.

Design and synthesis of noncompetitive metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 antagonists.

A series of diaryl amides was designed and synthesized as novel nonethynyl mGluR5 antagonists. The systematic variation of the pharmacophoric groups led to the identification of a lead compound that demonstrated micromolar affinity for the mGluR5. Further optimization resulted in compounds with improved binding affinities and antagonist profiles, in vitro.

Structure-activity relationships of substituted N-benzyl piperidines in the GBR series: Synthesis of 4-(2-(bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy)ethyl)-1-(2-trifluoromethylbenzyl)piperidine, an allosteric modulator of the serotonin transporter.

A series of 4-(2-(bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy)ethyl)-(substituted benzyl) piperidines with substituents at the ortho and meta positions in the aromatic ring of the N-benzyl side chain were synthesized and their affinities and selectivities for the dopamine transporter (DAT), serotonin transporter (SERT), and norepinephrine transporter (NET) were determined. One analogue, 4-(2-(bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy)ethyl)-1-(2-trifluoromethylbenzyl)piperidine (the C(2)-trifluoromethyl substituted compound), has been found to act as an allosteric modulator of hSERT binding and function. It had little affinity for any of the transporters.

Studies of the biogenic amine transporters. XI. Identification of a 1-[2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl]-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine (GBR12909) analog that allosterically modulates the serotonin transporter.

Previous studies identified partial inhibitors of serotonin (5-HT) transporter and dopamine transporter binding. We report here on a partial inhibitor of 5-HT transporter (SERT) binding identified among a group of 1-[2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl]-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine analogs (4-[2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)-methoxy]ethyl]-1-(2-trifluoromethyl-benzyl)-piperidine; TB-1-099). Membranes were prepared from rat brains or human embryonic kidney cells expressing the cloned human dopamine (hDAT), serotonin (hSERT), and norepinephrine (hNET) transporters.

Butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) genotyping for post-succinylcholine apnea in an Australian population.

Background: Measurement of plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity and inhibitor-based phenotyping are standard methods for identifying patients who experience post-succinylcholine (SC) apnea attributable to inherited variants of the BChE enzyme. Our aim was to develop PCR-based assays for BCHE mutation detection and implement them for routine diagnostic use at a university teaching hospital.

Methods: Between 1999 and 2002, we genotyped 65 patients referred after prolonged post-SC apnea.

ADH genotype does not modify the effects of alcohol on high-density lipoprotein.

Background: Alcohol consumption has beneficial effects on mortality which are mainly due to reduction in cardiovascular disease. These are believed to be due, at least in part, to the increase in plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which is associated with alcohol consumption. It has been proposed that ADH3 genotype modifies the relationships between alcohol intake and cardiovascular disease by altering the HDL response to alcohol.

Specificity of the fivefold increase in AD in mothers of adults with Down syndrome.

Background: In a previous study, the authors found that the risk of AD among mothers who were 35 years or younger when their children with Down syndrome (DS) were born was five times that of mothers of children with other forms of mental retardation. The current study investigated the specificity of the familial aggregation of DS and AD by examining whether mothers who gave birth to children with DS before age 35 are also at increased risk of other age-related neurologic or medical disorders.

Methods: The authors used survival methods to compare cumulative incidence and relative risk of AD, other dementias, and common age-related disorders in parents of 200 adults with DS and parents of 252 adults with other forms of mental retardation.

Atopy, anergic status, and cytokine expression in HIV-infected subjects.

Background: In HIV infection T-cell dysfunction resulting in anergy and hypersensitivity reactions precedes T-cell depletion. A shift in the cytokine profile from a type 1 to a type 2 response has been postulated.

Objective: We sought to examine the cytokine expression patterns in HIV infection and the relationship to allergy, stage of HIV disease, and other laboratory parameters.