Discovery of a Unique Set of Dog-Seroreactive Proteins Using Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Array.

Valley Fever (VF), caused by fungi in the genus , is a prevalent disease in southwestern and western parts of the United States that affects both humans and animals, such as dogs. Although the immune responses to infection with spp. are not fully characterized, antibody-detection assays are used in conjunction with clinical presentation and radiologic findings to aid in the diagnosis of VF.

In vitro coupled motions of the whole human thoracic and lumbar spine with rib cage.

Study Design: In vitro biomechanical study investigating the coupled motions of the whole normative human thoracic spine (TS) and lumbar spine (LS) with rib cage.

Objective: To quantify the region-specific coupled motion patterns and magnitudes of the TS, thoracolumbar junction (TLJ), and LS simultaneously.

Background: Studying spinal coupled motions is important in understanding the development of complex spinal deformities and providing data for validating computational models.

Oxytocin as a Biomarker of Differential Effects to SPACE vs. CBT Treatment of Child Anxiety Disorders.

Objective: Two lines of research, on outcome moderators and on novel treatment targets, seek to improve the overall efficacy of child anxiety treatment, with mixed results. We propose that an integration of both lines of research can lead to improved treatment efficacy. In a first proof of concept of this approach, we studied whether the interaction between baseline levels and targeted changes in peripheral oxytocin (OT) can predict differential responses to two childhood anxiety treatments.

An investigation of range of motion preservation in fusionless anterior double screw and cord constructs for scoliosis correction.

Purpose: To evaluate the motion-preserving properties of vertebral body tethering with varying cord/screw constructs and cord thicknesses in cadaveric thoracolumbar spines.

Methods: In vitro flexibility tests were performed on six fresh-frozen human cadaveric spines (T1-L5) (2 M, 4F) with a median age of 63 (59-to-80). An ± 8 Nm load was applied to determine range of motion (ROM) in flexion-extension (FE), lateral bending (LB), and axial rotation (AR) in the thoracic and lumbar spine.

Maternal FGF2 levels associated with child anxiety and depression symptoms through child FGF2 levels.

Background: Recent research implicates fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in anxiety and depressive symptoms of childhood. This study is the first to examine an intergenerational pathway linking FGF2 levels in mothers to FGF2 levels in children, and to the children's anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Methods: We assayed serum FGF2 in 259 mothers and their children, with a range of anxiety and depressive symptoms: 194 were mothers of clinic-referred anxious and depressed children; 65 were mothers of non-referred children.

Vaccines to Prevent Coccidioidomycosis: A Gene-Deletion Mutant of Coccidioides Posadasii as a Viable Candidate for Human Trials.

Coccidioidomycosis is an endemic fungal infection that is reported in up to 20,000 persons per year and has an economic impact close to $1.5 billion. Natural infection virtually always confers protection from future exposure, and this suggests that a preventative vaccine strategy is likely to succeed.

Extended longevity of DNA preservation in Levantine Paleolithic sediments, Sefunim Cave, Israel.

Paleogenomic research can elucidate the evolutionary history of human and faunal populations. Although the Levant is a key land-bridge between Africa and Eurasia, thus far, relatively little ancient DNA data has been generated from this region, since DNA degrades faster in warm climates. As sediments can be a source of ancient DNA, we analyzed 33 sediment samples from different sedimentological contexts in the Paleolithic layers of Sefunim Cave (Israel).

The WOPR family protein Ryp1 is a key regulator of gene expression, development, and virulence in the thermally dimorphic fungal pathogen Coccidioides posadasii.

Coccidioides spp. are mammalian fungal pathogens endemic to the Southwestern US and other desert regions of Mexico, Central and South America, with the bulk of US infections occurring in California and Arizona. In the soil, Coccidioides grows in a hyphal form that differentiates into 3-5 micron asexual spores (arthroconidia).

Mouse Model of a Human STAT4 Point Mutation That Predisposes to Disseminated Coccidiomycosis.

STAT4 plays a critical role in the generation of both innate and adaptive immune responses. In the absence of STAT4, Th1 responses, critical for resistance to fungal disease, do not occur. Infection with the dimorphic fungus, , is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia in the endemic regions of Arizona and California.

Genetic Diversity of Associated with Chili in Nigeria and Identification of Haplotypes with Potential in Aflatoxin Mitigation.

Dried red chili ( spp.), a widely produced and consumed spice in Nigeria, is often contaminated by aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are potent mycotoxins of severe health and economic concern worldwide.

A Critical Analysis of Lateral Versus Central Endpoint in Distal Tibia Nailing: Does It Affect Alignment?

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of a traditional "center-center" end point for distal tibia nailing in comparison with a lateral-of-center end point on fracture malalignment in a cadaver model.

Methods: Nine matched pairs of human cadaveric lower-extremity specimens were used to model the effect of nail end point on fracture alignment in extra-articular distal tibia fractures. After simulation of the fracture through a standardized osteotomy, 1 member of each pair was fixed with an intramedullary nail using a "center-center" end point, whereas a lateral-of-center end point was used for the other member of the pair.

Temperature Influences on Interactions Among Aflatoxigenic Species of Section During Maize Colonization.

Fungal species within section contaminate food and feed with aflatoxins. These toxic fungal metabolites compromise human and animal health and disrupt trade. Genotypically and phenotypically diverse species co-infect crops, but temporal and spatial variation in frequencies of different lineages suggests that environmental factors such as temperature may influence structure of aflatoxin-producing fungal communities.

Quantifying lung and diaphragm morphology using radiographs in normative pediatric subjects, and predicting CT-derived lung volume.

Objective: To quantify the effect of age on two-dimensional (2D) radiographic lung and diaphragm morphology and determine if 2D radiographic lung measurements can be used to estimate computer tomography (CT)-derived lung volume in normative pediatric subjects.

Materials And Methods: Digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) were created using retrospective chest CT scans from 77 pediatric male and female subjects aged birth to 19 years. 2D lung and diaphragm measurements were made on the DRRs using custom MATLAB code, and Spearman correlations and exponential regression equations were used to relate 2D measurements with age.

Degradation of Aflatoxins B by Atoxigenic Biocontrol Agents.

Aflatoxins are potent mycotoxins that contaminate food and feed, thereby impacting health and trade. Biopesticides with atoxigenic isolates as active ingredients are used to reduce aflatoxin contamination in crops. The mechanism of aflatoxin biocontrol is primarily attributed to competitive exclusion but, sometimes, aflatoxin is reduced by greater amounts than can be explained by displacement of aflatoxin-producing fungi on the crop.

An autonomous debating system.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as the ability of machines to perform tasks that are usually associated with intelligent beings. Argument and debate are fundamental capabilities of human intelligence, essential for a wide range of human activities, and common to all human societies. The development of computational argumentation technologies is therefore an important emerging discipline in AI research.

Moderators of response to child-based and parent-based child anxiety treatment: a machine learning-based analysis.

Background: Identifying moderators of response to treatment for childhood anxiety can inform clinical decision-making and improve overall treatment efficacy. We examined moderators of response to child-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and parent-based SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) in a recent randomized clinical trial.

Methods: We applied a machine learning approach to identify moderators of treatment response to CBT versus SPACE, in a clinical trial of 124 children with primary anxiety disorders.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Implicated in Childhood Anxiety and Depression Symptoms.

Background: Research links fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) to anxiety and depression in rodents and human adults. Our study is the first to examine FGF2 levels in a pediatric population.

Methods: We assayed serum FGF2 in 163 children with a broad range of anxiety and depressive symptoms; 111 were clinic-referred anxious and depressed children; 52 were non-referred children.

Maternal Depression and Mother-Child Oxytocin Synchrony in Youth with Anxiety Disorders.

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) plays a central role in the regulation of affiliative bonds and anxiety. However, the degree to which its levels are synchronized between interaction partners has not yet been assessed. Physiological synchrony assessed using other peripheral measures (e.

Differential Thermotolerance Adaptation between Species of .

Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is caused by two species of dimorphic fungi. Based on molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus contains two reciprocally monophyletic species: and . However, phenotypic variation between species has not been deeply investigated.

Phenotypic Differentiation of Two Morphologically Similar Aflatoxin-Producing Fungi from West Africa.

Aflatoxins (AF) are hepatocarcinogenic metabolites produced by several species. Crop infection by these species results in aflatoxin contamination of cereals, nuts, and spices. Etiology of aflatoxin contamination is complicated by mixed infections of multiple species with similar morphology and aflatoxin profiles.

A Chronic Murine Disease Model of Coccidioidomycosis Using Coccidioides posadasii, Strain 1038.

Murine infections with most Coccidioides spp. strains are lethal by 3 weeks, limiting the study of immune responses. Coccidioides posadasii, strain 1038 (Cp1038), while slowly lethal, resulted in protracted survival of C57BL/6 (B6) mice.

Molecular Analysis of S-morphology Aflatoxin Producers From the United States Reveals Previously Unknown Diversity and Two New Taxa.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic carcinogens that detrimentally influence profitability of agriculture and the health of humans and domestic animals. Several phylogenetically distinct fungi within section have S-morphology (average sclerotial size < 400 μm), and consistently produce high concentrations of aflatoxins in crops. S-morphology fungi have been implicated as important etiologic agents of aflatoxin contamination in the United States (US), but little is known about the diversity of these fungi.

in a Dog With Cervical Dissemination Complicated by Esophageal Fistula.

A 5-year-old male, neutered mixed breed dog with a history of a mass with an associated draining tract on the ventral cervical region was diagnosed with an esophageal fistula. The dog exhibited serosanguinous discharge from the draining tract, with enlarged left superficial cervical and mandibular lymph nodes, and was reported to have difficulty with deglutition of solid foods. Computed tomography revealed a communication of the draining tract with the esophagus along with enlargement of the left lateral retropharyngeal, left medial retropharyngeal, and mandibular lymph nodes.

Early Events in Coccidioidomycosis.

Since its description nearly 130 years ago, hundreds of studies have deepened our understanding of coccidioidomycosis, also known as valley fever (VF), and provided useful diagnostic tests and treatments for the disease caused by the dimorphic fungi spp. In general, most of the literature has addressed well-established infections and has described patients who have experienced major complications. In contrast, little attention has been given to the earliest consequences of the pathogen-host interaction and its implications for disease manifestation, progression, and resolution.