Townes-Brocks Syndrome Revealed by Kidney Gene Panel Testing.

Introduction: Townes-Brocks syndrome (TBS), a rare autosomal dominant genetic condition associated with (Spalt like Transcription Factor 1), is reported to be present in 1:238,000 individuals in the general population. TBS is characterized by the triad of anorectal malformations, dysplastic ears, with or without hearing impairment, and hand or thumb anomalies. Although kidney involvement is less common in TBS, the disease can progress to kidney failure.

vNOTES (vaginal natural orifice transluminal surgery) gynecologic procedures in morbidly and super-morbidly obese women: five year experience.

Purpose: To analyze our experience with vNOTES gynecologic procedures in women with morbid and super morbid obesity to determine feasibility and compare outcomes with standard minimally invasive techniques.

Methods: Gynecologic procedures performed by three surgeons on women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 40 kg/m from 2017 to 2023. A subset of women with a BMI ≥ 50 kg/m was also analyzed.

Genetic Counseling in Kidney Disease: A Perspective.

As genetic testing is increasingly integrated into nephrology practice there is a growing need for partnership with genetic experts. Genetic counselors are ideally suited to fill this role. The value of genetic counseling is born out of the clinical value of genetic test results against the backdrop of the complexity of genetic testing.

Zebrafish aversion to infrasound in an open field test.

Aquatic species are capable of detecting infrasound (sub-20 Hz frequencies) which may be a source of anthropogenic pollution and have a detrimental impact on the environmental fitness of fish. Infrasound is generated by infrastructure, producing acoustic frequency peaks that are not discernible by humans. The presence of these frequencies may therefore impact the environmental wellbeing of aquatic laboratory animals, which are often housed in spaces adjacent to facilities producing infrasound.

Genome and Phylogenetic Analysis of Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus Global Isolates and Validation of a Highly Sensitive RT-qPCR Assay.

The last two decades have seen exponential growth in the international movement of seeds for annual food crops, from a gross U.S. import value of $349 million in 1999 to $1.

Is It Time to Utilize Genetic Testing for Living Kidney Donor Evaluation?

Living donor kidney transplantation is an effective strategy to mitigate the challenges of solid organ shortage. However, being a living kidney donor is not without risk, as donors may encounter short- and long-term complications including the risk of developing chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease, hypertension, and possible pregnancy-related complications. Although the evaluation of potential living donors is a thorough and meticulous process with the intention of decreasing the chance of complications, particularly in donors who have lifetime risk projection, risk factors for kidney disease including genetic predispositions may be missed because they are not routinely investigated.

First report of causing root rot in (L.) in California.

In June of 2020 we observed greenhouse grown in Sonoma County, CA and Monterey County, CA showing stress symptoms: stunting, leaf chlorosis, and leaf senescence, when moved to flower production conditions. We uprooted symptomatic and healthy plants and observed disease symptoms only in symptomatic plants: reduced root mass, reduced root hair density, and necrosis. Roots and growth substrate samples were taken from infected and healthy plants for further analysis.

First report of causing crown rot in greenhouse grown (L.) in California.

In April of 2020 cuttings of (L.) in a greenhouse in San Mateo County, CA were observed collapsing, and further observation revealed: water-soaked stems, tan discoloration to the cortex, and discolored roots. The greenhouse irrigation system was supplied by a local stream.

Establishing zebrafish as a model to study the anxiolytic effects of scopolamine.

Scopolamine (hyoscine) is a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist that has traditionally been used to treat motion sickness in humans. However, studies investigating depressed and bipolar populations have found that scopolamine is also effective at reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. The potential anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) effects of scopolamine could have great clinical implications for humans; however, rats and mice administered scopolamine showed increased anxiety in standard behavioural tests.

The Cultivation of Arabidopsis for Experimental Research Using Commercially Available Peat-Based and Peat-Free Growing Media.

Experimental research involving Arabidopsis thaliana often involves the quantification of phenotypic traits during cultivation on compost or other growing media. Many commercially-available growing media contain peat, but peat extraction is not sustainable due to its very slow rate of formation. Moreover, peat extraction reduces peatland biodiversity and releases stored carbon and methane into the atmosphere.

First Report of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus on Melon in the United States.

In July 2013, a melon (Cucumis melo var. Saski) field in Yolo County, California, was inspected as part of a phytosanitary inspection for seed production. The leaves of the plants showed mosaic, green mottle, and blotches.

Provisioning of bioavailable carbon between the wet and dry phases in a semi-arid floodplain.

Ecosystem functioning on arid and semi-arid floodplains may be described by two alternate traditional paradigms. The pulse-reserve model suggests that rainfall is the main driver of plant growth and subsequent carbon and energy reserve formation in the soil of arid and semi-arid regions. The flood pulse concept suggests that periodic flooding facilitates the two-way transfer of materials between a river and its adjacent floodplain, but focuses mainly on the period when the floodplain is inundated.

The role of local steroid injections in an operational field hospital setting.

Objectives: To assess the safety and effectiveness of administering local steroid injections in an operational field hospital environment.

Method: A prospective study of patients presenting to the physiotherapy department at the British Military Hospital (BMH) Shaibah, Iraq was undertaken from July 2006 - September 2006. Patients with a condition amenable to local steroid injection and who had not improved with conservative therapy were considered for the study.

The health behaviors of the older US worker.

Background: As the US workforce ages, lifestyle factors will increasingly affect their health, yet little information is available on their prevalence in older working populations.

Methods: Using the nationally representative 1997-2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), reported current smoking, risky drinking and leisure-time physical activity behaviors of older workers (> or =65 years) were compared with older non-workers. These behaviors were evaluated by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and occupation, as well as prototype "healthy" and "risky" persons.

Leisure-time physical activity levels of the US workforce.

Background: Few studies in the US have assessed physical activity levels across worker groups, despite the increasingly sedentary milieu of contemporary US occupations and increasing obesity rates among US workers. The present study determined the proportion of US workers meeting the Healthy People 2010 Guidelines for leisure-time physical activity levels in major US occupational groups.

Methods: Self-reported leisure-time physical activity was defined as: a) light-moderate activity > or =30 min five or more times per week; and/or b) vigorous activity > or =20 min three or more times per week.

Dental care access and unmet dental care needs among U.S. workers: the National Health Interview Survey, 1997 to 2003.

Background: Healthy People 2010 oral health objectives call for an increase in the proportion of adults who use the oral health care system annually. To assess progress toward this goal, the authors evaluated dental care utilization and the extent of unmet dental care needs of U.S.

Smoking rate trends in U.S. occupational groups: the 1987 to 2004 National Health Interview Survey.

Objective: It is unknown if the gap in smoking rates observed between United States blue- and white-collar workers over the past four decades has continued into the new millennium.

Methods: The National Health Interview Survey is a nationally representative survey of the US civilian population. Smoking and current occupational status were assessed over survey periods 1987 to 1994 and 1997 to 2004 (n= 298,042).

Occupation and lung cancer mortality in a nationally representative U.S. Cohort: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the risk of lung cancer mortality in a nationally representative sample of U.S. workers by occupation.

Morbidity ranking of U.S. workers employed in 206 occupations: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 1986-1994.

Objective: The objective of this study was to rank U.S. occupations by worker morbidity.

Obesity in US workers: The National Health Interview Survey, 1986 to 2002.

Objectives: Obesity has emerged as one of the most important public health issues in the United States. We assessed obesity prevalence rates and their trends among major US occupational groups.

Methods: Self-reported weight and height were collected annually on US workers, aged 18 years or older, from the 1986 to 1995 and the 1997 to 2002 National Health Interview Surveys.

Longest held job in U.S. occupational groups: the National Health Interview Survey.

Objective: We sought to assess the validity of using current or most recent occupation as surrogate for longest-held job (and its exposures).

Methods: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is an annual, probability, cross-sectional U.S.

Acute and chronic disability among U.S. farmers and pesticide applicators: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a multipurpose household survey of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population conducted annually since 1957.

Trends in US smoking rates in occupational groups: the National Health Interview Survey 1987-1994.

It is unknown if reductions in U.S. adult smoking rates are uniform across occupational groups.

Gestational herpes simplex virus hepatitis.

Hepatitis due to herpes simplex virus (HSV) is unusual in healthy individuals. To date, only 56 cases of HSV hepatitis in adult patients have been reported, including 21 pregnant patients. We describe a 25-year-old white woman in her 30th week of gestation who had progressive acute hepatitis.