Publications by authors named "Pittman S"

Article Synopsis
  • TDP-43 is an RNA binding protein that forms aggregates in the central nervous system and is notably present in certain neurodegenerative diseases and inclusion body myopathy, a type of muscle disease.
  • Researchers developed a mouse model that shows muscle weakness associated with TDP-43 accumulation, which indicates a prion-like spread of the protein possibly affecting muscle tissues.
  • Human muscle biopsies from patients with various conditions, especially inclusion body myositis (IBM), contain TDP-43 aggregate seeds, suggesting a unique pathogenic role for TDP-43 in muscle diseases that wasn't fully recognized before.
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Coastal blue carbon ecosystems, typically comprising interconnected habitat mosaics, are globally important pathways of carbon sequestration and play a significant role in climate change regulation and mitigation. Current coastal management strategies often rely on simplified regional carbon stock estimates, that overlook the geographical variability and intricate ecological dynamics within these ecosystems. This study adopts a seascape ecology approach to evaluate the role of multiple seascape characteristics on carbon storage in two arid region coastal lagoons.

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Offshore ocean aquaculture is expanding globally to meet the growing demand for sustainable food production. At the United Kingdom's largest longline mussel farm, we assessed the potential for the farm to improve the habitat suitability for commercially important crustaceans. Modelled distribution patterns (GAM & GLM) predicted the low complexity seabed beneath the mussel farm was 34-94 % less suitable for European lobster (Homarus gammarus) and brown crab (Cancer pagurus) than nearby rocky reefs.

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Homing is often a critical aspect of an animal's behavioural and spatial ecology. Translocation is considered to be a wildlife management strategy that could reduce human-wildlife confrontation, but this strategy may not be effective if animals attempt to home to their original capture location. Translocation of animals from sites where possible human-wildlife interaction occurs is a widespread but controversial intervention to resolve conflicts.

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Purpose/objective: To share the experience and results of the first cohort of the ACR Mammography Positioning Improvement Collaborative, in which participating sites aimed to increase the mean percentage of screening mammograms meeting the established positioning criteria to 85% or greater and show at least modest evidence of improvement at each site by the end of the improvement program.

Methods: The sites comprising the first cohort of the collaborative were selected on the basis of strength of local leadership support, intra-organizational relationships, access to data and analytic support, and experience with quality improvement initiatives. During the improvement program, participating sites organized their teams, developed goals, gathered data, evaluated their current state, identified key drivers and root causes of their problems, and developed and tested interventions.

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Background: Youth exposed to violence are at serious risk for physical, emotional, behavioral, and mental distress. Reliable and prompt detection is necessary to mitigate the psychological consequences of youth violence exposure and trauma.

Objective: To describe the initial creation of the VETSY screener and its construct validity and potential use.

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Article Synopsis
  • TDP-43 is an RNA binding protein that, when it aggregates, is linked to both neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and FTD and muscle diseases such as inclusion body myopathy (IBM).
  • Mice engineered to express muscle-specific TDP-43 showed muscle weakness and harmful TDP-43 aggregation, but these issues resolved after doxycycline treatment, indicating an inducible condition.
  • Human muscle samples from IBM patients revealed TDP-43 aggregate seeds that were unique to IBM, suggesting a distinct, previously unrecognized mechanism of TDP-43 pathology in muscle disease.
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Shallow coastal lagoons are vital ecosystems for many aquatic species and understanding their biodiversity is essential. Very little is known about the distribution and abundance of globally threatened marine megafauna in coastal lagoons of the Arabian Gulf. This study combined underwater and aerial surveys to investigate the distributions and relative abundance of marine megafauna in a large lagoon.

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Introduction: Our study examines the factors associated with urologist availability for younger and older men across the country over a period of 18 years from 2000 to 2018.

Methods: The Area Health Resource Files and US Census Data were analyzed from 2000, 2010, and 2018. The younger male population was defined as men aged 20 to 49, and the older male population was defined as ages 50 to 79.

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Breast surgery is the cornerstone of treatment for early breast cancer. Historically, mastectomy and conventional breast-conserving surgery (BCS) were the main surgical techniques for treatment. Now, oncoplastic breast surgery (OBS), introduced in the 1990s, allows for a combination of BCS and reconstructive surgery to excise the cancer while preserving or enhancing the contour of the breast, leading to improved aesthetic results.

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Dominant missense mutations in DNAJB6, a co-chaperone of HSP70, cause limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) D1. No treatments are currently available. Two isoforms exist, DNAJB6a and DNAJB6b, each with distinct localizations in muscle.

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Genetic testing is essential for patients with a suspected hereditary myopathy. More than 50% of patients clinically diagnosed with a myopathy carry a variant of unknown significance in a myopathy gene, often leaving them without a genetic diagnosis. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) type R4/2E is caused by mutations in β-sarcoglycan (SGCB).

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers created a mouse model lacking an enzyme called iPLAγ specifically in skeletal muscle to study its impact on mitochondrial function and glucose metabolism.
  • The absence of iPLAγ led to muscle weakness, atrophy, and increased blood lactate levels due to impaired pyruvate processing and decreased energy efficiency in mitochondria.
  • Mitochondria in these mice exhibited abnormal sizes and shapes, along with inefficient respiratory function, which ultimately affected their ability to gain weight on a high-fat diet while still managing to utilize glucose more effectively.
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Introduction: Our study evaluated urologist availability by United States county since 2000 relative to regional changes in the general population to identify factors associated with access to care.

Methods: County-level data from 2000, 2010 and 2018 from the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S.

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Purpose: The ACR Learning Network was established to test the viability of the learning network model in radiology. In this report, the authors review the learning network concept, introduce the ACR Learning Network and its components, and report progress to date and plans for the future.

Methods: Patterned after institutional programs developed by the principal investigator, the ACR Learning Network was composed of four distinct improvement collaboratives.

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Recessive variants in the oxidoreductase PYROXD1 are reported to cause a myopathy in 22 affected individuals from 15 families. Here, we describe two female probands from unrelated families presenting with features of a congenital connective tissue disorder including osteopenia, blue sclera, soft skin, joint hypermobility and neuromuscular junction dysfunction in addition to known features of PYROXD1 myopathy including respiratory difficulties, weakness, hypotonia and oromotor dysfunction. Proband AII:1 is compound heterozygous for the recurrent PYROXD1 variant Chr12(GRCh38):g.

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This study examined beliefs about aggression and self-efficacy for nonviolent responses as mediators of longitudinal relations between exposure to violence and physical aggression. Participants were a predominantly African American (79%) sample of 2,705 early adolescents from three middle schools within urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence. Participants completed measures across four waves (fall, winter, spring, and summer) within a school year.

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Objective: Although prior research has demonstrated that peers influence both physical aggression and exposure to violence during adolescence, few studies have investigated the extent to which peers play a role in relations between physical aggression and violence exposure. This longitudinal study examined peer pressure for fighting, friends' delinquent behavior, and friends' support for fighting as mediators of relations between exposure to violence through witnessing and victimization, and adolescents' frequency of physical aggression.

Method: Participants were 2,707 adolescents attending three urban middle schools (age = 12.

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DnaJ homolog, subfamily B, member 4, a member of the heat shock protein 40 chaperones encoded by DNAJB4, is highly expressed in myofibers. We identified a heterozygous c.270 T > A (p.

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Background: Approval of living kidney donors (LKD) with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) risk factors, such as obesity, has increased. While lifetime ESKD development data are lacking, the study of intermediate outcomes such as diabetes is critical for LKD safety. Donation-attributable diabetes risk among persons with obesity remains unknown.

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Adolescents who are exposed to community violence are at risk for a number of adverse consequences that can persist into adulthood. Community violence exposure has consistently been associated with subsequent aggressive behavior, and beliefs or norms about aggression are one potential mechanism underlying this relation. The goal of this review was to examine and synthesize the literature regarding beliefs about aggression as a mediator of relations between community violence exposure and aggressive behavior among adolescents.

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Objective: To examine whether body mass index (BMI) changes modify the association between kidney donation and incident hypertension.

Background: Obesity increases hypertension risk in both general and living kidney donor (LKD) populations. Donation-attributable risk in the context of obesity, and whether weight change modifies that risk, is unknown.

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Objective: To evaluate breast density notification legislation (BDNL) on breast imaging practice patterns, risk assessment, and supplemental screening.

Methods: A 20-question anonymous web-based survey was administered to practicing Society of Breast Imaging radiologists in the U.S.

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Infertility specialists may be confronted with the ethical dilemma of whether to disclose misattributed paternity (MP). Physicians should be prepared for instances when an assumed father's evaluation reveals a condition known for lifelong infertility, for example, congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens (CBAVD). When there is doubt regarding a patient's comprehension of his diagnosis, physicians must consider whether further disclosure is warranted.

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