A Rural Delivery-Based Produce Prescription Intervention Improves Glycemic Control and Stress.

Objective: We examined the impact of a pilot 24-week delivery-based produce prescription (PRx) intervention with tailored education and culinary resources for rural patients (n = 40) with type-2 diabetes in underresourced communities on behavioral and clinical outcomes.

Methods: We used a single group pretest-posttest design that included a home-delivered PRx, culturally tailored recipes, and health/nutrition education handouts. Measures included hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), self-reported fruit/vegetable consumption, and stress.

Development and Evaluation of the Delivery-Based HEALED Produce Rx Program for Uninsured Patients With Diabetes in Rural Eastern North Carolina.

Produce prescription (PRx) programs have emerged as a preventive treatment to subsidize the cost of fruits and vegetables for people with lower income and have shown promise in improving diet quality and diabetes-related health outcomes (eg, glycated hemoglobin A). Researchers from the Department of Nutrition Science at East Carolina University worked with the Wayne Action Teams for Community Health (WATCH) Clinic, a safety-net clinic in rural Eastern North Carolina, and a local research farm to develop a PRx program for rural patients with type 2 diabetes and no health insurance. Preliminary patient surveys identified high levels of interest in a PRx program and a desire for recipes to accompany the produce.

Transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval in cattle: State-of-the-art and its impact on the in vitro fertilization embryo production outcome.

Transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval (commonly called OPU) and in vitro embryo production (IVP) in cattle has shown significant progress in recent years, in part, as a result of a better understanding of the full potential of these tools by end users. The combination of OPU and IVP (OPU-IVP) has been successfully and widely commercially used worldwide. The main advantages are a greater number of embryos and pregnancies per unit of time, faster genetic progress due to donor quick turn around and more elite sires mating combinations, larger spectrum of female age (calves, prepuberal, heifer, cow) and condition (open, pregnant) from which to retrieve oocytes, a reduced number of sperm (even sexed) required to fertilize the oocytes, among other benefits.

From the Field to the Patient: A Rural Food Recovery-Based Produce Rx Program.

Poor nutrition is a major risk factor for chronic diseases, and emerging produce prescription (PRx) programs are a growing approach to addressing gaps in diet quality to promote health. This article describes a food recovery-based PRx framework called Farm to Clinic (F2C). The F2C program includes a partnership between the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NCAFCC), Society of Saint Andrews (SoSA), and a local food bank.

A Reference Genome Assembly of American Bison, Bison bison bison.

Bison are an icon of the American West and an ecologically, commercially, and culturally important species. Despite numbering in the hundreds of thousands today, conservation concerns remain for the species, including the impact on genetic diversity of a severe bottleneck around the turn of the 20th century and genetic introgression from domestic cattle. Genetic diversity and admixture are best evaluated at genome-wide scale, for which a high-quality reference is necessary.

A Reference Genome Assembly of Simmental Cattle, Bos taurus taurus.

Genomics research has relied principally on the establishment and curation of a reference genome for the species. However, it is increasingly recognized that a single reference genome cannot fully describe the extent of genetic variation within many widely distributed species. Pangenome representations are based on high-quality genome assemblies of multiple individuals and intended to represent the broadest possible diversity within a species.

Clinical and genetic spectrum of SCN2A-associated episodic ataxia.

Background: Pathogenic variants in SCN2A are associated with various neurological disorders including epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Few reports have recently described SCN2A-associated episodic ataxia (EA). Our study identifies its broader clinical and genetic spectrum, and describes pharmacological approaches.

Long-Term Outcomes and Risk Factors Associated With Acute Encephalitis in Children.

Background: Factors associated with poor outcomes of children with encephalitis are not well known. We sought to determine whether electroencephalography (EEG) findings, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities, or the presence of seizures at presentation were associated with poor outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients aged 0 to 21 years who met criteria for a diagnosis of encephalitis admitted between 2000 and 2010 was conducted.

Beyond a Band-Aid Approach: An Internal Agency Solution to Nurse Staffing.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) affirmed that the employment of temporary or per diem nurses augments risk to patient safety. The IOM recommends health care facilities avoid hiring nurses working from a temporary external agency. The IOM recognizes the need for health care facilities to have a plan in place for situations when confronted with short staffing, higher acuity, and increased patient census.

Suppression of DNA damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by a juice concentrate: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Chronic inflammation contributes to many prevalent diseases worldwide, and it is widely accepted that inflammatory molecules contribute to DNA damage. In this ancillary study, we investigated the influence of an encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate on peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) DNA damage. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled approach, subjects were randomly assigned capsules containing placebo, or one of two formulations of the juice powder.

Pediatric neurological complications of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1).

Objective: To analyze the spectrum of neurological manifestations in children hospitalized with pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus of 2009 (pH1N1).

Design: Retrospective case series of children hospitalized from May 1, 2009, through November 30, 2009.

Setting: Tertiary-care children's hospital in Colorado.

Systemic inflammatory load in humans is suppressed by consumption of two formulations of dried, encapsulated juice concentrate.

Chronic inflammation contributes to an increased risk for developing chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. A high "inflammatory load" is defined as elevated inflammation markers in blood or other tissues. We evaluated several markers of systemic inflammation from healthy adults and tested the hypothesis that two formulations of encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate with added berry powders (FVB) or without (FV) could impact markers of inflammatory load.

Dissecting why superovulation and embryo transfer usually work on some farms but not on others.

Bovine embryo transfer is a well-established commercial industry that is often associated with veterinary practices. Practitioners offering embryo transfer services may possess a very high standard of technical expertise; however, success in the production of embryos and the impregnation of recipients cannot be achieved unless the cattle are healthy and maintained in a well-managed cattle operation. In addition to appropriate gonadotropin treatments of donor cattle, the use of highly fertile semen, known to have been properly stored and handled is required for success.

Laboratory sleep patterns and dream content of type A and B scoring college students.

The suggestion that there may be a discrepancy between subjective and objective measures of sleep led us to explore the sleep and dreams of 7 Type A and 7 Type B scorers in our laboratory over a three-night period. In earlier studies, Type A scorers had indicated that their sleep was somewhat more disturbed and their dream content generally more active and negative in tone than that of Type B scorers. However, in this study the only differences were that Type A scorers had a greater number of body movements and greater dream recall than did Type B scorers.

Radiotelemetry temperature responses of mammary gland and body to intramammary injection of Escherichia coli endotoxin or Streptococcus agalactiae in lactating dairy cows.

To investigate the feasibility of using changes in body or mammary temperature to detect mastitis, radiotransmitters were implanted midway between rear udder quarters and in the peritoneal cavity of 5 Holstein cows (1 to 3 months in lactation) housed in an environmental chamber (16 +/- 2 C; lights on 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM). After a 6-week control period, Escherichia coli endotoxin (0.5 mg) was injected after the morning milking into left rear teat cisterns via the teat canal.

Techniques for measuring blood flow in splanchnic tissues of cattle.

A useful approach of the study of nutrient absorption and metabolism is in vivo measurement of blood flow across portal-drained viscera and liver, and flux of bloodborne metabolites, successful application of the approach requires correct placement of chronic catheters in appropriate blood vessels. Additionally, catheters must stay patent long enough to allow the animal to recover from surgery and to complete an experimental protocol. This paper describes surgical techniques to install chronic catheters in mesenteric veins, the hepatic portal vein, and an hepatic vein of cattle.

Radiotelemetry system for continuously monitoring temperature in cows.

Deep body temperature is an important index of the physiological status of an animal. A radiotelemetry system was developed to monitor continuously udder and body temperatures in cows under normal housing conditions. Radiotransmitters were crystal controlled blocking oscillators operating in the 27 MHz band.

Dairy herd problem with mastitis caused by a rapidly growing Mycobacterium species.

Intramammary infections by a nonspeciated Mycobacterium of Runyon group IV increased in the dairy herd at the Beltsville, Md, Agricultural Research Center during 4 years, and were cultured from 9.7% of 300 quarter samples from clinical mastitis cases in 1982. The infection was mildly acute, without systemic involvement, and refractory to therapy but self-terminating, usually at the end of lactation.

Circadian and ultradian temperature rhythms of lactating dairy cows.

Thermistors were implanted in the right front quarter of udder and peritoneal cavity of six lactating Holstein cows to investigate whether udder temperature is regulated independently of deep body temperature. Sequential measurements of udder, body, chamber, and outdoor temperatures were every 1.4 min (1024 readings/probe per 24 h) by digital computer.