Publications by authors named "Todd Michael"

We present a genome assembly from an individual of (Streptophyta; Magnoliopsida; Fabales; Fabaceae). The genome sequence has a total length of 970.60 megabases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present a genome assembly from an individual of (Streptophyta; Magnoliopsida; Fabales; Fabaceae). The genome sequence has a total length of 899.60 megabases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present a genome assembly from an individual of (Streptophyta; Magnoliopsida; Fabales; Fabaceae). The genome sequence has a total length of 948.00 megabases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent increases in frequency and intensity of warm water anomalies and marine heatwaves have led to shifts in species ranges and assemblages. Genomic tools can be instrumental in detecting such shifts. In the early stages of a project assessing population genetic structure in Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax), we detected the presence of Japanese Sardine (Sardinops melanosticta) along the west coast of North America for the first time.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Complete mitochondrial genomes have become markers of choice to explore phylogenetic relationships at multiple taxonomic levels and they are often assembled using whole genome short-read sequencing. Herein, using three species of sea chubs as an example, we explored the accuracy of mitochondrial chromosomes assembled using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) Kit 14 R10.4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Baobab (Adansonia digitata) is a vital tree in Africa, but its genetics haven't been fully studied until now.
  • Researchers created a detailed reference genome with 42 chromosomes for baobab and analyzed related species from various regions, finding unique DNA features like a high percentage of DNA transposons.
  • The study reveals important insights into baobab's evolution, subpopulations across Africa, and the retention of genes related to longevity, which can aid in breeding and conservation efforts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To evaluate a serious game-based intervention's feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy in encouraging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination among 11-14-year-olds in the United States and assess participant experiences. The study, grounded in social cognitive theory and health belief model, recruited and engaged 32 English-speaking parent-child dyads with unvaccinated youths via snowball sampling and social media outreach. These dyads were randomly assigned to either the COVID-19 serious game-based intervention group ( = 16) or a usual care group ( = 16).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vascular health is increasingly recognized for its roles in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of this study was to investigate effects of exercise training, dose, and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on neurotrophic factors in community-dwelling, older adults with mild-to-moderate AD dementia.

Methods: This was a pilot blood ancillary study of the FIT-AD trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Cancer impacts both patients and their caregivers, and avoidant communication styles are linked to poorer psychological and relationship adjustments for both parties involved.* ! -
  • The study involved 286 patient-caregiver pairs responding to smartphone prompts over 14 days, focusing on their communication and relationship dynamics.* ! -
  • Results indicated that intimacy plays a critical role in relationship satisfaction and psychological distress, suggesting that improving communication could help foster closer relationships and better coping in cancer care.* !
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Single-cell genomics permits a new resolution in the examination of molecular and cellular dynamics, allowing global, parallel assessments of cell types and cellular behaviors through development and in response to environmental circumstances, such as interaction with water and the light-dark cycle of the Earth. Here, we leverage the smallest, and possibly most structurally reduced, plant, the semiaquatic , to understand dynamics of cell expression in these contexts at the whole-plant level. We examined single-cell-resolution RNA-sequencing data and found cells divide into four principal clusters representing the above- and below-water-situated parenchyma and epidermis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: While vaccines are crucial for disease prevention, disparities in vaccination coverage persist among youths aged 10 to 29 years, including within the United States. Serious games are emerging as a new strategy to address vaccine hesitancy. This systematic review aimed to aggregate and assess the current evidence on game-based interventions to improve youth vaccination rates, evaluating their impact and identifying factors influencing their effectiveness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Island systems provide important contexts for studying processes underlying lineage migration, species diversification, and organismal extinction. The Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae family) are the second largest plant radiation on the isolated Hawaiian Islands. We generated a chromosome-scale reference genome for one Hawaiian species, Stenogyne calaminthoides, and resequenced 45 relatives, representing 34 species, to uncover the continental origins of this group and their subsequent diversification.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Team-based care has been linked to key outcomes associated with the Quadruple Aim and a key driver of high-value patient-centered care. Use of the electronic health record (EHR) and machine learning have significant potential to overcome previous barriers to studying the impact of teams, including delays in accessing data to improve teamwork and optimize patient outcomes.

Methods: This study utilized a large EHR dataset (n=316,542) from an urban health system to explore the relationship between team composition and patient activation, a key driver of patient engagement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Delay discounting is the depreciation in a reward's perceived value as a function of the time until receipt. Monetary incentive programs that provide rewards contingent on meeting daily physical activity (PA) goals may change participants' delay discounting preferences.

Purpose: Determine if monetary incentives provided in close temporal proximity to meeting PA goals changed delay discounting, and if such changes mediated intervention effects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

COVID-19 vaccines, currently available to children over six months old, are a powerful method of reducing the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and death. However, vaccination rates among Hispanic children remain suboptimal, primarily due to parental vaccine hesitancy. Health communication researchers have suggested using culturally aligned storytelling to reduce vaccine hesitancy; however, few studies have evaluated this approach for Hispanic parents of unvaccinated children.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Duckweeds are among the fastest reproducing plants, able to clonally divide at exponential rates. However, the genetic and epigenetic impact of clonality on plant genomes is poorly understood. 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is a modified base often described as necessary for the proper regulation of certain genes and transposons and for the maintenance of genome integrity in plants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Red algae or seaweeds produce highly distinctive halogenated terpenoid compounds, including the pentabromochlorinated monoterpene halomon that was once heralded as a promising anticancer agent. The first dedicated step in the biosynthesis of these natural product molecules is expected to be catalyzed by terpene synthase (TS) enzymes. Recent work has demonstrated an emerging class of type I TSs in red algal terpene biosynthesis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Storing samples correctly is important for getting good DNA and creating reference genomes for lots of plants and animals, but DNA can break down over time.
  • In the study, scientists tested different storage methods for DNA from fish and plants, finding that using 95% ethanol kept the DNA safe for a longer time.
  • They were able to create high-quality reference genomes for several species and showed that their methods could help in studying new and unusual organisms without needing super cold storage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study looked at how easy it is to walk around neighborhoods near work and home, and how that affects people being active.
  • The results showed that more walkable work areas didn’t lead to more physical activity overall, but women and families without young kids did move around more if their work area was easy to walk in.
  • The study also found that homes in walkable neighborhoods led to more walking, and researchers want to study more about how work environments impact being active, especially since so many people are working from home now because of COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone app designed to enhance adherence to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy among patients newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
  • - In a randomized controlled trial involving 87 participants, researchers measured app engagement, retention rates, and patient feedback to evaluate the app's effectiveness compared to standard care and activity monitoring.
  • - Results showed that the app was both feasible and acceptable, with high PAP usage reported in both groups, but no significant differences in adherence or clinical outcomes were found between the app users and the control group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied the Asian pitcher plant, Nepenthes gracilis, to find out how it developed unique features like its sex traits and bug-eating leaves after its genes duplicated.
  • They discovered that the plant has double the normal number of chromosomes and found areas in its genes that help with flower and pollen development, which are linked to its male traits.
  • The research showed that changes in its gene copies helped the plant create new functions and special traits, contributing to its ability to thrive and become unique in nature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The HL7 organization created a set of 45 sensitive data categories to help implement electronic consent technology, enabling patients to control the sharing of their sensitive medical records.
  • - A study involving twelve physicians led to revisions of 21 of these categories, including the addition of new categories and the modification of existing definitions to promote clearer communication and inclusivity.
  • - Future updates to the HL7 categories should integrate physicians' insights, validate them with patient data, and prioritize patient perspectives for a more patient-centered approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Summary: Pangenomes are replacing single reference genomes as the definitive representation of DNA sequence within a species or clade. Pangenome analysis predominantly leverages graph-based methods that require computationally intensive multiple genome alignments, do not scale to highly complex eukaryotic genomes, limit their scope to identifying structural variants (SVs), or incur bias by relying on a reference genome. Here, we present PanKmer, a toolkit designed for reference-free analysis of pangenome datasets consisting of dozens to thousands of individual genomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Powdery mildew (PM) in is most frequently caused by the biotrophic fungus . Based on previously characterized variation in susceptibility to PM, biparental populations were developed by crossing the most resistant cultivar evaluated, 'FL 58', with a susceptible cultivar, 'TJ's CBD'. F progeny were evaluated and displayed a range of susceptibility, and two were self-pollinated to generate two F populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF