Island of opportunity Bower, Deborah S; Lips, Karen R; Amepou, Yolarnie ...
Frontiers in ecology and the environment,
August 2019, Letnik:
17, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid) has caused the most widespread, disease-induced declines and extinctions in vertebrates recorded to date. The largest ...climatically suitable landmass that may still be free of this fungus is New Guinea. The island is home to a sizeable proportion of the world’s known frog species (an estimated 6%), as well as many additional, yet-to-be-described species. Two decades of research on the chytrid fungus have provided a foundation for improved management of amphibian populations. We call for urgent, unified, international, multidisciplinary action to prepare for the arrival of B dendrobatidis in New Guinea, to prevent or slow its spread within the island after it arrives, and to limit its impact upon the island’s frog populations. The apparent absence of the fungus in New Guinea offers an opportunity to build capacity in advance for science, disease surveillance, and diagnosis that will have broad relevance both for non-human animal health and for public health.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 (SCA5) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the SPBTN2 gene encoding β-III-spectrin. To investigate the molecular basis of SCA5, we ...established a series of transgenic Drosophila models that express human β-III-spectrin or fly β-spectrin proteins containing SCA5 mutations. Expression of the SCA5 mutant spectrin in the eye causes a progressive neurodegenerative phenotype, and expression in larval neurons results in posterior paralysis, reduced synaptic terminal growth, and axonal transport deficits. These phenotypes are genetically enhanced by both dynein and dynactin loss-of-function mutations. In summary, we demonstrate that SCA5 mutant spectrin causes adult-onset neurodegeneration in the fly eye and disrupts fundamental intracellular transport processes that are likely to contribute to this progressive neurodegenerative disease.
Introduction
Our objectives were to design and validate methods to identify relapse and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using ...administrative data representing hospitalizations at US pediatric institutions.
Methods
We developed daily billing and ICD‐9 code definitions to identify relapses and HSCTs within a cohort of children with newly diagnosed ALL between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, previously assembled from the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. Chart review for children with ALL at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) was performed to establish relapse and HSCT gold standards for sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) calculations. We estimated incidences of relapse and HSCT in the PHIS ALL cohort.
Results
We identified 362 CHOP and 314 TCH ALL patients in PHIS and established true positives by chart review. Sensitivity and PPV for identifying both relapse and HSCT in PHIS were > 90% at both hospitals. Five‐year relapse incidence in the 10 150‐patient PHIS cohort was 10.3% (95% CI 9.8%‐10.9%) with 7.1% (6.6%‐7.6%) of children underwent HSCTs. Patients in higher‐risk demographic groups had higher relapse and HSCT rates. Our analysis also identified differences in incidences of relapse and HSCT by race, ethnicity, and insurance status.
Conclusions
Administrative data can be used to identify relapse and HSCT accurately in children with ALL whether they occur on‐ or off‐therapy, in contrast with published approaches. This method has wide potential applicability for estimating these incidences in pediatric ALL, including patients not enrolled on clinical trials.
Background/Objectives
We assessed synthetic cannabinoid (SC) outbreaks from 2011–2012 and 2015.
Methods
The National Poison Data System was utilized to collect reports of SC adverse effects in New ...York State from 2011–2012 and 2015 (N = 713).
Results
Cases from 2015 were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units and had different symptoms than those in 2011–2012. We identified two new SC structural classes from 2015 samples.
Discussion/Conclusions
The 2015 outbreak was associated with more severe SC‐related illnesses than in 2011–2012.
Scientific Significance
New SC compounds may pose a different or more severe risk than those previously identified. (Am J Addict 2017;26:772–775)
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