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This study investigates the use of low cost, customizable, biodegradable, polymer-ceramic composite porous structures (bone bricks) for large bone tissue regeneration. Different ceramic materials (hydroxyapatite (HA), β-tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) and Bioglass (45S5) were mixed with poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL). Bone bricks with different material compositions were produced using an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system. Produced bone bricks were morphologically and mechanically assessed. Results allowed to establish a correlation between scaffolds architecture and material composition and scaffolds performance. Reinforced scaffolds showed improved mechanical properties. Best mechanical properties were obtained with PCL/TCP bone bricks and topologies based on 38 double zig zag filaments and 14 spirals.

Background: To compare relative rates of pediatric poisoning before and after COVID-19, including by demographic and urban-rural status, and by agent identified, using data from one university healthcare system and children's hospital., Methods: Using retrospective, cross sectional design from deidentified healthcare claims data, we extracted all encounters with the ICD-10-CM for Poisoning by, Adverse effects of, and Underdosing of drugs, medicants and biological substances (T36-T50) and grouped the encounters as those after state mandates regulating activity came into effect (Post-COVID-19 (3/17/2020-3/18/2021)) Pre-COVID-19 (3/18/2019-3/17/2020). We then compared poisoning agent, age at the time of the encounter, recorded sex, race, ethnicity, rural/urban residence, and visit type using Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test of association, incidence rates and incident rate ratios between the time periods., Findings: The sample included 1608 unique patients 0-17 years of age and 4216 encounters. We also identified IRRs >1 in nearly every demographic subgroup with the exception of Non-Hispanic Blacks. The comparison of specific drugs or medicants identified a significant decrease in poisoning by Systemic antibiotics (T36); but an increase in Hormones and their synthetic substitutes and antagonists (T38), Non opioid analgesics antipyretic and antirheumatic (T39), Psychotropic Drugs (T39) and Systemic and hematologic agents (T45)., Conclusion: This study identifies pediatric subgroups highly affected by pediatric poisoning during the time-period immediately after the identification of COVID-19 and characterizes the drugs commonly associated with poisonings., Application to Practice: With a further understanding nursing has the potential to impact pediatric poisoning in the inpatient, outpatient and public health setting., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Authors do not have any interests to report related to this work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Those factors identified to increase the risk of suicide in rural dwellers were exacerbated by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, specifically economic factors, substance use, access to health care, and access to lethal weapons. Because the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on suicide ideation and attempts in rural populations have not been fully characterized in published literature, this study compares: (1) the rates of suicide ideation and attempts between the 6 months affected by SARS-CoV-2 to same months of the preceding year (3/18/2020-9/18/20; 3/18/2019-9/18/19), (2) demographics (ie, age, sex, residence, race, and ethnicity), and (3) the locations in which the encounters were billed (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department)., Methods: Deidentified claims data associated with patient encounters billed for Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempt were grouped based on time period and analyzed using descriptive statistics, incidence rate ratio (IRR), 2-sample t-test, chi-square test of association, or Fisher's exact test., Findings: Suicidal ideation encounters increased in the 6 months post-SARS-CoV-2 when compared to the 6 months of the prior year (IRR = 1.19; P < .001). Males (IRR = 1.27, P < .001), those residing rural areas (IRR = 1.22, P = .01), and Black, non-Hispanic (IRR = 1.24, P = .024) were found to have increased rates of suicide ideation post-SARS-Cov-2. In adults, White, non-Hispanics (IRR = 1.16; P < .001) had increased rates of post-SARS-CoV-2. In the pediatric subset, those who were aged 14-17 (IRR = 1.50; P < .001), resided in rural areas (IRR = 1.61, P = .009), and idenitifed as Hispanic (IRR = 1.89; P = .037) or Black, non-Hispanic (IRR = 1.61, P = .009) had increased rates post-SARS-CoV-2., Conclusions: Our study identified rural dwellers to be at increased risk for suicide ideation., (© 2022 National Rural Health Association.)

Background: Risk factors for child abuse and neglect and commonly used reporting mechanisms were highly affected by SARS-Cov-2 pandemic; yet, little is known about the effects of SARS-Cov-2 on rates of child abuse and neglect., Objective: To compare overall rates, demographics, types of abuse and acuity of child abuse and neglect encounters seen at one university health system for the 6 months before and after school closings due to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic., Participants and Setting: Data was extracted from a database of billed ICD10 codes for child abuse and neglect including sexual abuse codes. There were 579 encounters for patients <18 years of age and 476 unique patients., Methods: In addition to ICD10 code and pre/post school closing, each encounter was identified to be inpatient, outpatient and/or emergency department. Demographic data such as age, gender, ethnicity, and race were extracted. Incident rate ratios in addition to descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, two-sample t-test, or the chi-square test of association were used in the analysis., Results: No significant differences were identified for total rates of child abuse and neglect encounters (p = .08), physical abuse (p = .91) nor child maltreatment (p = .86) codes or in the age (p = .46), gender (p = .58), and race/ethnicity (p = .15) of patient encounters pre- versus post-school closings. The sexual abuse incidence and inpatient encounters increased by 85% (IRR = 1.85, p < .0001; IRR = 1.85, p = .004, respectively)., Conclusions: Our findings provide a unique contribution to the existing literature in that we identified a significant increase in the incidence of sexual abuse and higher patient acuity as evidenced by higher rates of inpatient encounters after school closing due to SARS-Cov-2., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Context: Previous research from a sample of US secondary schools (n = 10 553) indicated that 67% of schools had access to an athletic trainer (AT; 35% full time [FT], 30% part time [PT], and 2% per diem). However, the population-based statistic in all secondary schools with athletic programs (n = approximately 20 000) is yet to be determined., Objective: To determine the level of AT services and employment status in US secondary schools with athletics by National Athletic Trainers' Association district., Design: Cross-sectional study., Setting: Public and private secondary schools with athletics., Patients or Other Participants: Data from all 20 272 US public and private secondary schools were obtained., Main Outcome Measure(s): Data were collected from September 2015 to April 2018 by phone or e-mail communication with school administrators or ATs and by online surveys of secondary school ATs. Employment categories were school district, school district with teaching, medical or university facility, and independent contractor. Data are presented as total number and percentage of ATs. Descriptive statistics were calculated for FT, PT, and no AT services data for public, private, public + private, and employment type by state and by National Athletic Trainers' Association district., Results: Of the 20 272 secondary schools, 66% (n = 13 473) had access to AT services, while 34% (n = 6799) had no access. Of those schools with AT services, 53% (n = 7119) received FT services, while 47% (n = 6354) received PT services. Public schools (n = 16 076) received 37%, 32%, and 31%, whereas private schools (n = 4196) received 27%, 28%, and 45%, for FT, PT, and no AT services, respectively. Most of the Athletic Training Locations and Services Survey participants (n = 6754, 57%) were employed by a medical or university facility, followed by a school district, school district with teaching, and independent contractor. Combined, 38% of AT employment was via the school district., Conclusions: The percentages of US schools with AT access and FT and PT services were similar to those noted in previous research. One-third of secondary schools had no access to AT services. The majority of AT employment was via medical or university facilities. These data depict the largest and most updated representation of AT services in secondary schools.

This study describes the molecular characterization of avian reoviruses (ARVs) isolated during an outbreak in commercial chickens between 2015 and 2016. In addition, a pathogenicity study of a selected ARV strain isolated from a field case of viral tenosynovitis in commercial broiler chickens was performed. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of a 1088-bp fragment of the ARV S1 gene, the investigated sequences were differentiated into five distinct genotypic clusters (GCs), namely GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, and GC6. Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) and commercial broiler chickens were challenged with the GC1 genetic type MK247011, at 14 days of age via the interdigital toe web. No significant effects in body weight gain and feed conversion were detected in both chicken types. The Δ interdigital web thickness was most severe at 4 days postchallenge (DPC) in both the SPF and broiler subgroups. The inflammation in SPF birds was slightly more severe compared with broilers. Neither mortality nor clinical signs occurred in the infected groups for the duration of the experiment, despite the presence of significant microscopic lesions in challenged birds. Microscopic changes of tenosynovitis became evident at 3 DPC, with the highest incidence and severity detected at 14 and 21 DPC, respectively. Seroconversion against ARV occurred 3 wk postchallenge, and the microscopic lesions detected in tendon and heart sections were highly compatible with those described in the field. Increased severity of tenosynovitis and epicarditis lesions were noted in the ARV-challenged groups compared with the control groups. Although SPF and broiler chickens showed comparable responses to the challenge with an ARV genetic variant, detected lesions were subclinical, denoting the limitations of our challenge approach. The age selected in this experiment possibly influenced the course of the infection. Data from this study highlight the genotypic diversity of isolates in California, and the outcome of the pathogenicity study can be used as a basis to improve protocols for pathogenicity studies to characterize ARV variants causing clinical disease in the field.

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that normally interacts in monomeric form with the neuronal cytoskeleton. In Alzheimer's disease, however, it aggregates to form the structural component of neurofibrillary lesions. The transformation is controlled in part by age- and disease-associated post-translational modifications. Recently we reported that tau isolated from cognitively normal human brain was methylated on lysine residues, and that high-stoichiometry methylation depressed tau aggregation propensity in vitro. However, whether methylation stoichiometry reached levels needed to influence aggregation propensity in human brain was unknown. Here we address this problem using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry approaches and human-derived tau samples. Results revealed that lysine methylation was present in soluble tau isolated from cognitively normal elderly cases at multiple sites that only partially overlapped with the distributions reported for cognitively normal middle aged and AD cohorts, and that the quality of methylation shifted from predominantly dimethyl-lysine to monomethyl-lysine with aging and disease. However, bulk mol methylation/mol tau stoichiometries never exceeded 1 mol methyl group/mol tau protein. We conclude that lysine methylation is a physiological post-translational modification of tau protein that changes qualitatively with aging and disease, and that pharmacological elevation of tau methylation may provide a means for protecting against pathological tau aggregation.

Infectious coryza, caused by Avibacterium paragallinarum, is an acute respiratory disease of poultry that can result in substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic losses. In March 2017, the Turlock branch of the California Animal Health and Food Safety laboratory system encountered an unusual clinical and pathologic presentation of infectious coryza in 6 live, 29-d-old, commercial broiler chickens that were submitted for diagnostic investigation. Antemortem evaluation revealed severe neurologic signs, including disorientation, torticollis, and opisthotonos. Swollen head-like syndrome and sinusitis were also present. Histologically, severe sinusitis, cranial osteomyelitis, otitis media and interna, and meningoencephalitis were noted, explaining the clinical signs described. A. paragallinarum was readily isolated from the upper and lower respiratory tract, brain, and cranial bones. Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was also detected by PCR, and IBV was isolated in embryonated chicken eggs. Based on sequencing analysis, the IBV appeared 99% homologous to strain CA1737. A synergistic effect between A. paragallinarum and IBV, resulting in exacerbation of clinical signs and increased mortality, may have occurred in this case. A. paragallinarum should be considered among the possible causes of neurologic signs in chickens. Appropriate media should be used for bacterial isolation, and the role of additional contributing factors and/or complicating agents should be investigated in cases of infectious coryza.

Streptococcal bacterial species represent common inhabitants of the intestinal tract of animals and humans with a potential for opportunistic infections. Streptococcosis has been identified in turkey poults ( Meleagris gallopavo), ducklings and goslings (Anatidae), broiler chickens, semimature-adult chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus), and young and adult pigeons (Columbidae). However, the exact underlying factors that lead to bacterial invasion of the blood stream and tissue colonization have not been completely elucidated. The electronic database of the California Animal Health and Food Safety laboratory (Fresno, Tulare, and Turlock branches) was searched for necropsy cases in which streptococcosis was diagnosed in different avian species between January 2000 and August 2017. A total of 95 cases, involving both commercial operations and noncommercial premises, were analyzed. Streptococcus spp., Streptococcus bovis, and Streptococcus gallolyticus were identified from multiple organs, with macroscopic or histopathologic lesions (or both) indicative of septicemia in 23 (24%), 40 (42%), and 30 (32%) cases, respectively. Streptococcus pluranimalium and Streptococcus lutetiensis were also isolated from one (1%) and two (2%) cases, respectively. Turkey poults, broiler chickens, and ducklings were the most-commonly affected species with streptococcosis. Splenitis and hepatitis were the most-common lesions observed and these were the organs with the highest isolation rate. An overview of the clinical and pathologic presentation, and possible predisposing conditions associated with this bacterial infection, is provided.

Post-translational modifications are biologically important and wide-spread modulators of protein function. Although methods for detecting the presence of specific modifications are becoming established, approaches for quantifying their mol modification/mol protein stoichiometry are less well developed. Here we introduce a ratiometric, label-free, targeted liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy-based method for estimating Lys and Arg methylation stoichiometry on post-translationally modified proteins. Methylated Lys and Arg were detected with limits of quantification at low fmol and with linearity extending from 20 to 5000 fmol. This level of sensitivity allowed estimation of methylation stoichiometry from microgram quantities of various proteins, including those derived from either recombinant or tissue sources. The method also disaggregated total methylation stoichiometry into its elementary mono-, di-, and tri-methylated residue components. In addition to being compatible with kinetic experiments of protein methylation, the approach will be especially useful for characterizing methylation states of proteins isolated from cells and tissues., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In February 2015, two Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were submitted dead to the California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory, Turlock branch, from a private aviary experiencing sudden, high mortality (4/9) in adult doves. In both doves, the gross and histologic lesions were indicative of acute, fatal septicemia. Grossly, there were numerous pale yellow foci, 1 to 2 mm in diameter, in the liver and spleen. Microscopically, these foci were composed of acute severe multifocal coagulative necrosis of hepatocytes and splenic pulp with infiltration of heterophils mixed with fibrin and dense colonies of gram-negative bacteria. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was isolated from the lung, liver, spleen, heart, ovary, kidney, and trachea. The organism was susceptible to most antibiotics it was tested against, except erythromycin. Based on a retrospective study of necropsy submissions to CAHFS between 1990 and 2015, there were 77 avian case submissions of Y. pseudotuberculosis. There were 75/77 cases identified from a wide range of captive avian species from both zoo and private facilities and 2/77 cases from two backyard turkeys submitted from one premise. The largest number of cases originated from psittacine species (31/77). The lesions most commonly described were hepatitis (63/77), splenitis (49/77), pneumonia (30/77), nephritis (16/77), and enteritis (12/77). From 1990 to 2015, there was an average of three cases of avian pseudotuberculosis per year at CAHFS. Although there were no cases diagnosed in 1993 and 1994, in all other years, there were between one and eight cases of Y. pseudotuberculosis detected from avian diagnostic submissions.