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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting in SARS-CoV-2 infections in multiple animal species. These events highlighted critical links between animal and human health while also raising concerns about the development of new reservoir hosts and potential viral mutations that could alter the virulence and transmission or evade immune responses. Characterizing susceptibility, prevalence, and transmission between animal species became a priority to help protect animal and human health. In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on species with known or predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highly congregated or medically compromised animals (e.g., shelters, barns, veterinary hospitals), and animals that had frequent contact with humans (e.g., pets, agricultural animals, zoo animals, or animals in wildlife hospitals). This included free-ranging deer (n = 76 individuals), free-ranging mink (n = 57), multiple species of bats (n = 59), and other wildlife in addition to domestic cats (n = 275) and pigs (n = 184). In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings. Importantly, we did not test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study, which limited our ability to assess exposure. While the results of this study were negative, the surveillance effort was critical and remains key to understanding, predicting, and preventing the re-emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans or animals.

Abstract Background Low back pain (LBP) imposes a costly burden upon patients, healthcare insurers, and society overall. Spinal manipulation as practiced by chiropractors has been found be cost-effective for treatment of LBP, but there is wide variation among chiropractors in their approach to clinical care, and the most cost-effective approach to chiropractic care is uncertain. To date, little has been published regarding the cost effectiveness of different approaches to chiropractic care. Thus, the current study presents a cost comparison between chiropractic approaches for patients with acute or subacute care episodes for low back pain. Methods We employed a retrospective cohort design to examine costs of chiropractic care among patients diagnosed with acute or subacute low back pain. The study time period ranged between 07/01/2016 and 12/22/2017. We compared cost outcomes for patients of two cohorts of chiropractors within health care system: Cohort 1) a general network of providers, and Cohort 2) a network providing conservative evidence-based care for rapid resolution of pain. We used generalized linear regression modeling to estimate the comparative influence of demographic and clinical factors on expenditures. Results A total of 25,621 unique patients were included in the analyses. The average cost per patient for Cohort 2 (mean allowed amount $252) was lower compared to Cohort 1 (mean allowed amount $326; 0.77, 95% CI 0.75–0.79, p

Methanolic stem bark extracts from ten Mexican Bursera Jacq. ex L. species were evaluated in vitro with regard to their inhibitory activity against two Tenebrio molitor-derived enzymes. Seven extracts (B. bicolor, B. copallifera, B. fagaroides, B. grandifolia, B. lancifolia, B. linanoe, and B. longipes) reduced α-amylase activity by 55.37% to 96.25%, with three samples proving to be particularly potent α-amylase inhibitors (B. grandifolia, B. lancifolia, and B. linanoe; IC50 = 162, 132, and 186 µg/mL, respectively). In contrast, no extract inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity by more than 39.94%. Quantitative HPLC analysis did not reveal any clear correlation between the species-specific flavonoid or phenolic acid profiles and the respective extracts' enzyme inhibitory activity. The findings reported herein do not only contribute to improving the current state of knowledge regarding the enzyme inhibitory potential of the Bursera genus, but could also lead to the development of new sustainable bioinsecticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionParkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder causing severe disability and cognitive impairment as the disease progresses. It is necessary to develop biomarkers for cognitive decline in PD for earlier detection and prediction of disease progression.MethodsWe reviewed literature which used artificial intelligence-based techniques, which can be more sensitive than other analyses, to determine potential biomarkers for cognitive impairment in PD.ResultsWe found that combining biomarker types, including those from neuroimaging and biofluids, resulted in higher accuracy. Focused analysis on each biomarker type revealed that using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) resulted in accuracy and area under the curve (AUC) values above 80%/0.80, and that beta-amyloid-42 and tau were able to classify PD subjects by cognitive function with accuracy and AUC values above 90%/0.90.DiscussionWe can conclude that applying both blood-based and imaging-based biomarkers may improve diagnostic accuracy and prediction of cognitive impairment in PD.

Cerebellar hypoplasia can be caused by congenital or post-natal viral infection or a genetic mutation, and leads to an underdeveloped cerebellum, motor dysfunction, and ataxia. Cerebellar dysfunction can also originate from neurodegenerative diseases. This affects the functional coupling of the cerebellum and multiple sensorimotor cerebral networks. Using resting-state fMRI, correlational studies have mapped cerebellar lobules to cerebral cortices and yielded models of cerebral-cerebellar interactions. This study investigated functional connectivity between cerebellar lobules focusing on sensorimotor regions by comparing task-based fMRI data from participants of an existing open-source dataset. To process and visualize the fMRI data, this study referenced anatomical and functional network atlases and used various statistical and computational software packages. Handedness was inferred from first-level functional connectivity analysis to create groups and performed second-level functional connectivity between-groups analysis. Statistically significant differences in functional connectivity between sensorimotor intracerebellar regions were identified, which may be attributable to differences in handedness. The present study showed that when compared to participants inferred to be left-handed or ambidextrous, participants inferred to be right-hand dominant had statistically significant differences in functional connectivity in specific sensorimotor regions, including lobules IV/V left to IV/V right when performing right-hand tasks, and lobules VIII left to III left when performing left-hand tasks. This finding informed the creation of a proposed right-hand sensorimotor intracerebellar model which may be visualized using various platforms. Through integrating causal and correlational imaging data to model intracerebellar connectivity, this study furthers research about the diagnosis and treatment of cerebellar hypoplasia and cerebellar dysfunction. Abbreviations: FC – Functional Connectivity; fMRI – Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; gPPI – Generalized Psychophysiological Interactions; GUI – Graphical User Interface; MVPA – MultiVariate Pattern Analysis; ROI –Region of Interest