New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

The Role of Anti-racist Pedagogy and Practices in Professional Development Schools

The recent events of the COVID-19 pandemic, the revision of the National Association for Professional Development Schools’ Nine Essentials to be more explicit in their anti-racism/social justice efforts, and the continued racially motivated attacks on Black and Indigenous People of Color, led to questioning and challenging Professional Development Schools (PDS) work because elements of social justice and equity were not always explicit. Literature supports that PDSs can be a site for helping pre-and in-service teachers develop an anti-racist stance. Embedded professional development, coursework, and field experiences in PDSs that enact culturally relevant, culturally sustaining, and equity-based pedagogies can help teachers breach the disconnect between theory and praxis, understand their own biases, disrupt deficit ways of thinking, and design learning experiences to meet the needs of P-12 learners

Urine cells on cytospin slides stained for podocalyxin (PCX, red), claudin-1 (CL1, green), and Dapi (blue).

<p><b>(A-D)</b> A Faby podocyte which is PCX+/CL1- and shows characteristic vacuolated cytoplasm. <b>(E-H)</b> A urine cells which is PCX+/CL1+ consistent with a parietal epithelial cell (PEC) phenotype. <b>(I-L)</b> An apoptotic podocyte (PCX+/CL1-) in the urine from a Fabry patient with shrunken cytoplasm and small nucleus (arrow) compared to its adjacent cells. <b>(M-P)</b> A podocyte (PCX+/CL1-) in the urine from a healthy subject does not show vacuolated cytoplasm.</p

Urine cells on cytospin stained for podocalyxin (PCX, red), Dapi (blue), and TUNEL (green).

<p>Two podocytes (PCX+) with apoptotic nuclei (white arrows in B-D) are also positive for TUNEL (white arrows in C-D), confirming apoptosis. The yellow arrow (B-D) shows a non-podocyte cell (PCX-) that is TUNEL+ (C-D).</p

Relationships between podocyturia and renal function in patients with Fabry disease by gender.

<p><b>(A and B)</b> Urine podocytes per g creatinine (UPodo/g Cr) vs. estimated GFR (eGFR) in males (A) and females (B). <b>(C and D)</b> UPodo/g Cr vs. urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR) in males (C) and females (D). <b>(E and F)</b> UPodo/g Cr vs. urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) in males (E) and females (F). ns = statistically not significant.</p

Demographics and clinical characteristics of Fabry patients.

<p>Demographics and clinical characteristics of Fabry patients.</p