COVID-19 Prevalence and Trends Among Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals in Maine by Rurality and Pregnancy Conditions

Our study is the first to estimate prevalence of COVID-19 among pregnant and postpartum individuals for Maine, using data that captures both commercial and public insurance and examines differences by rurality, a known modifier of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. individuals.https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/lambrew-retreat-2023/1007/thumbnail.jp

Wave Goodbye to Salt

Our team of Cal Poly Mechanical Engineers ideated, designed, built, and tested a system to help combat the growing problem of widespread drought in coastal and island communities. We developed a proof-of-concept model of a wave powered, mechanical system to desalinate ocean water using a reverse osmosis process. From topical research, it was found that there are many ways to harness a portion of the huge amount of energy that the ocean provides. While large scale ocean water desalination plants are already in operation, smaller scale desalination units powered by ocean waves are largely underdeveloped. Our relatively small and inexpensive system proved to be effective in many aspects of our testing process, confirming the feasibility of our design concept as we exceeded a flowrate of 1 gallon per hour of desalinated water during ocean testing. In an era where global access to clean drinking water is a huge issue that has been unresolved for decades, this system may be able to make an impact in small coastal communities everywhere around the world

Acute health care utilization in the first 24 months postpartum by rurality and pregnancy complications: A prospective cohort study

Using 2006-2021 data from the Maine Health Data Organization’s All Payer Claims Data, the authors estimated the rates of hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits during the first 24 months postpartum by rurality and by pregnancy complications. Women with pregnancy complications of prenatal depression, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and gestational diabetes mellitus had higher hospitalization and ED visit rates than those without these conditions. Approximately 44% of persons had at least one ED visit within 24 months postpartum and adjusted ED rates were higher for persons living in small rural areas as compared with urban areas; ED rates were highest among those living in small rural areas. FMI: Contact Dr. Kate Ahrens, [email protected]

SLC29A3 gene is mutated in pigmented hypertrichosis with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus syndrome and interacts with the insulin signaling pathway.

Contains fulltext : 81613.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Pigmented hypertrichotic dermatosis with insulin-dependent diabetes (PHID) syndrome is a recently described autosomal recessive disorder associated with predominantly antibody negative, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In order to identify the genetic basis of PHID and study its relationship with glucose metabolism, we performed homozygosity mapping in five unrelated families followed by candidate gene sequencing. Five loss-of-function mutations were identified in the SLC29A3 gene which encodes a member of a highly conserved protein family that transports nucleosides, nucleobases and nucleoside analogue drugs, hENT3. We show that PHID is allelic with a related syndrome without diabetes mellitus, H syndrome. The interaction of SLC29A3 with insulin signaling pathways was then studied using an established model in Drosophila melanogaster. Ubiquitous knockdown of the Drosophila ortholog of hENT3, dENT1 is lethal under stringent conditions; whereas milder knockdown induced scutellar bristle phenotypes similar to those previously reported in the knockdown of the Drosophila ortholog of the Islet gene. A cellular growth assay showed a reduction of cell size/number which could be rescued or enhanced by manipulation of the Drosophila insulin receptor and its downstream signaling effectors, dPI3K and dAkt. In summary, inactivating mutations in SLC29A3 cause a syndromic form of insulin-dependent diabetes in humans and in Drosophila profoundly affect cell size/number through interactions with the insulin signaling pathway. These data suggest that further investigation of the role of SLC29A3 in glucose metabolism is a priority for diabetes research