Tabitha
Cowell
Sponsor: Gerald Kost, M.D.,Ph.D. MED: Pathology & Lab Medicine This research is inspired by the variability in hospital lists of critical limits and the objective to harmonize medical decision thresholds in the United States. Critical limits represent extremely low and high levels of diagnostic test results used to trigger urgent clinician notification and ensure timely treatment of life- threatening conditions. We sampled across 9 Census Bureau divisions and compiled critical limit data from over 300 hospitals in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to ensure geographical representation. We assessed both critical limits and notification policies for clinical chemistry, hematology, blood gas, infectious disease, and cardiac biomarker tests. Here, we report specifically clinical chemistry results. This research was approved by the UC Davis IRB. Using statistical analysis tests including the Shapiro- Wilk and Kruskal-Wallis tests, we observed highly significant (p<0.01) regional differences for glucose, potassium, sodium, and ionized calcium critical limits. The variability among decision thresholds for potentially life-threatening conditions cause alarm for an inconsistency in the standard of care among the geographical divisions. We believe that acquiring medians and ranges of diagnostic decision thresholds for life-saving treatment helps standardize 21st-century critical limits, ultimately improving clinical responses and outcomes for critically ill patients. Cargo Gene Composition of Conjugative Type IV Secretion Systems Differs Between Wilt Pathogen Ralstonia and Other Ralstonia Species
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Authors:
Tabitha Cowell
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Prokaryotic type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are versatile machines with potential functions including DNA uptake and release, protein translocation, and DNA conjugation. However, the diversity, distribution, and functional roles of the T4SS in Ralstonia species remain poorly understood. The Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) comprises three species of plant-pathogenic bacteria that cause bacterial wilt disease. The Ralstonia genus also includes non-RSSC species that are primarily environmental bacteria and opportunistic human pathogens. This study aims to elucidate the diversity and phylogenetic distribution of T4SSs within the RSSC and non-RSSC species by using the VirB4 protein sequence to search for T4SSs. Phylogenetic analysis of the VirB4 protein sequences in Ralstonia revealed sixteen distinct clusters, with ten clusters found in RSSC genomes and twelve clusters found in non-RSSC genomes, with six clusters overlapping between the two groups. Fourteen of these T4SS gene clusters have been identified as putative DNA conjugation systems. We analyzed the putative regions of transfer for T4SS gene clusters identified in complete genomes and found that regions of transfer in the RSSC are more likely to have type III secretion system effector genes and less likely to have metal metabolism and resistance genes than those in the non-RSSC. Sequencing of Exon 8 of the GBA1 Gene Confirms the First Diagnosis of Gaucher Disease in Babydoll Southdown Sheep from the United States Haley Cronin
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UC Davis / Plant Pathology / 2025
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Tabitha Cowell