Sophie Cammarata (5) of Hightstown carries the ball downfield with Theona Hsu (4) of Princeton in pursuit in a game at Princeton High School in at Princeton on Mar .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By N.J. High School Sports DeskMatt Bove | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comSophie Cammarata scored three goals to lead Hightstown to a 7-3 victory over Monroe in Monroe The win extended Hightstown’s winning streak to six games after starting the season 1-3 Hightstown (7-3) took control of the game in the second quarter scoring four unanswered goals to break a 1-1 tie Lexie Wersching and Sophia Acque each contributed two goals for Hightstown which held Monroe (8-5) scoreless in the middle quarters Monroe attempted to rally in the fourth quarter but the deficit proved too large to overcome Lily Fleming was solid in goal for Hightstown making five saves while allowing three goals The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! 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He likes karaoke and being in nature, and he takes his sunset watching very seriously. He has joined, by audition, a fire circus, and he will happily teach you about flea circuses. He can make this crazy water droplet sound with his mouth (he is a proud member of the Harvard Whistler’s Society) Ben’s whimsy is exemplified by the way he sees the world “I don’t need to conquer a mountain to be satisfied Kim can be reached at elane.kim@thecrimson.com which is directed by neuropathologist Ann McKee is a global leader in the study of the neurodegenerative disease—which is why so many families turn to it for answers about their loved ones’ fractured lives Nick Cammarata had a booming laugh and an uncanny ability to spin out a story that kept people hooked it’s impossible to remember her older brother without thinking about hockey Nick excelled in youth programs in their hometown of Canton tearing up the ice through middle and high school He played Division I hockey at Merrimack College from 1999–2003 then played professionally for four years in the minor leagues—including a stint in Italy his life revolved around hockey: He coached junior teams in Utah He was this insanely talented athlete and hockey was the sport he fell in love with He started playing when he was three years old and he was amazing from that moment until he died,” says Cammarata there was another side to him—one that was more complex and seemingly only getting more so as time went on Nick worried that something was wrong—something in his brain “He wanted to be involved in a CTE study if something should ever happen to him—and then After Nick died, the medical examiner connected Cammarata’s family with Sophia Nosek, research program manager and brain donation coordinator at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center the center has risen to be the world’s foremost seat of research into CTE a neurodegenerative disease that is caused by repeated head trauma and can only be diagnosed after death—for now BU researchers have contributed immensely to the understanding of CTE—which has been tied to an array of symptoms and anxiety—and helped countless families make sense of sometimes drastic cognitive and personality changes in their loved ones.  Nosek talked the Cammaratas through the donation process asking a few preliminary questions about Nick’s life The medical examiner’s office handled the donation and Nosek ensured it arrived in the lab in Boston She let the family know Nick’s donation was safe Cammarata says it will be a way to understand her brother a bit better.  “If we can help find information for families in the future it would be an honor for his legacy and for us as a family to help future kids and families learn about this.” the phone call from Cammarata’s family was the first in a chain of toppling dominoes where the end result is not just a diagnosis for one person but also a growing body of research on a host of little-understood neurodegenerative diseases.  Once her phone rings, Nosek (CAMED’25) has just 72 hours from the donor’s time of death to coordinate the extraction of their brain ensure it’s stable for travel and for the ensuing research “I do feel like it’s one of the most important things I’ve ever done because I need to speak to the families at some of the worst moments of their lives and make sure they feel comforted as well as secure and confident in letting me handle something that’s really important to them and something that was really important to their loved one,” Nosek says.  that brain will join more than 1,500 others that are helping to advance critically important scientific inquiry.  Ann McKee who directs the CTE Center and is a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at BU describes her team as world experts in CTE But it’s not just plaguing football and ice hockey: Rugby and soccer players have had CTE It’s been found in people with poorly controlled epilepsy and those who were victims of domestic violence CTE can develop in anyone who experiences repeated hits to the head Virginia Grimsley was folding laundry one afternoon at her home in Houston was airing an episode about the little-known long-term effects of repeated concussions on professional football players.  had been a linebacker with the Houston Oilers (now known as the Tennessee Titans) and played in the NFL from 1984 to 1993 Football was known for its physical injuries and the like—but this was the first time Grimsley had heard anything about possible cognitive issues she watched the entire program front to back Virginia knew that John had played football since he was eight years old He would talk about “getting his bell rung” during particularly hard tackles he’d “aim for the guy in the middle” of his blurred vision Virginia asked John how many concussions he’d had throughout his career but guessed it was closer to one a year during his professional career Thanks to research by scientists at the CTE Center we now know that it’s not the number of concussions but the number of hits to the head that causes CTE John’s nine years in the NFL was enough of a proxy to raise concern.  it was clear that John had been acting differently lately He needed directions to a friend’s house not five minutes away—a route he’d driven countless times but don’t always know what it means,” Grimsley says now.  One weekend when she and the couple’s boys were away was cleaning his handgun—a meditative activity he’d do when no one else was in the house and one he’d done hundreds of times before knowing everything that was going on in his head he obviously forgot that you always check the chamber to make sure the gun’s unloaded before cleaning it,” Grimsley says In the haze of those fitful days after John’s death—a tangle of urgent decisions no one ever wants to make—one decision now stands out to Grimsley as divine intervention “a God thing,” she says: donating John’s brain to BU’s emerging CTE Center Ann McKee was studying professional boxers as part of her research at BU’s medical school she was more specifically looking into the deterioration she was finding in their brains—these athletes who had suffered one punch after another to the head during their careers their brain tissue was filled with an abnormal protein tangling and strangling the healthy brain cells What she found was more commonly known as “punch-drunk syndrome” at the time Pathologists at the CTE Center slice thin slivers from preserved brain tissue and use antibody staining to draw out details at a cellular level McKee found the same pattern of pathology she’d been finding in the brains of boxers among the earliest anyone had made that found evidence of CTE in a former football player John Grimsley became the fifth former NFL player to be diagnosed with the disease misfolded tau—in a very specific pattern and distribution in the brain—as a key indicator of CTE.  researchers at BU announced that they had diagnosed two more former NFL players including former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Tom McHale “We were college sweethearts,” says Lisa McHale she helped manage the football team on which he played Tom moved to Tampa to join the pros for the 1987 season McHale says that though her husband did show some signs of depression as he got older she never knew him to have had a concussion; a few hard knocks So when a researcher at the CTE Center called to ask about Tom’s brain shortly after his unexpected death she assumed they needed a control sample.  “We know now that you don’t necessarily need to suffer a concussion to develop CTE,” McHale says “The bottom line is Tom started playing football at eight and played a total of 26 years McHale joined the center two years after her husband’s diagnosis pledging to help other people in her shoes She’s now the center’s director of legacy family relations “It’s an emotional and very sensitive kind of work,” she says the bulk of them occur with families who have suffered a very And so it’s a constant reminder of the implications of this disease and a constant reminder of my own loss.”  exactly what will happen with their loved ones’ donations a technician will bisect the donated brain along its midline setting aside one hemisphere to preserve in a chemical bath called formalin and storing that half in refrigerators set to 4 degrees Celsius pathologists will slice thin slivers from this preserved tissue and use antibody staining to draw out details at a cellular level and frozen at negative 80 degrees Celsius for future study there are some brain abnormalities that Ann McKee can pick up by sight—though she and her team will need to do more detailed analysis of the donated tissue in order to conclude whether it shows signs of CTE mazelike Veterans Affairs facilities that host the CTE Center’s UNITE Brain Bank—a collaboration between BU and the Concussion Legacy Foundation—room after room is filled with industrial freezers It’s a scientific space—every nook and cranny is filled with tools and equipment vinegary smell of the preservative bath is inescapable—but it’s also strangely moving All these brains are quietly waiting to reveal a hidden story of their onetime owners and join in the crusade to better understand these vexing diseases.  mazelike Veterans Affairs facilities that host the CTE Center’s UNITE Brain Bank room after room is filled with industrial freezers Each one contains hundreds of brains that researchers hope will hold the key to better understanding CTE and other neurodegenerative diseases the research by the pathology team represents just half of the overall process They interview families and study the donor’s extensive health history: medical records And while the ultimate diagnosis rests with the pathology results (the “gold standard” for diagnosis the clinical analysis can sometimes help families understand their loved one better the donations also enable researchers at the CTE Center to push the boundaries of our understanding of other neurodegenerative diseases a call from the CTE Center with their findings can resurface the grief of loss that can be shocking—even if they were expecting it,” McKee says It can be helpful in trying to understand why they may have acted the way they did or why they may have done something that the family couldn’t understand.” McHale is in touch with people who are where she and Virginia Grimsley once were: reeling from a loss she sees this as the silver lining in her loss I could have never imagined losing Tom and couldn’t have imagined moving forward from that It’s a real blessing that came from a real tragedy.” Christina Mackesey is also waiting to learn more about her brother Gabe “played heavy contact sports for a good majority of his life,” she says but Gabe had a “very successful football career too.” He played football for roughly 15 years and made it to training camp for the professional Canadian league Gabe was showing worrying symptoms during training which stopped his football career in its tracks.  Mackesey says she and her brother sometimes talked about his worry that he had CTE but Mackesey’s family had noticed some changes more recently that were out of character: his impulse control seemed diminished just about two months shy of his 43rd birthday and Mackesey called the CTE Center hotline late on a Friday night and others from the center have been in touch every step of the way explaining in detail how this process works and the research that they’ll be able to do thanks to Gabe’s donation—and others like him.  “It’s been really special to my family to know that this is a way for Gabe to be part of every new breakthrough in CTE research because his brain will be continually studied over and over and over.” Neither Cammarata nor Mackesey say they’d be overly surprised if their brothers’ diagnoses are positive the behavior that didn’t quite add up—maybe it will John had season tickets to Houston Texans games—tickets that are still in the family I didn’t want anything to do with football my two grandsons are never playing football.” The majority of funding support for the CTE Center and the UNITE Brain Bank comes from awards by the National Institutes of Health as well as from the Department of Veterans Affairs The UNITE Brain Bank is a collaboration between the CTE Center I do not want to watch football or hockey Pioneering Research from Boston University NEW YORK -- Rudy Giuliani reached a deal Thursday that lets the cash-strapped ex-New York City mayor keep his homes and belongings in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to never again speak ill of two former Georgia elections workers who won a $148.. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing They’ll all come around – ’Cause the man of the hour is taking his final bow It is with the heaviest hearts that we announce the death of Nick Cammarata who passed from cardiac complications at age 44 Nick is survived by his parents Vincent and Linda Cammarata; his sister Hayley and their son Cameron Spitaleri; and his sister Cydney and her husband He is also survived by his aunts and uncles He is predeceased by his grandparents Vincent and Helen Cammarata You can’t think about Nick Cammarata and not have hockey come to your mind After years of excelling in youth programs Sebastian’s and was a four-year member of the Merrimack College Warriors from 1999-2003 Nick served as one of Merrimack’s captains during the 2002-03 season he played four seasons professionally in the ECHL he was an assistant coach with the Vernal Oilers (CAJHL) in 2021-22 and was later hired as the head coach of the Texas Jr Last season he was an assistant coach with the Badlands Sabres (NA3HL) Nick joined the New Hampshire Mountain Kings Academy as the 15U coach he was also going to serve as an assistant coach for the organization’s NAHL junior team Nick had a passion and drive for the game that was unparalleled; it is comforting to know he passed doing what he loved To know Nick was to know a journey through complex twists and turns filled with depth and a lot of loud booming laughs that could be heard from all over With a unique power to shift the energy of a room Nick could talk himself into and out of anything that he wanted and his charm could woo anyone into the longest stories ever told with an excitement that had his listeners feel like they were a part of the ride Nick would mostly want to be remembered for his titles of grandson Nick just wanted to love and be loved and his role of friend and family would supersede any other accolade presented to him He loved books and music and stories that took him to other galaxies and introduced him to unique characters because he was always seeking connection May his quest for peace be fulfilled on the other side and may his mark on our hearts live on with the memory he deserves Please join us in remembering Nick Cammarata on Monday A light reception will immediately follow the memorial service In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Nick to St. Sebastian’s School by visiting stsebs.org/support/ways-to-give his brain has been donated to the BU CTE Research Program We know that Nick would be humbled and honored to contribute to the quest for learning about the role high-impact sports has on the long-term health of the human brain in an effort to protect future generations Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=124699 One of the items President Donald Trump has said he wants to do is to clear out homeless encampments in D.C Trump plans to sign an executive order that would address crime and graffiti while homeless encampments would be removed across the nation’s capital, as first reported in The Washington Post It would mirror other legislation in other cities that ban homeless people sleeping in public places since the Supreme Court approved such laws last summer D.C.-based civil rights attorney Joseph Cammarata said he believes the District and the federal government can work together to accomplish what he considers a huge undertaking “I don’t think cities are meant to have people living on the street,” Cammarata told WTOP law enforcement and other personnel to come in and move the people from the encampments and mental health shelters or hospital settings — whatever is appropriate.” It’s not known how much it would cost and if the city would be able to depend on the federal government for assistance In the past week, D.C. officials have publicly addressed the pending executive order. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser welcomed Trump’s involvement in the city’s homeless population, stating the encampments are “not technically permitted in the District.” D.C. shadow Sen. Paul Strauss added that the president’s effort of targeting homeless encampments is “on the basis of beautification.” “Certainly we are a city that has shelter for people who are on the streets “We try to work with our residents to get them to a place where they want to come inside Cammarata said the District has not done enough to “stem the growth of these encampments” over the years He added that it is going to require a lot of resources including law enforcement and mental health professionals to relocate the scores of people currently on the street into facilities that can help them “(D.C.) has to start,” Cammarata said “Can the city work with the federal government And so I don’t see why they couldn’t WTOP’s José Umaña continued to this story Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area Terms of Use .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Will Harrigan | For NJ Advance MediaFour goals from Lexie Wersching led the way as Hightstown notched a 13-8 victory over Robbinsville in Hightstown In picking up their second win of the season the Rams also received hat-tricks from Gace Weissenberger and Sophie Cammarata in this one Hightstown held a 7-5 lead at the half in this one The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now and be among the first to get all the boys and girls sports you care about, straight to your inbox each weekday. To add your name, click here The Disappearance of 37-Year-Old Teacher Jeanine CammarataPreviewThe Disappearance of 37-Year-Old Teacher Jeanine CammarataJeanine Cammarata's best friend Get news and updates about your favorite shows plus 3 free credits to watch locked content Check your inbox for the latest news and updates about your favorite shows either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Rudy Guiliani has surrendered dozens of his luxury watches and a Mercedes as payment for his $148 million defamation judgment involving two former Georgia election workers According to a letter filed by Guiliani's lawyer the watches and the 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500—which was once owned by actress Lauren Bacall—were delivered by FedEx to a bank in Atlanta Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and long-time ally of President-elect Donald Trump, was ordered to surrender his apartment and other belongings in order to pay millions of dollars in damages to Rudy Freeman and Shaye Moss The mother and daughter sued Guiliani for defamation after he pushed baseless claims of voter fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign argued in his letter on Friday that some of Guiliani's possessions should be exempted from the defamation judge Cammarata also argued that it was "wholly improper" of the court to force Guiliani to surrender his Mercedes arguing that the car should have been appraised first to determine its worth Cammarata argued that if the vehicle is valued under $5,500 then it should be exempt from the judgment It's unclear what the car would be valued at but Classic.com shows that over the past five years Mercedes-Benz SL 500s made from 1980-1989 were sold from $9,500 to $201,000 Cammarata said that had the appraisal shown the value to be more than $5,500 it should have been auctioned off and funds paid out accordingly "This is how the proper enforcement of these assets should work," Cammarata wrote in a letter Friday "Just ordering the vehicle to be turned over to the Plaintiffs without any appraisal has taken away Defendant's statutory and constitutional rights." The letter also goes on to argue that some of Giuliani's other possessions should also be exempt from the judgment under New York and Florida law including apparel—even a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio that's part of the judgment— and all household furniture including a refrigerator As far as the watches Giuliani turned over Cammarata said there are legal exemptions for jewelry with a value under $1,325—meaning his watches and ring he turned over should also get appraised Cammarata said there are exemptions for "tools of trade," including "professional instruments furniture and library" items that don't exceed $4,075 in value Giuliani's spokesperson Ted Goodman shared a video of the watches and ring that Giuliani turned over to the courts saying the lot was an "accumulation of 60 years of hard work" Giuliani claims he's a victim of a "political vendetta" and said he expects to win back his belongings via an appeal This article includes reporting from the Associated Press ET: This article has been updated with additional information Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Jeanine Cammarata's Best Friend Explains Why Women Cheat on Their PartnersExclusiveJeanine Cammarata's Best Friend Explains Why Women Cheat on Their PartnersJessica Pobega, Jeanine Cammarata's best friend, opens up about why Jeanine cheated on her husband. Get news and updates about your favorite shows, plus 3 free credits to watch locked content. Check your inbox for the latest news and updates about your favorite shows. The owners of a popular barbecue food truck fulfilled their dream of owning a brick-and-mortar restaurant, as Jay’s Smokin BBQ preps for its soft opening Nov. 13 at 10175 Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda. Located where Muscle Car City’s StingRay’s Bar and Grill used to be, it will have indoor and outdoor dining options. Now that pitmaster Jay Cammarata and his wife, Sarah, have a permanent place for their business, the menu has been expanded to include other food items. Smoked meats will include brisket, pork, turkey and Italian sausage. In addition to being served for lunch or dinner, the smoked meats also will be sold by the pound to take home. At the side of the restaurant is a large, fenced-in area, where the massive smoker will be cooking up to 2,000 pounds of meats, Sarah Cammarata said. The restaurant will serve burgers and sandwiches, flame-broiled ribeye steaks, bourbon-glazed salmon and chicken dishes. For vegetarians there is a variety of salads and sides, including crispy buffalo cauliflower, grilled cheese sandwiches and more. What’s surprising is that neither Cammaratas worked in the food industry before they purchased their food truck in 2021. “We were given our first smoker as a wedding gift and it became a passion,” Sarah Cammarata said. Their dream of having a barbecue business grew, and on visits to relatives throughout the U.S., they sampled different styles of barbecue made in Texas, the Carolinas and St. Louis before deciding on Texas-style ribs, which require a dry rub. The Cammaratas have their own dry rub recipe and, “We don’t sauce any of our meats,” Sarah Cammarata said. The road to opening the restaurant wasn’t an easy one, she admitted. They put in long hours beginning in July to get their 4,300-square-foot restaurant ready. They recently left their jobs to donate time to their business. Sarah Cammarata worked as a dental assistant, and Jason Cammarata worked as a lineman for 13 years. If that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, they are the parents of four daughters, two of whom, Athena, 9, and Olivia, 16, perform simple tasks to help their parents on weekends. Recently the family stopped serving from their food truck, which is parked next to the restaurant, so that they could devote the hours to getting their restaurant open. Their truck was a regular presence at Watson’s Ice Cream in Deep Creek and at events around Charlotte County. Watson’s owners Tricia and Jay Blankenship have been heavily promoting their friends’ new business and said they hope the Jay’s Smokin BBQ truck returns soon. Meanwhile, the Cammaratas are busy setting things up and putting the finishing touches on their restaurant. For Jay’s Smokin BBQ’s opening, they plan to fly their older daughters, Sabrina, 28, and Isabella, 26, down from New York so the family can celebrate a business that might become a legacy for future generations. Starting Nov. 13 through Nov. 17, the hours will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Mondays, but Jay’s Smokin BBQ will return to its regular hours the week of Nov. 18, starting Tuesday, when it will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Typical ebbs and flows of the single-family home market do not have much of an impact on the ultra, high-end... Four restaurant chains and a cake shop will join seven other businesses coming this year to the new Tree Farm... For Naples Comprehensive Health, the May 5 opening of the Hospital for Special Surgery at NCH takes the health care... Not only has Chef Brian Roland physically and emotionally returned to public life in Southwest Florida after his life-altering tragedy... Beeline is counting on thirsty folks making a beeline to its new upscale cocktail bar at Mercato in North Naples.... The 72-unit Verandas III opened and is fully occupied on Airport Road, marking the final phase in the redevelopment of... | Photographs by Justin Maxon for TIMEPresented ByJhourney retreat at The Land in Sonoma County 2024 7:00 AM EDTNick Cammarata has always been unusually happy The 31-year-old AI safety researcher had a good childhood but it wasn’t just that; situations that made others depressed seemed to roll off him “I think I was probably happier than 99% of people “I figured maybe what I had was as good as it gets.” as part of an effort to investigate whether life could get even better characterized by deep concentration and blissful absorption have been practiced for thousands of years but were long considered the domain of mystics and monks with decades of training taught himself to enter these states after around 1,000 hours of solo meditation practice “I was shocked that it was possible to get this thing you turn on in 10 seconds and just get joy for five hours straight,” he says believes the destabilization of the pandemic has contributed to a “crisis of meaning” that makes advanced meditation increasingly appealing Read More: The Mindful Revolution Stephen Zerfas, the 32-year-old CEO and co-founder of Jhourney, describes the startup as a well-being moon shot. “There’s hundreds of millions of people that have experienced meditation, and for them, it’s largely incremental,” he tells me at the Alembic “Far less than 1% of them talk about it as absolutely transformative.” Many in Silicon Valley see the jhanas as offering a tantalizing promise: a way to reprogram one’s internal software to access bliss on demand It’s an idea in keeping with the Bay Area’s history as a playground for those chasing both peak performance and peak experience Most of us tend to outsource our happiness to external sources—imagining that if we could just get rid of one thing bothering us or obtain another thing we want a cognitive neuroscientist studying the jhanas at McGill University argues that this mindset overlooks our innate capabilities: “We don’t recognize that we have the profound power of shifting our own states by doing introspective work.” I join 42 others in a conference room at the Applegate Jesuit Retreat Center in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada five members of the Jhourney team—all young white guys—begin recounting how they went from viewing meditation as a chore to discovering real joy through the practice my own history with meditation is inconsistent at best I sometimes used a jaap mala (a loop of prayer beads) to distract myself from the urge to scratch inspired by my Hindu grandfather who meditated for an hour before dawn each day my attempts to meditate usually devolved into rumination I’ve come here with the same goal as everyone else: to learn how to tap into mind-blowing states of joy—in under a week reeling from simultaneous breakups with a co-founder and a girlfriend Zerfas signed up for a 10-day silent meditation retreat “I quickly learned things could get worse,” he tells the room at Applegate with a grim laugh he changed techniques and stumbled into the most euphoric experience he’d had in a year “If this was replicable,” he recalls thinking For the next year, he meditated daily and tried to hack his way back into that state. It wasn’t until 2021 that he came across Right Concentration, a jhana instruction book by American meditation teacher Leigh Brasington and found a framework that seemed to explain his experiences the jhanas largely fell out of common practice And even as Western Buddhist teachers have worked to make them more accessible mastering jhana still took significant time and dedication the assumption I had was that 30 people in the world could do this and maybe I’d be able to do it in my 80s if I practiced really hard,” says Kathryn Devaney The goal of dramatically reducing the effort needed to access these states motivated Zerfas to quit his software-engineering job at Lyft in 2021 and co-found Jhourney the following year with Alex Gruver “It was an insane thing to do,” Zerfas says “to try to replicate this thing that’s supposedly been around for a few millennia that nobody has heard of and then try to teach other people.” The company initially focused on developing neurotech soliciting feedback from around a dozen Buddhist teachers as they developed their approach They see themselves not as spiritual leaders teaching the Buddhist dharma but as “engineers” focused on sharing practical guidance as efficiently as possible Jhourney has guided over 400 people through 16 retreats and claims that more than two-thirds of participants enter jhana regardless of meditation experience The online retreats cost $1,100 and in-person ones start at $1,800 though a higher-end offering in June cost upward of $5,000 (Scholarships are available.) The hope is that within a few years Jhourney could be teaching tens of thousands of people the jhanas each year tech intervention will be necessary,” Zerfas says Read More: How Meditation Went Mainstream which has effectively secularized and scaled meditation techniques through apps and corporate programs which involves intimate teacher-student relationships and intensive retreats but Jhourney wants to promote a bold idea: that interventions can do more than bring those suffering up to a healthy baseline—they can also catapult the ostensibly well-adjusted into unprecedented levels of thriving Zerfas compares jhana to an inverted panic attack: instead of anxiety spiraling leading to intense states of bliss and peace “If you taught people how to navigate these positive-feedback loops in their own system it would be almost as valuable as reading and writing,” he argues Burning Man stickers decorate water bottles and conversations touch on Wim Hof ice baths and psychedelic therapy Most of the 43 people here—I’m one of only six women—are young affluent tech workers from the founders’ networks or who hang out on “meditation Twitter,” which skews heavily male We’re told that Jhourney has taken as many lessons from coding boot camps as it has from meditation retreats not hard; run your own experiments; keep iterating this crowd seems more focused on Silicon Valley-style optimization than traditional spiritual pursuits.  But during a welcome ceremony in the chapel on our first morning people open up about what brought them here: redefining their relationship to pleasure; showing up for loved ones; navigating a breakup or career transition Some confess they were hesitant to tell others about their plans aware that the idea of seeking altered states might seem esoteric or self-indulgent I’ve been telling people I’m here “on assignment,” but I quickly realize if I want to access the jhanas trying to stay detached and analytical isn’t going to work a giant white Jesus Christ on a crucifix looming above I’m reluctant to admit this, even to myself. While I’m not typically prone to anxiety or depression, the period before the retreat was among the hardest of my life. In the span of 10 months, I’d been diagnosed with severe endometriosis as well as a rare genetic form of diabetes; then the simple act of tying my shoe led to agony and emergency spinal surgery for a rare condition that could have caused permanent paralysis if not treated quickly enough or sit or stand for longer than 30 minutes without discomfort; I’d lost sensation on my left side from the hip down My relationship with my body had become defined almost entirely by pain and frustration Motion is lotion is what I was told repeatedly during rehab as movement helps nerves regenerate and signals your body to heal People kept congratulating me on how well I was doing I started doing app-guided breathing exercises and reading about meditation online Critics warn that Jhourney risks reducing a profound contemplative path to a quick fix that’s what appealed when I first emailed Gruver and Zerfas asking if I could attend a retreat and write about it I’d already lost countless hours to medical appointments unplugging from email and the news cycle for the first time in a decade My days begin with lakeside walks in the morning mist Group meditation sessions bookend each day Most days I meditate for six to eight hours lying on a sofa or under the trees listening to birdsong Humans aren’t designed to be still; meditation involves rewiring evolutionary instincts to seek pleasure and avoid pain A retreat forces you to confront your psychology Devaney says: “It’s really gnarly work—not a day at the spa.” we’re tasked with recalling positive memories as a way to spark the joy that might eventually lead to jhana I’m met with intense flashbacks from my year of medical crises when someone mentions falling asleep during meditation But the meditation works more quickly than I expected the flashbacks have faded and I find myself regularly drifting off no longer berating myself if I get distracted; if my inner critic pops up I visualize putting her in a hammock to lie down I become more alert to what I enjoy: one morning and rather than forcing myself to stay out of some misplaced sense of obligation cultivating positive emotions is harder than I anticipated has inadvertently muted my capacity for joy an internal voice questions my right to happiness in a world full of suffering The idea of unearned joy feels almost transgressive undermining everything I’ve learned about needing to work hard and accomplish things in order to be happy A turning point comes halfway through the retreat Tears flow as I realize how much anger I’ve been harboring—toward doctors who’d dismissed my symptoms people in my life who couldn’t see my suffering listening to birds chirping and frogs croaking able to examine whether an emotion feels open (like joy) or closed (like frustration) We are advised to take cold showers and taste hot sauce to notice when we are bracing against experience rather than surrendering to it I feel the tingles that apparently signal the start of the jhanas the kind of thing I once might have dismissed as pins and needles (Piti is the term Buddhists use; I think of it as a bubbly golden liquid like champagne.) But I keep running into unexpected resistance “There was an aspect of the Jhourney retreat that felt like you were a Pokémon and they were trying to get you to evolve jhana levels as quickly as possible in a week,” one participant tells me I increasingly feel the pressure of being surrounded by goal-oriented people who are succeeding where I am not One of the challenges with the jhanas is that as with falling in love ordinary speech doesn’t seem to do them justice Analogies abound: getting goose bumps while listening to music; cuddling with a partner after sex; the satisfaction of completing a major project One Jhourney participant likens the first jhana to the jolt of putting your tongue onto a battery while another describes a floating sensation so intense that she wondered if her water had been laced with MDMA There’s more consensus about the fourth jhana which seems to be characterized by a deep peace and equanimity a stark contrast to the internal dissonance most of us are used to in everyday life—thinking about emails while talking to a loved one or worrying about a past conversation while trying to enjoy a party “feels like every atom in your body has had a nice meal and is sitting back in its armchair after dinner It’s very profoundly like your whole system is on the same page.” Read More: How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating This unified state of mind can be a powerful tool for introspection and insight. Many Buddhists see the jhanas as preparation for deeper meditation leading to awakening, not as ends in themselves. “Jhanas offer a systematic training in letting go,” says Shaila Catherine author of Focused and Fearless (recently republished as The Jhanas) “A mark of genuine mastery of jhana is dispassion toward pleasure not seeking it on demand.” But some believe that even for those without loftier spiritual goals the jhanas can be valuable—helping people “move their emotional set point a little more towards the happy scale,” as Brasington puts it There are also intense debates about what “counts.” Some teachers say that jhana requires you to remain completely absorbed for long stretches without a single thought arising believes Jhourney is teaching pleasurable states that fall short of true jhana which she compares to steam powerful enough to drive a locomotive “If people think it’s steam when it’s water,” she says This is hardly new: for almost as long as people have been practicing the jhanas they’ve been arguing over how to define them Brasington says the disagreement stems partly from varying interpretations of ancient texts and partly from the fact people are inclined to believe their way is the right way While some teachers see “lighter” versions of the jhanas as more practical for modern lives emphasizing that it’s transparent about traditional definitions and helps connect participants with resources and teachers if they want to pursue further practice “We’re just helping people experience more joy when they meditate,” Gruver says “That seems like such an unambiguously good thing to me.” Read More:  Can Meditation Improve Your Health? Here’s What to Know compares her experience during a February retreat to six to eight months of therapy progress saying it felt as though she were “sitting in a circle holding hands and singing kumbaya with all the different parts of myself.” Jake Eaton describes a cathartic experience in which he grieved for the turbulence of his childhood while feeling gratitude for the progress he’s made since Even people who don’t reach jhana can find therapeutic effects like one man who cried for the first time in 30 years during his Jhourney retreat.  Startup founder Ruby Yu says since her retreat last fall she can’t remember the last time she got angry who is now working with Rasmussen to deepen her practice “Whether or not it’s what the Buddha was truly talking about in the suttas All I care is that it made meditation a lot easier for me.” While it’s tempting to think that science will be able to resolve these centuries-old debates neuroscientists say it’s difficult to define exactly at what point something is or isn’t a jhana “What we know is that the mind has the capacity to get deeply absorbed by certain experiences,” says Mago “What’s right or wrong in the end is defined by what helps people.” Richard J. Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, notes that even modest amounts of meditation—under 10 hours of practice in beginners—can change brain plasticity But he cautions against commercializing the jhanas prematurely “People saying this benefits them is all well and good “Anyone trying to monetize this should raise red flags.” Read More: How 5 Minutes of Daily Meditation Enhanced My Life Neuroscientists are increasingly trying to understand how the jhanas might affect the brain. A January study out of Harvard and Mass General found that the jhanas are related to distinct patterns of neural activity across various parts of the brain that correspond with experiential aspects including attention Preliminary research by Mago and Michael Lifshitz an assistant professor of psychiatry at McGill patterns of communication in the brain became more flexible and unpredictable and practitioners showed increased cognitive diversity and creativity afterward These early findings align with theories that deep concentration can short-circuit the brain’s predictive mechanisms—leading to vivid direct experience as mental chatter falls away “Our perception of the world is much more malleable and adaptable than we think,” says Lifshitz “and we can deliberately train our experience to function differently.” as if the mental creases that had gathered inside me were smoothing out and I find it hard to shake the idea that I’m letting down not just my instructors but also my future readers Experts say that paradox seems to lie at the heart of jhana but also be OK with not getting it,” says philosopher and meditation researcher Terje Sparby I share my dismay with instructor Grant Belsterling who encourages me to reframe my experience—to think of happiness less as a state and more as an ongoing process “You can have a goal without devaluing where you’re currently standing,” he tells me during a final 45-minute guided session with curriculum director Judah Newman I lie on a sofa with my eyes shut and describe a warm yellow feeling of friendliness spreading through my body Soon I run into a familiar obstacle: the lower left half of my body—still suffering nerve damage—is unable to fully experience that I’ve been in something of a holding pattern with no way of knowing if I might regain the sensation I’d lost Newman asks what the frustration is trying to tell me “To accept that things won’t ever be the same again,” I reply Another thought immediately follows: But they can still be good This realization unlocks something powerful a luminous yellow substance washes over me as if hope is saturating every cell of my body My mind is filled with a montage of positive images of the future alternating between deep contentment and intense glee I laugh uncontrollably for a minute or two He smiles: “That’s usually what I think of as the first jhana.” Whether it’s real or “diluted” seems beside the point I experience a kind of surreal afterglow: flowers and leaves seem brighter and I feel a newfound lightness toward people around me I feel compassion rather than frustration toward myself stay for the personal growth,” acknowledges that while confronting internal conflicts can be unpleasant the marketing has often glossed over its primary purpose: radically transforming one’s sense of self and reality That reshaping of perception can be seriously destabilizing “People didn’t know what they were signing up for when they were just paying attention to their breath,” says Ruben Laukkonen a meditation researcher at Australia’s Southern Cross University There’s an increasing awareness of the potential risks of meditation, especially in high doses, as reports of depression “The journey to the cliff edge can be incredibly short,” warns Daniel Ingram a retired emergency-medicine physician and author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha One woman’s Jhourney experience illustrates these concerns who requested anonymity to protect her privacy says she had informed the company of her history with depression but quickly began to feel highly agitated during an online retreat I lived in a state of very intense alarm,” says the woman While she thinks the experience may have ultimately been beneficial And though she praised the facilitators’ compassionate response feeling that they were too young and inexperienced to guide her fellow meditators discouraged her from speaking out fearing she might “tank” a cool new company people who have a bad experience might be tempted not to talk about it,” she says “because they’re afraid that they’ll seem like buzzkills.” Jhourney declines to comment on specific individuals but acknowledges the risks estimating that 1% of participants have experienced difficult emotions from some sort of internal conflict or trauma—but claiming they almost all later find the experience positive Establishing the dangers of meditation is tricky: no one tracks base rates; meditation may attract those with pre-existing psychological challenges; some believe discussing negative experiences can become self-fulfilling prophecies; factors like participant selection criteria (Jhourney uses Imperial College London’s exclusion criteria for psychedelic research to screen participants.) Critics like meditation teacher Vince Horn have accused Jhourney of “arrogantly endangering people’s mental health” in pursuit of capital gain. But Zerfas and Gruver believe their approach is safer than that of other retreats, highlighting innovative measures they’ve implemented in consultation with top experts says Jhourney’s plan sets a new industry standard “the kind of thorough and thoughtful approach I’ve long hoped to see in the field of meditation.” Much of the backlash against Jhourney stems from a deeper skepticism among many Buddhists toward commercializing spiritual practices They warn that fast-tracking the jhanas outside of the structure of ancient lineages risks overlooking crucial insights and that meditation stripped of its ethical core could be weaponized for ego-boosting or other destructive tendencies.  And yet millions could potentially benefit from deep meditative practices without subscribing to Buddhist norms Secular teachings may also offer people more agency than traditional hierarchical models “We want a plurality of ethics,” says Lifshitz “We don’t want to assume that just because someone is a skilled meditator and a good teacher they have the right ideas about what’s good in the world.”  Zerfas doesn’t believe any religion can claim IP on the jhanas not inventions.” He says it’s almost a “moral imperative” to share them widely and companies can scale access more effectively than nonprofits “For-profit models live or die by their impact,” he says And while Gruver recognizes that Jhourney’s current staff may be positioned to teach a certain audience many organizations could work together to discover how different demographics best learn these techniques “There are going to be hundreds of approaches to this problem In the final season of the TV show The Good Place the characters arrive in the afterlife only to discover that even eternal bliss can lose its luster “Everyone is a happiness zombie!” one character exclaims The scene captures a key concern some Buddhists have about Jhourney’s approach They fear it might create “jhana junkies” who get overly attached to pleasurable states missing out on deeper spiritual insights that reduce self-interest and increase wisdom and compassion Critics argue that without proper follow-up practitioners might just sit around getting high on self-generated pleasure finding the bliss button doesn’t make you want to press it all the time a writer who has been meditating for over a decade describes the jhanas as “cool toys that you tend to put away after an initial period of obsession.” Pure pleasure Modern meditation culture draws in a wide array of people from the deeply suffering to the casually curious from spiritual New Age seekers to productivity hackers “Aren’t we all here to become a more effective person?” one man candidly remarked during my retreat While it’s easy to dismiss the interest in the jhanas as another Silicon Valley fad Devaney argues that even the much derided Bay Area “optimizer” mindset can be a starting point for real transformation “If you’re going to try to do something to make yourself feel better than other people it’s better to meditate than to buy a helicopter,” she says the meditation is going to show you yourself in a way that buying all the helicopters is not.” Jhourney does seem to be offering a taste of profound states to many who might otherwise never encounter them discover a new appreciation for meditation that may ultimately lead to deeper self-exploration “Jhana is like pouring water onto the leaves of a plant,” Cammarata argues My curiosity about Jhourney had been sparked by a desire for a quick fix Two months and many hours of meditation later and while self-compassion may not come naturally I’m less inclined to fight my body’s limitations—instead tapping back into that feeling of wholeness In trying to make myself “better,” I stumbled upon an age-old lesson: true peace comes from accepting things just as they are Write to Naina Bajekal / Applegate, Calif. at naina.bajekal@time.com Volume 4 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fneph.2024.1375538 This article is part of the Research TopicCase Reports in Frontiers in NephrologyView all 12 articles Background: Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is a rare kidney disease commonly characterized histopathologically by focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) or minimal change disease One-third of SRNS-FSGS cases are attributed to a genetic cause ultimately leading to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) during childhood or adulthood typically manifest in early adulthood as SRNS-FSGS with autosomal dominant inheritance pattern and are associated with variable progression toward ESKD Case–diagnosis/treatment: A 10-year-old Chilean male patient born to a complicated pregnancy without any history of prenatal care was incidentally found to have mild proteinuria during pre-surgery analysis He was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome and treatment with prednisone was started and a kidney biopsy exhibited FSGS features he reached ESKD and initiated peritoneal dialysis experiencing an episode of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome Exome sequencing identified a novel variant of uncertain significance (VUS) ACTN4 c.625_633del that predicted the in-frame deletion p.L209_E211del in a highly conserved functional domain He requested to be considered for kidney transplantation and the VUS in ACTN4 was re-analyzed to assess potential risks resulting in a reclassification as likely pathogenic (PM1+PM2+PM4 criteria) he received a deceased donor kidney allograft without recurrence during the subsequent 5 months Conclusions: Identifying VUS is a recurring challenge in routine clinical genetics particularly for patients with rare diseases or atypical phenotypes in underrepresented populations This case underscores the benefit of timely genetic diagnosis taking into account the patient’s request VUS reassessment becomes more relevant when considering a kidney transplant not only as an appropriate procedure especially considering the patient’s history of complications with variable long-term consequences we present a Chilean male patient who was carrier of a novel variant in ACTN4 that was re-evaluated given the rapid progression to ESKD in order to guide decisions regarding kidney transplantation including third-degree relatives that did not document history of kidney disease at the time of the study At the time of the first nephrological evaluation he did not present psychomotor retardation previous urinary tract infections or enuresis which reported inadequate cortico-medullary differentiation and renal sinus displaying a duplicated pyelocalyceal system in the right kidney with no other significant findings Blood tests revealed normal serum creatinine (0.8 mg/dL) hypoalbuminemia (2.47 g/dL) and increased total cholesterol (499 mg/dL) phosphorus and magnesium serum levels were in normal range A urine analysis showed increased isolated proteinuria (300 mg/dL) The sample submitted for EM did not contain glomeruli limiting our ability to assess ultrastructural features in this specific case the combination of histopathological LM and IF features were considered compatible with FSGS and provided valuable insights into the structural alterations Histological findings in kidney biopsy revealed focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis At this point, considering that remission remained elusive despite conventional therapeutic intervention, genetic analysis emerged as a critical diagnostic priority. The first genetic analysis was performed for NPHS2, considering that the p.R229Q and p.A284V variants in NPHS2 are highly prevalent among Chilean patients with SRNS-FSGS (10) This genetic test was easily available but did not identify variants a protocol with cyclophosphamide was initiated and oral prednisone dosage was reduced to 50 mg due to the high suspicion of SRNS Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) identified a novel heterozygous variant of uncertain significance (VUS) This 9-bp deletion identified in exon 6 predicted an in-frame deletion of 3 amino acids Segregation analysis within the family was not possible and the ACTN4 p.L209_E211del variant identified in our patient was assumed de novo V261 and S262 at the ending of the CH2 domain and was classified as likely pathogenic (PM1+PM2+PM4+PP3+PP4 criteria) the analysis by the metapredictor Varsome classified the ACTN4 p.L209_E211del variant as likely pathogenic (PM1+PM2+PM4 criteria) the heterozygous condition of the ACTN4 variant resulted compatible with the autosomal dominant inheritance pattern described for SRNS-FSGS recurrence after transplant was considered to have a very low risk of recurrence it was decided to enlist the patient in the national deceased donor waiting list The sequence surrounding the position of the ACTN4 variant identified in the patient The predicted deletion in ACTN4 of the 3 amino acids our patient received an allogeneic kidney allograft from a deceased donor with a significant and progressive reduction of proteinuria within the first weeks At his nephrological visit 5 months after transplantation His creatinine clearance resulted in 101 mL/min indicative of an optimal kidney function and a favorable prognosis In this case, incidental proteinuria was discovered in the context of a non-related pre-surgery analysis. This illustrates the importance of exhaustively studying and not ignoring these findings, especially in pediatric patients that start steroids in the context of proteinuric disease, since complications can be avoided with early diagnosis and prompt treatment (12) The biopsy results in our patient reported classical FSGS findings and the combination of LM and IF analysis provided valuable insights prompting further genetic analysis to elucidate the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the clinical phenotype a novel heterozygous missense variant was found in the ABD in a 17-year-old Chinese girl which motivated a literature review that reported 17 VUS and 22 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in the ACTN4 gene the majorities of the pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were confirmed to be de novo and were located in the ABD between amino acids 50-269 This was a significant finding considering that the variant in our patient was a deletion of amino acids 209-211 in ACTN4 playing a fundamental role in the decision making process because it motivated the re-analysis of the VUS and consequently led to the consideration of kidney transplantation the patient did not present recurrence during the subsequent 5 months suggesting that the ACTN4 p.L209_E211del variant was most likely the cause of the SRNS-FSGS The identification of VUS is a recurrent problem in routine clinical genetics, especially in patients with rare diseases or atypical phenotypes, who carry novel variants either through de novo occurrences or founder effects in populations with limited genomic resources. Recently, it has been noted that VUS variants make up the largest proportion of human genomic variations, comprising approximately 2 million entries in the ClinVar database (17) Rather than representing a dead end without further solutions VUS should be re-analyzed as a standard of care in benefit of patients’ outcomes considering the patient’s clinical evolution The use of exome sequencing to identify variants has demonstrated clinical utility, particularly in the context of rare diseases. Establishing a program for these conditions appears indispensable and feasible in countries with limited genomic resources (21) Its global adoption is foreseen to increase over time and researchers and physicians enhance their training more efforts are needed to foster research and to promote reaching a genetic diagnosis in patients aligning with the goal to ‘leave no one behind’ as advocated by the World Health Organization and the United Nations ideally through collaborative data-sharing initiatives The dataset presented in the study are deposited in the FigShare repository, accession DOI number is https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28212140.v1 The studies involving humans were approved by Comite Ético Científico-Servicio de Salud Valdivia The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research The genetic analysis was partially funded by the FONDECYT #111-40242 The article processing charges were funded by ANID-InGE 210028 We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable support and expertise provided by the Servicio de Genética at Hospital Luis Calvo Mackenna whose dedication and assistance were fundamental in the successful completion of the genetic analysis of the patient We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of all the healthcare professionals and researchers and the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) that aided the efforts of the authors We used Grammarly to identify and correct grammar The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneph.2024.1375538/full#supplementary-material Supplementary Figure 1 | Immunofluorescence analysis resulted negative for IgG Management of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome in children and adolescents nephrotic syndrome and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: a HuGE review doi: 10.1097/01.gim.0000200947.09626.1c The podocyte slit diaphragm–from a thin grey line to a complex signalling hub A single-gene cause in 29.5% of cases of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome cause familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis ACTN4 mutants binding to actin: regulation by phosphomimetic mutations Case report and literature review: a de novo pathogenic missense variant in ACTN4 gene caused rapid progression to end-stage renal disease Hereditary podocytopathies in adults: the next generation PubMed Abstract | Crossref Full Text | Google Scholar Standards and guidelines for the interpretation of sequence variants: a joint consensus recommendation of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology Identificación de variantes del gen NPHS2 en niños con síndrome nefrótico corticorresistente [NPHS2 Mutation analysis study in children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome Genomic and clinical profiling of a national nephrotic syndrome cohort advocates a precision medicine approach to disease management Steroid-associated side effects in patients with primary proteinuric kidney disease PubMed Abstract | Crossref Full Text | Google Scholar Is kidney biopsy necessary in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome IPNA clinical practice recommendations for the diagnosis and management of children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome Executive summary of the KDIGO 2021 guideline for the Management of Glomerular Diseases The landscape of reported VUS in multi-gene panel and genomic testing: time for a change A systematic review and meta-analysis of the rate and risk factors for post-transplant disease recurrence in children with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome Three-layered proteomic characterization of a novel ACTN4 mutation unravels its pathogenic potential in FSGS Cost-effectiveness of targeted exome analysis as a diagnostic test in glomerular diseases Decoding complex inherited phenotypes in rare disorders: the DECIPHERD initiative for rare undiagnosed diseases in Chile Keywords: steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome Ceballos ML and Krall P (2025) Case report: Novel ACTN4 variant of uncertain significance in a pediatric case of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome requesting kidney transplantation Received: 24 January 2024; Accepted: 09 December 2024;Published: 31 January 2025 Copyright © 2025 Alarcón, Peralta, Cammarata-Scalisi, Araya Castillo, Cano, Rojo, Ceballos and Krall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Paola Krall, cGFvbGEua3JhbGxAdWNoaWxlLmNs Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish. Cammarata was originally from Canton, Mass. He played prep hockey at St. Sebastian’s and was a four-year member of the Warriors from 1999-03. Cammarata served as one of Merrimack’s captains during the 2002-03 season alongside Joe Exter, Marco Rosa, and Lucas Smith. After 127 games as a Warrior, Cammarata played four seasons professionally in the ECHL, SPHL, CHL, as well as a brief stint in Italy. Cammarata recently embarked on a coaching career. He was an assistant coach with the Vernal Oilers (CAJHL) in 2021-22 and was later hired as the head coach of the Texas Jr. Brahmas (NA3HL). Last season he was an assistant coach with the Badlands Sabres (NA3HL). This spring, Cammarata was hired as the 15U Academy coach for the NH Jr. Mountain Kings, which play out of Concord, N.H. He was also going to serve as an assistant coach for the organization’s NAHL junior team. Cammarata recently posted on Facebook that he was excited to get back to coaching in New England. The Mountain Kings hired him in May. Our thoughts and condolences to Cammarata’s family, his friends, and his former teammates. Memorial Service at 10AM and light reception to immediately follow. ReplyShare2 more comments...TopLatestDiscussionsNo posts Former Merrimack defenseman Nick Cammarata died this week at the age of 44 years old Sebastian\u2019s and was a four-year member of the Warriors from 1999-03 Cammarata served as one of Merrimack\u2019s captains during the 2002-03 season alongside Joe Exter Cammarata played four seasons professionally in the ECHL Cammarata recently embarked on a coaching career He was an assistant coach with the Vernal Oilers (CAJHL) in 2021-22 and was later hired as the head coach of the Texas Jr Cammarata was hired as the 15U Academy coach for the NH Jr He was also going to serve as an assistant coach for the organization\u2019s NAHL junior team Cammarata recently posted on Facebook that he was excited to get back to coaching in New England Our thoughts and condolences to Cammarata\u2019s family meaning that it will require litigation in state court to clear the title and two of the three who showed up to be deposed agreed that they had received the subpoenas asking for responsive documents but simply failed to look for or produce them The only witness who even claimed to have complied was Rudy’s [cough] podcast co-host Maria Ryan and insisted that it was her habit to immediately delete all correspondence pertaining to “the Mayor,” and that his calendar was maintained via a system of “sticky notes” that were also — if you can even believe it — immediately discarded Judge Liman was mad impressed. He excluded every witness but Ryan and Rudy himself rejecting Cammarata’s suggestion that the proper remedy was to hold said witnesses in contempt and seek to enforce compliance it is his own discovery violations that have prevented that option from becoming viable,” the judge scoffed “There is no time for the Court to initiate contempt proceedings against [Rudy’s body man Ted] Goodman before the scheduled trial.” noting that “Defendant does not address Plaintiffs’ argument that he should be precluded from relying on documents that he did not produce in discovery,” he granted that motion as well Realizing that his client was effectively precluded from defending himself by introducing evidence he failed to produce during discovery Cammarata leapt into action… sort of At 10pm, he filed a “Notice of Interlocutory Appeal” apprising the Second Circuit that: Liman excluded two witnesses from being able to testify at trial on January 16 and THEODORE GOODMAN who should not have been excluded from testifying The Order stated no legal legitimate basis for excluding MONSIGNOR ALAN PLACA or THEODORE GOODMAN from testifying is improper and a wrongful prejudicial decision of the Court The Court improperly ruled that granting a continuance of the trial would be not practicable without any lawful basis for such decision The Court granted much more lengthy discovery schedules to other cases Giuliani who challenged the 2020 election is being treated differently to cause prejudice to the Defendant When Defendant requested a continuance to have the trial after the inauguration of President Donald J Trump as the 47th President of the United States although the court set a very agressive [sic] schedule from Initial Conference to trial The Court’s prejudicial actions is to deny Defendant a fair trial while there is no prejudice to Plaintiffs you can’t take an immediate interlocutory appeal of a pretrial ruling in federal court Rudy's in-way-over-his-head lawyer in the (federal) collections case in New York has just purported to file an interlocutory appeal to the 2d Circuit over the trial court's partial grant of a motion in limine.storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us… — P. Andrew Torrez (@andrewtorrez.bsky.social) 2025-01-14T03:38:48.545Z The fun continued this morning at a pre-trial conference where Judge Liman denied Cammarata’s motion for reconsideration Cammarata demanded that the court admit Placa’s testimony because the retired cleric “answers to a higher authority.” or some of them.Giuliani's lawyer Cammarata: Monsignor Placa answers to a higher authority than this court-Judge: What do you mean by that?Cammarata: God — Inner City Press (@innercitypress.bsky.social) 2025-01-14T15:51:17.190Z And Lemon, it’s only Wednesday. OH, SHIT, DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME IT’S TUESDAY? Well, time flies when you’re getting held in contempt of two separate courts inside ten days Freeman v. Giuliani [New York Docket via Court Listener] Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she produces the Law and Chaos substack and podcast This tweak to your financial management seems like a no-brainer MyCase streamlines your firm so you can focus on winning cases See how much time you could save with our Law Firm Time Savings Calculator—try it now Lexis Create+ merges legacy drafting tools with AI-powered assistance from Protégé and secure DMS integration enabled by the Henchman acquisition Lexi Cammarata (4) of Wallkill Valley moves the ball against Kelsey Callahan (12) of Vernon during the field hockey game at Wallkill Valley HS in Hamburg .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Anthony Gabbianelli | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comLexi Cammarata led the Wallkill Valley offense with four goals and two assists to help shutout North Warren Antonella Ferrari made seven saves to preserve the shutout for Wallkill Valley (2-10) Ella Darvalics had a hat trick and notched four assists for Wallkill Valley Olivia Fisher scored a goal and Jenna Cammarata had an assist The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter) The New Hampshire Mountain Kings, where Cammarata was an assistant coach, unveiled a jersey patch that their NAHL team will wear in his honor this season. Cammarata was the head coach of the program’s U15 academy team and was an assistant coach on the NAHL team. Cammarata was originally from Canton, Mass. He played prep hockey at St. Sebastian’s and was a four-year member of the Warriors from 1999-03. Cammarata served as one of Merrimack’s captains during the 2002-03 season alongside Joe Exter, Marco Rosa, and Lucas Smith. ReplyShareTopLatestDiscussionsNo posts There will be a memorial service for former Merrimack defenseman Nick Cammarata on Monday, June 17. The service will begin at 10 a.m. at Ward Hall on the campus of St. Sebastian\u2019s School (1191 Greendale Ave., Needham, Mass.). The New Hampshire Mountain Kings, where Cammarata was an assistant coach, unveiled a jersey patch that their NAHL team will wear in his honor this season. Cammarata was the head coach of the program\u2019s U15 academy team and was an assistant coach on the NAHL team. Daiquiris & Daisies duo Daren Swisher and Joseph Cammarata are behind the project Our Wildly Comprehensive Guide to Eating and Drinking in Fenway We Can’t Wait for These Greater Boston Restaurant Openings in 2025 Here’s Where to Find the Top Doughnuts in Boston Rainfall is down 40% since 2003 and experts predict a third of Sicily will be desert by 2030 Luca Cammarata looks to the sky in the hope that some clouds on the horizon will bring a few drops of water Cammarata’s 200 goats graze on a parched landscape resembling a lunar surface forced to eat dry weeds and drink from a muddy pond The 53-year-old has never experienced a drought like it “I will be forced to butcher my livestock and close down my farm.” there is no longer any water for the animals to drink,” Cammarata said “The only water resource we have is this artificial pond We ask the authorities to send the army to help us get water to the farms A farmer can’t bear to see their animals die of thirst.” In May the government in Rome declared a state of emergency over the Sicilian drought allocating €20m in assistance – well short of the €130m requested by the regional government Luca Cammarata with his goats near his farm Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianChristian Mulder a professor of ecology and climate emergency at the University of Catania on the island painted a stark picture of Sicily’s future while criticising what he said were serious failures on the part of regional and national authorities a third of the territory of Sicily will become a desert comparable to the lands of Tunisia and Libya,” Mulder said “The entire strip facing the Sicilian Channel [waters separating Sicily from Africa] is doomed to desertification The ancient Arabs who once inhabited the island had successfully devised ways to manage water these old aqueducts have not been maintained or updated Sicily is now facing the concrete consequences of decades of mismanagement of water resources.” drinking water in the island is sourced from aquifers subterranean rock layers saturated with water while water for agriculture is stored in large tanks constructed after the second world war Both systems rely on increasingly scarce winter rainfall essential maintenance to the irrigation network has been neglected diminishing the capacity of the island’s reservoirs “Once we had artificial ponds that so that the livestock could drink during grazing,” Cammarata said all the small artificial ponds have dried up.” Cammarata’s goats eat dry weeds. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianIn October 2023, average temperatures in the island ranged between 28 and 30C, with peaks reaching 34-35C, making it the hottest October in Sicily in the past 100 years But the real problem comes in summer, when temperatures approach 48C and waves of fires pulverise what little vegetation remains. Last year, according to an estimate made by the regional civil protection agency, fires caused more than €60m (£51m) worth of damage. More than 693 hectares (1,712 acres) of woodland on the island were destroyed “It gets worse every day,” said Liborio Mangiapane Sicily, Malta and Spain are among the Mediterranean regions most affected by severe drought conditions. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has forecast that heatwaves and droughts will increasingly afflict these areas in the next few decades Nationwide agricultural production declined by 1.8% in 2023 due to the impact of the climate emergency, according to the national statistics agency The agency reported decreases in wine production of 17.4% and fruit production of 11.2% is striving to support farmers by dipping into its own pockets to buy water in order to refill artificial lakes Free weekly newsletterThe planet's most important stories Get all the week's environment news - the good “The situation continues to deteriorate,” said Francesco Ferreri “The damages suffered within the agricultural sector are now reverberating across other economic domains We must address this issue and prudently manage the limited resources at hand by prioritising those farmers most in need.” The drought is driving young Sicilian farmers out of the industry and off the island, according to the Association of Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs. Coldiretti estimates that the water shortage has already cost 33,000 jobs in the fields of southern Italy Farmers have been demonstrating for months over the sector’s crisis with many refusing to vote in local and European elections as a form of protest some reservoirs designated for drinking water were operating at just 10% of capacity in March aiming to establish the world’s northernmost coffee farm “It is true that Sicily is becoming more tropical [in terms of temperatures],” Mulder said it’s not uncommon to have 2-3 metres of rainfall a year “We are facing a situation more disastrous than ever leaving us unable to provide water for our animals « Back from the firehouse on East Second Street in Alphabet City a phone call was made to the Cammarata family from their youngest son Michael He left a message on his father’s voicemail stating: “I am going to the World Trade Center Those were the last words he said to his family He was only 22 years old on the date of the attack He was looking forward to graduating the fire academy and being permanently assigned to Ladder 11 Michael was given the gift to carry on his uncle’s shield number of 33 years Playing Little League Baseball as an all star he competed in the Little League World Series reaching second in the United States and third in the world Michael was playing junior varsity for Tottenville High School while still a student at Intermediate School 7 As he continued to travel the country and Canada playing hockey he then moved on to be a student at Tottenville High School he was assistant captain and won the Best Defenseman title for Tottenville hockey as an all star for the New York Ice Hockey Association he achieved the Most Valuable Player Award from his team he won the Best Defenseman and the scoring title for the first time in New York High School Ice Hockey History Michael was scouted by the Wagner College Hockey Club on Staten Island soon to be named Rookie of the Year in 1996 he was the youngest to be named MVP in Wagner College history he led his team to the Metropolitan Collegiate Conference Championship title Michael left college to work in the building industry with his father he was anxiously awaiting a call to be accepted for a job as a fireman Michael scored an impressive 105 perfect score on the New York Fireman’s Test He was quickly called to duty and sworn in as a firefighter on May 3 He was in his 14-week training program awaiting official graduation he was not given the opportunity to be a part of his graduation Michael had an extreme love and closeness for his family His personality made light of any dark situation Some friends of Michael say he had the utmost class “you can never find a better best friend.” 2 – Don’t mourn me this is the career I chose 4 – Remember I love you all and will be waiting for you upstairs Michael had many accomplishments and took on a lot of responsibility because he chose goals and put all of his effort into reaching them Knowing Mike means being able to say he went in to the World Trade Center that day knowing he may not be coming home