ECONOMIC AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF ALTERNATIVE BOVINE BRUCELLOSIS PROGRAMS

This paper analyzes policy implications arising from the National Brucellosis Technical Commission Study. A systems simulation model was designed to estimate physical losses resulting from alternative bovine brucellosis programs. Changes in benefits, costs, level of infection and net benefits were calculated by program alternatives for determining economic and epidemiologic implications. Results indicate all alternative programs considered yield positive net benefits and reduce the prevalence of the disease. The results imply a need for further research to determine a program that is both epidemiologically and economically optimal.Livestock Production/Industries,

The Evolution of Spinnable Cotton Fiber Entailed Prolonged Development and a Novel Metabolism

A central question in evolutionary biology concerns the developmental processes by which new phenotypes arise. An exceptional example of evolutionary innovation is the single-celled seed trichome in Gossypium (“cotton fiber”). We have used fiber development in Gossypium as a system to understand how morphology can rapidly evolve. Fiber has undergone considerable morphological changes between the short, tightly adherent fibers of G. longicalyx and the derived long, spinnable fibers of its closest relative, G. herbaceum, which facilitated cotton domestication. We conducted comparative gene expression profiling across a developmental time-course of fibers from G. longicalyx and G. herbaceum using microarrays with ∼22,000 genes. Expression changes between stages were temporally protracted in G. herbaceum relative to G. longicalyx, reflecting a prolongation of the ancestral developmental program. Gene expression and GO analyses showed that many genes involved with stress responses were upregulated early in G. longicalyx fiber development. Several candidate genes upregulated in G. herbaceum have been implicated in regulating redox levels and cell elongation processes. Three genes previously shown to modulate hydrogen peroxide levels were consistently expressed in domesticated and wild cotton species with long fibers, but expression was not detected by quantitative real time-PCR in wild species with short fibers. Hydrogen peroxide is important for cell elongation, but at high concentrations it becomes toxic, activating stress processes that may lead to early onset of secondary cell wall synthesis and the end of cell elongation. These observations suggest that the evolution of long spinnable fibers in cotton was accompanied by novel expression of genes assisting in the regulation of reactive oxygen species levels. Our data suggest a model for the evolutionary origin of a novel morphology through differential gene regulation causing prolongation of an ancestral developmental program

Gene expression in developing fibres of Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was massively altered by domestication

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding the evolutionary genetics of modern crop phenotypes has a dual relevance to evolutionary biology and crop improvement. Modern upland cotton (<it>Gossypium hirsutum </it>L.) was developed following thousands of years of artificial selection from a wild form, <it>G. hirsutum </it>var. <it>yucatanense</it>, which bears a shorter, sparser, layer of single-celled, ovular trichomes ('fibre'). In order to gain an insight into the nature of the developmental genetic transformations that accompanied domestication and crop improvement, we studied the transcriptomes of cotton fibres from wild and domesticated accessions over a developmental time course.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fibre cells were harvested between 2 and 25 days post-anthesis and encompassed the primary and secondary wall synthesis stages. Using amplified messenger RNA and a custom microarray platform designed to interrogate expression for 40,430 genes, we determined global patterns of expression during fibre development. The fibre transcriptome of domesticated cotton is far more dynamic than that of wild cotton, with over twice as many genes being differentially expressed during development (12,626 versus 5273). Remarkably, a total of 9465 genes were diagnosed as differentially expressed between wild and domesticated fibres when summed across five key developmental time points. Human selection during the initial domestication and subsequent crop improvement has resulted in a biased upregulation of components of the transcriptional network that are important for agronomically advanced fibre, especially in the early stages of development. About 15% of the differentially expressed genes in wild versus domesticated cotton fibre have no homology to the genes in databases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We show that artificial selection during crop domestication can radically alter the transcriptional developmental network of even a single-celled structure, affecting nearly a quarter of the genes in the genome. Gene expression during fibre development within accessions and expression alteration arising from evolutionary change appears to be 'modular' - complex genic networks have been simultaneously and similarly transformed, in a coordinated fashion, as a consequence of human-mediated selection. These results highlight the complex alteration of the global gene expression machinery that resulted from human selection for a longer, stronger and finer fibre, as well as other aspects of fibre physiology that were not consciously selected. We illustrate how the data can be mined for genes that were unwittingly targeted by aboriginal and/or modern domesticators during crop improvement and/or which potentially control the improved qualities of domesticated cotton fibre.</p> <p>See Commentary: <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/137</url></p

Airway CD8+CD8^+ T Cells Induced by Pulmonary DNA Immunization Mediate Protective Anti-Viral Immunity

Vaccination strategies for protection against a number of respiratory pathogens must induce T-cell populations in both the pulmonary airways and peripheral lymphoid organs. In this study, we show that pulmonary immunization using plasmid DNA formulated with the polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI-DNA) induced antigen-specific $CD8^+$ T cells in the airways that persisted long after antigen local clearance. The persistence of the cells was not mediated by local lymphocyte proliferation or persistent antigen presentation within the lung or airways. These vaccine-induced $CD8^+$ T cells effectively mediated protective immunity against respiratory challenges with vaccinia virus and influenza virus. Moreover, this protection was not dependent upon the recruitment of T cells from peripheral sites. These findings demonstrate that pulmonary immunization with PEI-DNA is an efficient approach for inducing robust pulmonary $CD8^+$ T-cell populations that are effective at protecting against respiratory pathogens

Can Medication Free, Treatment-Resistant, Depressed Patients Who Initially Respond to TMS Be Maintained Off Medications? A Prospective, 12-Month Multisite Randomized Pilot Study

AbstractBackgroundRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is efficacious for acute treatment of resistant major depressive disorder (MDD), but there is little information on maintenance TMS after acute response.Objective/hypothesisThis pilot feasibility study investigated 12-month outcomes comparing two maintenance TMS approaches – a scheduled, single TMS session delivered monthly (SCH) vs. observation only (OBS).MethodsAntidepressant-free patients with unipolar, non-psychotic, treatment-resistant MDD participated in a randomized, open-label, multisite trial. Patients meeting protocol-defined criteria for improvement after six weeks of acute TMS were randomized to SCH or OBS regimens. TMS reintroduction was available for symptomatic worsening; all patients remained antidepressant-free during the trial.ResultsSixty-seven patients enrolled in the acute phase, and 49 (73%) met randomization criteria. Groups were matched, although more patients in the SCH group had failed ≥2 antidepressants (p = .035). There were no significant group differences on any outcome measure. SCH patients had nonsignificantly longer time to first TMS reintroduction, 91 ± 66 days, vs. OBS, 77 ± 52 days; OBS patients were nonsignificantly more likely to need reintroduction (odds ratio = 1.21, 95% CI .38–3.89). Reintroduction lasted 14.3 ± 17.8 days (SCH) and 16.9 ± 18.9 days (OBS); 14/18 (78%) SCH and 17/27 (63%) OBS responded to reintroduction. Sixteen patients (32.7%) completed all 53 weeks of the study.ConclusionsMaintaining treatment-resistant depressed patients off medications with periodic TMS appears feasible in some cases. There was no statistical advantage of SCH vs. OBS, although SCH was associated with a nonsignificantly longer time to relapse. Those who initially respond to TMS have a strong chance of re-responding if relapse occurs

Detection of RNA from a Novel West Nile-like Virus and High Prevalence of an Insect-specific Flavivirus in Mosquitoes in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

As part of our ongoing surveillance efforts for West Nile virus (WNV) in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, 96,687 mosquitoes collected from January through December 2007 were assayed by virus isolation in mammalian cells. Three mosquito pools caused cytopathic effect. Two isolates were orthobunyaviruses (Cache Valley virus and Kairi virus) and the identity of the third infectious agent was not determined. A subset of mosquitoes was also tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using WNV-, flavivirus-, alphavirus-, and orthobunyavirus-specific primers. A total of 7,009 Culex quinquefasciatus in 210 pools were analyzed. Flavivirus RNA was detected in 146 (70%) pools, and all PCR products were sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of one PCR product was most closely related (71-73% identity) with homologous regions of several other flaviviruses, including WNV, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and Ilheus virus. These data suggest that a novel flavivirus (tentatively named T\u27Ho virus) is present in Mexico. The other 145 PCR products correspond to Culex flavivirus, an insect-specific flavivirus first isolated in Japan in 2003. Culex flavivirus was isolated in mosquito cells from approximately one in four homogenates tested. The genomic sequence of one isolate was determined. Surprisingly, heterogeneous sequences were identified at the distal end of the 5\u27 untranslated region

Spot the difference: Comparing results of analyses from real patient data and synthetic derivatives

BACKGROUND: Synthetic data may provide a solution to researchers who wish to generate and share data in support of precision healthcare. Recent advances in data synthesis enable the creation and analysis of synthetic derivatives as if they were the original data; this process has significant advantages over data deidentification. OBJECTIVES: To assess a big-data platform with data-synthesizing capabilities (MDClone Ltd., Beer Sheva, Israel) for its ability to produce data that can be used for research purposes while obviating privacy and confidentiality concerns. METHODS: We explored three use cases and tested the robustness of synthetic data by comparing the results of analyses using synthetic derivatives to analyses using the original data using traditional statistics, machine learning approaches, and spatial representations of the data. We designed these use cases with the purpose of conducting analyses at the observation level (Use Case 1), patient cohorts (Use Case 2), and population-level data (Use Case 3). RESULTS: For each use case, the results of the analyses were sufficiently statistically similar ( DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This article presents the results of each use case and outlines key considerations for the use of synthetic data, examining their role in clinical research for faster insights and improved data sharing in support of precision healthcare

Critical analysis of information security culture definitions

This article aims to advance the understanding of information security culture through a critical reflection on the wide-ranging definitions of information security culture in the literature. It uses the hermeneutic approach for conducting literature reviews. The review identifies 16 definitions of information security culture in the literature. Based on the analysis of these definitions, four different views of culture are distinguished. The shared values view highlights the set of cultural value patterns that are shared across the organization. An action-based view highlights the behaviors of individuals in the organization. A mental model view relates to the abstract view of the individual’s thinking on how information security culture must work. Finally, a problem-solving view emphasizes a combination of understanding from shared value-based and action-based views. The paper analyzes and presents the limitations of these four views of information security culture definitions