Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia; Emberizidae) reliably broadcast information about perceived threats using alarm calls

Expanding our understanding of signal complexity in animals could start with thevery smallest songbirds. Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) can encodevery specific details about a threat in their acoustically simple alarm calls. Can othersmall songbird species, such as the Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), encode thatsame level of detail in their even simpler alarms? Furthermore, is it possible for them tointerpret those details, and are those details reliable? I measured the response of Songsparrows to the suggestion of a threat (two recordings of Song sparrow alarms, one inwhich the call elements were played much faster than a normal call and one in whichthey were played much slower) then, separately, to the threat itself (a taxadermic mountof an Eastern screech owl, Megascops asio), and then to a non-threating control (aNorthern bobwhite, Colinus virginianus). The Song sparrows consistently approachedthe speaker more closely when they heard a faster alarm call and also produced afaster alarm call in response to the more threatening screech owl mount. This suggeststhat there is specific data encoded in the alarms and that they will produce a differentalarm according to the perceived threat level of what they are encountering

The Effect of Early Implementation of Infection Prevention and Control Outbreak Management Interventions on the Outbreak Duration, Attack Rate, Morbidity, and Mortality of Long-Term Care Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) all around the world were highly susceptible to disproportionate adverse patient outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for over 78% of total deaths in the United States. This project aims to answer if the LTCFs created the tragic results of the COVID-19 pandemic due to an absent state of preparedness, a lack of resources, and a deficient understanding of the importance of early implementation of critical Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) interventions. This project will determine the efficacy of timely implementation of IPC outbreak management interventions and their effect on patient outcomes.DESIGN AND SETTING: This study utilized a quantitative design to evaluate four measures of two separate SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreaks to investigate the effect of early implementation of multiple infection prevention and control (IPC) outbreak management interventions. The four measures consisted of the length of the outbreak in days, the transmission rate of the virus, the increased morbidity, and mortality rates during each outbreak. The Iowa Evidenced-based practice model was employed for this project. This method assisted with identifying the practice gaps of the LTCFs’ contributing to late or non-implementation of outbreak management strategies. The inclusion criteria included any resident admitted to the LTCFs during the initial confirmed COVID-19-positive case through the outbreak resolution. There were no exclusion criteria utilized with this study population. Two LTCFs (Facility “A” & Facility “B”) with COVID-19 outbreaks occurring during the initial pandemic year of 2020 provided similar healthcare environmental settings and were chosen for this project. Both facilities are in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.PARTICIPANTS: The census at the time of the outbreak was utilized, consisting of 168 residents, 82 from Facility “A” and 86 from Facility “B.” The two facility outbreaks wereselected due to similarities of the populations in Age, Gender, Race & Ethnicity and the presence of comorbidity illnesses. (Refer to Table 3 for the data).MEASUREMENTS: Four outcome measurements were analyzed, including outbreak duration, attack rate (rate of transmission of disease among a set population), morbidity rate, and mortality rate. The analysis was derived from the utilization of on-site tri-weekly observations during the outbreaks, which were documented within the epidemiological investigations and retrospective chart reviews. This project utilized a literature research analysis component to assist in determining the ten (10) most “essential” IPC interventions, and the measurement focused on each LTCF’s date of full implementation of each intervention. For the purposes of this project, full implementation is defined as no deficiencies or non-compliance observed during the tri-weekly rounds on two consecutive rounds and then total compliance with the intervention on subsequent observational rounds.RESULTS: Facility “A” implemented the ten interventions later, specifically, days thirteen (13), fifteen (15), eighteen (18), twenty-five (25), forty (40), and fifty-five (55), as seen in Table 4.This late implementation significantly affected the four measures, as seen in Table 2. Facility “B” implemented the interventions on day one (1), as seen in Table 5, and had significantly lower adverse patient-outcome rates. Facility “A” had a twenty-six percent (26%) higher attack rate, a twelve percent (12%) higher morbidity rate, and a sixteen percent (16%) increased death rate.CONCLUSIONS: The LTCF that implemented the ten “essential” IPC outbreak management interventions on day one of the outbreak significantly reduced the attack rate, mortality, morbidity, and duration of the outbreak. This evidence suggests that adequately prepared facilities that implement IPC outbreak management strategies early will decrease transmission of COVID-19 and, therefore, improve patient outcomes during an outbreak situation

Whole genome sequencing of a Canadian Bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 strain and possible link between the viral infection and respiratory and reproductive clinical manifestations in dairy cattle

Bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a herpesvirus widespread in cattle populations, and with no clear disease association. Its genome contains a long unique coding region (LUR) flanked by polyrepetitive DNA and 79 open reading frames (ORFs), with unique 17 ORFs, named Bo1 to Bo17. In 2009, a BoHV-4 strain was isolated (FMV09-1180503: BoHV-4-FMV) from cattle with respiratory disease from Quebec, Canada, and its LUR was sequenced. Despite the overall high similarity, BoHV-4-FMV had the most divergent LUR sequence compared to the two known BoHV-4 reference strain genomes; most of the divergences were in the Bo genes and in the repeat regions. Our phylogenetic analysis based on DNA polymerase and thymidine kinase genes revealed that virus isolate was BoHV-4 gammaherpesvirus and clustered it together with European BoHV-4 strains. Because BoHV-4-FMV was isolated from animals presenting respiratory signs, we have updated the BoHV-4 Canadian cattle seroprevalence data and tried to find out whether there is a link between clinical manifestation and BoHV-4 seropositivity. An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was performed with nearly 200 randomized sera of dairy cattle from two Canadian provinces, Quebec (n = 100) and Ontario (n = 91). An additional set of sera obtained from Quebec, from the healthy (n = 48) cows or from the animals experiencing respiratory or reproductive problems (n = 75), was also analyzed by IFA. BoHV-4 seroprevalence in Canadian dairy cattle was 7.9% (Quebec: 6% and Ontario: 9.9%). Among animals from the Quebec-based farms, diseased animals showed higher BoHV-4 seropositivity than healthy animals (P < 0.05), with a significant 2.494 odds ratio of being seropositive in sick compared to healthy animals. Although there is no established direct link between BoHV-4 and specific diseases, these seroprevalence data suggest the possible involvement of BoHV-4 in dairy cattle diseases

Redes sociales, estado y colecciones en la fundación del Museo Histórico Nacional (1889-1897)

Resumen temporalmente no disponible. La presente obra no cuenta con resumen provisto por el autor.Fil. Carman, Carolina Mercedes. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras

The Effect Of Conservation Treatments On Organic Residues In Archaeological Ceramics

Conservation treatments, while focused on preserving the physical form of a ceramic vessel, may inadvertently have a negative impact on other information stored in preserved organic residues that may remain on or in the object. This research investigates the effect of common conservation treatments on the preservation of organic residues in order to better understand how conservation treatments commonly used in the field and laboratory can affect the integrity of organic residues in archaeological ceramic sherds. Olive oil, an organic residue that is frequently found in the archaeological record of the Near East, was applied in an experimental setting to the surface of archaeological ceramic sherds. The sherds then underwent various conservation treatments, such as mechanical cleaning, soaking in water over various periods of time, and acid cleaning. Residue retention was quantified by organic extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The results suggest that increasing the soaking time of a sherd in water decreases the amount of residue retained, and the addition of mechanical cleaning further reduces residue retention. The data gathered from this study can assist in predicting the condition of organic residues on ceramics based on previous conservation treatments and shed light on the integrity of organic residues on previously conserved objects

Multicenter Trial of Sentinel Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer Using Both Technetium Sulfur Colloid and Isosulfan Blue Dye

Objective To determine the factors associated with false-negative results on sentinel node biopsy and sentinel node localization (identification rate) in patients with breast cancer enrolled in a multicenter trial using a combination technique of isosulfan blue with technetium sulfur colloid (Tc99). Summary Background Data Sentinel node biopsy is a diagnostic test used to detect breast cancer metastases. To test the reliability of this method a complete lymph node dissection must be performed to determine the false-negative rate. Single-institution series have reported excellent results although one multicenter trial reported a false-negative rate as high as 29% using radioisotope alone. A multicenter trial was initiated to test combined use of Tc99 and isosulfan blue. Methods Investigators (both private-practice and academic surgeons) were recruited after attending a course on the technique of sentinel node biopsy. No investigator participated in a learning trial before entering patients. Tc99 and isosulfan blue were injected into the peritumoral region. Results Five hundred twenty-nine patients underwent 535 sentinel node biopsy procedures for an overall identification rate in finding a sentinel node of 87% and a false-negative rate of 13%. The identification rate increased and the false-negative rate decreased to 90% and 4.3% respectively after investigators had performed more than 30 cases. Univariate analysis of tumor showed the poorest success rate with older patients and inexperienced surgeons. Multivariate analysis identified both age and experience as independent predictors of failure. However with older patients inexperienced surgeons and patients with five or more metastatic axillary nodes the falsenegative rate was consistently greater. Conclusions This multicenter trial from both private practice and academic institutions is an excellent indicator of the general utility of sentinel node biopsy. It establishes the factors that play an important role (patient age surgical experience tumor location) and those that are irrelevant (prior surgery tumor size Tc99 timing). This widens the applicability of the technique and identifies factors that require further investigation. originally published Annals of Surgery Vol. 233 No. 1 Jan 200

Influence of overlapping genes on the evolution of hepatitis B virus

The aim of this work was to analyse the influence of overlapping genes on the evolution of hepatitis B virus (HBV). A differential evolutionary behaviour among genetic regions and clinical status was found. Dissimilar levels of conservation of the different protein regions could derive from alternative mechanisms to maintain functionality. We propose that, in overlapping regions, selective constraints on one of the genes could drive the substitution process. This would allow protein conservation in one gene by synonymous substitutions while mechanisms of tolerance to the change operate in the overlapping gene (e.g. usage of amino acids with high-degeneracy codons, differential codon usage and replacement by physicochemically similar amino acids). In addition, differential selection pressure according to the HBeAg status was found in all genes, suggesting that the immune response could be one of the factors that would constrain viral replication by interacting with different HBV proteins during the HBeAg(-) stageFil: Torres, Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina;Fil: Blanco Fernandez, Maria Dolores. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina;Fil: Flichman, Diego Martin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina;Fil: Campos, Rodolfo Hector. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina;Fil: Mbayed, Viviana Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Virología; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina