Trapping mongoose in Haiti

The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropuncatus) was introduced to Haiti in the late 19th and early 2Qth centuries (Barun, Hanson, Campbell, & Simberloff, 2011) and quickly became an invasive species that have destroyed the natural ecosystem on this island. Recently there has been speculation that the mongoose is a vector in the rabies endemic within Haiti but no official data had been collected to verify this information. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) decided to collect data by trapping mongoose, drawing blood and testing the blood for rabies antibodies. In order to figure out the most effective bait for capturing mongoose, three different baits were tested; dog food, peanut butter, and fish. However, no mongoose were caught at the first site after three days, the bait and traps were moved to a new location. At the new location, the peanut butter was replaced with fresh coconut. While no mongooses were caught at either site, the general knowledge gained from this study can inform future work with this species.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?

Burden of cirrhosis on older Americans and their families: Analysis of the health and retirement study

Prevalence of cirrhosis among older adults is expected to increase; therefore, we studied the health status, functional disability, and need for supportive care in a large national sample of individuals with cirrhosis. A prospective cohort of individuals with cirrhosis was identified within the longitudinal, nationally representative Health and Retirement Study. Cirrhosis cases were identified in linked Medicare data via ICD‐9‐CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification) codes and compared to an age‐matched cohort without cirrhosis. Two primary outcome domains were assessed: (1) patients' health status (perceived health status, comorbidities, health care utilization, and functional disability as determined by activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living), and (2) informal caregiving (hours of caregiving provided by a primary informal caregiver and associated cost). Adjusted negative binomial regression was used to assess the association between cirrhosis and functional disability. A total of 317 individuals with cirrhosis and 951 age‐matched comparators were identified. Relative to the comparison group, individuals with cirrhosis had worse self‐reported health status, more comorbidities, and used significantly more health care services (hospitalizations, nursing home stays, physician visits; P < 0.001 for all bivariable comparisons). They also had greater functional disability ( P < 0.001 for activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living), despite adjustment for covariates such as comorbidities and health care utilization. Individuals with cirrhosis received more than twice the number of informal caregiving hours per week ( P < 0.001), at an annual cost of US $4700 per person. Conclusion: Older Americans with cirrhosis have high rates of disability, health care utilization, and need for informal caregiving. Improved care coordination and caregiver support is necessary to optimize management of this frail population. (H EPATOLOGY 2012;55:184–191)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89512/1/24616_ftp.pd

Contribution of NOTCH1 genetic variants to bicuspid aortic valve and other congenital lesions

INTRODUCTION: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) affects 1% of the general population. NOTCH1 was the first gene associated with BAV. The proportion of familial and sporadic BAV disease attributed to NOTCH1 mutations has not been estimated. AIM: The aim of our study was to provide an estimate of familial and sporadic BAV disease attributable to NOTCH1 mutations. METHODS: The population of our study consisted of participants of the University of Leicester Bicuspid aoRtic vAlVe gEnetic research-8 pedigrees with multiple affected family members and 381 sporadic patients. All subjects underwent NOTCH1 sequencing. A systematic literature search was performed in the NCBI PubMed database to identify publications reporting NOTCH1 sequencing in context of congenital heart disease. RESULTS: NOTCH1 sequencing in 36 subjects from 8 pedigrees identified one variant c.873C>G/p.Tyr291* meeting the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria for pathogenicity. No pathogenic or likely pathogenic NOTCH1 variants were identified in 381 sporadic patients. Literature review identified 64 relevant publication reporting NOTCH1 sequencing in 528 pedigrees and 9449 sporadic subjects. After excluding families with syndromic disease pathogenic and likely pathogenic NOTCH1 variants were detected in 9/435 (2.1%; 95% CI: 0.7% to 3.4%) of pedigrees and between 0.05% (95% CI: 0.005% to 0.10%) and 0.08% (95% CI: 0.02% to 0.13%) of sporadic patients. Incomplete penetrance of definitely pathogenic NOTCH1 mutations was observed in almost half of reported pedigrees. CONCLUSIONS: Pathogenic and likely pathogenic NOTCH1 genetic variants explain 2% of familial and <0.1% of sporadic BAV disease and are more likely to associate with tetralogy of Fallot and hypoplastic left heart