Nest Success and Duckling Survival of Greater Scaup, Aythya marila, at Grassy Island, New Brunswick

Nesting biology and duckling survival of Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) at Grassy Island on the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick were compared between 1995 and 1996. Grassy Island in New Brunswick is an area that is notably removed from other scaup breeding areas, being located farther south from main breeding areas in North America. The Mayfield estimates of nest success were 61% and 21% in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Mean daily survival rates were 0.99 in 1995 and 0.96 in 1996 and were significantly different (t = 4.86, P < 0.001). Duckling survival was estimated to range from 38 to 54% in 1995, and was 8% in 1996. The lower breeding success in 1996 may have been due to factors associated with decreased temperatures and increased precipitation, but the fact that the breeding location is atypical to other Greater Scaup breeding areas should not be overlooked

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Greater Scaup, Aythya marila, Nest Site Characteristics on Grassy Island, New Brunswick

We studied Greater Scaup (Aythya marilla) nest site selection on Grassy Island, New Brunswick, during 1995 and 1996 by describing site selection in relation to habitat characteristics and association with larids using univariate comparisons. We pooled nesting data from both years and found that nesting sites were significantly closer to larid colonies and the edge of the patch of vegetation in which the nests were situated, had less forb canopy cover, more sedge cover, greater overhead concealment and lateral cover at 0–0.25 m, and less ground moisture than random sites. We evaluated Greater Scaup nests delimited as close to or far from larid colonies at 30 m and documented that nests closer to larid colonies were found in shorter vegetation that was closer to the edge of the patch of vegetation with less lateral cover at 0.25–0.5 m, but had greater overhead concealment than nests farther away. Advancements in the ecological understanding of the species, including habitat use patterns and species associations, will increase the likelihood of conservation successes

Abstracts of the 22nd International Isotope Society (UK Group) Symposium: synthesis and applications of labelled compounds 2013

Meeting Summary The 22nd annual symposium of the International Isotope Society's United Kingdom Group took place at the Møller Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK, on Friday, 18 October 2013. The meeting was attended by 65 delegates from academia and industry; the life sciences; and chemical, radiochemical and scientific instrument suppliers.Delegates were welcomed by Dr Ken Lawrie (GlaxoSmithKline, UK, chair of the IIS UK group). The subsequent scientific programme consisted of oral and poster presentations on isotopic chemistry and applications of labelled compounds, or of chemistry with potential implications for isotopic synthesis. Both short‐lived and long‐lived isotopes were represented, as were stable isotopes. The symposium programme was divided into a morning session chaired by Dr Karl Cable (GlaxoSmithKline, UK) and afternoon sessions chaired by Mr Mike Chappelle (Quotient Biosciences, UK) and by Dr Nick Bushby (AstraZeneca, UK). The UK meeting concluded with remarks from Dr Ken Lawrie (GlaxoSmithKline, UK)

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 incidence and seroconversion among university students and employees: a longitudinal cohort study in California, June–August 2020

ObjectivesTo identify incident SARS-CoV-2 infections and inform effective mitigation strategies in university settings, we piloted an integrated symptom and exposure monitoring and testing system among a cohort of university students and employees.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingA public university in California from June to August 2020.Participants2180 university students and 738 university employees.Primary outcome measuresAt baseline and endline, we tested participants for active SARS-CoV-2 infection via quantitative PCR (qPCR) test and collected blood samples for antibody testing. Participants received notifications to complete additional qPCR tests throughout the study if they reported symptoms or exposures in daily surveys or were selected for surveillance testing. Viral whole genome sequencing was performed on positive qPCR samples, and phylogenetic trees were constructed with these genomes and external genomes.ResultsOver the study period, 57 students (2.6%) and 3 employees (0.4%) were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection via qPCR test. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that a super-spreader event among undergraduates in congregate housing accounted for at least 48% of cases among study participants but did not spread beyond campus. Test positivity was higher among participants who self-reported symptoms (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 12.7; 95% CI 7.4 to 21.8) or had household exposures (IRR 10.3; 95% CI 4.8 to 22.0) that triggered notifications to test. Most (91%) participants with newly identified antibodies at endline had been diagnosed with incident infection via qPCR test during the study.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that integrated monitoring systems can successfully identify and link at-risk students to SARS-CoV-2 testing. As the study took place before the evolution of highly transmissible variants and widespread availability of vaccines and rapid antigen tests, further research is necessary to adapt and evaluate similar systems in the present context