Interspecific oral rabies vaccine bait competition in the Southeast United States

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) has coordinated the use of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) to control the spread of raccoon rabies virus variant west of the Appalachian Mountains since 1997. Working with state and local partners, the NRMP deploys ORV baits containing a rabies vaccine, primarily targeting raccoon populations (Procyon lotor). Bait competition between raccoons and non-target species may limit the effectiveness of ORV programs, but the extent of bait competition remains poorly quantified, particularly in the southeastern United States. We placed placebo ORV baits in bottomland hardwood (n = 637 baits) and upland pine (n = 681 baits) habitats in South Carolina, USA during August- December 2019 and used remote cameras to examine bait competition between raccoons and non-target species. The estimated proportion of bait consumed by raccoons was 18.8 ± 2.1% in bottomland hardwood and 11.6 ± 2.1% in upland pine habitats. Vertebrate competition appeared to have a minimal effect on raccoon uptake as estimated consumption did not exceed 5% for any species or 8% of bait uptake events cumulatively. We estimated that raccoons were the primary consumer of baits in bottomland hardwood, whereas invertebrates were the primary consumer in upland pine (26.7 ± 1.3% of baits). Our results indicate a need to closely consider the effects of invertebrates on bait consumption to minimize their potential impact on ORV bait uptake by target species. Uptake probabilities by raccoons were relatively low but not primarily driven by competition with vertebrates. As such, strategies to increase the specificity of raccoon uptake may be needed to enhance the effectiveness of ORV baiting programs

Assessment of habitat‐specific competition for oral rabies vaccine baits between raccoons and opossums

Throughout the eastern United States, the National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) distributes oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits to manage rabies virus circulation in raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations. The consumption of vaccine baits by non‐target species including Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) may reduce the effectiveness of ORV programs, but competition for baits remains poorly quantified in many areas of the southeastern United States. We distributed placebo ORV baits injected with a biomarker across 4 land cover types (bottomland hardwood, upland pine, riparian, isolated wetland) on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, USA, 2017–2019. We then trapped and collected whiskers from 247 raccoons and 78 opossums to assess biomarker presence using fluorescent microscopy. Our data revealed greater bait uptake probability by raccoons (estimated x̅= 0.30, 95% CI = 0.19–0.44) compared to opossums (estimated x̅ = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.05–0.23) across all cover types surveyed. Probability of bait consumption was not affected by cover type or the abundance of raccoons or opossums. Among raccoons, males were more likely to consume baits than females (estimated x̅ = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.17–0.44 for males and 0.14, 95% CI = 0.05–0.31 for females) and probability of consumption increased by 0.08 with each additional day trapped during the 10‐day trapping session. Uptake rates for raccoons were relatively low compared to other studies and not influenced by competition with opossums. These low consumption rates indicate that additional research addressing the roles of baiting season, bait density, and resource selection will be important to maximize ORV bait uptake by target species in these southeastern landscapes

Influence of landscape attributes on Virginia opossum density

TheVirginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), North America\u27s only marsupial, has a range extending from southern Ontario, Canada, to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific. Despite the Virginia opossum\u27s taxonomic uniqueness in relation to other mammals in North America and rapidly expanding distribution, its ecology remains relatively understudied. Our poor understanding of the ecology of this important mesopredator is especially pronounced in the rural southeastern United States. Our goal was to estimate effects of habitat on opossum density within an extensive multiyear spatial capture‐recapture study. Additionally, we compared the results of this spatial capture‐recapture analysis with a simple relative abundance index. Opossum densities in the relatively underdeveloped regions of the southeastern United States were lower compared to the more human‐dominated landscapes of the Northeast and Midwest. In the southeastern United States, Virginia opossums occurred at a higher density in bottomland swamp and riparian hardwood forest compared to upland pine (Pinus spp.) plantations and isolated wetlands. These results reinforce the notion that the Virginia opossum is commonly associated with land cover types adjacent to permanent water (bottomland swamps, riparian hardwood). The relatively low density of opossums at isolated wetland sites suggests that the large spatial scale of selection demonstrated by opossums gives the species access to preferable cover types within the same landscape

Comparative genomics reveals insights into avian genome evolution and adaptation

Birds are the most species-rich class of tetrapod vertebrates and have wide relevance across many research fields. We explored bird macroevolution using full genomes from 48 avian species representing all major extant clades. The avian genome is principally characterized by its constrained size, which predominantly arose because of lineage-specific erosion of repetitive elements, large segmental deletions, and gene loss. Avian genomes furthermore show a remarkably high degree of evolutionary stasis at the levels of nucleotide sequence, gene synteny, and chromosomal structure. Despite this pattern of conservation, we detected many non-neutral evolutionary changes in protein-coding genes and noncoding regions. These analyses reveal that pan-avian genomic diversity covaries with adaptations to different lifestyles and convergent evolution of traits

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The effectiveness of salicylic acid plasters compared with 'usual' scalpel debridement of corns: a randomised controlled trial

Background Corns are a common foot problem and surveys have indicated that between 14-48% of people suffer from them. Many of these will seek podiatry treatment, however there is little evidence to indicate which current treatments provide long term resolution. This study compared `usual? treatment (enucleation with a scalpel) with the application of 40% salicylic acid plasters to corns to investigate which is the most effective in terms of clinical, economic and patient-centred outcomes. Methods A parallel-group randomised controlled trial was carried out in two centres where adults who presented with one or more corns and who met the inclusion criteria were allocated to either `usual? scalpel debridement or corn plaster treatment. All participants had measurements of corn size, pain using a 100?mm visual analogue scale (VAS) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) measures by an independent podiatrist, blind to treatment allocation at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12?months. Results 202 participants were randomised to receive scalpel debridement or corn plaster treatment (101 in each group). At 3?months 34% (32/95) of corns had completely resolved in the corn plaster group compared with 21% (20/94) in the scalpel group (p?=?0.044), and 83% (79/95) had reduced in size in the corn plaster group compared with 56% (53/94) in the scalpel group (p?<?0.001). At 12?months, time to corn recurrence was longer in the corn plaster group (p?<?0.001). Pain from the corns was significantly lower in the corn plaster group at 3?months (p?<?0.001) and EQ-5D scores changed (improved), from baseline, by 0.09 (SD ?0.31) and 0.01 (SD ?0.25) points in the corn plaster and scalpel groups respectively (p?=?0.056). By month 12, EQ-5D scores had changed by 0.12 and ?0.05 in the corn plaster and scalpel groups respectively (p?=?0.005). The EQ-5D, VAS scores and the four domains of the Foot Disability Scale were similar in both groups at 3 and 12?months. The economic analysis indicated that corn plasters were a cost effective intervention. Conclusions The use of corn plasters was associated with a higher proportion of resolved corns, a prolonged time to corn recurrence, less pain and reduced corn size over the first 6?months in comparison with `usual? scalpel treatment and this intervention was cost effective. Used under supervision of a podiatrist on appropriate patients, corn plasters offer an effective alternative to scalpel debridement

A comparative analysis of warm season precipitation distribution and land cover in the greater Tuscaloosa area

On an annual basis Tuscaloosa and surrounding areas are exposed to a variety of weather hazards associated with thunderstorms. The synoptically benign conditions during the warm season over this region create a more favorable environment for the development of air mass type thunderstorms. These storms are often chaotic in nature developing in random locations. This study attempts to find patterns in this development by comparing warm season precipitation data with types of land cover. Correlations between land cover and precipitation totals were investigated by using 24-hour estimated precipitation totals provided by the National Weather Service River Forecast Centers and comparing these data with a land use/land cover classification dataset. Non-parametric statistical analysis was then used to determine if positive correlations exist. Spatial Synoptic Classification was also used to isolate days more conducive to thunderstorm formation based on air mass type. Results indicate that over a five year study period, more daily precipitation accumulated in the eastern portions of Tuscaloosa County. On days more conducive to convective precipitation development, heavier precipitation occurred in the area with the greatest urban land cover concentration and areas directly east and northeast of the urban center. Further research is needed to validate these findings, mainly because of a positively skewed precipitation dataset obtained over the five year study period. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries