Kinetics of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) humoral immune response in swine serum and oral fluids collected from individual boars

Background The object of this study was to describe and contrast the kinetics of the humoral response in serum and oral fluid specimens during acute porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection. The study involved three trials of 24 boars each. Boars were intramuscularly inoculated with a commercial modified live virus (MLV) vaccine (Trial 1), a Type 1 PRRSV field isolated (Trial 2), or a Type 2 PRRSV field isolate (Trial 3). Oral fluid samples were collected from individual boars on day post inoculation (DPI) -7 and 0 to 21. Serum samples were collected from all boars on DPI −7, 0, 7, 14, 21 and from 4 randomly selected boars on DPI 3, 5, 10, and 17. Thereafter, serum and oral fluid were assayed for PRRSV antibody using antibody isotype-specific ELISAs (IgM, IgA, IgG) adapted to serum or oral fluid. Results Statistically significant differences in viral replication and antibody responses were observed among the three trials in both serum and oral fluid specimens. PRRSV serum IgM, IgA, and IgG were first detected in samples collected on DPI 7, 10, and 10, respectively. Oral fluid IgM, IgA, and IgG were detected in samples collected between DPI 3 to 10, 7 to 10, and 8 to 14, respectively. Conclusions This study enhanced our knowledge of the PRRSV humoral immune response and provided a broader foundation for the development and application of oral fluid antibody-based diagnostics

Multi-Nation WPT Demonstration Experiments

A project originating with Georgia Institute of Technology is described in which the International Space Station (ISS) serves as an experimental platform for the relay of energy from space to earth. The multi-nation test will feature the transmission of small amounts of solar-generated electric power from the ISS using millimeter waves, for the purposes of collecting atmospheric propagation data and testing technologies for power beaming, aiming, and reception. This initiative represents an early first-step towards installation of a global Space Solar Power Grid emphasizing international collaboration, synergy with the terrestrial energy industry and with retail power beaming markets. The technical paper on which this visualization is based is listed in References below. Advisors: Prof. N. Komerath, Prof. D. Flournoy, Kyle Perkins (Designer) Five-Nation - Broadband from Space Journal on Vimeo

Hepatitis C infection: eligibility for antiviral therapies

peer reviewedBackground Current treatments of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) are effective, but expensive and susceptible to induce significant side effects. Objectives To evaluate the proportion of HCV patients who are eligible for a treatment. Methods In a database comprising 1726 viraemic HCV patients, the files of 299 patients who presented to the same hepatologist for an initial appointment between 1996 and 2003 were reviewed. Results Patients' characteristics were age 43.1 +/- 15.6 years, 53% male and 92% Caucasian. The main risk factors were transfusion (43%) and drug use (22%). Genotypes were mostly genotype 1 (66%), genotype 3 (12%) and genotype 2 (10%). These characteristics were not different from those of the whole series of 1726 patients. A total of 176 patients (59%) were not treated, the reasons for non-treatment being medical contraindications (34%), non-compliance (25%) and normal transaminases (24%). In addition, 17% of patients declined therapy despite being considered as eligible, mainly due to fear of adverse events. Medical contraindications were psychiatric (27%), age (22%), end-stage liver disease (15%), willingness for pregnancy (13%), cardiac contraindication (7%) and others (16%). Only 123 patients (41%) were treated. A sustained viral response was observed in 41%. The treatment was interrupted in 16% for adverse events. Conclusions The majority of HCV patients are not eligible for treatment. This implies that, with current therapies, only 17% of patients referred for chronic HCV become sustained responders. Some modifications of guidelines could extend the rate of treatment (patients with normal transaminases), but an important barrier remains the patients' and the doctors' fear of adverse events

Hidden politics of power and governmentality in transitional justice and peacebuilding:The problem of ‘bringing the local back in’

This paper examines ‘the local’ in peacebuilding by examining how ‘local’ transitional justice projects can become spaces of power inequalities. The paper argues that focusing on how ‘the local’ contests or interacts with ‘the international’ in peacebuilding and post-conflict contexts obscures contestations and power relations amongst different local actors, and how inequalities and power asymmetries can be entrenched and reproduced through internationally funded local projects. The paper argues that externally funded projects aimed at emancipating ‘locals’ entrench inequalities and create local elites that become complicit in governing the conduct and participation of other less empowered ‘locals’. The paper thus proposes that specific local actors—often those in charge of externally funded peacebuilding projects—should also be conceptualised as governing agents: able to discipline and regulate other local actors’ voices and their agency, and thus (re)construct ideas about what ‘the local’ is, or is not

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

Illegal Dumping of Oil and Gas Wastewaters Alters Semi-Arid Soil Microbial Communities

The Permian Basin, underlying New Mexico and Texas, is one of the most productive oil and gas (OG) provinces in the United States. Oil and gas production yields large volumes of wastewater with complex chemistries. The environmental health risks posed by these OG wastewaters are not well understood, particularly in the case of accidental or intentional releases. Starting in November 2017, 39 illegal dumps of OG wastewater were identified in southeastern New Mexico that released approximately 6.4x105 liters of fluid onto desert soils. To evaluate the impacts of these releases on soils, we analyzed changes in soil geochemistry and microbial community composition by comparing soils from within OG wastewater dump-affected zones to corresponding unaffected zones with no known releases. We observed significant (p<0.01) changes in soil geochemistry for all dump-affected samples compared to controls, reflecting the residual salts and hydrocarbons left behind by the OG-wastewater release (e.g., enriched in sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), and bromide (Br)). Illumina 16S iTag sequencing revealed significant (p<0.01) differences in microbial community structure between dump and control zones. Furthermore, soils from dump areas had significantly (p<0.01) lower alpha diversity and exhibited differences in phylogenetic composition. Dump-affected soil samples showed an increase in halophilic and halotolerant taxa, such as members of the Marinobacteraceae, Halomonadaceae, and Halobacteroidaceae, suggesting that the high salinity of the dumped OG wastewater exerted a selective pressure on microbial communities. Taxa related to known hydrocarbon-degrading organisms, e.g., Marinobacter, Salegentibacter, Chromohalobacter, and Alcanivorax, were also detected in the dump-affected soil-sample communities. The microbial communities in control soils were dominated by taxa ubiquitous in, and well adapted to, arid and nutrient-deprived soil environments including photosynthetic Cyanobacteria, hydrogen-oxidizing Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, and nitrogen-fixing Alphaproteobacteria. This study demonstrated that OG-wastewater dumps can lead to shifts in microbial community composition and function towards salt- and hydrocarbon-tolerant taxa that are not typically found in desert soils, thus altering the impacted dryland soil ecosystem. Loss of key microbial taxa, such as those that increase arid soil fertility, or promote plant health, could result in cascading affects to myriad ecosystem services such as loss of flora. Further studies are needed to explore the potential for using halophilic and hydrocarbon-degrading taxa to bioremediate OG-wastewater affected lands