Association of imaging abnormalities of the subcallosal septal area with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Aim: To evaluate the use the distance between the adjacent septal nuclei as a surrogate marker of septal area atrophy seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Materials & Methods: Interseptal distance (ISD) was measured, blind to clinical details, in 250 patients who underwent computed tomography (CT) of the brain at University Hospital of Wales. Clinical details including memory problem history were retrieved. An ISD cut-off value that discriminated those with and without memory symptoms was sought. ISD measurements were also made in 20 AD patients. To test both the method and the defined cut-off, measurements were then made in an independent cohort of 21 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and 45 age-matched healthy controls, in a randomised and blinded fashion. Results: ISD measurement was achieved in all patients. In 28 patients with memory symptoms, the mean ISD was 5.9 mm compared with 2.3 mm in those without overt symptoms (p=0.001). The optimum ISD cut-off value was 4 mm (sensitivity 85.7% and specificity 85.8%). All AD patients had an ISD of >4 mm (mean ISD= 6.1 mm). The mean ISD for MCI patients was 3.84 mm compared with 2.18 mm in age-matched healthy controls (p=0.001). Using a 4 mm cut-off correctly categorised 10 mild cognitive impairment patients (47.6%) and 38 healthy controls (84.4%). Conclusion: ISD is a simple and reliable surrogate measurement for septal area atrophy, applicable to CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It can be used to help select patients for further investigation

Genome Sequence Conservation of Hendra Virus Isolates during Spillover to Horses, Australia

Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks

Decreased Serologic Response in Vaccinated Military Recruits during 2011 Correspond to Genetic Drift in Concurrent Circulating Pandemic A/H1N1 Viruses

Population-based febrile respiratory illness surveillance conducted by the Department of Defense contributes to an estimate of vaccine effectiveness. Between January and March 2011, 64 cases of 2009 A/H1N1 (pH1N1), including one fatality, were confirmed in immunized recruits at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, suggesting insufficient efficacy for the pH1N1 component of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV).To test serologic protection, serum samples were collected at least 30 days post-vaccination from recruits at Fort Jackson (LAIV), Parris Island (LAIV and trivalent inactivated vaccine [TIV]) at Cape May, New Jersey (TIV) and responses measured against pre-vaccination sera. A subset of 78 LAIV and 64 TIV sera pairs from recruits who reported neither influenza vaccination in the prior year nor fever during training were tested by microneutralization (MN) and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays. MN results demonstrated that seroconversion in paired sera was greater in those who received TIV versus LAIV (74% and 37%). Additionally, the fold change associated with TIV vaccination was significantly different between circulating (2011) versus the vaccine strain (2009) of pH1N1 viruses (ANOVA p value = 0.0006). HI analyses revealed similar trends. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis revealed that the quantity, IgG/IgM ratios, and affinity of anti-HA antibodies were significantly greater in TIV vaccinees. Finally, sequence analysis of the HA1 gene in concurrent circulating 2011 pH1N1 isolates from Fort Jackson exhibited modest amino acid divergence from the vaccine strain.Among military recruits in 2011, serum antibody response differed by vaccine type (LAIV vs. TIV) and pH1N1 virus year (2009 vs. 2011). We hypothesize that antigen drift in circulating pH1N1 viruses contributed to reduce vaccine effectiveness at Fort Jackson. Our findings have wider implications regarding vaccine protection from circulating pH1N1 viruses in 2011-2012

Metagenomic study of the viruses of African straw-coloured fruit bats: detection of a chiropteran poxvirus and isolation of a novel adenovirus

Viral emergence as a result of zoonotic transmission constitutes a continuous public health threat. Emerging viruses such as SARS coronavirus, hantaviruses and henipaviruses have wildlife reservoirs. Characterising the viruses of candidate reservoir species in geographical hot spots for viral emergence is a sensible approach to develop tools to predict, prevent, or contain emergence events. Here, we explore the viruses of Eidolon helvum, an Old World fruit bat species widely distributed in Africa that lives in close proximity to humans. We identified a great abundance and diversity of novel herpes and papillomaviruses, described the isolation of a novel adenovirus, and detected, for the first time, sequences of a chiropteran poxvirus closely related with Molluscum contagiosum. In sum, E. helvum display a wide variety of mammalian viruses, some of them genetically similar to known human pathogens, highlighting the possibility of zoonotic transmission

Does Team Training Enhance Team Processes, Performance, And Team Member Affective Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis

This research integration examined the relationship between team training and development interventions and team functioning. First, an omnibus test of the relationship between team training and development interventions and team processes, performance, and team member affective outcomes was conducted. Next, team training and team building studies were separated and analyzed independently to assess the relative contribution of each intervention. The results suggest a moderate, positive relationship between these interventions and team processes, performance and affective outcomes. The method of analysis, including identification and selection of studies is thoroughly discussed. Moreover, study contributions, limitations and directions for research are delineated

Duration of maternal antibodies against canine distemper virus and hendra virus in pteropid bats

Old World frugivorous bats have been identified as natural hosts for emerging zoonotic viruses of significant public health concern, including henipaviruses (Nipah and Hendra virus), Ebola virus, and Marburg virus. Epidemiological studies of these viruses in bats often utilize serology to describe viral dynamics, with particular attention paid to juveniles, whose birth increases the overall susceptibility of the population to a viral outbreak once maternal immunity wanes. However, little is understood about bat immunology, including the duration of maternal antibodies in neonates. Understanding duration of maternally derived immunity is critical for characterizing viral dynamics in bat populations, which may help assess the risk of spillover to humans. We conducted two separate studies of pregnant Pteropus bat species and their offspring to measure the half-life and duration of antibodies to 1) canine distemper virus antigen in vaccinated captive Pteropus hypomelanus; and 2) Hendra virus in wild-caught, naturally infected Pteropus alecto. Both of these pteropid bat species are known reservoirs for henipaviruses. We found that in both species, antibodies were transferred from dam to pup. In P. hypomelanus pups, titers against CDV waned over a mean period of 228.6 days (95% CI: 185.4-271.8) and had a mean terminal phase half-life of 96.0 days (CI 95%: 30.7-299.7). In P. alecto pups, antibodies waned over 255.13 days (95% CI: 221.0-289.3) and had a mean terminal phase half-life of 52.24 days (CI 95%: 33.76-80.83). Each species showed a duration of transferred maternal immunity of between 7.5 and 8.5 months, which was longer than has been previously estimated. These data will allow for more accurate interpretation of age-related Henipavirus serological data collected from wild pteropid bats

Estimate of odds of a 4-fold conversion relative to conversions against the H3N2 virus.

<p>Estimate of odds of a 4-fold conversion relative to conversions against the H3N2 virus.</p

Affinity measurements isotyping and total anti-HA1 binding antibody in human sera following immunization.

<p><b>(A–B) Correlation between in vitro MN titers and rHA1 binding in human sera following immunization with H1N1 vaccine in TIV and LAIV groups.</b> Steady-state equilibrium analysis of the binding of vaccine serum IgG to properly folded functional HA1 oligomers was measured using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Ten-fold diluted post-H1N1 vaccination sera from vaccine groups (LAIV in A, TIV in B) were injected simultaneously onto HA1 immobilized on a sensor chip, free of peptide. Binding was recorded in resonance units (RU) values. The maximum RU values for HA1 binding by serum antibodies obtained from vaccinated individuals with either LIAV (A) or TIV (B) vaccination is shown on the Y-axis. The MN titer is expressed as end-point neutralizing antibody titer of post-H1N1 vaccine sera and is depicted on the X-axis. <b>(C) The isotype of serum antibodies bound to rHA1 for the two vaccine groups.</b> Data shown are the means for serum from two independent experiments. <b>(D) Antibody avidity measurements in polyclonal serum by off-rate constants using SPR.</b> Antibody off-rate constants, which describe the stability of the complex were determined directly from the serum/plasma sample interaction with rHA1 protein using SPR in the dissociation phase. For accurate measurements, parallel lines in the dissociation phase for the 10-fold and 100-fold dilution for each post-vaccination human sera were required. The off-rate constants were determined from two independent SPR runs. SPR analysis of post-vaccinated human sera with LAIV (left) or TIV (right) from the vaccine trial was performed with properly folded H1N1pdm09 HA1 (A/CA/7/2009) <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034581#pone.0034581-Khurana7" target="_blank">[60]</a>. Serum antibody off-rate constants for vaccinees (each symbol is one individual) were plotted. Correlation statistics of affinity measurement and off-rate constants of sera binding to rHA1 between LAIV and TIV vaccinees were statistically significant with <i>p</i><0.05 (T-test).</p