Evolutionary and network analysis of virus sequences from infants infected with an Australian recombinant strain of human parechovirus type 3

We present the near complete virus genome sequences with phylogenetic and network analyses of potential transmission networks of a total of 18 Australian cases of human parechovirus type 3 (HPeV3) infection in infants in the period from 2012–2015. Overall the results support our previous finding that the Australian outbreak strain/lineage is a result of a major recombination event that took place between March 2012 and November 2013 followed by further virus evolution and possibly recombination. While the nonstructural coding region of unknown provenance appears to evolve significantly both at the nucleotide and amino acid level, the capsid encoding region derived from the Yamagata 2011 lineage of HPeV3 appears to be very stable, particularly at the amino acid level. The phylogenetic and network analyses performed support a temporal evolution from the first Australian recombinant virus sequence from November 2013 to March/April 2014, onto the 2015 outbreak. The 2015 outbreak samples fall into two separate clusters with a possible common ancestor between March/April 2014 and September 2015, with each cluster further evolving in the period from September to November/December 2015

Use of antipsychotic medication and its relationship with bone mineral density: A population-based study of men and women

BackgroundSchizophrenia has been shown to be associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and higher fracture risk. However, less is known whether antipsychotic treatment is associated with reduced BMD. Thus, we aimed to examine associations between antipsychotic use and BMD among men and women drawn from the general population.MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved 793 women and 587 men enrolled in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS). BMD was determined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the spine and hip. Information regarding socio-economic status (SES), current medication and/or supplementation use, lifestyle factors, and anthropometry was collected. Association between antipsychotic use and BMD was determined using linear regression after adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsOf the group, 33 women (4.2%) and 16 men (2.7%) currently used antipsychotics. Age was identified as an effect modifier in the association between antipsychotic use and BMD for women. Amongst women aged < 60 years, adjusted mean BMD was 11.1% lower at the spine [1.139 (95%CI 1.063–1.216) vs. 1.250 (95%CI 1.223–1.277) g/cm2, p = 0.005] for antipsychotic users compared to non-users. At the hip, age, weight, and smoking adjusted mean BMD was 9.9% lower [0.893 (95%CI 0.837–0.950) vs. 0.992 (95%CI 0.976–1.007) g/cm2, p < 0.001] for antipsychotic users in comparison with non-users. The pattern persisted following further adjustments. There was no association detected between antipsychotic use and BMD for women aged 60 years and over and for men.ConclusionOur data suggest that antipsychotic medication use is associated with reduced BMD in younger women but not older women or men

An outbreak of severe infections among Australian infants caused by a novel recombinant strain of human parechovirus type 3

Human parechovirus types 1-16 (HPeV1-16) are positive strand RNA viruses in the family Picornaviridae. We investigated a 2015 outbreak of HPeV3 causing illness in infants in Victoria, Australia. Virus genome was extracted from clinical material and isolates and sequenced using a combination of next generation and Sanger sequencing. The HPeV3 outbreak genome was 98.7% similar to the HPeV3 Yamagata 2011 lineage for the region encoding the structural proteins up to nucleotide position 3115, but downstream of that the genome varied from known HPeV sequences with a similarity of 85% or less. Analysis indicated that recombination had occurred, may have involved multiple types of HPeV and that the recombination event/s occurred between March 2012 and November 2013. However the origin of the genome downstream of the recombination site is unknown. Overall, the capsid of this virus is highly conserved, but recombination provided a different non-structural protein coding region that may convey an evolutionary advantage. The indication that the capsid encoding region is highly conserved at the amino acid level may be helpful in directing energy towards the development of a preventive vaccine for expecting mothers or antibody treatment of young infants with severe disease

Association between bipolar spectrum disorder and bone health: a meta-analysis and systematic review protocol

Introduction Bipolar spectrum disorder is a chronic, episodic illness, associated with significant personal, social and economic burden. It is estimated to affect ∼2.4% of the population worldwide and is commonly associated with psychological and/or physiological comorbidities. Osteoporosis is one such comorbidity, a disease of bone that is asymptomatic until a fracture occurs. This systematic review attempts to capture, collate, assess and discuss the literature investigating the association between bipolar spectrum disorder and bone health.Methods and analysis We aim to identify articles that investigate the association between bipolar spectrum disorder and bone health in adults by systematically searching the MEDLINE, PubMed, OVID and CINAHL databases. Two independent reviewers will determine eligibility of studies according to predetermined criteria, and methodological quality will be assessed using a previously published scoring system. A meta-analysis will be conducted, and statistical methods will be used to identify and control for heterogeneity, if possible. If numerical syntheses are prevented due to statistical heterogeneity, a best evidence synthesis will be conducted to assess the level of evidence for associations between bipolar spectrum disorder and bone health

Descriptive Drinking Norms: For Whom Does Reference Group Matter?

Objective: Perceived descriptive drinking norms often differ from actual norms and are positively related to personal consumption. However, it is not clear how normative perceptions vary with specificity of the reference group. Are drinking norms more accurate and more closely related to drinking behavior as reference group specificity increases? Do these relationships vary as a function of participant demographics? The present study examined the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and drinking behavior by ethnicity (Asian or White), sex, and fraternity/sorority status. Method: Participants were 2,699 (58% female) White (75%) or Asian (25%) undergraduates from two universities who reported their own alcohol use and perceived descriptive norms for eight reference groups: typical student ; same sex, ethnicity, or fraternity/sorority status; and all combinations of these three factors. Results: Participants generally reported the highest perceived norms for the most distal reference group (typical student), with perceptions becoming more accurate as individuals\u27 similarity to the reference group increased. Despite increased accuracy, participants perceived that all reference groups drank more than was actually the case. Across specific subgroups (fraternity/sorority members and men) different patterns emerged. Fraternity/sorority members reliably reported higher estimates of drinking for reference groups that included fraternity/ sorority status, and, to a lesser extent, men reported higher estimates for reference groups that included men. Conclusions: The results suggest that interventions targeting normative misperceptions may need to provide feedback based on participant demography or group membership. Although reference group-specific feedback may be important for some subgroups, typical student feedback provides the largest normative discrepancy for the majority of students

Chemical Contamination of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Eggs in Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Conservation and Public Health

BACKGROUND: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)-such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)-and heavy metals have been reported in sea turtles at various stages of their life cycle. These chemicals can disrupt development and function of wildlife. Furthermore, in areas such as Peninsular Malaysia, where the human consumption of sea turtle eggs is prevalent, egg contamination may also have public health implications. OBJECTIVE: In the present study we investigated conservation and human health risks associated with the chemical contamination of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) eggs in Peninsular Malaysia. METHODS: Fifty-five C mydas eggs were collected from markets in Peninsular Malaysia and analyzed for POPs and heavy metals. We conducted screening risk assessments (SRAs) and calculated the percent of acceptable daily intake (ADI) for POPs and metals to assess conservation and human health risks associated with egg contamination. RESULTS: C mydas eggs were available in 9 of the 33 markets visited. These eggs came from seven nesting areas from as far away as Borneo Malaysia. SRAs indicated a significant risk to embryonic development associated with the observed arsenic concentrations. Furthermore, the concentrations of coplanar PCBs represented 3-300 times the ADI values set by the World Health Organization. CONCLUSIONS: The concentrations of POPs and heavy metals reported in C mydas eggs from markets in Peninsular Malaysia pose considerable risks to sea turtle conservation and human health

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (ANGST) is a systematic survey to establish a legacy of uniform multi-color photometry of resolved stars for a volume-limited sample of nearby galaxies (D<4 Mpc). The survey volume encompasses 69 galaxies in diverse environments, including close pairs, small & large groups, filaments, and truly isolated regions. The galaxies include a nearly complete range of morphological types spanning a factor of ~10^4 in luminosity and star formation rate. The survey data consists of images taken with ACS on HST, supplemented with archival data and new WFPC2 imaging taken after the failure of ACS. Survey images include wide field tilings covering the full radial extent of each galaxy, and single deep pointings in uncrowded regions of the most massive galaxies in the volume. The new wide field imaging in ANGST reaches median 50% completenesses of m_F475W=28.0 mag, m_F606W=27.3 mag, and m_F814W=27.3 mag, several magnitudes below the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB). The deep fields reach magnitudes sufficient to fully resolve the structure in the red clump. The resulting photometric catalogs are publicly accessible and contain over 34 million photometric measurements of >14 million stars. In this paper we present the details of the sample selection, imaging, data reduction, and the resulting photometric catalogs, along with an analysis of the photometric uncertainties (systematic and random), for both the ACS and WFPC2 imaging. We also present uniformly derived relative distances measured from the apparent magnitude of the TRGB.Comment: 54 pages, including 24 pages of figures and 16 pages of tables. Project website and data available at http://www.nearbygalaxies.org/ . Data is also available through MAST. Scheduled to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements. (Replaced to fix several figures that were damaged during compression

A synthetic peptide CTL vaccine targeting nucleocapsid confers protection from SARS-CoV-2 challenge in rhesus macaques

Background: Persistent transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has given rise to a COVID-19 pandemic. Several vaccines, evoking protective spike antibody responses, conceived in 2020, are being deployed in mass public health vaccination programs. Recent data suggests, however, that as sequence variation in the spike genome accumulates, some vaccines may lose efficacy. Methods: Using a macaque model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we tested the efficacy of a peptide-based vaccine targeting MHC Class I epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. We administered biodegradable micro-spheres with synthetic peptides and adjuvants to rhesus macaques. Unvaccinated control and vaccinated macaques were challenged with 1 x 108 TCID50 units of SARS-CoV-2, followed by assessment of clinical symptoms, viral load, chest radiographs, sampling of peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid for downstream analysis. Results: Vaccinated animals were free of pneumonia-like infiltrates characteristic of SARS-CoV-2 infection and presented with lower viral loads relative to controls. Gene expression in cells collected from BAL samples of vaccinated macaques revealed a unique signature associated with enhanced development of adaptive immune responses relative to control macaques. Conclusions: We demonstrate that a room temperature stable peptide vaccine based on known immunogenic HLA Class I bound CTL epitopes from the nucleocapsid protein can provide protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in nonhuman primates

BioGPS: an extensible and customizable portal for querying and organizing gene annotation resources

BioGPS is a community based customisable gene annotation portal bringing together gene annotation resources on to a single platform