West Nile Virus Epidemic, Northeast Ohio, 2002

Serum samples and sociodemographic data were obtained from 1,209 Ohio residents. West Nile virus immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed. Children were 4.5 times more likely to become infected yet 110× less likely to have neuroinvasive disease develop

The QKI-6 RNA Binding Protein Regulates Actin-interacting Protein-1 mRNA Stability during Oligodendrocyte Differentiation

We identify new mRNA targets for the QKI-6 RNA binding proteins using an unbiased approach. We show that AIP-1 mRNA is bound by QKI-6 within its 3′-UTR. This regulation is observed in oligodendrocytes and it is essential for oligodendrocyte process outgrowth

Melatonin treatment affects the attractiveness of the anogenital area scent in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

Seasonal differences exist in the attractiveness of scents in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus. To determine whether photoperiodically induced changes in the attractiveness of a sex-specific scent is governed by melatonin, we implanted long-photoperiod male and female scent donors with a Silastic implant containing a 10-mm active length of melatonin, a 20-mm active length of melatonin, or no melatonin. The first experiment shows that 8 weeks of melatonin treatment is sufficient to induce long-photoperiod voles to produce scents that are no longer attractive to the opposite sex. The second experiment shows that a similar time course of melatonin treatment was sufficient to induce long-photoperiod females treated with melatonin to produce scents that are attractive to short-photoperiod females. Melatonin implants lowered the gonadal hormone titers and reduced the weight of the gonads of treated long-photoperiod voles to titers and weights that are characteristic of short-photoperiod voles. In both experiments, the behavioral and physiological effects were independent of whether scent donors received 10- or 20-mm implants of melatonin. Together, the results of the two experiments reveal that melatonin mediates the photoperiodically induced changes in gonadal hormone titers that control the seasonal differences in the sexual attractiveness of the anogenital area scent produced by meadow voles