Risk Factors for Colonization of E. coli in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

Opportunistic pathogens related to degradation in water quality are of concern to both wildlife and public health. The objective of this study was to identify spatial, temporal, and environmental risk factors for E. coli colonization among Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL between 2003 and 2007. Age, gender, capture location, coastal human population density, proximity of sewage treatment plants, number of septic tanks, cumulative precipitation 48 hrs and 30 days prior to capture, salinity, and water temperature were analyzed as potential risk factors. Highest E. coli colonization rates occurred in the northern segments of the IRL. The risk of E. coli colonization was the highest among the youngest individuals, in counties with the highest cumulative rainfall 48 hrs and in counties with the highest number of septic systems during the year of capture. The prevalence of colonization was the highest during 2004, a year during which multiple hurricanes hit the coast of Florida. Septic tanks, in combination with weather-related events suggest a possible pathway for introduction of fecal coliforms into estuarine ecosystems. The ability of E. coli and related bacteria to act as primary pathogens or cause opportunistic infections adds importance of these findings

Organo-arsenic molecular layers on silicon for high-density doping

This article describes for the first time the controlled monolayer doping (MLD) of bulk and nanostructured crystalline silicon with As at concentrations approaching 2 x 10²⁰ atoms cm⁻³. Characterization of doped structures after the MLD process confirmed that they remained defect- and damage-free, with no indication of increased roughness or a change in morphology. Electrical characterization of the doped substrates and nanowire test structures allowed determination of resistivity, sheet resistance, and active doping levels. Extremely high As-doped Si substrates and nanowire devices could be obtained and controlled using specific capping and annealing steps. Significantly, the As-doped nanowires exhibited resistances several orders of magnitude lower than the predoped materials

Comparative Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) With Viral, Bacterial, and Fungal Infections

Free-ranging Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (n = 360) from two southeastern U.S. estuarine sites were given comprehensive health examinations between 2003 and 2015 as part of a multi-disciplinary research project focused on individual and population health. The study sites (and sample sizes) included the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida, USA (n = 246) and Charleston harbor and associated rivers (CHS), South Carolina, USA (n = 114). Results of a suite of clinicoimmunopathologic tests revealed that both populations have a high prevalence of infectious and neoplastic disease and a variety of abnormalities of their innate and adaptive immune systems. Subclinical infections with cetacean morbillivirus and Chlamydiaceae were detected serologically. Clinical evidence of orogenital papillomatosis was supported by the detection of a new strain of dolphin papillomavirus and herpesvirus by molecular pathology. Dolphins with cutaneous lobomycosis/lacaziasis were subsequently shown to be infected with a novel, uncultivated strain of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, now established as the etiologic agent of this enigmatic disease in dolphins. In this review, innate and adaptive immunologic responses are compared between healthy dolphins and those with clinical and/or immunopathologic evidence of infection with these specific viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. A wide range of immunologic host responses was associated with each pathogen, reflecting the dynamic and complex interplay between the innate, humoral, and cell-mediated immune systems in the dolphin. Collectively, these studies document the comparative innate and adaptive immune responses to various types of infectious diseases in free-ranging Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Evaluation of the type, pattern, and degree of immunologic response to these pathogens provides novel insight on disease immunopathogenesis in this species and as a comparative model. Importantly, the data suggest that in some cases infection may be associated with subclinical immunopathologic perturbations that could impact overall individual and population health

Protocols for conducting dolphin capture-release health assessment studies

Marine mammals, such as dolphins, can serve as key indicator species in coastal areas by reflecting the effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such they are often considered sentinels of environmental and ecosystem health (Bossart 2006; Wells et al. 2004; Fair and Becker 2000). The bottlenose dolphin is an apex predator and a key component of many estuarine environments in the southeastern United States (Woodward-Clyde Consultants 1994; SCDNR 2005). Health assessments of dolphins are especially critical in areas where populations are depleted, show signs of epidemic disease and/or high mortality and/or where habitat is being altered or impacted by human activities. Recent assessments of environmental conditions in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida (IRL) and the estuarine waters surrounding Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) highlight the need for studies of the health of local bottlenose dolphins. While the condition of southeastern estuaries was rated as fair in the National Coastal Condition Report (U.S. EPA 2001), it was noted that the IRL was characterized by poorer than expected benthic communities, significant sediment toxicity and increased nutrient concentrations. Similarly, portions of the CHS estuary have sediment concentrations of aliphatic aromatic hydrocarbons, select inorganic metals, and some persistent pesticides far in excess of reported bioeffect levels (Hyland et al. 1998). Long-term trends in water quality monitoring and recent scientific research suggest that waste load assimilation, non-point source runoff impacts, contaminated sediments, and toxic pollutants are key issues in the CHS estuary system. Several ‘hot spots’ with high levels of heavy metals and organic compounds have been identified (Van Dolah et al. 2004). High concentrations of anthropogenic trace metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and pesticides have been found in the sediments of Charleston Harbor, as well as the Ashley and Cooper Rivers (Long et al. 1998). Two superfund sites are located within the CHS estuary and the key contaminants of concern associated with these sites are: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), lead, chromium, copper, arsenic, zinc and dioxin. Concerns related to the overall health of IRL dolphins and dermatologic disease observed in many dolphins in the area (Bossart et al. 2003) initiated an investigation of potential factors which may have impacted dolphin health. From May-August 2001, 35 bottlenose dolphins died in the IRL during an unusual mortality event (MMC 2003). Many of these dolphins were diagnosed with a variety of skin lesions including proliferative ulcerative dermatitis due to protozoa and fungi, dolphin pox and a vesicular dermatopathy of unknown etiology (Bossart et al. 2003). Multiple species from fish to dolphins in the IRL system have exhibited skin lesions of various known and unknown etiologies (Kane et al. 2000; Bossart et al. 2003; Reif et al. 2006). On-going photo-identification (photo-ID) studies have documented skin diseases in IRL dolphins (Mazzoil et al. 2005). In addition, up to 70% of green sea turtles in the IRL exhibit fibropapillomas, with the highest rates of occurrence being seen in turtles from the southern IRL (Hirama 2001)

High Seroprevalence of Enterovirus Infections in Apes and Old World Monkeys

To estimate population exposure of apes and Old World monkeys in Africa to enteroviruses (EVs), we conducted a seroepidemiologic study of serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies against 3 EV types. Detection of species A, B, and D EVs infecting wild chimpanzees demonstrates their potential widespread circulation in primates

Development Trends of White Matter Connectivity in the First Years of Life

The human brain is organized into a collection of interacting networks with specialized functions to support various cognitive functions. Recent research has reached a consensus that the brain manifests small-world topology, which implicates both global and local efficiency at minimal wiring costs, and also modular organization, which indicates functional segregation and specialization. However, the important questions of how and when the small-world topology and modular organization come into existence remain largely unanswered. Taking a graph theoretic approach, we attempt to shed light on this matter by an in vivo study, using diffusion tensor imaging based fiber tractography, on 39 healthy pediatric subjects with longitudinal data collected at average ages of 2 weeks, 1 year, and 2 years. Our results indicate that the small-world architecture exists at birth with efficiency that increases in later stages of development. In addition, we found that the networks are broad scale in nature, signifying the existence of pivotal connection hubs and resilience of the brain network to random and targeted attacks. We also observed, with development, that the brain network seems to evolve progressively from a local, predominantly proximity based, connectivity pattern to a more distributed, predominantly functional based, connectivity pattern. These observations suggest that the brain in the early years of life has relatively efficient systems that may solve similar information processing problems, but in divergent ways