Development and use of lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with influenza B haemagglutinins: application to vaccine immunogenicity, mAb potency and sero-surveillance studies

Influenza B viruses cause respiratory disease epidemics in human populations and are included in seasonal influenza vaccines. Serological methods are employed to evaluate vaccine immunogenicity prior to licensure. However, the haemagglutination inhibition assay, which represents the gold standard for assessing the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines, has been shown to be relatively insensitive for the detection of antibodies against influenza B viruses. Furthermore, this assay, and the serial radial haemolysis assay are not able to detect stalk-directed cross-reactive antibodies. For these reasons there is a need to develop new assays that can overcome these limitations. The use of replication-defective viruses, such as lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with influenza A haemagglutinins, in microneutralization assays is a safe and sensitive alternative to study antibody responses elicited by natural infection or vaccination. We have produced Influenza B haemagglutinin-pseudotypes using plasmid-directed transfection. To activate influenza B haemagglutinin, we have explored the use of proteases by adding relevant encoding plasmids to the transfection mixture. When tested for their ability to transduce target cells, the newly produced influenza B pseudotypes exhibit tropism for different cell lines. Subsequently the pseudotypes were evaluated as surrogate antigens in microneutralization assays using reference sera, monoclonal antibodies, human sera collected during a vaccine immunogenicity study and surveillance sera from seals. The influenza B pseudotype virus neutralization assay was found to effectively detect neutralizing and cross-reactive responses despite lack of significant correlation with the haemagglutinin inhibition assay

Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar's Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly

Madagascar experienced a major faunal turnover near the end of the first millenium CE that particularly affected terrestrial, large-bodied vertebrate species. Teasing apart the relative impacts of people and climate on this event requires a focus on regional records with good chronological control. These records may document coeval changes in rainfall, faunal composition, and human activities. Here we present new paleontological and paleoclimatological data from southwestern Madagascar, the driest part of the island today. We collected over 1500 subfossil bones from deposits at a coastal site called Antsirafaly and from both flooded and dry cave deposits at Tsimanampesotse National Park. We built a chronology of Late Holocene changes in faunal assemblages based on 65 radiocarbon-dated specimens and subfossil associations. We collected stalagmites primarily within Tsimanampesotse but also at two additional locations in southern Madagascar. These provided information regarding hydroclimate variability over the past 120,000 years. Prior research has supported a primary role for drought (rather than humans) in triggering faunal turnover at Tsimanampesotse. This is based on evidence of: (1) a large freshwater ecosystem west of what is now the hypersaline Lake Tsimanampesotse, which supported freshwater mollusks and waterfowl (including animals that could not survive on resources offered by the hypersaline lake today); (2) abundant now-extinct terrestrial vertebrates; (3) regional decline or disappearance of certain tree species; and (4) scant local human presence. Our new data allow us to document the hydroclimate of the subarid southwest during the Holocene, as well as shifts in faunal composition (including local extirpations, large-vertebrate population collapse, and the appearance of introduced species). These records affirm that climate alone cannot have produced the observed vertebrate turnover in the southwest. Human activity, including the introduction of cattle, as well as associated changes in habitat exploitation, also played an important role

50 Years of Cetacean Strandings Reveal a Concerning Rise in Chilean Patagonia

Indexación ScopusCetacean strandings (CS) have been reported in increasing numbers in coastal areas worldwide. Although the causes of these strandings are unknown, a number of anthropogenic and environmental factors have been suggested. This paper aims to characterize CS patterns and describe their fine-scale spatiotemporal dynamics. We analysed spatial and spatiotemporal CS patterns in Chile from January 1968 to January 2020. We identified a total of 389 CS events affecting eight cetacean families, 21 genera, and 35 species, which represent more than 85% of the reported species richness for the country. Most CS events (94.1%) were single (i.e., ≤two individuals). There were also 18 mass stranding (three to 24 individuals, 4.1%) and nine unusually large mass stranding events (>25 individuals, 2%). Purely spatial tests showed CS events appearing in random occurrence along the Chilean coast. Local tests for spatio-temporal clusters, however, identified a greater number of hotspots reported in the southernmost part of the country, namely, Chilean Patagonia. Specifically, significant spatio-temporal clusters were identified and defined as containing three or more individuals within a two-month period as a focal coastal event (<1 km radius). It is a cause of concern that CS events in Chile have been increasing consistently over the last decades, and although we were not able to identify their causes, we are able to highlight the importance of changes in climate conditions and of an increase in monitoring activities as primary drivers for such patterns, particularly important in Chilean Patagonia. © 2020, The Author(s).https://www-nature-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/articles/s41598-020-66484-

‘Sons of athelings given to the earth’: Infant Mortality within Anglo-Saxon Mortuary Geography

FOR 20 OR MORE YEARS early Anglo-Saxon archaeologists have believed children are underrepresented in the cemetery evidence. They conclude that excavation misses small bones, that previous attitudes to reporting overlook the very young, or that infants and children were buried elsewhere. This is all well and good, but we must be careful of oversimplifying compound social and cultural responses to childhood and infant mortality. Previous approaches have offered methodological quandaries in the face of this under-representation. However, proportionally more infants were placed in large cemeteries and sometimes in specific zones. This trend is statistically significant and is therefore unlikely to result entirely from preservation or excavation problems. Early medieval cemeteries were part of regional mortuary geographies and provided places to stage events that promoted social cohesion across kinship systems extending over tribal territories. This paper argues that patterns in early Anglo-Saxon infant burial were the result of female mobility. Many women probably travelled locally to marry in a union which reinforced existing social networks. For an expectant mother, however, the safest place to give birth was with experience women in her maternal home. Infant identities were affected by personal and legal association with their mother’s parental kindred, so when an infant died in childbirth or months and years later, it was their mother’s identity which dictated burial location. As a result, cemeteries central to tribal identities became places to bury the sons and daughters of a regional tribal aristocracy

Psychosocial issues of women with type 1 diabetes transitioning to motherhood: a structured literature review

BACKGROUND: Life transitions often involve complex decisions, challenges and changes that affect diabetes management. Transition to motherhood is a major life event accompanied by increased risk that the pregnancy will lead to or accelerate existing diabetes-related complications, as well as risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, all of which inevitably increase anxiety. The frequency of hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia often increases during pregnancy, which causes concern for the health and physical well-being of the mother and unborn child. This review aimed to examine the experiences of women with T1DM focusing on the pregnancy and postnatal phases of their transition to motherhood. METHODS: The structured literature review comprised a comprehensive search strategy identifying primary studies published in English between 1990-2012. Standard literature databases were searched along with the contents of diabetes-specific journals. Reference lists of included studies were checked. Search terms included: 'diabetes', 'type 1', 'pregnancy', 'motherhood', 'transition', 'social support', 'quality of life' and 'psychological well-being'. RESULT: Of 112 abstracts returned, 62 articles were reviewed in full-text, and 16 met the inclusion criteria. There was a high level of diversity among these studies but three common key themes were identified. They related to physical (maternal and fetal) well-being, psychological well-being and social environment. The results were synthesized narratively. CONCLUSION: Women with type 1 diabetes experience a variety of psychosocial issues in their transition to motherhood: increased levels of anxiety, diabetes-related distress, guilt, a sense of disconnectedness from health professionals, and a focus on medicalisation of pregnancy rather than the positive transition to motherhood. A trusting relationship with health professionals, sharing experiences with other women with diabetes, active social support, shared decision and responsibilities for diabetes management assisted the women to make a positive transition. Health professionals can promote a positive transition to motherhood by proactively supporting women with T1DM in informed decision-making, by facilitating communication within the healthcare team and co-ordinating care for women with type 1 diabetes transitioning to motherhood

The Effect of Cationic Compounds of Biological Origin on the Heat Resistance of Bacillus Subtilis Spores

Spores of B. subtilis were produced in the presence of several cationic compounds. Thermal destruction studies revealed that cationic compounds increased heat resistance of the spores. Of the compounds tested, lysine rich histone, isolated from calf thymus, afforded the greatest degree of protection against moist heat at 100°