Sleeping Site Selection in the Nocturnal Northern Lesser Galago (Galago senegalensis) Supports Antipredator and Thermoregulatory Hypotheses

© 2019, The Author(s). Sleep is an important and time-consuming activity, during which animals may be particularly vulnerable. Selecting a suitable sleeping site is therefore essential for an individual’s fitness. Here we test the importance of antipredator and thermoregulatory hypotheses for the sleeping site preference of a nocturnal primate, the Northern lesser galago (Galago senegalensis), in Northern Tanzania. During June to August of 2015 and 2016 we conducted daily surveys of sleeping sites to record the number of galagos and their location within the sleeping tree, and used focal follows to record when galagos reached and left sleeping sites. We collected vegetation data for sleeping sites (N = 47) and matched controls, and placed data loggers in sleeping (N = 14) and control locations to compare temperature and humidity. Sleeping group sizes were similar to that of G. senegalensis in The Gambia, and the mean proportion of visits in which galagos were present at each site was 27 ± SD 25%. Galagos slept on branches (N = 29), nests (N = 6), palm leaves (N = 6), and in tree cavities (N = 1). Palm leaves have not been previously recorded as regular sleeping sites for galagos and were overrepresented relative to their occurrence in the habitat. Random forest classification analysis revealed that galagos sleep in areas with greater canopy cover and connectivity, greater mid-level vegetation cover, higher tree density, and a greater number of Acacia trees. Sleeping locations had significantly lower mean temperatures but greater mean humidity than control locations. Our findings support predator avoidance and thermoregulation as drivers of nesting behavior. In particular, the characteristics of galago sleeping sites correspond well to those expected for protection from aerial predators, while those related to protection from terrestrial predators seem to play a minor role

A Learning Networks approach to resolve conservation challenges in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Conservation Biolog

RISK6, a 6-gene transcriptomic signature of TB disease risk, diagnosis and treatment response

Improved tuberculosis diagnostics and tools for monitoring treatment response are urgently needed. We developed a robust and simple, PCR-based host-blood transcriptomic signature, RISK6, for multiple applications: identifying individuals at risk of incident disease, as a screening test for subclinical or clinical tuberculosis, and for monitoring tuberculosis treatment. RISK6 utility was validated by blind prediction using quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR in seven independent cohorts. Prognostic performance significantly exceeded that of previous signatures discovered in the same cohort. Performance for diagnosing subclinical and clinical disease in HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected persons, assessed by area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, exceeded 85%. As a screening test for tuberculosis, the sensitivity at 90% specificity met or approached the benchmarks set out in World Health Organization target product profiles for non-sputum-based tests. RISK6 scores correlated with lung immunopathology activity, measured by positron emission tomography, and tracked treatment response, demonstrating utility as treatment response biomarker, while predicting treatment failure prior to treatment initiation. Performance of the test in capillary blood samples collected by finger-prick was noninferior to venous blood collected in PAXgene tubes. These results support incorporation of RISK6 into rapid, capillary blood-based point-of-care PCR devices for prospective assessment in field studies

Resource managers' and users’ perspectives on factors contributing to unauthorised hunting in western Tanzania

Unauthorized use of natural resources is one of the challenges facing protected areas in Africa. Understanding factors influencing this behavior can help improve the efficiency of conservation efforts. We conducted focus group discussions with authorized resource users and managers in the Ugalla ecosystem of western Tanzania to determine factors facilitating and motivating unauthorized hunting. The two groups of study participants had different perspectives on the subject. Resource managers dwelt on factors facilitating hunting, for example, inadequate patrol resources and impassable patrol roads. On the other hand, resource users discussed both motivating factors, for example, limited income-generating opportunities; and facilitating factors, some of which were also mentioned by resource managers (eg, poorly managed hunting cases). There was also variability in how study participants perceived the importance of different factors. Some factors were perceived as highly important but mentioned less frequently and others were mentioned often but ranked low. Some were mentioned by both resource managers and users with the same frequency but ranked differently (eg, the management of unauthorized hunting cases). Overall, we suggest considering the views of people with different interests in natural resources to comprehensively understand the factors that influence unauthorized hunting for improved conservation outcomes. Some were mentioned by both resource managers and users with the same frequency but ranked differently (eg, the management of unauthorized hunting cases). Overall, we suggest considering the views of people with different interests in natural resources to comprehensively understand the factors that influence unauthorized hunting for improved conservation outcomes. Some were mentioned by both resource managers and users with the same frequency but ranked differently (eg, the management of unauthorized hunting cases). Overall, we suggest considering the views of people with different interests in natural resources to comprehensively understand the factors that influence unauthorized hunting for improved conservation outcomes

T cell receptor repertoires associated with control and disease progression following Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Data availability: The datasets and scripts to generate the manuscript figures are available at https://github.com/SATVILab/DataTidyMusvosviTCRseq. The raw bulk CDR3α and CDR3β sequence data from the ACS and GC6-74 participants are available at https://doi.org/10.21417/MM2022NM.Online content: Any methods, additional references, Nature Portfolio reporting summaries, source data, extended data, supplementary information, acknowledgements, peer review information; details of author contributions and competing interests; and statements of data and code availability are available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02110-9.Antigen-specific, MHC-restricted αβ T cells are necessary for protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but the ability to broadly study these responses has been limited. In the present study, we used single-cell and bulk T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing and the GLIPH2 algorithm to analyze M. tuberculosis-specific sequences in two longitudinal cohorts, comprising 166 individuals with M. tuberculosis infection who progressed to either tuberculosis (n = 48) or controlled infection (n = 118). We found 24 T cell groups with similar TCR-β sequences, predicted by GLIPH2 to have common TCR specificities, which were associated with control of infection (n = 17), and others that were associated with progression to disease (n = 7). Using a genome-wide M. tuberculosis antigen screen, we identified peptides targeted by T cell similarity groups enriched either in controllers or in progressors. We propose that antigens recognized by T cell similarity groups associated with control of infection can be considered as high-priority targets for future vaccine development.Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health grants (nos. OPP1066265, OPP1023483 and OPP1065330), the Grand Challenges in Global Health (GC6-74, grant no. 37772) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The Stanford Center for Human Systems Immunology was also supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant OPP1113682. The ACS study was also supported by Aeras and BMGF GC12 (grant no. 37885) for QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube testing

A Serum Circulating miRNA Signature for Short-Term Risk of Progression to Active Tuberculosis Among Household Contacts

Biomarkers that predict who among recently Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-exposed individuals will progress to active tuberculosis are urgently needed. Intracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the host response to MTB and circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) have been developed as biomarkers for other diseases. We performed machine-learning analysis of c-miRNA measurements in the serum of adult household contacts (HHCs) of TB index cases from South Africa and Uganda and developed a c-miRNA-based signature of risk for progression to active TB. This c-miRNA-based signature significantly discriminated HHCs within 6 months of progression to active disease from HHCs that remained healthy in an independent test set [ROC area under the ROC curve (AUC) 0.74, progressors < 6 Mo to active TB and ROC AUC 0.66, up to 24 Mo to active TB], and complements the predictions of a previous cellular mRNA-based signature of TB risk