Mosquito Populations from Eastern South Dakota During 2001 and 2002

In 2001, the South Dakota Department of Health initiated a program to monitor mosquitoes in South Dakota for the presence of the West Nile Virus. During the first year (2001), a pilot survey was conducted near Brookings, SD. To collect mosquitoes, CDC miniture light traps were used without carbondioxide baiting, beginning on July 3 and ending on August 2, 2001. Results from this small study (total of 2,042 mosquitoes during 10 collection days) showed that the most common mosquotes were Aedes vexans (88.2%), Culex tarsalis, (5.2%), and Aedes dorsalis (4.9%). An additional survey was conducted during the summer of 2002 focusing on 8 different sites (Brandon, Brookings, Huron, North Sioux City, Oak Lake Field Station, Watertown, Waubay and Yankton) in eastern South Dakota. Mosquitoes were collected with the same traps used for 2001, however, the traps were baited with carbon diaoxide (dry ice). Trapping began on June 1 and ended on September 1, 2002. A total of 18,971 mosquitoes were collected from the 8 sites during the 127 trapping days of this survey. From this population, 21 different mosquito species from 8 different genera were identified. The vast majority of mosquitoes were Aedes vexans (86.3%), but Culex tarsalis was also present in significant numbers (7.2%). Aedes vexans populations varied to a greater degree during the summer than did Culex tarsalis. The public’s perceptions of the danger of West Nile Virus transmission is probably more determined by Aedes population than by Culex populations even though Aedes likely plays little or no role in the transmission of this disease

Fluctuations and differential contraction during regeneration of Hydra vulgaris tissue toroids

We studied regenerating bilayered tissue toroids dissected from Hydra vulgaris polyps and relate our macroscopic observations to the dynamics of force-generating mesoscopic cytoskeletal structures. Tissue fragments undergo a specific toroid-spheroid folding process leading to complete regeneration towards a new organism. The time scale of folding is too fast for biochemical signalling or morphogenetic gradients which forced us to assume purely mechanical self-organization. The initial pattern selection dynamics was studied by embedding toroids into hydro-gels allowing us to observe the deformation modes over longer periods of time. We found increasing mechanical fluctuations which break the toroidal symmetry and discuss the evolution of their power spectra for various gel stiffnesses. Our observations are related to single cell studies which explain the mechanical feasibility of the folding process. In addition, we observed switching of cells from a tissue bound to a migrating state after folding failure as well as in tissue injury. We found a supra-cellular actin ring assembled along the toroid's inner edge. Its contraction can lead to the observed folding dynamics as we could confirm by finite element simulations. This actin ring in the inner cell layer is assembled by myosin- driven length fluctuations of supra-cellular {\alpha}-actin structures (myonemes) in the outer cell-layer.Comment: 19 pages and 8 figures, submitted to New Journal of Physic

Long-Term Corticosteroid-Sparing Immunosuppression for Cardiac Sarcoidosis.

Background Long-term corticosteroid therapy is the standard of care for treatment of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). The efficacy of long-term corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppression in CS is unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of methotrexate with or without adalimumab for long-term disease suppression in CS, and to assess recurrence and adverse event rates after immunosuppression discontinuation. Methods and Results Retrospective chart review identified treatment-naive CS patients at a single academic medical center who received corticosteroid-sparing maintenance therapy. Demographics, cardiac uptake of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose, and adverse cardiac events were compared before and during treatment and between those with persistent or interrupted immunosuppression. Twenty-eight CS patients were followed for a mean 4.1 (SD 1.5) years. Twenty-five patients received 4 to 8 weeks of high-dose prednisone (>30 mg/day), followed by taper and maintenance therapy with methotrexate±low-dose prednisone (low-dose prednisone, <10 mg/day). Adalimumab was added in 19 patients with persistently active CS or in those with intolerance to methotrexate. Methotrexate±low-dose prednisone resulted in initial reduction (88%) or elimination (60%) of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake, and patients receiving adalimumab-containing regimens experienced improved (84%) or resolved (63%) 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. Radiologic relapse occurred in 8 of 9 patients after immunosuppression cessation, 4 patients on methotrexate-containing regimens, and in no patients on adalimumab-containing regimens. Conclusions Corticosteroid-sparing regimens containing methotrexate with or without adalimumab is an effective maintenance therapy in patients after an initial response is confirmed. Disease recurrence in patients on and off immunosuppression support need for ongoing radiologic surveillance regardless of immunosuppression regimen

Gradients versus Cycling in Genetic Selection Models

We review the hierarchy of (continuous time) selection models starting with the classical Fisher's viability selection model, and its generalizations when allowing mutations, recombination, sex-dependent viabilities, fertility selection and different mortality rates. We analyse the question in which way Fisher's "Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection" and Kimura's Maximum Principle can be extended to these more general situations. It turns out that in many cases this is principally impossible since the dynamics becomes cycling or even chaotic

Sarcoidosis activates diverse transcriptional programs in bronchoalveolar lavage cells

Abstract Background Sarcoidosis is a multisystem immuno-inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology that most commonly involves the lungs. We hypothesized that an unbiased approach to identify pathways activated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells can shed light on the pathogenesis of this complex disease. Methods We recruited 15 patients with various stages of sarcoidosis and 12 healthy controls. All subjects underwent bronchoscopy with lavage. For each subject, total RNA was extracted from BAL cells and hybridized to an Affymetrix U133A microarray. Rigorous statistical methods were applied to identify differential gene expression between subjects with sarcoidosis vs. controls. To better elucidate pathways differentially activated between these groups, we integrated network and gene set enrichment analyses of BAL cell transcriptional profiles. Results Sarcoidosis patients were either non-smokers or former smokers, all had lung involvement and only two were on systemic prednisone. Healthy controls were all non-smokers. Comparison of BAL cell gene expression between sarcoidosis and healthy subjects revealed over 1500 differentially expressed genes. Several previously described immune mediators, such as interferon gamma, were upregulated in the sarcoidosis subjects. Using an integrative computational approach we constructed a modular network of over 80 gene sets that were highly enriched in patients with sarcoidosis. Many of these pathways mapped to inflammatory and immune-related processes including adaptive immunity, T-cell signaling, graft vs. host disease, interleukin 12, 23 and 17 signaling. Additionally, we uncovered a close association between the proteasome machinery and adaptive immunity, highlighting a potentially important and targetable relationship in the pathobiology of sarcoidosis. Conclusions BAL cells in sarcoidosis are characterized by enrichment of distinct transcriptional programs involved in immunity and proteasomal processes. Our findings add to the growing evidence implicating alveolar resident immune effector cells in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and identify specific pathways whose activation may modulate disease progression

Stimulated emission depletion microscopy

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy is in its simplest form an extension of confocal fluorescence microscopy that offers much enhanced spatial resolution in both 2D and 3D. This chapter provides a basic overview of the theory behind STED microscopy and the technology developments and modern design of the STED microscope. Like with any advanced imaging technology, it is important to implement simple testing procedures of the overall performance. This chapter provides detailed examples of the testing procedures that have proven useful to ensure optimal performance of a range of STED microscopes. Finally, this chapter includes a few application image examples