A call to prioritise prevention: Action is needed to reduce the risk of zoonotic disease emergence

Anthropogenic changes to the environment are facilitating the spread of animal pathogens into human populations. A global focus on detecting and containing emerging infectious diseases has deflected from the need for upstream prevention measures to reduce the risk of pathogen emergence. The drivers of infectious disease emergence have predominantly been considered as environmental and conservation issues and not as risks to human health. There is an opportunity for the UK to take a leadership position on this complex issue. This will require the establishment and maintenance of effective governance and policy mandates. Novel ways of policymaking are needed urgently to achieve three key aims: coordination and collaboration across sectors and government departments, the inclusion of diverse expertise, and the prioritisation of measures directed at prevention

A Reflection on Teachers\u27 Experience as E-learners

This chapter explores the insights gained by a group of teachers from their lived experience as eLearners participating in a blended module on Designing eLearning. An understanding of the student perspective on online learning was obtained but we were also able to reflect on our participation in the module on the basis of our other roles; as teachers and potential eTutors and as course designers. As a result, important considerations were identified for the design and facilitation of online courses. These include; the support provided to online learners, particularly over the first few weeks, appropriate assessment methods, facilitation of online collaboration, access to the Internet, time management and contextualising and scaffolding learning activities. Some issues relating to implementation of effective eLearning in Higher Education Institutions were also considered. Our lived experience as eLearners was invaluable to our development as eTutors and module designers and this approach is strongly recommended to achieve effective learning on how to be an effective online tutor and facilitator and how to design and develop online programmes and activities that make full use of the strengths of online learning

Mitigating amphibian chytridiomycoses in nature

Amphibians across the planet face the threat of population decline and extirpation caused by the disease chytridiomycosis. Despite consensus that the fungal pathogens responsible for the disease are conservation issues, strategies to mitigate their impacts in the natural world are, at best, nascent. Reducing risk associated with the movement of amphibians, non-amphibian vectors and other sources of infection remains the first line of defence and a primary objective when mitigating the threat of disease in wildlife. Amphibian-associated chytridiomycete fungi and chytridiomycosis are already widespread, though, and we therefore focus on discussing options for mitigating the threats once disease emergence has occurred in wild amphibian populations. All strategies have shortcomings that need to be overcome before implementation, including stronger efforts towards understanding and addressing ethical and legal considerations. Even if these issues can be dealt with, all currently available approaches, or those under discussion, are unlikely to yield the desired conservation outcome of disease mitigation. The decision process for establishing mitigation strategies requires integrated thinking that assesses disease mitigation options critically and embeds them within more comprehensive strategies for the conservation of amphibian populations, communities and ecosystems

Spatially Resolved On-Chip Picosecond Pulse Detection Using Graphene

We present an on-chip time domain terahertz (TD-THz) system in which picosecond pulses are generated in low-temperature-grown gallium arsenide (LT-GaAs) and detected in graphene. The detected pulses were found to vary in amplitude, full width at half maximum (FWHM), and DC offset when sampled optically at different locations along a 50-μm-long graphene photoconductive (PC) detector. The results demonstrate the importance of detection location and switch design in graphene-based on-chip PC detectors

Myocardial infarction with unusual presentation of otalgia: a case report

A rare case of a patient with unusual symptoms of earache and sore throat for cardiac ischemia is presented. A diagnosis of non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was made based on initial elevation of troponin and an abnormal electrocardiograph (ECG). Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) performed with stent placement in the occluded coronary vessel was followed by a decrease in troponin level and complete resolution of the ear and throat pain and patient recovery from cardiac ischemia

Chytridiomycosis outbreak in a Chilean giant frog (Calyptocephalella gayi) captive breeding program: genomic characterization and pathological findings

Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife are increasingly associated with animal mortality and species declines, but their source and genetic characterization often remains elusive. Amphibian chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been associated with catastrophic and well-documented amphibian population declines and extinctions at the global scale. We used histology and whole-genome sequencing to describe the lesions caused by, and the genetic variability of, two Bd isolates obtained from a mass mortality event in a captive population of the threatened Chilean giant frog (Calyptocephalella gayi). This was the first time an association between Bd and high mortality had been detected in this charismatic and declining frog species. Pathological examinations revealed that 30 dead metamorphosed frogs presented agnathia or brachygnathia, a condition that is reported for the first time in association with chytridiomycosis. Phylogenomic analyses revealed that Bd isolates (PA1 and PA2) from captive C. gayi group with other Bd isolates (AVS2, AVS4, and AVS7) forming a single highly supported Chilean Bd clade within the global panzootic lineage of Bd (BdGPL). These findings are important to inform the strengthening of biosecurity measures to prevent the impacts of chytridiomycosis in captive breeding programs elsewhere

Opinion: more mouse models and more translation needed for ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a complex disorder most of which is 'sporadic' of unknown origin but approximately 10% is familial, arising from single mutations in any of more than 30 genes. Thus, there are more than 30 familial ALS subtypes, with different, often unknown, molecular pathologies leading to a complex constellation of clinical phenotypes. We have mouse models for many genetic forms of the disorder, but these do not, on their own, necessarily show us the key pathological pathways at work in human patients. To date, we have no models for the 90% of ALS that is 'sporadic'. Potential therapies have been developed mainly using a limited set of mouse models, and through lack of alternatives, in the past these have been tested on patients regardless of aetiology. Cancer researchers have undertaken therapy development with similar challenges; they have responded by producing complex mouse models that have transformed understanding of pathological processes, and they have implemented patient stratification in multi-centre trials, leading to the effective translation of basic research findings to the clinic. ALS researchers have successfully adopted this combined approach, and now to increase our understanding of key disease pathologies, and our rate of progress for moving from mouse models to mechanism to ALS therapies we need more, innovative, complex mouse models to address specific questions

Secreted Phospholipase A2 Involvement in Neurodegeneration: Differential Testing of Prosurvival and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Enzyme Inhibition

There is increased interest in the contribution of secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) enzymes to neurodegenerative diseases. Systemic treatment with the nonapeptide CHEC-9, a broad spectrum uncompetitive inhibitor of sPLA2, has been shown previously to inhibit neuron death and aspects of the inflammatory response in several models of neurodegeneration. A persistent question in studies of sPLA2 inhibitors, as for several other anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective compounds, is whether the cell protection is direct or due to slowing of the toxic aspects of the inflammatory response. To further explore this issue, we developed assays using SY5Y (neuronal cells) and HL-60 (monocytes) cell lines and examined the effects of sPLA2 inhibition on these homogeneous cell types in vitro. We found that the peptide inhibited sPLA2 enzyme activity in both SY5Y and HL-60 cultures. This inhibition provided direct protection to SY5Y neuronal cells and their processes in response to several forms of stress including exposure to conditioned medium from HL-60 cells. In cultures of HL-60 cells, sPLA2 inhibition had no effect on survival of the cells but attenuated their differentiation into macrophages, with regard to process development, phagocytic ability, and the expression of differentiation marker CD36, as well as the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. These results suggest that sPLA2 enzyme activity organizes a cascade of changes comprising both cell degeneration and inflammation, processes that could theoretically operate independently during neurodegenerative conditions. The effectiveness of sPLA2 inhibitor CHEC-9 may be due to its ability to affect both processes in isolation. Testing potential anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective compounds with these human cell lines and their conditioned media may provide a useful screening tool prior to in vivo therapeutic applications

Growth of 1T ' MoTe2 by thermally assisted conversion of electrodeposited tellurium films

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) is a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) which has two phases stable under ambient conditions, a semiconducting (2H) and semimetallic (1T') phase. Despite a host of interesting properties and potential applications, MoTe2 is one of the less-studied TMDs, perhaps due its relatively low abundance in nature or challenges associated with its synthesis, such as the toxicity of most precursors. In this report, we describe the fabrication of thin films of phase-pure IT' MoTe2 using predeposited molybdenum and electrodeposited tellurium layers, at the relatively low temperature of 450 C. This method allows control over film geometry and over the tellurium concentration during the conversion. The MoTe2 films are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and electron microscopies. When applied as a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction, the films display promising initial results. The MoTe2 films have a Tafel slope of below 70 mV dec(-1) and compare favorably with other MoTe2 catalysts reported in the literature, especially considering the inherently scalable fabrication method. The variation in electrocatalytic behavior with thickness and morphology of the films is also investigated