Climate change, precipitation and impacts on an estuarine refuge from disease

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e18849, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018849.Oysters play important roles in estuarine ecosystems but have suffered recently due to overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss. A tradeoff between growth rate and disease prevalence as a function of salinity makes the estuarine salinity transition of special concern for oyster survival and restoration. Estuarine salinity varies with discharge, so increases or decreases in precipitation with climate change may shift regions of low salinity and disease refuge away from optimal oyster bottom habitat, negatively impacting reproduction and survival. Temperature is an additional factor for oyster survival, and recent temperature increases have increased vulnerability to disease in higher salinity regions. We examined growth, reproduction, and survival of oysters in the New York Harbor-Hudson River region, focusing on a low-salinity refuge in the estuary. Observations were during two years when rainfall was above average and comparable to projected future increases in precipitation in the region and a past period of about 15 years with high precipitation. We found a clear tradeoff between oyster growth and vulnerability to disease. Oysters survived well when exposed to intermediate salinities during two summers (2008, 2010) with moderate discharge conditions. However, increased precipitation and discharge in 2009 reduced salinities in the region with suitable benthic habitat, greatly increasing oyster mortality. To evaluate the estuarine conditions over longer periods, we applied a numerical model of the Hudson to simulate salinities over the past century. Model results suggest that much of the region with suitable benthic habitat that historically had been a low salinity refuge region may be vulnerable to higher mortality under projected increases in precipitation and discharge. Predicted increases in precipitation in the northeastern United States due to climate change may lower salinities past important thresholds for oyster survival in estuarine regions with appropriate substrate, potentially disrupting metapopulation dynamics and impeding oyster restoration efforts, especially in the Hudson estuary where a large basin constitutes an excellent refuge from disease.Funding was provided by the Hudson River Foundation, grant number 00607A, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (MOU 2008)

Neuropathology of wild-type and nef-attenuated T cell tropic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac32H) and macrophage tropic neurovirulent SIVmac17E-Fr in cynomolgus macaques

The neuropathology of simian immunodeficiency (SIV) infection in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) was investigated following infection with either T cell tropic SIVmacJ5, SIVmacC8 or macrophage tropic SIVmac17E-Fr. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded brain tissue sections were analysed using a combination of in situ techniques. Macaques infected with either wild-type SIVmacJ5 or neurovirulent SIVmac17E-Fr showed evidence of neuronal dephosphorylation, loss of oligodendrocyte and CCR5 staining, lack of microglial MHC II expression, infiltration by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and mild astrocytosis. SIVmacJ5-infected animals exhibited activation of microglia whilst those infected with SIVmac17E-Fr demonstrated a loss of microglia staining. These results are suggestive of impaired central nervous system (CNS) physiology. Furthermore, infiltration by T cells into the brain parenchyma indicated disruption of the blood brain barrier (BBB). Animals infected with the Δnef-attenuated SIVmacC8 showed microglial activation and astrogliosis indicative of an inflammatory response, lack of MHC II and CCR5 staining and infiltration by CD8+ T cells. These results demonstrate that the SIV infection of cynomolgus macaque can be used as a model to replicate the range of CNS pathologies observed following HIV infection of humans and to investigate the pathogenesis of HIV associated neuropathology

The association of patient trust and self-care among patients with diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: Diabetes requires significant alterations to lifestyle and completion of self management tasks to obtain good control of disease. The objective of this study was to determine if patient trust is associated with reduced difficulty and hassles in altering lifestyle and completing self care tasks. METHODS: A cross-sectional telephone survey and medical record review was performed to measure patient trust and difficulty in completing diabetes tasks among 320 medically underserved patients attending diabetes programs in rural North Carolina, USA. Diabetes tasks were measured three ways: perceived hassles of diabetic care activities, difficulty in completing diabetes-related care activities, and a global assessment of overall ability to complete diabetes care activities. The association of patient trust with self-management was examined after controlling for patient demographics, physical functioning, mental health and co-morbidities. RESULTS: Level of patient trust was high (median 22, possible max 25). Higher trust levels were associated with lower levels of hassles (p = 0.006) and lower difficulty in completing care activities (p = 0.001). Patients with higher trust had better global assessments of overall ability to complete diabetes care activities (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Higher patient trust in physicians is associated with reduced difficulty in completing disease specific tasks by patients. Further studies are needed to determine the causal relationship of this association, the effect of trust on other outcomes, and the potential modifiability of trus

Fatal Cases of Influenza A(H3N2) in Children: Insights from Whole Genome Sequence Analysis

During the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2003–2004 the emergence of a novel influenza antigenic variant, A/Fujian/411/2002-like(H3N2), was associated with an unusually high number of fatalities in children. Seventeen fatal cases in the UK were laboratory confirmed for Fujian/411-like viruses. To look for phylogenetic patterns and genetic markers that might be associated with increased virulence, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the whole genomes of 63 viruses isolated from fatal cases and non fatal “control” cases was undertaken. The analysis revealed the circulation of two main genetic groups, I and II, both of which contained viruses from fatal cases. No associated amino acid substitutions could be linked with an exclusive or higher occurrence in fatal cases. The Fujian/411-like viruses in genetic groups I and II completely displaced other A(H3N2) viruses, but they disappeared after 2004. This study shows that two A(H3N2) virus genotypes circulated exclusively during the winter of 2003–2004 in the UK and caused an unusually high number of deaths in children. Host factors related to immune state and differences in genetic background between patients may also play important roles in determining the outcome of an influenza infection

Line orientation adaptation: local or global?

Prolonged exposure to an oriented line shifts the perceived orientation of a subsequently observed line in the opposite direction, a phenomenon known as the tilt aftereffect (TAE). Here we consider whether the TAE for line stimuli is mediated by a mechanism that integrates the local parts of the line into a single global entity prior to the site of adaptation, or the result of the sum of local TAEs acting separately on the parts of the line. To test between these two alternatives we used the fact the TAE transfers almost completely across luminance contrast polarity [1]. We measured the TAE using adaptor and test lines that (1) either alternated in luminance polarity or were of a single polarity, and (2) either alternated in local orientation or were of a single orientation. We reasoned that if the TAE was agnostic to luminance polarity and was parts-based, we should obtain large TAEs using alternating-polarity adaptors with single-polarity tests. However we found that (i) TAEs using one-alternating-polarity adaptors with all-white tests were relatively small, increased slightly for two-alternating-polarity adaptors, and were largest with all-white or all-black adaptors. (ii) however TAEs were relatively large when the test was one-alternating polarity, irrespective of the adaptor type. (iii) The results with orientation closely mirrored those obtained with polarity with the difference that the TAE transfer across orthogonal orientations was weak. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the TAE for lines is mediated by a global shape mechanism that integrates the parts of lines into whole prior to the site of orientation adaptation. The asymmetry in the magnitude of TAE depending on whether the alternating-polarity lines was the adaptor or test can be explained by an imbalance in the population of neurons sensitive to 1st-and 2nd-order lines, with the 2nd-order lines being encoded by a subset of the mechanisms sensitive to 1st-order lines

Low level constraints on dynamic contour path integration

Contour integration is a fundamental visual process. The constraints on integrating discrete contour elements and the associated neural mechanisms have typically been investigated using static contour paths. However, in our dynamic natural environment objects and scenes vary over space and time. With the aim of investigating the parameters affecting spatiotemporal contour path integration, we measured human contrast detection performance of a briefly presented foveal target embedded in dynamic collinear stimulus sequences (comprising five short 'predictor' bars appearing consecutively towards the fovea, followed by the 'target' bar) in four experiments. The data showed that participants' target detection performance was relatively unchanged when individual contour elements were separated by up to 2° spatial gap or 200ms temporal gap. Randomising the luminance contrast or colour of the predictors, on the other hand, had similar detrimental effect on grouping dynamic contour path and subsequent target detection performance. Randomising the orientation of the predictors reduced target detection performance greater than introducing misalignment relative to the contour path. The results suggest that the visual system integrates dynamic path elements to bias target detection even when the continuity of path is disrupted in terms of spatial (2°), temporal (200ms), colour (over 10 colours) and luminance (-25% to 25%) information. We discuss how the findings can be largely reconciled within the functioning of V1 horizontal connections

Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Changes Observed in Diabetes Prevention Programs in US Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) study showed that weight loss in high-risk adults lowered diabetes incidence and cardiovascular disease risk. No prior analyses have aggregated weight and cardiometabolic risk factor changes observed in studies implementing DPP interventions in nonresearch settings in the United States. Methods and Findings: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we pooled data from studies in the United States implementing DPP lifestyle modification programs (focused on modest [5%–7%] weight loss through ≥150 min of moderate physical activity per week and restriction of fat intake) in clinical, community, and online settings. We reported aggregated pre- and post-intervention weight and cardiometabolic risk factor changes (fasting blood glucose [FBG], glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c], systolic or diastolic blood pressure [SBP/DBP], total [TC] or HDL-cholesterol). We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases from January 1, 2003, to May 1, 2016. Two reviewers independently evaluated article eligibility and extracted data on study designs, populations enrolled, intervention program characteristics (duration, number of core and maintenance sessions), and outcomes. We used a random effects model to calculate summary estimates for each outcome and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). To examine sources of heterogeneity, results were stratified according to the presence of maintenance sessions, risk level of participants (prediabetes or other), and intervention delivery personnel (lay or professional). Forty-four studies that enrolled 8,995 participants met eligibility criteria. Participants had an average age of 50.8 years and body mass index (BMI) of 34.8 kg/m2, and 25.2% were male. On average, study follow-up was 9.3 mo (median 12.0) with a range of 1.5 to 36 months; programs offered a mean of 12.6 sessions, with mean participant attendance of 11.0 core sessions. Sixty percent of programs offered some form of post-core maintenance (either email or in person). Mean absolute changes observed were: weight -3.77 kg (95% CI: -4.55; -2.99), HbA1c -0.21% (-0.29; -0.13), FBG -2.40 mg/dL (-3.59; -1.21), SBP -4.29 mmHg (-5.73, -2.84), DBP -2.56 mmHg (-3.40, 1.71), HDL +0.85 mg/dL (-0.10, 1.60), and TC -5.34 mg/dL (-9.72, -0.97). Programs with a maintenance component achieved greater reductions in weight (additional -1.66kg) and FBG (additional -3.14 mg/dl). Findings are subject to incomplete reporting and heterogeneity of studies included, and confounding because most included studies used pre-post study designs. Conclusions: DPP lifestyle modification programs achieved clinically meaningful weight and cardiometabolic health improvements. Together, these data suggest that additional value is gained from these programs, reinforcing that they are likely very cost-effective