Mapping and Monitoring of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in Escambia-Pensacola Bay System, Florida

Recently, the distribution and changes in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAY) in the Escambia-Pensacola Bay System in northeastern Florida were monitored by two techniques. One technique used divers to measure changes in the deepwater margin of beds and provided horizontal growth measurements to the nearest centimeter, the other used a differential global positioning system (DGPS) on a small boat to map the perimeter of SAY beds in shallow water. Current distribution of SAY in Escambia Bay shows that most of the SAY losses that occurred during the 1950s to 1970s have been recovered. In Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay, SAY showed significant increased growth with horizontal growth rates of some beds averaging more than 50 em over the past year. In Big Lagoon, however, SAY has declined an average of 10 em in horizontal coverage along the deepwater edge. Water quality and photosynthetically active radiation light measurements from the Escambia-Pensacola Bay System suggest that increased light availability was associated with the increased seagrass coverage in Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay, and elevated nutrient concentrations were associated with the seagrass declines in Big Lagoon

Preliminary Survey of Chemical Contaminants in Water, Sediment, and Aquatic Biota at Selected Sites in Northeastern Florida Bay and Canal C-111

Several actions are under way to alter water management capabilities and practices in south Florida in order to restore a more natural hydroperiod for the Everglades. Because relatively little research has been conducted on contaminants entering Florida Bay, we undertook a preliminary study in June 1995 to determine contaminant concentrations in surface water, sediment, and biota prior to major changes in water management. The areas studied were the C-111 canal (five sites) beginning just above water control structure S-197 and extending to Manatee Bay (part of the Biscayne Bay system), Shell Creek (three sites), the mouth of Taylor River, Trout Creek (two sites), and a site near the Key Largo Ranger Station. Hydrographic observations were made at each site, and samples of water and sediment were collected at each of the five areas except the Key Largo site. Bioresidues were determined for indigenous oysters collected from the C-111 canal and Shell Creek and for transplanted oysters exposed at the Key Largo site, the C-111 canal, Shell Creek, Taylor River, and Trout Creek for 5-29 days. Water samples were analyzed for selected organochlorine pesticides and metals; sediments were analyzed for the same compounds and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Fish filets and shucked oysters were analyzed for selected organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and metals. Other than low dissolved oxygen at some C-111 canal sites, water quality was generally good. Most contaminants were below water and sediment quality guidelines designed to protect aquatic life, and contaminant concentrations in oysters were low. Threshold effect levels were exceeded for some organochlorine pesticides and PAHs in some sediment samples, but all values measured were below probable effect levels. Low concentrations of organochlorine pesticides were detected in sediments from the C-111 canal, Shell Creek, Taylor River, and Trout Creek; except for Taylor River, low concentrations of PCB congeners and PAHs were detected from the same areas. The only organochlorine pesticide detected in filets from seven fish was 3.2 v-g DDE/kg (wet weight) in a sea catfish. Total mercury concentrations in filets of four species of fishes ranged from 0.53 to 1.3 μg/g, wet weight, which falls within a limited consumption advisory by the State of Florida

Ensemble Concerts: Civic Chorale with Normal First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, November 12, 2023

Center for the Performing Arts Concert HallSundayNovember 12, 20233:00 p.m

Structural and mechanistic insights into a Bacteroides vulgatus retaining N-acetyl-β-galactosaminidase that uses neighbouring group participation

Bacteroides vulgatus is a member of the human microbiota whose abundance is increased in patients with Crohn's disease. We show that a B. vulgatus glycoside hydrolase from the carbohydrate active enzyme family GH123, BvGH123, is an N-acetyl-β-galactosaminidase that acts with retention of stereochemistry, and, through a 3-D structure in complex with Gal-thiazoline, provide evidence in support of a neighbouring group participation mechanism

The Limits and Intensity of Plasmodium falciparum Transmission: Implications for Malaria Control and Elimination Worldwide

Combining extensive surveillance and climate data, as well as biological characteristics of Anopheles mosquitoes, Robert Snow and colleagues create a global map of risk for P. falciparum malaria

O-GlcNAc Modification of NFκB p65 Inhibits TNF-α-Induced Inflammatory Mediator Expression in Rat Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells

BACKGROUND: We have shown that glucosamine (GlcN) or O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranosylidene)amino-N-phenylcarbamate (PUGNAc) treatment augments O-linked-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) protein modification and attenuates inflammatory mediator expression, leukocyte infiltration and neointima formation in balloon injured rat carotid arteries and have identified the arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC) as the target cell in the injury response. NFκB signaling has been shown to mediate the expression of inflammatory genes and neointima formation in injured arteries. Phosphorylation of the p65 subunit of NFκB is required for the transcriptional activation of NFκB. This study tested the hypothesis that GlcN or PUGNAc treatment protects vascular SMCs against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced inflammatory stress by enhancing O-GlcNAcylation and inhibiting TNF-α induced phosphorylation of NFκB p65, thus inhibiting NFκB signaling. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Quiescent rat aortic SMCs were pretreated with GlcN (5 mM), PUGNAc (10(-4) M) or vehicle and then stimulated with TNF-α (10 ng/ml). Both treatments inhibited TNF-α-induced expression of chemokines [cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-2β and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1] and adhesion molecules [vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and P-Selectin]. Both treatments inhibited TNF-α induced NFκB p65 activation and promoter activity, increased NFκB p65 O-GlcNAcylation and inhibited NFκB p65 phosphorylation at Serine 536, thus promoting IκBα binding to NFκB p65. CONCLUSIONS: There is a reciprocal relationship between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation of NFκB p65, such that increased NFκB p65 O-GlcNAc modification inhibits TNF-α-Induced expression of inflammatory mediators through inhibition of NFκB p65 signaling. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for our previous observations that GlcN and PUGNAc treatments inhibit inflammation and remodeling induced by acute endoluminal arterial injury

Prevalence of plasmodium falciparum in active conflict areas of eastern Burma: a summary of cross-sectional data

BACKGROUND: Burma records the highest number of malaria deaths in southeast Asia and may represent a reservoir of infection for its neighbors, but the burden of disease and magnitude of transmission among border populations of Burma remains unknown. METHODS: Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) parasitemia was detected using a HRP-II antigen based rapid test (Paracheck-Pf(R)). Pf prevalence was estimated from screenings conducted in 49 villages participating in a malaria control program, and four retrospective mortality cluster surveys encompassing a sampling frame of more than 220,000. Crude odds ratios were calculated to evaluate Pf prevalence by age, sex, and dry vs. rainy season. RESULTS: 9,796 rapid tests were performed among 28,410 villagers in malaria program areas through four years (2003: 8.4%, 95% CI: 8.3 - 8.6; 2004: 7.1%, 95% CI: 6.9 - 7.3; 2005:10.5%, 95% CI: 9.3 - 11.8 and 2006: 9.3%, 95% CI: 8.2 - 10.6). Children under 5 (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.93 - 2.06) and those 5 to 14 years (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 2.18 - 2.29) were more likely to be positive than adults. Prevalence was slightly higher among females (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 - 1.06) and in the rainy season (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.16 - 1.88). Among 5,538 rapid tests conducted in four cluster surveys, 10.2% were positive (range 6.3%, 95% CI: 3.9 - 8.8; to 12.4%, 95% CI: 9.4 - 15.4). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of plasmodium falciparum in conflict areas of eastern Burma is higher than rates reported among populations in neighboring Thailand, particularly among children. This population serves as a large reservoir of infection that contributes to a high disease burden within Burma and likely constitutes a source of infection for neighboring regions

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century