SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Prevalence Among Healthcare Workers and First Responders, Florida, May-June, 2020

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for severe respiratory infection associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first confirmed in Florida on March 1, 2020. Responding to the pandemic, multi-agency collaborative partnerships put in place actions integrating point-of-care antibody testing at established large-scale COVID-19 testing sites where the baseline seropositivity of COVID-19 in health care workers and first responders in Florida at the start of the pandemic was established. Purpose: Determine the seropositivity of healthcare workers and first responders at five drive thru testing sites using a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antibody test in Florida from May 6 through June 3, 2020. Methods: The first drive-thru SARS-CoV-2 antibody test site was opened at Miami Hard Rock Stadium, May 6, 2020. Testing expanded to three additional sites on May 9, 2020: Jacksonville, Orlando, and Palm Beach. The fifth and final site, Miami Beach, began testing on May 21, 2020. Healthcare workers and first responder’s self-seeking SARS-CoV-2 testing were designated for antibody testing and completed a laboratory collection form on-site for the point-of-care test. All testing was performed on whole blood specimens (obtained by venipuncture) using the Cellex Inc. qSARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Test. Seropositivity was assessed by univariate analysis and by logistic regression including the covariates age, sex, race/ethnicity, and testing location. Results and Discussion: As of June 3, 2020, of 5,779 healthcare workers and first responders tested, 4.1% were seropositive (range 2.6–8.2%). SARS-COV-2 antibody tests had higher odds of being positive for persons testing at the Miami Hard Rock Stadium (aOR 2.24 [95% C.I. 1.48-3.39]), persons of Haitian/Creole ethnicity (aOR 3.28 [95% C.I. 1.23-8.72]), Hispanic/Latino(a) ethnicity (aOR 2.17 [95% C.I. 1.50-3.13], and Black non-Hispanic persons (aOR 1.63 [95% C.I. 1.08-2.46]). SARS-COV-2 antibody prevalence among first responders and healthcare workers in five sites in Florida varied by race and ethnicity and by testing location

Librarians Assemble! Creating Comics Studies Communities

Presented at ACRL 2021. Comics Studies is an emerging field of study that brings scholarly attention to graphic narratives in a variety of published forms. While libraries have long recognized that comics are important materials to include in collections, collection development is only the first step in fostering a Comics Studies community. Librarians have a unique role to play in supporting innovative use of libraries’ collections of comics materials through outreach, education, and programming.This panel features scholar librarians who research, collect, and promote comics in their libraries, describing their experiences with creating comics studies communities at the campus, regional, and international levels.Ope

Temperature-dependent growth and behavior of juvenile Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and co-occurring North Pacific gadids

The thermal sensitivity of Arctic fish species is poorly understood, yet such data are a critical component of forecasting and understanding ecosystem impacts of climate change. In this study, we experimentally measured temperature-dependent growth and routine swim activity in the juvenile stage of two Arctic gadids (Arctic cod, Boreogadus saida and saffron cod, Eleginus gracilis) and two North Pacific gadids (walleye pollock, Gadus chalcogrammus and Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus) over a 6-week growth period across five temperatures (0, 5, 9, 16 and 20°C). Arctic cod demonstrated a cold-water, stenothermic response in that there was relatively high growth at 0°C (0.73 % day⁻¹), near-maximal growth at 5°C (1.35 % day⁻¹) and negative impacts on activity, growth and survival at 16 °C. In contrast, saffron cod demonstrated a warmer-water, eurythermic response, and temperature had a positive effect on growth and condition beyond 16°C. However, despite these distinct thermal responses, walleye pollock and Pacific cod grew 2–3 times faster than Arctic gadids across a relatively broad temperature range above 5°C. These results, coupled with possible northward expansion by both Pacific cod and walleye pollock, suggest Arctic cod are highly vulnerable to continued climate change in the Arctic, especially in coastal areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas where temperatures already exceed 14°C in the summer growth period.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the US Government and published by Springer. It can be found at: http://link.springer.com/journal/300Keywords: Climate change, Saffron cod, Walleye pollock, Thermal sensitivity, Pacific cod, Biogeograph

Effective detection of proteins following electrophoresis using extracts of locally available food species

Procedures in life sciences research laboratories often require chemicals and plasticware that are costly, toxic or pose a risk to the environment. Therefore, sustainable alternatives would be of interest, provided that they generate suitable data quality. Coomassie blue and silver staining are the most widely used methods for detecting proteins following electrophoresis in the laboratory. However, their use presents challenges in terms of safety and waste management. In the current study, aqueous extracts were prepared from a series of common food species and evaluated as alternative stains for protein detection. Beets, blueberries, purple cabbage, raspberries and strawberries were employed to stain identical proteins separated under the same conditions in electrophoresis gels. Extracts of the first two species resulted in protein bands that were detectable through visible light transillumination, whereas extracts from all five species generated specific protein bands under ultraviolet light. The raspberry-derived extract was selected for further study based on the brightness of the fluorescent protein bands and minimal background staining. For both bovine serum albumin and lysozyme at 2.5 μg and 0.5 μg protein per band, the mean signal intensities obtained with raspberry extract staining were just below half of those obtained with Coomassie blue. Furthermore, the mean intensities using raspberry extract were equivalent to those obtained using Coomassie blue in the detection of 0.1 μg protein. Therefore, raspberry could be used to produce an effective stain for the routine laboratory analysis of proteins

Ontogenetic and spatial variability in trophic biomarkers of juvenile saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) from the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas

Climate models indicate the Arctic will undergo dramatic environmental change with forecasted increases in temperature and river runoff. Saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) is abundant in nearshore waters and appears in the diet of many Arctic sea birds and marine mammals; however, little is known about its early ecology and consequently how they might be affected by environmental changes. We aimed to characterize the mechanisms of spatial and ontogenetic variation in trophic biomarkers (lipid classes, fatty acids and bulk C and N stable isotopes) of saffron cod from the Western Arctic, Chukchi and Bering Seas. Size-standardized analyses showed a significant difference in lipid condition metrics and trophic biomarkers as a function of survey location. Both ontogeny and sampling location played an important role in determining lipid stores with elevated levels in both small offshore juveniles (75 mm). Higher lipid storage in Arctic juveniles was associated with elevated levels of diatom fatty acid markers, but not with nearshore carbon input. Increased lipids were found in age-1 juveniles from Prudhoe Bay in the Western Beaufort that were feeding at a lower trophic level than similarly sized age-0 juveniles from surface trawls in the Bering Sea. The use of otolith annuli revealed two discrete patterns of growth that help explain the trade-offs between energy storage and rapid growth that diverge between the Arctic and Bering Sea. Laboratory temperature-growth experiments confirmed that saffron cod have a eurythermal growth response and are able to store excess lipids at temperatures as high as 20°C.Keywords: Arctic, Nutrition, Fatty acids, Saffron cod, Lipids, OntogenyKeywords: Arctic, Nutrition, Fatty acids, Saffron cod, Lipids, Ontogen

Why the increase in under five mortality in Uganda from 1995 to 2000? A retrospective analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>From 1995-2000 the under five mortality rate in Uganda increased from 147.3 to 151.5 deaths per 1000 live births and reasons for the increase were not clear. This study was undertaken to understand factors influencing the increase in under five mortality rate during 1995-2000 in Uganda with a view of suggesting remedial actions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a comparative retrospective analysis of data derived from the 1995 and the 2000 Uganda demographic and health surveys. We correlated the change of under five mortality rate in Uganda desegregated by region (central, eastern, north and western) with change in major known determinants of under five mortality such social economic circumstances, maternal factors, access to health services, and level of nutrition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The increase in under five mortality rate only happened in western Uganda with the other 3 regions of Uganda (eastern, northern and central) showing a decrease. The changes in U5MR could not be explained by changes in poverty, maternal conditions, level of nutrition, or in access to health and other social services and in the prevalence of HIV among women attending for ante-natal care. All these factors did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05) using Pearson's correlation coefficient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In order to explain these findings, there is need to find something that happened in western Uganda (but not other parts of the country) during the period 1995-2000 and has the potential to change the under five mortality by a big margin. We hypothesize that the increase in under five mortality could be explained by the severe malaria epidemic that occurred in western Uganda (but not other regions) in 1997/98.</p

The Particle Tracking Silicon Microscope PTSM

Abstract-A novel position-and energy-sensitive particle detector for radiobiological application is described. The aim is to support research in radiation response of biological systems, for example in the induction of mutations in C. elegans, where precise knowledge of location and intensity of the radiation is crucial to understand radiation sensitivity of individual cells. The &quot;Particle Tracking Silicon Microscope&quot; (PTSM) consists of a silicon strip detector in direct contact with radiobiological samples (e.g., C. elegans), such that the location and intensity of particle radiation can be controlled at the 10µm scale. The readout is performed with low-noise readout electronics, which allows the determination of the particle&apos;s position from the hit strip address and its energy from the specific energy loss. In our implementation, the energy loss is measured through the timeover-threshold (TOT). The noise rate at acceptable thresholds is so low that the single particles can be detected with 100% efficiency. The performance of the front-end ASIC is described, and the results of initial environmental tests are reported. These include placing biological samples and saline solutions in direct contact with the silicon detectors