Pathophysiology and recovery of myotis lucifugus affected by white nose syndrome

Critical to our understanding of wildlife diseases is the recovery phase, a period during which individuals clear infections and return to normal patterns of behavior and physiology. Most research on effects of white nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging fungal disease in bats, has focused on the pathophysiology of winter mortality and the effects of WNS on hibernating populations. The period immediately following emergence from hibernation has received little attention, but is a critically important time for survivors of the disease. During this time, survivors face significant physical and physiological challenges as they migrate to summer habitats, potentially begin gestation in the case of reproductive females, and begin to recover from wing damage caused by the fungus, which can be extensive and may greatly increase the energetic cost of flight. In this study, I (1) test the hypothesis that free-ranging bats heal from WNS-induced wing damage, (2) determine how WNS-induced wing damage changes skin surface lipid profiles on free-ranging bats, and (3) describe the temporal process of disease recovery in a colony of captive bats, including analyses of body mass, wing damage, pathogen load, skin surface lipid profiles, and histopathological metrics of WNS. I find that bats can quickly heal from wing damage in the wild and appear healthy as early as mid-July in New England. Analysis of skin surface lipids does not reveal any striking differences between bats with wing damage and those without, although there are trends towards lower total surface lipids and increased levels of cutaneous cholesterol in bats with severe wing damage. Finally, I show that within 40 days of emerging from hibernation, bats quickly clear the fungal infection and gain body mass, undergoing rapid healing of wing damage and changes in skin surface lipid composition. Bats depend on their wings for a variety of vital processes including physiological regulation, locomotion and feeding. To fully understand the consequences of WNS and develop actionable management strategies, it is important to consider the long-term effects of this disease. My study helps fill critical knowledge gaps and will aid in the future conservation and management of affected bat species

Perception and steering control in paired bat flight

Animals within groups need to coordinate their reactions to perceived environmental features and to each other in order to safely move from one point to another. This paper extends our previously published work on the flight patterns of Myotis velifer that have been observed in a habitat near Johnson City, Texas. Each evening, these bats emerge from a cave in sequences of small groups that typically contain no more than three or four individuals, and they thus provide ideal subjects for studying leader-follower behaviors. By analyzing the flight paths of a group of M. velifer, the data show that the flight behavior of a follower bat is influenced by the flight behavior of a leader bat in a way that is not well explained by existing pursuit laws, such as classical pursuit, constant bearing and motion camouflage. Thus we propose an alternative steering law based on virtual loom, a concept we introduce to capture the geometrical configuration of the leader-follower pair. It is shown that this law may be integrated with our previously proposed vision-enabled steering laws to synthesize trajectories, the statistics of which fit with those of the bats in our data set. The results suggest that bats use perceived information of both the environment and their neighbors for navigation.2018-08-0

Multicenter Clinical Evaluation of the Xpert GBS LB Assay for Detection of Group B Streptococcus in Prenatal Screening Specimens

Neonatal infection with Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus [GBS]) is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns. Recent guidelines have recommended universal screening of all pregnant women to identify those colonized with GBS and administration of peripartum prophylaxis to those identified as carriers to reduce the risk of early-onset GBS disease in neonates. Enriched culture methods are the current standard for prenatal GBS screening; however, the implementation of more sensitive molecular diagnostic tests may be able to further reduce the risk of early-onset GBS infection. We report a clinical evaluation of the Xpert GBS LB assay, a molecular diagnostic test for the identification of GBS from broth-enriched vaginal/rectal specimens obtained during routine prenatal screening. A total of 826 specimens were collected from women undergoing prenatal screening (35 to 37 weeks' gestation) and tested at one of three clinical centers. Each swab specimen was tested directly prior to enrichment using the Xpert GBS assay. Following 18 to 24 h of broth enrichment, each specimen was tested using the Xpert GBS LB assay and the FDA-cleared Smart GBS assay as a molecular diagnostic comparator. Results obtained using all three molecular tests were compared to those for broth-enriched culture as the gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert GBS LB assay were 99.0% and 92.4%, respectively, compared to those for the gold standard culture. The Smart GBS molecular test demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 96.8% and 95.5%, respectively. The sensitivities of the two broth-enriched molecular methods were superior to those for direct testing of specimens using the Xpert GBS assay, which demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 85.7% and 96.2%, respectively

Using collision cones to assess biological deconfliction methods

Biological systems consistently outperform autonomous systems governed by engineered algorithms in their ability to reactively avoid collisions. To better understand this discrepancy, a collision avoidance algorithm was applied to frames of digitized video trajectory data from bats, swallows and fish (Myotis velifer, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota and Danio aequipinnatus). Information available from visual cues, specifically relative position and velocity, was provided to the algorithm which used this information to define collision cones that allowed the algorithm to find a safe velocity requiring minimal deviation from the original velocity. The subset of obstacles provided to the algorithm was determined by the animal's sensing range in terms of metric and topological distance. The algorithmic calculated velocities showed good agreement with observed biological velocities, indicating that the algorithm was an informative basis for comparison with the three species and could potentially be improved for engineered applications with further study

Partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide after resuscitation from cardiac arrest and neurological outcome: A prospective multi-center protocol-directed cohort study

Aims Partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) is a regulator of cerebral blood flow after brain injury. We sought to test the association between PaCO2 after resuscitation from cardiac arrest and neurological outcome. Methods A prospective protocol-directed cohort study across six hospitals. Inclusion criteria: age ≥ 18, non-traumatic cardiac arrest, mechanically ventilated after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and receipt of targeted temperature management. Per protocol, PaCO2 was measured by arterial blood gas analyses at one and six hours after ROSC. We determined the mean PaCO2 over this initial six hours after ROSC. The primary outcome was good neurological function at hospital discharge, defined a priori as a modified Rankin Scale ≤ 3. Multivariable Poisson regression analysis was used to test the association between PaCO2 and neurological outcome. Results Of the 280 patients included, the median (interquartile range) PaCO2 was 44 (37-52) mmHg and 30% had good neurological function. We found mean PaCO2 had a quadratic (inverted “U” shaped) association with good neurological outcome, with a mean PaCO2 of 68 mmHg having the highest predictive probability of good neurological outcome, and worse neurological outcome at higher and lower PaCO2. Presence of metabolic acidosis attenuated the association between PaCO2 and good neurological outcome, with a PaCO2 of 51 mmHg having the highest predictive probability of good neurological outcome among patients with metabolic acidosis. Conclusion PaCO2 has a “U” shaped association with neurological outcome, with mild to moderate hypercapnia having the highest probability of good neurological outcome

Association Between Elevated Mean Arterial Blood Pressure and Neurologic Outcome After Resuscitation From Cardiac Arrest: Results From a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study

Objective: Laboratory studies suggest elevated blood pressure after resuscitation from cardiac arrest may be protective; however, clinical data are limited. We sought to test the hypothesis that elevated post-resuscitation mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) is associated with neurological outcome. Design: Pre-planned analysis of a prospective cohort study. Setting: Six academic hospitals in the United States. Patients: Adult, non-traumatic cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Interventions: MAP was measured non-invasively after ROSC and every hour during the initial six hours after ROSC. Measures and Main Results: We calculated the mean MAP and a priori dichotomized subjects into two groups: mean MAP 70–90 and > 90 mmHg. The primary outcome was good neurological function, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 3. The mRS was prospectively determined at hospital discharge. Of the 269 patients included, 159 (59%) had a mean MAP > 90 mmHg. Good neurological function at hospital discharge occurred in 30% of patients in the entire cohort, and was significantly higher in patients with a mean MAP > 90 mmHg (42%) as compared to MAP 70–90 mmHg (15%) [absolute risk difference 27% (95% CI 17%−37%)]. In a multivariable Poisson regression model adjusting for potential confounders, mean MAP > 90 mmHg was associated with good neurological function, adjusted relative risk 2.46 (95% CI 2.09–2.88). Over ascending ranges of mean MAP, there was a dose-response increase in probability of good neurological outcome, with mean MAP > 110 mmHg having the strongest association, adjusted relative risk 2.97 (95% CI 1.86 – 4.76). Conclusions: Elevated blood pressure during the initial six hours after resuscitation from cardiac arrest was independently associated with good neurological function at hospital discharge. Further investigation is warranted to determine if targeting an elevated MAP would improve neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest

Similar hibernation physiology in bats across broad geographic ranges

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of Comparative Physiology B. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00360-021-01400-xSpecies with broad geographic ranges may experience varied environmental conditions throughout their range leading to local adaptation. Variation among populations reflects potential adaptability or plasticity, with implications for populations impacted by disease, climate change, and other anthropogenic influences. However, behavior may counteract divergent selection among populations. We studied intraspecific variation in hibernation physiology of Myotis lucifugus (little brown myotis) and Corynorhinus townsendii (Townsend's big-eared bat), two species of bats with large geographic ranges. We studied M. lucifugus at three hibernacula which spanned a latitudinal gradient of 1500 km, and C. townsendii from 6 hibernacula spread across 1200 km latitude and 1200 km longitude. We found no difference in torpid metabolic rate among populations of either species, nor was there a difference in the effect of ambient temperature among sites. Evaporative water loss was similar among populations of both species, with the exception of one C. townsendii pairwise site difference and one M. lucifugus site that differed from the others. We suggest the general lack of geographic variation is a consequence of behavioral microhabitat selection. As volant animals, bats can travel relatively long distances in search of preferred microclimates for hibernation. Despite dramatic macroclimate differences among populations, hibernating bats are able to find preferred microclimate conditions within their range, resulting in similar selection pressures among populations spread across wide geographic ranges.Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program || United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Grant F17AP00593 || Texas Tech University || Alberta Conservation Association

CMB-S4 Science Book, First Edition

This book lays out the scientific goals to be addressed by the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background experiment, CMB-S4, envisioned to consist of dedicated telescopes at the South Pole, the high Chilean Atacama plateau and possibly a northern hemisphere site, all equipped with new superconducting cameras. CMB-S4 will dramatically advance cosmological studies by crossing critical thresholds in the search for the B-mode polarization signature of primordial gravitational waves, in the determination of the number and masses of the neutrinos, in the search for evidence of new light relics, in constraining the nature of dark energy, and in testing general relativity on large scales

Using Remote Sensing to Map the Risk of Human Monkeypox Virus in the Congo Basin

Although the incidence of human monkeypox has greatly increased in Central Africa over the last decade, resources for surveillance remain extremely limited. We conducted a geospatial analysis using existing data to better inform future surveillance efforts. Using active surveillance data collected between 2005 and 2007, we identified locations in Sankuru district, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where there have been one or more cases of human monkeypox. To assess what taxa constitute the main reservoirs of monkeypox, we tested whether human cases were associated with (i) rope squirrels (Funisciurus sp.), which were implicated in monkeypox outbreaks elsewhere in the DRC in the 1980s, or (ii) terrestrial rodents in the genera Cricetomys and Graphiurus, which are believed to be monkeypox reservoirs in West Africa. Results suggest that the best predictors of human monkeypox cases are proximity to dense forests and associated habitat preferred by rope squirrels. The risk of contracting monkeypox is significantly greater near sites predicted to be habitable for squirrels (OR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.08–1.63). We recommend that semi-deciduous rainforests with oil-palm, the rope squirrel’s main food source, be prioritized for monitoring

Freeze-Dried Somatic Cells Direct Embryonic Development after Nuclear Transfer

The natural capacity of simple organisms to survive in a dehydrated state has long been exploited by man, with lyophylization the method of choice for the long term storage of bacterial and yeast cells. More recently, attempts have been made to apply this procedure to the long term storage of blood cells. However, despite significant progress, practical application in a clinical setting is still some way off. Conversely, to date there are no reports of attempts to lyophilize nucleated somatic cells for possible downstream applications. Here we demonstrate that lyophilised somatic cells stored for 3 years at room temperature are able to direct embryonic development following injection into enucleated oocytes. These remarkable results demonstrate that alternative systems for the long-term storage of cell lines are now possible, and open unprecedented opportunities in the fields of biomedicine and for conservation strategies