Validation of a Diagnostic Microarray for Human Papillomavirus: Coverage of 102 Genotypes

Papillomaviruses have been implicated in a variety of human diseases ranging from common warts to invasive carcinoma of the anogenital mucosa. Existing assays for genotyping human papillomavirus are restricted to a small number of types. Here, we present a comprehensive, accurate microarray strategy for detection and genotyping of 102 human papillomavirus types and validate its use in a panel of 91 anal swabs. This array has equal performance to traditional dot blot analysis with the benefits of added genotype coverage and the ability to calibrate readout over a range of sensitivity or specificity values

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Interrogation of Neural Circuits of the Basal Forebrain and Midbrain for Sleep-Wake Regulation

In mammals, sleep is comprised of two distinct stages, rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. The regulation of the sleep-wake cycle involves many brains regions that influence the probability of each state. Since many brain regions contain a mixed population of wake-promoting and sleep-promoting neurons, it remains a challenge to dissect and interrogate the neural circuits of sleep-wake regulation.In Chapter 2, I describe the mapping of neural circuits of the basal forebrain (BF) known to regulate wake and NREM sleep. The BF contains a spatially intermingled diverse population of neurons that plays key roles in multiple brain functions, including sleep-wake regulation, attention, and learning/memory. For sleep-wake regulation, the cholinergic, glutamatergic, and parvalbumin-expressing (PV) GABAergic neurons have been shown to promote wakefulness, whereas the somatostatin-expressing (SOM) GABAergic neurons promote NREM sleep. To better understand the functional specialization of these cell types, we performed whole-brain mapping of both inputs and outputs of these four BF cell types in the mouse brain. Using rabies virus-mediated monosynaptic retrograde tracing to label the inputs and adeno-associated virus to trace axonal projections, we identified numerous brain areas connected to the BF. The inputs to different cell types were qualitatively similar, but the output projections showed marked differences. The connections to glutamatergic and SOM+ neurons were strongly reciprocal, while those to cholinergic and PV+ neurons were more unidirectional. These results reveal the long-range wiring diagram of the BF circuit with highly convergent inputs and divergent outputs and point to both functional commonality and specialization of different BF cell types.In Chapter 3, I describe the interrogation of the midbrain ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), known to be important for gating REM sleep. We demonstrated that activating vlPAG GABAergic neurons in mice suppressed the initiation and maintenance of REM sleep while consolidating NREM sleep, partly through their projection to the dorsolateral pons. Cell-type-specific recording and calcium imaging showed that most vlPAG GABAergic neurons are strongly suppressed at REM sleep onset and activated at its termination. In addition to the rapid changes at brain state transitions, their activity decreases gradually between REM sleep and is reset by each REM episode in a duration-dependent manner, mirroring the accumulation and dissipation of REM sleep pressure. Thus, vlPAG GABAergic neurons powerfully gate REM sleep, and their firing rate modulation may contribute to the ultradian rhythm of REM/NREM alternation

The Need of Learners' Participation in the Democratic University Governance

The participation of students in decision making processes in learning institutions has been a subject of debated due to conflicting viewpoints propagated by different stakeholders opinion from different parts of the world (Magadla, 2007). Therefore, the focus here is on the inclusion of learners as decision-makers in univesity governance, helping create space for them to argue deliberatively. It is hoped that the recognition of voices and differences, which is central to our argument, will help to give a voice to the voiceless (the learners). In this article, we focus on the role of learners in univesity governance

Oral Administration of a Medium Containing L-Citrulline-producing Live Bacteria Reduces Body Temperature in Chicks

Recently, we showed that oral administration of crystallized L-citrulline (L-Cit) caused hypothermia under a control thermoneutral temperature (CT) and provided thermotolerance under high ambient temperature (HT) in chicks. The aim of this study was to clarify whether oral administration of a medium containing L-Cit-producing live bacteria can reduce body temperature in chicks under CT. In Experiment 1, 7-day-old chicks were orally administered either a medium (containing mainly L-Cit-producing live bacteria and 277 mM L-Cit) or an equimolar amount of L-Cit to determine their effects on body temperature (acute treatment). In Experiment 2, chicks were subjected to the same treatment from 7 to 13 days of age (chronic treatment). Rectal and surface body temperatures were recorded daily after 1 h of treatment. Both acute and chronic oral administration of the medium, but not of the equimolar amount of L-Cit, significantly reduced the rectal and surface body temperatures of the chicks. Chronic administration of the medium resulted in consistently low rectal and surface body temperatures during the entire experimental period. In conclusion, acute or chronic administration of the medium containing L-Cit-producing live bacteria, but not of the equimolar amount of L-Cit, reduced the rectal and surface body temperatures of the chicks. Our results suggest that medium containing L-Cit-producing live bacteria can be used as a new feed supplement for lowering the body temperature of chicks

Validation of a diagnostic microarray for human papillomavirus: coverage of 102 genotypes.

Papillomaviruses have been implicated in a variety of human diseases ranging from common warts to invasive carcinoma of the anogenital mucosa. Existing assays for genotyping human papillomavirus are restricted to a small number of types. Here, we present a comprehensive, accurate microarray strategy for detection and genotyping of 102 human papillomavirus types and validate its use in a panel of 91 anal swabs. This array has equal performance to traditional dot blot analysis with the benefits of added genotype coverage and the ability to calibrate readout over a range of sensitivity or specificity values

Chronic N-Acetylcysteine during Abstinence or Extinction after Cocaine Self-Administration Produces Enduring Reductions in Drug Seeking

The cysteine prodrug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been shown to reduce reinstatement of cocaine seeking by normalization of glutamatergic tone. However, enduring inhibition of cocaine seeking produced by NAC has not been explored under different withdrawal conditions. Thus, the present study determined whether chronic NAC administered during daily extinction training or daily abstinence after withdrawal from cocaine self-administration would reduce cocaine seeking. Rats self-administered intravenous cocaine during daily 2-h sessions for 12 days, followed by daily extinction or abstinence sessions. During this period, rats received daily injections of saline or NAC (60 or 100 mg/kg). Subsequently, rats were tested for cocaine seeking via conditioned cue, cue + cocaine-primed, and context-induced relapse. Chronic NAC administration blunted cocaine seeking under multiple experimental protocols. Specifically, NAC attenuated responding during cue and cue + cocaine-primed reinstatement tests after extinction and context, cue, and cue + cocaine relapse tests after abstinence. Protection from relapse by NAC persisted well after treatment was discontinued, particularly when the high dose was combined with extinction trials. The finding that NAC reduced cocaine seeking after drug treatment was discontinued has important implications for the development of effective antirelapse medications. These results support recent preclinical and clinical findings that NAC may serve as an effective treatment for inhibiting relapse in cocaine addicts