Wagoner, Rudolph H.

https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/archives_spirit/1019/thumbnail.jp

The calibrated population resistance tool: standardized genotypic estimation of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance

Summary: The calibrated population resistance (CPR) tool is a web-accessible program for performing standardized genotypic estimation of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance. The program is linked to the Stanford HIV drug resistance database and can additionally perform viral genotyping and algorithmic estimation of resistance to specific antiretroviral drugs

Effects of harvest season on carcass characteristics of lambs in the Intermountain West

Objective: The objectives of this study were to survey characteristics including hot carcass weight (HCW), 12th rib fat thickness (RFT), body-wall thickness (BWT), longissimus muscle area (LMA), USDA yield grade (USDA YG), percentage closely trimmed retail cuts (RC), and calculated yield grade (Calc YG) of lamb carcasses in the Intermountain West to determine the effects of season of slaughter and interrelationships among carcass characteristics. Materials and Methods: Lamb carcass characteristics were evaluated in 2 commercial Intermountain West processing plants over one year (n = 10,027). Carcasses were evaluated by season: spring (December–April, n = 2,322) and summer (May–August, n = 7,705). Results and Discussion: Carcasses of lambs slaughtered in the spring had 3.4 kg heavier HCW (P = 0.04) than those slaughtered in the summer. Subcutaneous fat (RFT; P = 0.06) and Calc YG (P = 0.09) tended to be greater in the spring than summer. Correlation coefficients and models of fit with a linear covariate of HCW indicated negative relationship between HCW and RC and positive relationship with all other carcass traits (P \u3c 0.001). Overall, graded lamb carcasses exceeded commercial processing plant preferred HCW (38.6 kg) by 5% (mean = 40.5 kg) and industry acceptable RFT (6 mm) by 25% (mean = 8.03 mm). Furthermore, 70% of lamb carcasses exceed 6 mm RFT. Implications and Applications: Season of slaughter contributed to differences in HCW and USDA YG but no other carcass characteristics. Still, carcass data surveyed from the largest lamb-producing region of the United States suggests that the degree of fatness exceeds industry preferences. Although abattoirs mitigate adverse effects of excessive fat through trimming and diverse market outlets, industry-wide efforts that agree on acceptable standards of trimness are needed. Transparent dialog across industry segments should be prioritized in addition to consistent integration of value-based pricing to reduce the proportion of excessively finished lambs

Neural Circuitry of Novelty Salience Processing in Psychosis Risk: Association With Clinical Outcome

Psychosis has been proposed to develop from dysfunction in a hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit, leading to aberrant salience processing. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during novelty salience processing to investigate this model in people at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis according to their subsequent clinical outcomes. Seventy-six CHR participants as defined using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) and 31 healthy controls (HC) were studied while performing a novelty salience fMRI task that engaged an a priori hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit of interest. The CHR sample was then followed clinically for a mean of 59.7 months (~5 y), when clinical outcomes were assessed in terms of transition (CHR-T) or non-transition (CHR-NT) to psychosis (CAARMS criteria): during this period, 13 individuals (17%) developed a psychotic disorder (CHR-T) and 63 did not. Functional activation and effective connectivity within a hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit were compared between groups. In CHR individuals compared to HC, hippocampal response to novel stimuli was significantly attenuated (P = .041 family-wise error corrected). Dynamic Causal Modelling revealed that stimulus novelty modulated effective connectivity from the hippocampus to the striatum, and from the midbrain to the hippocampus, significantly more in CHR participants than in HC. Conversely, stimulus novelty modulated connectivity from the midbrain to the striatum significantly less in CHR participants than in HC, and less in CHR participants who subsequently developed psychosis than in CHR individuals who did not become psychotic. Our findings are consistent with preclinical evidence implicating hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit dysfunction in altered salience processing and the onset of psychosis

Seroprevalence, Blood Chemistry, and Patterns of Canine Parvovirus, Distemper Virus, Plague, and Tularemia in Free-ranging Coyotes (\u3ci\u3eCanis latrans\u3c/i\u3e) in Northern New Mexico, USA

Wildlife diseases have implications for ecology, conservation, human health, and health of domestic animals. They may impact wildlife health and population dynamics. Exposure rates of coyotes (Canis latrans) to pathogens such as Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, may reflect prevalence rates in both rodent prey and human populations. We captured coyotes in north-central New Mexico during 2005–2008 and collected blood samples for serologic surveys. We tested for antibodies against canine distemper virus (CDV, Canine morbillivirus), canine parvovirus (CPV, Carnivore protoparvovirus), plague, tularemia (Francisella tularensis), and for canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) antigen. Serum biochemistry variables that fell outside reference ranges were probably related to capture stress. We detected antibodies to parvovirus in 32/32 samples (100%), and to Y. pestis in 26/31 (84%). More than half 19/32 (59%) had antibodies against CDV, and 5/31 (39%) had antibodies against F. tularensis. We did not detect any heartworm antigens (n = 9). Pathogenprevalence was similar between sexes and among the three coyote packs in the study area. Parvovirus exposure appeared to happen early in life, and prevalence of antibodies against CDV increased with increasing age class. Exposure to Y. pestis and F. tularensis occurred across all age classes. The high coyote seroprevalence rates observed for CPV, Y. pestis, and CDV may indicate high prevalence in sympatric vertebrate populations, with implications for regional wildlife conservation as well as risk to humans via zoonotic transmission

Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality

Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women’s and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some “dissident voices” break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity

Short and long term retention in antiretroviral care in health facilities in rural Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Despite the successful scale-up of ART services over the past years, long term retention in ART care remains a major challenge, especially in high HIV prevalence and resource-limited settings. This study analysed the short (<12 months) and long (>12 months) term retention on ART in two ART programmes in Malawi (Thyolo district) and Zimbabwe (Buhera district)