Impact of 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic on Mortality Rates in Savannah, GA, and Implications for Future Epidemic Prevention

Background: The Spanish Influenza pandemic struck the United States in waves from September 1918 through March 1919. This study investigates the impact of the Spanish Influenza on Savannah and Chatham County, Georgia. Methods: Primary death records from the Chatham County Health Department were examined and analyzed for the years of 1917, 1918, and 1919. Historical mortality rates in the Savannah area were compared to those for other parts of the United States and world. Results: Mortality rates attributed to the Spanish Influenza within Savannah closely paralleled similar flu-related mortality rates for comparison populations in New York, London, and Madrid. Conclusions: These local primary data enable Savannah public health officials to understand the historical trends of communicable disease mortality in relation to other parts of the world, and have the potential to serve as a reference when channeling future resources into epidemic prevention in Chatham County

Microdroplet fabrication of silver–agarose nanocomposite beads for SERS optical accumulation

Microdroplets have been used as reactors for the fabrication of agarose beads with high uniformity in shape and size, and densely loaded with silver ions, which were subsequently reduced into nanoparticles using hydrazine. The resulting nanocomposite beads not only display a high plasmonic activity, but can also trap/concentrate analytes, which can be identified by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. The size of the beads is such that it allows the detection of a single bead under a conventional optical microscope, which is very useful to reduce the amount of material required for SERS detectio

Assessment of preference Liriomyza spp. in different chickpea genotypes and effect of Melia azedarach L. extract : preliminary results

En Argentina se están desarrollando genotipos de garbanzo (Cicer arietinum L.) para adecuarlos a las distintas zonas de producción. Estos presentan diferentes fenotipos lo que podría afectar las preferencias de oviposición de los insectos herbívoros de hábito minador. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: 1) determinar si las hembras del género Liriomyza spp. muestran preferencia por algún genotipo de garbanzo, y 2) evaluar el efecto del extracto de Melia azedarach sobre las líneas de garbanzo que resultaran susceptibles. Se sembraron dos líneas selectas y dos cultivares de C. arietinum que presentan hojas unifoliadas enteras o compuestas, en el Campo Experimental de la Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, en bloques al azar con tres repeticiones. Para analizar la preferencia, mediante censos semanales se evaluó la presencia de las larvas de las moscas en el período julio-septiembre. Los dípteros eligieron de manera significativa los genotipos de hoja entera y grande. Posteriormente, las plantas con hojas minadas de las variedades preferidas fueron sometidas a tratamiento con el extracto botánico. Para ello se marcaron cinco plantas de cada bloque: a 15 se les aplicó extracto (10%) y a las otras 15 agua (control). Se observó que el número de hojas minadas, de pupas y adultos emergidos disminuyeron en los tratamientos con el extracto. Estudios complementarios serán necesarios para poder considerar este compuesto natural en un plan de manejo del herbívoro.In Argentina several genotypes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) have been developed to be cropped in environmentally different production areas. These have different phenotypes which could affect oviposition preferences of the behavior of leafminer. The aims of this study were two-fold: 1) to determine if leafminer Liriomyza spp. has a preference for any chickpea genotype, and 2) to evaluate the insecticide effect of Melia azedarach extracts on susceptible genotypes. Two selected lines and two cultivars of C. arietinum were planted in the experimental field of the FCA, UNC, in randomized blocks with three replications. Through weekly surveys, the preference of the flies in the period from July to September was determined by recording their presence in plants. The leafminer significantly choice the genotype with entire and large leaves. Subsequently, they were treated with botanical extracts by selecting five plants on each block: fifteen of them were treated with a 10% M. azederach extract and the other fifteen only with water (control). Number of mined leaves, pupae and emerged adults decreased after the treatment with the extract. Additional studies are needed to consider this natural compound in a management plan for the herbivore.Fil: Ávalos, Delia S.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Zoología Agrícola.Fil: Ricobelli, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba.Fil: Palacios, Sara M.. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Laboratorio de Química Fina y Productos Naturales.Fil: Defagó, María T.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba

Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes in Type II Supernova Diamonds

We construct a model for the origin of the abundant nanometer diamonds found in meteorites. We interpret them as interstellar particles that were grown during the expansions of supernova interiors. The physical setting and the chemical-vapor-deposition process that we describe present clear reasons both for the small sizes (nm) of the diamonds and for their mean isotopic composition being not greatly different from solar. To delineate the isotopic requirements for collections of diamonds (which are too small for analysis individually) we present measurements of carbon and nitrogen isotopes obtained by stepped combustion of diamond collections. Our model for the growth of supernova diamonds is motivated by a series of postulates, unremarkable as single postulates, that together produce a successful calculation. The computed growth occurs in the continuously mixing envelopes of expanding Type II supernova remnants. It provides a good characterization of these facts: (1) the C isotopic composition is not far from solar; (2) both carbon and nitrogen become isotopically lighter as the diamonds are combusted; (3) the C/N ratio changes during combustion; (4) the diamonds are individually tiny; (5) collections of diamonds are carriers of Xe-HL. We show that the isotopic gradient during combustion may be interpreted in this model as either an isotopic gradient within each diamond or as a correlation between isotopic composition and size of individual diamonds contained in the bulk collections

LEF1-AS1, long non-coding RNA, inhibits proliferation in myeloid malignancy

LEF1 antisense RNA 1 (LEF1-AS1) is an antisense long non-coding RNA encoded in the lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1) locus. LEF1-AS1 is a conserved transcript dysregulated in hematopoiesis. This study aimed to functionally characterize the role of this transcript in myeloid malignancy and explore a possible regulatory effect of LEF1-AS1 upon LEF1. We show that LEF1-AS1 is highly expressed in normal hematopoietic stem cells but barely detectable in myeloid malignant cell lines. Additionally, bone marrow cells from myelodysplastic syndrome (n=12) and acute myeloid malignancy patients (n=28) expressed significantly reduced levels of LEF1-AS1 compared to healthy controls (n=15). Artificial LEF1-AS1 over-expression inhibited proliferation in HL60 and led to an upregulation of tumor suppressors p21 and p27, and reduced ERK1/2 activation. Unexpectedly, no underlying modulation of LEF1 was detected. Ectopic expression of LEF1-AS1 also inhibited proliferation in HELA, a cell line lacking endogenous expression of LEF1, supporting a LEF1-independent mechanism. Additionally, transient over-expression of LEF1-AS1 in AML patient cells also led to reduced proliferation and colony formation capacity. We used a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach. Proteomic quantification identified the modulation of an important metabolic regulator, Fumarase, and concomitant accumulation of the metabolite fumarate23430213025FAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo2013/17227-

Refining Protein Subcellular Localization

The study of protein subcellular localization is important to elucidate protein function. Even in well-studied organisms such as yeast, experimental methods have not been able to provide a full coverage of localization. The development of bioinformatic predictors of localization can bridge this gap. We have created a Bayesian network predictor called PSLT2 that considers diverse protein characteristics, including the combinatorial presence of InterPro motifs and protein interaction data. We compared the localization predictions of PSLT2 to high-throughput experimental localization datasets. Disagreements between these methods generally involve proteins that transit through or reside in the secretory pathway. We used our multi-compartmental predictions to refine the localization annotations of yeast proteins primarily by distinguishing between soluble lumenal proteins and soluble proteins peripherally associated with organelles. To our knowledge, this is the first tool to provide this functionality. We used these sub-compartmental predictions to characterize cellular processes on an organellar scale. The integration of diverse protein characteristics and protein interaction data in an appropriate setting can lead to high-quality detailed localization annotations for whole proteomes. This type of resource is instrumental in developing models of whole organelles that provide insight into the extent of interaction and communication between organelles and help define organellar functionality

Ecological and Social Factors Constrain Spatial and Temporal Opportunities for Mating in a Migratory Songbird

Many studies of sexual selection assume that individuals have equal mating opportunities and that differences in mating success result from variation in sexual traits. However, the inability of sexual traits to explain variation in male mating success suggests that other factors moderate the strength of sexual selection. Extrapair paternity is common in vertebrates and can contribute to variation in mating success and thus serves as a model for understanding the operation of sexual selection. We developed a spatially explicit, multifactor model of all possible female-male pairings to test the hypothesis that ecological (food availability) and social (breeding density, breeding distance, and the social mate's nest stage) factors influence an individual's opportunity for extrapair paternity in a socially monogamous bird, the black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens. A male's probability of siring extrapair young decreased with increasing distance to females, breeding density, and food availability. Males on food-poor territories were more likely to sire extrapair young, and these offspring were produced farther from the male's territory relative to males on food-abundant territories. Moreover, males sired extrapair young mostly during their social mates' incubation stage, especially males on food-abundant territories. This study demonstrates how ecological and social conditions constrain the spatial and temporal opportunities for extrapair paternity that affect variation in mating success and the strength of sexual selection in socially monogamous species

Dermic diffusion and stratum corneum: a state of the art review of mathematical models

Transdermal biotechnologies are an ever increasing field of interest, due to the medical and pharmaceutical applications that they underlie. There are several mathematical models at use that permit a more inclusive vision of pure experimental data and even allow practical extrapolation for new dermal diffusion methodologies. However, they grasp a complex variety of theories and assumptions that allocate their use for specific situations. Models based on Fick's First Law found better use in contexts where scaled particle theory Models would be extensive in time-span but the reciprocal is also true, as context of transdermal diffusion of particular active compounds changes. This article reviews extensively the various theoretical methodologies for studying dermic diffusion in the rate limiting dermic barrier, the stratum corneum, and systematizes its characteristics, their proper context of application, advantages and limitations, as well as future perspectives