Disturbance Driven Colony Fragmentation as a Driver of a Coral Disease Outbreak

In September of 2010, Brewer’s Bay reef, located in St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands), was simultaneously affected by abnormally high temperatures and the passage of a hurricane that resulted in the mass bleaching and fragmentation of its coral community. An outbreak of a rapid tissue loss disease among coral colonies was associated with these two disturbances. Gross lesion signs and lesion progression rates indicated that the disease was most similar to the Caribbean coral disease white plague type 1. Experiments indicated that the disease was transmissible through direct contact between colonies, and five-meter radial transects showed a clustered spatial distribution of disease, with diseased colonies being concentrated within the first meter of other diseased colonies. Disease prevalence and the extent to which colonies were bleached were both significantly higher on unattached colony fragments than on attached colonies, and disease occurred primarily on fragments found in direct contact with sediment. In contrast to other recent studies, disease presence was not related to the extent of bleaching on colonies. The results of this study suggest that colony fragmentation and contact with sediment played primary roles in the initial appearance of disease, but that the disease was capable of spreading among colonies, which suggests secondary transmission is possible through some other, unidentified mechanism

Investigating the palaeoenvironmental context of Late Pleistocene human dispersals into Southeast Asia: a review of stable isotope applications

We review palaeoenvironmental applications of stable isotope analysis to Late Pleistocene archaeological sites across Southeast Asia (SEA), a region critical to understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens and other co-existing Late Pleistocene (124–11.7 ka) hominins. Stable isotope techniques applied to archaeological deposits offer the potential to develop robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, to contextualise the occupational and non-occupational history of a site. By evaluating the published research in this field, we show that sediments, guano, tooth enamel, speleothem and biomolecular material such as leaf waxes have great potential to provide site-specific palaeoenvironmental records and local and catchment-scale landscape context to hominin dispersal in the region. However, stable isotope techniques used in these contexts are in their infancy in SEA, and the diagenetic controls associated with hot and humid environments that typify the region are not yet fully understood. Additionally, availability of sources of stable isotopes varies between sites. Nonetheless, even the limited research currently available shows that stable isotope analyses can aid in developing a better understanding of the role of the environment on the nature and timing of dispersals of our species eastwards into SEA and beyond.Meghan S. McAllister, Mike W. Morley, Jonathan J. Tyler, Francesca A. McInerney, Alison J. Blyt

Comparative analysis of paracrine immunotherapy in experimental brain tumors

Local delivery of cytokines has been shown to have a potent antitumor activity against a wide range of malignant brain tumors. In this study, the authors examined the efficacy of treating central nervous system (CNS) tumors by transfecting poorly immunogenic B16/F10 melanoma cells with interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, or granulocytemacrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene, and using these cells to deliver the cytokine locally at the site of the CNS tumor. The object was to determine which cytokine would possess the greatest antitumor activity and to further elucidate its mechanism of action. METHODS: The transfected B16/F10 cells were irradiated to prevent replication and injected intracranially into C57BL/6 mice (10 mice per group) along with nonirradiated, nontransfected B16/F10 (wild-type) melanoma cells. Sixty percent of mice treated with IL-2 (p 120 days). The median survival for animals treated with GM-CSF was 22 days with no long term survivors (p = 0.01 compared with control). Control animals that received only wild-type cells had a median survival of 18 days (range 15-20 days). Histopathological examination of brains from animals killed at different times showed minimal infiltration of tumor cells in the IL-2 group, moderate infiltration of tumor cells in the IL-4 group, and gross tumor invasion and tissue necrosis in the GM-CSF group. Animals treated with IL-2 showed a strong CD8 T cell-mediated response, whereas IL-4 evoked a prominent eosinophilic infiltrate in the area of the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of locally expressed IL-2 rather than IL-4 or GM-CSF stimulate a strong immunological cytotoxic antitumor response that leads to significant prolongation of survival in mice challenged with B16/F10 intracranial melanoma tumor cells. Consequently, IL-2 may be a superior candidate for use in paracrine immunotherapy

Experimental transmission of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease results in differential microbial responses within coral mucus and tissue

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Huntley, N., Brandt, M., Becker, C., Miller, C., Meiling, S., Correa, A., Holstein, D., Muller, E., Mydlarz, L., Smith, T., & Apprill, A. Experimental transmission of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease results in differential microbial responses within coral mucus and tissue. ISME Communications, 2(1), (2022): 46, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43705-022-00126-3.Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a widespread and deadly disease that affects nearly half of Caribbean coral species. To understand the microbial community response to this disease, we performed a disease transmission experiment on US Virgin Island (USVI) corals, exposing six species of coral with varying susceptibility to SCTLD. The microbial community of the surface mucus and tissue layers were examined separately using a small subunit ribosomal RNA gene-based sequencing approach, and data were analyzed to identify microbial community shifts following disease acquisition, potential causative pathogens, as well as compare microbiota composition to field-based corals from the USVI and Florida outbreaks. While all species displayed similar microbiome composition with disease acquisition, microbiome similarity patterns differed by both species and mucus or tissue microhabitat. Further, disease exposed but not lesioned corals harbored a mucus microbial community similar to those showing disease signs, suggesting that mucus may serve as an early warning detection for the onset of SCTLD. Like other SCTLD studies in Florida, Rhodobacteraceae, Arcobacteraceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Fusibacter, Marinifilaceae, and Vibrionaceae dominated diseased corals. This study demonstrates the differential response of the mucus and tissue microorganisms to SCTLD and suggests that mucus microorganisms may be diagnostic for early disease exposure.This work was funded by an International Coral Reef Society student grant to N.H., National Science Foundation (NSF) VI EPSCoR 0814417 and 1946412 and NSF (Biological Oceanography) award numbers 1928753 to MEB and TBS, 1928609 to AMSC, 1928817 to EMM, 19228771 to LDM, 1927277 to DMH as well as 1928761 and 1938112 to AA, NSF EEID award number 2109622 to MEB, AA, LDM, and AMSC, and a NOAA OAR Cooperative Institutes award to AA (#NA19OAR4320074). Samples were collected under permit #DFW19057U authorized by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Coastal Zone Management

Alphaflexivirus genomes in stony coral tissue loss disease-affected, disease-exposed, and disease-unexposed coral colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Veglia, A., Beavers, K., Van Buren, E., Meiling, S., Muller, E., Smith, T., Holstein, D., Apprill, A., Brandt, M., Mydlarz, L., & Correa, A. Alphaflexivirus genomes in stony coral tissue loss disease-affected, disease-exposed, and disease-unexposed coral colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 11(2), (2022): e01199–e01121, https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01199-21.Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is decimating Caribbean corals. Here, through the metatranscriptomic assembly and annotation of two alphaflexivirus-like strains, we provide genomic evidence of filamentous viruses in SCTLD-affected, -exposed, and -unexposed coral colonies. These data will assist in clarifying the roles of viruses in SCTLD.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (Biological Oceanography) award numbers 1928753 to M.E.B. and T.B.S., 1928609 to A.M.S.C., 1928817 to E.M.M., 19228771 to L.D.M., 1927277 to D.M.H., and 1928761 to A.A., as well as by VI EPSCoR (NSF numbers 0814417 and 1946412)

Gamma rays from dark matter annihilation in the Draco and observability at ARGO

The CACTUS experiment recently observed a gamma ray excess above 50 GeV from the direction of the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Considering that Draco is dark matter dominated the gamma rays may be generated through dark matter annihilation in the Draco halo. In the framework of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model we explore the parameter space to account for the gamma ray signals at CACTUS. We find that the neutralino mass is constrained to be approximately in the range between 100 GeV ~ 400 GeV and a sharp central cuspy of the dark halo profile in Draco is necessary to explain the CACTUS results. We then discuss further constraints on the supersymmetric parameter space by observations at the ground based ARGO detector. It is found that the parameter space can be strongly constrained by ARGO if no excess from Draco is observed above 100 GeV.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Black social media influencers engage higher percentages of Black gay and bisexual men in online outreach for HIV prevention research relative to paid ads

Background: Influencer-based social media marketing campaigns are a popular strategy to engage customers in many non-research industries (e.g., retail), but have been increasingly used in public health campaigns to reach and engage specific populations. However, few studies have directly compared the performance of influencer-based marketing with other ad strategies (e.g., paid ads) in achieving these goals. Methods: From March to September 2023, we conducted an influencer-focused marketing campaign in which we identified and partnered with predominantly Black LGBTQ + influencers in the United States South to promote engagement in our ongoing research. We then used web analytics and interest form data to compare performance of influencer posts versus paid ads over the same time period. Results: We contacted a total of 358 influencers, 20 of whom ultimately agreed to post (85% Black/African American) and made a total of 28 posts on our behalf. A significantly higher percentage of users who clicked through influencer posts were Black (40% vs. 15%), were not currently using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (67% vs. 62%), had no history of PrEP use (78% vs. 72%), and reported higher medical mistrust (12% vs. 8%) compared to those who clicked through paid ads. The percentage of Black men who have sex with men who were at high HIV risk, who were not taking PrEP, had no history of PrEP, or were high in mistrust, were all 2–3 times higher among those who clicked through influencer posts relative to paid ads. Conclusions: Influencer-focused marketing may be a powerful tool to efficiently reach and engage high-priority and hard to reach populations

Field Measurements of Terrestrial and Martian Dust Devils

Surface-based measurements of terrestrial and martian dust devils/convective vortices provided from mobile and stationary platforms are discussed. Imaging of terrestrial dust devils has quantified their rotational and vertical wind speeds, translation speeds, dimensions, dust load, and frequency of occurrence. Imaging of martian dust devils has provided translation speeds and constraints on dimensions, but only limited constraints on vertical motion within a vortex. The longer mission durations on Mars afforded by long operating robotic landers and rovers have provided statistical quantification of vortex occurrence (time-of-sol, and recently seasonal) that has until recently not been a primary outcome of more temporally limited terrestrial dust devil measurement campaigns. Terrestrial measurement campaigns have included a more extensive range of measured vortex parameters (pressure, wind, morphology, etc.) than have martian opportunities, with electric field and direct measure of dust abundance not yet obtained on Mars. No martian robotic mission has yet provided contemporaneous high frequency wind and pressure measurements. Comparison of measured terrestrial and martian dust devil characteristics suggests that martian dust devils are larger and possess faster maximum rotational wind speeds, that the absolute magnitude of the pressure deficit within a terrestrial dust devil is an order of magnitude greater than a martian dust devil, and that the time-of-day variation in vortex frequency is similar. Recent terrestrial investigations have demonstrated the presence of diagnostic dust devil signals within seismic and infrasound measurements; an upcoming Mars robotic mission will obtain similar measurement types

Influence of binder type and process parameters on the compression properties and microbial survival in diclofenac tablet formulations

The influence of binder type and process parameters on the compression properties and microbial survival in diclofenac tablet formulations were studied using a novel gum from Albizia zygia. Tablets were produced from diclofenac formulations containing corn starch, lactose and dicalcium phosphate. Formulations were analyzed using the Heckel and Kawakita plots. Determination of microbial viability in the formulations was done on the compressed tablets of both contaminated and uncontaminated tablets prepared from formulations. Direct compression imparted a higher plasticity on the materials than the wet granulation method. Tablets produced by wet granulation presented with a higher crushing strength than those produced by the direct compression method. Significantly higher microbial survival (pA influência do tipo de ligante e os parâmetros do processo de propriedades de compressão e sobrevivência microbiana em comprimidos de diclofenaco foram estudados utilizando uma nova goma de Albizia zygia. Os comprimidos foram produzidos a partir de formulações de diclofenaco contendo amido de milho, lactose e fosfato bicálcico. As formulações foram analisadas usando os gráficos de Heckel e Kawakita. A determinação da viabilidade microbiana nas formulações foi feita nos comprimidos contaminados e não contaminados preparados a partir de formulações. A compressão direta confere maior plasticidade dos materiais do que o método de granulação úmida. Comprimidos produzidos por granulação úmida apresentaram maior força de esmagamento do que aqueles produzidos pelo método de compressão direta. Observou-se sobrevivência significativamente maior (p<0,05) em formulações preparadas por compressão direta. A sobrevivência percentual dos esporos de Bacillus subtilis diminuiu com o aumento da concentração do agregante. O estudo mostrou que a goma de Albizia é capaz de conferir maior plasticidade aos materiais e apresentou maior redução da contaminação microbiana nas formulações. O método de compressão direta produziu comprimidos com viabilidade reduzida de contaminantes microbianos