Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article explores Muscogee Indian Alexander Posey's role as a speculator and member of one of the Dawes Commission enrollment parties

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article explores the history of Latino influence in Oklahoma City as well as the continuing growth of the vibrant Hispanic cultural landscape

Hemoglobin Is a Co-Factor of Human Trypanosome Lytic Factor

Trypanosome lytic factor (TLF) is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclass providing innate protection to humans against infection by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Two primate-specific plasma proteins, haptoglobin-related protein (Hpr) and apolipoprotein L-1 (ApoL-1), have been proposed to kill T. b. brucei both singularly or when co-assembled into the same HDL. To better understand the mechanism of T. b. brucei killing by TLF, the protein composition of TLF was investigated using a gentle immunoaffinity purification technique that avoids the loss of weakly associated proteins. HDL particles recovered by immunoaffinity absorption, with either anti-Hpr or anti-ApoL-1, were identical in protein composition and specific activity for T. b. brucei killing. Here, we show that TLF-bound Hpr strongly binds Hb and that addition of Hb stimulates TLF killing of T. b. brucei by increasing the affinity of TLF for its receptor, and by inducing Fenton chemistry within the trypanosome lysosome. These findings suggest that TLF in uninfected humans may be inactive against T. b. brucei prior to initiation of infection. We propose that infection of humans by T. b. brucei causes hemolysis that triggers the activation of TLF by the formation of Hpr–Hb complexes, leading to enhanced binding, trypanolytic activity, and clearance of parasites

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Corrections section from Volume 90, Number 2, Summer 2012. It includes two corrections for Jeffrey Widener's article, "From Bard to Speculator: Alexander Lawrence Posey and the Muscogee Nation, 1902-08." from Volume 90, Number 1, Spring 2012

Comparing Household and Individual Measures of Access through a Food Environment Lens: What Household Food Opportunities Are Missed When Measuring Access to Food Retail at the Individual Level?

Geographers and public health researchers have long been interested in social, spatial, and economic factors that drive access and exposure to food retail. A growing body of evidence draws on mobility data to capture locations accessed by individuals beyond the home address. Given that food-related activities are shared by household members and often gendered, taking an individual-level approach might limit researchers’ ability to accurately describe access to food retail. Using data that includes Global Positioning System trajectories of forty-six adults from twenty-one households in Toronto, this study compares access to food retailers at the individual and household levels and evaluates measurement issues that arise when relying on one household member. Spatial and spatiotemporal measures of access were derived from individual and total household activity spaces. Differences in access were tested for men and women and moderating effects of neighborhood, shopping responsibility, car access, and employment status were investigated. Supermarket density was greater for women when compared with men in the household, as well as their total household measure. Additionally, within-household differences in counts of supermarkets were moderated by neighborhood. Future research should consider the role of place and the contributions of household members when measuring access to food at the individual level

A pan-Canadian dataset of neighbourhood retail food environment measures using Statistics Canada's Business Register.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to create the Canadian Food Environment Dataset (Can-FED) and to demonstrate its validity. DATA AND METHODS: Food outlet data were extracted from Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR) in 2018. Retail food environment access measures (both absolute and relative measures) were calculated using network buffers around the centroid of 56,589 dissemination areas in Canada. A k-medians clustering approach was used to create categorical food environment variables that were easy to use and amenable to dissemination. Validity of the measures was assessed by comparing the food environment measures from Can-FED with measures created using Enhanced Points of Interest data by DMTI Spatial Inc. and data from a municipal health inspection list. Validity was also assessed by calculating the geographic variability in food environments across census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and assessing associations between CMA-level food environments and CMA-level health indicators. RESULTS: Two versions of Can-FED were created: a researcher file that must be accessed within a secure Statistics Canada environment and a general-use file available online. Agreement between Can-FED food environment measures and those derived from a proprietary dataset and a municipal health inspection list ranged from rs=0.28 for convenience store density and rs=0.53 for restaurant density. At the CMA level, there is wide geographic variation in the food environment with evidence of patterning by health indicators. INTERPRETATION: Can-FED is a valid and accessible dataset of pan-Canadian food environment measures that was created from the BR, a data source that has not been explored fully for health research

Who’s cooking tonight? A time-use study of coupled adults in Toronto, Canada

Understanding how coupled adults arrange food-related labor in relation to their daily time allocation is of great importance because different arrangements may have implications for diet-related health and gender equity. Studies from the time-use perspective argue that daily activities such as work, caregiving, and non-food-related housework can potentially compete for time with foodwork. However, studies in this regard are mostly centered on individual-level analyses. They fail to consider cohabiting partners’ time spent on foodwork and non-food-related activities, a factor that could be helpful in explaining how coupled partners decide to allocate time to food activities. Using 108 daily time-use logs from seventeen opposite-gender couples living in Toronto, Canada, this paper examines how male and female partners’ time spent on non-food-related activities impact the total amount of time spent on foodwork by coupled adults and the difference in time spent on foodwork between coupled women and men. Results show that both male and female partners took a higher portion of foodwork when their partner worked longer. When men worked for additional time, the couple-level duration of foodwork decreased. Without a significant impact on the gender difference in foodwork duration, women’s increased caregiving duration was associated with a reduction of total time spent on foodwork by couples. An increase in caregiving and non-food-related chores by men was associated with an increased difference in duration of foodwork between women and men, which helped secure a constant total amount of foodwork at the couple level. These behavioral variations between men and women demonstrate the gender differences in one’s responsiveness to the change of partners’ non-food-related tasks. The associations found among non-food-related activities and foodwork are suggestive of a need to account for partners’ time allocation when studying the time-use dynamics of foodwork and other daily activities

Efficacy of novel recombinant fowlpox vaccine against recent Mexican H7N3 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus

Since 2012, H7N3 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has produced negative economic and animal welfare impacts on poultry in central Mexico. In the present study, chickens were vaccinated with two different recombinant fowlpox virus vaccines (rFPV-H7/3002 with 2015 H7 hemagglutinin [HA] gene insert, and rFPV-H7/2155 with 2002 H7 HA gene insert), and were then challenged three weeks later with H7N3 HPAI virus (A/chicken/Jalisco/CPA-37905/2015). The rFPV-H7/3002 vaccine conferred 100% protection against mortality and morbidity, and significantly reduced virus shed titers from the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. In contrast, 100% of sham and rFPV-H7/2155 vaccinated birds shed virus at higher titers and died within 4 days. Pre- (15/20) and post- (20/20) challenge serum of birds vaccinated with rFPV-H7/3002 had antibodies detectable by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay using challenge virus antigen. However, only a few birds (3/20) in the rFPV-H7/2155 vaccinated group had antibodies that reacted against the challenge strain but all birds had antibodies that reacted against the homologous vaccine antigen (A/turkey/Virginia/SEP-66/2002) (20/20). One possible explanation for differences in vaccines efficacy is the antigenic drift between circulating viruses and vaccines. Molecular analysis demonstrated that the Mexican H7N3 strains have continued to rapidly evolve since 2012. In addition, we identified in silico three potential new N-glycosylation sites on the globular head of the H7 HA of A/chicken/Jalisco/CPA-37905/2015 challenge virus, which were absent in 2012 H7N3 outbreak virus. Our results suggested that mutations in the HA antigenic sites including increased glycosylation sites, accumulated in the new circulating Mexican H7 HPAIV strains, altered the recognition of neutralizing antibodies from the older vaccine strain rFPV-H7/2155. Therefore, the protective efficacy of novel rFPV-H7/3002 against recent outbreak Mexican H7N3 HPAIV confirms the importance of frequent updating of vaccines seed strains for long-term effective control of H7 HPAI virus

Differences between <i>Trypanosoma brucei gambiense</i> groups 1 and 2 in their resistance to killing by Trypanolytic factor 1

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; The three sub-species of &lt;i&gt;Trypanosoma brucei&lt;/i&gt; are important pathogens of sub-Saharan Africa. &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt; is unable to infect humans due to sensitivity to trypanosome lytic factors (TLF) 1 and 2 found in human serum. &lt;i&gt;T. b. rhodesiense&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; are able to resist lysis by TLF. There are two distinct sub-groups of &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; that differ genetically and by human serum resistance phenotypes. Group 1 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; have an invariant phenotype whereas group 2 show variable resistance. Previous data indicated that group 1 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; are resistant to TLF-1 due in-part to reduced uptake of TLF-1 mediated by reduced expression of the TLF-1 receptor (the haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor (&lt;i&gt;HpHbR&lt;/i&gt;)) gene. Here we investigate if this is also true in group 2 parasites.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methodology:&lt;/b&gt; Isogenic resistant and sensitive group 2 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; were derived and compared to other T. brucei parasites. Both resistant and sensitive lines express the &lt;i&gt;HpHbR&lt;/i&gt; gene at similar levels and internalized fluorescently labeled TLF-1 similar fashion to &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt;. Both resistant and sensitive group 2, as well as group 1 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt;, internalize recombinant APOL1, but only sensitive group 2 parasites are lysed.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; Our data indicate that, despite group 1 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; avoiding TLF-1, it is resistant to the main lytic component, APOL1. Similarly group 2 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; is innately resistant to APOL1, which could be based on the same mechanism. However, group 2 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; variably displays this phenotype and expression does not appear to correlate with a change in expression site or expression of &lt;i&gt;HpHbR&lt;/i&gt;. Thus there are differences in the mechanism of human serum resistance between &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; groups 1 and 2.&lt;/p&gt

Individual variation in levels of haptoglobin-related protein in children from Gabon

Background: Haptoglobin related protein (Hpr) is a key component of trypanosome lytic factors (TLF), a subset of highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) that form the first line of human defence against African trypanosomes. Hpr, like haptoglobin (Hp) can bind to hemoglobin (Hb) and it is the Hpr-Hb complexes which bind to these parasites allowing uptake of TLF. This unique form of innate immunity is primate-specific. To date, there have been no population studies of plasma levels of Hpr, particularly in relation to hemolysis and a high prevalence of ahaptoglobinemia as found in malaria endemic areas. Methods and Principal Findings: We developed a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure levels of plasma Hpr in Gabonese children sampled during a period of seasonal malaria transmission when acute phase responses (APR), malaria infection and associated hemolysis were prevalent. Median Hpr concentration was 0.28 mg/ml (range 0.03-1.1). This was 5-fold higher than that found in Caucasian children (0.049 mg/ml, range 0.002-0.26) with no evidence of an APR. A general linear model was used to investigate associations between Hpr levels, host polymorphisms, parasitological factors and the acute phase proteins, Hp, C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin. Levels of Hpr were associated with Hp genotype, decreased with age and were higher in females. Hpr concentration was strongly correlated with that of Hp, but not CRP