Marine Leeches of the Eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico with a Key to the Species

Unlike the Eurasian marine leeches (Johansson, 1896; Selensky, 1915; Herter, 1935; Vasileyev, 1939; Knight-Jones, 1961; Sawyer, 1970; Soós, 1965), those from North America comprise an unusually neglected group, due primarily to the bewildering taxonomy of the members. Most early descriptions were brief, ambiguous, and concerned only with superficial characters. Some of the nominal species reported from the eastern United States and Canada are unrecognizable today, thus perpetuating nomenclatural confusion. We attempt to analyze critically the marine leeches from Newfoundland to Texas, with emphasis on those of the southern states from Virginia to Mississippi. An illustrated dichotomous key and a diagnosis for each species is presented. A synonymy, a list of hosts, the geographical distribution, and biological observations accompany the diagnoses. The poorly known Pacific marine leeches (Moore & Meyer, 1951; Moore, 1952a) will be deferred to another study. We found 14 valid species in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico from Newfoundland to Texas. Fortunately, the internal anatomy of most is now well known: Ozobranchus branchiatus (Menzies, 1791); O. margoi (Apathy, 1890); Stibarobdella macrothela (Schmarda, 1861); Branchellion torpedinis Savigny, 1822; Trachelobdella lubrica (Grube, 1840); Oxytonostoma typica Malm, 1863; Branchellion ravenelii (Girard, 1850); Trachelobdella rugosa Moore, 1898; Calliobdella vivida (Verrill, 1872); Platybdella buccalis Nigrelli, 1946; Malmiana nuda Richardson, 1970; Myzobdella lugubris Leidy, 1851; Austrobdella rapax (Verrill, 1873); and a new species provisionally assigned to Malmiana Strand, 1942. The first six are also European or cosmopolitan species. Trachelobdella lubrica, Oxytonostoma typical, and the undescribed species of Malmiana are new to the region under study. Trachelobdella rugosa, Austrobdella rapax, and Platybdella buccalis are reported for the first time since their original descriptions. In addition the following important synonyms are presented for the first time: Calliobdella vivida synonymous with C. carolinensis of Sawyer & Chamberlain (1972) and C. nodulifera of Threlfall (1969); Myzobdella lugubris synonymous with Illinobdella alba, I. elongata, I. richardsoni, and I. moorei of Meyer (1940), Ichthyobdella rapax of Wass (1972) and Cystobranchus virginicus of Paperna and Zwerner (1974); and the undescribed Malmiana species synonymous with Piscicola funduli of Causey (1953). Piscicola zebra Moore, 1898, is species inquirendae

Public health information on COVID-19 for international travellers:Lessons learned from a mixed-method evaluation

Objectives: In the containment phase of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Public Health England (PHE) delivered advice to travellers arriving at major UK ports. We aimed to rapidly evaluate the impact and effectiveness of these communication materials for passengers in the early stages of the pandemic. Study design: The study design used is the mixed-methods evaluation. Methods: A questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport on scheduled flights from China and Singapore. The survey assessed passengers’ knowledge of symptoms, actions to take, and attitudes towards PHE COVID-19 public health information; interviews explored their views of official public health information and self-isolation. Results: One hundred and twenty-one passengers participated in the survey and 15 in follow-up interviews. Eighty three percentage of surveyed passengers correctly identified all three COVID-19 associated symptoms listed in PHE information at that time. Most could identify the recommended actions and found the advice understandable and trustworthy. Interviews revealed that passengers shared concerns about the lack of wider official action, and that passengers’ knowledge had been acquired elsewhere as much from PHE. Respondents also noted their own agency in choosing to self-isolate, partially as a self-protective measure. Conclusion: PHE COVID-19 public health information was perceived as clear and acceptable, but we found that passengers acquired knowledge from various sources and they saw the provision of information alone on arrival as an insufficient official response. Our study provides fresh insights into the importance of taking greater account of diverse information sources and of the need for public assurance in creating public health information materials to address global health threats.</p

Learning about COVID-19 across borders:public health information and adherence among international travellers to the UK

Objective: public health control measures at borders have long been central to national strategies for the prevention and containment of infectious diseases. Travel was inevitably associated with the rapid global transmission of COVID-19. In the UK, public health authorities tried to reduce the risks of travel-associated spread by providing public health information at ports of entry. This study investigates risk assessment processes, decision-making and adherence to official advice among international travellers, to provide evidence for future policy on the provision of public health information to facilitate safer international travel.Study design: this study is a qualitative study evaluation.Method: international air passengers arriving at the London Heathrow Airport on scheduled flights from China and Singapore were approached for interview after consenting to contact in completed surveys. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone, using two topic guides to explore views of official public health information and self-isolation. Interview transcripts were coded and analysed thematically.Results: participants regarded official advice from Public Health England as adequate at the time, despite observing differences with intervention measures implemented in their countries of departure. Most participants also described adopting precautionary measures, including self-isolation and the use of face coverings that went beyond official advice, but reported adherence to guidance on contacting health authorities was more variable. Adherence to the official guidance was informed by the perceived salience of specific transmission possibilities and containment measures assessed in relation to participants’ local social and institutional environments.Conclusion: analysis of study findings demonstrates that international air travellers' responses to public health advice constitute a proactive process of risk assessment and rationalised decision-making to guide preventive action. This process incorporates consideration of the current living situation, trust in information sources, correspondence with cultural logics and willingness to accept potential risk to self and significant others. Our findings concerning international passengers’ understanding of, and compliance with, official advice and mitigation measures provide valuable evidence to inform future policy and generate recommendations on the presentation of public health information to facilitate safer international travel. Access to a central source of regularly updated official information would help minimise confusion between different national guidelines. Greater attention to the differentiated information needs of diverse groups in creating future public-facing guidance would help to minimise the uncertainties generated by the receipt of generic information

Unprecedented inequivalent metal coordination environments in a mixed-ligand dicobalt complex

Bimetallic complexes of the transition metals containing mixed diimine and dithiolate ligands are of fundamental interest on account of their intriguing electronic properties. Almost always, such complexes are isolated as species in which both the metal centers are in identical coordination environments - this means that the two metals often have identical redox properties. In contrast, mixed-diimine/dithiolate bimetallic complexes of the first row transition metals where the two metals are in dissimilar coordination environments are exceedingly rare, and are only known for nickel. Herein, we report the first ever example of a mixed-diimine/dithiolate dicobalt complex where the two cobalt centers are in different coordination environments. The synthesis of this compound is straightforward, and produces a complex in which the two cobalt centers display very different redox properties

TRIM5alpha Restricts Flavivirus Replication by Targeting the Viral Protease for Proteasomal Degradation

Tripartite motif-containing protein 5alpha (TRIM5alpha) is a cellular antiviral restriction factor that prevents early events in retrovirus replication. The activity of TRIM5alpha is thought to be limited to retroviruses as a result of highly specific interactions with capsid lattices. In contrast to this current understanding, we show that both human and rhesus macaque TRIM5alpha suppress replication of specific flaviviruses. Multiple viruses in the tick-borne encephalitis complex are sensitive to TRIM5alpha-dependent restriction, but mosquito-borne flaviviruses, including yellow fever, dengue, and Zika viruses, are resistant. TRIM5alpha suppresses replication by binding to the viral protease NS2B/3 to promote its K48-linked ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Importantly, TRIM5alpha contributes to the antiviral function of IFN-I against sensitive flaviviruses in human cells. Thus, TRIM5alpha possesses remarkable plasticity in the recognition of diverse virus families, with the potential to influence human susceptibility to emerging flaviviruses of global concern

Redefining the role of urban studies Early Career Academics in the post-COVID-19 university

We are an international collective of Early Career Academics (ECAs) who met throughout 2020 to explore the implications of COVID-19 on precarious academics. With this intervention, our aims are to voice commonly shared experiences and concerns and to reflect on the extent to which the pandemic offers opportunities to redefine Higher Education and research institutions, in a context of ongoing precarity and funding cuts. Specifically, we explore avenues to build solidarity across institutions and geographies, to ensure that the conduct of urban research, and support offered to ECAs, allows for more inclusivity, diversity, security and equitability. *The Urban ECA Collective emerged from a workshop series described in this article which intended to foster international solidarity among self-defined early career academics working within urban research.ITESO, A.C