As chronic wasting disease (CWD) continues to spread across North America, the relationship between CWD and host genetics has become of interest. In Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), one ...or two copies of a leucine allele at codon 132 of the prion protein gene (132L*) has been shown to prolong the incubation period of CWD. Our study examined the relationship between CWD epidemiology and codon 132 evolution in elk from Wyoming, USA, from 2011 to 2018. Using PCR and Sanger sequencing, we genotyped 997 elk and assessed the relationship between genotype and CWD prevalence estimated from surveillance data. Using logistic regression, we showed that each 1% increase in CWD prevalence is associated with a 9.6% increase in the odds that an elk would have at least one copy of leucine at codon 132. In some regions, however, 132L* variants were found in the absence of CWD, indicating that evolutionary and epidemiologic patterns can be heterogeneous across space and time. We also provide evidence that naturally occurring CWD is not rare in 132L* elk, which merits the study of shedding kinetics in 132L* elk and the influence of genotype on CWD strain diversity. The management implications of cervid adaptations to CWD are difficult to predict. Studies that investigate the degree to which evolutionary outcomes are shaped by host spatial structure can provide useful epidemiologic insight, which can in turn aid management by informing scale and extent of mitigation actions.
No licensed cholera vaccine is presently available in the United States. Cholera vaccines available in other countries require 2 spaced doses. A single-dose cholera vaccine that can rapidly protect ...short-notice travelers to high-risk areas and help control explosive outbreaks where logistics render 2-dose immunization regimens impractical would be a major advance.PXVX0200, based on live attenuated Vibrio cholerae O1 classical Inaba vaccine strain CVD 103-HgR, elicits seroconversion of vibriocidal antibodies (a correlate of protection) within 10 days of a single oral dose. We investigated the protection conferred by this vaccine in a human cholera challenge model.
Consenting healthy adult volunteers, 18-45 years old, were randomly allocated 1:1 to receive 1 oral dose of vaccine (approximately 5 × 10(8) colony-forming units CFU) or placebo in double-blind fashion. Volunteers ingested approximately 1 × 10(5) CFU of wild-type V. cholerae O1 El Tor Inaba strain N16961 10 days or 3 months after vaccination and were observed on an inpatient research ward for stool output measurement and management of hydration.
The vaccine was well tolerated, with no difference in adverse event frequency among 95 vaccinees vs 102 placebo recipients. The primary endpoint, moderate (≥3.0 L) to severe (≥5.0 L) diarrheal purge, occurred in 39 of 66 (59.1%) placebo controls but only 2 of 35 (5.7%) vaccinees at 10 days (vaccine efficacy, 90.3%; P < .0001) and 4 of 33 (12.1%) vaccinees at 3 months (vaccine efficacy, 79.5%; P < .0001).
The significant vaccine efficacy documented 10 days and 3 months after 1 oral dose of PXVX0200 supports further development as a single-dose cholera vaccine.
NCT01895855.
An intensive, 9-session motivational interviewing (IMI) intervention was assessed using a randomized clinical trial of 217 methamphetamine (MA) dependent individuals. Intensive motivational ...interviewing (IMI) was compared with a single standard session of MI (SMI) combined with eight nutrition education sessions. Interventions were delivered weekly over 2 months. All study participants also received standard outpatient group treatment three times per week. Both study groups showed significant decreases in MA use and Addiction Severity Index drug scores, but there were no significant differences between the two groups. However, reductions in Addiction Severity Index psychiatric severity scores and days of psychiatric problems during the past 30 days were found for clients in the IMI group but not the SMI group. SMI may be equally beneficial to IMI in reducing MA use and problem severity, but IMI may help alleviate co-occurring psychiatric problems that are unaffected by shorter MI interventions. Additional studies are needed to assess the problems, populations, and contexts for which IMI is effective.
Compared to men, women with alcohol use disorders experience more severe consequences related to drinking. Intensive Motivational Interviewing (IMI) is a new 9-session version of Motivational ...Interviewing (MI) designed for women with alcohol use disorders. The current study reports outcomes from a randomized clinical trial of IMI compared to a single session of MI. Data were collected at baseline, 2-month, and 6-month follow-up. In addition to a standard "intent-to-treat" (ITT) analysis, we conducted disaggregated subgroup analyses of women who were heavy drinkers and a "per protocol" (PP) analysis of women in the IMI condition who attended 7-9 sessions (80% of the IMI sample). Women in both study conditions made large reductions in drinking between baseline and 2 months that were maintained at 6 months. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models using the full sample (N = 215) did not show time by condition differences, but heavy drinkers(n = 153) receiving IMI showed significantly larger reductions in drinking at 2- and 6-month follow-up than the comparison condition. Assessment of heavy drinkers using the PP sample showed larger between condition differences favoring IMI at both follow-up time points. Results support the efficacy of IMI in terms of reducing drinking, particularly among women who are heavy drinkers.
Recent discoveries that high prolificacy in sheep carrying the Booroola gene ( FecB ) is the result of a mutation in the BMPIB receptor and high prolificacy in Inverdale sheep ( FecX I ) is the ...result of a mutation in the BMP15 oocyte-derived growth factor gene have allowed direct marker tests to be developed for FecB and FecX I . These tests were carried out in seven strains of sheep (Javanese, Thoka, Woodlands, Olkuska, Lacaune, Belclare, and Cambridge)
in which inheritance patterns have suggested the presence of major genes affecting prolificacy and in the prolific Garole
sheep of India, which have been proposed as the ancestor of Australian Booroola Merinos. The FecB mutation was found in the Garole and Javanese sheep but not in Thoka, Woodlands, Olkuska, Lacaune, Belclare, and Cambridge
sheep. None of the sheep tested had the FecX I mutation. These findings present strong evidence to support historical records that the Booroola gene was introduced into
Australian flocks from Garole (Bengal) sheep in the late 18th century. It is unknown whether Javanese Thin-tailed sheep acquired
the Booroola gene directly from Garole sheep from India or via Merinos from Australia. The DNA mutation test for FecB will enable breeding plans to be developed that allow the most effective use of this gene in Garole and Javanese Thin-tailed
sheep and their crosses.
•Carolina hammerhead abundance is highest in waters of South Carolina.•Carolina hammerheads were not identified in the Gulf of Mexico.•Peak abundance of pups differs temporally in Bulls Bay, SC ...between cryptic species.
The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) and its cryptic congener, Carolina hammerhead (S. gilberti), are sympatrically distributed in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Because the species are indistinguishable based on external morphology, little research focused on Carolina hammerheads exists. In this study, the distribution of Carolina hammerheads in waters of the United States off the east coast (U.S. Atlantic) and Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) was examined and their abundance relative to scalloped hammerheads assessed by genetically identifying 1231 individuals using diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms. Both species were found in the U.S. Atlantic, where 27 % of individuals were Carolina hammerheads, but only scalloped hammerheads were identified in the Gulf. In Bulls Bay, SC, a well-known hammerhead nursery, assessment of relative abundance from May to September showed scalloped hammerheads were more abundant May-June and Carolina hammerheads more abundant July-September. Results of this study suggest Carolina hammerheads have a spatially limited distribution in the western North Atlantic and highlight the importance of Bulls Bay as a nursery for the species. In addition, the results suggest Carolina hammerheads may comprise a non-trivial proportion of what is considered the U.S. Atlantic scalloped hammerhead stock and should be considered in future decisions regarding management of the hammerhead complex.
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