Captivity humanizes the primate microbiome Clayton, Jonathan B.; Vangay, Pajau; Huang, Hu ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
09/2016, Volume:
113, Issue:
37
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The primate gastrointestinal tract is home to trillions of bacteria, whose composition is associated with numerous metabolic, autoimmune, and infectious human diseases. Although there is increasing ...evidence that modern and Westernized societies are associated with dramatic loss of natural human gut microbiome diversity, the causes and consequences of such loss are challenging to study. Here we use nonhuman primates (NHPs) as a model system for studying the effects of emigration and lifestyle disruption on the human gut microbiome. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing in two model NHP species, we show that although different primate species have distinctive signature microbiota in the wild, in captivity they lose their native microbes and become colonized with Prevotella and Bacteroides, the dominant genera in the modern human gut microbiome. We confirm that captive individuals from eight other NHP species in a different zoo show the same pattern of convergence, and that semicaptive primates housed in a sanctuary represent an intermediate microbiome state between wild and captive. Using deep shotgun sequencing, chemical dietary analysis, and chloroplast relative abundance, we show that decreasing dietary fiber and plant content are associated with the captive primate microbiome. Finally, in a meta-analysis including published human data, we show that captivity has a parallel effect on the NHP gut microbiome to that of Westernization in humans. These results demonstrate that captivity and lifestyle disruption cause primates to lose native microbiota and converge along an axis toward the modern human microbiome.
Background
Otolaryngologists are among the highest risk for COVID‐19 exposure.
Methods
This is a cross‐sectional, survey‐based, national study evaluating academic otolaryngologists. Burnout, anxiety, ...distress, and depression were assessed by the single‐item Mini‐Z Burnout Assessment, 7‐item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, 15‐item Impact of Event Scale, and 2‐item Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively.
Results
A total of 349 physicians completed the survey. Of them, 165 (47.3%) were residents and 212 (60.7%) were males. Anxiety, distress, burnout, and depression were reported in 167 (47.9%), 210 (60.2%), 76 (21.8%), and 37 (10.6%) physicians, respectively. Attendings had decreased burnout relative to residents (odds ratio OR 0.28, confidence interval CI 0.11‐0.68; P = .005). Females had increased burnout (OR 1.93, CI 1.12.‐3.32; P = .018), anxiety (OR 2.53, CI 1.59‐4.02; P < .005), and distress (OR 2.68, CI 1.64‐4.37; P < .005). Physicians in states with greater than 20 000 positive cases had increased distress (OR 2.01, CI 1.22‐3.31; P = .006).
Conclusion
During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the prevalence of burnout, anxiety, and distress is high among academic otolaryngologists.
In this paper, a computation of the ethylene co-flow diffusion flame is carried out using the Co-flame code with a detailed gas-phase mechanism and soot model. A numerical analysis based on the ...thermodynamics second-law was conducted for developing a high-efficiency combustion condition of hydrocarbon diffusion flames. The entropy generations and exergy loss ratios due to thermal radiation, heat conduction and convection, and chemical reactions are numerically calculated, in which entropy generations caused by both gasses and soot particle are considered. The effects of soot (controlled by changing stoichiometric mixture fraction Zst from 0.1 to 0.62) and adiabatic flame temperature Tad (2300 K, 2500 K, 2700 K) on entropy generation and exergy loss ratio in flame are investigated. The results suggest that, entropy generation due to soot radiation and soot surface growth and oxidation accounts for about 15% and 5% in total radiation entropy generation and total chemical entropy generation, respectively. Entropy generation due to thermal radiation decreases when soot reduces, and entropy generation due to heat conduction and convection, mass diffusion and chemical reactions increases when Zst increases. When Tad is 2300 K, the change of exergy loss ratio is slight with a reducing of soot and increasing of Zst. When Tad is 2500 K and 2700 K, the exergy loss ratio has tendency of increasing with a reducing of soot and increasing of Zst. The exergy loss ratio increases with increasing of Tad.
Evaluation of immune responses to adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapies prior to and following dose administration plays a key role in determining therapeutic safety and efficacy. This ...report describes up to 3 years of immunogenicity data following administration of valoctocogene roxaparvovec (BMN 270), an AAV5-mediated gene therapy encoding human B domain-deleted FVIII (hFVIII-SQ) in a phase 1/2 clinical study of adult males with severe hemophilia A. Patients with pre-existing humoral immunity to AAV5 or with a history of FVIII inhibitors were excluded from the trial. Blood plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were collected at regular intervals following dose administration for assessment of humoral and cellular immune responses to both the AAV5 vector and transgene-expressed hFVIII-SQ. The predominant immune response elicited by BMN 270 administration was largely limited to the development of antibodies against the AAV5 capsid that were cross-reactive with other common AAV serotypes. No FVIII inhibitor responses were observed within 3 years following dose administration. In a context of prophylactic or on-demand corticosteroid immunosuppression given after vector infusion, AAV5 and hFVIII-SQ peptide-specific cellular immune responses were intermittently detected by an interferon (IFN)-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α FluoroSpot assay, but they were not clearly associated with detrimental safety events or changes in efficacy measures.
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This report describes up to 3 years of immunogenicity data following administration of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, an AAV5-mediated gene therapy encoding hFVIII-SQ, in a phase 1/2 clinical study of adult males with severe hemophilia A. Immunogenicity elicited by BMN 270 administration was predominantly a humoral antibody response against the AAV5 capsid. No FVIII inhibitor responses were observed within 3 years following dose administration. No immunogenicity measures were consistently associated with detrimental safety or efficacy parameters.
Smoking is a major risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet much of COPD risk remains unexplained.
To determine whether dysanapsis, a mismatch of airway tree caliber to lung ...size, assessed by computed tomography (CT), is associated with incident COPD among older adults and lung function decline in COPD.
A retrospective cohort study of 2 community-based samples: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Lung Study, which involved 2531 participants (6 US sites, 2010-2018) and the Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD), which involved 1272 participants (9 Canadian sites, 2010-2018), and a case-control study of COPD: the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS), which involved 2726 participants (12 US sites, 2011-2016).
Dysanapsis was quantified on CT as the geometric mean of airway lumen diameters measured at 19 standard anatomic locations divided by the cube root of lung volume (airway to lung ratio).
Primary outcome was COPD defined by postbronchodilator ratio of forced expired volume in the first second to vital capacity (FEV1:FVC) less than 0.70 with respiratory symptoms. Secondary outcome was longitudinal lung function. All analyses were adjusted for demographics and standard COPD risk factors (primary and secondhand tobacco smoke exposures, occupational and environmental pollutants, and asthma).
In the MESA Lung sample (mean SD age, 69 years 9 years; 1334 women 52.7%), 237 of 2531 participants (9.4%) had prevalent COPD, the mean (SD) airway to lung ratio was 0.033 (0.004), and the mean (SD) FEV1 decline was -33 mL/y (31 mL/y). Of 2294 MESA Lung participants without prevalent COPD, 98 (4.3%) had incident COPD at a median of 6.2 years. Compared with participants in the highest quartile of airway to lung ratio, those in the lowest had a significantly higher COPD incidence (9.8 vs 1.2 cases per 1000 person-years; rate ratio RR, 8.12; 95% CI, 3.81 to 17.27; rate difference, 8.6 cases per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 7.1 to 9.2; P < .001) but no significant difference in FEV1 decline (-31 vs -33 mL/y; difference, 2 mL/y; 95% CI, -2 to 5; P = .30). Among CanCOLD participants (mean SD age, 67 years 10 years; 564 women 44.3%), 113 of 752 (15.0%) had incident COPD at a median of 3.1 years and the mean (SD) FEV1 decline was -36 mL/y (75 mL/y). The COPD incidence in the lowest airway to lung quartile was significantly higher than in the highest quartile (80.6 vs 24.2 cases per 1000 person-years; RR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.89 to 5.85; rate difference, 56.4 cases per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 38.0 to 66.8; P<.001), but the FEV1 decline did not differ significantly (-34 vs -36 mL/y; difference, 1 mL/y; 95% CI, -15 to 16; P=.97). Among 1206 SPIROMICS participants (mean SD age, 65 years 8 years; 542 women 44.9%) with COPD who were followed up for a median 2.1 years, those in the lowest airway to lung ratio quartile had a mean FEV1 decline of -37 mL/y (15 mL/y), which did not differ significantly from the decline in MESA Lung participants (P = .98), whereas those in highest quartile had significantly faster decline than participants in MESA Lung (-55 mL/y 16 mL/y ; difference, -17 mL/y; 95% CI, -32 to -3; P = .004).
Among older adults, dysanapsis was significantly associated with COPD, with lower airway tree caliber relative to lung size associated with greater COPD risk. Dysanapsis appears to be a risk factor associated with COPD.
The properties and structures of viruses are directly related to the three‐dimensional structure of their capsid proteins, which arises from a combination of hydrophobic and supramolecular ...interactions, such as hydrogen bonds. The design of synthetic materials demonstrating similar synergistic interactions still remains a challenge. Herein, we report the synthesis of a polymer/cyclic peptide conjugate that combines the capability to form supramolecular nanotubes via hydrogen bonds with the properties of an amphiphilic block copolymer. The analysis of aqueous solutions by scattering and imaging techniques revealed a barrel‐shaped alignment of single peptide nanotubes into a large tubisome (length: 260 nm (from SANS)) with a hydrophobic core (diameter: 16 nm) and a hydrophilic shell. These systems, which have a structure that is similar to those of viruses, were tested in vitro to elucidate their activity on cells. Remarkably, the rigid tubisomes are able to perforate the lysosomal membrane in cells and release a small molecule into the cytosol.
Peptides and polymers: Polymer/cyclic peptide conjugates form supramolecular tubisome structures with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell. They perforate the lysosomal membrane in cells to release a small molecule into the cytosol.
The decomposition of animal remains is a multifaceted process, involving ecological, biological, and chemical interactions. While the complexity is acknowledged through concepts like the necrobiome, ...it's unclear if this complexity is reflected in research. Appreciation of the complexity of decomposition is crucial for identifying sources of variation in estimations of time since death in medico-legal science, as well as building broader ecological knowledge of the decomposition process. To gain insights into the extent of multidisciplinary research in the field of decomposition science, we conducted an examination of peer-reviewed literature on four key drivers of variation: volatile organic compounds, microbes, drugs/toxins, and insects. Among 650 articles, we identified their scientific discipline, driver/s of variation investigated, and year of publication. We found that 19% explored relationships between two drivers, while only 4% investigated interactions between three. None considered all four drivers. Over the past three decades, there has been a steady increase in decomposition research publications, signifying its growing importance. Most research (79%) was linked to forensic science, highlighting opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in decomposition science. Overall, our review underscores the need to incorporate multidisciplinary approaches and theory into contemporary decomposition research.
Objective
Nonphysician health care workers are involved in high-risk patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic, placing them at high risk of mental health burden. The mental health impact of COVID-19 ...in this crucial population has not been studied thus far. Thus, the objective of this study is to assess the psychosocial well-being of these providers.
Study Design
National cross-sectional online survey (no control group).
Setting
Academic otolaryngology programs in the United States.
Subjects and Methods
We distributed a survey to nonphysician health care workers in otolaryngology departments across the United States. The survey incorporated a variety of validated mental health assessment tools to measure participant burnout (Mini-Z assessment), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7), distress (Impact of Event Scale), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire–2). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictive factors associated with these mental health outcomes.
Results
We received 347 survey responses: 248 (71.5%) nurses, 63 (18.2%) administrative staff, and 36 (10.4%) advanced practice providers. A total of 104 (30.0%) respondents reported symptoms of burnout; 241 (69.5%), symptoms of anxiety; 292 (84.1%), symptoms of at least mild distress; and 79 (22.8%), symptoms of depression. Upon further analysis, development of these symptoms was associated with factors such as occupation, practice setting, and case load.
Conclusion
Frontline otolaryngology health care providers exhibit high rates of mental health complications, particularly anxiety and distress, in the wake of COVID-19. Adequate support systems must be put into place to address these issues.
Lake surface water temperatures are warming worldwide, raising concerns about the future integrity of valuable lake ecosystem services. In contrast to surface water temperatures, we know far less ...about what is happening to water temperature beneath the surface, where most organisms live. Moreover, we know little about which characteristics make lakes more or less sensitive to climate change and other environmental stressors. We examined changes in lake thermal structure for 231 lakes across northeastern North America (NENA), a region with an exceptionally high density of lakes. We determined how lake thermal structure has changed in recent decades (1975–2012) and assessed which lake characteristics are related to changes in lake thermal structure. In general, NENA lakes had increasing near-surface temperatures and thermal stratification strength. On average, changes in deepwater temperatures for the 231 lakes were not significantly different than zero, but individually, half of the lakes experienced warming and half cooling deepwater temperature through time. More transparent lakes (Secchi transparency >5 m) tended to have higher near-surface warming and greater increases in strength of thermal stratification than less transparent lakes. Whole-lake warming was greatest in polymictic lakes, where frequent summer mixing distributed heat throughout the water column. Lakes often function as important sentinels of climate change, but lake characteristics within and across regions modify the magnitude of the signal with important implications for lake biology, ecology and chemistry.
Susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) beyond cigarette smoking is incompletely understood, although several genetic variants associated with COPD are known to regulate airway ...branch development. We demonstrate that in vivo central airway branch variants are present in 26.5% of the general population, are unchanged over 10 y, and exhibit strong familial aggregation. The most common airway branch variant is associated with COPD in two cohorts (n = 5,054), with greater central airway bifurcation density, and with emphysema throughout the lung. The second most common airway branch variant is associated with COPD among smokers, with narrower airway lumens in all lobes, and with genetic polymorphisms within the FGF10 gene. We conclude that central airway branch variation, readily detected by computed tomography, is a biomarker of widely altered lung structure with a genetic basis and represents a COPD susceptibility factor.
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