The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to monitor terrestrial species has been relatively limited, with successful implementations still confined to sampling DNA from natural or artificial water ...bodies and soil. Sampling water for eDNA depends on proximity to or availability of water, whereas eDNA from soil is limited in its spatial scale due to the large quantities necessary for processing and difficulty in doing so. These challenges limit the widespread use of eDNA in several systems, such as surveying forests for invasive insects. We developed two new eDNA aggregation approaches that overcome the challenges of above‐ground terrestrial sampling and eliminate the dependency on creating or utilizing pre‐existing water bodies to conduct eDNA sampling. The first, “spray aggregation,” uses spray action to remove eDNA from surface substrates and was developed for shrubs and other understorey vegetation, while the second, “tree rolling,” uses physical transfer via a roller to remove eDNA from the surface of tree trunks and large branches. We tested these approaches by surveying for spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, a recent invasive pest of northeastern USA that is considered a significant ecological and economic threat to forests and agriculture. We found that our terrestrial eDNA surveys matched visual surveys, but also detected L. delicatula presence ahead of visual surveys, indicating increased sensitivity of terrestrial eDNA surveys over currently used methodology. The terrestrial eDNA approaches we describe can be adapted for use in surveying a variety of forest insects and represent a novel strategy for surveying terrestrial biodiversity.
Tick-borne diseases are a growing public health problem in the United States, and the US northeast has reported consistently high case rates for decades. Monmouth County, New Jersey, was one of the ...earliest jurisdictions to report Lyme disease cases in 1979 and reports several hundred cases per year nearly 40 yr later. In the time since, however, tick-borne health risks have expanded far beyond Lyme disease to include a variety of other bacterial pathogens and viruses, and additional vectors, necessitating a continually evolving approach to tick surveillance. In 2017, Monmouth County initiated an active surveillance program targeting sites across three ecological regions for collection of Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae) and Amblyomma americanum L. (Acari: Ixodidae) as well as testing via qPCR for associated bacterial pathogens. During the first five years of this program (2017–2021), we report high levels of spatiotemporal variability in nymphal density and infection prevalence in both species, limiting the granularity with which human risk can be predicted from acarological data. Nonetheless, broader patterns emerged, including an ongoing trend of A. americanum dominance, risks posed by Borrelia miyamotoi, and the frequency of coinfected ticks. We present some of the first county-level, systematic surveillance of nymphal A. americanum density and infection prevalence in the northeastern US. We also documented a temporary decline in Borrelia burgdorferi that could relate to unmeasured trends in reservoir host populations. We discuss the implications of our findings for tick-borne disease ecology, public health communication, and tick surveillance strategies in endemic areas.
Tick-borne rickettsiae are undergoing epidemiological changes in the eastern United States while human encounters with lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum L.) have increased substantially. We used ...real-time polymerase chain reaction assays to test for three species of spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in 1,858 nymphal A. americanum collected from Monmouth County, New Jersey, a coastal county with endemic Lyme disease and established tick surveillance. Out of the 1,858 tested, 465 (25.0%) were infected with Rickettsia amblyommatis Karpathy, a species of undetermined pathogenicity found frequently in A. americanum, while 1/1,858 (0.05%) contained Rickettsia rickettsii Brumpt, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. No ticks tested positive for mildly pathogenic Rickettsia parkeri Lackman, and no ticks were co-infected with multiple Rickettsia spp. Our results indicate that A. americanum could be involved in transmission of R. rickettsii to humans in New Jersey, albeit rarely. The much higher rates of R. amblyommatis infection are consistent with hypotheses that human sera reacting to this species could contribute to reports of mild SFGR cases.
•The slab at 50–200 km depths beneath the Alaska Peninsula has 5 distinct segments.•Two double seismic zones exist in the Pavlof and Semidi segments of the slab.•More fluids but little sediments are ...subducted in the southwestern segments.•More sediments but less fluids are subducted in the northeastern segments.•Plate fabrics, sediment subduction, and slab stress state control the variations.
The Alaska Peninsula section of the Aleutian-Alaska subduction zone exhibits significant along-strike variations in plate coupling, earthquakes, and arc magmatism. Here we use regional and teleseismic data from 1990 to 2018 to investigate intermediate-depth intra-plate seismicity beneath the Alaska Peninsula. The distribution of these events shows five distinct segments from southwest to northeast: Unimak, Pavlof, Shumagin, Semidi, and Kodiak. We identify two double seismic zones (DSZs) in the Pavlof and Semidi segments but not in others. The magnitude-frequency relationship of these earthquakes (b-value) also varies along strike, suggesting more fluids in the southwestern segments and closer to the slab top interface. We also evaluate trace elements of arc lavas in the Alaska Peninsula. Th/La ratios indicate a significant amount of sediments subducted in the Semidi segment that includes Aniakchak and Veniaminof, and the sediment signature peaks beneath the Black Peak volcano. In contrast, high Pb/Th but low Th/La ratios from southwestern volcanoes suggest high fluids released from the subducted slab. In sum, our observations suggest that the slab is more hydrated and thus undergoing more intensive dehydration in the southwest than in the northeast, whereas more sediments are subducted in the northeast than in the southwest. These along-arc changes are generally in agreement with previous studies of plate coupling and the crustal structure of the incoming plate. Moreover, the complexities beyond the monotonic changes imply that the intermediate-depth intra-plate seismicity and sub-arc melting are influenced by not only the pre-existing fabrics in the incoming plate, but also the subducted sediments and plate stress state.
During May-October 2018, four patients from three states experienced sepsis after transfusion of apheresis platelets contaminated with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex (ACBC) and ...Staphylococcus saprophyticus; one patient died. ACBC isolates from patients' blood, transfused platelet residuals, and two environmental samples were closely related by whole genome sequencing. S. saprophyticus isolates from two patients' blood, three transfused platelet residuals, and one hospital environmental sample formed two whole genome sequencing clusters. This whole genome sequencing analysis indicated a potential common source of bacterial contamination; investigation into the contamination source continues. All platelet donations were collected using apheresis cell separator machines and collection sets from the same manufacturer; two of three collection sets were from the same lot. One implicated platelet unit had been treated with pathogen-inactivation technology, and two had tested negative with a rapid bacterial detection device after negative primary culture. Because platelets are usually stored at room temperature, bacteria in contaminated platelet units can proliferate to clinically relevant levels by the time of transfusion. Clinicians should monitor for sepsis after platelet transfusions even after implementation of bacterial contamination mitigation strategies. Recognizing adverse transfusion reactions and reporting to the platelet supplier and hemovigilance systems is crucial for public health practitioners to detect and prevent sepsis associated with contaminated platelets.
A TWO-PHASE EXPERIMENT TESTED THE FEASIBILITY OF MOTIVATING RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO DEVOTE SUMMER STUDY IN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR CREDIT BY MEANS OF OPEN CIRCUIT TELEVISION. A ...PILOT AND A EXPERIMENTAL COURSE WERE SCHEDULED IN SUCCESSIVE SUMMERS. THE PILOT PROGRAM SHOWED FAVORABLE RESULTS, BUT AN EXPANDED EXPERIMENTAL COURSE WAS USED FOR FINAL RESULTS. THE COURSES OFFERED WERE FRESHMAN ENGLISH, SYMBOLIC LOGIC, AND WORLD CIVILIZATION. COMPARATIVE PLACEMENT TESTS GIVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR SHOWED THAT THOSE WHO HAD COMPLETED THE TELEVISION COURSE WERE BETTER PREPARED FOR COLLEGE. THE MAIN QUESTION RAISED, HOWEVER, WAS ANSWERED IN THE NEGATIVE - IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO MOTIVATE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS. STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE COURSE SHOWED HIGHER THAN AVERAGE MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC ABILITY. EVIDENCE DID SHOW THAT THE SUMMER TELEVISION ASSISTED SOME STUDENTS IN MAKING THE TRANSISTION TO COLLEGE AND STRONG EVIDENCE INDICATED THAT THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE ITSELF WAS EFFECTIVE. (PM)
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