Effects of schistosomes on host anti-viral immune response and the acquisition,virulence, and prevention of viral infections: A systematic review

Although a growing number of studies suggest interactions between Schistosoma parasites and viral infections, the effects of schistosome infections on the host response to viruses have not been evaluated comprehensively. In this systematic review, we investigated how schistosomes impact incidence, virulence, and prevention of viral infections in humans and animals. We also evaluated immune effects of schistosomes in those coinfected with viruses. We screened 4,730 studies and included 103. Schistosomes may increase susceptibility to some viruses, including HIV and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, and virulence of hepatitis B and C viruses. In contrast, schistosome infection may be protective in chronic HIV, Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-Type 1, and respiratory viruses, though further research is needed. Schistosome infections were consistently reported to impair immune responses to hepatitis B and possibly measles vaccines. Understanding the interplay between schistosomes and viruses has ramifications for anti-viral vaccination strategies and global control of viral infections.     

Sarcocystis neurona Transmission from Opossums to Marine Mammals in the Pacific Northwest

EcoHealth - Increasing reports of marine mammal deaths have been attributed to the parasite Sarcocystis neurona. Infected opossums, the only known definitive hosts, shed S. neurona sporocysts in...     

Correction to: Sex and race differences of cerebrospinal fluid metabolites in healthy individuals

Metabolomics - Metabolomics applications to the aquaculture research are increasing steadily. The use of standardized proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy can provide the...     

Impact of manipulation of glycerol/diol dehydratase activity on intestinal microbiota ecology and metabolism

Glycerol/diol dehydratases (GDH) are enzymes that catalyse the production of propionate from 1,2-propanediol, and acrolein from glycerol. Acrolein reacts with dietary carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCA), reducing HCA mutagenicity, but is itself also an antimicrobial agent and toxicant. Gut microbial GDH activity has been suggested as an endogenous acrolein source; however, there is limited information on the potential of the intestinal microbiota to have GDH activity, and what impact it can have on the intestinal ecosystem and host health. We hypothesized that GDH activity of gut microbiota is determined by the abundance and distribution of GDH-active taxa and can be enhanced by supplementation of the GDH active Anaerobutyricum hallii, and tested this hypothesis combining quantitative profiling of gdh, model batch fermentations, microbiota manipulation, and kinetic modelling of acrolein formation. Our results suggest that GDH activity is a common trait of intestinal microbiota shared by a few taxa, which was dependent on overall gdh abundance. Anaerobutyricum hallii was identified as a key taxon in GDH metabolism, and its supplementation increased the rate of GDH activity and acrolein release, which enhanced the transformation of HCA and reduced fermentation activity. The findings of this first systematic study on acrolein release by intestinal microbiota indicate that dietary and microbial modulation might impact GDH activity, which may influence host health.     

Punishment is strongly motivated by revenge and weakly motivated by inequity aversion

There are two broad functional explanations for second-party punishment: fitness-leveling and deterrence. The former suggests that people punish to reduce fitness differences, while the latter suggests that people punish in order to reciprocate losses and deter others from inflicting losses on them in the future. We explore the relative roles of these motivations using a pre-registered, two-player experiment with 2426 US participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants played as the “responder” and were assigned to either a Take or Augment condition. In the Take condition, the “partner” could steal money from the responder's bonus or do nothing. In the Augment condition, the partner could augment the responder's bonus by giving them money at no cost to themselves or do nothing. We also manipulated the responders' starting endowments, such that after the partner's decision, responders experienced different payoff outcomes: advantageous inequity, equality, or varying degrees of disadvantageous inequity. Responders then decided whether to pay a cost to punish the partner. Punishment was clearly influenced by theft and was most frequent when theft resulted in disadvantageous inequity. However, people also punished in the absence of theft, particularly when confronted with disadvantageous inequity. While the effect of inequity on punishment was small, our results suggest that punishment is motivated by more than just the desire to reciprocate losses. These findings highlight the multiple motivations undergirding punishment and bear directly on functional explanations for the existence of punishment in human societies.     

Investigating lasp-2 in cell adhesion: new binding partners and roles in motility

Focal adhesions are intricate protein complexes that facilitate cell attachment, migration, and cellular communication. Lasp-2 (LIM-nebulette), a member of the nebulin family of actin-binding proteins, is a newly identified component of these complexes. To gain further insights into the functional role of lasp-2, we identified two additional binding partners of lasp-2: the integral focal adhesion proteins vinculin and paxillin. Of interest, the interaction of lasp-2 with its binding partners vinculin and paxillin is significantly reduced in the presence of lasp-1, another nebulin family member. The presence of lasp-2 appears to enhance the interaction of vinculin and paxillin with each other; however, as with the interaction of lasp-2 with vinculin or paxillin, this effect is greatly diminished in the presence of excess lasp-1. This suggests that the interplay between lasp-2 and lasp-1 could be an adhesion regulatory mechanism. Lasp-2’s potential role in metastasis is revealed, as overexpression of lasp-2 in either SW620 or PC-3B1 cells—metastatic cancer cell lines—increases cell migration but impedes cell invasion, suggesting that the enhanced interaction of vinculin and paxillin may functionally destabilize focal adhesion composition. Taken together, these data suggest that lasp-2 has an important role in coordinating and regulating the composition and dynamics of focal adhesions.     

Comparison of Adoption Agency Breed Identification and DNA Breed Identification of Dogs

Governmental and other agencies may require dog caregivers (owners) to provide breed identification of their dogs. This study compares breed identification by adoption agencies with identification by DNA analysis in 20 dogs of unknown parentage. Of the 20 dogs who had been adopted from 17 different locations, the study identified 16 dogs as having (or probably having) 1 or 2 specific breed(s) in their ancestry. DNA analysis of these dogs indicated that 25% (4/16) did in fact contain genetic evidence of an adoption agency's identified breed as one of the predominant breeds in a dog's ancestry. DNA analysis did not detect all specified breeds in 14 of these dogs. That is, 87.5% of the dogs identified by an adoption agency as having specific breeds in their ancestry did not have all of those breeds detected by DNA analysis. The discrepancies between opinions of adoption agencies and identification by DNA analysis suggest that it would be worthwhile to reevaluate the reliability of breed identification as well as the justification of current public and private policies pertaining to specific dog breeds.     

A Variable- and Person-Oriented Investigation of Preschool Competencies and Head Start Children's Transition to Kindergarten and First Grade

There is a widespread belief that youth drop out of youth development programs during the middle school years. Alternative explanations for the smaller number of adolescent program participants have yet to be explored. We examine age trends in program enrollment using data from over 221,000 youth enrolled in the California 4-H Youth Development Program from 1992 to 2002. We include sex, race/ethnicity, rural/urban residence, and project participation as predictors of dropout. Our results indicate that the peak in enrollment in early adolescence that is observable from annual enrollment data can be accounted for by stable and high enrollment turnover before age 11, followed by increased program dropout and fewer new enrollments. These findings have implications for explanations of youth program participation and for youth development program enrollment strategies, both for the 4-H Youth Development program and for youth programs in general.     

Macrophage inhibitory cytokine‐1 is associated with cognitive impairment and predicts cognitive decline – the Sydney Memory and Aging Study

Higher levels of macrophage inhibitory cytokine‐1, also known as growth differentiation factor 15 (MIC‐1/GDF15), are associated with adverse health outcomes and all‐cause mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between MIC‐1/GDF15 serum levels and global cognition, five cognitive domains, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), at baseline (Wave 1) and prospectively at 2 years (Wave 2), in nondemented participants aged 70–90 years. Analyses were controlled for age, sex, education, Framingham risk score, history of cerebrovascular accident, acute myocardial infarction, angina, cancer, depression, C‐reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukins 6 and 12, and apolipoprotein ε4 genotype. Higher MIC‐1/GDF15 levels were significantly associated with lower global cognition at both waves. Cross‐sectional associations were found between MIC‐1/GDF15 and all cognitive domains in Wave 1 (all P < 0.001) and between processing speed, memory, and executive function in Wave 2 (all P < 0.001). Only a trend was found for the prospective analyses, individuals with high MIC‐1/GDF15 at baseline declined in global cognition, executive function, memory, and processing speed. However, when categorizing MIC‐1/GDF15 by tertiles, prospective analyses revealed statistically significant lower memory and executive function in Wave 2 in those in the upper tertile compared with the lower tertile. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to determine MIC‐1/GDF15 cutoff values associated with cognitive decline and showed that a MIC‐1/GDF15 level exceeding 2764 pg/ml was associated with a 20% chance of decline from normal to MCI or dementia. In summary, MIC‐1/GDF15 levels are associated with cognitive performance and cognitive decline. Further research is required to determine the pathophysiology of this relationship.     

“Reverse” Carbocyclic Fleximers: Synthesis of a New Class of Adenosine Deaminase Inhibitors

A series of flexible carbocyclic pyrimidine nucleosides has been designed and synthesized. In contrast to previously reported “fleximers” from our laboratory, these analogues have the connectivity of the heterocyclic base system “reversed”, where the pyrimidine ring is attached to the sugar moiety, rather than the five membered imidazole ring. As was previously seen with the ribose fleximers, their inherent flexibility should allow them to adjust to enzyme binding site mutations, as well as increase the affinity for atypical enzymes. Preliminary biological screening has revealed surprising inhibition of adenosine deaminase, despite their lack of resemblance to adenosine.