Behavioral and hormonal consequences of transporting giant pandas from China to the United States

Zoological institutions strive to ensure the welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity. Part of this effort involves reducing the level of distress experienced by an animal to the greatest extent possible. However, some necessary zoo management practices such as transportation induce stress responses. An extensive literature exists concerning the animal welfare implications of road transportation for farm and laboratory animals. There has, however, been little focus on the effects of air transportation on wild animals in captivity. Because many endangered species are transported by air for breeding purposes, it is especially important to study the effects of stress on these species. This study investigated the behavioral and hormonal consequences of transporting 4 giant pandas (2 male-female pairs) by air from China to the United States. An autoregressive test revealed that urinary cortisol measures were highest for 2 subjects, Lun Lun and Tian Tian, during the flight than during the remainder of the 30-day period posttransport (p < .01). No long-term behavioral changes or problems emerged as a result of the transport. The study found that more research is needed to develop a complete understanding of transportation stress and welfare in captive wildlife.     

Regulation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling and Erlotinib Sensitivity in Head and Neck Cancer Cells by miR-7

Elevated expression and activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway is associated with development, progression and treatment resistance of head and neck cancer (HNC). Several studies have demonstrated that microRNA-7 (miR-7) regulates EGFR expression and Akt activity in a range of cancer cell types via its specific interaction with the EGFR mRNA 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). In the present study, we found that miR-7 regulated EGFR expression and Akt activity in HNC cell lines, and that this was associated with reduced growth in vitro and in vivo of cells (HN5) that were sensitive to the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) erlotinib (Tarceva). miR-7 acted synergistically with erlotinib to inhibit growth of erlotinib-resistant FaDu cells, an effect associated with increased inhibition of Akt activity. Microarray analysis of HN5 and FaDu cell lines transfected with miR-7 identified a common set of downregulated miR-7 target genes, providing insight into the tumor suppressor function of miR-7. Furthermore, we identified several target miR-7 mRNAs with a putative role in the sensitization of FaDu cells to erlotinib. Together, these data support the coordinate regulation of Akt signaling by miR-7 in HNC cells and suggest the therapeutic potential of miR-7 alone or in combination with EGFR TKIs in this disease.     

Eco-label conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers

Concerns over fishing impacts on marine populations and ecosystems have intensified the need to improve ocean management. One increasingly popular market-based instrument for ecological stewardship is the use of certification and eco-labeling programs to highlight sustainable fisheries with low environmental impacts. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most prominent of these programs. Despite widespread discussions about the rigor of the MSC standards, no comprehensive analysis of the performance of MSC-certified fish stocks has yet been conducted. We compared status and abundance trends of 45 certified stocks with those of 179 uncertified stocks, finding that 74% of certified fisheries were above biomass levels that would produce maximum sustainable yield, compared with only 44% of uncertified fisheries. On average, the biomass of certified stocks increased by 46% over the past 10 years, whereas uncertified fisheries increased by just 9%. As part of the MSC process, fisheries initially go through a confidential pre-assessment process. When certified fisheries are compared with those that decline to pursue full certification after pre-assessment, certified stocks had much lower mean exploitation rates (67% of the rate producing maximum sustainable yield vs. 92% for those declining to pursue certification), allowing for more sustainable harvesting and in many cases biomass rebuilding. From a consumer's point of view this means that MSC-certified seafood is 3-5 times less likely to be subject to harmful fishing than uncertified seafood. Thus, MSC-certification accurately identifies healthy fish stocks and conveys reliable information on stock status to seafood consumers.     

Local Breast Cancer Spatial Patterning: A Tool for Community Health Resource Allocation to Address Local Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality

Despite available demographic data on the factors that contribute to breast cancer mortality in large population datasets, local patterns are often overlooked. Such local information could provide a valuable metric by which regional community health resources can be allocated to reduce breast cancer mortality. We used national and statewide datasets to assess geographical distribution of breast cancer mortality rates and known risk factors influencing breast cancer mortality in middle Tennessee. Each county in middle Tennessee, and each ZIP code within metropolitan Davidson County, was scored for risk factor prevalence and assigned quartile scores that were used as a metric to identify geographic areas of need. While breast cancer mortality often correlated with age and incidence, geographic areas were identified in which breast cancer mortality rates did not correlate with age and incidence, but correlated with additional risk factors, such as mammography screening and socioeconomic status. Geographical variability in specific risk factors was evident, demonstrating the utility of this approach to identify local areas of risk. This method revealed local patterns in breast cancer mortality that might otherwise be overlooked in a more broadly based analysis. Our data suggest that understanding the geographic distribution of breast cancer mortality, and the distribution of risk factors that contribute to breast cancer mortality, will not only identify communities with the greatest need of support, but will identify the types of resources that would provide the most benefit to reduce breast cancer mortality in the community.     

Short Term Interactions with Long Term Consequences: Modulation of Chimeric Vessels by Neural Progenitors

Vessels are a critical and necessary component of most tissues, and there has been substantial research investigating vessel formation and stabilization. Several groups have investigated coculturing endothelial cells with a second cell type to promote formation and stabilization of vessels. Some have noted that long-term vessels derived from implanted cocultures are often chimeric consisting of both host and donor cells. The questions arise as to whether the coculture cell might impact the chimeric nature of the microvessels and can modulate the density of donor cells over time. If long-term engineered microvessels are primarily of host origin, any impairment of the host''s angiogenic ability has significant implications for the long-term success of the implant. If one can modulate the host versus donor response, one may be able to overcome a host''s angiogenic impairment. Furthermore, if one can modulate the donor contribution, one may be able to engineer microvascular networks to deliver molecules a patient lacks systemically for long times. To investigate the impact of the cocultured cell on the host versus donor contributions of endothelial cells in engineered microvascular networks, we varied the ratio of the neural progenitors to endothelial cells in subcutaneously implanted poly(ethylene glycol)/poly-L-lysine hydrogels. We found that the coculture of neural progenitors with endothelial cells led to the formation of chimeric host-donor vessels, and the ratio of neural progenitors has a significant impact on the long term residence of donor endothelial cells in engineered microvascular networks in vivo even though the neural progenitors are only present transiently in the system. We attribute this to the short term paracrine signaling between the two cell types. This suggests that one can modulate the host versus donor contributions using short-term paracrine signaling which has broad implications for the application of engineered microvascular networks and cellular therapy more broadly.     

The Sec1/Munc18 Protein Vps45 Regulates Cellular Levels of Its SNARE Binding Partners Tlg2 and Snc2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Intracellular membrane trafficking pathways must be tightly regulated to ensure proper functioning of all eukaryotic cells. Central to membrane trafficking is the formation of specific SNARE (soluble N-ethylmeleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) complexes between proteins on opposing lipid bilayers. The Sec1/Munc18 (SM) family of proteins play an essential role in SNARE-mediated membrane fusion, and like the SNAREs are conserved through evolution from yeast to humans. The SM protein Vps45 is required for the formation of yeast endosomal SNARE complexes and is thus essential for traffic through the endosomal system. Here we report that, in addition to its role in regulating SNARE complex assembly, Vps45 regulates cellular levels of its SNARE binding partners: the syntaxin Tlg2 and the v-SNARE Snc2: Cells lacking Vps45 have reduced cellular levels of Tlg2 and Snc2; and elevation of Vps45 levels results in concomitant increases in the levels of both Tlg2 and Snc2. As well as regulating traffic through the endosomal system, the Snc v-SNAREs are also required for exocytosis. Unlike most vps mutants, cells lacking Vps45 display multiple growth phenotypes. Here we report that these can be reversed by selectively restoring Snc2 levels in vps45 mutant cells. Our data indicate that as well as functioning as part of the machinery that controls SNARE complex assembly, Vps45 also plays a key role in determining the levels of its cognate SNARE proteins; another key factor in regulation of membrane traffic.     

Global Coverage of Cetacean Line-Transect Surveys: Status Quo, Data Gaps and Future Challenges

Knowledge of abundance, trends and distribution of cetacean populations is needed to inform marine conservation efforts, ecosystem models and spatial planning. We compiled a geo-spatial database of published data on cetacean abundance from dedicated visual line-transect surveys and encoded >1100 abundance estimates for 47 species from 430 surveys conducted worldwide from 1975–2005. Our subsequent analyses revealed large spatial, temporal and taxonomic variability and gaps in survey coverage. With the exception of Antarctic waters, survey coverage was biased toward the northern hemisphere, especially US and northern European waters. Overall, <25% of the world''s ocean surface was surveyed and only 6% had been covered frequently enough (≥5 times) to allow trend estimation. Almost half the global survey effort, defined as total area (km²) covered by all survey study areas across time, was concentrated in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). Neither the number of surveys conducted nor the survey effort had increased in recent years. Across species, an average of 10% of a species'' predicted range had been covered by at least one survey, but there was considerable variation among species. With the exception of three delphinid species, <1% of all species'' ranges had been covered frequently enough for trend analysis. Sperm whales emerged from our analyses as a relatively data-rich species. This is a notoriously difficult species to survey visually, and we use this as an example to illustrate the challenges of using available data from line-transect surveys for the detection of trends or for spatial planning. We propose field and analytical methods to fill in data gaps to improve cetacean conservation efforts.     

Effect of Mass Supplementation with Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food during an Anticipated Nutritional Emergency

Background

Previous studies have shown the benefits of ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) distribution in reducing the incidence and prevalence of severe acute malnutrition.

Methods and Findings

To compare the incidence of wasting, stunting and mortality between children aged 6 to 23 mo participating and not participating in distributions of RUSF, we implemented two exhaustive prospective cohorts including all children 60 cm to 80 cm, resident in villages of two districts of Maradi region in Niger (n = 2238). Villages (20) were selected to be representative of the population. All registered children were eligible for the monthly distributions between July and October 2010. Age, sex, height, weight, and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) were measured at baseline and two weeks after each distribution; the amount and type of distribution and the amount shared and remaining were also assessed. We compared the incidence of wasting, stunting, and mortality among children participating in the distribution (intervention) of RUSF versus children not participating in the distribution (comparison). The absolute rate of wasting was 4.71 events per child-year (503 events/106.59 child-year) in the intervention group and 4.98 events per child-year (322 events/64.54 child-year) in the comparison group. The intervention group had a small but higher weight-for-length Z-score gain (−0.2z vs. −0.3z) and less loss of MUAC than the comparison group (−2.8 vs. −4.0 mm). There was no difference in length gain (2.7 vs. 2.8 cm). Mortality was lower for children whose households received the intervention than those who did not (adjusted HR 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32–0.98).

Conclusions

Short-term distribution with RUSF for children 6 to 23 months improve the nutritional status of children at risk for malnutrition. Fewer children who participated in the RUSF distribution died than those who did not.     

Exploring the prevalence of ten polyomaviruses and two herpes viruses in breast cancer

Several different viruses have been proposed to play a role in breast carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of a subset of viruses in breast cancer tissue. We investigated the prevalence of 12 DNA viruses: EBV and CMV from the Herpesviridae family and SV40, BKV, JCV, MCV, WUV, KIV, LPV, HPyV6, HPyV7, and TSV from the Polyomaviridae family in 54 fresh frozen breast tumour specimens. Relevant clinical data and basic lifestyle data were available for all patients. The tissue samples were DNA extracted and real-time PCR assays were used for viral detection.The highest prevalence, 10% (5/54), was found for EBV. MCV, HPyV6, and HPyV7 were detected in single patient samples (2% each), while WUV, KIV, JCV, BKV, LPV, SV40, TSV and CMV were not detected in the 54 breast cancer specimens analysed here. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the potential role of viruses, and particularly EBV, in breast carcinogenesis.     

Molecular Epidemiology of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Viruses from Pakistan in 2009-2010

Background

In early 2009, a novel influenza A(H1N1) virus that emerged in Mexico and United States rapidly disseminated worldwide. The spread of this virus caused considerable morbidity with over 18000 recorded deaths. The new virus was found to be a reassortant containing gene segments from human, avian and swine influenza viruses.

Methods/Results

The first case of human infection with A(H1N1)pdm09 in Pakistan was detected on 18^th June 2009. Since then, 262 laboratory-confirmed cases have been detected during various outbreaks with 29 deaths (as of 31^st August 2010). The peak of the epidemic was observed in December with over 51% of total respiratory cases positive for influenza. Representative isolates from Pakistan viruses were sequenced and analyzed antigenically. Sequence analysis of genes coding for surface glycoproteins HA and NA showed high degree of high levels of sequence identity with corresponding genes of regional viruses circulating South East Asia. All tested viruses were sensitive to Oseltamivir in the Neuraminidase Inhibition assays.

Conclusions

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses from Pakistan form a homogenous group of viruses. Their HA genes belong to clade 7 and show antigenic profile similar to the vaccine strain A/California/07/2009. These isolates do not show any amino acid changes indicative of high pathogenicity and virulence. It is imperative to continue monitoring of these viruses for identification of potential variants of high virulence or drug resistance.