Drivers of Vaginal Drug Delivery System Acceptability from Internet-Based Conjoint Analysis

Vaginal microbicides potentially empower women to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially when culture, religion, or social status may prevent them from negotiating condom use. The open literature contains minimal information on factors that drive user acceptability of women’s health products or vaginal drug delivery systems. By understanding what women find to be most important with regard to sensory properties and product functionality, developers can iteratively formulate a more desirable product. Conjoint analysis is a technique widely used in market research to determine what combination of elements influence a consumer’s willingness to try or use a product. We applied conjoint analysis here to better understand what sexually-active woman want in a microbicide, toward our goal of formulating a product that is highly acceptable to women. Both sensory and non-sensory attributes were tested, including shape, color, wait time, partner awareness, messiness/leakage, duration of protection, and functionality. Heterosexually active women between 18 and 35 years of age in the United States (n = 302) completed an anonymous online conjoint survey using IdeaMap software. Attributes (product elements) were systematically presented in various combinations; women rated these combinations of a 9-point willingness-to-try scale. By coupling systematic combinations and regression modeling, we can estimate the unique appeal of each element. In this population, a multifunctional product (i.e., broad spectrum STI protection, coupled with conception) is far more desirable than a microbicide targeted solely for HIV protection; we also found partner awareness and leakage are potentially strong barriers to use.     

Biological samples taken from Native American Ancestors are human remains under NAGPRA

In the United States, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) provides a specific framework for the disposition of Native American Ancestral remains within its purview. However, samples such as a bone fragment, tooth, or other biological tissue taken from the remains of these Ancestors have been treated by institutions and researchers as independent of the individual from whom they were removed and used in destructive research such as paleogenomic and other archaeometric analyses without consultation, consent, and collaboration from Native American communities; are not cared for in keeping with the current best practices for Indigenous Ancestors; and are not likely to be repatriated to their communities. Here, we demonstrate that any biological samples removed from Ancestors who are covered under NAGPRA must also be handled according to the stipulations defined for “human remains” within the legislation. As such, we are not proposing a change to existing legislation, but rather best practices, specific to the context of the United States and NAGPRA, relating to the use of and care for biological samples taken from Native American Ancestors.     

Phospholipids of the differentiating species of Tetrahymena

The whole-cell phospholipid composition of the six known polymorphic species of Tetrahymena has been examined by [(3)H]acetate and [(3)H]myristic acid radiolabeling, and by gas-liquid chromatography of total phospholipid-bound fatty acids. Five of the polymorphic species contained similar phospholipid profiles following radiolabeling in that phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) was the predominant phospholipid; however, in cells of Tetrahymena patula LFF, aminoethylphosphonolipid was present in amounts nearly equal to PE. Tetrahymena patula LFF contained an unusually large percentage of sphingolipid (16.2% by [(3)H]acetate radiolabeling). Substantial differences were found in the fatty acid profiles of the polymorphic species, which included the degree of fatty acid unsaturation and relative weight percentages of odd-chain fatty acids. Tetrahymena vorax contained a low ratio of unsaturated C(18) fatty acids to saturated C(18) fatty acids as compared with all other species examined. The differentiating species generally contained a lesser percentage of monoenoic fatty acids and a lower ratio of unsaturated C(16) fatty acids to saturated C(16) fatty acids as compared with the two monomorphic species examined.     

Emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum with kelch13 C580Y mutations on the island of New Guinea

The rapid and aggressive spread of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum carrying the C580Y mutation in the kelch13 gene is a growing threat to malaria elimination in Southeast Asia, but there is no evidence of their spread to other regions. We conducted cross-sectional surveys in 2016 and 2017 at two clinics in Wewak, Papua New Guinea (PNG) where we identified three infections caused by C580Y mutants among 239 genotyped clinical samples. One of these mutants exhibited the highest survival rate (6.8%) among all parasites surveyed in ring-stage survival assays (RSA) for artemisinin. Analyses of kelch13 flanking regions, and comparisons of deep sequencing data from 389 clinical samples from PNG, Indonesian Papua and Western Cambodia, suggested an independent origin of the Wewak C580Y mutation, showing that the mutants possess several distinctive genetic features. Identity by descent (IBD) showed that multiple portions of the mutants’ genomes share a common origin with parasites found in Indonesian Papua, comprising several mutations within genes previously associated with drug resistance, such as mdr1, ferredoxin, atg18 and pnp. These findings suggest that a P. falciparum lineage circulating on the island of New Guinea has gradually acquired a complex ensemble of variants, including kelch13 C580Y, which have affected the parasites’ drug sensitivity. This worrying development reinforces the need for increased surveillance of the evolving parasite populations on the island, to contain the spread of resistance.     

Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

Six baleen whale species are found in the temperate western North Atlantic Ocean, with limited information existing on the distribution and movement patterns for most. There is mounting evidence of distributional shifts in many species, including marine mammals, likely because of climate‐driven changes in ocean temperature and circulation. Previous acoustic studies examined the occurrence of minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and North Atlantic right whales (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis). This study assesses the acoustic presence of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), sei (B. borealis), fin (B. physalus), and blue whales (B. musculus) over a decade, based on daily detections of their vocalizations. Data collected from 2004 to 2014 on 281 bottom‐mounted recorders, totaling 35,033 days, were processed using automated detection software and screened for each species' presence. A published study on NARW acoustics revealed significant changes in occurrence patterns between the periods of 2004–2010 and 2011–2014; therefore, these same time periods were examined here. All four species were present from the Southeast United States to Greenland; humpback whales were also present in the Caribbean. All species occurred throughout all regions in the winter, suggesting that baleen whales are widely distributed during these months. Each of the species showed significant changes in acoustic occurrence after 2010. Similar to NARWs, sei whales had higher acoustic occurrence in mid‐Atlantic regions after 2010. Fin, blue, and sei whales were more frequently detected in the northern latitudes of the study area after 2010. Despite this general northward shift, all four species were detected less on the Scotian Shelf area after 2010, matching documented shifts in prey availability in this region. A decade of acoustic observations have shown important distributional changes over the range of baleen whales, mirroring known climatic shifts and identifying new habitats that will require further protection from anthropogenic threats like fixed fishing gear, shipping, and noise pollution.     

The molecular basis of venom resistance in a rattlesnake‐squirrel predator‐prey system

Understanding how interspecific interactions mould the molecular basis of adaptations in coevolving species is a long‐sought goal of evolutionary biology. Venom in predators and venom resistance proteins in prey are coevolving molecular phenotypes, and while venoms are highly complex mixtures it is unclear if prey respond with equally complex resistance traits. Here, we use a novel molecular methodology based on protein affinity columns to capture and identify candidate blood serum resistance proteins (“venom interactive proteins” [VIPs]) in California Ground Squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) that interact with venom proteins from their main predator, Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus o. oreganus). This assay showed that serum‐based resistance is both population‐ and species‐specific, with serum proteins from ground squirrels showing higher binding affinities for venom proteins of local snakes compared to allopatric individuals. Venom protein specificity assays identified numerous and diverse candidate prey resistance VIPs but also potential targets of venom in prey tissues. Many specific VIPs bind to multiple snake venom proteins and, conversely, single venom proteins bind multiple VIPs, demonstrating that a portion of the squirrel blood serum “resistome” involves broad‐based inhibition of nonself proteins and suggests that resistance involves a toxin scavenging mechanism. Analyses of rates of evolution of VIP protein homologues in related mammals show that most of these proteins evolve under purifying selection possibly due to molecular constraints that limit the evolutionary responses of prey to rapidly evolving snake venom proteins. Our method represents a general approach to identify specific proteins involved in co‐evolutionary interactions between species at the molecular level.