Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests during Mass-Participation Endurance Events: A Case Series.

Introduction: Mass-participation endurance events take place throughout the United Kingdom. Although out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur during these events, little is known about them. This case series aims to describe the number, type, etiology, and outcome of OHCAs treated by a UK-based specialist sports medicine provider over a period of 8 y.

Metagenomes from 25 Low-Abundance Microbes in a Partial Nitritation Anammox Microbiome.

Microbial communities using anammox bacteria to remove nitrogen are increasingly important in wastewater treatment. We report on 25 metagenome-assembled genomes of low-abundance microbes from a partial nitritation anammox bioreactor system that have not been described previously. These data add to the body of information about this important wastewater treatment system.

Honey bee hive covers reduce food consumption and colony mortality during overwintering.

Beekeepers regularly employ management practices to mitigate losses during the winter, often considered the most difficult time during a colony life cycle. Management recommendations involving covering or wrapping hives in insulation during winter have a long history; over 100 years ago, most recommendations for overwintering in cold climates involved heavy insulation wraps or moving hives indoors. These recommendations began to change in the mid-20th century, but hive covers are still considered useful and are described in contemporary beekeeping manuals and cooperative extension materials.

A Blacktip Reef Shark Bite to the Hand in the Remote Solomon Islands.

Background: Solomon Islands is a country in the South Pacific Ocean with excellent scuba diving, particularly among its remote islands that can be accessed by liveaboard dive boats. Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) are found throughout the island nation and rarely attack humans.

Case Report: We present the case of a 42-year-old man who sustained a hand laceration after being bitten by a blacktip reef shark.

Design and Assessment of Species-Level qPCR Primers Targeting Comammox.

Published PCR primers targeting the ammonia monooxygenase gene () were applied to samples from activated sludge systems operated with low dissolved oxygen (DO) to quantify total and clade-level that perform complete ammonium oxidation (comammox); however, we found these existing primers resulted in significant artifact-associated non-target amplification. This not only overestimated comammox copies but also resulted in numerous false positive detections in the environmental samples tested, as confirmed by gel electrophoresis. Therefore, instead of attempting to quantify comammox diversity, we focused on accurately quantifying the candidate comammox species.

Quantifying the effects of pollen nutrition on honey bee queen egg laying with a new laboratory system.

Honey bee populations have been declining precipitously over the past decade, and multiple causative factors have been identified. Recent research indicates that these frequently co-occurring stressors interact, often in unpredictable ways, therefore it has become important to develop robust methods to assess their effects both in isolation and in combination. Most such efforts focus on honey bee workers, but the state of a colony also depends on the health and productivity of its queen.

Pipeline for specific subtype amplification and drug resistance detection in hepatitis C virus.

Background: Despite the high sustained virological response rates achieved with current directly-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) against hepatitis C virus (HCV), around 5-10% of treated patients do not respond to current antiviral therapies, and basal resistance to DAAs is increasingly detected among treatment-naïve infected individuals. Identification of amino acid substitutions (including those in minority variants) associated with treatment failure requires analytical designs that take into account the high diversification of HCV in more than 86 subtypes according to the ICTV website (June 2017).

Methods: The methodology has involved five sequential steps: (i) to design 280 oligonucleotide primers (some including a maximum of three degenerate positions), and of which 120 were tested to amplify NS3, NS5A-, and NS5B-coding regions in a subtype-specific manner, (ii) to define a reference sequence for each subtype, (iii) to perform experimental controls to define a cut-off value for detection of minority amino acids, (iv) to establish bioinformatics' tools to quantify amino acid replacements, and (v) to validate the procedure with patient samples.

Internal Disequilibria and Phenotypic Diversification during Replication of Hepatitis C Virus in a Noncoevolving Cellular Environment.

Viral quasispecies evolution upon long-term virus replication in a noncoevolving cellular environment raises relevant general issues, such as the attainment of population equilibrium, compliance with the molecular-clock hypothesis, or stability of the phenotypic profile. Here, we evaluate the adaptation, mutant spectrum dynamics, and phenotypic diversification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the course of 200 passages in human hepatoma cells in an experimental design that precluded coevolution of the cells with the virus. Adaptation to the cells was evidenced by increase in progeny production.

Real-time PCR-based infectivity assay for the titration of turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus, an adenovirus, in live vaccines.

The current in vitro titration method for turkey hemorrhagic enteritis virus (THEV) is the end-point dilution assay (EPD) in suspension cell culture (CC). This assay is subjective and results in high variability among vaccine lots. In this study, a new in vitro infectivity method combining a SYBR Green I-based qPCR assay and CC was developed for titration of live hemorrhagic enteritis (HE) CC vaccines.

A chimeric virus created by DNA shuffling of the capsid genes of different subtypes of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) in the backbone of the non-pathogenic PCV1 induces protective immunity against the predominant PCV2b and the emerging PCV2d in pigs.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the primary causative agent of porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD). Available commercial vaccines all target PCV2a subtype, although the circulating predominant subtype worldwide is PCV2b, and the emerging PCV2d subtype is also increasingly associated with PCVAD. Here we molecularly bred genetically-divergent strains representing PCV2a, PCV2b, PCV2c, PCV2d, and "divergent PCV2a" subtypes by DNA-shuffling of the capsid genes to produce a chimeric virus representing PCV2 global genetic diversity.

A reactor for high-throughput high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The design of a reactor for operando nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) monitoring of high-pressure gas-liquid reactions is described. The Wisconsin High Pressure NMR Reactor (WiHP-NMRR) design comprises four modules: a sapphire NMR tube with titanium tube holder rated for pressures as high as 1000 psig (68 atm) and temperatures ranging from -90 to 90 °C, a gas circulation system that maintains equilibrium concentrations of dissolved gases during gas-consuming or gas-releasing reactions, a liquid injection apparatus that is capable of adding measured amounts of solutions to the reactor under high pressure conditions, and a rapid wash system that enables the reactor to be cleaned without removal from the NMR instrument. The WiHP-NMRR is compatible with commercial 10 mm NMR probes.

Increased replicative fitness can lead to decreased drug sensitivity of hepatitis C virus.

Passage of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in human hepatoma cells resulted in populations that displayed partial resistance to alpha interferon (IFN-α), telaprevir, daclatasvir, cyclosporine, and ribavirin, despite no prior exposure to these drugs. Mutant spectrum analyses and kinetics of virus production in the absence and presence of drugs indicate that resistance is not due to the presence of drug resistance mutations in the mutant spectrum of the initial or passaged populations but to increased replicative fitness acquired during passage. Fitness increases did not alter host factors that lead to shutoff of general host cell protein synthesis and preferential translation of HCV RNA.

Molecular basis of interferon resistance in hepatitis C virus.

Resistance to interferon (IFN) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) differs from resistance to standard, directly-acting antiviral (DAA) agents in that the virus confronts a multicomponent antiviral state evoked by IFN. This renders unlikely the repeated selection of the same specific mutations that confer an IFN-resistance phenotype. Comparison of amino acid sequences of viral proteins in HCV that replicates in the presence of IFN in vivo or in cell culture (with entire virus or subgenomic replicons) reveals very few common candidate IFN resistance substitutions.

A live-attenuated and an inactivated chimeric porcine circovirus (PCV)1-2 vaccine are both effective at inducing a humoral immune response and reducing PCV2 viremia and intrauterine infection in female swine of breeding age.

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the efficacy of inactivated (1 or 2 dose) and live-attenuated chimeric porcine circovirus (PCV)1-2 vaccines in sows using the PCV2-spiked semen model. Thirty-five sows were randomly divided into 6 groups: negative and positive controls, 1 dose inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (1-VAC-PCV2), 2 dose inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (2-VAC-PCV2), 1 dose live-attenuated PCV1-2 vaccine unchallenged (1-LIVE-VAC), and 1 dose live-attenuated PCV1-2 vaccine challenged (1-LIVE-VAC-PCV2). The inactivated PCV1-2 vaccine induced higher levels of PCV2-specific antibodies in dams.

Can looking at a hand make your skin crawl? Peering into the uncanny valley for hands.

It is postulated that there is an uncanny valley, whereby human-like stimuli such as robots or animated characters that fall short of being fully human are perceived as eerie or unsettling. Previous research has explored the existence of this effect for faces and whole bodies, while here we explore responses to photographs of real and artificial hands. In keeping with the notion of an uncanny valley, prosthetic hands that were of intermediate human-likeness were given the highest ratings of eeriness.

Concurrent porcine circovirus type 2a (PCV2a) or PCV2b infection increases the rate of amino acid mutations of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) during serial passages in pigs.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has a high degree of genetic and antigenic variability. The purpose of this study was to determine if porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection increases genetic variability of PRRSV during serial passages in pigs and to determine if there is a difference in the PRRSV mutation rate between pigs concurrently infected with PCV2a or PCV2b. After 8 consecutive passages of PRRSV alone (group 1), PRRSV with PCV2a (group 2), or PCV2b (group 3) in pigs, the sequences of PRRSV structural genes for open reading frame (ORF) 5, ORF6, ORF7 and the partial non-structural protein gene (Nsp) 2 were determined.

Response of hepatitis C virus to long-term passage in the presence of alpha interferon: multiple mutations and a common phenotype.

Cell culture-produced hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been subjected to up to 100 serial passages in human hepatoma cells in the absence or presence of different doses of alpha interferon (IFN-α). Virus survival, genetic changes, fitness levels, and phenotypic traits have been examined. While high initial IFN-α doses (increasing from 1 to 4 IU/ml) did not allow HCV survival beyond passage 40, a gradual exposure (from 0.

A cross-sectional study examining factors related to critical thinking in nursing.

The purpose of this study was to examine critical thinking skills among registered nurses who work in a military hospital. Sixty-five nurses were administered the Health Sciences Reasoning Test to obtain scores in inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation skills. Results showed no significant association between critical thinking skills and years of experience; however, differences were identified among racial/ethnic groups.

A PCV2 vaccine based on genotype 2b is more effective than a 2a-based vaccine to protect against PCV2b or combined PCV2a/2b viremia in pigs with concurrent PCV2, PRRSV and PPV infection.

The predominant genotype of porcine circovirus (PCV) in the pig population today is PCV2b yet PCV2a-based commercial vaccines are considered effective in protecting against porcine circovirus associated disease. The objective of this study was to compare the ability of PCV2a- and PCV2b-based vaccines to control PCV2b viremia in a challenge model that mimics the U.S.

Bordetella avium antibiotic resistance, novel enrichment culture, and antigenic characterization.

Bordetella avium continues to be an economic issue in the turkey industry as the causative agent of bordetellosis, which often leads to serious secondary infections. This study presents a broad characterization of the antibiotic resistance patterns in this diverse collection of B. avium strains collected over the past thirty years.

Co-infection of porcine dendritic cells with porcine circovirus type 2a (PCV2a) and genotype II porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) induces CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T cells in vitro.

Porcine circovirus associated disease (PCVAD) is currently one of the most economically important diseases in the global swine industry. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the primary causative agent, however co-infection with other swine pathogens such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is often required to induce the full spectrum of clinical PCVAD. While the specific mechanisms of viral co-infection that lead to clinical disease are not fully understood, immune modulation by the co-infecting viruses likely plays a critical role.

Effect of porcine circovirus type 2a or 2b on infection kinetics and pathogenicity of two genetically divergent strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in the conventional pig model.

To determine differences in infection kinetics of two temporally and genetically different type 2 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) isolates in vivo with and without concurrent porcine circovirus (PCV) type 2a or 2b infection, 62 pigs were randomly assigned to one of seven groups: negative controls (n=8); pigs coinfected with a 1992 PRRSV strain (VR-2385) and PCV2a (CoI-92-2a; n=9), pigs coinfected with VR-2385 and PCV2b (CoI-92-2b; n=9), pigs coinfected with a 2006 PRRSV strain (NC16845b) and PCV2a (CoI-06-2a; n=9), pigs coinfected with NC16845b and PCV2b (CoI-06-2b; n=9), pigs infected with VR-2385 (n=9), and pigs infected with NC16845b (n=9). Blood samples were collected before inoculation and at day post-inoculation (dpi) 3, 6, 9 and 12 and tested for the presence of PRRSV antibody and RNA, PCV2 antibody and DNA, complete blood counts, and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) levels. Regardless of concurrent PCV2 infection, VR-2385 initially replicated at higher levels and reached peak replication levels at dpi 6.

ORF1 but not ORF2 dependent differences are important for in vitro replication of PCV2 in porcine alveolar macrophages singularly or coinfected with PRRSV.

The objective of this study was to investigate cytokine expression and in vitro replication of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) emphasizing PCV2 open-reading frame (ORF) origin (PCV2a or PCV2b) and PRRSV strain. Chimeric PCV2 viruses composed of different combinations of ORF1 and ORF2 of PCV2a or PCV2b (chimera PCV2a-2b and chimera PCV2b-2a) were constructed and five different PRRSV isolates were utilized: Type 1 (SD 01-08) or type 2 (NC16845b, VR-2332, MN-184, JA-142). PAMs were infected singularly or with combinations of PCV2b, PCV2a, chimera PCV2a-2b, and chimera PCV2b-2a, and one of the five PRRSV isolates.