Publications by authors named "David A Coil"

As focus for exploration of Mars transitions from current robotic explorers to development of crewed missions, it remains important to protect the integrity of scientific investigations at Mars, as well as protect the Earth's biosphere from any potential harmful effects from returned martian material. This is the discipline of planetary protection, and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) maintains the consensus international policy and guidelines on how this is implemented. Based on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) studies that began in 2001, COSPAR adopted principles and guidelines for human missions to Mars in 2008.

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Many mammals rely on volatile organic chemical compounds (VOCs) produced by bacteria for their communication and behavior, though little is known about the exact molecular mechanisms or bacterial species that are responsible. We used metagenomic sequencing, mass-spectrometry based metabolomics, and culturing to profile the microbial and volatile chemical constituents of anal gland secretions in twenty-three domestic cats (Felis catus), in attempts to identify organisms potentially involved in host odor production. We found that the anal gland microbiome was dominated by bacteria in the genera Corynebacterium, Bacteroides, Proteus, Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus, and showed striking variation among individual cats.

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Environmental monitoring of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) for research and public health purposes has grown exponentially throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 provides early warning signals of virus spread and information on trends in infections at a community scale. Indoor environmental monitoring (e.

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We found no significant difference in cycle threshold values between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Delta, overall or stratified by symptoms. Given the substantial proportion of asymptomatic vaccine breakthrough cases with high viral levels, interventions, including masking and testing, should be considered in settings with elevated coronavirus disease 2019 transmission.

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Testing surfaces in school classrooms for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can provide public-health information that complements clinical testing. We monitored the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in five schools (96 classrooms) in Davis, California (USA) by collecting weekly surface-swab samples from classroom floors and/or portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) units (n = 2,341 swabs). Twenty-two surfaces tested positive, with qPCR cycle threshold (Ct) values ranging from 36.

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Rationale: There is little doubt that aerosols play a major role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The significance of the presence and infectivity of this virus on environmental surfaces, especially in a hospital setting, remains less clear.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze surface swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and infectivity, and to determine their suitability for sequence analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study comparing air chilling and water immersion chilling revealed that air chilling not only improves chicken odor and shelf-life, especially within the first 14 days, but also fosters a more beneficial microbial diversity, potentially delaying spoilage.
  • * The economic analysis suggests that air chilling could be more cost-effective than water chilling, particularly in areas where water costs are higher, making it a viable option for enhancing sustainability and reducing food waste in poultry production.
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Koalas () are highly specialized herbivorous marsupials that feed almost exclusively on leaves, which are known to contain varying concentrations of many different toxic chemical compounds. The literature suggests that , a bacterium in the Pasteurellaceae family, can break down some of these toxic chemical compounds. Furthermore, in a previous study, we identified as the most predictive taxon of koala survival during antibiotic treatment.

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Background: Every human being carries with them a collection of microbes, a collection that is likely both unique to that person, but also dynamic as a result of significant flux with the surrounding environment. The interaction of the human microbiome (i.e.

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With the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that results in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), corporate entities, federal, state, county, and city governments, universities, school districts, places of worship, prisons, health care facilities, assisted living organizations, daycares, homeowners, and other building owners and occupants have an opportunity to reduce the potential for transmission through built environment (BE)-mediated pathways. Over the last decade, substantial research into the presence, abundance, diversity, function, and transmission of microbes in the BE has taken place and revealed common pathogen exchange pathways and mechanisms. In this paper, we synthesize this microbiology of the BE research and the known information about SARS-CoV-2 to provide actionable and achievable guidance to BE decision makers, building operators, and all indoor occupants attempting to minimize infectious disease transmission through environmentally mediated pathways.

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was first formally described in 2012 as a member of a novel species, genus, and proposed family of Christensenellaceae. was later shown in one study to be part of the most heritable taxonomic group in the human gut microbiome and to be enriched in people with low body mass index (BMI). Mouse work demonstrated that injection of cultured into germ-free mice prevented the onset of obesity after a fecal transplant to the mice from high BMI individuals.

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Type 1 secretion systems (T1SSs) are broadly distributed among bacteria and translocate effectors with diverse function across the bacterial cell membrane. Legionella pneumophila, the species most commonly associated with Legionellosis, encodes a T1SS at the lssXYZABD locus which is responsible for the secretion of the virulence factor RtxA. Many investigations have failed to detect lssD, the gene encoding the membrane fusion protein of the RtxA T1SS, in non-pneumophila Legionella, which has led to the assumption that this system is a virulence factor exclusively possessed by L.

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Pollution affects all biomes. Marine environments have been particularly impacted, especially coral reefs, one of the most sensitive ecosystems on Earth. Globally, 4.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The partnership between eukaryotic organisms and microbes is crucial for both individual health and overall ecosystem stability, especially in vulnerable marine environments.
  • - Despite increasing research on these microbial relationships, our understanding of how they interact with most marine species remains limited.
  • - The authors propose key research steps to enhance knowledge of host-microbiome interactions, which could lead to better predictions of how marine life will respond to human-related stressors and improve management practices.
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During the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, USA (2014-2015), 2 outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease occurred in Genesee County, Michigan. We compared whole-genome sequences of 10 clinical Legionella pneumophila isolates submitted to a laboratory in Genesee County during the second outbreak with 103 water isolates collected the following year. We documented a genetically diverse range of L.

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In social animals, scent secretions and marking behaviors play critical roles in communication, including intraspecific signals, such as identifying individuals and group membership, as well as interspecific signaling. Anal sacs are an important odor producing organ found across the carnivorans (species in the mammalian Order Carnivora). Secretions from the anal sac may be used as chemical signals by animals for behaviors ranging from defense to species recognition to signaling reproductive status.

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In 2004, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation launched a new program focused on incubating a new field, "Microbiology of the Built Environment" (MoBE). By the end of 2017, the program had supported the publication of hundreds of scholarly works, but it was unclear to what extent it had stimulated the development of a new research community.

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Taxonomy for bacterial isolates is commonly assigned via sequence analysis. However, the most common sequence-based approaches (e.g.

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Although aquaria are common features of homes and other buildings, little is known about how environmental perturbations (i.e., tank cleaning, water changes, addition of habitat features) impact the diversity and succession of aquarium microbial communities.

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Background: Modern advances in sequencing technology have enabled the census of microbial members of many natural ecosystems. Recently, attention is increasingly being paid to the microbial residents of human-made, built ecosystems, both private (homes) and public (subways, office buildings, and hospitals). Here, we report results of the characterization of the microbial ecology of a singular built environment, the International Space Station (ISS).

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While often obvious for macroscopic organisms, determining whether a microbe is dead or alive is fraught with complications. Fields such as microbial ecology, environmental health, and medical microbiology each determine how best to assess which members of the microbial community are alive, according to their respective scientific and/or regulatory needs. Many of these fields have gone from studying communities on a bulk level to the fine-scale resolution of microbial populations within consortia.

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