Community immersion project to enhance medical students understanding of the health needs of the most vulnerable in the community.

Aim: A group of eight fourth year medical students formed the 'UBMS public health crew' to conduct a community immersion project within elderly ethnic minority communities. The aim of the study was to understand their health perceptions regarding influenza vaccinations and learn about the enablers and barriers in accessing the vaccination.

Methodology: Interviews were held by the students at community lunch clubs with the help of questionnaires.

A Multi-Point Identification Approach for the Recognition of Individual Leopards ().

Visual leopard identifications performed with camera traps using the capture-recapture method only consider areas of the skin that are visible to the equipment. The method presented here considered the spot or rosette formations of either the two flanks or the face, and the captured images were then compared and matched with available photographs. Leopards were classified as new individuals if no matches were found in the existing set of photos.

DROSHA but not DICER is required for human haematopoietic stem cell function.

Objectives: DROSHA and DICER have central roles in the biogenesis of microRNAs (miRNAs). However, we previously showed that in the murine system, DROSHA has an alternate function where it directly recognises and cleaves protein-coding messenger (m)RNAs and this is critical for safeguarding the pluripotency of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Maintenance of murine HSC function is dependent on DROSHA-mediated cleavage of two mRNAs, and .

Design and capital cost optimisation of three-phase gravity separators.

The separation of produced fluids is essential once it reaches the surface. This separation is achieved in gravity separators. The design and sizing of separators can be challenging due to the number of factors involved.

Functional advantage of educated KIR2DL1(+) natural killer cells for anti-HIV-1 antibody-dependent activation.

Evidence from the RV144 HIV-1 vaccine trial implicates anti-HIV-1 antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in vaccine-conferred protection from infection. Among effector cells that mediate ADCC are natural killer (NK) cells. The ability of NK cells to be activated in an antibody-dependent manner is reliant upon several factors.

Epitope-specific CD8+ T cell kinetics rather than viral variability determine the timing of immune escape in simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

CD8(+) T cells are important for the control of chronic HIV infection. However, the virus rapidly acquires "escape mutations" that reduce CD8(+) T cell recognition and viral control. The timing of when immune escape occurs at a given epitope varies widely among patients and also among different epitopes within a patient.

Role of education and differentiation in determining the potential of natural killer cells to respond to antibody-dependent stimulation.

Antibody-dependent activation of natural killer (NK) cells might facilitate protective outcomes in the context of HIV exposure or infection. Antibody-dependent activation is heightened in NK cells educated by interactions between killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and their major histocompatibility complex class I ligands during ontogeny. Differentiated NK cells, defined as CD57, also exhibit enhanced antibody-dependent responsiveness.

Slaying the Trojan horse: natural killer cells exhibit robust anti-HIV-1 antibody-dependent activation and cytolysis against allogeneic T cells.

Unlabelled: Many attempts to design prophylactic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccines have focused on the induction of neutralizing antibodies (Abs) that block infection by free virions. Despite the focus on viral particles, virus-infected cells, which can be found within mucosal secretions, are more infectious than free virus both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, assessment of human transmission couples suggests infected seminal lymphocytes might be responsible for a proportion of HIV-1 transmissions.

Linking pig-tailed macaque major histocompatibility complex class I haplotypes and cytotoxic T lymphocyte escape mutations in simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

Unlabelled: The influence of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) alleles on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diversity in humans has been well characterized at the population level. MHC-I alleles likely affect viral diversity in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model, but this is poorly characterized. We studied the evolution of SIV in pig-tailed macaques with a range of MHC-I haplotypes.

Measuring turnover of SIV DNA in resting CD4+ T cells using pyrosequencing: implications for the timing of HIV eradication therapies.

Resting CD4+ T cells are a reservoir of latent HIV-1. Understanding the turnover of HIV DNA in these cells has implications for the development of eradication strategies. Most studies of viral latency focus on viral persistence under antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Biliary and plasma copper and zinc in pregnant Simmental and Angus cattle.

Three each of 3-year-old Angus and Simmental heifers, surgically modified to collect bile, were used to measure the effects of pregnancy and breed on bile flow, biliary copper and zinc excretion and plasma copper and zinc concentrations. Bile copper excretion was significantly higher at 7-mo of pregnancy when samples from both breeds were pooled. From then onwards it declined to its lowest, one week post-partum.

Trivalent live attenuated influenza-simian immunodeficiency virus vaccines: efficacy and evolution of cytotoxic T lymphocyte escape in macaques.

There is an urgent need for a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine that induces robust mucosal immunity. CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) apply substantial antiviral pressure, but CTLs to individual epitopes select for immune escape variants in both HIV in humans and SIV in macaques. Inducing multiple simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific CTLs may assist in controlling viremia.

An "escape clock" for estimating the turnover of SIV DNA in resting CD4⁺ T cells.

Persistence of HIV DNA presents a major barrier to the complete control of HIV infection under current therapies. Most studies suggest that cells with latently integrated HIV decay very slowly under therapy. However, it is much more difficult to study the turnover and persistence of HIV DNA during active infection.

Excretion of loline alkaloids in urine and faeces of sheep dosed with meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) seed containing high concentrations of loline alkaloids.

Aim: To determine the effect of oral dosing of sheep with loline alkaloids on their excretion in urine and faeces, and to monitor for any toxic effects.

Methods: In Experiment 1, six 9-month-old ewe lambs were given a single oral dose of loline alkaloids (52 mg/kg bodyweight (BW); acute exposure) as a suspension of ground meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) seed in water. In Experiment 2, on six consecutive days, six ewe lambs were given three doses of loline (68 mg/kg BW/day; chronic exposure).

Changes in concentrations of lysergol in urine and prolactin in plasma, rectal temperature and respiration rate in sheep selected for resistance or susceptibility to ryegrass staggers and fed ergovaline.

Aim: To determine the effects of feeding ryegrass seed containing ergovaline to sheep selected for resistance or susceptibility to ryegrass staggers on concentration of lysergol (a metabolite of ergovaline) in urine, prolactin in plasma, rectal temperature and respiration rate.

Methods: Two experiments were carried out using 12 Romney crossbred ewe lambs aged 9 months, comprising animals resistant (n=4), susceptible (n=4) or outcross (n=4) to ryegrass staggers. In Experiment 1, sheep were given either a single (Part A) or six (Part B) feed (s) of endophyte-infected seed containing ergovaline at 30 mg/kg dry matter (DM), at 42 μg ergovaline/kg bodyweight (BW), to simulate acute and chronic exposure to ergovaline, respectively.

Effects of clonidine and idazoxan on tetrathiomolybdate-induced copper and lysosomal enzyme excretion into sheep bile.

This study investigated the effects of intravenous (IV) administration of tetrathiomolybdate (TTM), and α(2)-adrenergic agonist clonidine (CLO) and α(2)-antagonist idazoxan (IDA), alone or in combination with TTM, on sheep fed low (LCu) and high (HCu) copper diets. Effects on bile flow, biliary Cu concentration and excretion, plasma Cu concentration, and lysosomal enzyme β-glucuronidase (β-GLU) activity in bile and plasma were determined. Tetrathiomolybdate alone or with CLO or IDA significantly enhanced biliary Cu excretion most likely by removing Cu from hepatocyte lysosomes as evidenced by a significant increase in β-GLU enzyme activity in bile.

Effects of dietary Cu, Mo and S on urinary Cu and Zn excretion in Simmental and Angus cattle.

This study determined the effects of dietary copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo) and sulphur (S) on urinary Cu and zinc (Zn) excretion in cattle. Four Simmental and four Angus heifers were fed low (L) or high (H) levels (mg/kg DM) of Cu (5,40), Mo (1,10) and S (0.2,0.

Acute and long-term effects of exposure to sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) in sheep.

Acute and long-term effects of a single, relatively high oral dose (0.25 and 0.30 mg/kg) of sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) on the survival and productivity of sheep were evaluated to establish a better understanding of 1080 poisoning and identify more specific changes diagnostic of toxicosis.

Development of methods for extraction and in vitro quantification of estrogenic and androgenic activity of wastewater samples.

Chemicals released into the environment by anthropogenic activities have been linked to estrogenic or androgenic effects in exposed wildlife, and there is a need to develop and validate rapid and cost-effective methods to quantify the total estrogenic and androgenic activity of environmental water samples. In this study, estrogen receptors (ER) were isolated from sheep (Ovis aries) uteri and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) livers and androgen receptors (AR) were isolated from rainbow trout brains. The isolated receptors were used in competitive receptor binding assays to test the affinity of known estrogenic and androgenic chemicals for the receptor binding site, and results were compared with literature values for the rat uterine ER binding assay and the E-Screen.

Anal fin morphology and gonadal histopathology in mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) exposed to treated municipal sewage effluent.

Feral mosquitofish living in undiluted treated municipal sewage in Queensland, Australia, were examined for morphologic abnormalities indicative of reproductive dysfunction. Male and female mosquitofish were captured at two sites receiving undiluted treated sewage and compared with those captured at a reference site. Several morphologic end points were examined, including length of the fourth and sixth anal fin rays and gonadal histology.

Quantification of vitellogenin mRNA induction in mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

A method to quantify induction of vitellogenin (Vtg) mRNA in adult male mosquitofish was developed. Male mosquitofish were exposed to 0, 1, 20 and 250 ng l(-1) 17beta-oestradiol (E(2)) for 4 and 8 days in static exposures, and liver Vtg mRNA and 18S rRNA expression were quantified in duplex RT-PCR. Liver 18S rRNA expression was very consistent among individuals, and there was a highly significant increase in Vtg mRNA expression after exposure of mosquitofish for just 4 days at 250 ng l(-1) E(2).

Bioassay-derived androgenic and estrogenic activity in municipal sewage in Australia and New Zealand.

Raw sewage and sewage at various stages of treatment were sampled from 15 municipal sewage treatment plants in south Queensland (Australia) and Canterbury (New Zealand). Estrogenic and androgenic activities were determined with sheep estrogen receptor and rainbow trout androgen receptor binding assays, respectively. Selected estrogenic chemicals were also analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Efficacy of an advanced sewage treatment plant in southeast Queensland, Australia, to remove estrogenic chemicals.

The estrogenicity profile of domestic sewage during treatment at a medium-sized (3800 EP) advanced biological nutrient removal plant in Queensland, Australia, was characterized using a sheep estrogen receptor binding assay (ERBA) and the MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation assay (E-Screen). The raw influent was highly estrogenic (20-54 ng/L EEq), and primary treatment resulted in a slight increase in estrogenicity that was detected in one of the assays (6-80 ng/L). Concurrent chemical analysis suggested that most of the estrogenicity in the influent was due to natural hormones (>48%).

Herbicide spray drift odor: measurement and toxicological significance.

The toxicological significance of exposure of members of the public to spray drift odors of four herbicide formulations (three 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic [2,4-D] acid derivatives and one MCPA [4-methyl-2-chlorophenoxyacetic acid] derivative) has been studied using a combination of novel odor measurement and classic residue analysis techniques. The mean odor concentrations, generated during the spraying of the commercial herbicide formulations under simulated aerial application conditions, were about twofold higher for 2,4-D ethylhexyl ester (22,500 OU(c)/m(3)) and MCPA (30,100 OU(c)/m(3)) than for 2,4-D butyl ester (12,400 OU(c)/m(3)) and 2,4-D amine (11,800 OU(c)/m(3)). Detailed investigations determined that the odors are due to trace manufacturing impurities and additives in the commercial formulations, whereas the herbicide active ingredients are odorless.