Bat species assemblage predicts coronavirus prevalence.

Anthropogenic disturbances and the subsequent loss of biodiversity are altering species abundances and communities. Since species vary in their pathogen competence, spatio-temporal changes in host assemblages may lead to changes in disease dynamics. We explore how longitudinal changes in bat species assemblages affect the disease dynamics of coronaviruses (CoVs) in more than 2300 cave-dwelling bats captured over two years from five caves in Ghana.

MHC class II genes mediate susceptibility and resistance to coronavirus infections in bats.

Understanding the immunogenetic basis of coronavirus (CoV) susceptibility in major pathogen reservoirs, such as bats, is central to inferring their zoonotic potential. Members of the cryptic Hipposideros bat species complex differ in CoV susceptibility, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are the best understood genetic basis of pathogen resistance, and differences in MHC diversity are one possible reason for asymmetrical infection patterns among closely related species.

Interventional radiology in obstetric patients: A population-based record linkage study of use and outcomes.

Introduction: Interventional radiology (IR) is a technique for controlling hemorrhage and preserving fertility for women with serious obstetric conditions such as placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) or postpartum hemorrhage. This study examined maternal, pregnancy and hospital characteristics and outcomes for women receiving IR in pregnancy and postpartum.

Material And Methods: A population-based record linkage study was conducted, including all women who gave birth in hospital in New South Wales or the major tertiary hospital in the neighboring Australian Capital Territory, Australia, between 2003 and 2019.

Reporting of gestational diabetes and other maternal medical conditions: validation of routinely collected hospital data from New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: Hospital datasets are a valuable resource for examining prevalence and outcomes of medical conditions during pregnancy. To enable effective research and health planning, it is important to determine whether variables are reliably captured.

Objective: To examine the reliability of reporting of gestational and pre-existing diabetes, hypertension, thyroid conditions, and morbid obesity in coded hospital records that inform the population-level New South Wales Admitted Patient Data Collection.

Validation of anaemia, haemorrhage and blood disorder reporting in hospital data in New South Wales, Australia.

Objective: Hospital data are a useful resource for studying pregnancy complications, including bleeding-related conditions, however, the reliability of these data is unclear. This study aims to examine reliability of reporting of bleeding-related conditions, including anaemia, obstetric haemorrhage and blood disorders, and procedures, such as blood transfusion and hysterectomy, in coded hospital records compared with obstetric data from two large tertiary hospitals in New South Wales.

Results: There were 36,051 births between 2011 and 2015 included in the analysis.

VPS13D promotes peroxisome biogenesis.

The VPS13 gene family consists of VPS13A-D in mammals. Although all four genes have been linked to human diseases, their cellular functions are poorly understood, particularly those of VPS13D. We generated and characterized knockouts of each VPS13 gene in HeLa cells.

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours Are Associated with Children's Psychological Health: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Protecting children's mental health is important and studies have shown that diet and exercise can have a positive impact. There are limited data available, however, from representative populations of children on the relationship between regular healthy lifestyle behaviours and psychological health. Data were obtained from the New South Wales Child Population Health Survey, 2013-2014.

Rates of neonatal morbidity by maternal region of birth and gestational age in New South Wales, Australia 2003-2016.

Introduction: Research suggests that neonatal morbidity differs by maternal region of birth at different gestational ages. This study aimed to determine the overall and gestation-specific risk of neonatal morbidity by maternal region of birth, after adjustment for maternal, infant and birth characteristics, for women giving birth in New South Wales, Australia, from 2003 to 2016.

Material And Methods: The study utilized a retrospective cohort study design using linked births, hospital and deaths data.

Outcomes of Subsequent Births After Placenta Accreta Spectrum.

Objective: To investigate subsequent birth rates, maternal and neonatal outcomes for women with a history of placenta accreta spectrum (placenta accreta, increta, and percreta).

Methods: A population-based record linkage study of women who had a first, second, or third birth in New South Wales from 2003 to 2016 was conducted. Data were obtained from birth and hospital records and death registrations.

Neuron-Specific Genome Modification in the Adult Rat Brain Using CRISPR-Cas9 Transgenic Rats.

Historically, the rat has been the preferred animal model for behavioral studies. Limitations in genome modification have, however, caused a lag in their use compared to the bevy of available transgenic mice. Here, we have developed several transgenic tools, including viral vectors and transgenic rats, for targeted genome modification in specific adult rat neurons using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

Like and share: associations between social media engagement and dietary choices in children.

Objective: To examine whether social media and online behaviours are associated with unhealthy food and beverage consumption in children.

Design: A cross-sectional online survey was used to assess Internet and social media use, including engagement with food and beverage brand content, and frequency of consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages. Linear regression models were used to examine associations between online behaviours, including engagement with food and beverage brand content, and consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages, adjusting for age, sex and socio-economic status.

Is the weekend effect really ubiquitous? A retrospective clinical cohort analysis of 30-day mortality by day of week and time of day using linked population data from New South Wales, Australia.

Objective: To examine the associations between day of week and time of admission and 30-day mortality for six clinical conditions: ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.

Design: Retrospective population-based cohort analyses. Hospitalisation records were linked to emergency department and deaths data.

Effectiveness of maternal pertussis vaccination in preventing infection and disease in infants: The NSW Public Health Network case-control study.

Background: Infants are at the highest risk of severe complications - including death - as a result of pertussis infection. Controlling pertussis in this group has been challenging, particularly in those too young to be vaccinated. Following revised national recommendations in March 2015, the state of New South Wales, Australia, introduced a funded maternal vaccination campaign at 28 - 32 weeks of gestation using a 3-component tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine (dTpa; Boostrix, GSK).

Antecedents of Abnormally Invasive Placenta in Primiparous Women: Risk Associated With Gynecologic Procedures.

Objective: To evaluate the association between prior invasive gynecologic procedures and the risk of subsequent abnormally invasive placenta (ie, placenta accreta, increta, and percreta).

Methods: We conducted a population-based data linkage study including all primiparous women who delivered in New South Wales, Australia, between 2003 and 2012. Data were obtained from linked birth and hospital admissions with a minimum lookback period of 2 years.

Maternal and neonatal outcomes following abnormally invasive placenta: a population-based record linkage study.

Introduction: Abnormally invasive placenta involves abnormal adherence of the placenta to the myometrium and is associated with severe pregnancy complications such as blood transfusion and hysterectomy. Knowledge of outcomes has been limited by small sample sizes and a focus on maternal rather than neonatal outcomes. This study uses population-level data collected over 10 years to investigate maternal and neonatal outcomes and trends in incidence of abnormally invasive placenta (also known as placenta accreta, increta and percreta).

Near-infrared fluorescent protein iRFP713 as a reporter protein for optogenetic vectors, a transgenic Cre-reporter rat, and other neuronal studies.

Background: The use of genetically-encoded fluorescent reporters is essential for the identification and observation of cells that express transgenic modulatory proteins. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent proteins have superior light penetration through biological tissue, but are not yet widely adopted.

New Method: Using the near-infrared fluorescent protein, iRFP713, improves the imaging resolution in thick tissue sections or the intact brain due to the reduced light-scattering at the longer, NIR wavelengths used to image the protein.

Step Sequence Is a Critical Gait Parameter of Unilateral 6-OHDA Parkinson's Rat Models.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder, marked by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway that leads to abnormal gait, rigidity, slowness of movement, and tremor. The ability to recapitulate and measure the neurological sequelae in rodent models of Parkinson's disease is important for studying and evaluating potential therapeutics. Individual variability in lesion severity and injury progression are key factors in the 6-hydroxydopamine model that require normalization when evaluating therapeutic effects.

A Low Affinity GCaMP3 Variant (GCaMPer) for Imaging the Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Store.

Endoplasmic reticulum calcium homeostasis is critical for cellular functions and is disrupted in diverse pathologies including neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease. Owing to the high concentration of calcium within the ER, studying this subcellular compartment requires tools that are optimized for these conditions. To develop a single-fluorophore genetically encoded calcium indicator for this organelle, we targeted a low affinity variant of GCaMP3 to the ER lumen (GCaMPer (10.

Evidence for an Ancestral Association of Human Coronavirus 229E with Bats.

Unlabelled: We previously showed that close relatives of human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) exist in African bats. The small sample and limited genomic characterizations have prevented further analyses so far. Here, we tested 2,087 fecal specimens from 11 bat species sampled in Ghana for HCoV-229E-related viruses by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).

Human betacoronavirus 2c EMC/2012-related viruses in bats, Ghana and Europe.

We screened fecal specimens of 4,758 bats from Ghana and 272 bats from 4 European countries for betacoronaviruses. Viruses related to the novel human betacoronavirus EMC/2012 were detected in 46 (24.9%) of 185 Nycteris bats and 40 (14.

ru2hot?: A public health education campaign for men who have sex with men to increase awareness of symptoms of acute HIV infection.

Objectives: Teach HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) symptoms of acute HIV infection (AHI) and direct them to nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) though Public Health--Seattle & King County (PHSKC).

Design: Cross-sectional surveys, retrospective database analysis and chart review.

Methods: Beginning in June 2009, the ru2hot? campaign described AHI symptoms and NAAT.

Sexual risk behavior and sex under the influence: an event analysis of men in substance abuse treatment who have sex with women.

The objective of this study was to determine if there is evidence for a causative link between sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol and risky sex for men in substance abuse treatment. Men in treatment participating in a multisite HIV prevention protocol who reported on baseline, 3, or 6 months computerized assessments the details of their most recent sexual events, and who reported having sexual events under the influence and not under the influence, and who reported most recent events that did and did not include condom use served as participants (n = 37). Safe sex was not significantly more likely to happen when participants were under the influence of drugs or alcohol during their most recent sexual event (48.

Lung scedosporiosis in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

A 31-year-old African American woman with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (recent CD4 count of 66/mm) presented to the emergency room with a tension pneumothorax that required an emergent chest tube placement. Computed tomography scan showed fungus balls in multiple lung cavities and surrounding infiltrates. The patient showed remarkable improvement with voriconazole suggesting aspergillosis.