Publications by authors named "Margaret Becker"

As climate change alters Earth's biomes, it is expected the transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne viruses will change. While the effects of temperature changes on mosquito-virus interactions and the spread of the pathogens have been elucidated over the last decade, the impact of relative humidity changes is still relatively unknown. To overcome this knowledge gap, we exposed females to various humidity conditions.

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RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play essential roles in coordinating germline gene expression and development in all organisms. Here, we report that loss of ADR-2, a member of the adenosine deaminase acting on RNA family of RBPs and the sole adenosine-to-inosine RNA-editing enzyme in Caenorhabditis elegans, can improve fertility in multiple genetic backgrounds. First, we show that loss of RNA editing by ADR-2 restores normal embryo production to subfertile animals that transgenically express a vitellogenin (yolk protein) fusion to green fluorescent protein.

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As climate change alters Earth's biomes, it is expected the transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne viruses will change. While the effects of temperature changes on mosquito-virus interactions and spread of the pathogens have been elucidated over the last decade, the effects of relative humidity changes are still relatively unknown. To overcome this knowledge gap, we exposed females to various low humidity conditions and measured different components of vectorial capacity such as survival, blood-feeding rates, and changes in infection and dissemination of Zika virus.

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RNA binding proteins play essential roles in coordinating germline gene expression and development in all organisms. Here, we report that loss of ADR-2, a member of the Adenosine DeAminase acting on RNA (ADAR) family of RNA binding proteins and the sole adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing enzyme in , can improve fertility in multiple genetic backgrounds. First, we show that loss of RNA editing by ADR-2 restores normal embryo production to subfertile animals that transgenically express a vitellogenin (yolk protein) fusion to green fluorescent protein.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied how the bacteria found in Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae can affect how easily the mosquitoes get sick from viruses like Zika.
  • They discovered that the type of bacteria and the genetics of the mosquitoes are important in deciding how many of them get infected.
  • Understanding this relationship helps us figure out how to stop these mosquitoes from spreading diseases, especially as they move to new places because of climate change.
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In the face of climate change, mosquitoes will experience evolving climates including longer periods of drought. An important physiological response to dry environments is the protection against water loss or dehydration, here defined as desiccation tolerance. Various environmental factors including temperature are known to alter interactions between the mosquito, , and the arboviruses it transmits, but little is known about how low humidity impacts arboviral infection.

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Background: Culture-based studies have shown that acquisition of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales is common during international travel; however, little is known about the role of the gut microbiome before and during travel, nor about acquisition of other antimicrobial-resistant organisms. We aimed to identify (1) whether the gut microbiome provided colonisation resistance against antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition, (2) the effect of travel and travel behaviours on the gut microbiome, and (3) the scale and global heterogeneity of antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition.

Methods: In this metagenomic analysis, participants were recruited at three US travel clinics (Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Salt Lake City, UT) before international travel.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mosquitoes have a group of tiny life forms living on them called microbiomes, which are affected by where they live and can impact their ability to get sick from viruses like Zika.
  • Researchers studied how different bacteria affect mosquito larvae and their adult mosquito health, finding that both the type of bacteria and the genetics of the mosquito play a role.
  • The study shows that understanding the relationship between mosquito genetics and their environment is important for figuring out how to prevent diseases spread by mosquitoes as the climate changes.
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A bacterial species is considered to be intrinsically resistant to an antimicrobial when nearly all of the wild-type isolates (i.e., those without acquired resistance) exhibit minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values that are sufficiently high such that susceptibility testing is unnecessary, and that the antimicrobial should not be considered for therapy.

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Prior research demonstrates that individuals' math anxiety may be negatively related to their mathematics performance. However, little research has examined how caregivers' math anxiety is associated with children's mathematics performance prior to kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between parents' math anxiety and the change in children's mathematics performance during the preschool year.

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We performed prospective screening of stool for multidrug-resistant organisms from 608 US international travelers and identified an acquisition rate of 38% following travel. Carriage rates remained significantly elevated for at least 6 months post-travel. Travel-related diarrhea was a risk factor for acquisition, as well as for long-term carriage upon return.

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Surveillance for antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria is challenging. We evaluated AR Enterobacterales survival in stool over various transport conditions. Stool in Cary-Blair medium was spiked with AR Enterobacterales, held at 3 °C, 20 °C, or 37 °C, and cultured on days 3, 8, and 15.

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Affective states, such as feelings of anger and excitement, are linked to health outcomes and behaviors. The benefits of physical activity for individual affect is known; however, how affect influences physical activity participation is less understood. Using Whittemore and Knafl's framework, this integrative review examines the influence of affect on adult physical activity.

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We measured plasma and/or serum antibody responses to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 in 343 North American patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (of which 93% required hospitalization) up to 122 days after symptom onset and compared them to responses in 1548 individuals whose blood samples were obtained prior to the pandemic. After setting seropositivity thresholds for perfect specificity (100%), we estimated sensitivities of 95% for IgG, 90% for IgA, and 81% for IgM for detecting infected individuals between 15 and 28 days after symptom onset. While the median time to seroconversion was nearly 12 days across all three isotypes tested, IgA and IgM antibodies against RBD were short-lived with median times to seroreversion of 71 and 49 days after symptom onset.

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Background: Characterizing the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and developing accurate serologic assays are needed for diagnostic purposes and estimating population-level seroprevalence.

Methods: We measured the kinetics of early antibody responses to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of 259 symptomatic North American patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (up to 75 days after symptom onset) compared to antibody levels in 1548 individuals whose blood samples were obtained prior to the pandemic.

Results: Between 14-28 days from onset of symptoms, IgG, IgA, or IgM antibody responses to RBD were all accurate in identifying recently infected individuals, with 100% specificity and a sensitivity of 97%, 91%, and 81% respectively.

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Emergence of mobile colistin resistance ()-containing is a public health threat, prompting enhanced surveillance through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We evaluated a selective culture medium for the isolation of with non-wild-type colistin minimum inhibitory concentrations, including those with genes, in spiked stool samples.

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Background: Vitamin C deficiency is difficult to diagnose on the basis of clinical presentation alone and requires plasma levels for confirmation. Reference laboratories typically specify shipment of plasma on dry ice. This requirement may complicate clinic work flow and delay vitamin C measurement.

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In successfully reducing healthcare expenditures, patient goals must be met and savings differentiated from cost shifting. Although the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program for chronically ill individuals has resulted in cost reduction for the VA, it is unknown whether cost reduction results from restricting services or shifting costs to Medicare and whether HBPC meets patient goals. Cost projection using a hierarchical condition category (HCC) model adapted to the VA was used to determine VA plus Medicare projected costs for 9,425 newly enrolled HBPC recipients.

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Background: International travel is a potential risk factor for the spread of influenza. In the United States, approximately 5%-20% of the population develops an influenza-like illness annually. The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge, attitude, and practices of US travelers to Asia regarding seasonal influenza and H5N1 avian influenza (AI) prevention measures.

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In 2000, a large international outbreak of meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W-135 was identified among pilgrims returning from the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. To assess ongoing risk, we evaluated N. meningitidis carriage among US travelers to the 2001 Hajj.

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