Nicotine metabolite ratio in people with HIV who smoke cigarettes receiving pharmacologic and behavioral cessation therapy.

People with HIV (PWH) smoke cigarettes at triple the rate of the general population in the US. Efforts to increase quit rates in this group have met with limited success. The nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) has shown promise as a phenotypic marker that may be useful in selecting the most appropriate cessation treatments for people who smoke cigarettes.

Revisiting the description of Atractoscion macrolepis (Perciformes: Sciaenidae): Another argument for comprehensive taxonomy.

Atractoscion macrolepis was described as a species separate to A. aequidens, distinguished by a geographically-separated distribution, genetic evidence and a diagnostic meristic character: the number of pored lateral line scales. However, the distinction of these species and description of A.

Efficacy of Smoking Cessation Interventions among People with HIV in Kenya.

Background: People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) smoke at much higher rates than the general population, resulting in higher risk for tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The efficacy of smoking cessation interventions among people with HIV in lower-middle-income countries remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, 2 × 2 factorial design trial based in Nairobi, Kenya, to evaluate the efficacy of bupropion versus placebo, and a culturally tailored behavioral cessation therapy, called Positively Smoke Free (PSF), versus standard of care for people with HIV who smoke.

Inland recreational fisheries contribute nutritional benefits and economic value but are vulnerable to climate change.

Inland recreational fishing is primarily considered a leisure-driven activity in freshwaters, yet its harvest can contribute to food systems. Here we estimate that the harvest from inland recreational fishing equates to just over one-tenth of all reported inland fisheries catch globally. The estimated total consumptive use value of inland recreational fish destined for human consumption may reach US$9.

Local adaptation with gene flow in a highly dispersive shark.

Adaptive divergence in response to environmental clines are expected to be common in species occupying heterogeneous environments. Despite numerous advances in techniques appropriate for non-model species, gene-environment association studies in elasmobranchs are still scarce. The bronze whaler or copper shark () is a large coastal shark with a wide distribution and one of the most exploited elasmobranchs in southern Africa.

Optimizing behavioral and pharmacological smoking cessation interventions among people with HIV.

Background: People with HIV/AIDS (PWH) smoke at nearly three times the rate of the general population. Interventions to promote sustained quitting among PWH are urgently needed.

Methods: Our study used a randomized factorial design to evaluate the effects of varenicline, compared with placebo, and behavioral cessation therapy, positively smoke free (PSF), compared with standard of care (SOC) among PWH who smoke.

Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by recreational anglers: considerations for developing more resilient and sustainable fisheries.

Unlabelled: The global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many jurisdictions implementing orders restricting the movements of people to inhibit virus transmission, with recreational angling often either not permitted or access to fisheries and/or related infrastructure being prevented. Following the lifting of restrictions, initial angler surveys and licence sales suggested increased participation and effort, and altered angler demographics, but with evidence remaining limited. Here, we overcome this evidence gap by identifying temporal changes in angling interest, licence sales, and angling effort in world regions by comparing data in the 'pre-pandemic' (up to and including 2019); 'acute pandemic' (2020) and 'COVID-acclimated' (2021) periods.

Ocean warming favours a northern species over its southern congener, whereas preliminary metabolic evidence suggests that hybridization may promote their adaptation.

Anthropogenic-induced climate change is having profound impacts on aquatic ecosystems, and the resilience of fish populations will be determined by their response to these impacts. The northern Namibian coast is an ocean warming hotspot, with temperatures rising faster than the global average. The rapid warming in Namibia has had considerable impacts on marine fauna, such as the southern extension of the distribution of from southern Angola into northern Namibian waters, where it now overlaps and hybridizes with the closely related Namibian species, .

Female scent accelerates growth of juvenile male mice.

Exposing female house mice (Mus musculus) to male urinary scent accelerates their sexual development (Vandenbergh effect). Here, we tested whether exposing juvenile male mice to females' urine similarly influences male growth and size of their sexual organs. We exposed three-week old male house mice to female urine or water (control) for ca.

Global dataset of species-specific inland recreational fisheries harvest for consumption.

Inland recreational fisheries, found in lakes, rivers, and other landlocked waters, are important to livelihoods, nutrition, leisure, and other societal ecosystem services worldwide. Although recreationally-caught fish are frequently harvested and consumed by fishers, their contribution to food and nutrition has not been adequately quantified due to lack of data, poor monitoring, and under-reporting, especially in developing countries. Beyond limited global harvest estimates, few have explored species-specific harvest patterns, although this variability has implications for fisheries management and food security.

Friend virus severity is associated with male mouse social status and environmental temperature.

Pathogen virulence is highly variable within populations, and although many factors contributing to virulence differences are known, there is still much variation left unexplained. Identifying and characterizing environmental conditions associated with different virulence levels is therefore an important undertaking in infectious disease research. One factor considered to be a major determinant of overall health and susceptibility to disease in social animals is social status.

Impact of a Targeted Intervention on Hepatitis C Care Among African Americans With Serious Mental Illness.

Objective: This study aimed to update findings on the continuum of care for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with follow-up data for individuals with serious mental illness and to identify predictors of decisions to decline vaccination.

Methods: The screening, testing, immunization, risk reduction, and referral (STIRR) intervention has been shown to increase testing and immunization rates. Prevalence of HCV diagnoses, HCV continuum of care, and hepatitis A (HAV) and B (HBV) vaccination were evaluated with laboratory results and chart review.

Cigarette Smoking Behaviors and Beliefs in Persons Living With HIV in Nairobi, Kenya.

Introduction: Persons living with HIV (PLWH) use tobacco at higher rates than the general population in both high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco use rates are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, the home to most of the world's PLWH. As the reach of antiretroviral therapy (ART) expands and HIV-related morbidity and mortality wanes, tobacco use is emerging as a leading cause of disease and death in PLWH.

Deep Sequencing of MHC-Adapted Viral Lines Reveals Complex Recombinational Exchanges With Endogenous Retroviruses Leading to High-Frequency Variants.

Experimental evolution (serial passage) of Friend virus complex (FVC) in mice demonstrates phenotypic adaptation to specific host major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotypes. These evolved viral lines show increased fitness and virulence in their host-genotype-of-passage, but display fitness and virulence tradeoffs when infecting unfamiliar host MHC genotypes. Here, we deep sequence these viral lines in an attempt to discover the genetic basis of FVC adaptation.

The emergence of marine recreational drone fishing: Regional trends and emerging concerns.

Online evidence suggests that there has been an increase in interest of using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones during land-based marine recreational fishing. In the absence of reliable monitoring programs, this study used unconventional publicly available online monitoring methodologies to estimate the growing interest, global extent, catch composition and governance of this practice. Results indicated a 357% spike in interest during 2016 primarily in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Thermal tolerance, safety margins and vulnerability of coastal species: Projected impact of climate change induced cold water variability in a temperate African region.

Anthropogenic induced climate change is predicted to increase the thermal variability in coastal waters, which can have strong physiological effects on individuals and populations of marine ectotherms. The magnitude and direction of these thermal effects varies depending on species, life stage, biogeography, habitat and season. This study aimed to compare the thermal tolerance of a range of juvenile fish and adult macro-invertebrates from intertidal and estuarine habitats in a warm-temperate, thermally variable region on the south-east coast of South Africa.

Different drivers, common mechanism; the distribution of a reef fish is restricted by local-scale oxygen and temperature constraints on aerobic metabolism.

The distributions of ectothermic marine organisms are limited to temperature ranges and oxygen conditions that support aerobic respiration, quantified within the metabolic index (ϕ) as the ratio of oxygen supply to metabolic oxygen demand. However, the utility of ϕ at local scales and across heterogenous environments is unknown; yet, these scales are often where actionable management decisions are made. Here, we test if ϕ can delimit the entire distribution of marine organisms when calibrated across an appropriate temperature range and at local scales (~10 km) using the endemic reef fish, , which is found in the highly heterogenous temperature and oxygen environment along the South African coastal zone, as a model species.

Evolution of service metrics and utilisation of objective discharge criteria in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rehabilitation: a retrospective cohort study with historical control in a public hospital physiotherapy department.

Background: ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is a common procedure requiring rehabilitation in public hospital physiotherapy departments. The rate of re-rupture and reduced rates of return to sport following ACLR are concerning. Current guidelines recommend a progressive approach to rehabilitation based on objective criteria.

The use of internal heart rate loggers in determining cardiac breakpoints of fish.

As marine environments are influenced by global warming there is a need to thoroughly understand the relationship between physiological limits and temperature in fish. One quick screening method of a physiological thermal tipping point is the temperature at which maximum heart rate (ƒ) can no longer scale predictably with warming and is referred to as the Arrhenius break temperature (T). The use of this method has been successful for freshwater fish by using external electrodes to detect an electrocardiogram (ECG), however, the properties of this equipment pose challenges in salt water when evaluating marine fish.

Implantation, orientation and validation of a commercially produced heart-rate logger for use in a perciform teleost fish.

Quantifying how the heart rate of ectothermic organisms responds to environmental conditions (e.g. water temperature) is important information to quantify their sensitivity to environmental change.

Deep phylogeographic structure may indicate cryptic species within the Sparid genus Spondyliosoma.

Two geographically nonoverlapping species are currently described within the sparid genus Spondyliosoma: Spondyliosoma cantharus (Black Seabream) occurring across Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic waters from NW Europe to Angola and S. emarginatum (Steentjie) considered endemic to southern Africa. To address prominent knowledge gaps this study investigated range-wide phylogeographic structure across both species.

Genetic analysis provides insights into species distribution and population structure in East Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus and T. capensis).

Two sister species of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus and T. capensis) are described that are intensively harvested in East Atlantic waters. To address long-standing uncertainties as to their respective geographical ranges, overlap and intraspecific population structure this study combined genetic (mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite) analysis and targeted sampling of the hitherto understudied West African coast.

Musculoskeletal mass and shape are correlated with competitive ability in male house mice ().

Intense physical competition between males for mating opportunities is widespread among mammals. In such agonistic encounters, males with combinations of morphological, physiological and behavioral characters that allow them to dominate an opponent have greater fitness. However, the specific physical traits associated with competitive ability are poorly understood.