Relationships between community structure of freshwater mussels and host fishes in a central Ohio watershed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The diversity of freshwater mussel communities has declined over the past several decades within watersheds in the Midwestern United States. Host fishes play an important role in the life cycle of freshwater mussels because they serve as hosts for parasitic mussel larvae to ensure successful mussel ...

Weed hosts and relative weed and cover crop susceptibility to Rotylenchulus reniformis in the Mississippi Delta

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) causes economic losses in cotton and soybean in the southeastern United States, and has the ability to reproduce on more than 300 plant species. Even when the host crop is protected through the use of nematicides or host plant resistance, the potentia...

Adults of the Waterfern Weevil, Stenopelmus rufinasus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feed on a Non-Host Plant Salvinia minima Baker, in Louisiana

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The waterfern weevil, Stenopelmus refinasus Gyllenhal, has previously been reported as host-specific, only feeding on plants in the genus Azolla. We report the first observations of S. rufinasus feeding on a non-host plant, Salvinia minima Baker, within the United States....

Predicting the mosquito species and vertebrate species involved in the theoretical transmission of Rift Valley fever virus in the United States.

PubMed

Golnar, Andrew J; Turell, Michael J; LaBeaud, A Desiree; Kading, Rebekah C; Hamer, Gabriel L

2014-09-01

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus in the family Bunyaviridiae that has spread throughout continental Africa to Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula. The establishment of RVFV in North America would have serious consequences for human and animal health in addition to a significant economic impact on the livestock industry. Published and unpublished data on RVFV vector competence, vertebrate host competence, and mosquito feeding patterns from the United States were combined to quantitatively implicate mosquito vectors and vertebrate hosts that may be important to RVFV transmission in the United States. A viremia-vector competence relationship based on published mosquito transmission studies was used to calculate a vertebrate host competence index which was then combined with mosquito blood feeding patterns to approximate the vector and vertebrate amplification fraction, defined as the relative contribution of the mosquito or vertebrate host to pathogen transmission. Results implicate several Aedes spp. mosquitoes and vertebrates in the order Artiodactyla as important hosts for RVFV transmission in the U.S. Moreover, this study identifies critical gaps in knowledge which would be necessary to complete a comprehensive analysis identifying the different contributions of mosquitoes and vertebrates to potential RVFV transmission in the U.S. Future research should focus on (1) the dose-dependent relationship between viremic exposure and the subsequent infectiousness of key mosquito species, (2) evaluation of vertebrate host competence for RVFV among North American mammal species, with particular emphasis on the order Artiodactyla, and (3) identification of areas with a high risk for RVFV introduction so data on local vector and host populations can help generate geographically appropriate amplification fraction estimates.

Predicting the Mosquito Species and Vertebrate Species Involved in the Theoretical Transmission of Rift Valley Fever Virus in the United States

PubMed Central

Golnar, Andrew J.; Turell, Michael J.; LaBeaud, A. Desiree; Kading, Rebekah C.; Hamer, Gabriel L.

2014-01-01

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus in the family Bunyaviridiae that has spread throughout continental Africa to Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula. The establishment of RVFV in North America would have serious consequences for human and animal health in addition to a significant economic impact on the livestock industry. Published and unpublished data on RVFV vector competence, vertebrate host competence, and mosquito feeding patterns from the United States were combined to quantitatively implicate mosquito vectors and vertebrate hosts that may be important to RVFV transmission in the United States. A viremia-vector competence relationship based on published mosquito transmission studies was used to calculate a vertebrate host competence index which was then combined with mosquito blood feeding patterns to approximate the vector and vertebrate amplification fraction, defined as the relative contribution of the mosquito or vertebrate host to pathogen transmission. Results implicate several Aedes spp. mosquitoes and vertebrates in the order Artiodactyla as important hosts for RVFV transmission in the U.S. Moreover, this study identifies critical gaps in knowledge which would be necessary to complete a comprehensive analysis identifying the different contributions of mosquitoes and vertebrates to potential RVFV transmission in the U.S. Future research should focus on (1) the dose-dependent relationship between viremic exposure and the subsequent infectiousness of key mosquito species, (2) evaluation of vertebrate host competence for RVFV among North American mammal species, with particular emphasis on the order Artiodactyla, and (3) identification of areas with a high risk for RVFV introduction so data on local vector and host populations can help generate geographically appropriate amplification fraction estimates. PMID:25211133

48 CFR 236.602-70 - Restriction on award of overseas architect-engineer contracts to foreign firms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... countries bordering the Arabian Gulf, shall be awarded only to United States firms or to joint ventures of United States and host nation firms. [62 FR 2858, Jan. 17, 1997, as amended at 76 FR 58155, Sept. 20...

48 CFR 236.602-70 - Restriction on award of overseas architect-engineer contracts to foreign firms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... countries bordering the Arabian Gulf, shall be awarded only to United States firms or to joint ventures of United States and host nation firms. [62 FR 2858, Jan. 17, 1997, as amended at 76 FR 58155, Sept. 20...

48 CFR 236.602-70 - Restriction on award of overseas architect-engineer contracts to foreign firms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... countries bordering the Arabian Gulf, shall be awarded only to United States firms or to joint ventures of United States and host nation firms. [62 FR 2858, Jan. 17, 1997, as amended at 76 FR 58155, Sept. 20...

Biology of the invasive banded elm bark beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in the western United States

Treesearch

Jana C. Lee; Jose F. Negron; Sally J. McElwey; Livy Williams; Jeffrey J. Witcosky; John B. Popp; Steven J. Seybold

2011-01-01

The banded elm bark beetle, Scolytus schevyrewi Semenov (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), native to Asia, was detected in the United States in 2003, and as of 2011 it is known to occur in 28 states and four Canadian provinces. S. schevyrewi infests the same elm (Ulmus spp.) hosts as the longestablished invasive...

Connecticut | Midmarket Solar Policies in the United States | Solar

Science.gov Websites

(RECs) Meter aggregation: Virtual net metering allowed for state, municipal, and agricultural customers " under a state, municipal, or agricultural host under certain conditions. Net excess generation

Interannual Variability of Human Plague Occurrence in the Western United States Explained by Tropical and North Pacific Ocean Climate Variability

PubMed Central

Ari, Tamara Ben; Gershunov, Alexander; Tristan, Rouyer; Cazelles, Bernard; Gage, Kenneth; Stenseth, Nils C.

2010-01-01

Plague is a vector-borne, highly virulent zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It persists in nature through transmission between its hosts (wild rodents) and vectors (fleas). During epizootics, the disease expands and spills over to other host species such as humans living in or close to affected areas. Here, we investigate the effect of large-scale climate variability on the dynamics of human plague in the western United States using a 56-year time series of plague reports (1950–2005). We found that El Niño Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation in combination affect the dynamics of human plague over the western United States. The underlying mechanism could involve changes in precipitation and temperatures that impact both hosts and vectors. It is suggested that snow also may play a key role, possibly through its effects on summer soil moisture, which is known to be instrumental for flea survival and development and sustained growth of vegetation for rodents. PMID:20810830

Ohio | Midmarket Solar Policies in the United States | Solar Research |

Science.gov Websites

Meter aggregation: Virtual net metering is allowed for state, municipal, and agricultural customers state, municipal, or agricultural host under certain conditions. Net excess generation from virtual net

Fluid Spatial Dynamics of West Nile Virus in the United States: Rapid Spread in a Permissive Host Environment.

PubMed

Di Giallonardo, Francesca; Geoghegan, Jemma L; Docherty, Douglas E; McLean, Robert G; Zody, Michael C; Qu, James; Yang, Xiao; Birren, Bruce W; Malboeuf, Christine M; Newman, Ruchi M; Ip, Hon S; Holmes, Edward C

2016-01-15

The introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) into North America in 1999 is a classic example of viral emergence in a new environment, with its subsequent dispersion across the continent having a major impact on local bird populations. Despite the importance of this epizootic, the pattern, dynamics, and determinants of WNV spread in its natural hosts remain uncertain. In particular, it is unclear whether the virus encountered major barriers to transmission, or spread in an unconstrained manner, and if specific viral lineages were favored over others indicative of intrinsic differences in fitness. To address these key questions in WNV evolution and ecology, we sequenced the complete genomes of approximately 300 avian isolates sampled across the United States between 2001 and 2012. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a relatively star-like tree structure, indicative of explosive viral spread in the United States, although with some replacement of viral genotypes through time. These data are striking in that viral sequences exhibit relatively limited clustering according to geographic region, particularly for those viruses sampled from birds, and no strong phylogenetic association with well-sampled avian species. The genome sequence data analyzed here also contain relatively little evidence for adaptive evolution, particularly of structural proteins, suggesting that most viral lineages are of similar fitness and that WNV is well adapted to the ecology of mosquito vectors and diverse avian hosts in the United States. In sum, the molecular evolution of WNV in North America depicts a largely unfettered expansion within a permissive host and geographic population with little evidence of major adaptive barriers. How viruses spread in new host and geographic environments is central to understanding the emergence and evolution of novel infectious diseases and for predicting their likely impact. The emergence of the vector-borne West Nile virus (WNV) in North America in 1999 represents a classic example of this process. Using approximately 300 new viral genomes sampled from wild birds, we show that WNV experienced an explosive spread with little geographical or host constraints within birds and relatively low levels of adaptive evolution. From its introduction into the state of New York, WNV spread across the United States, reaching California and Florida within 4 years, a migration that is clearly reflected in our genomic sequence data, and with a general absence of distinct geographical clusters of bird viruses. However, some geographically distinct viral lineages were found to circulate in mosquitoes, likely reflecting their limited long-distance movement compared to avian species. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Phytophthora ramorum is a generalist plant pathogen with differences in virulence between isolates from infectious and dead-end hosts

Treesearch

D. Huberli; M. Garbelotto

2011-01-01

Variation in virulence was examined among isolates of Phytophthora ramorum from epidemiologically important or infectious (non-oak) and transmissive dead-end (oak) hosts from North America. Twelve isolates representative of the genetic, geographic and host range of P. ramorum in the western United States were inoculated on...

Review of the emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), life history, mating behaviours, host plant selection, and host resistance

Treesearch

Therese M. Poland; Yigen Chen; Jennifer Koch; Deepa Pureswaran

2015-01-01

As of summer 2014, the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), has become established in 24 states in the United States of America and has killed tens of millions of ash trees since its introduction into Michigan in the 1990s. Considerable research has been conducted on many aspects of EAB life...

Allozyme Variation in Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) from the United States and China

Treesearch

V. S& #225; nchez; M.A. Keena; M.A. Keena

2009-01-01

The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is a major introduced pest of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere. Hemlock woolly adelgid in the United States is anholocyclic and an obligate parthenogen, because no suitable primary host (on which sexual reproduction occurs in Asia) is...

Fate of Hexazinone and Picloram in Southern United States Forest Watersheds

Treesearch

D.G. Neary; P.B. Bush; J.L. Michael

1986-01-01

Herbicides are being used more frequently in the intensively managed forest ecosystems of the southeastern United States. Host of this increased use occurs during site preparation prior to replanting cutover or converted stands. Herbicides provide a cost effective tool for controlling herbaceous and woody weed competition which adversely affects pine establishment and...

Linguistic Support for Non-Native English Speakers: Higher Education Practices in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow Andrade, Maureen; Evans, Norman W.; Hartshorn, K. James

2014-01-01

Higher education institutions in English-speaking nations host significant populations of non-native English speakers (NNES), both international and resident. English language proficiency is a critical factor to their success. This study reviews higher education practices in the United States related to this population. Findings indicate…

Intersubspecific Recombination in Xylella fastidiosa Strains Native to the United States: Infection of Novel Hosts Associated with an Unsuccessful Invasion

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Donald L.; Morano, Lisa D.; Russell, Stephanie E.; Stouthamer, Richard

2014-01-01

The bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa infects xylem and causes disease in many plant species in the Americas. Different subspecies of this bacterium and different genotypes within subspecies infect different plant hosts, but the genetics of host adaptation are unknown. Here we examined the hypothesis that the introduction of novel genetic variation via intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) facilitates host shifts. We investigated IHR in 33 X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex isolates previously identified as recombinant based on 8 loci (7 multilocus sequence typing [MLST] loci plus 1 locus). We found significant evidence of introgression from X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa in 4 of the loci and, using published data, evidence of IHR in 6 of 9 additional loci. Our data showed that IHR regions in 2 of the 4 loci were inconsistent (12 mismatches) with X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa alleles found in the United States but consistent with alleles from Central America. The other two loci were consistent with alleles from both regions. We propose that the recombinant forms all originated via genomewide recombination of one X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex ancestor with one X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa donor from Central America that was introduced into the United States but subsequently disappeared. Using all of the available data, 5 plant hosts of the recombinant types were identified, 3 of which also supported non-IHR X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex, but 2 were unique to recombinant types from blueberry (7 isolates from Georgia, 3 from Florida); and blackberry (1 each from Florida and North Carolina), strongly supporting the hypothesis that IHR facilitated a host shift to blueberry and possibly blackberry. PMID:24296499

Intersubspecific recombination in Xylella fastidiosa Strains native to the United States: infection of novel hosts associated with an unsuccessful invasion.

PubMed

Nunney, Leonard; Hopkins, Donald L; Morano, Lisa D; Russell, Stephanie E; Stouthamer, Richard

2014-02-01

The bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa infects xylem and causes disease in many plant species in the Americas. Different subspecies of this bacterium and different genotypes within subspecies infect different plant hosts, but the genetics of host adaptation are unknown. Here we examined the hypothesis that the introduction of novel genetic variation via intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) facilitates host shifts. We investigated IHR in 33 X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex isolates previously identified as recombinant based on 8 loci (7 multilocus sequence typing [MLST] loci plus 1 locus). We found significant evidence of introgression from X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa in 4 of the loci and, using published data, evidence of IHR in 6 of 9 additional loci. Our data showed that IHR regions in 2 of the 4 loci were inconsistent (12 mismatches) with X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa alleles found in the United States but consistent with alleles from Central America. The other two loci were consistent with alleles from both regions. We propose that the recombinant forms all originated via genomewide recombination of one X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex ancestor with one X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa donor from Central America that was introduced into the United States but subsequently disappeared. Using all of the available data, 5 plant hosts of the recombinant types were identified, 3 of which also supported non-IHR X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex, but 2 were unique to recombinant types from blueberry (7 isolates from Georgia, 3 from Florida); and blackberry (1 each from Florida and North Carolina), strongly supporting the hypothesis that IHR facilitated a host shift to blueberry and possibly blackberry.

Mapping host-species abundance of three major exotic forest pests

Treesearch

Randall S. Morin; Andrew M. Liebhold; Eugene R. Luzader; Andrew J. Lister; Kurt W. Gottschalk; Daniel B. Twardus

2005-01-01

Periodically over the last century, forests of the Eastern United States devastated by invasive pests. We used existing data to predict the geographical extent of future damage from beech bark disease (BBD), hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), and gypsy moth. The distributions of host species of these alien pests were mapped in 1-km2 cells by interpolating host basal area/ha...

Behavioral evidence for fruit odor discrimination and sympatric host races of Rhagoletis pomonella flies in the western United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The recent shift of Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) from its native host downy hawthorn, Crataegus mollis, to introduced domesticated apple, Malus domestica, in the eastern U.S. is a model for sympatric host race formation. However, the fly is also present in the western U.S. where it ma...

Host Specificity of Argopistes tsekooni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a Potential Biological Control Agent of Chinese Privet

Treesearch

Yan Zhuo Zhang; James Hanula; Jiang Hua Sun

2008-01-01

Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour., is a perennial semi-evergreen shrub that is aserious invasive weed in the United States. Classical biological control offers the best hope forcontrolling it in an economic, effective, and persistent way. Host...

Potential climatic suitability for establishment of Phytophthora ramorum within the contiguous United States

Treesearch

Robert C. Venette; Susan D. Cohen

2006-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum has caused extensive mortality to tanoak and several oak species in coastal California. This pathogen has infected at least 72 plant species under natural conditions and 32 additional species in the laboratory. Many infected hosts have been distributed across the United States by the horticultural industry. We developed a...

76 FR 12365 - Vendor Outreach Workshop for Small IT Businesses in the National Capitol Region of the United States

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-07

... Businesses in the National Capitol Region of the United States AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of the Interior is hosting a Vendor Outreach Workshop for small IT businesses in the National Capitol...

Biology and host associations of redbay ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), exotic vector of laurel wilt killing redbay trees in the Southeastern United States

Treesearch

James L. Hanula; Albert E. Mayfield; Stephen W. Fraedrich; Robert J. Babaglia

2008-01-01

The redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolyhnae), and its fungal symbiont, Rafaelea sp., are new introductions to the southeastern United States responsible for the wilt of mature redbay, Persea borbonia (L) Spreng., trees. In 2006 and 2007, we investigated the...

Overseas Military Bases: Understanding Host Nation Support

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-15

and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States government or the Department of Defense. In accordance with Air Force...Instruction 51-303, it is not copyrighted, but is the property of the US government . Biography Commander Jeffrey J. Draeger, an Ohio native...hosting decisions, this study seeks greater awareness of the determinants of host nation hospitality. By examining overseas bases in Ecuador and

Fundamental host range of Leptoypha hospita (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a potential biological control agent of Chinese privet

Treesearch

Yanzhuo Zhang; James L. Hanula; Scott Horn; Cera Jones; S. Kristine Braman; Jianghua Sun

2016-01-01

Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour., is an invasive shrub within riparian areas of the southeastern United States. Biological control is considered the most suitable management option for Chinese privet. The potential host range of the lace bug, Leptoypha hospita Drake et...

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in feral swine (Sus scrofa) in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The protozoon Neospora caninum is a major cause of abortion in cattle worldwide. Canids (Canis familiaris, Canis latrans, Canis lupus) are its definitive hosts whereas many other animal species, including pigs are intermediate hosts for the parasite. Feral swine may serve as sentinels for the parasi...

Geographic distribution of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in wild rats (Rattus rattus) and terrestrial snails in Florida, USA

PubMed Central

Slapcinsky, John D.; Roff, Shannon; Mendieta Calle, Jorge; Diaz Goodwin, Zakia; Stern, Jere; Corlett, Rachel; Conway, Julia; McIntosh, Antoinette

2017-01-01

The parasitic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a major cause of eosinophilic meningitis in humans, and has been documented in other incidental hosts such as birds, horses, dogs and non-human primates. It is endemic in Hawaii, and there have been sporadic reports in the southern continental United States. This parasite uses rats as definitive hosts and snails as intermediate hosts. In this study, we collected potential definitive and intermediate hosts throughout Florida to ascertain the geographic distribution in the state: Rats, environmental rat fecal samples, and snails were collected from 18 counties throughout the state. Classical diagnostics and morphological identification, along with molecular techniques were used to identify nematode species and confirm the presence of A. cantonensis. Of the 171 Rattus rattus collected, 39 (22.8%) were positive for A. cantonensis, and 6 of the 37 (16.2%) environmental rat fecal samples collected in three of the surveyed counties were also positive for this parasite by real time PCR. We examined 1,437 gastropods, which represented 32 species; 27 (1.9%) were positive for A. cantonensis from multiple sites across Florida. Three non-native gastropod species, Bradybaena similaris, Zachrysia provisoria, and Paropeas achatinaceum, and three native gastropod species, Succinea floridana, Ventridens demissus, and Zonitoides arboreus, which are newly recorded intermediate hosts for the parasite, were positive for A. cantonensis. This study indicates that A. cantonensis is established in Florida through the finding of adult and larval stages in definitive and intermediate hosts, respectively, throughout the state. The ability for this historically subtropical nematode to thrive in a more temperate climate is alarming, however as the climate changes and average temperatures rise, gastropod distributions will probably expand, leading to the spread of this parasite in more temperate areas. Through greater awareness of host species and prevalence of A. cantonensis in the United States, potential accidental infections may be avoided. PMID:28542310

Colistin Heteroresistance in Enterobacter cloacae Is Associated with Cross-Resistance to the Host Antimicrobial Lysozyme

PubMed Central

Napier, Brooke A.; Band, Victor

2014-01-01

Here, we describe the first identification of colistin-heteroresistant Enterobacter cloacae in the United States. Treatment of this isolate with colistin increased the frequency of the resistant subpopulation and induced cross-resistance to the host antimicrobial lysozyme. This is the first description of heteroresistance conferring cross-resistance to a host antimicrobial and suggests that clinical treatment with colistin may inadvertently select for bacteria that are resistant to components of the host innate immune system. PMID:24982068

New state distribution and host records of North American Buprestidae (Coleoptera)

Treesearch

Jason A. Hansen; Toby R. Petrice; Robert A. Haack

2011-01-01

The following new state records are reported for buprestid species in the eastern United States: Agrilus egeniformis Champlain and Knull and Polyceta elata LeConte from Georgia, Agrilus defectus LeConte and Agrilus vittaticollis (Randall) from Minnesota and Agrilus...

The host range and impact of Bikasha collaris (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a promising candidate agent for biological control of Chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera (Euphorbiaceae) in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Native to China, the Chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera (Euphorbiaceae) is an aggressive woody invader in the southeastern United States. The flea beetle, Bikasha collaris (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a common herbivore attacking this plant in China. To evaluate its potential as a biological contr...

Comparative Susceptibility of Plants Native to the Appalachian Range of the United States to Inoculation With Phytophthora ramorum

Treesearch

R.G. Linderman; Patricia B. de Sá; E.A. Davis

2008-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum, cause of sudden oak death of trees or ramorum blight of other plant species, has many hosts. Some geographic regions, such as the Appalachian range of the eastern United States, are considered high risk of becoming infested with the pathogen because known susceptible plants occur there and climatic characteristics appear...

The Concept of Culture and Sojourner Assimilation into the Host Environment: An Example of Foreign Students in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okoli, Emeka Jonathan

Accepting a definition of culture as "the total accumulation of an identifiable group's beliefs, norms, activities, institutions, and communication patterns," this paper, in an extensive literature review, conjectures that the environment has a far-reaching impact on the performance of the foreign student in the United States. The paper…

Risk maps for targeting exotic plant pest detection programs in the United States

Treesearch

R.D. Magarey; D.M. Borchert; J.S. Engle; M Garcia-Colunga; Frank H. Koch; et al

2011-01-01

In the United States, pest risk maps are used by the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey for spatial and temporal targeting of exotic plant pest detection programs. Methods are described to create standardized host distribution, climate and pathway risk maps for the top nationally ranked exotic pest targets. Two examples are provided to illustrate the risk mapping...

Eliminating host-mediated effects demonstrates Bt maize producing Cry1F has no adverse effects on the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is an important pest of maize in the United States and many tropical areas in the western hemisphere. In 2001, Herculex I ® (Cry1F) maize was commercially planted in the United States to control Lepidoptera, including S. frugiperda. In 2006, a population of ...

Identification of Bloodmeal Sources and Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Triatomine Bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) From Residential Settings in Texas, the United States

PubMed Central

KJOS, SONIA A.; MARCET, PAULA L.; YABSLEY, MICHAEL J.; KITRON, URIEL; SNOWDEN, KAREN F.; LOGAN, KATHLEEN S.; BARNES, JOHN C.; DOTSON, ELLEN M.

2014-01-01

The host–vector–parasite interactions in Chagas disease peridomestic transmission cycles in the United States are not yet well understood. Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) infection prevalence and bloodmeal sources were determined for adult and immature triatomine (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) specimens collected from residential settings in central Texas. Sequenced cytochrome b DNA segments obtained from triatomine digestive tract identified nine vertebrate hosts and one invertebrate host in four triatomine species (Triatoma gerstaeckeri, Triatoma indictiva, Triatoma protracta, and Triatoma sanguisuga). The broad range of wild and domestic host species detected in triatomine specimens collected from residential sites indicates high host diversity and potential movement between the sylvatic and peridomestic settings. Domestic dogs appear to be key in the maintenance of the peridomestic transmission cycle as both a blood host for the triatomine vectors and a potential reservoir for the parasite. The high rate of T. cruzi infection among triatomine specimens that were collected from inside houses, outside houses, and dog kennels (69, 81, and 82%, respectively) suggests a current risk for Chagas disease vector-borne transmission for humans and domestic animals in residential settings in Texas because of overlap with the sylvatic cycle. PMID:24180119

Recent Evolutionary Radiation and Host Plant Specialization in the Xylella fastidiosa Subspecies Native to the United States

PubMed Central

Vickerman, Danel B.; Bromley, Robin E.; Russell, Stephanie A.; Hartman, John R.; Morano, Lisa D.; Stouthamer, Richard

2013-01-01

The bacterial pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa, infects many plant species in the Americas, making it a good model for investigating the genetics of host adaptation. We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to identify isolates of the native U.S. subsp. multiplex that were largely unaffected by intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) and to investigate how their evolutionary history influences plant host specialization. We identified 110 “non-IHR” isolates, 2 minimally recombinant “intermediate” ones (including the subspecific type), and 31 with extensive IHR. The non-IHR and intermediate isolates defined 23 sequence types (STs) which we used to identify 22 plant hosts (73% trees) characteristic of the subspecies. Except for almond, subsp. multiplex showed no host overlap with the introduced subspecies (subspecies fastidiosa and sandyi). MLST sequences revealed that subsp. multiplex underwent recent radiation (<25% of subspecies age) which included only limited intrasubspecific recombination (ρ/θ = 0.02); only one isolated lineage (ST50 from ash) was older. A total of 20 of the STs grouped into three loose phylogenetic clusters distinguished by nonoverlapping hosts (excepting purple leaf plum): “almond,” “peach,” and “oak” types. These host differences were not geographical, since all three types also occurred in California. ST designation was a good indicator of host specialization. ST09, widespread in the southeastern United States, only infected oak species, and all peach isolates were ST10 (from California, Florida, and Georgia). Only ST23 had a broad host range. Hosts of related genotypes were sometimes related, but often host groupings crossed plant family or even order, suggesting that phylogenetically plastic features of hosts affect bacterial pathogenicity. PMID:23354698

Recent evolutionary radiation and host plant specialization in the Xylella fastidiosa subspecies native to the United States.

PubMed

Nunney, Leonard; Vickerman, Danel B; Bromley, Robin E; Russell, Stephanie A; Hartman, John R; Morano, Lisa D; Stouthamer, Richard

2013-04-01

The bacterial pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa, infects many plant species in the Americas, making it a good model for investigating the genetics of host adaptation. We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to identify isolates of the native U.S. subsp. multiplex that were largely unaffected by intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) and to investigate how their evolutionary history influences plant host specialization. We identified 110 "non-IHR" isolates, 2 minimally recombinant "intermediate" ones (including the subspecific type), and 31 with extensive IHR. The non-IHR and intermediate isolates defined 23 sequence types (STs) which we used to identify 22 plant hosts (73% trees) characteristic of the subspecies. Except for almond, subsp. multiplex showed no host overlap with the introduced subspecies (subspecies fastidiosa and sandyi). MLST sequences revealed that subsp. multiplex underwent recent radiation (<25% of subspecies age) which included only limited intrasubspecific recombination (ρ/θ = 0.02); only one isolated lineage (ST50 from ash) was older. A total of 20 of the STs grouped into three loose phylogenetic clusters distinguished by nonoverlapping hosts (excepting purple leaf plum): "almond," "peach," and "oak" types. These host differences were not geographical, since all three types also occurred in California. ST designation was a good indicator of host specialization. ST09, widespread in the southeastern United States, only infected oak species, and all peach isolates were ST10 (from California, Florida, and Georgia). Only ST23 had a broad host range. Hosts of related genotypes were sometimes related, but often host groupings crossed plant family or even order, suggesting that phylogenetically plastic features of hosts affect bacterial pathogenicity.

Ammonium carbonate is more attractive than apple and hawthorn fruit volatile lures to Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Washington State.

PubMed

Yee, Wee L; Nash, Meralee J; Goughnour, Robert B; Cha, Dong H; Linn, Charles E; Feder, Jeffrey L

2014-08-01

The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), is an introduced, quarantine pest of apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the eastern United States where the fly is native, fruit volatiles have been reported to be more attractive than ammonia compounds to R. pomonella. However, the opposite may be true in the western United States. Here, we determined whether newly identified western apple and western hawthorn fruit volatiles are more attractive than ammonium carbonate (AC) to R. pomonella in apple, black hawthorn, and ornamental hawthorn trees in western Washington State. In all three host trees, sticky red sphere or yellow panel traps baited with AC generally caught more flies than traps baited with lures containing the four newly developed fruit blends (modified eastern apple, western apple, western ornamental hawthorn, and western black hawthorn) or two older blends (eastern apple and eastern downy hawthorn). Fruit volatiles also displayed more variation among trapping studies conducted at different sites, in different host trees, and across years than AC. The results imply that traps baited with AC represent the best approach to monitoring R. pomonella in Washington State.

Foreign Language/Intercultural Program. Your World and Mine (Sixth Grade). DS Manual 2650.6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dependents Schools (DOD), Washington, DC.

The curriculum guides for foreign language and intercultural education programs in United States dependents schools overseas provide instructional ideas designed to promote learning about the language and culture of the host nation. The series, covering kindergarten through eighth grade, was written by host nation teachers, classroom teachers, and…

Quantification of vector and host competence for Japanese encephalitis virus: a systematic review of the literature

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a virus of the Flavivirus genus that may result in encephalitis in human hosts. This vector-borne zoonosis occurs in Eastern and Southeastern Asia and an intentional or inadvertent introduction into the United States (US) will have major public health and economi...

New tropical fruit hosts of Scirtothrips dorsalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and its relative abundance on them in South Florida

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Chilli thrips, Scritothrips dorsalis Hood, recently established in the southeast region of the United States, poses an economic threat to a wide-range of ornamental and vegetable plants. During scouting and sampling various hosts at different commercial nursery locations in Florida (Miami-Dade Count...

Anthropogenic drivers of gypsy moth spread

Treesearch

Kevin M. Bigsby; Patrick C. Tobin; Erin O. Sills

2011-01-01

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), is a polyphagous defoliator introduced to Medford, Massachusetts in 1869. It has spread to over 860,000 km2 in North America, but this still only represents 1/4 of its susceptible host range in the United States. To delay defoliation in the remaining susceptible host range, the government...

The USCACA hosted symposiums at the 7th CACA annual meeting and the 15th CSCO annual meeting in Beijing.

PubMed

Shi, Michael; Yang, Wancai; Qian, Pascal; Yan, Li

2012-11-01

In September 2012, the US Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (USCACA) hosted two symposiums in Beijing. The USCACA hosted the first joint session at the 7th annual meetings of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (CACA), themed on "Collaboration between the US and China in Cancer Research." Six experts from the United States and China presented their latest work on basic and translational cancer research. During this symposium, 5 young Chinese scholars, returnees after their training in the United States, were honored the"AFCR-USCACA Scholarships Award." The USCACA hosted a second symposium during the 15th annual meeting of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), focused on the "US-China Collaboration in Cancer Drug Clinical Development." An international delegation of oncology experts presented the innovative clinical trial strategies and discussed the biomarkers for cancer early detection and clinical trials, targeted therapy, and new drug development. The Oncology Drug Clinical Development and Safety Evaluation Committee was also launched to promote an innovative environment and to provide a collaborative platform for anti-cancer drug development in China.

Host and Potential Vector Susceptibility to an Emerging Orbivirus in the United States: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 6.

PubMed

Ruder, M G; Stallknecht, D E; Allison, A B; Mead, D G; Carter, D L; Howerth, E W

2016-05-01

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDVs) are orbiviruses transmitted by Culicoides biting midges to domestic and wild ruminants. EHDV-1 and EHDV-2 are endemic in the United States, where epizootic hemorrhagic disease is the most significant viral disease of white-tailed deer (WTD;Odocoileus virginianus) and reports of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in cattle are increasing. In 2006, a reassortant EHDV-6 was isolated from dead WTD in Indiana and has been detected each subsequent year over a wide geographic region. Since EHDV-6 is not a historically endemic serotype in the United States, it is important to understand infection outcome in potential hosts. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of the virus in 2 primary US ruminant hosts (WTD and cattle) and the susceptibility of a confirmed US vector (Culicoides sonorensis). Five WTD and 4 cattle were inoculated with >10(6)TCID50EHDV-6 by intradermal and subcutaneous injection. All 5 WTD exhibited moderate to severe disease, and 3 died. Viremia was first detected 3 to 5 days postinfection (dpi) with surviving animals seroconverting by 10 dpi. Two of 4 inoculated cattle had detectable viremia, 5 to 10 dpi and 7 to 24 dpi, respectively. No clinical, hematologic, or pathologic abnormalities were observed. Antibodies were detected by 10 dpi in 3 of 4 cows.C. sonorensis were fed on WTD blood spiked with EHDV-6 and held for 4 to 14 days postfeeding at 25°C. From 4 to 14 days postfeeding, 19 of 171 midges were virus isolation positive and 6 of 171 had ≥10(2.7)TCID50EHDV-6. Although outcomes varied, these studies demonstrate the susceptibility of ruminant and vector hosts in the United States for this recently emerged EHDV serotype. © The Author(s) 2015.

Livability performance measures to transportation plans and projects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-01-01

From July to September of 2014, teams from the Georgia Institute of Technology and North : Carolina State University hosted five workshops in the southeastern United States to assist : localities in developing performance measures to be used in trans...

Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on the water table level of selected forested wetlands in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Jie Zhu; Ge Sun; Wenhong Li; Yu Zhang; Guofang Miao; Asko Noormets; Steve G. McNulty; John S. King; Mukesh Kumar; Xuan Wang

2017-01-01

The southeastern United States hosts extensive forested wetlands, providing ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, ground- water recharge, and wildlife habitat. However, these wet- land ecosystems are dependent on local climate and hydrol- ogy, and are therefore at risk due to climate and land use change. This study develops site-...

More virulent offspring result from hybridization of invasive aphid species, Diuraphis noxia (Hemiptera: Aphididae), with Diuraphis tritici endemic to the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Russian wheat aphid (RWA), Diuraphis noxia, invaded the United States in 1986 and soon became a significant pest of wheat. D. tritici was native to the USA and firmly established on wild grasses before the arrival of RWA. Both species are known to co-infest the same grass hosts during the time...

Research on the biology of fusiform rust in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Pauline Spaine

1998-01-01

The incidence of fusiform rust has continued to be one of the major forest disease problems in the Southeastern United States. In the past, much of the research has concentrated on field studies with provenance selection and genetic breeding of pine families to increase resistance in the host. In the last 10 years, there has been an increased interest in the actual...

Host Specificity of Microsporidia (Protista: Microspora) from European Populations of Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) to Indigenous North American Lepidoptera

PubMed

Solter; Maddox; McManus

1997-03-01

Results of traditional laboratory bioassays may not accurately represent ecological (field) host specificity of entomopathogens but, if carefully interpreted, may be used to predict the ecological host specificity of pathogens being considered for release as classical biological control agents. We conducted laboratory studies designed to evaluate the physiological host specificity of microsporidia, which are common protozoan pathogens of insects. In these studies, 49 nontarget lepidopteran species indigenous to North America were fed five biotypes of microsporidia that occur in European populations of Lymantria dispar but are not found in North American populations of L. dispar. These microsporidia, Microsporidium sp. from Portugal, Microsporidium sp. from Romania, Microsporidium sp. from Slovakia, Nosema lymantriae, and Endoreticulatus sp. from Portugal, are candidates for release as classical biological control agents into L. dispar populations in the United States. The microsporidia produced a variety of responses in the nontarget hosts and, based on these responses, the nontarget hosts were placed in the following categories: (1) no infection (refractory), (2) atypical infections, and (3) heavy infections. Endoreticulatus sp. produced patent, host-like infections in nearly two-thirds of the nontarget hosts to which it was fed. Such generalist species should not be recommended for release. Infections comparable to those produced in L. dispar were produced in 2% of the nontarget hosts fed Microsporidium sp. from Portugal, 19% of nontarget hosts fed Microsporidium sp. from Romania, 13% fed spores of Microsporidium sp. from Slovakia, and 11% of nontarget species fed N. lymantriae. The remaining nontarget species developed infections that, despite production of mature spores, were not typical of infection in L. dispar. We believe it is very unlikely that these atypical infections would be horizontally transmitted within nontarget insect populations in the United States.

De novo genome assembly of the fungal plant pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda

Treesearch

Marcus M. Soliai; Susan E. Meyer; Joshua A. Udall; David E. Elzinga; Russell A. Hermansen; Paul M. Bodily; Aaron A. Hart; Craig E. Coleman

2014-01-01

Pyrenophora semeniperda (anamorph Drechslera campulata) is a necrotrophic fungal seed pathogen that has a wide host range within the Poaceae. One of its hosts is cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a species exotic to the United States that has invaded natural ecosystems of the Intermountain West. As a natural pathogen of cheatgrass, P. semeniperda has potential as a...

Evaluation of host resistance to Botrytis bunch rot in Vitis spp. and its correlation with Botrytis leaf spot

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of Botrytis bunch rot and gray mold, is the number one postharvest disease of fresh grapes in the United States. Fungicide applications are used to manage the disease, but fungicide-resistant isolates are common and postharvest losses occur annually. Host resistanc...

Developing Cyberspace Data Understanding: Using CRISP-DM for Host-based IDS Feature Mining

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

Developing Cyberspace Data Understanding: Using CRISP - DM for Host-based IDS Feature Mining THESIS Joseph R. Erskine, Captain, USAF AFIT/GCS/ENG/10-01...Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government. AFIT/GCS/ENG/10-01 Developing Cyberspace Data Understanding: Using CRISP - DM for...Developing Cyberspace Data Understanding: Using CRISP - DM for Host-based IDS Feature Mining Joseph R. Erskine, B.S.C.S. Captain, USAF Approved: /signed/ 12

Commercially Hosted Government Payloads: Lessons from Recent Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andraschko, Mark A.; Antol, Jeffrey; Horan, Stephen; Neil, Doreen

2011-01-01

In a commercially hosted operational mode, a scientific instrument or operational device is attached to a spacecraft but operates independently from the spacecraft s primary mission. Despite the expected benefits of this arrangement, there are few examples of hosted payload programs actually being executed by government organizations. The lack of hosted payload programs is largely driven by programmatic challenges, both real and perceived, rather than by technical challenges. Partly for these reasons, NASA has not sponsored a hosted payload program, in spite of the benefits and visible community interest in doing so. In the interest of increasing the use of hosted payloads across the space community, this paper seeks to alleviate concerns about hosted payloads by identifying these programmatic challenges and presenting ways in which they can be avoided or mitigated. Despite the challenges, several recent hosted payload programs have been successfully completed or are currently in progress. This paper presents an assessment of these programs, with a focus on acquisition, costs, schedules, risks, and other programmatic aspects. The hosted payloads included in this study are the Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) payloads, United States Coast Guard's Automatic Identification System (AIS) demonstration payload, Department of Defense's IP Router In Space (IRIS) demonstration payload, the United States Air Force's Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP), and the Australian Defence Force's Ultra High Frequency (UHF) payload. General descriptions of each of these programs are presented along with issues that have been encountered and lessons learned from those experiences. A set of recommended approaches for future hosted payload programs is presented, with a focus on addressing risks or potential problem areas through smart and flexible contracting up front. This set of lessons and recommendations is broadly applicable to future hosted payload programs, whether they are technology demonstrations, communications systems, or operational sensors. Additionally, we present a basic cost model for commercial access to space for hosted payloads as a function of payload mass

The influence of geographical location, host maturity and sex on intestinal helminth communities of the double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus from the eastern United States.

PubMed

Sheehan, K L; Hanson-Dorr, K C; Dorr, B S; Yarrow, G K; Johnson, R J

2017-09-01

Here the intestinal helminth infracommunities of 218 double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) from 11 locations in Alabama, Minnesota, Mississippi and Vermont are documented. Trematode infections were present in 98% of hosts; 65% of cormorants carried cestode infections, 4% were infected with acanthocephalans and 66% had nematode intestinal parasites. Parasite infracommunities of hosts collected on wintering grounds had higher richness and diversity than did birds collected on breeding grounds. Differences in parasite richness and diversity between male and female P. auritus were also detected, but not between immature and mature bird hosts. Parasite intensity did not differ by sex, maturity, or between breeding and wintering season. The most common parasite was Drepanocephalus auritus (spathans), which is recognized as a disease agent that negatively impacts the catfish aquaculture industry in the US. Echinochasmus sp. in double-crested cormorants is documented for the first time in the United States. We suggest that the differences observed among parasite infracommunities could be associated with the foraging distances travelled by P. auritus during breeding and wintering seasons, which is limited by allocation of parental care during the breeding season.

The role of Ixodes scapularis, Borrelia burgdorferi and wildlife hosts in Lyme disease prevalence: A quantitative review.

PubMed

Halsey, Samniqueka J; Allan, Brian F; Miller, James R

2018-04-16

Due to the ongoing expansion of Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick) throughout the northeastern and midwestern United States, there is need to identify the role wildlife hosts play in the establishment and maintenance of tick populations. To quantify and synthesize the patterns of I. scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and sensu lato prevalence relative to wildlife hosts, we reviewed the findings of independent studies conducted throughout the United States. We performed a comprehensive literature search from 1970 to 2017 using the ISS Web of Science Core Collection and the keywords "Ixodes scapularis," "Ixodes dammini" and "Borrelia burgdorferi." We identified 116 studies for inclusion in our meta-analysis, with 187,414 individual wildlife hosts captured and examined for I. scapularis and either the host or ticks collected subsequently tested for B. burgdorferi. We found that only 13% of the wildlife mammals sampled comprised species other than Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) and Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse). To examine whether there were regional differences between the Northeast, Midwest and the Southeast U.S. in I. scapularis infestation rates on wildlife hosts, we used general linear models (glm), with post hoc pairwise comparisons. In most cases, detection of I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi was significantly higher in the Northeast than the Midwest. Using data on host-specific I. scapularis infestation prevalence, B. burgdorferi prevalence in feeding larvae, and host permissiveness, we developed an epizootiological model to determine the relative contributions of individual hosts to B. burgdorferi-infected nymphs. Our model provides additional evidence that wildlife hosts other than P. leucopus may contribute more to Lyme disease risk than commonly thought. To aid in understanding the ecology of Lyme disease, we propose that additional studies sample non-Peromyscus spp. hosts to obtain more detailed tick and pathogen infestation and infection estimates, respectively, for these less frequently sampled wildlife hosts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Host rocks and their alterations as related to uranium-bearing veins in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walker, George W.

1956-01-01

This paper, dealing with the different kinds of host rocks and their alterations associated with uranium-bearing veins in the United States, is a chapter of a comprehensive report entitled , "Geology of uranium-bearing vein deposits in the United States," in preparation by George W. Walker, Frank W. Osterwald, and others. The comprehensive report will include detailed information on tectonic and structural setting, kinds of host rocks, wall-rock alteration, mineralogy, physical characteristics, processes of deposition, and concepts of origin of uraniferous veins; but, because it will not be completed until sometime in the future, some chapters of the report are being transmitted as they are finished. Part of an introductory chapter to the comprehensive report entitled, "Classification and distribution of uranium-bearing veins in the United States" (Walker and Osterwald, 1956) has already been transmitted; several of the terms used herein are defined in the introductory chapter. Data included in this chapter demonstrate that uranium-bearing veins are: 1) in rocks of nearly all textural, chemical, and mineralogic types; 2) most abundant in holocrystalline, commonly equigranular, igeneous and metamorphic rocks characterized by a moderate to high silica content and and by similar physical properties. Although some of the physiochemical properties of the host rocks are discussed in terms of favorability or nonfavoribility for uranium deposition, the principal purpose of this chapter is to establish the petroloic environment in which uranium-bearing veins have been found. Because favorability or nonfavorability of host rocks is related complexly to the chemistry of ore solutions and to methods or uranium transport and deposition, several hypothetical processes of transport and deposition have been referred to briefly; these and other hypotheses will be outlines and discussed in greater detail in a subsequent chapter. The compilation of data leading to this report and its preparation by a member of the Uranium Research and Resource Section, U.S. Geological Survey, was done on behalf of the Division of Raw Materials, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The report is based on both published and unpublished information collected principally by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission or its predecessor organization, the Manhattan Engineer District, and to a lesser extent by staff members of other Federal or State agencies and by geologists in private industry. Information concerning foreign uranium-bearing vein deposits has been extracted almost exclusively from published reports; references to these and other data are included at appropriate places.

The Third Wave: Future Trends in International Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazzarol, Tim; Soutar, Geoffrey Norman; Seng, Michael Sim Yaw

2003-01-01

Describes how the second half of the twentieth century saw the development of a global market in international education, so that by the 1990s, the systems of many host nations (e.g., Australia, Canada, United Stated, United Kingdom, and New Zealand) had become more market focused and were adopting professional marketing strategies to recruit…

32 CFR 153.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located. Inactive Duty... activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by... (6) Not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host nation. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the...

32 CFR 153.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located. Inactive Duty... activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by... (6) Not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host nation. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the...

32 CFR 153.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located. Inactive Duty... activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by... (6) Not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host nation. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the...

32 CFR 153.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located. Inactive Duty... activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by... (6) Not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host nation. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the...

32 CFR 153.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located. Inactive Duty... activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by... (6) Not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host nation. Active Duty. Full-time duty in the...

Circles of Influence and Chains of Command: The Social Processes Whereby Ethnic Communities Influence Host Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orum, Anthony M.

2005-01-01

Research into immigration has for many years focused most of its attention on the issue of how immigrants adapt to host societies. This tendency is especially true in the work of sociologists. Yet if we acknowledge the growing ethnic diversity today in the United States and elsewhere, the most interesting questions arise as to how immigrants…

The redbay ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) uses stem silhouette diameter as a visual host-finding cue

Treesearch

Albert (Bud) Mayfield; Cavell Brownie

2013-01-01

The redbay ambrosia beetle (Syleborus glabratus Eichhoff) is an invasive pest and vector of the pathogen that causes laurel wilt disease in Lauraceous tree species in the eastern United States. This insect uses olfactory cues during host finding, but use of visual cues by X. Glabratus has not been previously investigated and may help explain diameter...

A review of the siricid woodwasps and their Ibaliid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Ibaliidae) in the Eastern United States, with emphasis on the Mid-Atlantic Region

Treesearch

David R. Smith; Nathan M. Schiff

2002-01-01

Keys are presented for the five genera and 15 species of adult Siricidae and one genus and two species of their parasitoids of the family Ibaliidae that occur in or may be adventive in the Eastern United States. Sircid larvae are wood borers in conifers and broadleafed trees. Notes on their biology, fungal symbionts, distributions, and host associations are given. Data...

Emergence and Pathogenicity of Highly Virulent Cryptococcus gattii Genotypes in the Northwest United States

PubMed Central

Ma, Hansong; Voelz, Kerstin; Ren, Ping; Carter, Dee A.; Chaturvedi, Vishnu; Bildfell, Robert J.; May, Robin C.; Heitman, Joseph

2010-01-01

Cryptococcus gattii causes life-threatening disease in otherwise healthy hosts and to a lesser extent in immunocompromised hosts. The highest incidence for this disease is on Vancouver Island, Canada, where an outbreak is expanding into neighboring regions including mainland British Columbia and the United States. This outbreak is caused predominantly by C. gattii molecular type VGII, specifically VGIIa/major. In addition, a novel genotype, VGIIc, has emerged in Oregon and is now a major source of illness in the region. Through molecular epidemiology and population analysis of MLST and VNTR markers, we show that the VGIIc group is clonal and hypothesize it arose recently. The VGIIa/IIc outbreak lineages are sexually fertile and studies support ongoing recombination in the global VGII population. This illustrates two hallmarks of emerging outbreaks: high clonality and the emergence of novel genotypes via recombination. In macrophage and murine infections, the novel VGIIc genotype and VGIIa/major isolates from the United States are highly virulent compared to similar non-outbreak VGIIa/major-related isolates. Combined MLST-VNTR analysis distinguishes clonal expansion of the VGIIa/major outbreak genotype from related but distinguishable less-virulent genotypes isolated from other geographic regions. Our evidence documents emerging hypervirulent genotypes in the United States that may expand further and provides insight into the possible molecular and geographic origins of the outbreak. PMID:20421942

Climate-Host Mapping of Phytophthora ramorum, causal agent of sudden oak death

Treesearch

Roger Magarey; Glenn Fowler; Manuel Colunga; Bill Smith; Ross Meentemeyer

2008-01-01

We modeled Phytophthora ramorum infection using the North Carolina State University- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Pest Forecasting System (NAPPFAST) for the conterminous United States. Our infection model is based on a temperature-moisture response function. The model parameters were: leaf wetness, minimum temperature, optimum...

Mayr, Dobzhansky, and Bush and the complexities of sympatric speciation in Rhagoletis

PubMed Central

Feder, Jeffrey L.; Xie, Xianfa; Rull, Juan; Velez, Sebastian; Forbes, Andrew; Leung, Brian; Dambroski, Hattie; Filchak, Kenneth E.; Aluja, Martin

2005-01-01

The Rhagoletis pomonella sibling species complex is a model for sympatric speciation by means of host plant shifting. However, genetic variation aiding the sympatric radiation of the group in the United States may have geographic roots. Inversions on chromosomes 1-3 affecting diapause traits adapting flies to differences in host fruiting phenology appear to exist in the United States because of a series of secondary introgression events from Mexico. Here, we investigate whether these inverted regions of the genome may have subsequently evolved to become more recalcitrant to introgression relative to collinear regions, consistent with new models for chromosomal speciation. As predicted by the models, gene trees for six nuclear loci mapping to chromosomes other than 1-3 tended to have shallower node depths separating Mexican and U.S. haplotypes relative to an outgroup sequence than nine genes residing on chromosomes 1-3. We discuss the implications of secondary contact and differential introgression with respect to sympatric host race formation and speciation in Rhagoletis, reconciling some of the seemingly dichotomous views of Mayr, Dobzhansky, and Bush concerning modes of divergence. PMID:15851672

Water Pollution and Leukemia: A Model for Interdisciplinary Research in the Classroom Experiences Incorporating Effective Pedagogical Approaches for Community College General Biology I Lab Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Na; Porter-Morgan, Holly; Doran, Nathan; Keller, Charles

2016-01-01

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in the United States faces a host of problems including low recruitment and retention in STEM disciplines, under-representation of multiple segments of the US population, and a host of other issues. These problems are well recognized and a variety of solutions are being implemented…

Wind for Schools: Developing Educational Programs to Train a New Workforce and the Next Generation of Wind Energy Experts (Poster)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flowers, L.; Baring-Gould, I.

2010-04-01

As the United States dramatically expands wind energy deployment, the industry is challenged with developing a skilled workforce and addressing public resistance. Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project addresses these issues by: Developing Wind Application Centers (WACs) at universities; installing small wind turbines at community "host" schools; and implementing teacher training with interactive curricula at each host school.

Immune responses to West Nile virus infection in the central nervous system.

PubMed

Cho, Hyelim; Diamond, Michael S

2012-12-17

West Nile virus (WNV) continues to cause outbreaks of severe neuroinvasive disease in humans and other vertebrate animals in the United States, Europe, and other regions of the world. This review discusses our understanding of the interactions between virus and host that occur in the central nervous system (CNS), the outcome of which can be protection, viral pathogenesis, or immunopathogenesis. We will focus on defining the current state of knowledge of WNV entry, tropism, and host immune response in the CNS, all of which affect the balance between injury and successful clearance.

Welcome to MedlinePlus en español

MedlinePlus

... promote the new Spanish-language MedlinePlus.gov/salud Web site. Don Francisco, the popular Hispanic television host, ... and promote a free, comprehensive, authoritative health information Web site for Spanish speakers in the United States ...

Where do my emotions belong? A study of immigrants' emotional acculturation.

PubMed

De Leersnyder, Jozefien; Mesquita, Batja; Kim, Heejung S

2011-04-01

The emotional experiences of people who live together tend to be similar; this is true not only for dyads and groups but also for cultures. It raises the question of whether immigrants' emotions become more similar to host culture patterns of emotional experience; do emotions acculturate? Two studies, on Korean immigrants in the United States (Study 1) and on Turkish immigrants in Belgium (Study 2), measured emotional experiences of immigrants and host group members with the Emotional Patterns Questionnaire. To obtain a measure of the immigrants' emotional similarity to the host group, their individual emotional patterns were correlated to the average pattern of the host group. Immigrants' exposure to and engagement in the host culture, but not their acculturation attitudes, predicted emotional acculturation.

Armillaria Root Disease

Treesearch

R.E. Williams; C.G. III Shaw; P.M. Wargo; W.H. Sites

1986-01-01

Armillaria root disease is found throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. In the continental United States, the disease has been reported in nearly every State. Hosts include hundreds of species of trees, shrubs, vines, and forbs growing in forests, along roadsides, and in cultivated areas. The disease is caused by fungi, which live as parasites on...

76 FR 45847 - Vendor Outreach Workshop for Small Businesses in New Mexico of the United States

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-01

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Vendor Outreach Workshop for Small Businesses...: The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture are hosting a Vendor Outreach Workshop for small businesses in the State of New...

Korean Sojourners in the Deep South: The Push/Pull Dynamics of Immigration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynn, C. Allen; Lee, Sun-A.

2013-01-01

Asians are now the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. And although disproportionately more likely to live in Western states, some are settling in nontraditional host communities. Focusing on one such instance in southeast Georgia, the present ethnographic case study considers a poultry processing plant's decision to recruit dozens…

Geographic variation in the relationship between human Lyme disease incidence and density of infected host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs in the Eastern United States.

PubMed

Pepin, Kim M; Eisen, Rebecca J; Mead, Paul S; Piesman, Joseph; Fish, Durland; Hoen, Anne G; Barbour, Alan G; Hamer, Sarah; Diuk-Wasser, Maria A

2012-06-01

Prevention and control of Lyme disease is difficult because of the complex biology of the pathogen's (Borrelia burgdorferi) vector (Ixodes scapularis) and multiple reservoir hosts with varying degrees of competence. Cost-effective implementation of tick- and host-targeted control methods requires an understanding of the relationship between pathogen prevalence in nymphs, nymph abundance, and incidence of human cases of Lyme disease. We quantified the relationship between estimated acarological risk and human incidence using county-level human case data and nymphal prevalence data from field-derived estimates in 36 eastern states. The estimated density of infected nymphs (mDIN) was significantly correlated with human incidence (r = 0.69). The relationship was strongest in high-prevalence areas, but it varied by region and state, partly because of the distribution of B. burgdorferi genotypes. More information is needed in several high-prevalence states before DIN can be used for cost-effectiveness analyses.

The discovery and character of Pleistocene calcrete uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains of west Texas, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Hall, Susan M.

2017-12-18

This report describes the discovery and geology of two near-surface uranium deposits within calcareous lacustrine strata of Pleistocene age in west Texas, United States. Calcrete uranium deposits have not been previously reported in the United States. The west Texas uranium deposits share characteristics with some calcrete uranium deposits in Western Australia—uranium-vanadium minerals hosted by nonpedogenic calcretes deposited in saline lacustrine environments.In the mid-1970s, Kerr-McGee Corporation conducted a regional uranium exploration program in the Southern High Plains province of the United States, which led to the discovery of two shallow uranium deposits (that were not publicly reported). With extensive drilling, Kerr-McGee delineated one deposit of about 2.1 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.037 percent U3O8 and another deposit of about 0.93 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.047 percent U3O8.The west-Texas calcrete uranium-vanadium deposits occur in calcareous, fine-grained sediments interpreted to be deposited in saline lakes formed during dry interglacial periods of the Pleistocene. The lakes were associated with drainages upstream of a large Pleistocene lake. Age determinations of tephra in strata adjacent to one deposit indicate the host strata is middle Pleistocene in age.Examination of the uranium-vanadium mineralization by scanning-electron microscopy indicated at least two generations of uranium-vanadium deposition in the lacustrine strata identified as carnotite and a strontium-uranium-vanadium mineral. Preliminary uranium-series results indicate a two-component system in the host calcrete, with early lacustrine carbonate that was deposited (or recrystallized) about 190 kilo-annum, followed much later by carnotite-rich crusts and strontium-uranium-vanadium mineralization in the Holocene (about 5 kilo-annum). Differences in initial 234U/238U activity ratios indicate two separate, distinct fluid sources.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi among eleven potential reservoir species from six states across the southern United States.

PubMed

Brown, Emily L; Roellig, Dawn M; Gompper, Matthew E; Monello, Ryan J; Wenning, Krista M; Gabriel, Mourad W; Yabsley, Michael J

2010-10-01

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease, is a substantial public health concern in Latin America. Although rare in humans and domestic animals in the United States, T. cruzi is commonly detected in some wildlife species, most commonly raccoons (Procyon lotor) and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana). To increase our understanding of the reservoir host species range and geographic distribution, 11 species of mammals from six states spanning the known range of T. cruzi (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Virginia) were tested for antibodies to T. cruzi using indirect immunofluorescent antibody testing. In addition, culture isolation attempts were conducted on a limited number of animals from Georgia and Florida. Evidence of T. cruzi was found in every state except California; however, low numbers of known reservoirs were tested in California. In general, the highest seroprevalence rates were found in raccoons (0-68%) and opossums (17-52%), but antibodies to T. cruzi were also detected in small numbers of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) from Arizona and Georgia, bobcats (Lynx rufus) from Georgia, two coyotes (Canis latrans) from Georgia and Virginia, and a ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) from Arizona. Culture-based prevalence rates for raccoons were significantly greater than those for opossums; however, seroprevalences of raccoons and opossums from several geographic locations in Georgia and Florida were not different, indicating that exposure rates of these two species are similar within these areas. For both raccoons and opossums, seroprevalence was significantly higher in females than in males. No difference was detected in seroprevalence between adults and juveniles and between animals caught in urban and rural locations. Our results indicate that T. cruzi prevalence varies by host species, host characteristics, and geographic region and provides data to guide future studies on the natural history of T. cruzi in the United States.

Enzootic Rabies Elimination from Dogs and Reemergence in Wild Terrestrial Carnivores, United States

PubMed Central

Reeder, Serena A.; Orciari, Lillian A.; Yager, Pamela A.; Franka, Richard; Blanton, Jesse D.; Zuckero, Letha; Hunt, Patrick; Oertli, Ernest H.; Robinson, Laura E.; Rupprecht, Charles E.

2008-01-01

To provide molecular and virologic evidence that domestic dog rabies is no longer enzootic to the United States and to identify putative relatives of dog-related rabies viruses (RVs) circulating in other carnivores, we studied RVs associated with recent and historic dog rabies enzootics worldwide. Molecular, phylogenetic, and epizootiologic evidence shows that domestic dog rabies is no longer enzootic to the United States. Nonetheless, our data suggest that independent rabies enzootics are now established in wild terrestrial carnivores (skunks in California and north-central United States, gray foxes in Texas and Arizona, and mongooses in Puerto Rico), as a consequence of different spillover events from long-term rabies enzootics associated with dogs. These preliminary results highlight the key role of dog RVs and human–dog demographics as operative factors for host shifts and disease reemergence into other important carnivore populations and highlight the need for the elimination of dog-related RVs worldwide. PMID:19046506

Anthracnose of centipedegrass turf

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Anthracnose is a destructive fungal disease of centipedegrass (Eremochloae ophiuroides) turf that occurs throughout the southern United States and China. In this diagnostic guide, we provide an overview of the causal pathogen, Colletotrichum eremochloae, along with disease symptoms and signs, host ...

The use of Skylab data to study the early detection of insect infestations and density and distribution of host plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, W. G.; Ingle, S. J.; Davis, M. R.

1975-01-01

The detection of insect infestations and the density and distribution of host plants were studied using Skylab data, aerial photography and ground truth simultaneously. Additional ground truth and aerial photography were acquired between Skylab passes. Three test areas were selected: area 1, of high density citrus, was located northwest of Mission, Texas; area 2, 20 miles north of Weslaco, Texas, irrigated pastures and brush-covered land; area 3 covered the entire Lower Rio Grande Valley and adjacent areas of Mexico. A color composite picture of S-190A data showed patterns of vegetation on both sides of the Rio Grande River clearly delineating the possible avenues of entry of pest insects from Mexico into the United States or from the United States into Mexico. Vegetation that could be identified with conventional color and color IR film included: citrus, brush, sugarcane, alfalfa, irrigated and unimproved pastures.

Uranium- and thorium-bearing pegmatites of the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, J.W.; Arengi, J.T.; Parrish, I.S.

1980-04-01

This report is part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program designed to identify criteria favorable for the occurrence of the world's significant uranium deposits. This project deals specifically with uranium- and thorium-bearing pegmatites in the United States and, in particular, their distribution and origin. From an extensive literature survey and field examination of 44 pegmatite localities in the United States and Canada, the authors have compiled an index to about 300 uranium- and thorium-bearing pegmatites in the United States, maps giving location of these deposits, and an annotated bibliography to some of the most pertinent literature on themore » geology of pegmatites. Pegmatites form from late-state magma differentiates rich in volatile constituents with an attendant aqueous vapor phase. It is the presence of an aqueous phase which results in the development of the variable grain size which characterizes pegmatites. All pegmatites occur in areas of tectonic mobility involving crustal material usually along plate margins. Those pegmatites containing radioactive mineral species show, essentially, a similar distribution to those without radioactive minerals. Criteria such as tectonic setting, magma composition, host rock, and elemental indicators among others, all serve to help delineate areas more favorable for uranium- and thorium-bearing pegmatites. The most useful guide remains the radioactivity exhibited by uranium- and thorium-bearing pegmatites. Although pegmatites are frequently noted as favorable hosts for radioactive minerals, the general paucity and sporadic distribution of these minerals and inherent mining and milling difficulties negate the resource potential of pegmatites for uranium and thorium.« less

Nematode parasites of waterfowl (Anseriformes) from western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

McDonald, M.E.

1974-01-01

Thirty-four species of nematodes were found in 415 Anseriformes (Anatidae) of 27 species; 93.7% of birds over 4 weeks old were infected. Data on prevalence, host specificity, age of host, and geographic distribution are given. Infections were more intense in sick birds and birds in poor physical condition. Accidental or abnormal infection was more likely in sick than in normal birds. From 1 to 13 species of nematodes are reported from each host species, including 118 new host records, 3 nematodes new for North America, and 1 new species. Multiple infections were present in 76.5% of birds parasitized; eight species of nematodes were found in one whistling swan (Olor columbianus).

Detection of an apple-infesting popoulation of Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) 1867 (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the state of Colorado, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) 1867 (Tephritidae), is an economically important pest of apples (Malus domesica Borkh.) (Rosaceae) throughout much of the United States. The fly is endemic to the eastern U.S., where its primary host plants are several species of native hawthorns (C...

Sources of bovine tuberculosis in the United States.

PubMed

Tsao, Kimberly; Robbe-Austerman, Suelee; Miller, Ryan S; Portacci, Katie; Grear, Daniel A; Webb, Colleen

2014-12-01

Despite control and eradication efforts, bovine tuberculosis continues to be identified at low levels among cattle in the United States. We evaluated possible external sources of infection by characterizing the genetic relatedness of bovine tuberculosis from a national database of reported infections, comparing strains circulating among US cattle with those of imported cattle, and farmed and wild cervids. Farmed cervids maintained a genetically distinct Mycobacterium bovis strain, and cattle occasionally became infected with this strain. In contrast, wild cervids acted as an epidemiologically distinct group, instead hosting many of the same strains found in cattle, and the data did not show a clear transmission direction. Cattle from Mexico hosted a higher overall richness of strains than US cattle, and many of those strains were found in both US and Mexican cattle. However, these two populations appeared to be well-mixed with respect to their M. bovis lineages, and higher resolution data is necessary to infer the direction of recent transmission. Overall patterns of both host and geographic distributions were highly variable among strains, suggesting that different sources or transmission mechanisms are contributing to maintaining different strains. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Studies on endoparasites of the black bear (Ursus americanus) in the southeastern United States.

PubMed

Crum, J M; Nettles, V F; Davidson, W R

1978-04-01

Examination of 53 black bears (Ursus americanus) from six states in the southeastern United States revealed at least 17 species of endoparasites, including Sarcocystis sp., Spirometra mansonoides (spargana), Macracanthorhynchus ingens, Ancylostoma caninum, Arthrocephalus lotoris, Baylisascaris transfuga, Capillaria aerophila, Capillaria putorii, Crenosoma sp., Cyathospirura sp., Dirofilaria immitis, Gnathostoma sp., Gongylonema pulchrum, microfilariae, Molineus barbatus, Physaloptera sp. and Strongyloides sp. Twelve of these represent new host records for black bear, and two are considered to be new species. Data are presented on prevalence, intensity and geographic distribution of each species. Pathologic effects were associated with infections of spargana of S. mansonoides and adults of C. aerophilia.

A survey of blood and other tissue parasites of leopard frogs Rana pipiens in the United States.

PubMed

Levine, N D; Nye, R R

1977-01-01

In a survey of blood and other tissue parasites from 137 leopard frogs, Rana pipiens complex, purchased from 13 commercial vendors in 8 states in the United States, Trypanosoma pipientis was found in 2 R. p. berlandieri, Toxoplasma ranae in 1 R. pipiens, Isospora lieberkuehni in 1 leopard frog, Haemogregarina magna in 44, Lankesterella minima in 3, Leptotheca ohlmacheri in 3 and microfilariae of Foleyella sp. in 6. The report of I. lieberkuehni is presumably a new host record. Haemogregarina temporariae (Nöller,, 1920) nov. comb. is established as a new combination for Nematopsis temporariae.

The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis Smith: New Distributional Records for the Mid- and Gulf-south USA

PubMed Central

Tripodi, Amber D.; Sampson, Blair J.

2015-01-01

Abstract Background Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, the giant resin bee, is an adventive species in the United States. First established in the United States during the early 1990s, records currently exist from most states east of the Mississippi River along with Iowa and Kansas. New information New distributional records are presented for Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, an introduced bee. Additional records presented here expand the known distribution southwest through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. An updated host plant list containing new records is also presented, expanding the number of known floral associations. PMID:26696766

Using quantitative disease dynamics as a tool for guiding response to avian influenza in poultry in the United States of America☆

PubMed Central

Pepin, K.M.; Spackman, E.; Brown, J.D.; Pabilonia, K.L.; Garber, L.P.; Weaver, J.T.; Kennedy, D.A.; Patyk, K.A.; Huyvaert, K.P.; Miller, R.S.; Franklin, A.B.; Pedersen, K.; Bogich, T.L.; Rohani, P.; Shriner, S.A.; Webb, C.T.; Riley, S.

2014-01-01

Wild birds are the primary source of genetic diversity for influenza A viruses that eventually emerge in poultry and humans. Much progress has been made in the descriptive ecology of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), but contributions are less evident from quantitative studies (e.g., those including disease dynamic models). Transmission between host species, individuals and flocks has not been measured with sufficient accuracy to allow robust quantitative evaluation of alternate control protocols. We focused on the United States of America (USA) as a case study for determining the state of our quantitative knowledge of potential AIV emergence processes from wild hosts to poultry. We identified priorities for quantitative research that would build on existing tools for responding to AIV in poultry and concluded that the following knowledge gaps can be addressed with current empirical data: (1) quantification of the spatio-temporal relationships between AIV prevalence in wild hosts and poultry populations, (2) understanding how the structure of different poultry sectors impacts within-flock transmission, (3) determining mechanisms and rates of between-farm spread, and (4) validating current policy-decision tools with data. The modeling studies we recommend will improve our mechanistic understanding of potential AIV transmission patterns in USA poultry, leading to improved measures of accuracy and reduced uncertainty when evaluating alternative control strategies. PMID:24462191

Comparison of natural and artificial odor lures for nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in South Texas: developing treatment for cattle fever tick eradication

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cattle fever ticks (CFT), vectors of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis, were eradicated from the United States by 1943, but are frequently reintroduced from neighboring border states of Mexico via stray cattle and wildlife hosts including white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (WTD) and nilgai ...

Phytophthora ramorum detection surveys for forests in the United States

Treesearch

S. W. Oak; W. D. Smith; B.M. Tkacz

2006-01-01

Diseases caused by Phytophthora ramorum in forest landscapes of North America are presently confined to areas of the Pacific coast in the states of CA and OR. However, the vulnerability of other ecosystems is suggested by the discovery in Europe and the U.K. of disease in hosts which are abundant in oak-dominated ecosystems of eastern North America;...

Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

markets in the United States, so the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico have become increasingly powerful and increasingly ruth- less in their...behind) is the most attractive market or host state for crimi- nals seeking lucrative criminal opportunities. These opportunities can stem from...dollars a year. An illicit economy means any economy that supplies commodities or services the production and marketing of which are either completely

Heterapoderopsis bicallosicollis (Coleoptera: Attelabidae): a potential biological control agent for Triadica sebifera.

PubMed

Wang, Yi; Ding, Jianqing; Wheeler, Gregory S; Purcell, Matthew F; Zhang, Guoan

2009-08-01

Native to China, Chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera L. Small (Euphorbiaceae), is an invasive plant in the southeastern United States. The leaf-rolling weevil, Heterapoderopsis bicallosicollis Voss, is a common herbivore attacking this plant in China. To evaluate its potential as a biological control agent of T. sebifera, biology and host specificity of this weevil were studied in China. H. bicallosicollis occurs over a wide, native, geographic range and its immatures successfully develop at 15-35 degrees C, indicating its physiological potential to establish and persist throughout the range of climatic conditions where the target plant grows in the United States. Adults make feeding holes on leaves. Before oviposition, the female makes a sealed leaf roll called a nidus and then lays one to two eggs inside. Eggs, larvae, and pupae develop within nidi, and larvae survive only when they develop inside the nidi. This requirement makes the weevil highly host specific to T. sebifera. In laboratory no-choice tests of 54 species from eight families, adults fed on only 3 plant species, T. sebifera, Sapium chihsinianum S. K. Lee, and Phyllanthus urinaria L. and only oviposited on T. sebifera. These results were confirmed where, in multiple-choice tests, adults only oviposited on T. sebifera. Given that T. sebifera is the only species in the genus Triadica in the United States, the results of this study suggest that H. bicallosicollis is a potential biological control agent of T. sebifera and should be considered to be imported into quarantine in the United States for further tests on native North American species.

Competency of reptiles and amphibians for eastern equine encephalitis virus.

PubMed

White, Gregory; Ottendorfer, Christy; Graham, Sean; Unnasch, Thomas R

2011-09-01

Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is endemic throughout most of the eastern United States. Although it is transmitted year round in Florida, transmission elsewhere is seasonal. The mechanism that enables EEEV to overwinter in seasonal foci remains obscure. In previous field studies, early season EEEV activity was detected in mosquito species that feed primarily upon ectothermic hosts, suggesting that reptiles and amphibians might represent overwintering reservoir hosts for EEEV. To determine if this might be possible, two commonly fed upon amphibian and reptile species were evaluated as hosts for the North American subtype I strain of EEEV. Neither amphibian species was a competent host. However, circulating viremias were detected in both reptile species examined. Hibernating infected garter snakes remained viremic after exiting hibernation. These data suggest that snakes may represent an overwintering host for North American EEEV.

Tick salivary acetylcholinesterase: A probable immunomodulator of host-parasite interactions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), is the most economically important ectoparasite affecting cattle in the world. Although eradicated from the United States, R. microplus and R. annulatus (Say) continue to threaten U.S. cattle producers despite maintenance of...

Host range specificity of Scymnus camptodromus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a predator of hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)

Treesearch

Samita Limbu; Katie Cassidy; Melody Keena; Patrick Tobin; Kelli Hoover

2015-01-01

Scymnus (Neopullus) camptodromus Yu and Liu (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was brought to the United States from China as a potential biological control agent for hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). Scymnus camptodromus phenology is...

Analyzing Resources of United States Marine Corps for Humanitarian Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-26

years in the petrochemical, semiconductor, paper and pulp products, and steel industries, focusing on enabling corporate strategy by using the supply... Disease monitoring in remote areas Accurate information from host nation Clear procedures from DOS Clear areas of responsibility Collaboration

Electrochemically driven host-guest interactions on patterned donor/acceptor self-assembled monolayers.

PubMed

Maglione, Maria Serena; Casado-Montenegro, Javier; Fritz, Eva-Corinna; Crivillers, Núria; Ravoo, Bart Jan; Rovira, Concepció; Mas-Torrent, Marta

2018-03-25

Here, on ITO//Au patterned substrates SAMs of ferrocene (Fc) on the Au regions and of anthraquinone (AQ) on the ITO areas are prepared, exhibiting three stable redox states. Furthermore, by selectively oxidizing or reducing the Fc or AQ units, respectively, the surface properties are locally modified. As a proof-of-concept, such a confinement of the properties is exploited to locally form host-guest complexes with β-cyclodextrin on specific surface regions depending on the applied voltage.

Wind for Schools: A National Data and Curricula Development Activity for Schools (Poster)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, I.

As the United States dramatically expands wind energy deployment, the industry is challenged with developing a skilled workforce and addressing public resistance. Wind Powering America?s Wind for Schools project addresses these issues by: 1) Developing Wind Application Centers (WACs) at universities; WAC students assist in implementing school wind turbines and participate in wind courses. 2) Installing small wind turbines at community 'host' schools. 3) Implementing teacher training with interactive curricula at each host school.

Wind for Schools: Fostering the Human Talent Supply Chain for a 20% Wind Energy Future (Poster)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, I.

2011-03-01

As the United States dramatically expands wind energy deployment, the industry is challenged with developing a skilled workforce and addressing public resistance. Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project addresses these issues by: 1) Developing Wind Application Centers (WACs) at universities; WAC students assist in implementing school wind turbines and participate in wind courses. 2) Installing small wind turbines at community "host" schools. 3) Implementing teacher training with interactive curricula at each host school.

Understanding How Climate Change Could Affect Tornadoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elsner, James; Guishard, Mark

2014-11-01

Current understanding of how tornadoes might change with global warming is limited. Incomplete data sets and the small-scale nature of tornadic events make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. A consensus report on the climate of extreme storms found little evidence of trends in tornado frequency in the United States. However new research suggests a potential climate change footprint on tornadoes. Some of this research was presented at the First International Summit on Tornadoes and Climate Change, hosted by Aegean Conferences. The summit took place at the Minoa Palace in Chania, Greece, from 25 to 30 May 2014. Thirty delegates from eight countries—Greece, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Israel, and Taiwan—participated.

Occurrence and characterization of Bean common mosaic virus strain NL1 in Iowa

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and the related Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) are widely distributed across the United States infecting primarily common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Eight characterized pathotypes have been distinguished on host differential cultivars. To further characteri...

HOST DEFENSE AND IMMUNOTOXICOLOGY OF THE LUNG

EPA Science Inventory

Respiratory allergies and infections are the most common form of illness in the United States and Europe and account for more missed school and work days than any other disease [1]. A substantial body of experimental work has clearly shown that airborne toxicants such as tobacco...

Overview of the Girls' Education Activity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brush, Lorelei; Heyman, Cory; Provasnik, Stephen; Fanning, Marina; Lent, Drew; De Wilde, Johan; Leal, Angela; Saher, Najat Yamouri; Robles, Ana Maria; Mendoza, Johanna

In 1996, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began the Girls' Education Activity (GEA). GEA's goal has been to assist host country governments and private sector and nongovernmental entities in formulating, institutionalizing, and implementing country initiatives for girls' education. These initiatives have been designed…

Envirofacts Data Warehouse

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Envirofacts Data Warehouse contains information from select EPA Environmental program office databases and provides access about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land anywhere in the United States. The Envirofacts Warehouse supports its own web enabled tools as well as a host of other EPA applications.

ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH EXPERIMENTAL CYCLOSPORA CAYETANENSIS INFECTION IN LABORATORY ANIMALS

EPA Science Inventory

Attempts were made to develop an animal model for Cyclospora cayetanensis to identify a practical laboratory host for studying human cyclosporiasis. Oocysts collected from stool of infected humans in the United States, Haiti, Guatemala, Peru and Nepal were held in potassium dich...

ATTEMPS TO ESTABLISH EXPERIMENTAL CYCLOSPORA CAYETANENSIS INFECTION IN LABORATORY ANIMALS

EPA Science Inventory

Attemps were made to develop an animal model for Cyclospora cayetanensis to identify a practical laboratory host for studing human cyclosporiasis. Oocysts collected from stool of infected humans in the United States, Haiti, Guatemala, Peru, and Nepal were held in potassium dichro...

Chemicals that disrupt host-seeking in insects

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed repellents and insecticides for the U.S. military since 1942. A small component of this research program has been aimed at the discovery of attractants that can be used to produce potent lures for haematophagous arthropods, especially ...

HOST GENE CELL RESEARCH FOR DETERMINING VIRULENCE OF AEROMONAS SPP. COLLECTED FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES

EPA Science Inventory

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is interested in assessing health risks associated with emerging or potential waterborne pathogens. To this end, the Agency has established a Candidate Contaminant List (CCL) that includes Aeromonas hydrophila an...

Peer-to-Peer Consultations: Ancillary Services Peer Exchange with India: Experience from South Africa, Europe & the United States (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

In support of national and subnational decision makers, the 21st Century Power Partnership regularly works with country partners to organize peer-to-peer consultations on critical issues. In March 2014, 21CPP collaborated with the Regulatory Assistance Project - India to host two peer-to-peer exchanges among experts from India, South Africa, Europe, and the United States to discuss the provision of ancillary services, particularly in the context of added variability and uncertainty from renewable energy. This factsheet provides a high level summary of the peer-to-peer consultation.

The One-Year Crew returns on This Week @NASA – March 4, 2016

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-04

After spending nearly a year aboard the International Space Station -- conducting a host of biomedical and psychological research on the impacts of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, NASA’s Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos wrapped up their historic mission on March 1 – with a safe parachute landing in Kazakhstan . Just over a day, later – at Houston’s Ellington Field, near Johnson Space Center, a host of family, colleagues and VIPs welcomed Kelly back to the United States, including Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Dr. John P. Holdren, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. There were cheers, embraces and expressions of appreciation for his efforts to help advance deep space exploration and America’s Journey to Mars. Also, Next ISS crew heads to launch site, “Low boom” aircraft, Orion Service Module’s solar array wing deployment and more!

The geologic relationships of industrial mineral deposits and asbestos in the western united states

USGS Publications Warehouse

VanGosen, B.S.

2009-01-01

In recent years, U.S. regulatory agencies have placed emphasis on identifying and regulating asbestos dust exposures in the mining environment, with a particular focus upon industrial mineral deposits in which asbestos occurs as an accessory mineral. Because asbestos minerals form in specific geologic environments, only certain predictable types of industrial mineral deposits can potentially host asbestos mineralization. By applying a basic knowledge of asbestos geology, the costly and time consuming efforts of asbestos monitoring and analyses can be directed towards those mineral deposit types most likely to contain asbestos mineralogy, while saving efforts on the mineral deposits that are unlikely to contain asbestos. While the vast majority of industrial mineral deposits in the Western United States are asbestos-free, there are several types that can, in some instances, host asbestos mineralization, or be closely associated with it. These industrial mineral deposits include a few types of aggregate, dimension, and decorative stone, and some deposits of chromite-nickel, magnesite, nepheline syenite, olivine, rare earth elements, talc, vermiculite, and wollastonite.

Implications of Bt traits on mycotoxin contamination in maize: Overview and recent experimental results in southern United States.

PubMed

Abbas, Hamed K; Zablotowicz, Robert M; Weaver, Mark A; Shier, W Thomas; Bruns, H Arnold; Bellaloui, Nacer; Accinelli, Cesare; Abel, Craig A

2013-12-04

Mycotoxin contamination levels in maize kernels are controlled by a complex set of factors including insect pressure, fungal inoculum potential, and environmental conditions that are difficult to predict. Methods are becoming available to control mycotoxin-producing fungi in preharvest crops, including Bt expression, biocontrol, and host plant resistance. Initial reports in the United States and other countries have associated Bt expression with reduced fumonisin, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone contamination and, to a lesser extent, reduced aflatoxin contamination in harvested maize kernels. However, subsequent field results have been inconsistent, confirming that fumonisin contamination can be reduced by Bt expression, but the effect on aflatoxin is, at present, inconclusive. New maize hybrids have been introduced with increased spectra of insect control and higher levels of Bt expression that may provide important tools for mycotoxin reduction and increased yield due to reduced insect feeding, particularly if used together with biocontrol and host plant resistance.

Supervision and autonomy of ophthalmology residents in the outpatient Clinic in the United States: a survey of ACGME-accredited programs.

PubMed

Singman, Eric L; Srikumaran, Divya; Green, Laura; Tian, Jing; McDonnell, Peter

2017-06-26

The development and demonstration of incremental trainee autonomy is required by the ACGME. However, there is scant published research concerning autonomy of ophthalmology residents in the outpatient clinic setting. This study explored the landscape of resident ophthalmology outpatient clinics in the United States. A link to an online survey using the QualtricsTM platform was emailed to the program directors of all 115 ACGME-accredited ophthalmology programs in the United States. Survey questions explored whether resident training programs hosted a continuity clinic where residents would see their own patients, and if so, the degree of faculty supervision provided therein. Metrics such as size of the resident program, number of faculty and clinic setting were also recorded. Correlations between the degree of faculty supervision and other metrics were explored. The response rate was 94%; 69% of respondents indicated that their trainees hosted continuity clinics. Of those programs, 30% required a faculty member to see each patient treated by a resident, while 42% expected the faculty member to at least discuss (if not see) each patient. All programs expected some degree of faculty interaction based upon circumstances such as the level of training of the resident or complexity of the clinical situation. 67% of programs that tracked the contribution of the clinic to resident surgical caseloads reported that these clinics provided more than half of the resident surgical volumes. More ¾ of resident clinics were located in urban settings. The degree of faculty supervision did not correlate to any of the other metrics evaluated. The majority of ophthalmology resident training programs in the United States host a continuity clinic located in an urban environment where residents follow their own patients. Furthermore, most of these clinics require supervising faculty to review both the patients seen and the medical documentation created by the resident encounters. The different degrees of faculty supervision outlined by this survey might provide a useful guide presuming they can be correlated with validated metrics of educational quality. Finally, this study could provide an adjunctive resource to current international efforts to standardize ophthalmic residency education.

Strategic removal of host trees in isolated, satellite infestations of emerald ash borer can reduce population growth

Treesearch

Samuel J. Fahrner; Mark Abrahamson; Robert C. Venette; Brian H. Aukema

2017-01-01

Emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle causing significant mortality of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America and western Russia. The invasive range has expanded to more than half of the states in the United States since the initial detection in Michigan, USA in 2002. Emerald ash borer is typically managed with a combination of techniques...

Using climate and genetic diversity data to prioritize conservation seed banking for imperiled hemlock species

Treesearch

J.M. Hastings; K.M. Potter; F.H. Koch; M.A. Megalos; R.M. Jetton

2017-01-01

Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae) is an invasive forest insect that has caused mortality of eastern (Tsuga canadensis) and Carolina hemlock (T. caroliniana) at an alarming rate. Now infesting 19 states and over 400 counties of the eastern United States, HWA poses a significant threat to native host species. The current biological and chemical methods for...

Integrating environmental equity, energy and sustainability: A spatial-temporal study of electric power generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Touche, George Earl

The theoretical scope of this dissertation encompasses the ecological factors of equity and energy. Literature important to environmental justice and sustainability are reviewed, and a general integration of global concepts is delineated. The conceptual framework includes ecological integrity, quality human development, intra- and inter-generational equity and risk originating from human economic activity and modern energy production. The empirical focus of this study concentrates on environmental equity and electric power generation within the United States. Several designs are employed while using paired t-tests, independent t-tests, zero-order correlation coefficients and regression coefficients to test seven sets of hypotheses. Examinations are conducted at the census tract level within Texas and at the state level across the United States. At the community level within Texas, communities that host coal or natural gas utility power plants and corresponding comparison communities that do not host such power plants are tested for compositional differences. Comparisons are made both before and after the power plants began operating for purposes of assessing outcomes of the siting process and impacts of the power plants. Relationships between the compositions of the hosting communities and the risks and benefits originating from the observed power plants are also examined. At the statewide level across the United States, relationships between statewide composition variables and risks and benefits originating from statewide electric power generation are examined. Findings indicate the existence of some limited environmental inequities, but they do not indicate disparities that confirm the general thesis of environmental racism put forth by environmental justice advocates. Although environmental justice strategies that would utilize Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the disparate impact standard do not appear to be applicable, some findings suggest potential inequities in institutional practices involving environmental compliance, monitoring and enforcement that are hardly justifiable within the context of market dynamics.

No Observed Effect of Landscape Fragmentation on Pathogen Infection Prevalence in Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in the Northeastern United States.

PubMed

Zolnik, Christine P; Falco, Richard C; Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis; Daniels, Thomas J

2015-01-01

Pathogen prevalence within blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis Say, 1821) tends to vary across sites and geographic regions, but the underlying causes of this variation are not well understood. Efforts to understand the ecology of Lyme disease have led to the proposition that sites with higher host diversity will result in lower disease risk due to an increase in the abundance of inefficient reservoir species relative to the abundance of species that are highly competent reservoirs. Although the Lyme disease transmission cycle is often cited as a model for this "dilution effect hypothesis", little empirical evidence exists to support that claim. Here we tested the dilution effect hypothesis for two pathogens transmitted by the blacklegged tick along an urban-to-rural gradient in the northeastern United States using landscape fragmentation as a proxy for host biodiversity. Percent impervious surface and habitat fragment size around each site were determined to assess the effect of landscape fragmentation on nymphal blacklegged tick infection with Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Our results do not support the dilution effect hypothesis for either pathogen and are in agreement with the few studies to date that have tested this idea using either a landscape proxy or direct measures of host biodiversity.

Biology and preliminary host range assessment of two potential kudzu biological control agents

Treesearch

Matthew J. Fyre; Judith Hough-Goldstein; Jiang-Hua Sun

2007-01-01

Two insect species from China, Gonioctena tredecimmaclliata (Jacoby) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and Ornatalcides (Mesalcidodes) trifidus (Pascoe) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), were studied in quarantine in the United States as potential biological control agents for kudzu, Pueraria nwntana variety Zobata (Willd.) Maesen and S. Almeida...

Hemlock woolly adelgid and its hemlock hosts: A global perspective

Treesearch

Nathan P. Havill; Michael E. Montgomery; Melody. Keena

2011-01-01

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hempitera: Adelgidae), threatens the health and sustainability of the native eastern North American hemlocks, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere and T. caroliniana Engelman. The lineage of HWA that was introduced to the eastern United States came from Japan...

Bipolaris drechsleri Manamgoda & A.M. Minnis, sp. nov

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The host Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus, common name Japanese stilt grass, is an annual grass in the Poaceae, subfamily Panicoidiae, tribe Andropogonae. Currently M. vimineum is one of a serious non-native invasive species in the eastern United States. The fungal genus Bipolaris includes a n...

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) migration pathways in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) or fall armyworm is an important agricultural pest of a number of crops in the western hemisphere. Two morphologically identical host strains of fall armyworm exist, the rice-strain and corn-strain, with the latter inflicting substantial ec...

The United States of Europe: Realistic Vision or Pipedream?

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-13

common religious and political institutions with a host Council, an embryo of the European Council today, which resolved the differences between cities...itself but is an instrument of juridical independence, determining the option of a people who inhabit a particular territory deciding its own destiny

Analysis and Modeling of Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Air Force Military Personnel

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

go to Annette R. Robb, the Director of the International Student Office at AFIT, and to my host family in the United States. I should not forget...and units as well as X-ray departments, rehabilitation and 57 physiotherapy services. (WHO, 2004: 48-49) Regrettably, the physical and emotional... Students /alcoholEffects/index.htm Wikipedia/Automobile Safety, 18 August 2008. 19 August 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_safety

Large-Scale Intersubspecific Recombination in the Plant-Pathogenic Bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Is Associated with the Host Shift to Mulberry

PubMed Central

Schuenzel, Erin L.; Scally, Mark; Bromley, Robin E.; Stouthamer, Richard

2014-01-01

Homologous recombination plays an important role in the structuring of genetic variation of many bacteria; however, its importance in adaptive evolution is not well established. We investigated the association of intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) with the shift to a novel host (mulberry) by the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Mulberry leaf scorch was identified about 25 years ago in native red mulberry in the eastern United States and has spread to introduced white mulberry in California. Comparing a sequence of 8 genes (4,706 bp) from 21 mulberry-type isolates to published data (352 isolates representing all subspecies), we confirmed previous indications that the mulberry isolates define a group distinct from the 4 subspecies, and we propose naming the taxon X. fastidiosa subsp. morus. The ancestry of its gene sequences was mixed, with 4 derived from X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (introduced from Central America), 3 from X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex (considered native to the United States), and 1 chimeric, demonstrating that this group originated by large-scale IHR. The very low within-type genetic variation (0.08% site polymorphism), plus the apparent inability of native X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex to infect mulberry, suggests that this host shift was achieved after strong selection acted on genetic variants created by IHR. Sequence data indicate that a single ancestral IHR event gave rise not only to X. fastidiosa subsp. morus but also to the X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex recombinant group which infects several hosts but is the only type naturally infecting blueberry, thus implicating this IHR in the invasion of at least two novel native hosts, mulberry and blueberry. PMID:24610840

Large-scale intersubspecific recombination in the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is associated with the host shift to mulberry.

PubMed

Nunney, Leonard; Schuenzel, Erin L; Scally, Mark; Bromley, Robin E; Stouthamer, Richard

2014-05-01

Homologous recombination plays an important role in the structuring of genetic variation of many bacteria; however, its importance in adaptive evolution is not well established. We investigated the association of intersubspecific homologous recombination (IHR) with the shift to a novel host (mulberry) by the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Mulberry leaf scorch was identified about 25 years ago in native red mulberry in the eastern United States and has spread to introduced white mulberry in California. Comparing a sequence of 8 genes (4,706 bp) from 21 mulberry-type isolates to published data (352 isolates representing all subspecies), we confirmed previous indications that the mulberry isolates define a group distinct from the 4 subspecies, and we propose naming the taxon X. fastidiosa subsp. morus. The ancestry of its gene sequences was mixed, with 4 derived from X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (introduced from Central America), 3 from X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex (considered native to the United States), and 1 chimeric, demonstrating that this group originated by large-scale IHR. The very low within-type genetic variation (0.08% site polymorphism), plus the apparent inability of native X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex to infect mulberry, suggests that this host shift was achieved after strong selection acted on genetic variants created by IHR. Sequence data indicate that a single ancestral IHR event gave rise not only to X. fastidiosa subsp. morus but also to the X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex recombinant group which infects several hosts but is the only type naturally infecting blueberry, thus implicating this IHR in the invasion of at least two novel native hosts, mulberry and blueberry.

Using quantitative disease dynamics as a tool for guiding response to avian influenza in poultry in the United States of America.

PubMed

Pepin, K M; Spackman, E; Brown, J D; Pabilonia, K L; Garber, L P; Weaver, J T; Kennedy, D A; Patyk, K A; Huyvaert, K P; Miller, R S; Franklin, A B; Pedersen, K; Bogich, T L; Rohani, P; Shriner, S A; Webb, C T; Riley, S

2014-03-01

Wild birds are the primary source of genetic diversity for influenza A viruses that eventually emerge in poultry and humans. Much progress has been made in the descriptive ecology of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), but contributions are less evident from quantitative studies (e.g., those including disease dynamic models). Transmission between host species, individuals and flocks has not been measured with sufficient accuracy to allow robust quantitative evaluation of alternate control protocols. We focused on the United States of America (USA) as a case study for determining the state of our quantitative knowledge of potential AIV emergence processes from wild hosts to poultry. We identified priorities for quantitative research that would build on existing tools for responding to AIV in poultry and concluded that the following knowledge gaps can be addressed with current empirical data: (1) quantification of the spatio-temporal relationships between AIV prevalence in wild hosts and poultry populations, (2) understanding how the structure of different poultry sectors impacts within-flock transmission, (3) determining mechanisms and rates of between-farm spread, and (4) validating current policy-decision tools with data. The modeling studies we recommend will improve our mechanistic understanding of potential AIV transmission patterns in USA poultry, leading to improved measures of accuracy and reduced uncertainty when evaluating alternative control strategies. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Co-infection does not predict disease signs in Gopherus tortoises

PubMed Central

Gov, Ryan; Sandmeier, Franziska C.; Snyder, Sarah J.; Tracy, C. Richard

2017-01-01

In disease ecology, the host immune system interacts with environmental conditions and pathogen properties to affect the impact of disease on the host. Within the host, pathogens may interact to facilitate or inhibit each other's growth, and pathogens interact with different hosts differently. We investigated co-infection of two Mycoplasma and the association of infection with clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease in four congeneric tortoise host species (Gopherus) in the United States to detect differences in infection risk and disease dynamics in these hosts. Mojave Desert tortoises had greater prevalence of Mycoplasma agassizii than Texas tortoises and gopher tortoises, while there were no differences in Mycoplasma testudineum prevalence among host species. In some host species, the presence of each pathogen influenced the infection intensity of the other; hence, these two mycoplasmas interact differently within different hosts, and our results may indicate facilitation of these bacteria. Neither infection nor co-infection was associated with clinical signs of disease, which tend to fluctuate across time. From M. agassizii DNA sequences, we detected no meaningful differentiation of haplotypes among hosts. Experimental inoculation studies and recurrent resampling of wild individuals could help to decipher the underlying mechanisms of disease dynamics in this system. PMID:29134096

Pathogen host switching in commercial trade with management recommendations.

PubMed

Picco, Angela M; Karam, Abraham P; Collins, James P

2010-06-01

Global wildlife trade exacerbates the spread of nonindigenous species. Pathogens also move with hosts through trade and often are released into naïve populations with unpredictable outcomes. Amphibians are moved commercially for pets, food, bait, and biomedicine, and are an excellent model for studying how wildlife trade relates to pathogen pollution. Ranaviruses are amphibian pathogens associated with annual population die-offs; multiple strains of tiger salamander ranaviruses move through the bait trade in the western United States. Ranaviruses infect amphibians, reptiles, and fish and are of additional concern because they can switch hosts. Tiger salamanders are used as live bait for freshwater fishing and are a potential source for ranaviruses switching hosts from amphibians to fish. We experimentally injected largemouth bass with a bait trade tiger salamander ranavirus. Largemouth bass became infected but exhibited no signs of disease or mortality. Amphibian bait ranaviruses have the potential to switch hosts to infect fish, but fish may act as dead-end hosts or nonsymptomatic carriers, potentially spreading infection as a result of trade.

Seed-feeding beetles (Bruchinae, Curculionidae, Brentidae) from legumes (Dalea ornata, Astragalus filipes) and other forbs needed for restoring rangleands of the Intermountain West

Treesearch

James H. Cane; Clarence Johnson; Jesus Romero Napoles; Douglas A. Johnson; Robert Hammon

2013-01-01

Seed-feeding beetles of the genera Acanthoscelides, Apion, and occasionally Tychius were commonly found occurring in seeds from wild populations of Astragalus filipes and Dalea ornata across rangelands of the United States Intermountain West, resulting in many new state, county, and host records. These 2 legumes, as well as other perennial herbaceous species, are being...

Chinese Doctoral Student Socialization in the United States: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Wendan; Collins, Christopher S.

2014-01-01

Although international students annually contribute billions of dollars to the US economy, meaningful intercultural interaction between international students, peers, and faculty is often missing at US host campuses. Feelings of isolation, loneliness, and alienation are pervasive among international students at US campuses; these feelings can…

INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, GRADES 1-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BEERBAUM, ALFRED W.

THE PROGRAM OUTLINED IN THIS GUIDE WAS DEVELOPED FOR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS OF UNITED STATES DEPENDENTS SCHOOLS IN NATIONS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION. IT IS CONCERNED PARTICULARLY WITH THE STUDY OF THE CULTURE OF THE HOST NATION, GERMANY, ITS CORRELATION WITH OTHER SUBJECTS, AND ITS INTEGRATION INTO THE CURRICULUM. CHAPTERS IN PART…

Analysis of tarnished plant bug movement using carbon and nitrogen isotopes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is the primary pest of cotton across the Midsouth of the United States. Movement into cotton fields occurs during the summer from other host plants, both cultivated and wild. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) has been used in other studies to ...

Soil nutrients, bacterial communities, and veterinary pharmaceuticals in beef cattle backgrounding confinement on karst environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The United States hosts the world’s largest grain fed beef production. Commercial beef production in the US consists of three tiers that include: cow-calf enterprises, cattle backgrounding/stockering, and feedlot finishing. Beef cattle backgrounding/stockering represents an intermediate between the ...

Population Pressures Abroad and Immigration Pressures at Home.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Population Crisis Committee, Washington, DC.

This report discusses population trends abroad and their relation to immigration pressures and policies in the United States. The following sections are included: (1) "Two Major Waves of Immigration"; (2) "The U.S.--A Major Host Nation for Permanent Immigrants"; (3) "Changing Sources of Immigrants to the United…

USDOT Federal Railroad Administration's third research needs workshop on highway-rail grade crossing safety and trespass prevention : Volume 2 : appendices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

On July 14-16, 2009 the Volpe Center hosted the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) Federal Railroad Administrations (FRA) Third Research Needs Workshop on Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention (workshop). The ...

USDOT Federal Railroad Administration's third research needs workshop on highway-rail grade crossing safety and trespass prevention : Volume I - summary of results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

On July 14-16, 2009 the John A. Volpe National Transportation Center hosted the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Third Research Needs Workshop on Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety and Trespas...

Behavioral responses of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) to visual stimuli under laboratory, semifield, and field conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive pest in the United States that attacks soft-skinned ripening fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Little is known regarding specific cues D. suzukii utilizes to locate and select host fruit, and inconsistenc...

Climate-host mapping of Phytophthora ramorum, causal agent of sudden oak death

Treesearch

Glenn Fowler; Roger Magarey; Manuel Colunga

2006-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum infection was modeled using the NAPPFAST system for the conterminous United States. Parameters used to model P. ramorum infection were: leaf wetness, minimum temperature, optimum temperature and maximum temperature over a specified number of accumulated days. The model was used to create maps showing the...

Sugarcane aphid resistant sorghums found within USDA-ARS Lubbock, TX genotypes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, was discovered infesting grain sorghum in the southern United States in 2013 and has been a perennial pest through 2016. We evaluated 25 sorghum genotypes in a search for host plant resistance to this pest. Plants were started from seed (N = 16 replication...

Genetic characterization of reniform nematode resistance for Gossypium arboreum accession PI 417895

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) is an important root pathogen of cotton in the southeastern United States and management is hindered by the lack of host-plant resistance in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). The G. arboreum germplasm collection is an important source of resistance. Tra...

Host plant oviposition preference of Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera:Apionidae), a potential biological control agent of yellow starthistle

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera: Apionidae) is a weevil native to Europe and western Asia that is being evaluated as a prospective classical biological control agent of Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle) in the United States. Choice oviposition experiments were conducted under laboratory ...

Southern Pine Bark Beetle Guild

Treesearch

T. Evan Nebeker

2011-01-01

Dendroctonus frontalis (southern pine beetle), D. terebrans (black turpentine beetle), Ips avulsus (small southern pine engraver or four-spined engraver), I. grandicollis (five-spined engraver), and I. calligraphus (six-spined engraver) comprise the southern pine bark beetle guild. Often they are found sharing the same hosts in the Southeastern United States. They...

Prevention and Control of Injuries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuchfarber, Barbara S.; Zins, Joseph E.; Jason, Leonard A.

Childhood injury continues to be a major public health crisis in the United States, with a large percentage of injuries being preventable and controllable. This chapter provides information related to understanding child and youth injury. Studies have shown that injuries affect identifiable high-risk groups. Such host factors that put children at…

Overview of saltcedar biological control

Treesearch

C. Jack DeLoach; Lindsey R. Milbrath; Ray Carruthers; Allen E. Knutson; Fred Nibling; Debra Eberts; David C. Thompson; David J. Kazmer; Tom L. Dudley; Dan W. Bean; Jeff B. Knight

2006-01-01

Biological control has successfully controlled 10 exotic, invasive weeds of rangelands and natural ecosystems in the United States since 1945, and control of others is in progress. We initiated biological control of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in 1987, using host-specific insect herbivores that regulate saltcedar populations in the Old World. We did a...

Biology, Ecology, and Epidemiology of Heterobasidion annosum

Treesearch

William J. Otrosina; Fields W. Cobb Jr.

1989-01-01

Pertinent literature on the biological aspects of annosus root disease is reviewed. Key features of the life cycle of Heterobasidion annosum such as stump infection, stump colonization, host-parasite relations, and interactions of various physical and biological factors are discussed in relation to forest stands in the western United States. This...

Spruce beetle in the Rockies

Treesearch

J. M. Schmid; R. H. Frye

1977-01-01

This report summarizes the literature on the spruce beetle in the western United States, primarily in the Rocky Mountains. Information is presented on life history and behavior, host relationships, mortality agents and impacts of infestations. A section on suppression details the current status of chemicals, pheromones, trap trees and silvicultural treatments. The...

Demonstration using field collections that Argentina fall armyworm populations exhibit strain-specific host plant preferences

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm, is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of corn (maize), cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Studies in the United States, the Caribbean, and Brazil demonstrated the existence of two subpopulations ...

Sugarcane aphid resistance in sorghum and a host range

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The sugarcane aphid (SCA), Melanaphis sacchari, has been present in the United States primarily on sugarcane in Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana until 2013 where it was found on grain sorghum near Beaumont, Texas. Since 2013, the SCA has been rapidly spreading and overwintering. Depending on the plant...

The foliar chemistry dynamic in eastern hemlock and how it relates to the competitive mechanism between two invasive herbivores: Adelges tsugae and Fiorinia externa.

Treesearch

Mailea R. Miller-Pierce; Evan L. Preisser; Dave A. Orwig

2009-01-01

While invasive species themselves have been examined, little work has addressed the question of competition between two invasive specialists on a shared host. An example of this situation exists in the eastern United States, where...

Discovery of chemicals that mediate mosquito host-seeking behavior

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since 1942, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed repellents and insecticides for the U.S. military. A small thrust of this research program has been focused on discovery of attractants for use as lures in commercial traps designed to attract and capture arthropods of medi...

Some helminth parasites of the American bald eagle

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kocan, A.A.; Locke, L.N.

1974-01-01

Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) found dead or moribund in the United States and Canada and submitted to Patuxent Wildlife Research Center were examined for helminth parasites. Nine genera of helminths were reported which include new host records for Clinostomum complanatum, Neogogatea pandionis, Centrorhynchus sp., Serratospiculum amaculata, Capillaria contorta, and Habronema americanum.

Study Abroad by U.S. Students, 1994-95.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chronicle of Higher Education, 1996

1996-01-01

Data on United States students studying abroad in 1994-95 include information on geographic distribution by host region and country, noting enrollment change over the previous year, program characteristics, and student characteristics. The home institutions with the highest numbers of students studying abroad are listed by type (research,…

Assessing the Risk of Establishment of Rhagoletis cerasi (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the United States and Globally.

PubMed

Wakie, Tewodros T; Yee, Wee L; Neven, Lisa G

2018-05-28

The European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (L.) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a highly destructive pest of cherries (Prunus spp.) (Rosaceae) in Europe and Asia. In 2016, R. cerasi was detected in Ontario, Canada, and in 2017 in New York State, USA, the first records of this pest in North America. The initial detections in Canada caused concern for the major cherry-growing states of Michigan, Washington, Oregon, and California in the United States. Establishment of R. cerasi in the United States could restrict cherry exports to other markets and increase costs needed for fly control, but it is unknown if R. cerasi can establish in U.S. commercial cherry regions. Here, we used the CLIMEX ecological niche model to determine the risk of establishment of R. cerasi in the United States and globally. Within the United States under a no-irrigation scenario, R. cerasi would establish in the East and West Coasts; however, under an irrigation scenario, its distribution would expand to the major cherry-growing regions in the interior of central and eastern Washington and in California. Results also showed that if introduced, R. cerasi would likely establish in eastern China, Japan, the Koreas, Australia, New Zealand, South America, South Africa, Mexico, and Canada. Host plant (Prunus spp. and Lonicera spp. [Caprifoliaceae]) presence, although not included in models, would affect fly establishment. Our results stress the importance of surveying for R. cerasi to prevent its spread and establishment within the United States and other countries.

Feral Swine in the United States Have Been Exposed to both Avian and Swine Influenza A Viruses

PubMed Central

Martin, Brigitte E.; Sun, Hailiang; Carrel, Margaret; Cunningham, Fred L.; Baroch, John A.; Hanson-Dorr, Katie C.; Young, Sean G.; Schmit, Brandon; Nolting, Jacqueline M.; Yoon, Kyoung-Jin; Lutman, Mark W.; Pedersen, Kerri; Lager, Kelly; Bowman, Andrew S.; Slemons, Richard D.; Smith, David R.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Influenza A viruses (IAVs) in swine can cause sporadic infections and pandemic outbreaks among humans, but how avian IAV emerges in swine is still unclear. Unlike domestic swine, feral swine are free ranging and have many opportunities for IAV exposure through contacts with various habitats and animals, including migratory waterfowl, a natural reservoir for IAVs. During the period from 2010 to 2013, 8,239 serum samples were collected from feral swine across 35 U.S. states and tested against 45 contemporary antigenic variants of avian, swine, and human IAVs; of these, 406 (4.9%) samples were IAV antibody positive. Among 294 serum samples selected for antigenic characterization, 271 cross-reacted with ≥1 tested virus, whereas the other 23 did not cross-react with any tested virus. Of the 271 IAV-positive samples, 236 cross-reacted with swine IAVs, 1 with avian IAVs, and 16 with avian and swine IAVs, indicating that feral swine had been exposed to both swine and avian IAVs but predominantly to swine IAVs. Our findings suggest that feral swine could potentially be infected with both avian and swine IAVs, generating novel IAVs by hosting and reassorting IAVs from wild birds and domestic swine and facilitating adaptation of avian IAVs to other hosts, including humans, before their spillover. Continued surveillance to monitor the distribution and antigenic diversities of IAVs in feral swine is necessary to increase our understanding of the natural history of IAVs. IMPORTANCE There are more than 5 million feral swine distributed across at least 35 states in the United States. In contrast to domestic swine, feral swine are free ranging and have unique opportunities for contact with wildlife, livestock, and their habitats. Our serological results indicate that feral swine in the United States have been exposed to influenza A viruses (IAVs) consistent with those found in both domestic swine and wild birds, with the predominant infections consisting of swine-adapted IAVs. Our findings suggest that feral swine have been infected with IAVs at low levels and could serve as hosts for the generation of novel IAVs at the interface of feral swine, wild birds, domestic swine, and humans. PMID:28733290

The Cost of Distribution System Upgrades to Accommodate Increasing Penetrations of Distributed Photovoltaic Systems on Real Feeders in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horowitz, Kelsey A; Ding, Fei; Mather, Barry A

The increasing deployment of distributed photovoltaic systems (DPV) can impact operations at the distribution level and the transmission level of the electric grid. It is important to develop and implement forward-looking approaches for calculating distribution upgrade costs that can be used to inform system planning, market and tariff design, cost allocation, and other policymaking as penetration levels of DPV increase. Using a bottom-up approach that involves iterative hosting capacity analysis, this report calculates distribution upgrade costs as a function of DPV penetration on three real feeders - two in California and one in the Northeastern United States.

The United States Particle Accelerator School: Educating the Next Generation of Accelerator Scientists and Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barletta, William A.

2009-03-01

Only a handful of universities in the US offer any formal training in accelerator science. The United States Particle Accelerator School (USPAS) is National Graduate Educational Program that has developed a highly successful educational paradigm that, over the past twenty-years, has granted more university credit in accelerator/beam science and technology than any university in the world. Sessions are held twice annually, hosted by major US research universities that approve course credit, certify the USPAS faculty, and grant course credit. The USPAS paradigm is readily extensible to other rapidly developing, cross-disciplinary research areas such as high energy density physics.

The lyme disease pathogen has no effect on the survival of its rodent reservoir host.

PubMed

Voordouw, Maarten J; Lachish, Shelly; Dolan, Marc C

2015-01-01

Zoonotic pathogens that cause devastating morbidity and mortality in humans may be relatively harmless in their natural reservoir hosts. The tick-borne bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease in humans but few studies have investigated whether this pathogen reduces the fitness of its reservoir hosts under natural conditions. We analyzed four years of capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data on a population of white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, to test whether B. burgdorferi and its tick vector affect the survival of this important reservoir host. We used a multi-state CMR approach to model mouse survival and mouse infection rates as a function of a variety of ecologically relevant explanatory factors. We found no effect of B. burgdorferi infection or tick burden on the survival of P. leucopus. Our estimates of the probability of infection varied by an order of magnitude (0.051 to 0.535) and were consistent with our understanding of Lyme disease in the Northeastern United States. B. burgdorferi establishes a chronic avirulent infection in their rodent reservoir hosts because this pathogen depends on rodent mobility to achieve transmission to its sedentary tick vector. The estimates of B. burgdorferi infection risk will facilitate future theoretical studies on the epidemiology of Lyme disease.

Infectious Disease Proteome Biomarkers: Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bailey, Charles L.

Research for the DOE Infectious Disease Proteome Biomarkers focused on Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV). RVFV and VEEV are Category A and B pathogens respectively. Among the priority threats, RVFV and VEEV rank high in their potential for being weaponized and introduced to the United States, spreading quickly, and having a large health and economic impact. In addition, they both have live attenuated vaccine, which allows work to be performed at BSL-2. While the molecular biology of RVFV and VEEV are increasingly well-characterized, little is known about its host-pathogen interactions. Our research is aimedmore » at determining critical alterations in host signaling pathways to identify therapeutics targeted against the host.« less

76 FR 1339 - Pine Shoot Beetle; Additions to Quarantined Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-10

..., a pest of pine trees, into noninfested areas of the United States. DATES: Effective on January 10... managed and natural stands of pine and especially affects weak and dying trees. The beetle has been found... distorted growth in host trees. Large infestations of PSB typically kill most of the lateral shoots near the...

Population diversity of Puccinia graminis is sustained through sexual cycle on alternate hosts

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A high degree of virulence diversity has been maintained in the population of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) in northwestern United States. Although Berberis vulgaris is present in the region and Pgt has been isolated from aecial infections on B. vulgaris, the population is too diverse to be...

The Play's the Thing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bateman, Barbara

2005-01-01

The modern special education theater in the United States has hosted many plays, none with a larger or more diverse cast than the learning disabilities (LD) play. During the prologue, the children with LD were waiting in the wings, not yet identified as LD but there, nonetheless. With the advent of compulsory education in this country, awareness…

Rye residue levels affect suppression of the southern root-knot nematode in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the southeastern United States, rye (Secale cereale) is frequently planted as a winter cover crop in conservation tillage cotton. Although rye produces toxic benzoxazinoid compounds which may play a role in nematode suppression, it is also a host for the southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne i...

Nonhost status of mangosteen to Bactrocera dorsalis and Bactrocera carambolae (Diptera:Tephritidae) in Thailand

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Postharvest quarantine treatments (irradiation or vapor heat) are used to control fruit flies and other pests in mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L) exported to the United States and Japan from Thailand. No-choice tests were conducted in the laboratory to determine whether Thai mangosteen is a host f...

The Complexities of Engagement: Chinese Undergraduate Students Encountering U.S. Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yajing

2017-01-01

This dissertation investigates Chinese undergraduate student engagement at U.S. universities. Over the past decade, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States has increased dramatically, but scholars have yet to concentrate on these student experiences or on the dynamics of their interaction with host institutions. Dominant media…

Rift valley fever in the US: Commerce networks, climate, and susceptible vector and host populations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne hemorrhagic viral disease with substantial negative impacts on public and animal health in its endemic range of sub-Saharan Africa. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) could enter the United States and lead to widespread morbidity and mortality in humans, domes...

North American isolates of Fusarium graminearum produce a novel type A trichothecene

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a virulence factor of Fusarium graminearum on wheat and most likely on other host plants. A large scale survey of F. graminearum (sensu strictu) conducted in the northern United States revealed the existence of strains which - based on molecular markers - belong to the 3-acet...

Production of a new type A trichothecene by isolates of Fusarium graminearum

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Production of deoxynivalenol (DON) is a virulence factor of Fusarium graminearum on wheat and most likely on other host plants. A large survey of F. graminearum (sensu strictu) in the northern United States revealed the existence of strains which - based on molecular markers - belong to the 3-acetyl...

U.S. Northern Command > Newsroom > Press Releases

Science.gov Websites

Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation U.S. Northern Command Search Search USNORTHCOM: Search Search USNORTHCOM: Search U.S. Northern Command U.S. Northern Command Home Leadership , 2018 NORAD and USNORTHCOM to host change of command ceremony Nov. 30, 2017 United States, Mexico to

78 FR 19799 - National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Program Design Competition

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-02

... competition, which Challenge.gov is hosting, to select a common obverse design emblematic of the game of... Program Design Competition ACTION: Notification of the Opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Program Design Competition on April 11, 2013. SUMMARY: The United States Mint announces the...

76 FR 10874 - Notice of Public Meeting of the Committee on Administration and Management

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-28

... Notice of Public Meeting of the Committee on Administration and Management AGENCY: Administrative... Administrative Conference of the United States will host a public meeting of the Committee on Administration and... documents other than rules #0;or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings #0...

75 FR 63798 - Notice of Public Meeting of the Committee on Administration

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-18

... Notice of Public Meeting of the Committee on Administration AGENCY: Administrative Conference of the... Conference of the United States will host a public meeting of the Committee on Administration of the Assembly... documents other than rules #0;or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings #0...

Identification of host fruit volatiles from snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), attractive to Rhagoletis zephyria flies from Western United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gas chromatography coupled with electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) was used to identify volatiles from the fruit of Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus laevigatus, as key attractants for Rhagoletis zephyria flies reared from snowberry fruit. A nine-component blend containing 3-methylbutan-1-ol (3%), ...

Healthy Eating Is on the Menu

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curriculum Review, 2007

2007-01-01

This article features the website materials devoted to the latest federal guidelines, called MyPyramid at: www.mypyramid.gov, which is developed by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. While this site can be helpful to a host of health professionals, it also contains valuable information that may help K-6…

Inviting and Sponsoring Soviet Guests: A Handbook for American Hosts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Institute for Soviet-American Relations, Washington, DC.

The purpose of this handbook is to encourage exchange visits between citizens of the United States and the USSR. Person-to-person encounters remain the most effective means of bringing home the reality that people from diverse cultures do share similar needs, emotions, and aspirations. The information provided is intended for individuals and…

Saratoga Spittlebug

Treesearch

Louis F. Wilson

1978-01-01

The Saratoga spittlebug, Aphrophora saratogensis, so called because it was first collected in Saratoga County, N. Y., is a native insect that is destructive to several species of pine in Eastern North America. It occurs where ever its host grows, from Maine to Minnesota in the United States and in the southern portions of the adjacent Canadian Provinces. The adult of...

The Canadian Experience: Leading the Way

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pungente, John J.; Duncan, Barry; Anderse, Neil

2005-01-01

Media literacy educators from the United States regularly pay homage to their colleagues in Canada. Canadians have talked about, thought about, taught about, and written about media literacy for many years. Canada first hosted a World Conference in media literacy in Guelph, Ontario, in 1990, and all provinces in Canada now include media literacy…

The U.S. Supreme Court's Philadelphia Decade.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stivison, David V.

Before Washington, D.C. became the permanent home of the United States Supreme Court, first New York and then Philadelphia hosted its meetings. From 1791 to 1801 the Court met in Philadelphia. This paper reviews the highlights of the Court's cases during this formative decade. Among the most important developments in the Court's jurisprudence at…

Insertion site selection and feeding of the hemlock woolly adelgid: implications for host-plant resistance

Treesearch

K.L.F. Oten; A.C. Cohen; F.P. Hain

2012-01-01

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is an invasive forest pest that threatens the existence of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (T. caroliniana Engelm.) in the eastern United States. It is a small, aphid like insect with piercing-sucking...

Identifying Diverse Means for Assessing Physical Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perlman, Dana J.; Pearson, Phil

2012-01-01

Physical inactivity is of concern for the majority of age groups within the United States. Limited engagement in physical activity (PA) has been linked with an increased risk for a host of health problems, including but not limited to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Benefits of PA are widely documented and accepted yet many people, especially…

Host plants of the tranished plant bug, Lygus Lineolaris (Palisot De Beauvois)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is a highly polyphagous mirid that damages economically important plants across much of the new world including vegetables, fruits, nuts, nursery stock, and fiber. It is a primary pest of cotton across the mid-south of the United State...

Use of quantitative traits to assess aggressiveness of Phakopsora pachyrhizi isolates from Nigeria and the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean rust, caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is one of the most important foliar diseases of soybean worldwide. The soybean-P. pachyrhizi interaction is often complex because of the genetic variability in host and pathogen genotypes. In a compatible reaction, soybean genotypes produce tan colored ...

Developing host-plant resistance for hemipteran soybean pests: lessons from soybean aphid and stink bugs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean is one of the world’s leading agricultural crops with multiple uses, including human food, animal feed, edible oil, biofuel, industrial products, cosmetics, etc. In soybean production, United States is the leading country with 33% of world’s total production of 251.5 million Metric tons. How...

Seven Years of World-Wide Participation in International Observe the Moon Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, Sanlyn; Jones, Andrea J.; Bleacher, Lora; Wenger, Matthew; Shaner, Andrew; Joseph, Emily C. S.; Day, Brian; Canipe, Marti; InOMN Coordinating Committee

2016-10-01

International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. Everyone on Earth is invited to join the celebration by hosting or attending an InOMN event - and uniting on one day each year to look at and learn about the Moon together. This year marks the seventh year of InOMN, which will be held on October 8, 2016. Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 3,275 events were registered worldwide, 49% of which were held in the United States. In 2015, a total of 545 events were registered on the InOMN website from around the world. These events were scheduled to be held in 54 different countries, 43% of which were registered in the United States from 40 states and the District of Columbia. InOMN events are hosted by a variety of institutions including astronomy clubs, observatories, schools, and universities and hosted at a variety of public and private institutions all over the world including museums, planetaria, schools, universities, observatories, parks, and private businesses and private homes. Evaluation of InOMN is led by the Planetary Science Institute who assesses the success of InOMN through analysis of event registrations, facilitator surveys, and visitor survey. Current InOMN efforts demonstrate success in meeting the overall goals of the LRO E/PO goals including raising visitors' awareness of lunar science and exploration, providing audiences with information about lunar science and exploration along with access to LRO data and science results, and inspiring visitors to want to learn more about the Moon and providing connections to opportunities to do so. InOMN is sponsored by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Learn more at http://observethemoonnight.org/.

West Nile Virus Infection in the Central Nervous System

PubMed Central

Winkelmann, Evandro R.; Luo, Huanle; Wang, Tian

2016-01-01

West Nile virus (WNV), a neurotropic single-stranded flavivirus has been the leading cause of arboviral encephalitis worldwide.  Up to 50% of WNV convalescent patients in the United States were reported to have long-term neurological sequelae.  Neither antiviral drugs nor vaccines are available for humans.  Animal models have been used to investigate WNV pathogenesis and host immune response in humans.  In this review, we will discuss recent findings from studies in animal models of WNV infection, and provide new insights on WNV pathogenesis and WNV-induced host immunity in the central nervous system. PMID:26918172

Wind for Schools (Poster)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, I.

2010-05-01

As the United States dramatically expands wind energy deployment, the industry is challenged with developing a skilled workforce and addressing public resistance. Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project addresses these issues by developing Wind Application Centers (WACs) at universities; WAC students assist in implementing school wind turbines and participate in wind courses, by installing small wind turbines at community "host" schools, by implementing teacher training with interactive curricula at each host school. This poster provides an overview of the first two years of the Wind for Schools project, primarily supporting activities in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, andmore » Idaho.« less

Stabilization and control of Majorana bound states with elongated skyrmions

DOE PAGES

Güngördü, Utkan; Sandhoefner, Shane; Kovalev, Alexey A.

2018-03-16

We show that elongated magnetic skyrmions can host Majorana bound states in a proximity-coupled two-dimensional electron gas sandwiched between a chiral magnet and an s-wave superconductor. Our proposal requires stable skyrmions with unit topological charge, which can be realized in a wide range of multilayer magnets, and it allows quantum information transfer by using standard methods in spintronics via skyrmion motion. Finally, we also show how braiding operations can be realized in our proposal.

Can Shale Safely Host U.S. Nuclear Waste?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuzil, C. E.

2013-07-01

Even as cleanup efforts after Japan's Fukushima disaster offer a stark reminder of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored at nuclear plants worldwide, the decision in 2009 to scrap Yucca Mountain as a permanent disposal site has dimmed hope for a repository for SNF and other high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in the United States anytime soon. About 70,000 metric tons of SNF are now in pool or dry cask storage at 75 sites across the United States [Government Accountability Office, 2012], and uncertainty about its fate is hobbling future development of nuclear power, increasing costs for utilities, and creating a liability for American taxpayers [Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, 2012].

Evolutionary tools for phytosanitary risk analysis: phylogenetic signal as a predictor of host range of plant pests and pathogens

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Gregory S; Magarey, Roger; Suiter, Karl; Webb, Campbell O

2012-01-01

Assessing risk from a novel pest or pathogen requires knowing which local plant species are susceptible. Empirical data on the local host range of novel pests are usually lacking, but we know that some pests are more likely to attack closely related plant species than species separated by greater evolutionary distance. We use the Global Pest and Disease Database, an internal database maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Plant Protection and Quarantine Division (USDA APHIS-PPQ), to evaluate the strength of the phylogenetic signal in host range for nine major groups of plant pests and pathogens. Eight of nine groups showed significant phylogenetic signal in host range. Additionally, pests and pathogens with more known hosts attacked a phylogenetically broader range of hosts. This suggests that easily obtained data – the number of known hosts and the phylogenetic distance between known hosts and other species of interest – can be used to predict which plant species are likely to be susceptible to a particular pest. This can facilitate rapid assessment of risk from novel pests and pathogens when empirical host range data are not yet available and guide efficient collection of empirical data for risk evaluation. PMID:23346231

Evolutionary tools for phytosanitary risk analysis: phylogenetic signal as a predictor of host range of plant pests and pathogens.

PubMed

Gilbert, Gregory S; Magarey, Roger; Suiter, Karl; Webb, Campbell O

2012-12-01

Assessing risk from a novel pest or pathogen requires knowing which local plant species are susceptible. Empirical data on the local host range of novel pests are usually lacking, but we know that some pests are more likely to attack closely related plant species than species separated by greater evolutionary distance. We use the Global Pest and Disease Database, an internal database maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine Division (USDA APHIS-PPQ), to evaluate the strength of the phylogenetic signal in host range for nine major groups of plant pests and pathogens. Eight of nine groups showed significant phylogenetic signal in host range. Additionally, pests and pathogens with more known hosts attacked a phylogenetically broader range of hosts. This suggests that easily obtained data - the number of known hosts and the phylogenetic distance between known hosts and other species of interest - can be used to predict which plant species are likely to be susceptible to a particular pest. This can facilitate rapid assessment of risk from novel pests and pathogens when empirical host range data are not yet available and guide efficient collection of empirical data for risk evaluation.

The Written Text and Human Dialogue: Pedagogical Responses to the Age of Hypertext Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrhart, Donna J.; Boyd, Charley

In June 1995, New York's Genesee Community College hosted "The Written Text and Human Dialogue," a 4-week faculty development seminar for 30 professors in the humanities and technical disciplines across the United States. The seminar sought to explore the history of human communication and writing, to expand participants' knowledge of writing…

Zebra Chip disease and potato biochemistry: Tuber physiological changes in response to ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ infection over time

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Zebra chip disease (ZC), putatively caused by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso), is of increasing concern to potato production in Mexico, the United States, and New Zealand. However, little is known about host tuber physiological changes that result in ZC symptom formation. This study exp...

7 CFR 330.210 - Packing materials and containers for plant pest movement; host materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.210... through the United States, or interstate, must be free of soil, except when the Deputy Administrator approves in the permit the movement of soil with the plant pest. Subject to this exception, only approved...

7 CFR 330.210 - Packing materials and containers for plant pest movement; host materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.210... through the United States, or interstate, must be free of soil, except when the Deputy Administrator approves in the permit the movement of soil with the plant pest. Subject to this exception, only approved...

7 CFR 330.210 - Packing materials and containers for plant pest movement; host materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.210... through the United States, or interstate, must be free of soil, except when the Deputy Administrator approves in the permit the movement of soil with the plant pest. Subject to this exception, only approved...

7 CFR 330.210 - Packing materials and containers for plant pest movement; host materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.210... through the United States, or interstate, must be free of soil, except when the Deputy Administrator approves in the permit the movement of soil with the plant pest. Subject to this exception, only approved...

7 CFR 330.210 - Packing materials and containers for plant pest movement; host materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.210... through the United States, or interstate, must be free of soil, except when the Deputy Administrator approves in the permit the movement of soil with the plant pest. Subject to this exception, only approved...

A Clean Energy Roadmap: Forging the Path Ahead

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2010

2010-01-01

In 2010, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation co-convened three cross-sector summits to develop recommendations for growing energy innovation in the United States. The first summit was held in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2010, in partnership with the White House. Gallup and the city of Omaha, Nebraska, hosted the second summit on June 16, 2010,…

Differential reactions of soybean isolines with combinations of aphid resistance genes Rag1, Rag2, and Rag3 to four soybean aphid biotypes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

With the discovery of the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) as a devastating insect pest of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the United States, host resistance was recognized as an important management option. However, the identification of soybean aphid isolates exhibiting strong virulenc...

What Is Special about Special Needs of Refugee Children?: Guidelines for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strekalova, Ekaterina; Hoot, James L.

2008-01-01

The past decade has seen a rapid growth of increasingly diverse immigrant populations in the United States--the most vulnerable among these are refugee children. Most immigrants enter a host country with a goal of improving their opportunities in life. They arrive after years of preparation, such as locating housing, securing jobs and support from…

The brown-headed cowbird and its riparian-dependent hosts in New Mexico

Treesearch

Sara H. Schweitzer; Deborah M. Finch; David M Leslie

1998-01-01

Numbers of brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater) are increasing in some regions of North America, while certain populations of long-distance, neotropical migratory songbirds (NTMs) are declining. In the Southwestern United States, several species of NTMs nest only in riparian habitats. The significant decline of two species of NTMs dependent upon riparian habitat,...

Relationships between PrPSc stability and incubation time for United States scrapie strains in a natural host system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), including scrapie in sheep (Ovis aries), are fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by the misfolding of the cellular prion protein (PrP**C) into a beta-rich conformer (PrP**Sc) that accumulates into higher-order structures in the brain and other ti...

Fir Engraver (FIDL)

Treesearch

George T. Ferrell

1986-01-01

The fir engraver, Scolytus ventralis LeConte, belongs to the family of insects called bark beetles, which live between the bark and wood of host trees. A wide-ranging, native beetle, the fir engraver attacks most species of fir in the Western United States. Epidemics can cause severe tree mortality. From 1977 to 1978, for example, the fir engraver killed an estimated 1...

Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky isolates from dairy cows and poultry demonstrate different evolutionary histories and host-specific polymorphisms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kentucky is commonly isolated from dairy cows and poultry in the United States. Although it is not among the most frequently isolated serovars from cases of human salmonellosis, its high prevalence in livestock and poultry indicate it is a potential public...

Diurnal patterns in flight activity and effects of light on host finding behavior of the Asian citrus psyllid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is an invasive pest of citrus in the United States. The psyllid feeds and reproduces primarily on new flush growth of citrus and other rutaceous plants. Because it vectors the bacterial causal agents of the deadly citrus green...

Anoplophora glabripennis within-tree distribution, seasonal development, and host suitability in China and Chicago

Treesearch

Robert A. Haack; Leah S. Bauer; Rui-Tong Gao; Joseph J. McCarthy; Deborah L. Miller; Toby R. Petrice; Therese M. Poland

2006-01-01

Established populations of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), were first reported in the United States in New York in 1996, Illinois in 1998, and New Jersey in 2002. A federal quarantine and an eradication program were implemented in 1997, involving tree surveys and removal of infested...

Effects of Phytophthora ramorum on volatile organic compound emissions of Rhododendron using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Phytophthora ramorum is an invasive and devastating plant pathogen that causes sudden oak death in coastal forests in the western United States and ramorum blight in nursery ornamentals and native plants in various landscapes. As a broad host-range quarantine pest that can be asymptomatic in some ho...

Differences in Computed Individual-Tree Volumes Caused by Differences in Field Measurements

Treesearch

James A. Westfall

2008-01-01

Individual-tree volumes are primarily predicted using volume equations that rely on measured tree attributes. In the northeastern United States, the Forest Inventory and Analysis program determines tree volume using dbh, bole height, proportion of cull, and species information. These measurements are subject to variability due to a host of factors. The sensitivity of...

75 FR 71137 - Vendor Outreach Workshop for Women Owned Small Businesses in the National Capitol Region of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-22

... Businesses in the National Capitol Region of the United States AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of the Interior is hosting a Vendor Outreach Workshop for women owned small businesses in the National...

First report of apple (Malus sylvestris) as a host of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

During a survey of Pennsylvania fruit tree orchards in 2013-2015, some apple trees were found to exhibit abnormally small fruits, clumps of small leaves, blind wood, or premature reddening and curling of leaves. DNA was extracted from symptomatic leaves collected from three apple trees, and the DN...

A field test for host discrimination and avoidance behavior for Rhagoletis pomonella flies in the western United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prezygotic isolation due to habitat choice is important to many models of speciation-with-gene-flow. Habitat choice is usually thought to occur through positive preferences of organisms for particular environments. However, avoidance of non-natal environments may also play a role in choice and have ...

Field host range of Apanteles opuntiarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Argentina, a potential biocontrol agent of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in North America

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) was successfully used for biological control of Opuntia spp. (Cactaceae) in Australia and South Africa, where no native cacti occur. Since 1989, this South American moth has been invading the southeastern United States, threatening the unique ca...

Bloodstream infection caused by nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in an immunocompromised host in the United States.

PubMed

Wojewoda, Christina M; Koval, Christine E; Wilson, Deborah A; Chakos, Mary H; Harrington, Susan M

2012-06-01

Corynebacterium species are well-known causes of catheter-related bloodstream infections. Toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae cause respiratory diphtheria. We report a bloodstream infection caused by a nontoxigenic strain of C. diphtheriae and discuss the epidemiology, possible sources of the infection, and the implications of rapid species identification of corynebacteria.

Bloodstream Infection Caused by Nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in an Immunocompromised Host in the United States

PubMed Central

Wojewoda, Christina M.; Koval, Christine E.; Wilson, Deborah A.; Chakos, Mary H.

2012-01-01

Corynebacterium species are well-known causes of catheter-related bloodstream infections. Toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae cause respiratory diphtheria. We report a bloodstream infection caused by a nontoxigenic strain of C. diphtheriae and discuss the epidemiology, possible sources of the infection, and the implications of rapid species identification of corynebacteria. PMID:22493337

Open Doors 1992/93: Report on International Educational Exchange.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zikopoulos, Marianthi, Ed.; And Others

This report presents findings, in narrative and tabular formats, of the 1992-93 annual survey of foreign students in the United States based on data from 2,783 accredited institutions of higher education. Part I examines foreign study worldwide focusing on countries of student origin and leading host nations. The eight chapters of Part II examine…

Morphology, diet, and temperature dependent host-free survival of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, is an important pest of cotton (Gossypium spp.) in South America, Mexico, and southernmost Texas in the United States. A key factor in the persistence of the boll weevil is its ability to survive the non-cotton season. Mechanisms facilitating this...

Silvicultural decisionmaking in an uncertain climate future: a workshop-based exploration of considerations, strategies, and approaches

Treesearch

Maria K. Janowiak; Christopher W. Swanston; Linda M. Nagel; Christopher R. Webster; Brian J. Palik; Mark J. Twery; John B. Bradford; Linda R. Parker; Andrea T. Hille; Sheela M. Johnson

2011-01-01

Land managers across the country face the immense challenge of developing and applying appropriate management strategies as forests respond to climate change. We hosted a workshop to explore silvicultural strategies for addressing the uncertainties surrounding climate change and forest response in the northeastern and north-central United States. Outcomes of this...

Forest soil response to fuel reduction treatments in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Treesearch

T. Adams Coates; Victor B. Shelburne; Thomas A. Waldrop; Bill R. Smith; Hoke S., Jr. Hill; Dean M. Simon

2010-01-01

The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study (FFS) was established to monitor the impacts of fuel reduction treatments (prescribed fire-only, mechanical fuel reduction-only, and a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel reduction) on a host of ecosystem properties at 13 sites across the United States. Treatment impacts were monitored on the Southern...

HOW to and Control Diplodia Shoot Blight, Collar Rot, and Canker of Conifers

Treesearch

Marguerita A. Palmer; Thomas H. Nicholls

1983-01-01

The fungus Diplodia pinea is worldwide in distribution and importance. In North America, Diplodia causes shoot blight and stem canker of conifers in plantations, windbreaks, and ornamental plantings. Most conifers are susceptible to infection, especially exotic species such as Austrian pine. In the north-central United States, the most common hosts are red, jack,...

No rest for the laurels: symbiotic invaders cause unprecedented damage to southern USA forests

Treesearch

M. A. Hughes; J. J. Riggins; F. H. Koch; A. I. Cognato; C. Anderson; J. P. Formby; T. J. Dreaden; R. C. Ploetz; J. A. Smith

2017-01-01

Laurel wilt is an extraordinarily destructive exotic tree disease in the southeastern United States that involves new-encounter hosts in the Lauraceae, an introduced vector (Xyleborus glabratus) and pathogen symbiont (Raffaelea lauricola). USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data were used to estimate that over 300 million trees of redbay (Persea borbonia...

National Proceedings: Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations-2008

Treesearch

R. K. Dumroese; L. E. Riley

2009-01-01

These proceedings are a compilation of 27 papers that were presented at the regional meetings of the forest and conservation nursery associations in the United States in 2008. The Western Forest and Conservation Nursery Association meeting was held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Missoula, Montana, on June 23 to 25. The meeting was hosted by the Montana Conservation...

Moving from status to trends: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2012

Treesearch

Randall S. Morin; Greg C. Liknes

2012-01-01

These proceedings report invited presentations and contributions to the 2012 biennial Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium, which was hosted by the Research and Development branch of the U.S. Forest Service. As the only comprehensive and continuous census of the forests in the United States, FIA provides strategic information needed to evaluate sustainability...

Response of Selected Woody Species to Inoculation with Phytophthora citricola and P. cactorum from European Beech Using Multiple Inoculation Methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Phytophthora citricola and P. cactorum are important cosmopolitan plant pathogens with wide host ranges. Both species have recently been identified as the cause of bleeding canker of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in the northeastern United States, but whether isolates from European beech had the...

National Proceedings: Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations-2007

Treesearch

Kas Dumroese; L. E. Riley

2008-01-01

These proceedings are a compilation of the papers that were presented at the regional meetings of the forest and conservation nursery associations in the United States and Canada in 2007. The Northeastern Forest and Conservation Nursery Association meeting was held July 16 to 19 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, NH. The meeting was hosted by the New...

Osmia species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the southeastern United States with modified facial hairs: taxonomy, host plants, and conservation status

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We describe females and males of Osmia (Melanosmia) calaminthae, new species, an apparent floral specialist on Calamintha ashei (Lamiaceae). Females of O. calaminthae have short, erect, simple facial hairs. The species is currently only known from sandy scrub at a number of sites in the southern La...

Evaluation of host-plant resistance of selected rice genotypes to the rice water weevil (Coleoptera:Curculionidae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most important economic insect pest of rice in the United States. Currently, management of RWW mainly depends upon the use of insecticides due to the lack of effective alternate management tactics. A three year field study was co...

Nonpeptidic mimics of host defense proteins as antimicrobial agents for E. coli O104:H4, campylobacter spp. and other foodborne pathogens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Foodborne illness is a serious public health problem. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial diarrheal illness in the United States, causing more disease than Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. combined. The CDC estima...

Detection of Phytophthora ramorum at retail nurseries in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Steven N. Jeffers; Jaesoon Hwang; Yeshi A. Wamishe; Steven W. Oak

2010-01-01

Many nursery plants are known to be hosts of Phytophthora ramorum or to be associated with this pathogen. These plants can be infected or merely infested by P. ramorum and with or without symptoms. The pathogen has been detected most frequently on container-grown nursery plants, and occasionally has been found in the container...

77 FR 59357 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List Spring...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-27

... bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature'' published in volume 40 of the Journal of Research... Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). The ITIS is hosted by the United States Geological Survey... potential sites) for the Spring Mountains acastus checkerspot butterfly in 1999. During the 1999 surveys...

Bridging Home and Host Country: Educational Predispositions of Chinese and Indian Recent Immigrant Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, June A.; Liu, Xiangyan

2015-01-01

This research focuses on the predispositions that recent Chinese and Indian immigrant families bring with them to the United States and how these are reinforced by the communities in which they locate. The findings draw from 144 interviews in California. Three themes dominate: positioning through schooling, transnational family, and extended…

Spatial modeling and inventories for prioritizing investment into oak-hickory restoration

Treesearch

Louis R. Iverson; Matthew P. Peters; Jarel L. Bartig; Joanne Rebbeck; Todd F. Hutchinson; Stephen N. Matthews; Susan Stout

2018-01-01

Oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) forests in the eastern United States provide a host of ecosystem services as their mast are prized by wildlife, the timber is a valued commodity, and they are generally more tolerant of extreme weather events under a changing climate. They are, however, undergoing a severe decline in...

Comparison of Rift Valley fever virus and MP-12 replication in domestic livestock and North American wildlife cell lines.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-transmitted pathogen that primarily affects livestock, but can also cause mild to fatal disease in humans. Currently, there is no approved vaccine for use in the United States if it were introduced. Domestic goats, sheep and cattle are susceptible hosts ...

Botanical compound p-anisaldehyde repels larval lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae), and halts reproduction by gravid adults

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), widely distributed across eastern, southeastern, and midwestern regions of the United States and south into Mexico, is an obligate blood feeder that attaches to three hosts during the larval, nymphal, and adult stages. White-tailed deer and wild turkey ...

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Lyme Disease Infected Ticks in the Texas-Mexico Border Region

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lyme disease (LD) is the most prevalent arthropod-borne infection in the United States, with 33,097 cases of LD reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2011. The disease is transmitted to a mammalian host by Ixodes ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Efforts to unde...

Effects of rodent community diversity and composition on prevalence of an endemic bacterial pathogen - Bartonella

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bai, Y.; Kosoy, M.Y.; Calisher, C.H.; Cully, J.F.; Collinge, S.K.

2009-01-01

By studying Bartonella prevalence in rodent communities from 23 geographic sites in the western United States and one site in northern Mexico, the present study focused on the effects of rodent community diversity (measured by richness and Shannon index) and composition on prevalence of Bartonella infections. The analysis showed negative correlations of Bartonella prevalence with rodent richness and Shannon index. Further, Bartonella prevalence varied among rodent genera/species. Three models were applied to explain the observations. (1) Within-species/genus transmission: Bartonella strains usually are host-specific and adding non-host species would decrease Bartonella prevalence in its principal host through reduction of host contact (encounter reduction); (2) Frequency-dependence: Adding hosts would decrease the proportion of all infected individuals in the community, resulting in a reduction in the number of contacts between susceptible and infected individuals that usually leads to transmission (transmission reduction); and (3) Dominant species effect: Dominant species, if not susceptible to Bartonellae, can constrain the abundance of susceptible hosts (susceptible host regulation). These mechanisms work in concert; and the level of Bartonella prevalence is an outcome of regulation of all of these mechanisms on the entire system.

Inferring the annual migration patterns of fall armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the United States from mitochondrial haplotypes

PubMed Central

Nagoshi, Rodney N; Meagher, Robert L; Hay-Roe, Mirian

2012-01-01

Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) or fall armyworm is an important agricultural pest of a number of crops in the western hemisphere. In the United States, infestations in corn acreages extend from the Mexican to the Canadian border. Because fall armyworm does not survive prolonged freezing, the infestations annually affecting most of North America are migrants from southern Texas and Florida, where winter temperatures are mild and host plants are available. A haplotype method was developed that can distinguish between these two geographically distant overwintering populations, with the potential to delineate the associated migratory pathways. Several years of collections from major corn-producing areas in the southern, central, and eastern United States were used to map the geographical distribution of the fall armyworm haplotypes. From these haplotype profiles, it was possible to develop the most detailed description yet of the annual northward movements of fall armyworm. The consistency of these results with past studies and the implications on our understanding of fall armyworm biology are discussed. A better understanding of fall armyworm populations and their movement is critical for the development of strategies to predict infestation levels and eventually control this pest in the United States. PMID:22957154

Evolving Distributed Generation Support Mechanisms: Case Studies from United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lowder, Travis; Zhou, Ella; Tian, Tian

This report expands on a previous National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) technical report (Lowder et al. 2015) that focused on the United States' unique approach to distributed generation photovoltaics (DGPV) support policies and business models. While the focus of that report was largely historical (i.e., detailing the policies and market developments that led to the growth of DGPV in the United States), this report looks forward, narrating recent changes to laws and regulations as well as the ongoing dialogues over how to incorporate distributed generation (DG) resources onto the electric grid. This report also broadens the scope of Lowder etmore » al. (2015) to include additional countries and technologies. DGPV and storage are the principal technologies under consideration (owing to market readiness and deployment volumes), but the report also contemplates any generation resource that is (1) on the customer side of the meter, (2) used to, at least partly, offset a host's energy consumption, and/or (3) potentially available to provide grid support (e.g., through peak shaving and load shifting, ancillary services, and other means).« less

Limited Spillover to Humans from West Nile Virus Viremic Birds in Atlanta, Georgia

PubMed Central

Mead, Daniel G.; Kitron, Uriel D.

2013-01-01

Abstract West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that impacts the health of its passerine bird hosts as well as incidentally infected humans in the United States. Intensive enzootic activity among the hosts and vectors does not always lead to human outbreaks, as is the situation throughout much of the southeastern United States. In Georgia, substantial yearly evidence of WNV in the mosquito vectors and avian hosts since 2001 has only led to 324 human cases. Although virus has been consistently isolated from mosquitoes trapped in Atlanta, GA, little is known about viral activity among the passerine hosts. A possible reason for the suppression of WNV spillover to humans is that viremic birds are absent from high human-use areas of the city. To test this hypothesis, multiseason, multihabitat, longitudinal WNV surveillance for active WNV viremia was conducted within the avian host community of urban Atlanta by collection of blood samples from wild passerine birds in five urban microhabitats. WNV was isolated from the serum of six blood samples collected from 630 (0.95%) wild passerine birds in Atlanta during 2010–2012, a proportion similar to that found in the Chicago, IL, area in 2005, when over 200 human cases were reported. Most of the viremic birds were Northern Cardinals, suggesting they may be of particular importance to the WNV transmission cycle in Georgia. Results indicated active WNV transmission in all microhabitats of urban Atlanta, except in the old-growth forest patches. The number of viremic birds was highest in Zoo Atlanta, where 3.5% of samples were viremic. Although not significant, these observations may suggest a possible transmission reduction effect of urban old-growth forests and a potential role in WNV amplification for Zoo Atlanta. Overall, spillover to humans remains a rare occurrence in urban Atlanta settings despite active WNV transmission in the avian population. PMID:24107200

The State of Alaska's early experience with institutionalization of health impact assessment.

PubMed

Anderson, Paul J; Yoder, Sarah; Fogels, Ed; Krieger, Gary; McLaughlin, Joseph

2013-01-01

Many nations routinely include health impact assessments (HIA) in public policy decisions. Institutionalization of HIA formally integrates health considerations into a governmental decision-making process. We describe an example of institutionalization in the United States through Alaska's early experience with institutionalization of HIA. HIA arose from a series of health conferences in the 1970s that affirmed the importance of "health for all." A number of key milestones eventually defined HIA as a unique field of impact assessment. There are several approaches to institutionalization, and one common approach in the United States is through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA formed the basis for the earliest HIAs in Alaska. Early HIAs in Alaska led to conferences, working groups, a state guidance document and the institutionalization of a HIA program within the Department of Health and Social Services in 2010. A medical epidemiologist staffs the program, which utilizes contractors to meet rising demand for HIA. The HIA program has sustainable funding from the state budget and from the state's natural resource permitting process. The HIA document is the main deliverable, but the program performs other tasks, including fieldwork and technical reviews. The HIA program works closely with a host of collaborative partners. Alaska's institutionalized HIA program benefits from sustainable funding that promotes continuous quality improvement and involves the program in the entire life cycle of a development project. The program structure adapts well to variations in workflow and supports a host of quality control activities. Currently, the program focuses on HIAs for natural resource development projects.

The Lome Conventions and Their Implications for the United States,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

treatment when international obligations and/or changed de facto circumstances so necessitate." 196 J. Moss LOME Study Chapter VI Not only does the host...uboul not be urterprete as nnprnruldn ths ,u u or poiacy of Department ct State ,𔃻l 12 110.C{ V I The preparation of this study has been a challenging...and rewarding experience. As with any study of this magnitude, one can’t do it alone. I would like to express very special appreciation to John

Emerging zoonoses in the southern United States: toxocariasis, bovine tuberculosis and southern tick-associated rash illness.

PubMed

Clinton, Rachel M; Carabin, Hélène; Little, Susan E

2010-09-01

The majority of emerging diseases in humans have been linked to zoonotic pathogens originating in domestic animals or wildlife. This is a public health concern because zoonotic infections affect several aspects of the society. The complex interactions among pathogen, host and environment also pose challenges in estimating the true burden of those infections. However, the recent development of new molecular diagnostic tools has allowed for better diagnosis of zoonotic infections. This review focuses on 3 emerging zoonoses, namely toxocariasis, bovine tuberculosis and southern tick-associated rash illness, and demonstrates that these infections may be more prevalent in the southern United States than previously recognized. This review places special emphasis on the recent epidemiologic trends, intra/interspecies transmission and clinical features of each of these zoonoses. In addition, treatment and prevention for each zoonotic pathogen are discussed. Clinicians working in the southern United States should be aware of the presence of those zoonotic infections.

Feral Swine in the United States Have Been Exposed to both Avian and Swine Influenza A Viruses.

PubMed

Martin, Brigitte E; Sun, Hailiang; Carrel, Margaret; Cunningham, Fred L; Baroch, John A; Hanson-Dorr, Katie C; Young, Sean G; Schmit, Brandon; Nolting, Jacqueline M; Yoon, Kyoung-Jin; Lutman, Mark W; Pedersen, Kerri; Lager, Kelly; Bowman, Andrew S; Slemons, Richard D; Smith, David R; DeLiberto, Thomas; Wan, Xiu-Feng

2017-10-01

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) in swine can cause sporadic infections and pandemic outbreaks among humans, but how avian IAV emerges in swine is still unclear. Unlike domestic swine, feral swine are free ranging and have many opportunities for IAV exposure through contacts with various habitats and animals, including migratory waterfowl, a natural reservoir for IAVs. During the period from 2010 to 2013, 8,239 serum samples were collected from feral swine across 35 U.S. states and tested against 45 contemporary antigenic variants of avian, swine, and human IAVs; of these, 406 (4.9%) samples were IAV antibody positive. Among 294 serum samples selected for antigenic characterization, 271 cross-reacted with ≥1 tested virus, whereas the other 23 did not cross-react with any tested virus. Of the 271 IAV-positive samples, 236 cross-reacted with swine IAVs, 1 with avian IAVs, and 16 with avian and swine IAVs, indicating that feral swine had been exposed to both swine and avian IAVs but predominantly to swine IAVs. Our findings suggest that feral swine could potentially be infected with both avian and swine IAVs, generating novel IAVs by hosting and reassorting IAVs from wild birds and domestic swine and facilitating adaptation of avian IAVs to other hosts, including humans, before their spillover. Continued surveillance to monitor the distribution and antigenic diversities of IAVs in feral swine is necessary to increase our understanding of the natural history of IAVs. IMPORTANCE There are more than 5 million feral swine distributed across at least 35 states in the United States. In contrast to domestic swine, feral swine are free ranging and have unique opportunities for contact with wildlife, livestock, and their habitats. Our serological results indicate that feral swine in the United States have been exposed to influenza A viruses (IAVs) consistent with those found in both domestic swine and wild birds, with the predominant infections consisting of swine-adapted IAVs. Our findings suggest that feral swine have been infected with IAVs at low levels and could serve as hosts for the generation of novel IAVs at the interface of feral swine, wild birds, domestic swine, and humans. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Host and parasite thermal ecology jointly determine the effect of climate warming on epidemic dynamics.

PubMed

Gehman, Alyssa-Lois M; Hall, Richard J; Byers, James E

2018-01-23

Host-parasite systems have intricately coupled life cycles, but each interactor can respond differently to changes in environmental variables like temperature. Although vital to predicting how parasitism will respond to climate change, thermal responses of both host and parasite in key traits affecting infection dynamics have rarely been quantified. Through temperature-controlled experiments on an ectothermic host-parasite system, we demonstrate an offset in the thermal optima for survival of infected and uninfected hosts and parasite production. We combine experimentally derived thermal performance curves with field data on seasonal host abundance and parasite prevalence to parameterize an epidemiological model and forecast the dynamical responses to plausible future climate-warming scenarios. In warming scenarios within the coastal southeastern United States, the model predicts sharp declines in parasite prevalence, with local parasite extinction occurring with as little as 2 °C warming. The northern portion of the parasite's current range could experience local increases in transmission, but assuming no thermal adaptation of the parasite, we find no evidence that the parasite will expand its range northward under warming. This work exemplifies that some host populations may experience reduced parasitism in a warming world and highlights the need to measure host and parasite thermal performance to predict infection responses to climate change.

The Occurrence of the Rat Lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, in Nonindigenous Snails in the Gulf of Mexico Region of the United States

PubMed Central

Qvarnstrom, Yvonne; Bishop, Henry S; da Silva, Alexandre J; Carter, Jacoby; White-Mclean, Jodi; Smith, Trevor

2013-01-01

Nonindigenous apple snails, Pomacea maculata (formerly Pomacea insularum), are currently spreading rapidly through the southeastern United States. This mollusk serves as an intermediate host of the rat lungworm parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which can cause eosinophilic meningitis in humans who consume infected mollusks. A PCR-based detection assay was used to test nonindigenous apple snails for the rat lungworm parasite in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. Only apple snails obtained from the New Orleans, Louisiana, area tested positive for the parasite. These results provide the first evidence that Angiostrongylus cantonensis does occur in nonindigenous apple snails in the southeastern United States. Additionally, Angiostrongylus cantonensis was identified in the terrestrial species Achatina fulica in Miami, Florida, indicating that rat lungworm is now established in Florida as well as Louisiana. Although the study suggests that the rat lungworm is not widespread in the Gulf States region, the infected snail population could still pose a risk to human health and facilitate the spread of the parasite to new areas. PMID:23901374

The occurrence of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, in nonindigenous snails in the Gulf of Mexico region of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Teem, John L.; Qvarnstrom, Yvonne; Bishop, Henry S.; da Silva, Alexandre J.; Carter, Jacoby; White-McLean, Jodi; Smith, Trevor

2013-01-01

Nonindigenous apple snails, Pomacea maculata (formerly Pomacea insularum), are currently spreading rapidly through the southeastern United States. This mollusk serves as an intermediate host of the rat lungworm parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which can cause eosinophilic meningitis in humans who consume infected mollusks. A PCR-based detection assay was used to test nonindigenous apple snails for the rat lungworm parasite in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida. Only apple snails obtained from the New Orleans, Louisiana, area tested positive for the parasite. These results provide the first evidence that Angiostrongylus cantonensis does occur in nonindigenous apple snails in the southeastern United States. Additionally, Angiostrongylus cantonensis was identified in the terrestrial species Achatina fulica in Miami, Florida, indicating that rat lungworm is now established in Florida as well as Louisiana. Although the study suggests that the rat lungworm is not widespread in the Gulf States region, the infected snail population could still pose a risk to human health and facilitate the spread of the parasite to new areas.

Low driving voltage simplified tandem organic light-emitting devices by using exciplex-forming hosts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Dong-Ying; Cui, Lin-Song; Zhang, Ying-Jie; Liao, Liang-Sheng; Aziz, Hany

2014-10-01

Tandem organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), i.e., OLEDs containing multiple electroluminescence (EL) units that are vertically stacked, are attracting significant interest because of their ability to realize high current efficiency and long operational lifetime. However, stacking multiple EL units in tandem OLEDs increases driving voltage and complicates fabrication process relative to their standard single unit counterparts. In this paper, we demonstrate low driving voltage tandem OLEDs via utilizing exciplex-forming hosts in the EL units instead of conventional host materials. The use of exciplex-forming hosts reduces the charge injection barriers and the trapping of charges on guest molecules, resulting in the lower driving voltage. The use of exciplex-forming hosts also allows using fewer layers, hence simpler EL configuration which is beneficial for reducing the fabrication complexity of tandem OLEDs.

Sediment-hosted gold deposits of the world: database and grade and tonnage models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berger, Vladimir I.; Mosier, Dan L.; Bliss, James D.; Moring, Barry C.

2014-01-01

All sediment-hosted gold deposits (as a single population) share one characteristic—they all have disseminated micron-sized invisible gold in sedimentary rocks. Sediment-hosted gold deposits are recognized in the Great Basin province of the western United States and in China along with a few recognized deposits in Indonesia, Iran, and Malaysia. Three new grade and tonnage models for sediment-hosted gold deposits are presented in this paper: (1) a general sediment-hosted gold type model, (2) a Carlin subtype model, and (3) a Chinese subtype model. These models are based on grade and tonnage data from a database compilation of 118 sediment-hosted gold deposits including a total of 123 global deposits. The new general grade and tonnage model for sediment-hosted gold deposits (n=118) has a median tonnage of 5.7 million metric tonnes (Mt) and a gold grade of 2.9 grams per tonne (g/t). This new grade and tonnage model is remarkable in that the estimated parameters of the resulting grade and tonnage distributions are comparable to the previous model of Mosier and others (1992). A notable change is in the reporting of silver in more than 10 percent of deposits; moreover, the previous model had not considered deposits in China. From this general grade and tonnage model, two significantly different subtypes of sediment-hosted gold deposits are differentiated: Carlin and Chinese. The Carlin subtype includes 88 deposits in the western United States, Indonesia, Iran, and Malaysia, with median tonnage and grade of 7.1 Mt and 2.0 g/t Au, respectively. The silver grade is 0.78 g/t Ag for the 10th percentile of deposits. The Chinese subtype represents 30 deposits in China, with a median tonnage of 3.9 Mt and medium grade of 4.6 g/t Au. Important differences are recognized in the mineralogy and alteration of the two sediment-hosted gold subtypes such as: increased sulfide minerals in the Chinese subtype and decalcification alteration dominant in the Carlin type. We therefore recommend using the appropriate grade and tonnage model presented in this study for mineral resource assessments depending on the geologic and mineralogical data available for a region. Tonnage and contained gold within the general sediment-hosted gold model are analyzed based on major geologic features such as tectonic setting and magmatic (dikes, sills, and stocks) or amagmatic environment. The results show a significant difference in tonnage and contained gold, with higher median values in deposits spatially associated with igneous rocks, regardless of structural style of the deposit. These results suggest that magmatic environments control mineralization intensity—an important consideration in the regional assessment of prospective areas for sediment-hosted gold deposits.

Multilocus sequence typing of Xylella fastidiosa causing Pierce's disease and oleander leaf scorch in the United States.

PubMed

Yuan, Xiaoli; Morano, Lisa; Bromley, Robin; Spring-Pearson, Senanu; Stouthamer, Richard; Nunney, Leonard

2010-06-01

Using a modified multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa based on the same seven housekeeping genes employed in a previously published MLST, we studied the genetic diversity of two subspecies, X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa and X. fastidiosa subsp. sandyi, which cause Pierce's disease and oleander leaf scorch, respectively. Typing of 85 U.S. isolates (plus one from northern Mexico) of X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa from 15 different plant hosts and 21 isolates of X. fastidiosa subsp. sandyi from 4 different hosts in California and Texas supported their subspecific status. Analysis using the MLST genes plus one cell-surface gene showed no significant genetic differentiation based on geography or host plant within either subspecies. Two cases of homologous recombination (with X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex, the third U.S. subspecies) were detected in X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa. Excluding recombination, MLST site polymorphism in X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (0.048%) and X. fastidiosa subsp. sandyi (0.000%) was substantially lower than in X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex (0.240%), consistent with the hypothesis that X. fastidiosa subspp. fastidiosa and sandyi were introduced into the United States (probably just prior to 1880 and 1980, respectively). Using whole-genome analysis, we showed that MLST is more effective at genetic discrimination at the specific and subspecific level than other typing methods applied to X. fastidiosa. Moreover, MLST is the only technique effective in detecting recombination.

Regional variation in immature Ixodes scapularis parasitism on North American songbirds: implications for transmission of the Lyme pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi.

PubMed

Brinkerhoff, R Jory; Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrine M; Streby, Henry M; Bent, Stephen J; Tsao, Kimberly; Diuk-Wasser, Maria A

2011-03-01

Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted among hosts by the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, a species that regularly parasitizes various vertebrate hosts, including birds, in its immature stages. Lyme disease risk in the United States is highest in the Northeast and in the upper Midwest where I. scapularis ticks are most abundant. Because birds might be important to the range expansion of I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi, we explored spatial variation in patterns of I. scapularis parasitism on songbirds, as well as B. burgdorferi infection in bird-derived I. scapularis larvae. We sampled birds at 23 sites in the eastern United States to describe seasonal patterns of I. scapularis occurrence on birds, and we screened a subset of I. scapularis larvae for presence of B. burgdorferi. Timing of immature I. scapularis occurrence on birds is consistent with regional variation in host-seeking activity with a generally earlier peak in larval parasitism on birds in the Midwest. Significantly more I. scapularis larvae occurred on birds that were contemporaneously parasitized by nymphs in the Midwest than the Northeast, and the proportion of birds that yielded B. burgdorferi-infected larvae was also higher in the Midwest. We conclude that regional variation in immature I. scapularis phenology results in different temporal patterns of parasitism on birds, potentially resulting in differential importance of birds to B. burgdorferi transmission dynamics among regions.

Centrally managed unified shared virtual address space

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilkes, John

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for managing a unified shared virtual address space. A host may execute system software and manage a plurality of nodes coupled to the host. The host may send work tasks to the nodes, and for each node, the host may externally manage the node's view of the system's virtual address space. Each node may have a central processing unit (CPU) style memory management unit (MMU) with an internal translation lookaside buffer (TLB). In one embodiment, the host may be coupled to a given node via an input/output memory management unit (IOMMU) interface, where the IOMMU frontendmore » interface shares the TLB with the given node's MMU. In another embodiment, the host may control the given node's view of virtual address space via memory-mapped control registers.« less

A new geographic and host record for infectious pancreatic necrosis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parisot, T.J.; Yasutake, W.T.; Bressler, V.

1963-01-01

The occurrence of infectious pancreatic necrosis in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) has been experimentally authenticated for the first time in the western United States. The cutthroat trout represents a new host. Brook trout fin tissue culture inoculated with bacteria-free filtrate from the diseased fish tissue showed marked degenerative changes after 24 hours. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), kokanee (O. nerka), and silver salmon (O. kisutch) were not susceptible to the virus when inoculated. Histologically, extensive pancreatic necrosis was observed in the original and experimental materials, but striated muscle hyalinization was detected only in the original material.

Newly discovered sediment rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits in the People's Republic of China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cunningham, Charles G.; Ashley, Roger P.; Chou, I. -Ming; Huang, Zushu; Chaoyuan, Wan; Li, Wenkang

1988-01-01

Five deposits discovered in Guizhou Province, Yata, Getang, Sanchahe, Ceyang, and Banqi are described for the first time in Western literature. The deposits have geologic features and geochemical signatures that are remarkably similar to those of sedimentary rock-hosted precious metal deposits in the United States. The sizes of the deposits are as yet undetermined, but they each contain significant reserves at average grades of 4 to 5 g of gold per metric ton. Exploration and drilling are in progress at all of the deposits, and other areas where the geologic setting and geochemical anomalies are similar are being tested.

Sequential energy and charge transfer processes in mixed host-guest complexes of subphthalocyanine, porphyrin and phthalocyanine chromophores.

PubMed

Menting, Roel; Ng, Dennis K P; Röder, Beate; Ermilov, Eugeny A

2012-11-14

Porphyrins, phthalocyanines and subphthalocyanines are three attractive classes of chromophores with intriguing properties making them suitable for the design of artificial photosynthetic systems. The assembly of these components by a supramolecular approach is of particular interest as it provides a facile means to build multi-chromophoric arrays with various architectures and tuneable photophysical properties. In this paper, we show the formation of mixed host-guest supramolecular complexes that consist of a β-cyclodextrin-conjugated subphthalocyanine, a tetrasulfonated porphyrin and a series of silicon(IV) phthalocyanines substituted axially with two β-cyclodextrins via different spacers. We found that the three components form supramolecular complexes held by host-guest interactions in aqueous solution. Upon excitation of the subphthalocyanine part of the complex, the excitation energy is delivered to the phthalocyanine unit via excitation energy transfer and the porphyrin chromophore acts as an energy transfer bridge enabling this process. It was shown that photo-induced charge transfer also takes place. A sequential electron transfer process from the porphyrin unit to the phthalocyanine moiety and subsequently from the subphthalocyanine moiety to the porphyrin unit takes place, and the probability of this process is controlled by the linker between β-cyclodextrin and phthalocyanine. The lifetime of the charge-separated state was found to be 1.7 ns by transient absorption spectroscopy.

Southern pine beetle regional outbreaks modeled on landscape, climate and infestation history

Treesearch

Adrian J. Duehl; Frank H. Koch; Fred P. Hain

2011-01-01

The southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis, SPB) is the major insect pest of pine species in the southeastern United States. It attains outbreak population levels sufficient to mass attack host pines across the landscape at scales ranging from a single forest stand to interstate epidemics. This county level analysis selected and examined the best climatic and...

KSC00pp1090

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-08-06

A crowd of police officers and their families attend opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla

KSC-00pp1090

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-08-06

A crowd of police officers and their families attend opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla

Leveraging Collection Structure in Information Retrieval with Applications to Search in Conversational Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elsas, Jonathan L.

2011-01-01

Social media collections are becoming increasingly important in the everyday life of Internet users. Recent statistics show that sites hosting social media and community-generated content account for five of the top ten most visited websites in the United States [4] are visited regularly by a broad cross-section of Internet users [61, 67, 115] and…

Traveling Exhibitions as Sites for Informal Learning: Assessing Different Strategies with Field Trips to Traveling Exhibitions at Non-Museum Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harker, Richard J. W.; Badger, James

2015-01-01

This study investigated the use of different pedagogical techniques to create an intellectually engaging experience for middle school students who visited a traveling exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at a non-museum host site: the University of North Georgia Dahlonega's Library and Technology Center. The findings of this…

National Proceedings: Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations-2005

Treesearch

L.E. Riley; R.K. Dumroese; T.D. Landis

2006-01-01

This proceedings is a compilation of 24 papers that were presented at the regional meetings of the forest and conservation nursery associations in the United States in 2005. The Western Forest and Conservation Nursery Association meeting was held at the Yarrow Resort Hotel and Conference Center in Park City, UT, on July 18 to 20. The meeting was hosted by the Utah...

Discovering drugs for the treatment of Ebola virus

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-08-04

Discovering drugs for the treatment of Ebola virus Sandra L. Bixler, Allen J. Duplantier and Sina Bavari Address United States Army Medical...with the recent West African outbreak resulting in over 11,000 deaths. This review provides a summary of the status of drug discovery and development...disease, including small molecules, immunotherapeutics, host factors, and clinical disease management options. Introduction Drug development for

Symposium of Hope: Recovery and Resiliency after the Sandy Hook Tragedy. Crisis Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zenere, Frank J.

2013-01-01

On February 27 and 28, 2013, The Symposium of Hope: Recovery and Resilience after the Sandy Hook Tragedy, was held in Danbury, Connecticut. The event was hosted by the United Way of Western Connecticut and Western Connecticut State University. Frank J. Zenere, school psychologist and crisis team member in the Division of Student Services of the…

Mapping sudden oak death risk nationally using host, climate, and pathways data

Treesearch

Frank H. Koch; William D. Smith

2008-01-01

In 2002, a team of United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service (USDA-FS) scientists developed a preliminary risk map to serve as the foundation for an efficient, cost effective sample design for the national sudden oak death detection survey. At the time, a need to initiate rapid detection in the face of limited information on Phytophthora ramorum...

Effects of host wood moisture on the life cycle development of the Asian longhorned beetle

Treesearch

Alexandra N. Whitney; Melody A. Keena

2011-01-01

The Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, is an alien invasive species recently introduced to the United States in larval form within solid wood packing material from China. Larvae develop within the xylem of apparently healthy trees. In the U.S., the species has been found infesting 21 species of hardwoods, across 12 genera, with maple...

Suitability of California bay laurel and other species as potential hosts for the non-native redbay ambrosia beetle and granulate ambrosia beetle

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff) is a non-native invasive forest pest and vector of the pathogen that causes laurel wilt, a deadly disease of trees in the family Lauraceae in the southeastern United States (U.S.). Concern exists that X. glabratus and its fungal symbiont cou...

Negotiating Power and Access to Second Language Resources: A Study on Short-Term Chinese MBA Students in America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shi, Xingsong

2011-01-01

By looking into a group of 13 Chinese master's in business administration students' study abroad experience in the United States, this study contends that being situated in the second language (L2) communicative context does not guarantee international students complete access to language and cultural resources in the host society. Due to limited…

13th Central Hardwoods Forest Conference

Treesearch

J.W. Van Sambeek; Jeffrey O. Dawson; Felix Jr Ponder; Edward F. Loewenstein; James S. Fralish

2003-01-01

This conference was the 13th in a series of biennial meetings that have been hosted by numerous universities and research stations of the USDA Forest Service in the Central Hardwood forest region in the eastern United States. The purpose of the Conference has remained the same since it's inception -- that is to provide a forum for the formal and informal exchange...

Closing the College Gap: A Roadmap to Postsecondary Readiness and Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balfanz, Robert; DePaoli, Jennifer L.; Ingram, Erin S.; Bridgeland, John M.; Fox, Joanna Hornig

2016-01-01

Throughout much of the 20th century, the United States led the world in educational attainment and, in turn, economic and social progress. But that advantage has been slipping in recent decades, prompting the president and a host of governors and philanthropic leaders to set goals for America to reclaim its place as the world leader in the…

Host resistance to emerald ash borer: development of novel ash hybrids

Treesearch

Jennifer L. Koch; David W. Carey; Richard Larson

2007-01-01

In contrast to the rapid destruction of ash trees in the United States by emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), outbreaks of EAB in Asia appear to be isolated responses to stress, such as drought, and do not devastate the ash population. This indicates that in Asia, ash trees may have a level of inherent resistance. This resistance...

Fine structure of selected mouthpart sensory organs of gypsy moth larvae

Treesearch

Vonnie D.C. Shields

2011-01-01

Gypsy moth larvae, Lymantria dispar (L.), are major pest defoliators in most of the United States and destroy millions of acres of trees annually. They are highly polyphagous and display a wide host plant preference, feeding on the foliage of hundreds of plants, such as oak, maple, and sweet gum. Lepidopteran larvae, such as the gypsy moth, depend...

Repelling invaders: Hawaiian foresters use ecology to counter invasive species

Treesearch

Jim Kling; Julie Featured: Denslow; Tracy Johnson; Susan Cordell

2008-01-01

The Hawaiian Islands are one of the United States' most treasured natural resources. Their natural beauty attracts legions of visitors every year, and they represent a unique set of ecosystems. Despite their limited geographic size, Hawai‘i hosts a remarkable range of habitats. On some islands, dry tropical forest, wet rain forest, and alpine ecosystems are found...

Effects of two commercial neem-based insecticides on lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae): deterrence, mortality, and reproduction

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), is a widely distributed three-host obligate blood-feeding parasite in the United States and Mexico. It mostly attaches to white-tailed deer, Odocoilus virginianus (Zimmerman) and wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo L., as well as a wide variety of other do...

National Proceedings: Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations-2003

Treesearch

Lee E. Riley; Kas Dumroese; Thomas D. Landis

2004-01-01

This proceedings is a compilation of 30 papers that were presented at the regional meetings of the Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations in the United States in 2003. The Western Forest and Conservation Nursery Association meeting was held at the Coeur d'Alene Inn in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, June 9 to 12. The meeting was hosted by the USDA Forest Service...

HIV/AIDS Education: The Role of the School Social Worker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweifach, Jay; LaPorte, Heidi Heft

2007-01-01

Estimates suggest that up to 25 percent of the 40,000 new cases of HIV that occur in the United States each year may involve individuals under the age of twenty-two. This calls into question whether preventive education does indeed accomplish its intended purpose. Although there has been a host of recent additions to the wealth of HIV/AIDS…

Effect of curtovirus species competitiveness in host plants on transmission and incidence of Beet severe curly top virus and Beet mild curly top virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Curly top disease, caused by viruses in the genus Curtovirus, causes significant economic losses for sugarbeet and other crops throughout the western United States. Recent studies demonstrated the two most abundant curtovirus species in the US are Beet severe curly top virus (BSCTV) and Beet mild c...

Assessing plague risk and presence through surveys of small mammal flea communities

Treesearch

M. M. Friggens; P. L. Ford; R. R. Parmenter; M. Boyden; K. Gage

2011-01-01

Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, remains a threat to human and wildlife populations in the Western United States (Gage and Kosoy 2005). Several rodent species have been implicated as important maintenance hosts in the U.S., including Peromyscus maniculatus and Dipodomys spp. Fleas are a critical component of plague foci (Gage and Kosoy 2005)....

Civil-Military Medicine: On Dangerous Ground

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

In these and other locations, there is the risk of random violence , violent crime, and political violence , in which the perpetrators associate the...Reconstruction Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. It was endorsed and generously hosted by the...United States Institute of Peace. About the Cover The cover art was designed by Eric Papayoanou. Disclaimer The opinions

Efficacy of single and dual gene cotton Gossypium hirsutum (L.) events on yellowstriped armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in South Texas and the Mississippi Delta

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The yellowstriped armyworm (YSAW), Spodoptera ornithogalli (Guenée), has a broad host range and can be an economic threat to cotton in southern growing regions of the United States by consuming leaves and damaging fruiting forms. Field grown cotton varieties containing the endotoxins from Bacillus t...

The geographic distribution of Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera:Tephritidae) in the western United States: Introduced species or native population?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a major pest of commercially grown domesticated apple (Malus domestica) in North America. The shift of the fly from its native host hawthorn (Crataegus mollis) to apple in the eastern U.S. is often cited as an example of inc...

Predation and parasitism by native and exotic natural enemies of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) eggs augmented with semiochemicals and differing host stimuli

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The brown marmorated stink bug, or Halyomorpha halys, is an invasive species in the United States, and causes severe agricultural damage to a variety of crops. Prior research with other stink bugs has shown that various stimuli, including the aggregation pheromone of a pest can be an important kairo...

Pushing boundaries: new directions in inventory techniques and applications: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2015

Treesearch

Sharon M. Stanton; Glenn A. Christensen

2016-01-01

These proceedings report invited presentations and contributions to the 2015 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium, which was hosted by the Research and Development branch of the U.S. Forest Service. As the only comprehensive and continuous census of the forests in the United States, FIA provides strategic information needed to evaluate sustainability of...

Influence of host resistance on the genetic structure of the white pine blister rust fungus in the western United States

Treesearch

B. A. Richardson; N. B. Klopfenstein; P. J. Zambino; G. I. McDonald; B. W. Geils; L. M. Carris

2008-01-01

Cronartium ribicola, the causal agent of white pine blister rust, has been devastating to five-needled white pines in North America since its introduction nearly a century ago. However, dynamic and complex interactions occur among C. ribicola, five-needled white pines, and the environment. To examine potential evolutionary...

Unravelling and managing fusiform rust disease: a model approach for coevolved forest tree pathosystems.

Treesearch

CD Nelson; TL Kubisiak; HV Amerson

2010-01-01

Fusiform rust disease remains the most destructive disease in pine plantations in the southern United States. Our ongoing research is designed to identify, map, and clone the interacting genes of the host and pathogen. Several resistance (R) genes have been identified and genetically mapped using informative pine families and single-spore isolate inoculations. In...

Identification of cotton fleahopper (Hemiptera: Miridae) host plants in central Texas and compendium of reported hosts in the United States.

PubMed

Esquivel, J F; Esquivel, S V

2009-06-01

The cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), is an early-season pest of developing cotton in Central Texas and other regions of the Cotton Belt. Cotton fleahopper populations develop on spring weed hosts and move to cotton as weed hosts senesce or if other weed hosts are not readily available. To identify weed hosts that were seasonably available for the cotton fleahopper in Central Texas, blooming weed species were sampled during early-season (17 March-31 May), mid-season (1 June-14 August), late-season (15 August-30 November), and overwintering (1 December-16 March) periods. The leading hosts for cotton fleahopper adults and nymphs were evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa T. Nuttall) and Mexican hat [Ratibida columnifera (T. Nuttall) E. Wooton and P. Standley], respectively, during the early season. During the mid-season, silver-leaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium A. Cavanilles) was consistently a host for fleahopper nymphs and adults. Woolly croton (Croton capitatus A. Michaux) was a leading host during the late season. Cotton fleahoppers were not collected during the overwintering period. Other suitable hosts were available before previously reported leading hosts became available. Eight previously unreported weed species were documented as temporary hosts. A compendium of reported hosts, which includes >160 plant species representing 35 families, for the cotton fleahopper is provided for future research addressing insect-host plant associations. Leading plant families were Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, and Onagraceae. Results presented here indicate a strong argument for assessing weed species diversity and abundance for the control of the cotton fleahopper in the Cotton Belt.

Models of Disease Vector Control: When Can Aggressive Initial Intervention Lower Long-Term Cost?

PubMed

Oduro, Bismark; Grijalva, Mario J; Just, Winfried

2018-04-01

Insecticide spraying of housing units is an important control measure for vector-borne infections such as Chagas disease. As vectors may invade both from other infested houses and sylvatic areas and as the effectiveness of insecticide wears off over time, the dynamics of (re)infestations can be approximated by [Formula: see text]-type models with a reservoir, where housing units are treated as hosts, and insecticide spraying corresponds to removal of hosts. Here, we investigate three ODE-based models of this type. We describe a dual-rate effect where an initially very high spraying rate can push the system into a region of the state space with low endemic levels of infestation that can be maintained in the long run at relatively moderate cost, while in the absence of an aggressive initial intervention the same average cost would only allow a much less significant reduction in long-term infestation levels. We determine some sufficient and some necessary conditions under which this effect occurs and show that it is robust in models that incorporate some heterogeneity in the relevant properties of housing units.

Solid solutions of gadolinium doped zinc oxide nanorods by combined microwave-ultrasonic irradiation assisted crystallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiani, Armin; Dastafkan, Kamran; Obeydavi, Ali; Rahimi, Mohammad

2017-12-01

Nanocrystalline solid solutions consisting of un-doped and gadolinium doped zinc oxide nanorods were fabricated by a modified sol-gel process utilizing combined ultrasonic-microwave irradiations. Polyvinylpyrrolidone, diethylene glycol, and triethylenetetramine respectively as capping, structure directing, and complexing agents were used under ultrasound dynamic aging and microwave heating to obtain crystalline nanorods. Crystalline phase monitoring, lattice parameters and variation, morphology and shape, elemental analysis, functional groups, reducibility, and the oxidation state of emerged species were examined by PXRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, micro Raman, H2-TPR, and EPR techniques. Results have verified that irradiation mechanism of gelation and crystallization reduces the reaction time, augments the crystal quality, and formation of hexagonal close pack structure of Wurtzite morphology. Besides, dissolution of gadolinium within host lattice involves lattice deformation, unit cell distortion, and angular position variation. Structure related shape and growth along with compositional purity were observed through microscopic and spectroscopic surveys. Furthermore, TPR and EPR studies elucidated more detailed behavior upon exposure to the exerted irradiations and subsequent air-annealing including the formed oxidation states and electron trapping centers, presence of gadolinium, zinc, and oxygen disarrays and defects, as well as alteration in the host unit cell via gadolinium addition.

Prevention and control of rabies in an age of global travel: a review of travel- and trade-associated rabies events--United States, 1986-2012.

PubMed

Lankau, E W; Cohen, N J; Jentes, E S; Adams, L E; Bell, T R; Blanton, J D; Buttke, D; Galland, G G; Maxted, A M; Tack, D M; Waterman, S H; Rupprecht, C E; Marano, N

2014-08-01

Rabies prevention and control efforts have been successful in reducing or eliminating virus circulation regionally through vaccination of specific reservoir populations. A notable example of this success is the elimination of canine rabies virus variant from the United States and many other countries. However, increased international travel and trade can pose risks for rapid, long-distance movements of ill or infected persons or animals. Such travel and trade can result in human exposures to rabies virus during travel or transit and could contribute to the re-introduction of canine rabies variant or transmission of other viral variants among animal host populations. We present a review of travel- and trade-associated rabies events that highlight international public health obligations and collaborative opportunities for rabies prevention and control in an age of global travel. Rabies is a fatal disease that warrants proactive coordination among international public health and travel industry partners (such as travel agents, tour companies and airlines) to protect human lives and to prevent the movement of viral variants among host populations. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Vision 2030. A Vision for the U.S. Concrete Industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

2001-01-01

On September 27, 2000, the concrete industry's Strategic Development Council hosted a Concrete Vision Workshop in Chicago, Illinois. Meeting participants included over 50 concrete, cement, and other allied industry chief executive officers, presidents, vice-presidents, laboratory and industry research managers, and government representatives. Participants discussed the state of the concrete industry 30 years ago, the state of the current industry, and their vision for the United States concrete industry in 2030. Moreover, they identified specific goals to achieve the industry's Vision 2030. This document, Vision 2030, is the product of that workshop and the comments received after a broad industry review.

Geology and geochemistry of three sedimentary-rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits in Guizhou Province, People's Republic of China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ashley, R.P.; Cunningham, C.G.; Bostick, N.H.; Dean, W.E.; Chou, I.-Ming

1991-01-01

Five sedimentary-rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits have been discovered since 1980 in southwestern Guizhou Province (PRC). Submicron-sized gold is disseminated in silty carbonate and carbonaceous shale host rocks of Permian and Triassic age. Arsenic, antimony, mercury, and thallium accompany the gold. Associated hydrothermal alteration resulted in decarbonatization of limestone, silicification, and argillization, and depletion of base metals, barium, and many other elements. Organic material occurs in most host rocks and ores. It was apparently devolatilized during a regional heating event that preceded hydrothermal activity, and thus was not mobilized during mineralization, and did not affect gold deposition. The geologic setting of the Guizhou deposits includes many features that are similar to those of sedimentary-rock-hosted deposits of the Great Basin, western United States. The heavy-element suite that accompanies gold is the same, but base metals are even scarcer in the Guizhou deposits than they are in U.S. deposits. The Guizhou deposits discovered to date are smaller than most U.S. deposits and have no known spatially associated igneous rocks. ?? 1991.

Helminths and the IBD hygiene hypothesis.

PubMed

Weinstock, Joel V; Elliott, David E

2009-01-01

Helminths are parasitic animals that have evolved over 100,000,000 years to live in the intestinal track or other locations of their hosts. Colonization of humans with these organisms was nearly universal until the early 20th century. More than 1,000,000,000 people in less developed countries carry helminths even today. Helminths must quell their host's immune system to successfully colonize. It is likely that helminths sense hostile changes in the local host environment and take action to control such responses. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) probably results from an inappropriately vigorous immune response to contents of the intestinal lumen. Environmental factors strongly affect the risk for IBD. People living in less developed countries are protected from IBD. The "IBD hygiene hypothesis" states that raising children in extremely hygienic environments negatively affects immune development, which predisposes them to immunological diseases like IBD later in life. Modern day absence of exposure to intestinal helminths appears to be an important environmental factor contributing to development of these illnesses. Helminths interact with both host innate and adoptive immunity to stimulate immune regulatory circuitry and to dampen effector pathways that drive aberrant inflammation. The first prototype worm therapies directed against immunological diseases are now under study in the United States and various countries around the world. Additional studies are in the advanced planning stage.

West nile virus prevalence across landscapes is mediated by local effects of agriculture on vector and host communities.

PubMed

Crowder, David W; Dykstra, Elizabeth A; Brauner, Jo Marie; Duffy, Anne; Reed, Caitlin; Martin, Emily; Peterson, Wade; Carrière, Yves; Dutilleul, Pierre; Owen, Jeb P

2013-01-01

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) threaten the health of humans, livestock, and wildlife. West Nile virus (WNV), the world's most widespread arbovirus, invaded the United States in 1999 and rapidly spread across the county. Although the ecology of vectors and hosts are key determinants of WNV prevalence across landscapes, the factors shaping local vector and host populations remain unclear. Here, we used spatially-explicit models to evaluate how three land-use types (orchards, vegetable/forage crops, natural) and two climatic variables (temperature, precipitation) influence the prevalence of WNV infections and vector/host distributions at landscape and local spatial scales. Across landscapes, we show that orchard habitats were associated with greater prevalence of WNV infections in reservoirs (birds) and incidental hosts (horses), while increased precipitation was associated with fewer infections. At local scales, orchard habitats increased the prevalence of WNV infections in vectors (mosquitoes) and the abundance of mosquitoes and two key reservoir species, the American robin and the house sparrow. Thus, orchard habitats benefitted WNV vectors and reservoir hosts locally, creating focal points for the transmission of WNV at landscape scales in the presence of suitable climatic conditions.

National states and international science: A comparative history of international science congresses in Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, and cold war United States.

PubMed

Doel, Ronald E; Hoffmann, Dieter; Krementsov, Nikolai

2005-01-01

Prior studies of modern scientific internationalism have been written primarily from the point of view of scientists, with little regard to the influence of the state. This study examines the state's role in international scientific relations. States sometimes encouraged scientific internationalism; in the mid-twentieth century, they often sought to restrict it. The present study examines state involvement in international scientific congresses, the primary intersection between the national and international dimensions of scientists' activities. Here we examine three comparative instances in which such restrictions affected scientific internationalism: an attempt to bring an international aerodynamics congress to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, unsuccessful efforts by Soviet geneticists to host the Seventh International Genetics Congress in Moscow in 1937, and efforts by U.S. scientists to host international meetings in 1950s cold war America. These case studies challenge the classical ideology of scientific internationalism, wherein participation by a nation in a scientist's fame spares the scientist conflict between advancing his science and advancing the interests of his nation. In the cases we consider, scientists found it difficult to simultaneously support scientific universalism and elitist practices. Interest in these congresses reached the top levels of the state, and access to patronage beyond state control helped determine their outcomes.

Genetic Diversity and Structure of the Apiosporina morbosa Populations on Prunus spp.

PubMed

Zhang, Jinxiu; Fernando, W G Dilantha; Remphrey, William R

2005-08-01

ABSTRACT Populations of Apiosporina morbosa collected from 15 geographic locations in Canada and the United States and three host species, Prunus virginiana, P. pensylvanica, and P. padus, were evaluated using the sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) technique to determine their genetic diversity and population differentiation. Extensive diversity was detected in the A. morbosa populations, including 134 isolates from Canada and the United States, regardless of the origin of the population. The number of polymorphic loci varied from 6.9 to 82.8% in the geographic populations, and from 41.4 to 79.3% in the populations from four host genotypes based on 58 polymorphic fragments. In all, 44 to 100% of isolates in the geographic populations and 43.6 to 76.2% in populations from four host genotypes represented unique genotypes. Values of heterozygosity (H) varied from 2.8 to 28.3% in the geographic populations and 10.2 to 26.1% in the populations from four host genotypes. In general, the A. morbosa populations sampled from wild chokecherry showed a higher genetic diversity than those populations collected from other host species, whereas the populations isolated from cultivated chokecherry, P. virginiana 'Shubert Select', showed a reduction of genetic diversity compared with populations from wild P. virginiana. Significant population differentiation was found among both the geographic populations (P < 0.05) and populations from different host genotypes (P < 0.02). In the geographic populations, most of populations from cultivated and wild P. virginiana were closely clustered, and no population differentiation was detected except for the populations from Morris, Morden, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Furthermore, the populations from P. virginiana in the same geographic locations had higher genetic identity and closer genetic distance to each other compared with those from different locations. Four populations from P. virginiana, P. pensylvanica, and P. padus, were significantly differentiated from each other (P < 0.02), except there was no differentiation between the Shubert Select and wild chokecherry populations (>P> = 0.334). Indirect estimation of gene flow showed that significant restricted gene flow existed between populations from different regions and host species. Gene flow rates (Nm) varied from <1 to 12.5, with higher gene flow rates among population pairs from the same host species (P = 1.000). The analysis of molecular variance revealed that a major genetic variance source came from the genetic variation among isolates within populations regardless of the origin and host genotype of the population. Although some locations had a limited number of isolates, the results of this study clearly showed that the genetic diversity and population differentiation of A. morbosa were closely associated with host genotypes and geographic locations, but mostly with the former.

What Do We Know About Chagas Disease in the United States?

PubMed

Montgomery, Susan P; Parise, Monica E; Dotson, Ellen M; Bialek, Stephanie R

2016-12-07

Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects more than 5 million people worldwide leading to serious heart and gastrointestinal disease in a proportion of chronically infected patients. Important modes of transmission include vector-borne, congenital, and via blood transfusion or organ transplant from an infected donor. Vector-borne transmission of Chagas disease occurs in the Americas, including the southern half of North America, where the specific vector insects (triatomines), T. cruzi, and infected reservoir mammalian hosts are found. In the United States, there are estimated to be at least 300,000 cases of chronic Chagas disease among people originally from countries of Latin America where Chagas disease is endemic. Fewer than 30 cases of locally acquired infection have been documented in the United States, although a sylvatic transmission cycle has been known to exist in this country for at least a century. Studies defining risks for locally acquired infection and effective prevention strategies are needed to help prevent domestic transmission of T. cruzi To help address Chagas disease in the United States, improved health-care provider awareness and knowledge, better tools for screening and diagnosing patients, and wider availability of treatment drugs are needed. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Behavioral responses of Laricobius spp.and hybrids (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) to hemlock woolly adelgid and adelgid host tree odors in an olfactometer

Treesearch

Arielle L. Arsenault; Nathan P. Havill; Albert E. Mayfield; Kimberly F. Wallin

2015-01-01

The predatory species Laricobius nigrinus (Fender) and Laricobius osakensis (Shiyake and Montgomery) (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) have been released for biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in eastern North America. L. osakensis is native to Japan, whereas L. nigrinus is endemic to the Pacific Northwest of the United States...

KSC00pp1084

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-08-06

A crowd of police officers and their families cheer a presentation of flags during opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla

KSC-00pp1084

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-08-06

A crowd of police officers and their families cheer a presentation of flags during opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla

Foreign direct investment outflows in the forest products industry: the case of the United States and Japan

Treesearch

R.V. Nagubadi; D. Zhang

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from two major forest product importing countries: the U.S. and Japan. Exchange rate, per capita income, cost of capital, and cost of labour in host countries have significant impacts on the FDI outflows from these two countries. A complementary relationship is found between forest...

The biology and preliminary host range of Megacopta cribraria (Heteroptera: Plataspidae) and its impact on kudzu growth

Treesearch

Yanzhuo Zhang; James L. Hanula; Scott Horn

2012-01-01

The bean plataspid, Megacopta cribraria (F.), recently was discovered in the United States feeding on kudzu, Pueraria montana Lour. (Merr.) variety lobata (Willd.), an economically important invasive vine. We studied its biology on kudzu and its impact on kudzu growth. We also tested its ability to use other common forest legumes for oviposition and development. Flight...

Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Draxl, Caroline; Hodge, Bri-Mathias

A webinar about the Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit was presented by Bri-Mathias Hodge and Caroline Draxl on July 14, 2015. It was hosted by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The toolkit is a grid integration data set that contains meteorological and power data at a 5-minute resolution across the continental United States for 7 years and hourly power forecasts.

Safety of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (B. lactis) strain BB-12-supplemented yogurt in healthy adults on antibiotics: a phase I safety study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in sufficient doses, provide health benefits on the host. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires phase I safety studies for probiotics when the intended use of the product is as a drug. The purpose of the study was to ...

Youth at Risk for Truancy Detour into a Faith-Based Education Program: Their Perceptions of the Program and Its Impact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinha, Jill Witmer

2007-01-01

Many minority adolescents in the United States today are at a high risk for truancy, dropout, and academic under-achievement. Truancy is related to a host of preceding and subsequent risks such as delinquency and limited vocational outcomes. Using participatory research methods, this federally funded, 10-month study assessed youths' perceptions of…

Pre-release host range assessment for classical biological controls: experience with predators for the hemlock woolly adelgid

Treesearch

Elizabeth Butin; Montgomery Montgomery; Nathan Havill; Joseph Elkinton

2002-01-01

There are few regulations for the release of parasitoids and predators, compared to herbivorous arthropods and pathogens, used as classical biological control agents in the United States. The types of tests conducted prior to release of the predator or parasitoid into the environment are often up to the individual wishing to introduce the new agent. Ethical researchers...

Biology, spread, and biological control of winter moth in the eastern United States

Treesearch

Joseph Elkinton; George Boettner; Andrew Liebhold; Rodger Gwiazdowski

2015-01-01

The winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.; Lepidoptera: Geometridae) is an inchworm caterpillar that hatches coincident with bud-break on its hosts and feeds on a wide range of deciduous trees. It is one of a group of geometrid species that feed in early spring and then pupate in the top layer of the soil or litter beginning in mid-May. As postulated...

A Breakthrough Opportunity: The Next Four Years for Higher Education in the United States--"An Open Letter to the 2012 Presidential Candidates"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lingenfelter, Paul E.

2012-01-01

The nation's next President will face a host of challenges, among them the economy, health care, an aging population, energy, the environment, and security at home and aboard. In this open letter, the leaders of higher education coordinating and governing boards across the country urge the 2012 presidential candidates to make improving the…

Invasive Threats to the American Homeland

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-04-01

The second example is the glassy-winged sharpshooter, an invasive insect that hosts the bacterium Xylella Fastidiosa . The insect was first de- tected... Xylella Fastidiosa causes Pierce’s Disease in grapes, which infects and kills the grapevine. The glassy-winged sharpshooter transmits and spreads the...netic processes.” Adversaries of the United States may modify the genetics of an invasive species to increase its competitiveness, virulence , lethality

Invasive Species - A Threat to the Homeland?

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-07

sharpshooter, an invasive insect that hosts the bacterium Xylella Fastidiosa . The insect was first detected in California in 1990. Although it is...uncertain how it arrived in California, it is believed to have arrived on plants imported from an infected area. The bacterium Xylella Fastidiosa causes...United States may modify the genetics of an invasive species to increase its competitiveness, virulence , lethality, or resistance to control measures

Proceedings of the second biennial conference on research in Colorado Plateau National Parks

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Riper, Charles

1995-01-01

On 25-28 October 1993 in Flagstaff, Arizona, the National Biological Service Colorado Plateau Research Station (formerly National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit) and Northern Arizona University hosted the Second Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau. The conference theme focused on research, inventory, and monitoring on the federal, state, and private lands in the Colorado Plateau biogeographic province.

Proceedings: ecology and management of pinyon-juniper communities within the Interior West; 1997 September 15-18; Provo, UT

Treesearch

Stephen B. Monsen; Richard Stevens

1999-01-01

A symposium held September 15-18,1997, in Provo, UT, and Sanpete County, UT, provided information on the ecology, management, resource values, and restoration of pinyon-juniper communities in the Interior Western United States. The conference was hosted by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in...

The Children of Immigrants and Host-Society Educational Systems: Mexicans in the United States and North Africans in France

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alba, Richard; Silberman, Roxane

2009-01-01

Background/Context: The educational fate of the children of low-wage immigrants is a salient issue in all the economically developed societies that have received major immigration flows since the 1950s. The article considers the way in which educational systems in the two countries structure the educational experiences and shape the opportunities…

Large-Scale Land Acquisition and Its Effects on the Water Balance in Investor and Host Countries

PubMed Central

Breu, Thomas; Bader, Christoph; Messerli, Peter; Heinimann, Andreas; Rist, Stephan; Eckert, Sandra

2016-01-01

This study examines the validity of the assumption that international large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) is motivated by the desire to secure control over water resources, which is commonly referred to as ‘water grabbing’. This assumption was repeatedly expressed in recent years, ascribing the said motivation to the Gulf States in particular. However, it must be considered of hypothetical nature, as the few global studies conducted so far focused primarily on the effects of LSLA on host countries or on trade in virtual water. In this study, we analyse the effects of 475 intended or concluded land deals recorded in the Land Matrix database on the water balance in both host and investor countries. We also examine how these effects relate to water stress and how they contribute to global trade in virtual water. The analysis shows that implementation of the LSLAs in our sample would result in global water savings based on virtual water trade. At the level of individual LSLA host countries, however, water use intensity would increase, particularly in 15 sub-Saharan states. From an investor country perspective, the analysis reveals that countries often suspected of using LSLA to relieve pressure on their domestic water resources—such as China, India, and all Gulf States except Saudi Arabia—invest in agricultural activities abroad that are less water-intensive compared to their average domestic crop production. Conversely, large investor countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Japan are disproportionately externalizing crop water consumption through their international land investments. Statistical analyses also show that host countries with abundant water resources are not per se favoured targets of LSLA. Indeed, further analysis reveals that land investments originating in water-stressed countries have only a weak tendency to target areas with a smaller water risk. PMID:26943794

Large-Scale Land Acquisition and Its Effects on the Water Balance in Investor and Host Countries.

PubMed

Breu, Thomas; Bader, Christoph; Messerli, Peter; Heinimann, Andreas; Rist, Stephan; Eckert, Sandra

2016-01-01

This study examines the validity of the assumption that international large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) is motivated by the desire to secure control over water resources, which is commonly referred to as 'water grabbing'. This assumption was repeatedly expressed in recent years, ascribing the said motivation to the Gulf States in particular. However, it must be considered of hypothetical nature, as the few global studies conducted so far focused primarily on the effects of LSLA on host countries or on trade in virtual water. In this study, we analyse the effects of 475 intended or concluded land deals recorded in the Land Matrix database on the water balance in both host and investor countries. We also examine how these effects relate to water stress and how they contribute to global trade in virtual water. The analysis shows that implementation of the LSLAs in our sample would result in global water savings based on virtual water trade. At the level of individual LSLA host countries, however, water use intensity would increase, particularly in 15 sub-Saharan states. From an investor country perspective, the analysis reveals that countries often suspected of using LSLA to relieve pressure on their domestic water resources--such as China, India, and all Gulf States except Saudi Arabia--invest in agricultural activities abroad that are less water-intensive compared to their average domestic crop production. Conversely, large investor countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Japan are disproportionately externalizing crop water consumption through their international land investments. Statistical analyses also show that host countries with abundant water resources are not per se favoured targets of LSLA. Indeed, further analysis reveals that land investments originating in water-stressed countries have only a weak tendency to target areas with a smaller water risk.

Evolving Distributed Generation Support Mechanisms: Case Studies from United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia (Chinese translation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Shengru; Lowder, Travis R; Tian, Tian

This is the Chinese translation of NREL/TP-6A20-67613. This report expands on a previous National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) technical report (Lowder et al. 2015) that focused on the United States' unique approach to distributed generation photovoltaics (DGPV) support policies and business models. While the focus of that report was largely historical (i.e., detailing the policies and market developments that led to the growth of DGPV in the United States), this report looks forward, narrating recent changes to laws and regulations as well as the ongoing dialogues over how to incorporate distributed generation (DG) resources onto the electric grid. This reportmore » also broadens the scope of Lowder et al. (2015) to include additional countries and technologies. DGPV and storage are the principal technologies under consideration (owing to market readiness and deployment volumes), but the report also contemplates any generation resource that is (1) on the customer side of the meter, (2) used to, at least partly, offset a host's energy consumption, and/or (3) potentially available to provide grid support (e.g., through peak shaving and load shifting, ancillary services, and other means).« less

Avian species diversity and transmission of West Nile virus in Atlanta, Georgia.

PubMed

Levine, Rebecca S; Hedeen, David L; Hedeen, Meghan W; Hamer, Gabriel L; Mead, Daniel G; Kitron, Uriel D

2017-02-03

The dilution effect is the reduction in vector-borne pathogen transmission associated with the presence of diverse potential host species, some of which are incompetent. It is popularized as the notion that increased biodiversity leads to decreased rates of disease. West Nile virus (WNV) is an endemic mosquito-borne virus in the United States that is maintained in a zoonotic cycle involving various avian host species. In Atlanta, Georgia, substantial WNV presence in the vector and host species has not translated into a high number of human cases. To determine whether a dilution effect was contributing to this reduced transmission, we characterized the host species community composition and performed WNV surveillance of hosts and vectors in urban Atlanta between 2010 and 2011. We tested the relationship between host diversity and both host seroprevalence and vector infection rates using a negative binomial generalized linear mixed model. Regardless of how we measured host diversity or whether we considered host seroprevalence and vector infection rates as predictor variables or outcome variables, we did not detect a dilution effect. Rather, we detected an amplification effect, in which increased host diversity resulted in increased seroprevalence or infection rates; this is the first empirical evidence for this effect in a mosquito-borne system. We suggest that this effect may be driven by an over-abundance of moderately- to poorly-competent host species, such as northern cardinals and members of the Mimid family, which cause optimal hosts to become rarer and present primarily in species-rich areas. Our results support the notion that dilution or amplification effects depend more on the identities of the species comprising the host community than on the absolute diversity of hosts.

The distribution of potential West Nile virus vectors, Culex pipiens pipiens and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae), in Mexico City

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Culex spp. mosquitoes are considered to be the most important vectors of West Nile virus (WNV) detected in at least 34 species of mosquitoes in the United States. In North America, Culex pipiens pipiens, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, and Culex tarsalis are all competent vectors of WNV, which is considered to be enzootic in the United States and has also been detected in equines and birds in many states of Mexico and in humans in Nuevo Leon. There is potential for WNV to be introduced into Mexico City by various means including infected mosquitoes on airplanes, migrating birds, ground transportation and infected humans. Little is known of the geographic distribution of Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes and hybrids in Mexico City. Culex pipiens pipiens preferentially feed on avian hosts; Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus have historically been considered to prefer mammalian hosts; and hybrids of these two species could theoretically serve as bridge vectors to transmit WNV from avian hosts to humans and other mammalian hosts. In order to address the potential of WNV being introduced into Mexico City, we have determined the identity and spatial distribution of Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes and their hybrids. Results Mosquito larvae collected from 103 sites throughout Mexico City during 2004-2005 were identified as Culex, Culiseta or Ochlerotatus by morphological analysis. Within the genus Culex, specimens were further identified as Culex tarsalis or as belonging to the Culex pipiens complex. Members of the Culex pipiens complex were separated by measuring the ratio of the dorsal and ventral arms (DV/D ratio) of the male genitalia and also by using diagnostic primers designed for the Ace.2 gene. Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus was the most abundant form collected. Conclusions Important WNV vectors species, Cx. p. pipiens, Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and Cx. tarsalis, are all present in Mexico City. Hybrids of Cx. p. pipiens and Cx. p. quinquefasciatus were also collected and identified. The presence and abundance of these WNV competent vectors is a cause for concern. Understanding the distribution of these vectors can help improve viral surveillance activities and mosquito control efforts in Mexico City. PMID:21554725

The distribution of potential West Nile virus vectors, Culex pipiens pipiens and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae), in Mexico City.

PubMed

Diaz-Badillo, Alvaro; Bolling, Bethany G; Perez-Ramirez, Gerardo; Moore, Chester G; Martinez-Munoz, Jorge P; Padilla-Viveros, America A; Camacho-Nuez, Minerva; Diaz-Perez, Alfonso; Beaty, Barry J; Munoz, Maria de Lourdes

2011-05-09

Culex spp. mosquitoes are considered to be the most important vectors of West Nile virus (WNV) detected in at least 34 species of mosquitoes in the United States. In North America, Culex pipiens pipiens, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, and Culex tarsalis are all competent vectors of WNV, which is considered to be enzootic in the United States and has also been detected in equines and birds in many states of Mexico and in humans in Nuevo Leon. There is potential for WNV to be introduced into Mexico City by various means including infected mosquitoes on airplanes, migrating birds, ground transportation and infected humans. Little is known of the geographic distribution of Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes and hybrids in Mexico City. Culex pipiens pipiens preferentially feed on avian hosts; Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus have historically been considered to prefer mammalian hosts; and hybrids of these two species could theoretically serve as bridge vectors to transmit WNV from avian hosts to humans and other mammalian hosts. In order to address the potential of WNV being introduced into Mexico City, we have determined the identity and spatial distribution of Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes and their hybrids. Mosquito larvae collected from 103 sites throughout Mexico City during 2004-2005 were identified as Culex, Culiseta or Ochlerotatus by morphological analysis. Within the genus Culex, specimens were further identified as Culex tarsalis or as belonging to the Culex pipiens complex. Members of the Culex pipiens complex were separated by measuring the ratio of the dorsal and ventral arms (DV/D ratio) of the male genitalia and also by using diagnostic primers designed for the Ace.2 gene. Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus was the most abundant form collected. Important WNV vectors species, Cx. p. pipiens, Cx. p. quinquefasciatus and Cx. tarsalis, are all present in Mexico City. Hybrids of Cx. p. pipiens and Cx. p. quinquefasciatus were also collected and identified. The presence and abundance of these WNV competent vectors is a cause for concern. Understanding the distribution of these vectors can help improve viral surveillance activities and mosquito control efforts in Mexico City.

A Review of African Swine Fever and the Potential for Introduction into the United States and the Possibility of Subsequent Establishment in Feral Swine and Native Ticks.

PubMed

Brown, Vienna R; Bevins, Sarah N

2018-01-01

African swine fever (ASF) is caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), which can cause substantial morbidity and mortality events in swine. The virus can be transmitted via direct and indirect contacts with infected swine, their products, or competent vector species, especially Ornithodoros ticks. Africa and much of Eastern Europe are endemic for ASF; a viral introduction to countries that are currently ASF free could have severe economic consequences due to the loss of production from infected animals and the trade restrictions that would likely be imposed as a result of an outbreak. We identified vulnerabilities that could lead to ASFV introduction or persistence in the United States or other ASF-free regions. Both legal and illegal movements of live animals, as well as the importation of animal products, byproducts, and animal feed, pose a risk of virus introduction. Each route is described, and current regulations designed to prevent ASFV and other pathogens from entering the United States are outlined. Furthermore, existing ASFV research gaps are highlighted. Laboratory experiments to evaluate multiple species of Ornithodoros ticks that have yet to be characterized would be useful to understand vector competence, host preferences, and distribution of competent soft tick vectors in relation to high pig production areas as well as regions with high feral swine (wild boar or similar) densities. Knowledge relative to antigenic viral proteins that contribute to host response and determination of immune mechanisms that lead to protection are foundational in the quest for a vaccine. Finally, sampling of illegally imported and confiscated wild suid products for ASFV could shed light on the types of products being imported and provide a more informed perspective relative to the risk of ASFV importation.

A Review of African Swine Fever and the Potential for Introduction into the United States and the Possibility of Subsequent Establishment in Feral Swine and Native Ticks

PubMed Central

Brown, Vienna R.; Bevins, Sarah N.

2018-01-01

African swine fever (ASF) is caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), which can cause substantial morbidity and mortality events in swine. The virus can be transmitted via direct and indirect contacts with infected swine, their products, or competent vector species, especially Ornithodoros ticks. Africa and much of Eastern Europe are endemic for ASF; a viral introduction to countries that are currently ASF free could have severe economic consequences due to the loss of production from infected animals and the trade restrictions that would likely be imposed as a result of an outbreak. We identified vulnerabilities that could lead to ASFV introduction or persistence in the United States or other ASF-free regions. Both legal and illegal movements of live animals, as well as the importation of animal products, byproducts, and animal feed, pose a risk of virus introduction. Each route is described, and current regulations designed to prevent ASFV and other pathogens from entering the United States are outlined. Furthermore, existing ASFV research gaps are highlighted. Laboratory experiments to evaluate multiple species of Ornithodoros ticks that have yet to be characterized would be useful to understand vector competence, host preferences, and distribution of competent soft tick vectors in relation to high pig production areas as well as regions with high feral swine (wild boar or similar) densities. Knowledge relative to antigenic viral proteins that contribute to host response and determination of immune mechanisms that lead to protection are foundational in the quest for a vaccine. Finally, sampling of illegally imported and confiscated wild suid products for ASFV could shed light on the types of products being imported and provide a more informed perspective relative to the risk of ASFV importation. PMID:29468165

The Evolving Medical and Veterinary Importance of the Gulf Coast tick (Acari: Ixodidae).

PubMed

Paddock, Christopher D; Goddard, Jerome

2015-03-01

Amblyomma maculatum Koch (the Gulf Coast tick) is a three-host, ixodid tick that is distributed throughout much of the southeastern and south-central United States, as well as several countries throughout Central and South America. A considerable amount of scientific literature followed the original description of A. maculatum in 1844; nonetheless, the Gulf Coast tick was not recognized as a vector of any known pathogen of animals or humans for >150 years. It is now identified as the principal vector of Hepatozoon americanum, the agent responsible for American canine hepatozoonosis, and Rickettsia parkeri, the cause of an emerging, eschar-associated spotted fever group rickettsiosis identified throughout much of the Western Hemisphere. Coincident with these discoveries has been recognition that the geographical distribution of A. maculatum in the United States is far more extensive than described 70 yr ago, supporting the idea that range and abundance of certain tick species, particularly those with diverse host preferences, are not fixed in time or space, and may change over relatively short intervals. Renewed interest in the Gulf Coast tick reinforces the notion that the perceived importance of a particular tick species to human or animal health can be relatively fluid, and may shift dramatically with changes in the distribution and abundance of the arthropod, its vertebrate hosts, or the microbial agents that transit among these organisms. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Experimental infection of snakes with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola causes pathological changes that typify snake fungal disease

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Lankton, Julia S.; Werner, Katrien; Falendysz, Elizabeth A.; McCurley, Kevin; Blehert, David S.

2015-01-01

IMPORTANCE Skin infections in snakes, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), have been reported with increasing frequency in wild snakes in the eastern United States. While most of these infections are associated with the fungusOphidiomyces ophiodiicola, there has been no conclusive evidence to implicate this fungus as a primary pathogen. Furthermore, it is not understood why the infections affect different host populations differently. Our experiment demonstrates that O. ophiodiicola is the causative agent of SFD and can elicit pathological changes that likely impact fitness of wild snakes. This information, and the laboratory model we describe, will be essential in addressing unresolved questions regarding disease ecology and outcomes of O. ophiodiicola infection and helping to conserve snake populations threatened by the disease. The SFD model of infection also offers utility for exploring larger concepts related to comparative fungal virulence, host response, and host-pathogen evolution.

West Nile Virus Infection of Birds, Mexico

PubMed Central

Guerrero-Sánchez, Sergio; Cuevas-Romero, Sandra; Nemeth, Nicole M.; Trujillo-Olivera, María Teresa Jesús; Worwa, Gabriella; Dupuis, Alan; Brault, Aaron C.; Kramer, Laura D.; Komar, Nicholas

2011-01-01

West Nile virus (WNV) has caused disease in humans, equids, and birds at lower frequency in Mexico than in the United States. We hypothesized that the seemingly reduced virulence in Mexico was caused by attenuation of the Tabasco strain from southeastern Mexico, resulting in lower viremia than that caused by the Tecate strain from the more northern location of Baja California. During 2006–2008, we tested this hypothesis in candidate avian amplifying hosts: domestic chickens, rock pigeons, house sparrows, great-tailed grackles, and clay-colored thrushes. Only great-tailed grackles and house sparrows were competent amplifying hosts for both strains, and deaths occurred in each species. Tecate strain viremia levels were higher for thrushes. Both strains produced low-level viremia in pigeons and chickens. Our results suggest that certain avian hosts within Mexico are competent for efficient amplification of both northern and southern WNV strains and that both strains likely contribute to bird deaths. PMID:22172633

West Nile virus infection of birds, Mexico.

PubMed

Guerrero-Sánchez, Sergio; Cuevas-Romero, Sandra; Nemeth, Nicole M; Trujillo-Olivera, María Teresa Jesús; Worwa, Gabriella; Dupuis, Alan; Brault, Aaron C; Kramer, Laura D; Komar, Nicholas; Estrada-Franco, José Guillermo

2011-12-01

West Nile virus (WNV) has caused disease in humans, equids, and birds at lower frequency in Mexico than in the United States. We hypothesized that the seemingly reduced virulence in Mexico was caused by attenuation of the Tabasco strain from southeastern Mexico, resulting in lower viremia than that caused by the Tecate strain from the more northern location of Baja California. During 2006-2008, we tested this hypothesis in candidate avian amplifying hosts: domestic chickens, rock pigeons, house sparrows, great-tailed grackles, and clay-colored thrushes. Only great-tailed grackles and house sparrows were competent amplifying hosts for both strains, and deaths occurred in each species. Tecate strain viremia levels were higher for thrushes. Both strains produced low-level viremia in pigeons and chickens. Our results suggest that certain avian hosts within Mexico are competent for efficient amplification of both northern and southern WNV strains and that both strains likely contribute to bird deaths.

75 FR 65975 - Exchange Visitor Program-Secondary School Students

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-27

...The Department is revising existing Secondary School Student regulations regarding the screening, selection, school enrollment, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of exchange students as well as the screening, selection, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of host families and field staff. Further, the Department is adopting a new requirement regarding training for all organizational representatives who place and/or monitor students with host families. The proposed requirement to conduct FBI fingerprint-based criminal background checks will not be implemented at this time. Rather, it will continue to be examined and a subsequent Final Rule regarding this provision will be forthcoming. These regulations, as revised, govern the Department designated exchange visitor programs under which foreign secondary school students (ages 15-18\\1/2\\) are afforded the opportunity to study in the United States at accredited public or private secondary schools for an academic semester or year while living with American host families or residing at accredited U.S. boarding schools.

A Novel Ilarvirus Is Associated with Privet Necrotic Ringspot Disease in the Southern United States.

PubMed

Aboughanem-Sabanadzovic, Nina; Tzanetakis, Ioannis E; Lawrence, Amanda; Stephenson, Ronald C; Sabanadzovic, Sead

2016-01-01

Necrotic ringspot disease (NRSD) is a graft-transmissible disorder of privet (synonym ligustrum), originally reported from Florida and Louisiana more than 50 years ago. In this communication we report an isometric virus isolated from Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) collected in the southern United States displaying symptoms resembling those of NRSD. In mechanical transmission tests, the virus induced systemic infections in several herbaceous hosts. Double-stranded RNA analysis showed a pattern resembling replicative forms of members of the family Bromoviridae. The genome organization along with phylogenetic analyses and serological tests revealed that the virus belongs to subgroup 1 of the genus Ilarvirus. Pairwise comparisons with recognized ilarviruses indicated that the virus is a distinct, and as yet, undescribed member in the taxon, for which we propose the name Privet ringspot virus (PrRSV). Furthermore, the near-perfect association of PrRSV infections with symptoms, and apparent absence of any other virus(es) in studied samples, strongly suggest an important role of this virus in the etiology of NRSD of privet in the southeastern United States.

Whartonacarus floridensis sp. nov. (Acari: Trombiculidae), with a taxonomic review and the first record of Whartonacarus chiggers in the continental United States.

PubMed

Mertins, James W; Hanson, Britta A; Corn, Joseph L

2009-11-01

Among several unusual species collected during surveillance of ectoparasites on wildlife hosts in the southeastern United States and Caribbean Region, the larvae of a new species of Whartonacarus were encountered in 2003 on a cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis (L.), in the Florida Keys. This is the first record for a member of Whartonacarus in the continental United States. The mite is described and named as Whartonacarus floridensis Mertins, and the possible significance of this discovery with respect to the "tropical bont tick," Amblyomma variegatum (F.), is discussed. A brief taxonomic review of Whartonacarus raises questions about the putative synonymy of Whartonacarus nativitatis (Hoffmann) and Whartonacarus thompsoni (Brennan) and suggests that Whartonacarus shiraii (Sasa et al.) may include two distinct taxa. Whartonacarus is redefined, and a revised key to the known taxa is provided. Toritrombicula oceanica Brennan & Amerson is placed in the genus Whartonacarus. Also, Whartonacarus palenquensis (Hoffman) is rejected as a member of this genus and placed in its own new genus, Longisetacarus Mertins.

Rural Development: Part 5, (1) Balanced National Growth Policy; (2) National Rural Development Program; (3) S. 1612, The Rural Community Development Revenue Sharing Act of 1971; (4) Reorganization of U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies. Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Rural Development of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, United States Senate, 92d Congress, 1st Session, September 9, 1971, Stillwater, Okla....

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Transcripts of the 1971 Senate hearings on rural development held in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Lincoln, Nebraska are presented in this document. Derived from many sources representing the varied interests of each host state, representative testimony includes that of: university professors and administrators; State and Federal legislators; chamber…

Newly documented host fishes for the eastern elliptio mussel (Elliptio complanata)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Galbraith, Heather S.

2013-01-01

The eastern elliptio (Elliptio complanata) is a common, abundant and ecologically important freshwater mussel that occurs throughout the Atlantic Slope drainage in the United States and Canada. Previous research has shown E. complanata glochidia to be host fish generalists, parasitizing yellow perch (Perca flavescens), banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), banded sculpin (Cottus carolinae), and seven centrarchid species. Past laboratory studies have been conducted in the Midwest and glochidia sources typically included lakes the Great Lakes basin or were unreported. The objective of this study was to identify host fishes for E. complanata from streams in the Mid-Atlantic region. We used artificial laboratory infections to test host suitability of 38 fish and two amphibian species with E. complanata glochidia from the Chesapeake Bay drainage. Glochidia successfully metamorphosed into juvenile mussels on five fish species: American eel (Anguilla rostrata), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), lake trout (S. namaycush), mottled sculpin (C. bairdii), and slimy sculpin (C. cognatus). American eel was the most effective host, yielding the highest overall metamorphosis success (percentage of attached glochidia that transformed into juvenile mussels;{greater than or equal to}0.90) and producing 13.2 juveniles per fish overall. No juvenile E. complanata metamorphosed on other fish species tested, including many previously identified host fishes reported in the literature. Reasons for discrepancies in published host fish could include geographic variation in host use across the species' range, differences in host use between lentic and lotic populations, or poorly resolved taxonomy within the genus Elliptio.

Getting Beyond Yucca Mountain - 12305

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halstead, Robert J.; Williams, James M.

2012-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy has terminated the Yucca Mountain repository project. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has indefinitely suspended the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding. The presidentially-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Future is preparing a report, due in January 2012, to the Secretary of Energy on recommendations for a new national nuclear waste management and disposal program. The BRC Draft Report published in July 2011 provides a compelling critique of the past three decades failed efforts in the United States to site storage and disposal facilities for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). However,more » the BRC Draft Report fails to provide detailed guidance on how to implement an alternative, successful approach to facility site selection. The comments submitted to the BRC by the State of Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects provide useful details on how the US national nuclear waste program can get beyond the failed Yucca Mountain repository project. A detailed siting process, consisting of legislative elements, procedural elements, and 'rules' for volunteer sites, could meet the objectives of the BRC and the Western Governors Association (WGA), while promoting and protecting the interests of potential host states. The recent termination of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository provides both an opportunity and a need to re-examine the United States' nuclear waste management program. The BRC Draft Report published in July 2011 provides a compelling critique of the past three decades failed efforts in the United States to site storage and disposal facilities for SNF and HLW. It is anticipated that the BRC Final report in January 2012 will recommend a new general course of action, but there will likely continue to be a need for detailed guidance on how to implement an alternative, successful approach to facility site selection. Getting the nation's nuclear waste program back on track requires, among other things, new principles for siting-principles based on partnership between the federal implementing agency and prospective host states. These principles apply to the task of developing an integrated waste management strategy, to interactions between the federal government and prospective host states for consolidated storage and disposal facilities, and to the logistically and politically complicated task of transportation system design. Lessons from the past 25 years, in combination with fundamental parameters of the nuclear waste management task in the US, suggest new principles for partnership outlined in this paper. These principles will work better if well-grounded and firm guidelines are set out beforehand and if the challenge of maintaining competence, transparency and integrity in the new organization is treated as a problem to be addressed rather than a result to be expected. (authors)« less

With-in host dynamics of L. monocytogenes and thresholds for distinct infection scenarios.

PubMed

Rahman, Ashrafur; Munther, Daniel; Fazil, Aamir; Smith, Ben; Wu, Jianhong

2018-05-26

The case fatality and illness rates associated with L. monocytogenes continue to pose a serious public health burden despite the significant efforts and control protocol administered by private and public sectors. Due to the advance in surveillance and improvement in detection methodology, the knowledge of sources, transmission routes, growth potential in food process units and storage, effect of pH and temperature are well understood. However, the with-in host growth and transmission mechanisms of L. monocytogenes, particularly within the human host, remain unclear, largely due to the limited access to scientific experimentation on the human population. In order to provide insight towards the human immune response to the infection caused by L. monocytogenes, we develop a with-in host mathematical model. The model explains, in terms of biological parameters, the states of asymptomatic infection, mild infection and systemic infection leading to listeriosis. The activation and proliferation of T-cells are found to be critical for the susceptibility of the infection. Utilizing stability analysis and numerical simulation, the ranges of the critical parameters relative to infection states are established. Bifurcation analysis shows the impact of the differences of these parameters on the dynamics of the model. Finally, we present model applications in regards to predicting the risk potential of listeriosis relative to the susceptible human population. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mini Review: Mode of Action of Mosquito Repellents

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Mini review: Mode of action of mosquito repellents Joseph C. Dickens ⇑, Jonathan D. Bohbot United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural...Modulation a b s t r a c t The mode of action of mosquito repellents remains a controversial topic. However, electrophysiological studies and molecular...annoyance that can disrupt outdoor activities. The use of repellents decreases contacts between mosquitoes and their hosts, and may even lower the rate of

Opening ceremonies of the 2000 Law Enforcement Games held at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

A crowd of police officers and their families attend opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla.

Pest Risk Assessment of the Importation of Larch from Siberia and the Soviet Far East

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1991-01-01

Several timber companies in the United States have expressed an interest in importing unprocessed larch logs from Siberia and the Soviet Far East. A variety of exotic forest pests, including insects, nematodes, and fungi, can be transported on or in logs. Many of these organisms can survive in transit and have a high potential to colonize suitable hosts near ports of...

Effects of a Nutrient Enriched Beverage on Host Defense Mechanisms of Soldiers Completing the Special Forces Assessment and Selection School.

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

Nutrition and Biochemistry Division United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick, Massachusetts 01760-5007 and *Ross Products...Division of Abbott Laboratories Medical Nutrition R&D Columbus, OH 43215 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A Approved for Public Release Distribution...that specific nutritional supplements may enhance immune function, expecially under stressful conditions or scenarios. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Special

78 FR 54619 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Emerald...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-05

...In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of emerald ash borer host material from Canada to prevent the introduction and spread of emerald ash borer in the United States.

Field cage evaluations of the lady beetle Scymnus sinuanodulus for biological control of the hemlock woolly adelgid

Treesearch

Michael Montgomery; Carole A. S-J. Cheah; Christopher Asaro

2007-01-01

Biological control has been a major focus of efforts to reduce the impact of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) on hemlocks in the eastern United States. The lady beetle Scymnus sinuanodulus Yu et Yao, one of the most abundant predators of HWA in China, was first imported in 1996. Subsequently its biology and host range were evaluated in quarantine and...

Immigrant Chinese Mothers' Socialization of Achievement in Children: A Strategic Adaptation to the Host Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Florrie Fei-Yin; Sze, Irene Nga-Lam; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Ruble, Diane N.

2017-01-01

Academic socialization by low-income immigrant mothers from Mainland China was investigated in two studies. Immigrant Chinese mothers of first graders (n = 52; M[subscript age] = 38.69) in the United States (Study 1) and kindergartners (n = 86; M[subscript age] = 36.81) in Hong Kong (Study 2) tell stories that emphasized achieving the best grade…

A genotype-by-sequencing-single nucleotide polymorphism based linkage map and quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum race 2 identified in Citrullus lanatus var. citroides

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fusarium wilt, a fungal disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon), devastates watermelon crop production worldwide. Several races, which are differentiated by host range, of the pathogen exist. Resistance to Fon race 2, a particularly virulent strain prevalent in the United States, do...

The Power of Being There: Study Abroad in Cuba and the Promotion of a "Culture of Peace"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, Lynne; Koont, Sinan; Stephenson, Skye

2005-01-01

If one of the main purposes of study abroad is to promote a greater understanding between members of the host and home nation via face-to-face relations and in-country living experiences, there is no place in the world where United States students studying abroad takes on more significance than it does in Cuba. Given a situation in which home and…

Zoonotic infections in Alaska: disease prevalence, potential impact of climate change and recommended actions for earlier disease detection, research, prevention and control.

PubMed

Hueffer, Karsten; Parkinson, Alan J; Gerlach, Robert; Berner, James

2013-01-01

Over the last 60 years, Alaska's mean annual temperature has increased by 1.6°C, more than twice the rate of the rest of the United States. As a result, climate change impacts are more pronounced here than in other regions of the United States. Warmer temperatures may allow some infected host animals to survive winters in larger numbers, increase their population and expand their range of habitation thus increasing the opportunity for transmission of infection to humans. Subsistence hunting and gathering activities may place rural residents of Alaska at a greater risk of acquiring zoonotic infections than urban residents. Known zoonotic diseases that occur in Alaska include brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, trichinellosis, giardiasis/cryptosporidiosis, echinococcosis, rabies and tularemia. Actions for early disease detection, research and prevention and control include: (1) determining baseline levels of infection and disease in both humans and host animals; (2) conducting more research to understand the ecology of infection in the Arctic environment; (3) improving active and passive surveillance systems for infection and disease in humans and animals; (4) improving outreach, education and communication on climate-sensitive infectious diseases at the community, health and animal care provider levels; and (5) improving coordination between public health and animal health agencies, universities and tribal health organisations.

An Archive of Downscaled WCRP CMIP3 Climate Projections for Planning Applications in the Contiguous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brekke, L. D.; Pruitt, T.; Maurer, E. P.; Duffy, P. B.

2007-12-01

Incorporating climate change information into long-term evaluations of water and energy resources requires analysts to have access to climate projection data that have been spatially downscaled to "basin-relevant" resolution. This is necessary in order to develop system-specific hydrology and demand scenarios consistent with projected climate scenarios. Analysts currently have access to "climate model" resolution data (e.g., at LLNL PCMDI), but not spatially downscaled translations of these datasets. Motivated by a common interest in supporting regional and local assessments, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and LLNL (through support from the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory) have teamed to develop an archive of downscaled climate projections (temperature and precipitation) with geographic coverage consistent with the North American Land Data Assimilation System domain, encompassing the contiguous United States. A web-based information service, hosted at LLNL Green Data Oasis, has been developed to provide Reclamation, LLNL, and other interested analysts free access to archive content. A contemporary statistical method was used to bias-correct and spatially disaggregate projection datasets, and was applied to 112 projections included in the WCRP CMIP3 multi-model dataset hosted by LLNL PCMDI (i.e. 16 GCMs and their multiple simulations of SRES A2, A1b, and B1 emissions pathways).

Use of a virtual human performance laboratory to improve integration of mathematics and biology in sports science curricula in Sweden and the United States.

PubMed

Garza, D; Besier, T; Johnston, T; Rolston, B; Schorsch, A; Matheson, G; Annerstedt, C; Lindh, J; Rydmark, M

2007-01-01

New fields such as bioengineering are exploring the role of the physical sciences in traditional biological approaches to problems, with exciting results in device innovation, medicine, and research biology. The integration of mathematics, biomechanics, and material sciences into the undergraduate biology curriculum will better prepare students for these opportunities and enhance cooperation among faculty and students at the university level. We propose the study of sports science as the basis for introduction of this interdisciplinary program. This novel integrated approach will require a virtual human performance laboratory dual-hosted in Sweden and the United States. We have designed a course model that involves cooperative learning between students at Göteborg University and Stanford University, utilizes new technologies, encourages development of original research and will rely on frequent self-assessment and reflective learning. We will compare outcomes between this course and a more traditional didactic format as well as assess the effectiveness of multiple web-hosted virtual environments. We anticipate the grant will result in a network of original faculty and student research in exercise science and pedagogy as well as provide the opportunity for implementation of the model in more advance training levels and K-12 programs.

Efficacy of a fipronil bait in reducing the number of fleas (Oropsylla spp.) infesting wild black-tailed prairie dogs.

PubMed

Poché, David M; Hartman, Daniel; Polyakova, Larisa; Poché, Richard M

2017-06-01

Bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis) is a deadly zoonosis with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a reservoir host in the United States. Systemic insecticides are a promising means of controlling the vectors, Oropsylla spp. fleas, infesting these prairie dogs, subsequently disrupting the Y. pestis cycle. The objective of this study was to conduct a field trial evaluating the efficacy of a grain rodent bait containing fipronil (0.005%) against fleas infesting prairie dogs. The study was performed in Larimer County, CO, where bait was applied to a treatment area containing a dense prairie dog population, three times over a three-week period. Prairie dogs were captured and combed for fleas during four study periods (pre-, mid-, 1 st post-, and 2 nd post-treatment). Results indicated the use of bait containing fipronil significantly reduced flea burden. The bait containing fipronil was determined to reduce the mean number of fleas per prairie dog >95% for a minimum of 52 days post-initial treatment application and 31 days post-final treatment application. These results suggest the potential for this form of treatment to reduce flea population density on prairie dogs, and subsequently plague transmission, among mammalian hosts across the United States and beyond. © 2017 The Society for Vector Ecology.

Differential Colonization Dynamics of Cucurbit Hosts by Erwinia tracheiphila.

PubMed

Vrisman, Cláudio M; Deblais, Loïc; Rajashekara, Gireesh; Miller, Sally A

2016-07-01

Bacterial wilt is one of the most destructive diseases of cucurbits in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. Although the disease has been studied since 1900, host colonization dynamics remain unclear. Cucumis- and Cucurbita-derived strains exhibit host preference for the cucurbit genus from which they were isolated. We constructed a bioluminescent strain of Erwinia tracheiphila (TedCu10-BL#9) and colonization of different cucurbit hosts was monitored. At the second-true-leaf stage, Cucumis melo plants were inoculated with TedCu10-BL#9 via wounded leaves, stems, and roots. Daily monitoring of colonization showed bioluminescent bacteria in the inoculated leaf and petiole beginning 1 day postinoculation (DPI). The bacteria spread to roots via the stem by 2 DPI, reached the plant extremities 4 DPI, and the plant wilted 6 DPI. However, Cucurbita plants inoculated with TedCu10-BL#9 did not wilt, even at 35 DPI. Bioluminescent bacteria were detected 6 DPI in the main stem of squash and pumpkin plants, which harbored approximately 10(4) and 10(1) CFU/g, respectively, of TedCu10-BL#9 without symptoms. Although significantly less systemic plant colonization was observed in nonpreferred host Cucurbita plants compared with preferred hosts, the mechanism of tolerance of Cucurbita plants to E. tracheiphila strains from Cucumis remains unknown.

Influence of nonsystemic transmission on the epidemiology of insect borne arboviruses: a case study of vesicular stomatitis epidemiology in the western United States.

PubMed

Lord, Cynthia C; Tabachnick, Walter J

2002-05-01

Nonsystemic transmission, where a pathogen is transmitted between infected and uninfected vectors without the vertebrate host becoming viremic, may provide an explanation for transmission in systems where the vertebrate hosts have been difficult to identify. This transmission pathway had been previously demonstrated for tick-borne viruses and bacteria, but the recent demonstration for Simulium and vesicular stomatitis virus is the first for a blood-feeding insect. The epidemiology of vesicular stomatitis viruses has been difficult to understand, and nonsystemic transmission may be important. We use mathematical formulations of the basic reproduction number, R(0), to compare systemic and nonsystemic transmission. The absence of a latent period before host infectiousness in nonsystemic transmission may allow a more rapid increase in prevalence in the biting flies early in the development of a new outbreak. Aggregation of flies between hosts and at favored feeding sites on hosts will be important, but further data on nonsystemic transmission as a function of space and time are required to fully assess this pathway. The data needed to compare the two pathways and their relative roles in virus epidemiology are discussed.

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) - treatment of the reduced host defense.

PubMed

Heslet, Lars; Bay, Christiane; Nepper-Christensen, Steen

2012-01-01

The current radiation threat from the Fukushima power plant accident has prompted rethinking of the contingency plan for prophylaxis and treatment of the acute radiation syndrome (ARS). The well-documented effect of the growth factors (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF] and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]) in acute radiation injury has become standard treatment for ARS in the United States, based on the fact that growth factors increase number and functions of both macrophages and granulocytes. Review of the current literature. The lungs have their own host defense system, based on alveolar macrophages. After radiation exposure to the lungs, resting macrophages can no longer be transformed, not even during systemic administration of growth factors because G-CSF/GM-CSF does not penetrate the alveoli. Under normal circumstances, locally-produced GM-CSF receptors transform resting macrophages into fully immunocompetent dendritic cells in the sealed-off pulmonary compartment. However, GM-CSF is not expressed in radiation injured tissue due to defervescence of the macrophages. In order to maintain the macrophage's important role in host defense after radiation exposure, it is hypothesized that it is necessary to administer the drug exogenously in order to uphold the barrier against exogenous and endogenous infections and possibly prevent the potentially lethal systemic infection, which is the main cause of death in ARS. Preemptive treatment should be initiated after suspected exposure of a radiation dose of at least <2 Gy by prompt dosing of 250-400 μg GM-CSF/m(2) or 5 μg/kg G-CSF administered systemically and concomitant inhalation of GM-CSF < 300 mcg per day for at least 14-21 days. The present United States standard for prevention and treatment of ARS standard intervention should consequently be modified into the combined systemic administration of growth factors and inhaled GM-CSF to ensure the sustained systemic and pulmonary host defense and thus prevent pulmonary dysfunction.

Multidisciplinary approach to epizootiology and pathogenesis of bat rabies viruses in the United States.

PubMed

Ellison, J A; Johnson, S R; Kuzmina, N; Gilbert, A; Carson, W C; VerCauteren, K C; Rupprecht, C E

2013-02-01

Zoonotic disease surveillance is typically initiated after an animal pathogen has caused disease in humans. Early detection of potentially high-risk pathogens within animal hosts may facilitate medical interventions to cope with an emerging disease. To effectively spillover to a novel host, a pathogen may undergo genetic changes resulting in varying transmission potential in the new host and potentially to humans. Rabies virus (RABV) is one model pathogen to consider for studying the dynamics of emerging infectious diseases under both laboratory and field conditions. The evolutionary history of RABV is characterized by regularly documented spillover infections and a series of notable host shifts. Within this context, enhanced field surveillance to improve detection of spillover infections will require validated techniques to non-invasively differentiate infected from non-infected individuals. In this study, we evaluate the use of infrared thermography to detect thermal changes associated with experimental RABV infection in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in a captive colony. Our results indicated that 62% of rabid bats had detectable facial temperature decreases (-4.6°C, SD ± 2.5) compared with pre-inoculation baseline values. These data suggest potential utility for discriminating rabid bats in natural field settings. In addition, focusing upon RABV circulating in the United States between 2008 and 2011, we confirmed spillover events of bat RABV among carnivores and identified cross-species transmission events caused by four lineages of RABV associated with insectivorous bats. Additionally, our analysis of RABV glycoprotein sequences identified substitutions in antigenic sites that may affect neutralizing activity associated with monoclonal antibodies proposed for use in human post-exposure prophylaxis. This study provides a glimpse into RABV pathobiology and spillover dynamics among and between bats and a variety of mesocarnivores. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

World-Wide Outreach through International Observe the Moon Night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, S.; Jones, A. P.; Bleacher, L.; Shaner, A. J.; Day, B. H.; Wenger, M.; Joseph, E.; Canipe, M.

2016-12-01

International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. Everyone on Earth is invited to join the celebration by hosting or attending an InOMN event - and uniting on one day each year to look at and learn about the Moon together. Events are hosted by a variety of institutions including astronomy clubs, observatories, schools, and universities, museums, planetaria, schools, universities, observatories, parks, private businesses and private homes. Events hosts are supported with event flyers, information sheets, Moon maps for observing, activities to use during events, presentations, certificates of participation, and evaluation materials to be used by hosts. 2016 is the seventh year of worldwide participation in InOMN which will be held on October 8th. In the last six years, over 3,000 events were registered worldwide from almost 100 different countries and almost all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Evaluation of InOMN is conducted by an external evaluation group and includes analysis of event registrations, facilitator surveys, and visitor surveys. Evaluation results demonstrate that InOMN events are successful in raising visitors' awareness of lunar science and exploration, providing audiences with information about lunar science and exploration, and inspiring visitors to want to learn more about the Moon. Additionally, preliminary analysis of social media has shown that there is a virtual network of individuals connecting about InOMN. A large fraction of events have been held by institutions for more than one year showing sustained interest in participation. During this presentation, we will present data for all seven years of InOMN including lessons learned through supporting and evaluating a worldwide event. InOMN is sponsored by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Learn more at http://observethemoonnight.org/.

Weaker HLA Footprints on HIV in the Unique and Highly Genetically Admixed Host Population of Mexico

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT HIV circumvents HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T-cell responses through selection of escape mutations that leave characteristic mutational “footprints,” also known as HLA-associated polymorphisms (HAPs), on HIV sequences at the population level. While many HLA footprints are universal across HIV subtypes and human populations, others can be region specific as a result of the unique immunogenetic background of each host population. Using a published probabilistic phylogenetically informed model, we compared HAPs in HIV Gag and Pol (PR-RT) in 1,612 subtype B-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive individuals from Mexico and 1,641 individuals from Canada/United States. A total of 252 HLA class I allele subtypes were represented, including 140 observed in both cohorts, 67 unique to Mexico, and 45 unique to Canada/United States. At the predefined statistical threshold of a q value of <0.2, 358 HAPs (201 in Gag, 157 in PR-RT) were identified in Mexico, while 905 (534 in Gag and 371 in PR-RT) were identified in Canada/United States. HAPs identified in Mexico included both canonical HLA-associated escape pathways and novel associations, in particular with HLA alleles enriched in Amerindian and mestizo populations. Remarkably, HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico were not only fewer but also, on average, significantly weaker than those in Canada/United States, although some exceptions were noted. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested that the weaker HLA footprint on HIV in Mexico may be due, at least in part, to weaker and/or less reproducible HLA-mediated immune pressures on HIV in this population. The implications of these differences for natural and vaccine-induced anti-HIV immunity merit further investigation. IMPORTANCE HLA footprints on HIV identify viral regions under intense and consistent pressure by HLA-restricted immune responses and the common mutational pathways that HIV uses to evade them. In particular, HLA footprints can identify novel immunogenic regions and/or epitopes targeted by understudied HLA alleles; moreover, comparative analyses across immunogenetically distinct populations can illuminate the extent to which HIV immunogenic regions and escape pathways are shared versus population-specific pathways, information which can in turn inform the design of universal or geographically tailored HIV vaccines. We compared HLA-associated footprints on HIV in two immunogenetically distinct North American populations, those of Mexico and Canada/United States. We identify both shared and population-specific pathways of HIV adaptation but also make the surprising observation that HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico overall are fewer and weaker than those in Canada/United States, raising the possibility that HLA-restricted antiviral immune responses in Mexico are weaker, and/or escape pathways somewhat less consistent, than those in other populations. PMID:29093100

Weaker HLA Footprints on HIV in the Unique and Highly Genetically Admixed Host Population of Mexico.

PubMed

Soto-Nava, Maribel; Avila-Ríos, Santiago; Valenzuela-Ponce, Humberto; García-Morales, Claudia; Carlson, Jonathan M; Tapia-Trejo, Daniela; Garrido-Rodriguez, Daniela; Alva-Hernández, Selma N; García-Tellez, Thalía A; Murakami-Ogasawara, Akio; Mallal, Simon A; John, Mina; Brockman, Mark A; Brumme, Chanson J; Brumme, Zabrina L; Reyes-Teran, Gustavo

2018-01-15

HIV circumvents HLA class I-restricted CD8 + T-cell responses through selection of escape mutations that leave characteristic mutational "footprints," also known as HLA-associated polymorphisms (HAPs), on HIV sequences at the population level. While many HLA footprints are universal across HIV subtypes and human populations, others can be region specific as a result of the unique immunogenetic background of each host population. Using a published probabilistic phylogenetically informed model, we compared HAPs in HIV Gag and Pol (PR-RT) in 1,612 subtype B-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive individuals from Mexico and 1,641 individuals from Canada/United States. A total of 252 HLA class I allele subtypes were represented, including 140 observed in both cohorts, 67 unique to Mexico, and 45 unique to Canada/United States. At the predefined statistical threshold of a q value of <0.2, 358 HAPs (201 in Gag, 157 in PR-RT) were identified in Mexico, while 905 (534 in Gag and 371 in PR-RT) were identified in Canada/United States. HAPs identified in Mexico included both canonical HLA-associated escape pathways and novel associations, in particular with HLA alleles enriched in Amerindian and mestizo populations. Remarkably, HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico were not only fewer but also, on average, significantly weaker than those in Canada/United States, although some exceptions were noted. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested that the weaker HLA footprint on HIV in Mexico may be due, at least in part, to weaker and/or less reproducible HLA-mediated immune pressures on HIV in this population. The implications of these differences for natural and vaccine-induced anti-HIV immunity merit further investigation. IMPORTANCE HLA footprints on HIV identify viral regions under intense and consistent pressure by HLA-restricted immune responses and the common mutational pathways that HIV uses to evade them. In particular, HLA footprints can identify novel immunogenic regions and/or epitopes targeted by understudied HLA alleles; moreover, comparative analyses across immunogenetically distinct populations can illuminate the extent to which HIV immunogenic regions and escape pathways are shared versus population-specific pathways, information which can in turn inform the design of universal or geographically tailored HIV vaccines. We compared HLA-associated footprints on HIV in two immunogenetically distinct North American populations, those of Mexico and Canada/United States. We identify both shared and population-specific pathways of HIV adaptation but also make the surprising observation that HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico overall are fewer and weaker than those in Canada/United States, raising the possibility that HLA-restricted antiviral immune responses in Mexico are weaker, and/or escape pathways somewhat less consistent, than those in other populations. Copyright © 2018 Soto-Nava et al.

Influence of temperature and substrate on infection rate, triactinomyxon production, and release duration from eastern tubifex worms infected with Myxobolus cerebralis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waldrop, Thomas; Blazer, Vicki; Smith, David; Schill, Bane; Densmore, Christine; Schill, B.; Waldrop, T.; Blazer, V.

1999-01-01

Salmonid whirling disease is caused by Myxobolus cerebralis, a metazoan parasite with a two host life cycle involving salmonid fish a an aquatic oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex (Wolf, Markiw and Hiltunen, 1986). Whirling disease has been reported in 22 U.S. states with the greatest losses occurring in the salmonid fisheries of western and Midwestern states. Although whirling disease is endemic in the eastern United States, serious documented losses to wild populations have not been reported. Two high priority research needs identified in 1996 were a better understanding of how worm and parasite populations might differ from different geographic areas and how environmental factors affect the various stages of whirling disease. To begin to address these research needs we established "eastern" populations of worms, parasite and fish hosts. This abstract will present data on the effects of temperature and substrate upon eastern T. tubifex worms infected with an eastern isolate of M. cerebralis. The influences of these abiotic factors upon the ability to infect the worms and subsequently their ability to produce waterborne triactinomyxons.

In-Situ Phase Transition Control in the Supercooled State for Robust Active Glass Fiber.

PubMed

Lv, Shichao; Cao, Maoqing; Li, Chaoyu; Li, Jiang; Qiu, Jianrong; Zhou, Shifeng

2017-06-21

The construction of a dopant-activated photonic composite is of great technological importance for various applications, including smart lighting, optical amplification, laser, and optical detection. The bonding arrangement around the introduced dopants largely determines the properties, yet it remains a daunting challenge to manipulate the local state of the matrix (i.e., phase) inside the transparent composite in a controllable manner. Here we demonstrate that the relaxation of the supercooled state enables in-situ phase transition control in glass. Benefiting from the unique local atom arrangement manner, the strategy offers the possibility for simultaneously tuning the chemical environment of the incorporated dopant and engineering the dopant-host interaction. This allows us to effectively activate the dopant with high efficiency (calculated as ∼100%) and profoundly enhance the dopant-host energy-exchange interaction. Our results highlight that the in-situ phase transition control in glass may provide new opportunities for fabrication of unusual photonic materials with intense broadband emission at ∼1100 nm and development of the robust optical detection unit with high compactness and broadband photon-harvesting capability (from X-ray to ultraviolet light).

Geologic occurrences of erionite in the United States: an emerging national public health concern for respiratory disease.

PubMed

Van Gosen, Bradley S; Blitz, Thomas A; Plumlee, Geoffrey S; Meeker, Gregory P; Pierson, M Patrick

2013-08-01

Erionite, a mineral series within the zeolite group, is classified as a Group 1 known respiratory carcinogen. This designation resulted from extremely high incidences of mesothelioma discovered in three small villages from the Cappadocia region of Turkey, where the disease was linked to environmental exposures to fibrous forms of erionite. Natural deposits of erionite, including fibrous forms, have been identified in the past in the western United States. Until recently, these occurrences have generally been overlooked as a potential hazard. In the last several years, concerns have emerged regarding the potential for environmental and occupational exposures to erionite in the United States, such as erionite-bearing gravels in western North Dakota mined and used to surface unpaved roads. As a result, there has been much interest in identifying locations and geologic environments across the United States where erionite occurs naturally. A 1996 U.S. Geological Survey report describing erionite occurrences in the United States has been widely cited as a compilation of all US erionite deposits; however, this compilation only focused on one of several geologic environments in which erionite can form. Also, new occurrences of erionite have been identified in recent years. Using a detailed literature survey, this paper updates and expands the erionite occurrences database, provided in a supplemental file (US_erionite.xls). Epidemiology, public health, and natural hazard studies can incorporate this information on known erionite occurrences and their characteristics. By recognizing that only specific geologic settings and formations are hosts to erionite, this knowledge can be used in developing management plans designed to protect the public.

Geologic occurrences of erionite in the United States: an emerging national public health concern for respiratory disease

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Blitz, Thomas A.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Meeker, Gregory P.; Pierson, M. Patrick

2013-01-01

Erionite, a mineral series within the zeolite group, is classified as a Group 1 known respiratory carcinogen. This designation resulted from extremely high incidences of mesothelioma discovered in three small villages from the Cappadocia region of Turkey, where the disease was linked to environmental exposures to fibrous forms of erionite. Natural deposits of erionite, including fibrous forms, have been identified in the past in the western United States. Until recently, these occurrences have generally been overlooked as a potential hazard. In the last several years, concerns have emerged regarding the potential for environmental and occupational exposures to erionite in the United States, such as erionite-bearing gravels in western North Dakota mined and used to surface unpaved roads. As a result, there has been much interest in identifying locations and geologic environments across the United States where erionite occurs naturally. A 1996 U.S. Geological Survey report describing erionite occurrences in the United States has been widely cited as a compilation of all US erionite deposits; however, this compilation only focused on one of several geologic environments in which erionite can form. Also, new occurrences of erionite have been identified in recent years. Using a detailed literature survey, this paper updates and expands the erionite occurrences database, provided in a supplemental file (US_erionite.xls). Epidemiology, public health, and natural hazard studies can incorporate this information on known erionite occurrences and their characteristics. By recognizing that only specific geologic settings and formations are hosts to erionite, this knowledge can be used in developing management plans designed to protect the public.

Agamermis (Nematoda: Mermithidae) Infection in South Carolina Agricultural Pests

PubMed Central

Stubbins, Francesca L.; Agudelo, Paula; Reay-Jones, Francis P. F.; Greene, Jeremy K.

2016-01-01

Native and invasive stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the closely related invasive Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) are agricultural pests in the southeastern United States. Natural enemies, from various phyla, parasitize these pests and contribute to population regulation. We specifically investigated Nematoda infections in pentatomid and plataspid pests in one soybean field in South Carolina in 2015. Nematodes were identified through molecular and morphological methods and assigned to family Mermithidae, genus Agamermis. This study reports mermithid nematode infection in immature M. cribraria for the first time and provides the first mermithid host record for the stink bugs Chinavia hilaris, Euschistus servus, and another Euschistus species, and a grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in South Carolina. The same Agamermis species infected all hosts. The broad host range and prevalence suggests that Agamermis may be an important contributor to natural mortality of pentatomid and plataspid pests. Previous mermithid host records for the Pentatomidae and Plataspidae worldwide are summarized. Further work is needed to assess the impact of infection on populations over a broader range of agricultural fields and geographic localities. PMID:28154435

Agamermis (Nematoda: Mermithidae) Infection in South Carolina Agricultural Pests.

PubMed

Stubbins, Francesca L; Agudelo, Paula; Reay-Jones, Francis P F; Greene, Jeremy K

2016-12-01

Native and invasive stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the closely related invasive Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) are agricultural pests in the southeastern United States. Natural enemies, from various phyla, parasitize these pests and contribute to population regulation. We specifically investigated Nematoda infections in pentatomid and plataspid pests in one soybean field in South Carolina in 2015. Nematodes were identified through molecular and morphological methods and assigned to family Mermithidae, genus Agamermis . This study reports mermithid nematode infection in immature M. cribraria for the first time and provides the first mermithid host record for the stink bugs Chinavia hilaris , Euschistus servus , and another Euschistus species, and a grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in South Carolina. The same Agamermis species infected all hosts. The broad host range and prevalence suggests that Agamermis may be an important contributor to natural mortality of pentatomid and plataspid pests. Previous mermithid host records for the Pentatomidae and Plataspidae worldwide are summarized. Further work is needed to assess the impact of infection on populations over a broader range of agricultural fields and geographic localities.

Detection of the host immune response to Burkholderia mallei heat-shock proteins GroEL and DnaK in a glanders patient and infected mice.

PubMed

Amemiya, Kei; Meyers, Jennifer L; Deshazer, David; Riggins, Renaldo N; Halasohoris, Stephanie; England, Marilyn; Ribot, Wilson; Norris, Sarah L; Waag, David M

2007-10-01

We examined, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis, the host immune response to 2 heat-shock proteins (hsps) in a patient and mice previously infected with Burkholderia mallei. The patient was the first reported human glanders case in 50 years in the United States. The expression of the groEL and dnaK operons appeared to be dependent upon a sigma(32) RNA polymerase as suggested by conserved heat-shock promoter sequences, and the groESL operon may be negatively regulated by a controlling invert repeat of chaperone expression (CIRCE) site. In the antisera, the GroEL protein was found to be more immunoreactive than the DnaK protein in both a human patient and mice previously infected with B. mallei. Examination of the supernatant of a growing culture of B. mallei showed that more GroEL protein than DnaK protein was released from the cell. This may occur similarly within an infected host causing an elevated host immune response to the B. mallei hsps.

First reports of ectoparasites collected from wild-caught exotic reptiles in Florida.

PubMed

Corn, Joseph L; Mertins, James W; Hanson, Britta; Snow, Skip

2011-01-01

We collected ectoparasites from 27 of 51 wild-caught, free-ranging exotic reptiles examined in Florida from 2003 to 2008. Sampled animals represented eight species, five of which yielded ectoparasites. Reported new parasite distribution records for the United States include the following: the first collection of the African tick Amblyomma latum (Koch) from a wild-caught animal [ball python, Python regius (Shaw)] in the United States; the first collection of the lizard scale mite Hirstiella stamii (Jack) from any wild-caught animal [green iguana, Iguana iguana (L.)]; and the first collection of the lizard scale mite Geckobia hemidactyli (Lawrence) in the continental United States from a wild-caught tropical house gecko, Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès). We also report the first collections of the Neotropical ticks Amblyomma rotundatum (Koch) and Amblyomma dissimile (Koch) from wild-caught Burmese pythons, Python molurus bivittatus (Kuhl); the first collections of A. dissimile from a wild-caught African savannah monitor, Varanus exanthematicus (Bosc); and from wild-caught green iguanas in the United States; and the first collections of the native chiggers Eutrombicula splendens (Ewing) and Eutrombicula cinnabaris (Ewing) from wild-caught Burmese pythons. These reports may only suggest the diversity of reptile ectoparasites introduced and established in Florida and the new host-parasite relationships that have developed among exotic and native ectoparasites and established exotic reptiles.

Treatment of leprosy/Hansen's disease in the early 21st century.

PubMed

Worobec, Sophie M

2009-01-01

Leprosy, or Hansen's disease (HD), is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a slowly dividing mycobacterium that has evolved to be an intracellular parasite, causing skin lesions and nerve damage. Less than 5% of people exposed to M. leprae develop clinical disease. Host cell-mediated resistance determines whether an individual will develop paucibacillary or multibacillary disease. Hansen's disease is a worldwide disease with about 150 new cases reported annually in the United States. Effective anti-mycobacterial treatments are available, and many patients experience severe reversal and erythema nodosum leprosum reactions that also require treatment. Leprosy has been the target of a World Health Organization multiple drug therapy campaign to eliminate it as a national public health problem in member countries, but endemic regions persist. In the United States, the National Hansen's Disease Program has primary responsibility for medical care, research, and information.

KSC-04PD-0774

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush thanks KSC Director James W. Kennedy (right) for hosting the ceremony to launch the new Florida quarter at the KSC Visitor Complex. The backdrop is a map of the United States, illustrating the state quarters issued to date. Also on stage are, from left, U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Samuel W. Bodman, and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. The quarter celebrates Florida as the gateway to discovery -- a destination for explorers in the past, a launch site for space explorers of the future, and an inviting place for visitors today.

KSC-04pd0774

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush thanks KSC Director James W. Kennedy (right) for hosting the ceremony to launch the new Florida quarter at the KSC Visitor Complex. The backdrop is a map of the United States, illustrating the state quarters issued to date. Also on stage are, from left, U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Samuel W. Bodman, and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. The quarter celebrates Florida as the gateway to discovery -- a destination for explorers in the past, a launch site for space explorers of the future, and an inviting place for visitors today.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation in the Discourse of Education and Motherhood: An Autoethnography of a Korean International Graduate Student Mother in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Yunjeong

2015-01-01

This study explores the cross-cultural adaption experience of myself as a Korean graduate student woman coming from a Confucian-heritage culture. The study focuses on the multiple roles I played as an Asian graduate student mother in the host cultural environment and the way I have undergone throughout the process of my adaptation. As a research…

Opening ceremonies of the 2000 Law Enforcement Games held at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

A crowd of police officers and their families cheer a presentation of flags during opening ceremonies of the 2000 International Law Enforcement Games. Held in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden, the ceremony hosted more than 1,850 participants and their families for events that included parades, torch lighting and a tug of war. The games feature officers from 15 countries and 37 United States in competitions around Brevard County, Fla.

To Stay or Not to Stay: Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations and Their Impact on Host Nation/Regional Stability

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-13

School in partial satisfaction of the requirements of a Master of Science Degree in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy. The contents of this...conflicted claims. Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia , Philippines and Brunei have continued to assert their territorial claims which have resulted in...In the United States, budget constraints and sequestration avoidance remain a concern as the administration and Congress manage the budget

Close of Service Workshop. Trainer Guidelines and Workshop Materials. Training for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Training Manual No. T-07.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peace Corps, Washington, DC. Information Collection and Exchange Div.

This manual is intended for use by Peace Corps staff members and/or trainers contracted to facilitate the close of service (COS) workshop, the purpose of which is to help volunteers make the transition from the host country back to the United States. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the COS workshop. Chapter 2 is a trainer reference. It helps the…

Impact of Prescribed Fire and Thinning on Host Resistance to the Southern Pine Beetle: Preliminary Results of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study

Treesearch

M. Forbes Boyle; Roy L. Hedden; Thomas A. Waldrop

2004-01-01

The southern pine beetle ( Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.) is considered one of the most aggressive insect pests in the Southern United States. Resistance to southern pine beetle infestations in southern pines depends largely on oleoresin flow rate and total flow. Treatments, such as prescribed fire and thinning, can be used to reduce stand infestation susceptibil-ity by...

The Future of Transatlantic Security Relations. Colloquium Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

Black Sea region could be either active or reserve troops, and that Romania and Bulgaria were likely candidates for hosting the troops. The deployed...Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania , Slovakia, and Slovenia. NATO now has 26 members. Nor is this all. Since the 1990s, the Alliance has...splendid isolation. • The World War I alliance that vanquished Imperial Germany in 1918 was defunct 1 year later, when the United States absconded

Theoretical Implications for Inform and Influence Activities

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-23

Davis uses “The phrase “information management”…to suggest a host of interrelated terms to include censorship , information operations, information...the Voice of America , is still in use today.25 Again in Vietnam, the USG created a unified organization to apply the informational element of...and influence.27 The United States Information Agency was an outgrowth of the Voice of America and worked with the JUSPAO during the Vietnam War. It

Public Funding for Private Schools: The Current Landscape. "A Reflection on the 2013 Catholic Higher Education Collaborative Conference on Catholic School Financing"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulaney, Ellen

2014-01-01

On September 22-24, 2013, the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Catholic Education hosted a conference on Catholic school financing on the Notre Dame campus, which drew experts on the subject from across the United States. This author, because of her roles as a Board Member of the Board of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago,…

Host Status of Five Weed Species and Their Effects on Pratylenchus zeae Infestation of Maize.

PubMed

Jordaan, E M; De Waele, D

1988-10-01

The host suitability of five of the most common weed species occurring in maize (Zea mays L.) fields in South Africa to Pratylenchus zeae was tested. Based on the number of nematodes per root unit, mealie crotalaria (Crotalaria sphaerocarpa) was a good host; goose grass (Eleusine indica), common pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus), and thorn apple (Datura stramonium) were moderate hosts; and khaki weed (Tagetes minuta) was a poor host. Only the root residues of khaki weed suppressed the P. zeae infestation of subsequently grown maize. When goose grass, khaki weed, and mealie crotalaria were grown in association with maize in soil infested with P. zeae, goose grass and khaki weed severely suppressed maize root development; this resulted in a low number of nematodes per maize root system and a high number of nematodes per maize root unit. Mealie crotalaria did not restrict maize root growth and did not affect nematode densities per maize root system or maize root unit. Special attention should be given to the control of mealie crotalaria, which is a good host for P. zeae, and goose grass, which, in addition to its ability to compete with maize, is also a suitable host for P. zeae.

Host Status of Five Weed Species and Their Effects on Pratylenchus zeae Infestation of Maize

PubMed Central

Jordaan, Elizabeth M.; De Waele, D.

1988-01-01

The host suitability of five of the most common weed species occurring in maize (Zea mays L.) fields in South Africa to Pratylenchus zeae was tested. Based on the number of nematodes per root unit, mealie crotalaria (Crotalaria sphaerocarpa) was a good host; goose grass (Eleusine indica), common pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus), and thorn apple (Datura stramonium) were moderate hosts; and khaki weed (Tagetes minuta) was a poor host. Only the root residues of khaki weed suppressed the P. zeae infestation of subsequently grown maize. When goose grass, khaki weed, and mealie crotalaria were grown in association with maize in soil infested with P. zeae, goose grass and khaki weed severely suppressed maize root development; this resulted in a low number of nematodes per maize root system and a high number of nematodes per maize root unit. Mealie crotalaria did not restrict maize root growth and did not affect nematode densities per maize root system or maize root unit. Special attention should be given to the control of mealie crotalaria, which is a good host for P. zeae, and goose grass, which, in addition to its ability to compete with maize, is also a suitable host for P. zeae. PMID:19290263

High degree of polymerization in a fullerene-containing supramolecular polymer.

PubMed

Isla, Helena; Pérez, Emilio M; Martín, Nazario

2014-05-26

Supramolecular polymers based on dispersion forces typically show lower molecular weights (MW) than those based on hydrogen bonding or metal-ligand coordination. We present the synthesis and self-assembling properties of a monomer featuring two complementary units, a C60 derivative and an exTTF-based macrocycle, that interact mainly through π-π, charge-transfer, and van der Waals interactions. Thanks to the preorganization in the host part, a remarkable log K(a)=5.1±0.5 in CHCl3 at room temperature is determined for the host-guest couple. In accordance with the large binding constant, the monomer self-assembles in the gas phase, in solution, and in the solid state to form linear supramolecular polymers with a very high degree of polymerization. A MW above 150 kDa has been found experimentally in solution, while in the solid state the monomer forms extraordinarily long, straight, and uniform fibers with lengths reaching several microns. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Niche partitioning of Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi in the same tick vector and mammalian reservoir species.

PubMed

Barbour, Alan G; Bunikis, Jonas; Travinsky, Bridgit; Hoen, Anne Gatewood; Diuk-Wasser, Maria A; Fish, Durland; Tsao, Jean I

2009-12-01

The Lyme borreliosis agent Borrelia burgdorferi and the relapsing fever group species Borrelia miyamotoi co-occur in the United States. We used species-specific, quantitative polymerase chain reaction to study both species in the blood and skin of Peromyscus leucopus mice and host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs at a Connecticut site. Bacteremias with B. burgdorferi or B. miyamotoi were most prevalent during periods of greatest activity for nymphs or larvae, respectively. Whereas B. burgdorferi was 30-fold more frequent than B. miyamotoi in skin biopsies and mice had higher densities of B. burgdorferi densities in the skin than in the blood, B. miyamotoi densities were higher in blood than skin. In a survey of host-seeking nymphs in 11 northern states, infection prevalences for B. burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi averaged approximately 0.20 and approximately 0.02, respectively. Co-infections of P. leucopus or I. scapularis with both B. burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi were neither more nor less common than random expectations.

Investigation of the effect of cucurbit[7]uril complexation on the photophysical and acid-base properties of the antimalarial drug quinine.

PubMed

Mallick, Suman; Pal, Kaushik; Chandra, Falguni; Koner, Apurba L

2016-11-09

Host-guest complexation of mono and dicationic quinine with cucurbit[7]uril (CB7), a water-soluble macrocyclic host molecule, has been investigated. Job's plot, time-resolved anisotropy as well as concentration dependent NMR titration confirm the binding of two CB7 macrocycles with one quinine molecule. The binding affinity of dicationic quinine with CB7 is one order of magnitude higher than the binding constant of mono-cationic quinine. Such preferential binding results in one unit pK a shift in the ground-state of the quinoline ring. However, using fluorescence spectroscopy we have obtained two acid-dissociation constants, one for quinoline ring nitrogen and the other for the nitrogen of the quinuclidine moiety. In the excited state, CB7 complexation causes one unit pK a shift for the quinoline ring and 1.9 unit shift for the quinuclidine moiety. Interestingly, a large enhancement of fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy of quinine at pH 2.7 and pH 9.0 upon CB7 complexation was observed due to the restriction of conformational flexibility. Moreover, at pH 3.0, a large fluorescence enhancement of quinine due to CB7 complexation was observed and it was quite significant as compared to that of quinine in 0.1 (M) HCl without CB7. We believe that this study of quinine complexation with CB7 will reduce phototoxicity, increase bioavailability and offer an alternative standard for quantum yield measurements in an amiable condition.

Can shale safely host US nuclear waste?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neuzil, C.E.

2013-01-01

"Even as cleanup efforts after Japan’s Fukushima disaster offer a stark reminder of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored at nuclear plants worldwide, the decision in 2009 to scrap Yucca Mountain as a permanent disposal site has dimmed hope for a repository for SNF and other high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in the United States anytime soon. About 70,000 metric tons of SNF are now in pool or dry cask storage at 75 sites across the United States [Government Accountability Office, 2012], and uncertainty about its fate is hobbling future development of nuclear power, increasing costs for utilities, and creating a liability for American taxpayers [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012].However, abandoning Yucca Mountain could also result in broadening geologic options for hosting America’s nuclear waste. Shales and other argillaceous formations (mudrocks, clays, and similar clay-rich media) have been absent from the U.S. repository program. In contrast, France, Switzerland, and Belgium are now planning repositories in argillaceous formations after extensive research in underground laboratories on the safety and feasibility of such an approach [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012; Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle (NAGRA), 2010; Organisme national des déchets radioactifs et des matières fissiles enrichies, 2011]. Other nations, notably Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, are studying argillaceous formations or may consider them in their siting programs [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2012; Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), (2011a); Powell et al., 2010]."

A comparison of the additional protocols of the five nuclear weapon states and the ensuing safeguards benefits to international nonproliferation efforts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Uribe, Eva C; Sandoval, M Analisa; Sandoval, Marisa N

2009-01-01

With the 6 January 2009 entry into force of the Additional Protocol by the United States of America, all five declared Nuclear Weapon States that are part of the Nonproliferation Treaty have signed, ratified, and put into force the Additional Protocol. This paper makes a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the five Additional Protocols in force by the five Nuclear Weapon States with respect to the benefits to international nonproliferation aims. This paper also documents the added safeguards burden to the five declared Nuclear Weapon States that these Additional Protocols put on the states with respect to accessmore » to their civilian nuclear programs and the hosting of complementary access activities as part of the Additional Protocol.« less

Identification of Lygus hesperus by DNA barcoding reveals insignificant levels of genetic structure among distant and habitat diverse populations.

PubMed

Zhou, Changqing; Kandemir, Irfan; Walsh, Douglas B; Zalom, Frank G; Lavine, Laura Corley

2012-01-01

The western tarnished plant bug Lygus hesperus is an economically important pest that belongs to a complex of morphologically similar species that makes identification problematic. The present study provides evidence for the use of DNA barcodes from populations of L. hesperus from the western United States of America for accurate identification. This study reports DNA barcodes for 134 individuals of the western tarnished plant bug from alfalfa and strawberry agricultural fields in the western United States of America. Sequence divergence estimates of <3% reveal that morphologically variable individuals presumed to be L. hesperus were accurately identified. Paired estimates of F(st) and subsequent estimates of gene flow show that geographically distinct populations of L. hesperus are genetically similar. Therefore, our results support and reinforce the relatively recent (<100 years) migration of the western tarnished plant bug into agricultural habitats across the western United States. This study reveals that despite wide host plant usage and phenotypically plastic morphological traits, the commonly recognized western tarnished plant bug belongs to a single species, Lygus hesperus. In addition, no significant genetic structure was found for the geographically diverse populations of western tarnished plant bug used in this study.

Fate, transport, and interactions of heavy metals.

PubMed

Serrano, O R

1995-02-01

Mishandling of hazardous wastes, like their unauthorized disposal in abandoned dump yards or sites, in river beds, estuaries or in the sea, causes substantial damage to the environment and its resources and, given the persistence and toxicity of these pollutants, they can seriously damage human health and quality of life. The importance of controlling management, transport, and disposal of toxic and hazardous substances in the years to come will be a crucial issue in the design and implementation of public policies. This is especially true for residents of such areas as the border between the United States and Mexico, where historically hazardous wastes have been a public health and environmental problem. The aim of this Conference on the Fate, Transport, and Interactions of Metals, A Joint United States-Mexico Conference, co-sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Superfund Basic Research Program, the National University of Mexico, Program for the Environment and the Pan American Health Organization, and hosted by the University of Arizona Center for Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, is to begin a joint effort by the United States and Mexico to better understand the complex problems related to heavy metals as hazardous wastes.

Fate, transport, and interactions of heavy metals.

PubMed Central

Serrano, O R

1995-01-01

Mishandling of hazardous wastes, like their unauthorized disposal in abandoned dump yards or sites, in river beds, estuaries or in the sea, causes substantial damage to the environment and its resources and, given the persistence and toxicity of these pollutants, they can seriously damage human health and quality of life. The importance of controlling management, transport, and disposal of toxic and hazardous substances in the years to come will be a crucial issue in the design and implementation of public policies. This is especially true for residents of such areas as the border between the United States and Mexico, where historically hazardous wastes have been a public health and environmental problem. The aim of this Conference on the Fate, Transport, and Interactions of Metals, A Joint United States-Mexico Conference, co-sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Superfund Basic Research Program, the National University of Mexico, Program for the Environment and the Pan American Health Organization, and hosted by the University of Arizona Center for Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, is to begin a joint effort by the United States and Mexico to better understand the complex problems related to heavy metals as hazardous wastes. PMID:7621804

Genomics in personalized cancer medicine and its impact on early drug development in China: report from the 6th Annual Meeting of the US Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (USCACA) at the 50th ASCO Annual Meeting.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Cheng, Shi-Yuan; Hou, Li-Fang; Yan, Li; Tong, Yun-Guang

2014-08-01

The 6th Annual Meeting of the United States Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (USCACA) was held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on May 30, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, the United States of America. With a focus on personalized medicine, the conference featured novel approaches to investigate genomic aberrations in cancer cells and innovative clinical trial designs to expedite cancer drug development in biomarker-defined patient populations. A panel discussion further provided in-depth advice on advancing development of personalized cancer medicines in China. The conference also summarized USCACA key initiatives and accomplishments, including two awards designated to recognize young investigators from China for their achievements and to support their training in the United States. As an effort to promote international collaboration, USCACA will team up with Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) to host a joint session on "Breakthrough Cancer Medicines" at the upcoming CSCO Annual Meeting on September 20th, 2014 in Xiamen, China.

Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) as a host of ixodid ticks, lice, and Lyme disease spirochetes (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) in California state parks.

PubMed

Lane, Robert S; Kucera, Thomas F; Barrett, Reginald H; Mun, Jeomhee; Wu, Chunling; Smith, Vincent S

2006-10-01

Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) were evaluated as potential hosts of ixodid ticks, lice, and Lyme disease spirochetes (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato [s.l.]) in three state parks in Sonoma County, California, USA, during 2003 and 2004. In total, 113 birds were collected, 50 (44.2%) of which were found to be infested by 361 ixodid ticks representing three species: the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus, n=248), the rabbit tick (Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, n=112), and one American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis). Year-round the prevalence of all ticks combined was unrelated to the age or sex of turkeys, and the prevalence of infestation by I. pacificus (35.4%) was significantly higher than it was for either H. leporispalustris (14.2%) or D. variabilis (0.9%). The proportion of the two prevalent tick species differed significantly by life stage with 86.3% of the I. pacificus and 82.1% of the H. leporispalustris enumerated being nymphs and larvae, respectively. Three species of lice were collected, including the chicken body louse Menacanthus stramineus (12.5% of total), Chelopistes meleagridis (37.5% of total), and Oxylipeurus polytrapezius (50% of total). The records for all three ticks are the first ever from wild turkeys, and those for the lice are the first from this host in the far-western United States. Wild turkeys potentially were exposed to the feeding activities of I. pacificus nymphs infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. as 15% of host-seeking nymphs (n=200) collected in woodlands used by turkeys as roosting or foraging areas were infected mainly with B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). However, only one (1%) of 90 turkey blood specimens tested by PCR contained B. burgdorferi s.s., and four in vitro, complement-protein assays demonstrated that domestic turkey serum is moderately bacteriolytic for this spirochete. Taken together, these findings indicate that wild turkeys are important avian hosts of I. pacificus nymphs, but they appear to be inconsequential hosts of B. burgdorferi s.l.

Guest Controlled Nonmonotonic Deep Cavity Cavitand Assembly State Switching.

PubMed

Tang, Du; Barnett, J Wesley; Gibb, Bruce C; Ashbaugh, Henry S

2017-11-30

Octa-acid (OA) and tetra-endo-methyl octa-acid (TEMOA) are water-soluble, deep-cavity cavitands with nanometer-sized nonpolar pockets that readily bind complementary guests, such as n-alkanes. Experimentally, OA exhibits a progression of 1:1 to 2:2 to 2:1 host/guest complexes (X:Y where X is the number of hosts and Y is the number of guests) with increasing alkane chain length from methane to tetradecane. Differing from OA only by the addition of four methyl groups ringing the portal of the pocket, TEMOA exhibits a nonmonotonic progression of assembly states from 1:1 to 2:2 to 1:1 to 2:1 with increasing guest length. Here we present a systematic molecular simulation study to parse the molecular and thermodynamic determinants that distinguish the succession of assembly stoichiometries observed for these similar hosts. Potentials of mean force between hosts and guests, determined via umbrella sampling, are used to characterize association free energies. These free energies are subsequently used in a reaction network model to predict the equilibrium distributions of assemblies. Our models accurately reproduce the experimentally observed trends, showing that TEMOA's endo-methyl units constrict the opening of the binding pocket, limiting the conformations available to bound guests and disrupting the balance between monomeric complexes and dimeric capsules. The success of our simulations demonstrate their utility at interpreting the impact of even simple chemical modifications on supramolecular assembly and highlight their potential to aid bottom-up design.

Intracellular pH and its response to CO2-driven seawater acidification in symbiotic versus non-symbiotic coral cells.

PubMed

Gibbin, Emma M; Putnam, Hollie M; Davy, Simon K; Gates, Ruth D

2014-06-01

Regulating intracellular pH (pHi) is critical for optimising the metabolic activity of corals, yet the mechanisms involved in pH regulation and the buffering capacity within coral cells are not well understood. Our study investigated how the presence of symbiotic dinoflagellates affects the response of pHi to PCO2-driven seawater acidification in cells isolated from Pocillopora damicornis. Using the fluorescent dye BCECF-AM, in conjunction with confocal microscopy, we simultaneously characterised the pHi response in host coral cells and their dinoflagellate symbionts, in symbiotic and non-symbiotic states under saturating light, with and without the photosynthetic inhibitor DCMU. Each treatment was run under control (pH 7.8) and CO2-acidified seawater conditions (decreasing pH from 7.8 to 6.8). After 105 min of CO2 addition, by which time the external pH (pHe) had declined to 6.8, the dinoflagellate symbionts had increased their pHi by 0.5 pH units above control levels when in the absence of DCMU. In contrast, in both symbiotic and non-symbiotic host coral cells, 15 min of CO2 addition (0.2 pH unit drop in pHe) led to cytoplasmic acidosis equivalent to 0.3-0.4 pH units irrespective of whether DCMU was present. Despite further seawater acidification over the duration of the experiment, the pHi of non-symbiotic coral cells did not change, though in host cells containing a symbiont cell the pHi recovered to control levels when photsynthesis was not inhibited. This recovery was negated when cells were incubated with DCMU. Our results reveal that photosynthetic activity of the endosymbiont is tightly coupled with the ability of the host cell to recover from cellular acidosis after exposure to high CO2/low pH. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Nutritional modulation of gut microbiota - the impact on metabolic disease pathophysiology.

PubMed

Ojeda, Patricia; Bobe, Alexandria; Dolan, Kyle; Leone, Vanessa; Martinez, Kristina

2016-02-01

The obesity epidemic afflicts over one third of the United States population. With few therapies available to combat obesity, a greater understanding of the systemic causes of this and other metabolic disorders is needed to develop new, effective treatments. The mammalian intestinal microbiota contributes to metabolic processes in the host. This review summarizes the research demonstrating the interplay of diet, intestinal microbiota and host metabolism. We detail the effects of diet-induced modifications in microbial activity and resultant impact on (1) sensory perception of macronutrients and total energy intake; (2) nutrient absorption, transport and storage; (3) liver and biliary function; (4) immune-mediated signaling related to adipose inflammation; and (5) circadian rhythm. We also discuss therapeutic strategies aimed to modify host-microbe interactions, including prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, as well as fecal microbiota transplantation. Elucidating the role of gut microbes in shaping metabolic homeostasis or dysregulation provides greater insight into disease development and a promising avenue for improved treatment of metabolic dysfunction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modest genetic differentiation among North American populations of Sarcocystis neurona may reflect expansion in its geographic range.

PubMed

Sundar, N; Asmundsson, I M; Thomas, N J; Samuel, M D; Dubey, J P; Rosenthal, B M

2008-03-25

Sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of neurological disease in horses (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM) and sea otters in the United States. In addition, EPM-like disease has been diagnosed in several other land and marine mammals. Opossums are its only definitive hosts. Little genetic diversity among isolates of S. neurona from different hosts has been reported. Here, we used 11 microsatellites to characterize S. neurona DNA isolated from natural infections in 22 sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from California and Washington and in 11 raccoons (Procyon lotor) and 1 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) from Wisconsin. By jointly analyzing these 34 isolates with 26 isolates previously reported, we determined that geographic barriers may limit S. neurona dispersal and that only a limited subset of possible parasite genotypes may have been introduced to recently established opossum populations. Moreover, our study confirms that diverse intermediate hosts share a common infection source, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Acid Stress Response Mechanisms of Group B Streptococci

PubMed Central

Shabayek, Sarah; Spellerberg, Barbara

2017-01-01

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the United States and Europe. It is part of the vaginal microbiota in up to 30% of pregnant women and can be passed on to the newborn through perinatal transmission. GBS has the ability to survive in multiple different host niches. The pathophysiology of this bacterium reveals an outstanding ability to withstand varying pH fluctuations of the surrounding environments inside the human host. GBS host pathogen interations include colonization of the acidic vaginal mucosa, invasion of the neutral human blood or amniotic fluid, breaching of the blood brain barrier as well as survival within the acidic phagolysosomal compartment of macrophages. However, investigations on GBS responses to acid stress are limited. Technologies, such as whole genome sequencing, genome-wide transcription and proteome mapping facilitate large scale identification of genes and proteins. Mechanisms enabling GBS to cope with acid stress have mainly been studied through these techniques and are summarized in the current review PMID:28936424

Modest genetic differentiation among North American populations of Sarcocystic neurona may reflect expansion in its geographic range

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sundar, N.; Asmundsson, I.M.; Thomas, N.J.; Samuel, M.D.; Dubey, J.P.; Rosenthal, B.M.

2008-01-01

Sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of neurological disease in horses (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM) and sea otters in the United States. In addition, EPM-like disease has been diagnosed in several other land and marine mammals. Opossums are its only definitive hosts. Little genetic diversity among isolates of S. neurona from different hosts has been reported. Here, we used 11 microsatellites to characterize S. neurona DNA isolated from natural infections in 22 sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from California and Washington and in 11 raccoons (Procyon lotor) and 1 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) from Wisconsin. By jointly analyzing these 34 isolates with 26 isolates previously reported, we determined that geographic barriers may limit S. neurona dispersal and that only a limited subset of possible parasite genotypes may have been introduced to recently established opossum populations. Moreover, our study confirms that diverse intermediate hosts share a common infection source, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

CRISPRs: Molecular Markers for Tracking Antibiotic Resistant Strains of Salmonella Enterica

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

S.Paratyphi A, B and C) are confined to human hosts and cause typhoid and paratyphoid (enteric) fevers . These are spread from human to human—often shed by...poisoning) with symptoms of diarrhea, fever , and abdominal cramps that run 5-7 days. In contrast, non- typhoidal salmonellosis in sub-Saharan Africa... typhoid fever , due to Salmonella Typhi, is an important cause of illness and death. Most serotype Typhi infections in the United States are acquired

The United States and the Asia-Pacific Region: Security Strategy for the Obama Administration

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-01

increasing interest in multilateral cooperation. Once a laggard, the region now hosts a veritable “ noodle bowl” of multilateral political, economic, and...global exports. Asian manufacturers have captured a large share of global production chains. Asian governments and government- controlled institutions...from U.S. Census Bureau data Seven of the top 15 U.S. manufactured export destinations are in Asia • China • Japan • South Korea • Taiwan Eight

Evolution of Both Host Nation Police Advisory Missions and the Support Provided by the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-17

Department of Defense A Monograph by MAJ Melissa M. Cantwell U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and... Studies 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited 13...98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 Adobe Professional 7 .0 i SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES MONOGRAPH APPROVAL MAJ Melissa M. Cantwell

Xylella fastidiosa Isolates from Both subsp. multiplex and fastidiosa Cause Disease on Southern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) Under Greenhouse Conditions.

PubMed

Oliver, J E; Cobine, P A; De La Fuente, L

2015-07-01

Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited gram-negative plant pathogen that affects numerous crop species, including grape, citrus, peach, pecan, and almond. Recently, X. fastidiosa has also been found to be the cause of bacterial leaf scorch on blueberry in the southeastern United States. Thus far, all X. fastidiosa isolates obtained from infected blueberry have been classified as X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex; however, X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa isolates are also present in the southeastern United States and commonly cause Pierce's disease of grapevines. In this study, seven southeastern U.S. isolates of X. fastidiosa, including three X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa isolates from grape, one X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa isolate from elderberry, and three X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex isolates from blueberry, were used to infect the southern highbush blueberry 'Rebel'. Following inoculation, all isolates colonized blueberry, and isolates from both X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex and X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa caused symptoms, including characteristic stem yellowing and leaf scorch symptoms as well as dieback of the stem tips. Two X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex isolates from blueberry caused more severe symptoms than the other isolates examined, and infection with these two isolates also had a significant impact on host mineral nutrient content in sap and leaves. These findings have potential implications for understanding X. fastidiosa host adaptation and expansion and the development of emerging diseases caused by this bacterium.

Zoonotic infections in Alaska: disease prevalence, potential impact of climate change and recommended actions for earlier disease detection, research, prevention and control

PubMed Central

Hueffer, Karsten; Parkinson, Alan J.; Gerlach, Robert

2013-01-01

Over the last 60 years, Alaska's mean annual temperature has increased by 1.6°C, more than twice the rate of the rest of the United States. As a result, climate change impacts are more pronounced here than in other regions of the United States. Warmer temperatures may allow some infected host animals to survive winters in larger numbers, increase their population and expand their range of habitation thus increasing the opportunity for transmission of infection to humans. Subsistence hunting and gathering activities may place rural residents of Alaska at a greater risk of acquiring zoonotic infections than urban residents. Known zoonotic diseases that occur in Alaska include brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, trichinellosis, giardiasis/cryptosporidiosis, echinococcosis, rabies and tularemia. Actions for early disease detection, research and prevention and control include: (1) determining baseline levels of infection and disease in both humans and host animals; (2) conducting more research to understand the ecology of infection in the Arctic environment; (3) improving active and passive surveillance systems for infection and disease in humans and animals; (4) improving outreach, education and communication on climate-sensitive infectious diseases at the community, health and animal care provider levels; and (5) improving coordination between public health and animal health agencies, universities and tribal health organisations. PMID:23399790

Variable-number-of-tandem-repeats analysis of genetic diversity in Pasteuria ramosa.

PubMed

Mouton, L; Ebert, D

2008-05-01

Variable-number-of-tandem-repeats (VNTR) markers are increasingly being used in population genetic studies of bacteria. They were recently developed for Pasteuria ramosa, an endobacterium that infects Daphnia species. In the present study, we genotyped P. ramosa in 18 infected hosts from the United Kingdom, Belgium, and two lakes in the United States using seven VNTR markers. Two Daphnia species were collected: D. magna and D. dentifera. Six loci showed length polymorphism, with as many as five alleles identified for a single locus. Similarity coefficient calculations showed that the extent of genetic variation between pairs of isolates within populations differed according to the population, but it was always less than the genetic distances among populations. Analysis of the genetic distances performed using principal component analysis revealed strong clustering by location of origin, but not by host Daphnia species. Our study demonstrated that the VNTR markers available for P. ramosa are informative in revealing genetic differences within and among populations and may therefore become an important tool for providing detailed analysis of population genetics and epidemiology.

Human risk of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, in eastern United States.

PubMed

Diuk-Wasser, Maria A; Hoen, Anne Gatewood; Cislo, Paul; Brinkerhoff, Robert; Hamer, Sarah A; Rowland, Michelle; Cortinas, Roberto; Vourc'h, Gwenaël; Melton, Forrest; Hickling, Graham J; Tsao, Jean I; Bunikis, Jonas; Barbour, Alan G; Kitron, Uriel; Piesman, Joseph; Fish, Durland

2012-02-01

The geographic pattern of human risk for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the tick-borne pathogen that causes Lyme disease, was mapped for the eastern United States. The map is based on standardized field sampling in 304 sites of the density of Ixodes scapularis host-seeking nymphs infected with B. burgdorferi, which is closely associated with human infection risk. Risk factors for the presence and density of infected nymphs were used to model a continuous 8 km×8 km resolution predictive surface of human risk, including confidence intervals for each pixel. Discontinuous Lyme disease risk foci were identified in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with a transitional zone including sites with uninfected I. scapularis populations. Given frequent under- and over-diagnoses of Lyme disease, this map could act as a tool to guide surveillance, control, and prevention efforts and act as a baseline for studies tracking the spread of infection.

Geography and host species shape the evolutionary dynamics of U genogroup infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus.

PubMed

Black, Allison; Breyta, Rachel; Bedford, Trevor; Kurath, Gael

2016-07-01

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a negative-sense RNA virus that infects wild and cultured salmonids throughout the Pacific Coastal United States and Canada, from California to Alaska. Although infection of adult fish is usually asymptomatic, juvenile infections can result in high mortality events that impact salmon hatchery programs and commercial aquaculture. We used epidemiological case data and genetic sequence data from a 303 nt portion of the viral glycoprotein gene to study the evolutionary dynamics of U genogroup IHNV in the Pacific Northwestern United States from 1971 to 2013. We identified 114 unique genotypes among 1,219 U genogroup IHNV isolates representing 619 virus detection events. We found evidence for two previously unidentified, broad subgroups within the U genogroup, which we designated 'UC' and 'UP'. Epidemiologic records indicated that UP viruses were detected more frequently in sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) and in coastal waters of Washington and Oregon, whereas UC viruses were detected primarily in Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) and steelhead trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) in the Columbia River Basin, which is a large, complex watershed extending throughout much of interior Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. These findings were supported by phylogenetic analysis and by F ST . Ancestral state reconstruction indicated that early UC viruses in the Columbia River Basin initially infected sockeye salmon but then emerged via host shifts into Chinook salmon and steelhead trout sometime during the 1980s. We postulate that the development of these subgroups within U genogroup was driven by selection pressure for viral adaptation to Chinook salmon and steelhead trout within the Columbia River Basin.

Volcano deformation and gravity workshop synopsis and outcomes: The 2008 volcano deformation and temporal gravity change workshop

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dzurisin, Daniel; Lu, Zhong

2009-01-01

A volcano workshop was held in Washington State, near the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Cascades Volcano Observatory. The workshop, hosted by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program (VHP), included more than 40 participants from the United States, the European Union, and Canada. Goals were to promote (1) collaboration among scientists working on active volcanoes and (2) development of new tools for studying volcano deformation. The workshop focused on conventional and emerging techniques, including the Global Positioning System (GPS), borehole strain, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), gravity, and electromagnetic imaging, and on the roles of aqueous and magmatic fluids.

Performance Testing of GPU-Based Approximate Matching Algorithm on Network Traffic

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

Defense Department’s use. vi THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vii TABLE OF CONTENTS I.  INTRODUCTION...22  D.  GENERATING DIGESTS ............................................................................23  1.  Reference...the-shelf GPU Graphical Processing Unit GPGPU General -Purpose Graphic Processing Unit HBSS Host-Based Security System HIPS Host Intrusion

Different Topological Quantum States in Ternary Zintl compounds: BaCaX (X = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Lin-Lin; Kaminski, Adam; Canfield, Paul C.

Topological quantum states require stringent combination of crystal symmetry and spin–orbit coupling (SOC) strength. Here in this paper, we report that the ternary Zintl compound series BaCaX (X = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb, Group IV) in the same crystal structure having eight valence electrons per formula unit can host two different topological quantum phases, controlled by atomic size and SOC strength. BaCaSi is a nodal-line semimetal (NLSM) with band inversion protected by mirror symmetry and hosts a strong topological insulator (TI) state when SOC is turned on, thus, a NLSM-TI phase. Moving to larger atomic sizes and heavier atoms,more » BaCaGe and BaCaSn are normal insulators (NIs); then, with the strongest SOC in BaCaPb, a different band inversion is induced, giving a strong TI phase without the need of NLSM. Thus, we also predict two types of topological transitions in a phase diagram for BaCaX: (1) NLSM-TI to NI, then to TI by tuning atomic size and SOC strength via alloying, and (2) NI or TI to NLSM-TI via pressure.« less

Different Topological Quantum States in Ternary Zintl compounds: BaCaX (X = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb)

DOE PAGES

Wang, Lin-Lin; Kaminski, Adam; Canfield, Paul C.; ...

2017-12-14

Topological quantum states require stringent combination of crystal symmetry and spin–orbit coupling (SOC) strength. Here in this paper, we report that the ternary Zintl compound series BaCaX (X = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb, Group IV) in the same crystal structure having eight valence electrons per formula unit can host two different topological quantum phases, controlled by atomic size and SOC strength. BaCaSi is a nodal-line semimetal (NLSM) with band inversion protected by mirror symmetry and hosts a strong topological insulator (TI) state when SOC is turned on, thus, a NLSM-TI phase. Moving to larger atomic sizes and heavier atoms,more » BaCaGe and BaCaSn are normal insulators (NIs); then, with the strongest SOC in BaCaPb, a different band inversion is induced, giving a strong TI phase without the need of NLSM. Thus, we also predict two types of topological transitions in a phase diagram for BaCaX: (1) NLSM-TI to NI, then to TI by tuning atomic size and SOC strength via alloying, and (2) NI or TI to NLSM-TI via pressure.« less

Host-guest complexes between cucurbit[n]urils and acetanilides having aminopropyl units.

PubMed

Buaki-Sogo, Mireia; Montes-Navajas, Pedro; Alvaro, Mercedes; Garcia, Hermenegildo

2013-06-01

2-(Propylamino)acetamide of aniline (1a), and bis-2-(propylamino)acetamide of ortho- (1b) and para-(1c) phenylenediamine form host-guest complexes with CB[6], CB[7] and CB[8] as evidenced by the variations in the (1)H NMR spectroscopy chemical shifts and observation in MALDI-TOF-MS and ESI-MS of ions at the corresponding mass. Binding constants for the 1:1 complexes were estimated from fluorescence titrations and were in the range 10(5)-10(6)M(-1). Models based on molecular mechanics for these supramolecular complexes are provided. In spite of the different geometries arising from the ortho- or para-substitution, phenylenediamides form complexes of similar strength in which the hydrophobic alkyl chains are accommodated inside the host cavity. Formation of these host-guest complexes in the solid state was also achieved by modifying an aminopropyl silica with chloroacetanilides and preparing three silica having analogues of compounds 1a-c anchored to the solid particles. Titrations showed, however, that these solids can adsorb a large percentage of CBs by unselective interactions that are not related to the formation of inclusion complexes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis and Rat Lungworm Disease in Brazil

PubMed Central

de Oliveira Simões, Raquel; Fernandez, Monica Ammon; Júnior, Arnaldo Maldonado

2013-01-01

The metastrongyloid nematode genus Angiostrongylus includes 18 species, two of which are relevant from a medical standpoint, Angiostrongylus costaricensis and Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The first was described from Costa Rica in 1971 and causes abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas, including in Brazil. Angiostrongylus cantonensis, first described in 1935 from Canton, China, is the causative agent of eosinophilic meningitis. The natural definitive hosts are rodents, and molluscs are the intermediate hosts. Paratenic or carrier hosts include crabs, freshwater shrimp, amphibians, flatworms, and fish. Humans become infected accidentally by ingestion of intermediate or paratenic hosts and the parasite does not complete the life cycle as it does in rats. Worms in the brain cause eosinophilic meningitis. This zoonosis, widespread in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, has now been reported from other regions. In the Americas there are records from the United States, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Ecuador, and Haiti. In Brazil seven human cases have been reported since 2007 from the southeastern and northeastern regions. Epidemiological studies found infected specimens of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus as well as many species of molluscs, including the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica, from various regions of Brazil. The spread of angiostrongyliasis is currently a matter of concern in Brazil. PMID:23901376

Molecular phylogeography of canine distemper virus: Geographic origin and global spreading.

PubMed

Panzera, Yanina; Sarute, Nicolás; Iraola, Gregorio; Hernández, Martín; Pérez, Ruben

2015-11-01

Canine distemper virus (CDV) (Paramyxoviridae-Morbillivirus) is a worldwide spread virus causing a fatal systemic disease in a broad range of carnivore hosts. In this study we performed Bayesian inferences using 208 full-length hemagglutinin gene nucleotide sequences isolated in 16 countries during 37 years (1975-2011). The estimated time to the most recent common ancestor suggested that current CDV strains emerged in the United States in the 1880s. This ancestor diversified through time into two ancestral clades, the current America 1 lineage that recently spread to Asia, and other ancestral clade that diversified and spread worldwide to originate the remaining eight lineages characterized to date. The spreading of CDV was characterized by several migratory events with posterior local differentiation, and expansion of the virus host range. A significant genetic flow between domestic and wildlife hosts is displayed; being domestic hosts the main viral reservoirs worldwide. This study is an extensive and integrative description of spatio/temporal population dynamics of CDV lineages that provides a novel evolutionary paradigm about the origin and dissemination of the current strains of the virus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biology and host range of Tecmessa elegans (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae), a leaf-feeding moth evaluated as a potential biological control agent for Schinus terebinthifolius (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) in the United States.

PubMed

Oleiro, Marina; Mc Kay, Fernando; Wheeler, Gregory S

2011-06-01

During surveys for natural enemies that could be used as classical biological control agents of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Brazilian pepper), the caterpillar, Tecmessa elegans Schaus (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae), was recorded feeding on the leaves of the shrub in South America. The biology and larval and adult host range of this species were examined to determine the insect's suitability for biological control of this invasive weed in North America and Hawaii. Biological observations indicate that the larvae have five instars. When disturbed, the late instar larvae emit formic acid from a prothoracic gland that may protect larvae from generalist predators. Larval host range tests conducted both in South and North America indicated that this species feeds and completes development primarily on members of the Anacardiaceae within the tribe Rhoeae. Oviposition tests indicated that when given a choice in large cages the adults will select the target weed over Pistacia spp. However, considering the many valued plant species in its host range, especially several North American natives, this species will not be considered further for biological control of S. terebinthifolius in North America.

Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms Reveal Spatial Diversity Among Clones of Yersinia pestis During Plague Outbreaks in Colorado and the Western United States.

PubMed

Lowell, Jennifer L; Antolin, Michael F; Andersen, Gary L; Hu, Ping; Stokowski, Renee P; Gage, Kenneth L

2015-05-01

In western North America, plague epizootics caused by Yersinia pestis appear to sweep across landscapes, primarily infecting and killing rodents, especially ground squirrels and prairie dogs. During these epizootics, the risk of Y. pestis transmission to humans is highest. While empirical models that include climatic conditions and densities of rodent hosts and fleas can predict when epizootics are triggered, bacterial transmission patterns across landscapes, and the scale at which Y. pestis is maintained in nature during inter-epizootic periods, are poorly defined. Elucidating the spatial extent of Y. pestis clones during epizootics can determine whether bacteria are propagated across landscapes or arise independently from local inter-epizootic maintenance reservoirs. We used DNA microarray technology to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 34 Y. pestis isolates collected in the western United States from 1980 to 2006, 21 of which were collected during plague epizootics in Colorado. Phylogenetic comparisons were used to elucidate the hypothesized spread of Y. pestis between the mountainous Front Range and the eastern plains of northern Colorado during epizootics. Isolates collected from across the western United States were included for regional comparisons. By identifying SNPs that mark individual clones, our results strongly suggest that Y. pestis is maintained locally and that widespread epizootic activity is caused by multiple clones arising independently at small geographic scales. This is in contrast to propagation of individual clones being transported widely across landscapes. Regionally, our data are consistent with the notion that Y. pestis diversifies at relatively local scales following long-range translocation events. We recommend that surveillance and prediction by public health and wildlife management professionals focus more on models of local or regional weather patterns and ecological factors that may increase risk of widespread epizootics, rather than predicting or attempting to explain epizootics on the basis of movement of host species that may transport plague.

Ixodes scapularis Tick Cells Control Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection by Increasing the Synthesis of Phosphoenolpyruvate from Tyrosine.

PubMed

Cabezas-Cruz, Alejandro; Espinosa, Pedro J; Obregón, Dasiel A; Alberdi, Pilar; de la Fuente, José

2017-01-01

The obligate intracellular pathogen, Anaplasma phagocytophilum , is the causative agent of life-threatening diseases in humans and animals. A. phagocytophilum is an emerging tick-borne pathogen in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia, with increasing numbers of infected people and animals every year. It is increasingly recognized that intracellular pathogens modify host cell metabolic pathways to increase infection and transmission in both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Recent reports have shown that amino acids are central to the host-pathogen metabolic interaction. In this study, a genome-wide search for components of amino acid metabolic pathways was performed in Ixodes scapularis , the main tick vector of A. phagocytophilum in the United States, for which the genome was recently published. The enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation pathways of the twenty amino acids were identified. Then, the available transcriptomics and proteomics data was used to characterize the mRNA and protein levels of I. scapularis amino acid metabolic pathway components in response to A. phagocytophilum infection of tick tissues and ISE6 tick cells. Our analysis was focused on the interplay between carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism during A. phagocytophilum infection in ISE6 cells. The results showed that tick cells increase the synthesis of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) from tyrosine to control A. phagocytophilum infection. Metabolic pathway analysis suggested that this is achieved by (i) increasing the transcript and protein levels of mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-M), (ii) shunting tyrosine into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to increase fumarate and oxaloacetate which will be converted into PEP by PEPCK-M, and (iii) blocking all the pathways that use PEP downstream gluconeogenesis (i.e., de novo serine synthesis pathway (SSP), glyceroneogenesis and gluconeogenesis). While sequestering host PEP may be critical for this bacterium because it cannot actively carry out glycolysis to produce PEP, excess of this metabolite may be toxic for A. phagocytophilum . The present work provides a more comprehensive view of the major amino acid metabolic pathways involved in the response to pathogen infection in ticks, and provides the basis for further studies to develop novel strategies for the control of granulocytic anaplasmosis.

Optimizing and Validating a Brief Assessment for Identifying Children of Service Members at Risk for Psychological Health Problems Following Parent Deployment

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

these groups . In the 2014/2015 year, efforts focused on securing a commitment from the United States Marine Corps to host the study. In Winter 2014...we can reach an adjusted sample size target in the 2017/2018 project year by expanding our recruitment to incorporate deploying infantry groups ...Vocabulary Test Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. George, C. & Solomon , J. (2008). The caregving system: A behavioral systems approach

Morphometric and Molecular Analyses of the Sand Fly Species Lutzomyia shannoni (Dyar 1929) (Diptera:Psychodidae:Phlebotiminae) Collected from Seven Different Geographical Areas in the Southeastern United States

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-07-05

an infection cycle becoming established in other hosts such as rodents and/or dogs. A hypothetical worst case scenario would unfold as 14...training exercises, family camp-outs, hiking, fishing, etc. The sand flies then vector the parasite to the rodent population during subsequent blood...feeds. The infection becomes locally established and maintained in the natural rodent population with sustained enzootic cycles that periodically

A New United Nations for a New Era: Security, Development, and the ’Regional Solution’ (The Case of Latin America)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

Deal describe political organizations not as mindless, robotic entities, but as “living, screaming political arenas that host a complex web of...Peace, The Failed State Index, http://www.fundforpeace.org/ web /index.php?option=com_content&task=view& id=391&Itemid=549, accessed October 22, 2009 2:10...of the South American peoples. SICA - Sistema de Integracion Centroamericana, or Central American Integration System (Est. 1991) The Central

Catherine G. Coleman at astronaut candidate survival training

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-07-15

S93-38725 (12-14 Sept. 1992) --- Catherine G. Coleman, a member of the 1992 class of astronaut candidates at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), gathers up a parachute. The chute had just been used in one of many exercises experienced by the trainees at a three-day parachute/survival course hosted by Vance Air Force Base near Enid, Oklahoma. EDITOR?S NOTE: Coleman was later named as mission specialist for the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission, scheduled to fly as STS-73 in 1995.

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-30

gover - nance and transparency based on an assessment October2009.indb 74 10/24/2009 12:14:41 PM OCTOBER 30, 2009 I REPORT TO CONGRESS I 75...Muthanna sought to develop oil initiatives, and several provinces sought to develop tourism . Most PRTs focused their eff orts in two areas:432...er oil, agriculture, and tourism as economic drivers that support the region internally and serve as an export base.443 Th e host province of RRT

United States Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Implementation in Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-18

combat force until the host nation can stabilize the situation and that, The primary role for US military forces in combat operations is to support...they are to the insurgent as the water is to a fish . Not only does water sustain the life of the fish , it also drowns the enemy. Discipline in the...the populous by building trust and then sharing ideology. Because this process can take time, he makes the point in his Primer on Guerrilla War that

Ada (Trade Name) Compiler Validation Summary Report. Harris Corporation, HARRIS Ada Compiler, Version 1.0, Harris H1200 and H800.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-30

AiBI 895 ADA (TRADENNANE) COMPILER VALIDATION SUMMARY REPORT / HARRIS CORPORATION HA (U) INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER W-P AFS OH ADA...Compiler Validation Summary Report : 30 APR 1986 to 30 APR 1987 Harris Corporation, HARRIS Ada Compiler, Version 1.0, Harris H1200 and H800 6...the United States Government (Ada Joint Program Office). Adae Compiler Validation mary Report : Compiler Name: HARRIS Ada Compiler, Version 1.0 1 Host

Coupling fuel cycles with repositories: how repository institutional choices may impact fuel cycle design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forsberg, C.; Miller, W.F.

2013-07-01

The historical repository siting strategy in the United States has been a top-down approach driven by federal government decision making but it has been a failure. This policy has led to dispatching fuel cycle facilities in different states. The U.S. government is now considering an alternative repository siting strategy based on voluntary agreements with state governments. If that occurs, state governments become key decision makers. They have different priorities. Those priorities may change the characteristics of the repository and the fuel cycle. State government priorities, when considering hosting a repository, are safety, financial incentives and jobs. It follows that statesmore » will demand that a repository be the center of the back end of the fuel cycle as a condition of hosting it. For example, states will push for collocation of transportation services, safeguards training, and navy/private SNF (Spent Nuclear Fuel) inspection at the repository site. Such activities would more than double local employment relative to what was planned for the Yucca Mountain-type repository. States may demand (1) the right to take future title of the SNF so if recycle became economic the reprocessing plant would be built at the repository site and (2) the right of a certain fraction of the repository capacity for foreign SNF. That would open the future option of leasing of fuel to foreign utilities with disposal of the SNF in the repository but with the state-government condition that the front-end fuel-cycle enrichment and fuel fabrication facilities be located in that state.« less

Three Novel Herpesviruses of Endangered Clemmys and Glyptemys Turtles

PubMed Central

Ossiboff, Robert J.; Raphael, Bonnie L.; Ammazzalorso, Alyssa D.; Seimon, Tracie A.; Newton, Alisa L.; Chang, Tylis Y.; Zarate, Brian; Whitlock, Alison L.; McAloose, Denise

2015-01-01

The rich diversity of the world’s reptiles is at risk due to significant population declines of broad taxonomic and geographic scope. Significant factors attributed to these declines include habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable collection and infectious disease. To investigate the presence and significance of a potential pathogen on populations of critically endangered bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) as well sympatric endangered wood (G. insculpta) and endangered spotted (Clemmys guttata) turtles in the northeastern United States, choanal and cloacal swabs collected from 230 turtles from 19 sites in 5 states were screened for herpesvirus by polymerase chain reaction. We found a high incidence of herpesvirus infection in bog turtles (51.5%; 105/204) and smaller numbers of positive wood (5) and spotted (1) turtles. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed three previously uncharacterized alphaherpesviruses. Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 was the predominant herpesvirus detected and was found exclusively in bog turtles in all states sampled. Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 was found only in wood turtles. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was found in a small number of bog turtles and a single spotted turtle from one state. Based on these findings, Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 appears to be a common infection in the study population, whereas Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 and Emydid herpesvirus 2 were not as frequently detected. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was the only virus detected in more than one species. Herpesviruses are most often associated with subclinical or mild infections in their natural hosts, and no sampled turtles showed overt signs of disease at sampling. However, infection of host-adapted viruses in closely related species can result in significant disease. The pathogenic potential of these viruses, particularly Emydid herpesvirus 2, in sympatric chelonians warrants additional study in order to better understand the relationship of these viruses with their endangered hosts. PMID:25875510

Three novel herpesviruses of endangered Clemmys and Glyptemys turtles.

PubMed

Ossiboff, Robert J; Raphael, Bonnie L; Ammazzalorso, Alyssa D; Seimon, Tracie A; Newton, Alisa L; Chang, Tylis Y; Zarate, Brian; Whitlock, Alison L; McAloose, Denise

2015-01-01

The rich diversity of the world's reptiles is at risk due to significant population declines of broad taxonomic and geographic scope. Significant factors attributed to these declines include habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable collection and infectious disease. To investigate the presence and significance of a potential pathogen on populations of critically endangered bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) as well sympatric endangered wood (G. insculpta) and endangered spotted (Clemmys guttata) turtles in the northeastern United States, choanal and cloacal swabs collected from 230 turtles from 19 sites in 5 states were screened for herpesvirus by polymerase chain reaction. We found a high incidence of herpesvirus infection in bog turtles (51.5%; 105/204) and smaller numbers of positive wood (5) and spotted (1) turtles. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed three previously uncharacterized alphaherpesviruses. Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 was the predominant herpesvirus detected and was found exclusively in bog turtles in all states sampled. Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 was found only in wood turtles. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was found in a small number of bog turtles and a single spotted turtle from one state. Based on these findings, Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 appears to be a common infection in the study population, whereas Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 and Emydid herpesvirus 2 were not as frequently detected. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was the only virus detected in more than one species. Herpesviruses are most often associated with subclinical or mild infections in their natural hosts, and no sampled turtles showed overt signs of disease at sampling. However, infection of host-adapted viruses in closely related species can result in significant disease. The pathogenic potential of these viruses, particularly Emydid herpesvirus 2, in sympatric chelonians warrants additional study in order to better understand the relationship of these viruses with their endangered hosts.

American Canine Hepatozoonosis

PubMed Central

Ewing, S. A.; Panciera, R. J.

2003-01-01

American canine hepatozoonosis (ACH) is a tick-borne disease that is spreading in the southeastern and south-central United States. Characterized by marked leukocytosis and periosteal bone proliferation, ACH is very debilitating and often fatal. Dogs acquire infection by ingesting nymphal or adult Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) that, in a previous life stage, ingested the parasite in a blood meal taken from some vertebrate intermediate host. ACH is caused by the apicomplexan Hepatozoon americanum and has been differentiated from Old World canine hepatozoonosis caused by H. canis. Unlike H. canis, which is transmitted by the ubiquitous brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), H. americanum is essentially an accidental parasite of dogs, for which Gulf Coast ticks are not favored hosts. The geographic portrait of the disease parallels the known distribution of the Gulf Coast tick, which has expanded in recent years. Thus, the endemic cycle of H. americanum involves A. maculatum as definitive host and some vertebrate intermediate host(s) yet to be identified. Although coyotes (Canis latrans) are known to be infected, it is not known how important this host is in maintaining the endemic cycle. This review covers the biology of the parasite and of the tick that transmits it and contrasts ACH with classical canine hepatozoonosis. Clinical aspects of the disease are discussed, including diagnosis and treatment, and puzzling epidemiologic issues are examined. Brief consideration is given to the potential for ACH to be used as a model for study of angiogenesis and of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. PMID:14557294

Mexican papita viroid: putative ancestor of crop viroids.

PubMed Central

Martínez-Soriano, J P; Galindo-Alonso, J; Maroon, C J; Yucel, I; Smith, D R; Diener, T O

1996-01-01

The potato spindle tuber disease was first observed early in the 20th century in the northeastern United States and shown, in 1971, to be incited by a viroid, potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). No wild-plant PSTVd reservoirs have been identified; thus, the initial source of PSTVd infecting potatoes has remained a mystery. Several variants of a novel viroid, designated Mexican papita viroid (MPVd), have now been isolated from Solanum cardiophyllum Lindl. (papita güera, cimantli) plants growing wild in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. MPVd's nucleotide sequence is most closely related to those of the tomato planta macho viroid (TPMVd) and PSTVd. From TPMVd, MPVd may be distinguished on the basis of biological properties, such as replication and symptom formation in certain differential hosts. Phylogenetic and ecological data indicate that MPVd and certain viroids now affecting crop plants, such as TPMVd, PSTVd, and possibly others, have a common ancestor. We hypothesize that commercial potatoes grown in the United States have become viroid-infected by chance transfer of MPVd or a similar viroid from endemically infected wild solanaceous plants imported from Mexico as germplasm, conceivably from plants known to have been introduced from Mexico to the United States late in the 19th century in efforts to identify genetic resistance to the potato late blight fungus, Phytophthora infestans. Images Fig. 1 PMID:8790341

Deer, predators, and the emergence of Lyme disease

PubMed Central

Levi, Taal; Kilpatrick, A. Marm; Mangel, Marc; Wilmers, Christopher C.

2012-01-01

Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America, and both the annual incidence and geographic range are increasing. The emergence of Lyme disease has been attributed to a century-long recovery of deer, an important reproductive host for adult ticks. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that Lyme disease risk may now be more dynamically linked to fluctuations in the abundance of small-mammal hosts that are thought to infect the majority of ticks. The continuing and rapid increase in Lyme disease over the past two decades, long after the recolonization of deer, suggests that other factors, including changes in the ecology of small-mammal hosts may be responsible for the continuing emergence of Lyme disease. We present a theoretical model that illustrates how reductions in small-mammal predators can sharply increase Lyme disease risk. We then show that increases in Lyme disease in the northeastern and midwestern United States over the past three decades are frequently uncorrelated with deer abundance and instead coincide with a range-wide decline of a key small-mammal predator, the red fox, likely due to expansion of coyote populations. Further, across four states we find poor spatial correlation between deer abundance and Lyme disease incidence, but coyote abundance and fox rarity effectively predict the spatial distribution of Lyme disease in New York. These results suggest that changes in predator communities may have cascading impacts that facilitate the emergence of zoonotic diseases, the vast majority of which rely on hosts that occupy low trophic levels. PMID:22711825

Co-feeding transmission facilitates strain coexistence in Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent.

PubMed

States, S L; Huang, C I; Davis, S; Tufts, D M; Diuk-Wasser, M A

2017-06-01

Coexistence of multiple tick-borne pathogens or strains is common in natural hosts and can be facilitated by resource partitioning of the host species, within-host localization, or by different transmission pathways. Most vector-borne pathogens are transmitted horizontally via systemic host infection, but transmission may occur in the absence of systemic infection between two vectors feeding in close proximity, enabling pathogens to minimize competition and escape the host immune response. In a laboratory study, we demonstrated that co-feeding transmission can occur for a rapidly-cleared strain of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, between two stages of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis while feeding on their dominant host, Peromyscus leucopus. In contrast, infections rapidly became systemic for the persistently infecting strain. In a field study, we assessed opportunities for co-feeding transmission by measuring co-occurrence of two tick stages on ears of small mammals over two years at multiple sites. Finally, in a modeling study, we assessed the importance of co-feeding on R 0 , the basic reproductive number. The model indicated that co-feeding increases the fitness of rapidly-cleared strains in regions with synchronous immature tick feeding. Our results are consistent with increased diversity of B. burgdorferi in areas of higher synchrony in immature feeding - such as the midwestern United States. A higher relative proportion of rapidly-cleared strains, which are less human pathogenic, would also explain lower Lyme disease incidence in this region. Finally, if co-feeding transmission also occurs on refractory hosts, it may facilitate the emergence and persistence of new pathogens with a more limited host range. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The instrument control unit of SPICA SAFARI: a macro-unit to host all the digital control functionalities of the spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Giorgio, Anna Maria; Biondi, David; Saggin, Bortolino; Shatalina, Irina; Viterbini, Maurizio; Giusi, Giovanni; Liu, Scige J.; Cerulli-Irelli, Paquale; Van Loon, Dennis; Cara, Christophe

2012-09-01

We present the preliminary design of the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) of the SpicA FAR infrared Instrument (SAFARI), an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) designed to give continuous wavelength coverage in both photometric and spectroscopic modes from around 34 to 210 µm. Due to the stringent requirements in terms of mass and volume, the overall SAFARI warm electronics will be composed by only two main units: Detector Control Unit and ICU. ICU is therefore a macro-unit incorporating the four digital sub-units dedicated to the control of the overall instrument functionalities: the Cooler Control Unit, the Mechanism Control Unit, the Digital processing Unit and the Power Supply Unit. Both the mechanical solution adopted to host the four sub-units and the internal electrical architecture are presented as well as the adopted redundancy approach.

Prediction of weak topological insulators in layered semiconductors.

PubMed

Yan, Binghai; Müchler, Lukas; Felser, Claudia

2012-09-14

We report the discovery of weak topological insulators by ab initio calculations in a honeycomb lattice. We propose a structure with an odd number of layers in the primitive unit cell as a prerequisite for forming weak topological insulators. Here, the single-layered KHgSb is the most suitable candidate for its large bulk energy gap of 0.24 eV. Its side surface hosts metallic surface states, forming two anisotropic Dirac cones. Although the stacking of even-layered structures leads to trivial insulators, the structures can host a quantum spin Hall layer with a large bulk gap, if an additional single layer exists as a stacking fault in the crystal. The reported honeycomb compounds can serve as prototypes to aid in the finding of new weak topological insulators in layered small-gap semiconductors.

Helminth parasites of the Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus (Sauria: Gekkonidae), from Texas, United States with a summary of helminths of this host.

PubMed

McAllister, Chris T; Bursey, Charles R

2016-09-01

One hundred-thirty six Mediterranean geckos, Hemidactylus turcicus, were collected between December 1986 and March 2016 in Hardin (n = 7), Harris (n = 57), and Tom Green (n = 72) counties, Texas, USA., and examined for helminth parasites. Fifty-two H. turcicus (38%) were infected with at least one helminth species. Found were a trematode, Mesocoelium meggitti, three cestodes, Mesocestoides sp. (tetrathyridia), Oochoristica ameivae and Oochoristica scelopori, and four nematodes, Cosmocercoides variabilis, Oswaldocruzia pipiens, Parapharyngodon cubensis, and larvae of Physaloptera sp. Oochoristica ameivae, O. scelopori, P. cubensis, Physaloptera sp., and Os. pipiens represent new host records for H. turcicus and M. meggitti is reported from Texas for the first time. A summary of the helminth parasites of both native and non-native H. turcicus is presented.

Complementary description of Ergasilus arthrosis Roberts, 1969 (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida: Ergasilidae), a new parasite of cichlid teleosts in southeast Mexico.

PubMed

Jiménez-García, María Isabel; Suárez-Morales, Eduardo

2017-01-01

During a parasitological survey of the ichthyofauna of Lake Catemaco, a freshwater system in the Mexican State of Veracruz, the widespread copepod Ergasilus arthrosis Roberts, 1969 was recovered from two cichlid teleosts, Mayaheros urophthalmus (Günther) and Oreochromis sp. This is the first confirmed record of this copepod species outside of the United States and from Mexico; its finding as a parasite of cichlids represents an expansion of the known host range for this copepod. The local prevalence and intensity of infection of E. arthrosis was highest in M. urophthalmus. The infection prevalence of E. arthrosis on M. urophthalmus (60%) was higher than that known for other ergasilids on cichlids. Ergasilus arthrosis can be distinguished from its closest congener E. lizae Krøyer, 1863 by the morphometry of the antennary segments, the ventral ornamentation of the thoracic sclerites and by details of the antennulary setation, but also by its habitat and host preferences. Taxonomic illustrations and morphological details of the specimens examined are also provided together with comments on the variability of this species.

Application of graph-based semi-supervised learning for development of cyber COP and network intrusion detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levchuk, Georgiy; Colonna-Romano, John; Eslami, Mohammed

2017-05-01

The United States increasingly relies on cyber-physical systems to conduct military and commercial operations. Attacks on these systems have increased dramatically around the globe. The attackers constantly change their methods, making state-of-the-art commercial and military intrusion detection systems ineffective. In this paper, we present a model to identify functional behavior of network devices from netflow traces. Our model includes two innovations. First, we define novel features for a host IP using detection of application graph patterns in IP's host graph constructed from 5-min aggregated packet flows. Second, we present the first application, to the best of our knowledge, of Graph Semi-Supervised Learning (GSSL) to the space of IP behavior classification. Using a cyber-attack dataset collected from NetFlow packet traces, we show that GSSL trained with only 20% of the data achieves higher attack detection rates than Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Naïve Bayes (NB) classifiers trained with 80% of data points. We also show how to improve detection quality by filtering out web browsing data, and conclude with discussion of future research directions.

Association between long work hours and poor self-reported general health among Latin American immigrant and native workers in the United States and Spain.

PubMed

Conway, Sadie H; Cayuela, Ana; Delclos, George L; Pompeii, Lisa A; Ronda, Elena

2016-12-01

The relationship between hours worked per week and self-reported general health (SRGH) has not been assessed in Latin American immigrant and native workers across host countries. Cross-sectional study of the association between long work hours (LWH) (i.e., >51 hr per week) and poor SRGH using data from 2,626 workers in the United States (immigrants = 10.4%) and 8,306 workers in Spain (immigrants = 4.1%). Both countries' natives working >51 hr per week had increased odds of reporting poor SRGH compared to those working fewer hours (U.S.: OR = 1.59; 95%CI = 1.01-2.49; Spain: OR = 2.17; 95%CI = 1.71-2.75); when stratified by sex, increased odds also were observed among immigrant female workers in Spain (OR = 3.47; 95%CI = 1.15-10.5). LWH were associated with differential health outcomes in populations of native and Latin American immigrant workers in the United States and Spain, which may reflect social or occupational inequalities in general or resulting from the 2008 financial crisis. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:1105-1111, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Changes in Black-legged Tick Population in New England with Future Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnan, S.; Huber, M.

2015-12-01

Lyme disease is one of the most frequently reported vector-borne diseases in the United States. In the Northeastern United States, vector transmission is maintained in a horizontal transmission cycle between the vector, the black-legged ticks, and the vertebrate reservoir hosts, which include white-tailed deer, rodents and other medium to large sized mammals. Predicting how vector populations change with future climate change is critical to understanding disease spread in the future, and for developing suitable regional adaptation strategies. For the United States, these predictions have mostly been made using regressions based on field and lab studies, or using spatial suitability studies. However, the relation between tick populations at various life-cycle stages and climate variables are complex, necessitating a mechanistic approach. In this study, we present a framework for driving a mechanistic tick population model with high-resolution regional climate modeling projections. The goal is to estimate changes in black-legged tick populations in New England for the 21st century. The tick population model used is based on the mechanistic approach of Ogden et al., (2005) developed for Canada. Dynamically downscaled climate projections at a 3-kms resolution using the Weather and Research Forecasting Model (WRF) are used to drive the tick population model.

Beyond the stomach: An updated view of Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment

PubMed Central

Testerman, Traci L; Morris, James

2014-01-01

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an extremely common, yet underappreciated, pathogen that is able to alter host physiology and subvert the host immune response, allowing it to persist for the life of the host. H. pylori is the primary cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. In the United States, the annual cost associated with peptic ulcer disease is estimated to be $6 billion and gastric cancer kills over 700000 people per year globally. The prevalence of H. pylori infection remains high (> 50%) in much of the world, although the infection rates are dropping in some developed nations. The drop in H. pylori prevalence could be a double-edged sword, reducing the incidence of gastric diseases while increasing the risk of allergies and esophageal diseases. The list of diseases potentially caused by H. pylori continues to grow; however, mechanistic explanations of how H. pylori could contribute to extragastric diseases lag far behind clinical studies. A number of host factors and H. pylori virulence factors act in concert to determine which individuals are at the highest risk of disease. These include bacterial cytotoxins and polymorphisms in host genes responsible for directing the immune response. This review discusses the latest advances in H. pylori pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Up-to-date information on correlations between H. pylori and extragastric diseases is also provided. PMID:25278678

Preliminary Map of Potentially Karstic Carbonate Rocks in the Central and Southern Appalachian States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weary, David J.

2008-01-01

Karst is a landscape produced by dissolution of rocks and the development of integrated subterranean drainages dominated by the flow of ground water in solutionally enlarged conduits. Karst landscapes typically include cave entrances, sinkholes, blind valleys, losing streams, springs, and large and small-scale solution features on bedrock surfaces. Water-bearing rocks beneath the surface containing solutionally enlarged pores, fractures, or conduits are referred to as karst aquifers. About 40 percent of all ground water extracted in the United States comes from karst aquifers (Karst Waters Institute). Karst means many things to many people. To most cavers and many speleologists, karst means areas containing caves. To engineers, home builders, local governments, and insurance companies, karst is exemplified by the occurrence of sinkholes and subsidence hazard. To hydrologists, well drillers, and environmental consultants, the focus on karst may be more limited to karst aquifers and springs. Precise figures are not available, but ground collapses in karst areas in the United States require hundreds of millions of dollars in repair and mitigation costs each year. Most karst in the United States is formed in either carbonate or evaporite rocks. This map depicts only areas of carbonate rock outcrop, the chief host for karst formation in the eastern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI), the National Speleological Society (NSS), and various State geological surveys, is working on a new national karst map that will delineate areas of karst and karst-like features nationwide. This product attempts to identify potentially karstic areas of the Appalachian states as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), with the addition of the state of Delaware. This map is labeled preliminary because there is an expectation that it will be revised and updated as part of a new national karst map.

Borrelia burgdorferi in small mammal reservoirs in Kentucky, a traditionally non-endemic state for Lyme disease.

PubMed

Buchholz, Matthew J; Davis, Cheryl; Rowland, Naomi S; Dick, Carl W

2018-04-01

The incidence of tick-borne zoonoses such as Lyme disease has steadily increased in the southeastern United States. Southeastern states accounted for 1500 of over 28,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease reported in the United States during 2015. Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, is maintained in small mammal reservoirs and vectored to new hosts by ixodid ticks. This study examined ecological relationships of the B. burgdorferi/vector/reservoir system in order to understand the dynamics of Lyme disease risk in Kentucky. Small mammals were captured using live traps from November 2014 to October 2015. Ticks were removed and blood and tissue collected from small mammals were screened for B. burgdorferi DNA by PCR with primers specific to the OspA gene. Prevalence of B. burgdorferi (21.8%) in Kentucky small mammals was comparable to the lowest recorded prevalence in regions where Lyme disease is endemic. Moreover, infestation of small mammals by Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of B. burgdorferi, was rare, while Dermacentor variabilis comprised the majority of ticks collected. These findings provide ecological insight into the relative paucity of Lyme disease in Kentucky.

An Electronic Pressure Profile Display system for aeronautic test facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woike, Mark R.

1990-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center has installed an Electronic Pressure Profile Display system. This system provides for the real-time display of pressure readings on high resolution graphics monitors. The Electronic Pressure Profile Display system will replace manometer banks currently used in aeronautic test facilities. The Electronic Pressure Profile Display system consists of an industrial type Digital Pressure Transmitter (DPI) unit which interfaces with a host computer. The host computer collects the pressure data from the DPI unit, converts it into engineering units, and displays the readings on a high resolution graphics monitor in bar graph format. Software was developed to accomplish the above tasks and also draw facility diagrams as background information on the displays. Data transfer between host computer and DPT unit is done with serial communications. Up to 64 channels are displayed with one second update time. This paper describes the system configuration, its features, and its advantages over existing systems.

An electronic pressure profile display system for aeronautic test facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woike, Mark R.

1990-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center has installed an Electronic Pressure Profile Display system. This system provides for the real-time display of pressure readings on high resolution graphics monitors. The Electronic Pressure Profile Display system will replace manometer banks currently used in aeronautic test facilities. The Electronic Pressure Profile Display system consists of an industrial type Digital Pressure Transmitter (DPT) unit which interfaces with a host computer. The host computer collects the pressure data from the DPT unit, converts it into engineering units, and displays the readings on a high resolution graphics monitor in bar graph format. Software was developed to accomplish the above tasks and also draw facility diagrams as background information on the displays. Data transfer between host computer and DPT unit is done with serial communications. Up to 64 channels are displayed with one second update time. This paper describes the system configuration, its features, and its advantages over existing systems.

Novel Hepatozoon in vertebrates from the southern United States.

PubMed

Allen, Kelly E; Yabsley, Michael J; Johnson, Eileen M; Reichard, Mason V; Panciera, Roger J; Ewing, Sidney A; Little, Susan E

2011-08-01

Novel Hepatozoon spp. sequences collected from previously unrecognized vertebrate hosts in North America were compared with documented Hepatozoon 18S rRNA sequences in an effort to examine phylogenetic relationships between the different Hepatozoon organisms found cycling in nature. An approximately 500-base pair fragment of 18S rDNA common to Hepatozoon spp. and some other apicomplexans was amplified and sequenced from the tissues or blood of 16 vertebrate host species from the southern United States, including 1 opossum (Didelphis virginiana), 2 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 1 domestic cat (Felis catus), 3 coyotes (Canis latrans), 1 gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), 4 raccoons (Procyon lotor), 1 pet boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator), 1 swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus), 1 cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), 4 woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes and Neotoma micropus), 3 white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), 8 cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), 1 cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus), 1 eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), and 1 woodchuck (Marmota monax). Phylogenetic analyses and comparison with sequences in the existing database revealed distinct groups of Hepatozoon spp., with clusters formed by sequences obtained from scavengers and carnivores (opossum, raccoons, canids, and felids) and those obtained from rodents. Surprisingly, Hepatozoon spp. sequences from wild rabbits were most closely related to sequences obtained from carnivores (97.2% identical), and the sequence from the boa constrictor was most closely related to the rodent cluster (97.4% identical). These data are consistent with recent work identifying prey-predator transmission cycles in Hepatozoon spp. and suggest this pattern may be more common than previously recognized.

Historical review of the international water-resources program of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1940-70

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, George C.

1976-01-01

The review describes the history of the U.S. Geological Survey 's (USGS) activities in international water-resources investigations and institutional development as well as exchange in scientific and applied hydrology during 1940-70. The bulk of these activities has been carried out under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development and its predecessors, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and the regional intergovernmental agencies. The central objectives of the USGS ' international water-resources activities have been to strengthen the administrative, staff, and operational functions of counterpart governmental hydrological and water-resources agencies; to improve the skills and capabilities of host-country scientific, engineering, and technical personnel; to exchange research specialists and publications in the sharing of advances in hydrological knowledge and methodology; and to participate in mutually beneficial international organizations, symposia, conferences, seminars, and special programs dedicated to various aspects of scientific and applied hydrology. Between 1940 and 1970, USGS hydrogeologists, water chemists, engineers, and hydrologists completed 340 short- and long-term project-oriented international assignments in some 80 host countries. During the same time more than 428 water scientists, engineers, and technicians from 60 countries have received academic and in-service training through USGS water-resources facilities in the United States. Also in this period some 336 reports of a technical and scientific nature have resulted from water-resources projects in the U.S bilateral program. (Woodard-USGS)

Geography and host species shape the evolutionary dynamics of U genogroup infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Black, Allison; Breyta, Rachel; Bedford, Trevor; Kurath, Gael

2016-01-01

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a negative-sense RNA virus that infects wild and cultured salmonids throughout the Pacific Coastal United States and Canada, from California to Alaska. Although infection of adult fish is usually asymptomatic, juvenile infections can result in high mortality events that impact salmon hatchery programs and commercial aquaculture. We used epidemiological case data and genetic sequence data from a 303 nt portion of the viral glycoprotein gene to study the evolutionary dynamics of U genogroup IHNV in the Pacific Northwestern United States from 1971 to 2013. We identified 114 unique genotypes among 1,219 U genogroup IHNV isolates representing 619 virus detection events. We found evidence for two previously unidentified, broad subgroups within the U genogroup, which we designated ‘UC’ and ‘UP’. Epidemiologic records indicated that UP viruses were detected more frequently in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and in coastal waters of Washington and Oregon, whereas UC viruses were detected primarily in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Columbia River Basin, which is a large, complex watershed extending throughout much of interior Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. These findings were supported by phylogenetic analysis and by FST. Ancestral state reconstruction indicated that early UC viruses in the Columbia River Basin initially infected sockeye salmon but then emerged via host shifts into Chinook salmon and steelhead trout sometime during the 1980s. We postulate that the development of these subgroups within U genogroup was driven by selection pressure for viral adaptation to Chinook salmon and steelhead trout within the Columbia River Basin.

FY16 Summary Report: Participation in the KOSINA Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matteo, Edward N.; Hansen, Francis D.

Salt formations represent a promising host for disposal of nuclear waste in the United States and Germany. Together, these countries provided fully developed safety cases for bedded salt and domal salt, respectively. Today, Germany and the United States find themselves in similar positions with respect to salt formations serving as repositories for heat-generating nuclear waste. German research centers are evaluating bedded and pillow salt formations to contrast with their previous safety case made for the Gorleben dome. Sandia National Laboratories is collaborating on this effort as an Associate Partner, and this report summarizes that teamwork. Sandia and German research groupsmore » have a long-standing cooperative approach to repository science, engineering, operations, safety assessment, testing, modeling and other elements comprising the basis for salt disposal. Germany and the United States hold annual bilateral workshops, which cover a spectrum of issues surrounding the viability of salt formations. Notably, recent efforts include development of a database for features, events, and processes applying broadly and generically to bedded and domal salt. Another international teaming activity evaluates salt constitutive models, including hundreds of new experiments conducted on bedded salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. These extensive collaborations continue to build the scientific basis for salt disposal. Repository deliberations in the United States are revisiting bedded and domal salt for housing a nuclear waste repository. By agreeing to collaborate with German peers, our nation stands to benefit by assurance of scientific position, exchange of operational concepts, and approach to elements of the safety case, all reflecting cost and time efficiency.« less

The medical examination in United States immigration applications: the potential use of genetic testing leads to heightened privacy concerns.

PubMed

Burroughs, A Maxwell

2005-01-01

The medical examination has been an integral part of the immigration application process since the passing of the Immigration Act of 1891. Failing the medical examination can result in denial of the application. Over the years the medical examination has been expanded to include questioning about diseases that are scientifically shown to be rooted in an individual's genetic makeup. Recent advances in the fields of genomics and bioinformatics are making accurate and precise screening for these conditions a reality. Government policymakers will soon be faced with decisions regarding whether or not to sanction the use of these newly-developed genetic tests in the immigration application procedure. The terror threat currently facing the United States may ultimately bolster the argument in favor of genetic testing and/or DNA collection of applicants. However, the possibility of a government mandate requiring genetic testing raises a host of ethical issues; including the threat of eugenics and privacy concerns. Genetic testing has the ability to uncover a wealth of sensitive medical information about an individual and currently there are no medical information privacy protections afforded to immigration applicants. This article examines the potential for genetic testing in the immigration application process and the ethical issues surrounding this testing. In particular, this article explores the existing framework of privacy protections afforded to individuals living in the United States and how this and newly-erected standards like those released by the Health and Human Services (HHS) might apply to individuals seeking to immigrate to the United States.

Magmatic sulfide-rich nickel-copper deposits related to picrite and (or) tholeiitic basalt dike-sill complexes-A preliminary deposit model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schulz, Klaus J.; Chandler, Val W.; Nicholson, Suzanne W.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Seal, Robert R.; Woodruff, Laurel G.; Zientek, Michael L.

2010-01-01

Magmatic sulfide deposits containing nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu), with or without (?) platinum-group elements (PGEs), account for approximately 60 percent of the world's Ni production and are active exploration targets in the United States and elsewhere. On the basis of their principal metal production, magmatic sulfide deposits in mafic rocks can be divided into two major types: those that are sulfide-rich, typically with 10 to 90 percent sulfide minerals, and have economic value primarily because of their Ni and Cu contents; and those that are sulfide-poor, typically with 0.5 to 5 percent sulfide minerals, and are exploited principally for PGE. Because the purpose of this deposit model is to facilitate the assessment for undiscovered, potentially economic magmatic Ni-Cu?PGE sulfide deposits in the United States, it addresses only those deposits of economic significance that are likely to occur in the United States on the basis of known geology. Thus, this model focuses on deposits hosted by small- to medium-sized mafic and (or) ultramafic dikes and sills that are related to picrite and tholeiitic basalt magmatic systems generally emplaced in continental settings as a component of large igneous provinces (LIPs). World-class examples (those containing greater than 1 million tons Ni) of this deposit type include deposits at Noril'sk-Talnakh (Russia), Jinchuan (China), Pechenga (Russia), Voisey's Bay (Canada), and Kabanga (Tanzania). In the United States, this deposit type is represented by the Eagle deposit in northern Michigan, currently under development by Kennecott Minerals.

Current developments in understanding of West Nile virus central nervous system disease.

PubMed

Tyler, Kenneth L

2014-06-01

West Nile virus (WNV) is the most important cause of epidemic encephalitis in the United States. We review articles published in the last 18 months related to the epidemiology, immunology, clinical features, and treatment of this disease. There was a resurgence in WNV disease in the United States in 2012. The WNV strain now predominant in the United States (NA/WN02) differs from the initial emergent isolate in 1999 (NY99). However, differences in the genetics of currently circulating United States WNV strains do not explain variations in epidemic magnitude or disease severity. Innate and acquired immunity are critical in control of WNV, and in some cases pathways are central nervous system specific. The clinical features of infection are now well understood, although nonconfirmed observations of chronic viral excretion in urine remain controversial. There is no specific antiviral therapy for WNV, but studies of antivirals specific for other flaviviruses may identify agents with promise against WNV. Phase I and II human WNV vaccine clinical trials have established that well tolerated and immunogenic WNV vaccines can be developed. WNV remains an important public health problem. Although recent studies have significantly increased our understanding of host immune and genetic factors involved in control of WNV infection, no specific therapy is yet available. Development of a well tolerated, immunogenic, and effective vaccine against WNV is almost certainly feasible, but economic factors and the lack of predictability of the magnitude and location of outbreaks are problematic for designing phase III trials and ultimate licensure.

Proceedings of a USGS Workshop on Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Along the U.S.-Mexico Border - Monitoring, Modeling, and Forecasting Change Within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norman, Laura M.; Hirsch, Derrick D.; Ward, A. Wesley

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Competition for water resources, habitats, and urban areas in the Borderlands has become an international concern. In the United States, Department of Interior Bureaus, Native American Tribes, and other State and Federal partners rely on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide unbiased science and leadership in the Borderlands region. Consequently, the USGS hosted a workshop, ?Facing Tomorrow?s Challenges along the U.S.-Mexico Border,? on March 20?22, 2007, in Tucson, Ariz., focused specifically on monitoring, modeling, and forecasting change within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds

Mapping brucellosis increases relative to elk density using hierarchical Bayesian models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cross, Paul C.; Heisey, Dennis M.; Scurlock, Brandon M.; Edwards, William H.; Brennan, Angela; Ebinger, Michael R.

2010-01-01

The relationship between host density and parasite transmission is central to the effectiveness of many disease management strategies. Few studies, however, have empirically estimated this relationship particularly in large mammals. We applied hierarchical Bayesian methods to a 19-year dataset of over 6400 brucellosis tests of adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming. Management captures that occurred from January to March were over two times more likely to be seropositive than hunted elk that were killed in September to December, while accounting for site and year effects. Areas with supplemental feeding grounds for elk had higher seroprevalence in 1991 than other regions, but by 2009 many areas distant from the feeding grounds were of comparable seroprevalence. The increases in brucellosis seroprevalence were correlated with elk densities at the elk management unit, or hunt area, scale (mean 2070 km2; range = [95–10237]). The data, however, could not differentiate among linear and non-linear effects of host density. Therefore, control efforts that focus on reducing elk densities at a broad spatial scale were only weakly supported. Additional research on how a few, large groups within a region may be driving disease dynamics is needed for more targeted and effective management interventions. Brucellosis appears to be expanding its range into new regions and elk populations, which is likely to further complicate the United States brucellosis eradication program. This study is an example of how the dynamics of host populations can affect their ability to serve as disease reservoirs.

Humans as holobionts: implications for prevention and therapy.

PubMed

van de Guchte, Maarten; Blottière, Hervé M; Doré, Joël

2018-05-01

The human gut microbiota is increasingly recognized for its important or even decisive role in health. As it becomes clear that microbiota and host mutually affect and depend on each other in an intimate relationship, a holistic view of the gut microbiota-host association imposes itself. Ideally, a stable state of equilibrium, homeostasis, is maintained and serves health, but signs are that perturbation of this equilibrium beyond the limits of resilience can propel the system into an alternative stable state, a pre-disease state, more susceptible to the development of chronic diseases. The microbiota-host equilibrium of a large and growing proportion of individuals in Western society may represent such a pre-disease state and explain the explosive development of chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and other inflammatory diseases. These diseases themselves represent other alternative stable states again and are therefore hard to cure. The holistic view of the microbiota-host association where feedback loops between microbiota and host are thought to maintain the system in a stable state-be it a healthy, pre-disease, or disease state-implies that integrated approaches, addressing host processes and microbiota, should be used to treat or prevent (pre-)disease.

Host susceptibility to snake fungal disease is highly dispersed across phylogenetic and functional trait space

PubMed Central

Burbrink, Frank T.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Lips, Karen R.

2017-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) reduce host population sizes, cause extinction, disassemble communities, and have indirect negative effects on human well-being. Fungal EIDs have reduced population abundances in amphibians and bats across many species over large areas. The recent emergence of snake fungal disease (SFD) may have caused declines in some snake populations in the Eastern United States (EUS), which is home to a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse assembly of 98 taxa. SFD has been documented in only 23 naturally occuring species, although this is likely an underestimate of the number of susceptible taxa. Using several novel methods, including artificial neural networks, we combine phylogenetic and trait-based community estimates from all taxa in this region to show that SFD hosts are both phylogenetically and ecologically randomly dispersed. This might indicate that other species of snakes in the EUS could be currently infected or susceptible to SFD. Our models also indicate that information about key traits that enhance susceptiblity is lacking. Surveillance should consider that all snake species and habitats likely harbor this pathogen. PMID:29291245

Host susceptibility to snake fungal disease is highly dispersed across phylogenetic and functional trait space.

PubMed

Burbrink, Frank T; Lorch, Jeffrey M; Lips, Karen R

2017-12-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) reduce host population sizes, cause extinction, disassemble communities, and have indirect negative effects on human well-being. Fungal EIDs have reduced population abundances in amphibians and bats across many species over large areas. The recent emergence of snake fungal disease (SFD) may have caused declines in some snake populations in the Eastern United States (EUS), which is home to a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse assembly of 98 taxa. SFD has been documented in only 23 naturally occuring species, although this is likely an underestimate of the number of susceptible taxa. Using several novel methods, including artificial neural networks, we combine phylogenetic and trait-based community estimates from all taxa in this region to show that SFD hosts are both phylogenetically and ecologically randomly dispersed. This might indicate that other species of snakes in the EUS could be currently infected or susceptible to SFD. Our models also indicate that information about key traits that enhance susceptiblity is lacking. Surveillance should consider that all snake species and habitats likely harbor this pathogen.

Host susceptibility to snake fungal disease is highly dispersed across phylogenetic and functional trait space

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burbrink, Frank T.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Lips, Karen R.

2017-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) reduce host population sizes, cause extinction, disassemble communities, and have indirect negative effects on human well-being. Fungal EIDs have reduced population abundances in amphibians and bats across many species over large areas. The recent emergence of snake fungal disease (SFD) may have caused declines in some snake populations in the Eastern United States (EUS), which is home to a phylogenetically and ecologically diverse assembly of 98 taxa. SFD has been documented in only 23 naturally occuring species, although this is likely an underestimate of the number of susceptible taxa. Using several novel methods, including artificial neural networks, we combine phylogenetic and trait-based community estimates from all taxa in this region to show that SFD hosts are both phylogenetically and ecologically randomly dispersed. This might indicate that other species of snakes in the EUS could be currently infected or susceptible to SFD. Our models also indicate that information about key traits that enhance susceptiblity is lacking. Surveillance should consider that all snake species and habitats likely harbor this pathogen.

Spatial Databases of Geological, Geophysical, and Mineral Resource Data Relevant to Sandstone-Hosted Copper Deposits in Central Kazakhstan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Syusyura, Boris; Box, Stephen E.; Wallis, John C.

2010-01-01

Central Kazakhstan is host to one of the world's giant sandstone-hosted copper deposits, the Dzhezkazgan deposit, and several similar, smaller deposits. The United Stated Geological Survey (USGS) is assessing the potential for other, undiscovered deposits of this type in the surrounding region of central Kazakhstan. As part of this effort, Syusyura compiled and partially translated an array of mostly unpublished geologic, geophysical, and mineral resource data for this region in digital format from the archives of the former Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (of which Kazakhstan was one of the member republics until its dissolution in 1991), as well as from later archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan or of the Kazakhstan consulting firm Mining Economic Consulting (MEC). These digital data are primarily map-based displays of information that were transmitted either in ESRI ArcGIS, georeferenced format, or non-georeferenced map image files. Box and Wallis reviewed all the data, translated Cyrillic text where necessary, inspected the maps for consistency, georeferenced the unprojected map images, and reorganized the data into the filename and folder structure of this publication.

Prevalence of Human-Active and Variant 1 Strains of the Tick-Borne Pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Hosts and Forests of Eastern North America

PubMed Central

Keesing, Felicia; McHenry, Diana J.; Hersh, Michelle; Tibbetts, Michael; Brunner, Jesse L.; Killilea, Mary; LoGiudice, Kathleen; Schmidt, Kenneth A.; Ostfeld, Richard S.

2014-01-01

Anaplasmosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by infection with the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In the eastern United States, A. phagocytophilum is transmitted to hosts through the bite of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. We determined the realized reservoir competence of 14 species of common vertebrate hosts for ticks by establishing the probability that each species transmits two important strains of A. phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum human-active, which causes human cases, and A. phagocytophilum variant 1, which does not) to feeding larval ticks. We also sampled questing nymphal ticks from ∼150 sites in a single county over 2 years and sampled over 6 years at one location. White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) were the most competent reservoirs for infection with the A. phagocytophilum human-active strain. Across the county, prevalence in ticks for both strains together was 8.3%; ticks were more than two times as likely to be infected with A. phagocytophilum human-active as A. phagocytophilum variant 1. PMID:24865688

Distribution of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biotypes in North America after the Q invasion.

PubMed

McKenzie, Cindy L; Bethke, James A; Byrne, Frank J; Chamberlin, Joseph R; Dennehy, Timothy J; Dickey, Aaron M; Gilrein, Dan; Hall, Paula M; Ludwig, Scott; Oetting, Ronald D; Osborne, Lance S; Schmale, Lin; Shatters, Robert G

2012-06-01

After the 2004 discovery of the Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera Aleyrodidae) Q biotype in the United States, there was a vital need to determine the geographical and host distribution as well as its interaction with the resident B biotype because of its innate ability to rapidly develop high-level insecticide resistance that persists in the absence of exposure. As part of a coordinated country-wide effort, an extensive survey of B. tabaci biotypes was conducted in North America, with the cooperation of growers, industry, local, state, and federal agencies, to monitor the introduction and distribution of the Q biotype. The biotype status of submitted B. tabaci samples was determined either by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of a mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I small subunit gene fragment and characterization of two biotype discriminating nuclear microsatellite markers or esterase zymogram analysis. Two hundred and eighty collections were sampled from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, and Mexico during January 2005 through December 2011. Host plants were split between ornamental plant and culinary herb (67%) and vegetable and field crop (33%) commodities. The New World biotype was detected on field-grown tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Mexico (two) and in commercial greenhouses in Texas (three) and represented 100% of these five collections. To our knowledge, the latter identification represents the first report of the New World biotype in the United States since its rapid displacement in the late 1980s after the introduction of biotype B. Seventy-one percent of all collections contained at least one biotype B individual, and 53% of all collections contained only biotype B whiteflies. Biotype Q was detected in 23 states in the United States, Canada (British Columbia and Ontario territories), Bermuda, and Mexico. Forty-five percent of all collections were found to contain biotype Q in samples from ornamentals, herbs and a single collection from tomato transplants located in protected commercial horticultural greenhouses, but there were no Q detections in outdoor agriculture (vegetable or field crops). Ten of the 15 collections (67%) from Canada and a single collection from Bermuda contained biotype Q, representing the first reports of biotype Q for both countries. Three distinct mitochondrial haplotypes of B. tabaci biotype Q whiteflies were detected in North America Our data are consistent with the inference of independent invasions from at least three different locations. Of the 4,641 individuals analyzed from 517 collections that include data from our previous work, only 16 individuals contained genetic or zymogram evidence of possible hybridization of the Q and B biotypes, and there was no evidence that rare hybrid B-Q marker co-occurrences persisted in any populations.

Parasite (Ribeiroia ondatrae) infection linked to amphibian malformations in the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, P.T.J.; Lunde, K.B.; Thurman, E.M.; Ritchie, E.G.; Wray, S.N.; Sutherland, D.R.; Kapfer, J.M.; Frest, T.J.; Bowerman, J.; Blaustein, A.R.

2002-01-01

Parasites and pathogens can influence the survivorship, behavior, and very structure of their host species. For example, experimental studies have shown that trematode parasites can cause high frequencies of severe limb malformations in amphibians. In a broad-scale field survey covering parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, we examined relationships between the frequency and types of morphological abnormalities in amphibians and the abundance of trematode parasite infection, pH, concentrations of 61 pesticides, and levels of orthophosphate and total nitrate. We recorded severe malformations at frequencies ranging from 1% to 90% in nine amphibian species from 53 aquatic systems. Infection of larvae by the trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae was associated with, and functionally related to, higher frequencies of amphibian limb malformations than found in uninfected populations (≤5%). Parasites were concentrated around the basal tissue of hind limbs in infected anurans, and malformations associated with infection included skin webbings, supernumerary limbs and digits, and missing or malformed hind limbs. In the absence of Ribeiroia, amphibian populations exhibited low (0-5%) frequencies of abnormalities involving missing digits or distal portions of a hind limb. Species were affected differentially by the parasite, and Ambystoma macrodactylum, Hyla regilla, Rand aurora, R. luteiventris, and Taricha torosa typically exhibited the highest frequencies of abnormalities. None of the water-quality variables measured was associated with malformed amphibians, but aquatic snail hosts (Planorbella spp.) were significant predictors of the presence and abundance of Ribeiroia infection. Morphological comparisons of adult specimens of Ribeiroia collected from different sites and raised in experimental definitive hosts suggested that all samples represented the same species - R. ondatrae. These field results, coupled with experimental research on the effects of Ribeiroia on amphibians, demonstrate that Ribeiroia infection is an important and widespread cause of amphibian limb malformations in the western United States. The relevance of trematode infection to declines of amphibian populations and the influence of habitat modification on the pathology and life cycle of Ribeiroia are emphasized as areas requiring further research.

7000 years of Emiliania huxleyi viruses in the Black Sea.

PubMed

Coolen, Marco J L

2011-07-22

A 7000-year record of Coccolithovirus and its host, the calcifying haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi, was reconstructed on the basis of genetic signatures preserved in sediments underlying the Black Sea. The data show that the same virus and host populations can persist for centuries. Major changes in virus and host populations occurred during early sapropel deposition, ~5600 years ago, and throughout the formation of the coccolith-bearing sediments of Unit I during the past 2500 years, when the Black Sea experienced dramatic changes in hydrologic and nutrient regimes. Unit I saw a reoccurrence of the same host genotype thousands of years later in the presence of a different subset of viruses. Historical plankton virus populations can thus be included in paleoecological and paleoenvironmental studies.

Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Muths, Erin L.; Katz, Rachel A.; Canessa, Stefano; Adams, Michael J.; Ballard, Jennifer R.; Berger, Lee; Briggs, Cheryl J.; Coleman, Jeremy; Gray, Matthew J.; Harris, M. Camille; Harris, Reid N.; Hossack, Blake R.; Huyvaert, Kathryn P.; Kolby, Jonathan E.; Lips, Karen R.; Lovich, Robert E.; McCallum, Hamish I.; Mendelson, Joseph R.; Nanjappa, Priya; Olson, Deanna H.; Powers, Jenny G.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; Russell, Robin E.; Schmidt, Benedikt R.; Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Annemarieke; Watry, Mary Kay; Woodhams, Douglas C.; White, C. LeAnn

2016-01-20

The recently (2013) identified pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), poses a severe threat to the distribution and abundance of salamanders within the United States and Europe. Development of a response strategy for the potential, and likely, invasion of Bsal into the United States is crucial to protect global salamander biodiversity. A formal working group, led by Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins Science Center, and Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, was held at the USGS Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States from June 23 to June 25, 2015, to identify crucial Bsal research and monitoring needs that could inform conservation and management strategies for salamanders in the United States. Key findings of the workshop included the following: (1) the introduction of Bsal into the United States is highly probable, if not inevitable, thus requiring development of immediate short-term and long-term intervention strategies to prevent Bsal establishment and biodiversity decline; (2) management actions targeted towards pathogen containment may be ineffective in reducing the long-term spread of Bsal throughout the United States; and (3) early detection of Bsal through surveillance at key amphibian import locations, among high-risk wild populations, and through analysis of archived samples is necessary for developing management responses. Top research priorities during the preinvasion stage included the following: (1) deployment of qualified diagnostic methods for Bsal and establishment of standardized laboratory practices, (2) assessment of susceptibility for amphibian hosts (including anurans), and (3) development and evaluation of short- and long-term pathogen intervention and management strategies. Several outcomes were achieved during the workshop, including development of an organizational structure with working groups for a Bsal Task Force, creation of an initial influence diagram to aid in identifying effective management actions in the face of uncertainty, and production of a list of potential management actions and key research uncertainties. Additional products under development include a Bsal Strategic Action plan, an emergency response plan, a monitoring and surveillance program, a standardized diagnostic approach, decision models for natural resource agencies, and a reporting database for salamander mortalities. This workshop was the first international meeting to address the threat of Bsal to salamander populations in the United States, with more than 30 participants from U.S. conservation and resource management agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. National Park Service, and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies) and academic research institutions in Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Cationic host defense peptides; novel antimicrobial therapeutics against Category A pathogens and emerging infections

PubMed Central

Findlay, Fern; Proudfoot, Lorna; Stevens, Craig

2016-01-01

Cationic Host Defense Peptides (HDP, also known as antimicrobial peptides) are crucial components of the innate immune system and possess broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory activities. They can contribute to the rapid clearance of biological agents through direct killing of the organisms, inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators such as lipopolysaccharide, and by modulating the inflammatory response to infection. Category A biological agents and materials, as classified by the United States National Institutes for Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Department of Homeland Security, carry the most severe threat in terms of human health, transmissibility, and preparedness. As such, there is a pressing need for novel frontline approaches for prevention and treatment of diseases caused by these organisms, and exploiting the broad antimicrobial activity exhibited by cationic host defense peptides represents an exciting priority area for clinical research. This review will summarize what is known about the antimicrobial and antiviral effects of the two main families of cationic host defense peptides, cathelicidins, and defensins in the context of Category A biological agents which include, but are not limited to; anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), plague (Yersinia pestis), smallpox (Variola major), tularemia (Francisella tularensis). In addition, we highlight priority areas, particularly emerging viral infections, where more extensive research is urgently required. PMID:27315342

Cationic host defense peptides; novel antimicrobial therapeutics against Category A pathogens and emerging infections.

PubMed

Findlay, Fern; Proudfoot, Lorna; Stevens, Craig; Barlow, Peter G

2016-01-01

Cationic Host Defense Peptides (HDP, also known as antimicrobial peptides) are crucial components of the innate immune system and possess broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory activities. They can contribute to the rapid clearance of biological agents through direct killing of the organisms, inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators such as lipopolysaccharide, and by modulating the inflammatory response to infection. Category A biological agents and materials, as classified by the United States National Institutes for Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Department of Homeland Security, carry the most severe threat in terms of human health, transmissibility, and preparedness. As such, there is a pressing need for novel frontline approaches for prevention and treatment of diseases caused by these organisms, and exploiting the broad antimicrobial activity exhibited by cationic host defense peptides represents an exciting priority area for clinical research. This review will summarize what is known about the antimicrobial and antiviral effects of the two main families of cationic host defense peptides, cathelicidins, and defensins in the context of Category A biological agents which include, but are not limited to; anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), plague (Yersinia pestis), smallpox (Variola major), tularemia (Francisella tularensis). In addition, we highlight priority areas, particularly emerging viral infections, where more extensive research is urgently required.

Host Preference of Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) on Selected Edible Beans and Soybean.

PubMed

Blount, J L; Buntin, G D; Sparks, A N

2015-06-01

Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) is an Old World pest of legumes in Asia. Since its 2009 discovery in Georgia, it has become an economic pest of soybeans in the southeastern United States. The objective of this study was to determine the host preference of M. cribraria on edible legumes that might incur economic damage from injury of this pest. From 2012 to 2013 choice, no-choice, and field trials were conducted to evaluate the host suitability of several beans of commercial interest including pinto bean, lima bean, winter pea, and black-eyed pea. Choice and no-choice studies were conducted under greenhouse conditions. Plants in greenhouse trials were infested with adults and egg masses collected from kudzu and soybean and monitored for ∼2 wk. Field trials were allowed to be infested by naturally occurring M. cribraria populations. Sweep and whole plant counts of adults, egg masses, and nymphs were used to quantify field infestations. The legume crops found to be suitable developmental hosts are soybean, edamame, and pigeon pea. Low levels of development were seen on fava bean and none on the remaining entries. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Supersuppression: Reservoir Competency and Timing of Mosquito Host Shifts Combine to Reduce Spillover of West Nile Virus.

PubMed

Levine, Rebecca S; Mead, Daniel G; Hamer, Gabriel L; Brosi, Berry J; Hedeen, David L; Hedeen, Meghan W; McMillan, Joseph R; Bisanzio, Donal; Kitron, Uriel D

2016-11-02

In the eastern United States, human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) result from spillover from urban epizootic transmission between passerine birds and Culex mosquitoes. In Atlanta, GA, substantial WNV presence in hosts and vectors has not resulted in the human disease burden observed in cities with similar infection pressure. Our study goal was to investigate extrinsic ecological conditions that potentially contribute to these reduced transmission rates. We conducted WNV surveillance among hosts and vectors in urban Atlanta and recorded an overall avian seroprevalence of nearly 30%, which was significantly higher among northern cardinals, blue jays, and members of the mimid family, and notably low among American robins. Examination of temporal Culex feeding patterns showed a marked feeding shift from American robins in the early season to northern cardinals in the late season. We therefore rule out American robins as superspreaders in the Atlanta area and suggest instead that northern cardinals and mimids act as WNV "supersuppressor" species, which slow WNV transmission by drawing many infectious bites during the critical virus amplification period, yet failing to amplify transmission due to low host competencies. Of particular interest, urban forest patches provide spillover protection by increasing the WNV amplification fraction on supersuppressor species. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Trypanosoma cruzi (Agent of Chagas Disease) in Sympatric Human and Dog Populations in "Colonias" of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

PubMed

Curtis-Robles, Rachel; Zecca, Italo B; Roman-Cruz, Valery; Carbajal, Ester S; Auckland, Lisa D; Flores, Isidore; Millard, Ann V; Hamer, Sarah A

2017-04-01

AbstractThe zoonotic, vector-borne parasite Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease throughout the Americas, but human and veterinary health burdens in the United States are unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional prevalence study in indigent, medically underserved human and cohabiting canine populations of seven south Texas border communities, known as colonias. Defining positivity as those samples that were positive on two or more independent tests, we found 1.3% seroprevalence in 233 humans, including one child born in the United States with only short-duration travel to Mexico. Additionally, a single child with no travel outside south Texas was positive on only a single test. Among 209 dogs, seroprevalence was 19.6%, but adjusted to 31.6% when including those dogs positive on only one test and extrapolating potential false negatives. Parasite DNA was detected in five dogs, indicating potential parasitemia. Seropositive dogs lived in all sampled colonias with no difference in odds of positivity across age, sex, or breed. Colonia residents collected two adult Triatoma gerstaeckeri and one nymph triatomine from around their homes; one of three bugs was infected with T. cruzi , and blood meal hosts were molecularly determined to include dog, human, and raccoon. Dogs and the infected vector all harbored T. cruzi discrete typing unit I, which has previously been implicated in human disease in the United States. Colonias harbor active T. cruzi transmission cycles and should be a priority in outreach and vector control initiatives.

First report of the complete sequence of Sida golden yellow vein virus from Jamaica.

PubMed

Stewart, Cheryl S; Kon, Tatsuya; Gilbertson, Robert L; Roye, Marcia E

2011-08-01

Begomoviruses are phytopathogens that threaten food security [18]. Sida spp. are ubiquitous weed species found in Jamaica. Sida samples were collected island-wide, DNA was extracted via a modified Dellaporta method, and the viral genome was amplified using degenerate and sequence-specific primers [2, 11]. The amplicons were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis revealed that a DNA-A molecule isolated from a plant in Liguanea, St. Andrew, was 90.9% similar to Sida golden yellow vein virus-[United States of America:Homestead:A11], making it a strain of SiGYVV. It was named Sida golden yellow vein virus-[Jamaica:Liguanea 2:2008] (SiGYVV-[JM:Lig2:08]). The cognate DNA-B, previously unreported, was successfully cloned and was most similar to that of Malvastrum yellow mosaic Jamaica virus (MaYMJV). Phylogenetic analysis suggested that this virus was most closely related to begomoviruses that infect malvaceous hosts in Jamaica, Cuba and Florida in the United States.

Human Risk of Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme Disease Agent, in Eastern United States

PubMed Central

Diuk-Wasser, Maria A.; Hoen, Anne Gatewood; Cislo, Paul; Brinkerhoff, Robert; Hamer, Sarah A.; Rowland, Michelle; Cortinas, Roberto; Vourc'h, Gwenaël; Melton, Forrest; Hickling, Graham J.; Tsao, Jean I.; Bunikis, Jonas; Barbour, Alan G.; Kitron, Uriel; Piesman, Joseph; Fish, Durland

2012-01-01

The geographic pattern of human risk for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the tick-borne pathogen that causes Lyme disease, was mapped for the eastern United States. The map is based on standardized field sampling in 304 sites of the density of Ixodes scapularis host-seeking nymphs infected with B. burgdorferi, which is closely associated with human infection risk. Risk factors for the presence and density of infected nymphs were used to model a continuous 8 km×8 km resolution predictive surface of human risk, including confidence intervals for each pixel. Discontinuous Lyme disease risk foci were identified in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with a transitional zone including sites with uninfected I. scapularis populations. Given frequent under- and over-diagnoses of Lyme disease, this map could act as a tool to guide surveillance, control, and prevention efforts and act as a baseline for studies tracking the spread of infection. PMID:22302869

Compilation of VS30 Data for the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yong, Alan; Thompson, Eric M.; Wald, David J.; Knudsen, Keith L.; Odum, Jack K.; Stephenson, William J.; Haefner, Scott

2016-01-01

VS30, the time-averaged shear-wave velocity (VS) to a depth of 30 meters, is a key index adopted by the earthquake engineering community to account for seismic site conditions. VS30 is typically based on geophysical measurements of VS derived from invasive and noninvasive techniques at sites of interest. Owing to cost considerations, as well as logistical and environmental concerns, VS30 data are sparse or not readily available for most areas. Where data are available, VS30 values are often assembled in assorted formats that are accessible from disparate and (or) impermanent Web sites. To help remedy this situation, we compiled VS30 measurements obtained by studies funded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other governmental agencies. Thus far, we have compiled VS30 values for 2,997 sites in the United States, along with metadata for each measurement from government-sponsored reports, Web sites, and scientific and engineering journals. Most of the data in our VS30 compilation originated from publications directly reporting the work of field investigators. A small subset (less than 20 percent) of VS30 values was previously compiled by the USGS and other research institutions. Whenever possible, VS30 originating from these earlier compilations were crosschecked against published reports. Both downhole and surface-based VS30 estimates are represented in our VS30 compilation. Most of the VS30 data are for sites in the western contiguous United States (2,141 sites), whereas 786 VS30 values are for sites in the Central and Eastern United States; 70 values are for sites in other parts of the United States, including Alaska (15 sites), Hawaii (30 sites), and Puerto Rico (25 sites). An interactive map is hosted on the primary USGS Web site for accessing VS30 data (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/vs30/).

Global Health Engagement and The Department of Defense as a Vehicle for Security and Sustainable Global Health.

PubMed

Moten, Asad; Schafer, Daniel; Burkett, Edwin K

2018-01-01

The Unites States Department of Defense (DoD) is viewed by many in the general public as a monolithic government entity whose primary purpose is to coordinate this country's ability to make war and maintain a military presence around the world. However, the DoD is in fact a multidimensional organization whose global impact is as expansive as it is varying and is responsible for far-reaching global health interventions. The United States has worked toward providing long-term care among host nation populations by providing training in several areas related to medicine, with positive results. These efforts can be built upon with substantial positive effects. Building health infrastructure and capacity around the world is essential. The DoD is the most generously funded agency in the world, and the resources at its disposal provide the opportunity to make great gains in the long term in terms of both health and security worldwide. With efficient and careful use of DoD resources, and partnerships with key non-governmental organizations with specialized knowledge and great passion, partnerships can be forged with communities around the world to ensure that public health is achieved in even the most underserved communities. A move toward creating sustainable health systems with long-term goals and measurable outcomes is an essential complement to the already successful disaster and emergency relief that the United States military already provides. By ensuring that communities around the world are both provided with access to the sustainable health care they need and that emergency situations can be responded to in an efficient way, the United States can serve its duty as a leader in sharing expertise and resources for the betterment and security of all humankind. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Impact of Active Metabolism on Chlamydia trachomatis Elementary Body Transcript Profile and Infectivity.

PubMed

Grieshaber, Scott; Grieshaber, Nicole; Yang, Hong; Baxter, Briana; Hackstadt, Ted; Omsland, Anders

2018-07-15

Bacteria of the genus Chlamydia include the significant human pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis and C. pneumoniae All chlamydiae are obligate intracellular parasites that depend on infection of a host cell and transition through a biphasic developmental cycle. Following host cell invasion by the infectious elementary body (EB), the pathogen transitions to the replicative but noninfectious reticulate body (RB). Differentiation of the RB back to the EB is essential to generate infectious progeny. While the EB form has historically been regarded as metabolically inert, maintenance of infectivity during incubation with specific nutrients has revealed active maintenance of the infectious phenotype. Using transcriptome sequencing, we show that the transcriptome of extracellular EBs incubated under metabolically stimulating conditions does not cluster with germinating EBs but rather with the transcriptome of EBs isolated directly from infected cells. In addition, the transcriptional profile of the extracellular metabolizing EBs more closely resembled that of EB production than germination. Maintenance of infectivity of extracellular EBs was achieved by metabolizing chemically diverse compounds, including glucose 6-phosphate, ATP, and amino acids, all of which can be found in extracellular environments, including mucosal secretions. We further show that the EB cell type actively maintains infectivity in the inclusion after terminal differentiation. Overall, these findings contribute to the emerging understanding that the EB cell form is actively maintained through metabolic processes after terminal differentiation to facilitate prolonged infectivity within the inclusion and under host cell free conditions, for example, following deposition at mucosal surfaces. IMPORTANCE Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that are responsible for a wide range of diseases in both animal and human hosts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, C. trachomatis is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infection in the United States, costing the American health care system nearly $2.4 billion annually. Every year, there are over 4 million new cases of Chlamydia infections in the United States and an estimated 100 million cases worldwide. To cause disease, Chlamydia must successfully complete its complex biphasic developmental cycle, alternating between an infectious cell form (EB) specialized for initiating entry into target cells and a replicative form (RB) specialized for creating and maintaining the intracellular replication niche. The EB cell form has historically been considered metabolically quiescent, a passive entity simply waiting for contact with a host cell to initiate the next round of infection. Recent studies and data presented here demonstrate that the EB maintains its infectious phenotype by actively metabolizing a variety of nutrients. Therefore, the EB appears to have an active role in chlamydial biology, possibly within multiple environments, such as mucosal surfaces, fomites, and inside the host cell after formation. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Host-guest complexes of local anesthetics with cucurbit[6]uril and para-sulphonatocalix[8]arene in the solid state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danylyuk, Oksana; Butkiewicz, Helena; Coleman, Anthony W.; Suwinska, Kinga

2017-12-01

Here we describe the host-guest inclusion complexes of local anesthetic drugs with two macrocyclic hosts cucurbit[6]uril and para-sulphonatocalix[8]arene in the solid state. The anesthetic agents used in the co-crystallization with the supramolecular hosts are lidocaine, procaine, procainamide, prilocaine and proparacaine. Both macrocycles encapsulate the alkylammonium moieties of anestetics guests into their cavities although the mechanism of complexation, host-guest stoichiometry and geometry differ depending on the nature of the supramolecular host.

Large Scale Screening of Digeneans for Neorickettsia Endosymbionts Using Real-Time PCR Reveals New Neorickettsia Genotypes, Host Associations and Geographic Records

PubMed Central

Greiman, Stephen E.; Tkach, Vasyl V.; Pulis, Eric; Fayton, Thomas J.; Curran, Stephen S.

2014-01-01

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles including one or two intermediate hosts (first of which is always a mollusk) and a vertebrate definitive host. Digeneans may harbor intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae). Some Neorickettsia are able to invade cells of the digenean's vertebrate host and are known to cause diseases of wildlife and humans. In this study we report the results of screening 771 digenean samples for Neorickettsia collected from various vertebrates in terrestrial, freshwater, brackish, and marine habitats in the United States, China and Australia. Neorickettsia were detected using a newly designed real-time PCR protocol targeting a 152 bp fragment of the heat shock protein coding gene, GroEL, and verified with nested PCR and sequencing of a 1371 bp long region of 16S rRNA. Eight isolates of Neorickettsia have been obtained. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that 7 of these isolates, provisionally named Neorickettsia sp. 1–7 (obtained from allocreadiid Crepidostomum affine, haploporids Saccocoelioides beauforti and Saccocoelioides lizae, faustulid Bacciger sprenti, deropegid Deropegus aspina, a lecithodendriid, and a pleurogenid) represent new genotypes and one (obtained from Metagonimoides oregonensis) was identical to a published sequence of Neorickettsia known as SF agent. All digenean species reported in this study represent new host records. Three of the 6 digenean families (Haploporidae, Pleurogenidae, and Faustulidae) are also reported for the first time as hosts of Neorickettsia. We have detected Neorickettsia in digeneans from China and Australia for the first time based on PCR and sequencing evidence. Our findings suggest that further surveys from broader geographic regions and wider selection of digenean taxa are likely to reveal new Neorickettsia lineages as well as new digenean host associations. PMID:24911315

Host modulation therapeutics in periodontics: role as an adjunctive periodontal therapy.

PubMed

Shinwari, Muhammad Saad; Tanwir, Farzeen; Hyder, Pakiza Raza; Bin Saeed, Muhammad Humza

2014-09-01

Host Modulation Therapy (HMT) is a treatment concept that reduces tissue destruction and stabilizes or even regenerates inflammatory tissue by modifying host response factors. It has been used for treating osteoporosis and arthritis for several decades. However, its use in dentistry has only been recently reported. The objective of this article is to present a review of the various literatures available on HMT and also its role as adjunct therapy in periodontics. For identifying studies for this review, a PUBMED search was carried out in 2013 for all articles published till December 2012. The search was restricted to English language publications only. Longitudinal prospective and retrospective studies were included in the search. The key words used were: Host Modulation Therapy; Sub antimicrobial dose doxycycline and Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy. The main outcomes sought were host modulation therapeutics in periodontics. Exclusion criteria included cross sectional studies, short case series as well as studies with short follow-up periods. There is a paucity of literature on HMT in periodontics although the only drug approved by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a subantimicrobial dose of doxycycline (SDD) with highly predictable results as a host modulating agent in periodontal diseases and also an effective adjunctive therapy in various diseases of periodontium. However, more randomized controlled trials are needed to obtain clinical guidelines on the usage of other host modulating agents as adjunct as well as definite therapy for periodontal diseases. SDD is an effective adjunct therapy when used in dosage of 20mg twice daily for minimum 3 months duration in various periodontal diseases with predictable clinical outcomes. It is also recommended that future clinical research on anti cytokine drugs, chemically modified tetracycline and other HMT agents should be conducted so that new drugs are available with highly predictable results.

Contrasting determinants of abundance in ancestral and colonized ranges of an invasive brood parasite

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hahn, D.C.; O'Connor, R.J.; Scott, J. Michael; Heglund, Patricia J.; Morrison, Michael L.; Haufler, Jonathan B.; Wall, William A.

2002-01-01

Avian species distributions are typically regarded as constrained by spatially extensive variables such as climate, habitat, spatial patchiness, and microhabitat attributes. We hypothesized that the distribution of a brood parasite depends as strongly on host distribution patterns as on biophysical factors and examined this hypothesis with respect to the national distribution of the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). We applied a classification and regression (CART) analysis to data from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and derived hierarchically organized statistical models of the influence of climate and weather, cropping and land use, and host abundance and distribution on the distribution of the Brown-headed Cowbird within the conterminous United States. The model accounted for 47.2% of the variation in cowbird incidence, and host abundance was the top predictor with an R2 of 18.9%. The other predictors identified by the model (crops 15.7%, weather and climate 14.3%, and region 9.6%) fit the ecological profile of this cowbird. We showed that host abundance was independent of these environmental predictors of cowbird distribution. At the regional scale host abundance played a very strong role in determining cowbird abundance in the cowbird?s colonized range east and west of their ancestral range in the Great Plains (26.6%). Crops were not a major predictor for cowbirds in their ancestral range, although they are the most important predictive factor (33%) for the grassland passerines that are the cowbird?s ancestral hosts. Consequently our findings suggest that the distribution of hosts does indeed take precedence over habitat attributes in shaping the cowbird?s distribution at a national scale, within an envelope of constraint set by biophysical factors.

Rapid and repeatable shifts in life-history timing of Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) following colonization of novel host plants in the Pacific Northwestern United States.

PubMed

Mattsson, Monte; Hood, Glen R; Feder, Jeffrey L; Ruedas, Luis A

2015-12-01

Host shifts of phytophagous insect specialists to novel plants can result in divergent ecological adaptation, generating reproductive isolation and potentially new species. Rhagoletis pomonella fruit flies in eastern North America underwent a host shift ~160 ya from native downy hawthorn (Crataegus mollis) to introduced, domesticated apple (Malus domestica). Divergent selection on diapause phenology related to the earlier fruiting time of apples versus downy hawthorns resulted in partial allochronic reproductive isolation between the fly races. Here, we test for how rapid and repeatable shifts in life-history timing are driving ecological divergence of R. pomonella in the Pacific Northwestern USA. The fly was introduced into the region via larval-infested apples 40-65 ya and now attacks native black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) and introduced ornamental hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), in addition to early- and late-maturing apple varieties in the region. To investigate the life-history timing hypothesis, we used a field-based experiment to characterize the host-associated eclosion and flight activity patterns of adults, and the feeding times of larvae at a field site in Vancouver, Washington. We also assessed the degree to which differences in host-fruiting time generate allochronic isolation among apple-, black hawthorn-, and ornamental hawthorn-associated fly populations. We conclude that host-associated fly populations are temporally offset 24.4% to 92.6% in their seasonal distributions. Our results imply that R. pomonella possesses the capacity for rapid and repeatable shifts in diapause life history to match host-fruiting phenology, which can generate ecologically based reproductive isolation, and potentially biodiversity in the process.

Highly Efficient Full-Color Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: Extremely Low Efficiency Roll-Off Utilizing a Host with Small Singlet-Triplet Splitting.

PubMed

Zhang, Dongdong; Zhao, Chongguang; Zhang, Yunge; Song, Xiaozeng; Wei, Pengcheng; Cai, Minghan; Duan, Lian

2017-02-08

Numerous efforts have been devoted to boost the efficiency of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) devices; however, strategies to suppress the device efficiency roll-off are still in urgent need. Here, a general and effective approach to suppress the efficiency roll-off of TADF devices is proposed, that is, utilizing TADF materials as the hosts for TADF emitters. Bearing small singlet-triplet splitting (ΔE ST ) with donor and acceptor units, TADF materials as the hosts possess the potential to achieve matched frontier energy levels with the adjacent transporting layers, facilitating balanced charge injection as well as bipolar charge transport mobilities beneficial to the balanced charges transportation. Furthermore, an enhanced Förster energy transfer from the host to the dopant can be anticipated, helpful to reduce the exciton concentration. Based on the principles, a new TADF material based on indeno[2,1-b]carbazole/1,3,5-triazin derivation is synthesized and used as the universal host for the full-color TADF devices. Remarkable low efficiency roll-off was achieved with above 90% of the maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQE max 's) maintained even at a brightness of 2000 cd/m 2 , along with EQE max 's of 23.2, 21.0, and 19.2% for orange, green, and sky-blue TADF devices, respectively. Through computational simulation, we identified the suppressed exciton annihilation rates compared with devices adopting conventional hosts. The state-of-the-art low efficiency roll-off of those TADF devices manifests the great potential of such host design strategy, paving an efficient strategy toward their practical application.

20th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium. Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The proceedings of the 20th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium, hosted by the NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, on May 7-9, 1986, is documented herein. During the 3 days, 23 technical papers were presented by experts from the United States and Western Europe. A panel discussion by an International group of experts on future directions In mechanisms was also presented; this discussion, however, is not documented herein. The technical topics addressed included deployable structures, electromagnetic devices, tribology, thermal/mechanical/hydraulic actuators, latching devices, positioning mechanisms, robotic manipulators, and computerized mechanisms synthesis.

Aquifer thermal energy (heat and chill) storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenne, E. A.

1992-11-01

As part of the 1992 Intersociety Conversion Engineering Conference (IECEC), held in San Diego, California, 3 - 7 Aug. 1992, the Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage Program coordinated five sessions dealing specifically with aquifer thermal energy storage technologies (ATES). Researchers from Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, and the United States presented papers on a variety of ATES related topics. With special permission from the Society of Automotive Engineers, host society for the 1992 IECEC, these papers are being republished here as a standalone summary of ATES technology status. Individual papers are indexed separately.

Water quality studied in areas of unconventional oil and gas development, including areas where hydraulic fracturing techniques are used, in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Susong, David D.; Gallegos, Tanya J.; Oelsner, Gretchen P.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis is hosting an interdisciplinary working group of USGS scientists to conduct a temporal and spatial analysis of surface-water and groundwater quality in areas of unconventional oil and gas development. The analysis uses existing national and regional datasets to describe water quality, evaluate water-quality changes over time where there are sufficient data, and evaluate spatial and temporal data gaps.

TMS communications hardware. Volume 2: Bus interface unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, J. S.; Hopkins, G. T.

1979-01-01

A prototype coaxial cable bus communication system used in the Trend Monitoring System to interconnect intelligent graphics terminals to a host minicomputer is described. The terminals and host are connected to the bus through a microprocessor-based RF modem termed a Bus Interface Unit (BIU). The BIU hardware and the Carrier Sense Multiple Access Listen-While-Talk protocol used on the network are described.

Comparative analysis of the complete genome sequence of the California MSW strain of myxoma virus reveals potential host adaptations.

PubMed

Kerr, Peter J; Rogers, Matthew B; Fitch, Adam; Depasse, Jay V; Cattadori, Isabella M; Hudson, Peter J; Tscharke, David C; Holmes, Edward C; Ghedin, Elodie

2013-11-01

Myxomatosis is a rapidly lethal disease of European rabbits that is caused by myxoma virus (MYXV). The introduction of a South American strain of MYXV into the European rabbit population of Australia is the classic case of host-pathogen coevolution following cross-species transmission. The most virulent strains of MYXV for European rabbits are the Californian viruses, found in the Pacific states of the United States and the Baja Peninsula, Mexico. The natural host of Californian MYXV is the brush rabbit, Sylvilagus bachmani. We determined the complete sequence of the MSW strain of Californian MYXV and performed a comparative analysis with other MYXV genomes. The MSW genome is larger than that of the South American Lausanne (type) strain of MYXV due to an expansion of the terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) of the genome, with duplication of the M156R, M154L, M153R, M152R, and M151R genes and part of the M150R gene from the right-hand (RH) end of the genome at the left-hand (LH) TIR. Despite the extreme virulence of MSW, no novel genes were identified; five genes were disrupted by multiple indels or mutations to the ATG start codon, including two genes, M008.1L/R and M152R, with major virulence functions in European rabbits, and a sixth gene, M000.5L/R, was absent. The loss of these gene functions suggests that S. bachmani is a relatively recent host for MYXV and that duplication of virulence genes in the TIRs, gene loss, or sequence variation in other genes can compensate for the loss of M008.1L/R and M152R in infections of European rabbits.

Diversity and prevalence of hemoparasites of wading birds in southern Florida, USA.

PubMed

Coker, Sarah M; Hernandez, Sonia M; Kistler, Whitney M; Curry, Shannon E; Welch, Catharine N; Barron, Heather W; Harsch, Stefan; Murray, Maureen H; Yabsley, Michael J

2017-12-01

Relatively few studies on hemoparasites have been conducted on wading birds in the families Ardeidae and Threskiornithidae (order Pelecaniformes), especially in the United States. In this study, we obtained baseline data on the prevalence and genetic diversity of haemosporidian parasites in wading birds opportunistically sampled from southern Florida, USA. We detected blood parasites in White Ibis ( Eudocimus albus ), Glossy Ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus ), Green Heron ( Butorides virescens ), and Roseate Spoonbill ( Platalea ajaja ) with several novel host-parasite relationships. Infected birds had low parasitemias (average 0.77%, range 0-4%) suggesting that infections were chronic. Despite the low sample sizes for several of our sampled species, these data highlight the diversity of parasites in this understudied group of birds and suggest that additional studies are needed to investigate the potential impacts of these parasites on their health, especially since southern Florida is becoming increasingly urbanized which can alter parasite transmission or host susceptibility.

Prevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in cats from Virginia and Pennsylvania.

PubMed

Hsu, Vasha; Grant, David C; Dubey, J P; Zajac, Anne M; Lindsay, David S

2010-08-01

Sarcocystis neurona is best known as the causative agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis of horses in the Americas. Domestic cats ( Felis domesticus ) were the first animals described as an intermediate host for S. neurona . However, S. neurona -associated encephalitis has also been reported in naturally infected cats in the United States. Thus, cats can be implicated in the life cycle of S. neurona as natural intermediate hosts. The present study examined the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to merozoites of S. neurona in populations of domestic cats from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Overall, sera or plasma from 441 cats (Virginia = 232, Pennsylvania = 209) were tested by an indirect immunofluorescent assay at a 1ratio50 dilution. Antibodies to S. neurona were found in 32 (7%) of 441 cats. Of these, 22 (9%) of the 232 cats from Virginia and 10 (5%) of the 209 cats from Pennsylvania were seropositive for S. neurona .

Serological Investigation of Heartland Virus (Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus) Exposure in Wild and Domestic Animals Adjacent to Human Case Sites in Missouri 2012–2013

PubMed Central

Bosco-Lauth, Angela M.; Panella, Nicholas A.; Root, J. Jeffrey; Gidlewski, Tom; Lash, R. Ryan; Harmon, Jessica R.; Burkhalter, Kristen L.; Godsey, Marvin S.; Savage, Harry M.; Nicholson, William L.; Komar, Nicholas; Brault, Aaron C.

2015-01-01

Heartland virus (HRTV; Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus) has recently emerged as a causative agent of human disease characterized by thrombocytopenia and leukopenia in the United States. The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum L.) has been implicated as a vector. To identify candidate vertebrate amplification hosts associated with enzootic maintenance of the virus, sera and ticks were sampled from 160 mammals (8 species) and 139 birds (26 species) captured near 2 human case residences in Andrew and Nodaway Counties in northwest Missouri. HRTV-specific neutralizing antibodies were identified in northern raccoons (42.6%), horses (17.4%), white-tailed deer (14.3%), dogs (7.7%), and Virginia opossums (3.8%), but not in birds. Virus isolation attempts from sera and ticks failed to detect HRTV. The high antibody prevalence coupled with local abundance of white-tailed deer and raccoons identifies these species as candidate amplification hosts. PMID:25870419

Proceedings of the 36th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boesiger, Edward A. (Compiler); Oswald, Fred B. (Compiler)

2002-01-01

The Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium (AMS) provides a unique forum for those active in the design, production, and use of aerospace mechanisms. A major focus is the reporting of problems and solutions associated with the development and flight certification of new mechanisms. Organized by the Mechanisms Education Association, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) share the responsibility for hosting the AMS. Now in its 36th year, the AMS continues to be well attended, attracting participants from both the United States and abroad. The 36th AMS, hosted by the Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, was held May 15, 16, and 17, 2002. During these three days, 32 papers were presented. Topics included deployment mechanisms, tribology, actuators, pointing and optical mechanisms, International Space Station mechanisms, release mechanisms, and test equipment. Hardware displays during the supplier exhibit gave attendees an opportunity to meet with developers of current and future mechanism components.

Occurrence of amidostomum in Canada geese

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herman, C.M.; Wehr, E.E.

1953-01-01

The gizzard nematode, Amidostomum anseris, has been reported frequently as the cause of losses among domestic geese in Europe. Cram's (1925) report of an outbreak in domestic geese in New York State was the first evidence of this worm in North America and since then there have been several reports of its occurrence in many parts of Canada and the United States. There have been a few cases of A. anseris reported from Canada goose (Branta anadensis) and one report of A. spatulatum from this host. The authors have reported A. anseris from goslings from Michigan and Utah. Beginning in 1948 we have had opportunity to examine the gizzards of a large series of Canada geese from several localities in the United States, mostly wintering birds from the coast of North Carolina. A. anseris was the only species identified from examination of a representative sample from our collection of gizzard worms. . A high incidence of infection with Amidostomum was observed in geese from many localities in the United States, including all the major flyways. In most cases only a small number of worms was recovered from each individual but birds from a refuge in North Carolina, which was studied intensively because of periodic winter losses, yielded significantly higher numbers of worms per bird. The mean number of worms per individual from most areas was under 15 while from this specific refuge the mean was in the seventies each of the past three years, with one bird having over 1500 specimens in its gizzard.

The Effect of Malnutrition on Norovirus Infection

PubMed Central

Hickman, Danielle; Jones, Melissa K.; Zhu, Shu; Kirkpatrick, Ericka; Ostrov, David A.; Wang, Xiaoyu; Ukhanova, Maria; Sun, Yijun; Mai, Volker; Salemi, Marco; Karst, Stephanie M.

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Human noroviruses are the primary cause of severe childhood diarrhea in the United States, and they are of particular clinical importance in pediatric populations in the developing world. A major contributing factor to the general increased severity of infectious diseases in these regions is malnutrition—nutritional status shapes host immune responses and the composition of the host intestinal microbiota, both of which can influence the outcome of pathogenic infections. In terms of enteric norovirus infections, mucosal immunity and intestinal microbes are likely to contribute to the infection outcome in substantial ways. We probed these interactions using a murine model of malnutrition and murine norovirus infection. Our results reveal that malnutrition is associated with more severe norovirus infections as defined by weight loss, impaired control of norovirus infections, reduced antiviral antibody responses, loss of protective immunity, and enhanced viral evolution. Moreover, the microbiota is dramatically altered by malnutrition. Interestingly, murine norovirus infection also causes changes in the host microbial composition within the intestine but only in healthy mice. In fact, the infection-associated microbiota resembles the malnutrition-associated microbiota. Collectively, these findings represent an extensive characterization of a new malnutrition model of norovirus infection that will ultimately facilitate elucidation of the nutritionally regulated host parameters that predispose to more severe infections and impaired memory immune responses. In a broad sense, this model may provide insight into the reduced efficacy of oral vaccines in malnourished hosts and the potential for malnourished individuals to act as reservoirs of emergent virus strains. PMID:24595373

Patterns of cowbird parasitism in the Southern Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J.C. Kilgo; C.E. Moorman

2003-09-01

Until recently, little information was available on patterns of brood parasitism by Brownheaded Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in the southeastern United States, a region into which cowbirds expanded their range only during the last half of the Twentieth Century and where their abundance is relatively low. We compiled parasitism data from several published and unpublished studies conducted in Georgia and South Carolina from 1993-2000 to examine levels of brood parasitism and determine frequent host species. The combined dataset included 1,372 nests of 24 species reported in the literature to have been parasitized by cowbirds. The parasitism rate on all species combinedmore » was 8.2%. Considering only those species that served as hosts in these studies (n = I2), the parasitism rate was 9.3%. Seven species were parasitized at rates 2 10%. Based on the extent of parasitism (among studies and locations), their relative abundance, and the sample size of nests, Prairie Warblers (Dendroicta discolor), Hooded Warblers (Wilsonia citrina), Yellow-breasted Chats (Icteria virens), and Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea), all shrub nesters, appear to be the most important cowbird hosts in the region. Parasitism on some species reported as frequent hosts elsewhere was extremely low or not documented. We conclude that the impact of brood parasitism on the seasonal fecundity of hosts in the region probably is minimal, but additional work is warranted on species of concern, such as the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris).« less