On polymerase chain reaction tests for estimating prevalence of malaria in birds.
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Animals↗
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Epizootiology of spirorchiid infection in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Hawaii.
We describe the epizootiology of spirorchiid trematode infections in Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas) by quantifying tissue egg burdens in turtles submitted for necropsy and by assessing antibody response to crude adult worm and egg antigens among a variety of age groups. Hapalotrema sp. and Laeredius sp. predominated in turtles infected with spirorchiids. Tissue egg burdens decreased with increasing size and increased with deteriorating body condition of turtles. No relationship was found between tissue egg burdens and sex or fibropapillomatosis status. Tissue egg burdens increased in turtles from southeast to northwest in the main Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii to Kauai). Hatchling and captive-reared turtles had significantly lower levels of antibodies against crude worm and egg antigens. Based on tissue egg burdens and antibody status, we hypothesize that immature turtles become infected with spirorchiids shortly after recruiting into coastal foraging pastures from the pelagic environment, that infection levels decrease with age, and that spirorchiids detrimentally affect the body condition of sea turtles independent of tumor burden. The low intensity of infection in turtles with the endemic trematode Carettacola hawaiiensis suggests either that turtles are less susceptible to infection with this parasite or that the parasite is outcompeted by species of Hapalotrema and Laeredius. Given that the 2 latter species are found in the Pacific and other oceans, they are not likely endemic and were probably introduced into Hawaii through an undetermined route.
Animals↗
Plant facilitation of a belowground predator.
Interest in facilitative predator plant interactions has focused upon above-ground systems. Underground physical conditions are distinctive, however, and we provide evidence that bush lupine, Lupinus arboreus, facilitates the survival of the predatory nematode Heterorhabditis marelatus. Because H. marelatus is prone to desiccation and lupines maintain a zone of moist soil around their taproots even during dry periods, we hypothesized that dry-season nematode survival under lupines might be higher than in the surrounding grasslands. We performed field surveys and measured nematode survival in lupine and grassland rhizospheres under wet- and dry-season conditions. Nematodes survived the crucial summer period better under lupines than in grasslands; however, this advantage disappeared in wet, winter soils. Modeling the probability of nematode population extinction showed that, while even large nematode cohorts were likely to go extinct in grasslands, even small cohorts in lupine rhizospheres were likely to survive until the arrival of the next prey generation. Because this nematode predator has a strong top-down effect on lupine survival via its effect on root-boring larvae of the ghost moth Hepialus californicus, this facilitative interaction may enable a belowground trophic cascade. Similar cases of predator facilitation in seasonally stressful environments are probably common in nature.
Animals↗
Clinical characteristics of 53 dogs with Doppler-derived evidence of pulmonary hypertension: 1992-1996.
Pulmonary hypertension occurs as a primary or secondary disorder of the pulmonary vasculature. Doppler echocardiography provides a noninvasive tool for the estimation of pulmonary arterial pressure when tricuspid regurgitation or pulmonic insufficiency is present. The cardiology database at Colorado State University was reviewed, and echocardiographic records from cases diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension were evaluated. Application of the modified Bernoulli equation to the maximal instantaneous velocity of a right-sided regurgitant jet provided evidence of pulmonary hypertension in 53 dogs over a 4-year period. Tricuspid regurgitant velocity > or = 2.8 m/second or pulmonic insufficiency velocity > or = 2.2 m/second was considered abnormal and indicative of pulmonary hypertension. Tricuspid regurgitant gradients in 51 dogs ranged from 32 to 145 mm Hg (mean, 63.0 mm Hg; median, 57.0 mm Hg; 25th-75th percentiles, 45.2-76.5 mm Hg). Pulmonic insufficiency gradients in 8 dogs ranged from 20 to 100 mm Hg (mean, 59.5 mm Hg; median, 61.5 mm Hg; 25th-75th percentiles, 32.0-84.5 mm Hg). Affected dogs ranged in age from 2 months to 16 years. Clinical signs were characteristic of cardiopulmonary disease, but a relatively high frequency of syncope was noted (12 of 53 dogs, 23%). Pulmonary hypertension was probably due to increased pulmonary vascular resistance in 23 dogs, pulmonary overcirculation in 2 dogs, and pulmonary venous hypertension in 23 dogs. Five dogs lacked a clinically recognizable cardiopulmonary cause of pulmonary vascular disease. Our results suggest that pulmonary hypertension can occur as a complication of commonly encountered cardiopulmonary diseases, and that Doppler echocardiography can facilitate recognition of this condition.
Animals↗
Analysis of site specific periodontal bacteria sampling schemes.
A great deal of controversy has existed in the periodontal literature as to whether the site or the subject should be the unit of analysis. Using the site as the unit of analysis assumes that observations of sites within the same subject are independent and ignores between subject variation. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the influence that the unit of analysis has on estimating the number of necessary site specific bacterial samples from each subject. The number of bacterial samples per subject was defined as the number of samples that would insure a clinician at a 95% confidence level that, if the bacteria were present in a subject, it would be discovered. From two data sets in which 20 to 30 bacterial samples were taken from each subject and data generated from a simulation, appropriate within-subject sample size was determined. In one data set the presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, and Prevotella intermedia was determined by indirect immunofluorescence. In the other data set the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, and P. intermedia was determined using DNA probes. Results of this study demonstrate that there is a large between subject variation in site specific bacterial prevalence, as indicated by an elevated intraclass correlation. Simulated data in this report demonstrated that the number of necessary bacterial samples per subject increased with increasing values of intraclass correlation. The number of necessary within subject samples also increased with decreasing prevalence rate. For A. actinomycetemcomitans, which had a low prevalence rate (0.11 to 0.18), the number of necessary samples per subject was very high (31 to 35).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adult↗
Likelihood of introducing selected exotic diseases to domestic swine in the continental United States of America through uncooked swill.
To help policy makers determine the need for current regulations (which require cooking of swill prior to feeding to swine), an assessment of the likelihood of exposing domestic swine in the continental United States of America (USA) to selected foreign animal disease agents by feeding uncooked swill was carried out. The hazard was assumed to originate from contraband food items entering the USA and subsequently being discarded in household waste. Such food waste may be collected by licensed waste feeders and fed to swine. This study showed that, of the four diseases studied, the probability of exposure was highest for the classical swine fever (hog cholera) virus. The median annual likelihood of one or more contaminated loads of swill being fed to swine in the continental USA was estimated as follows: classical swine fever virus: 0.063, foot and mouth disease virus: 0.043, swine vesicular disease virus: 0.005, African swine fever virus: 0.005.
African Swine Fever↗
The protective effect of condoms and nonoxynol-9 against HIV infection.
OBJECTIVES: Whether or not spermicides can reduce the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission remains an important question for the control of heterosexual HIV transmission. The authors provide estimates from a reanalysis of one of the few observational studies on the efficacy of condoms and spermicides, used separately and together, per vaginal contact. METHODS: In this reanalysis, three different models were used to assess the efficacy of spermicides and condoms: linear (Pearl index), exponential (maximum likelihood), and monotonic (marginal likelihood). RESULTS: Reported use of barrier methods among 27,432 contacts was as follows: condoms plus nonoxynol-9, 39%; condoms alone, 25%; nonoxynol-9 alone, 24%; and unprotected, 11%. Under all three models, the results indicate a strong protective effect for spermicidal suppositories. The Pearl index indicated that spermicide alone is apparently efficacious, but the efficacy per contact cannot be quantified with this approach. Maximum likelihood estimates for the efficacy of nonoxynol-9 alone and condoms (with or without nonoxynol-9) were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI95] = 43%, 100%) and 92% (95% CI95 = 79%, 100%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this observational study suggest that spermicides may be efficacious in reducing the risk of HIV transmission.
Administration, Intravaginal↗
The negative binomial process and arrests for drug use.
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Binomial Distribution↗
Statistical inference for proportions.
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Bayes Theorem↗
Genetic and phenotypic variation in sources of preweaning lamb mortality.
Information on causes of mortality to 8 wk weaning for 16,881 lambs of 10 line-breed groups by 594 sires born over a 5-yr period was analyzed by least squares procedures to estimate sire variance and covariance components within line and year-season. Heritability estimates were approximately 5% for total mortality in the binomial scale and near 10% when converted to a normal scale. Average heritability estimates in the binomial and normal scale were, respectively, 4 and 12% for perinatal and 3 and 7% for postnatal mortality. The heritability estimates for respiratory problems were inconsistent; binomial-scale estimates ranged from 0 to 7% in different populations. Regression adjustment for effects of variation in litter size and birth weight caused only minor changes in the heritability estimates. Comparison of covariances among half-sibs vs full-sibs indicated very large maternal effects on perinatal mortality but smaller and less consistent effects on sources of postnatal mortality. Phenotypic correlations among sources of mortality indicated a 26% greater influence of postnatal than perinatal mortality on variation in total mortality, but both the genetic and phenotypic correlations between those two components were slightly negative. These results suggest that the use of family and progeny test selection for transmitted effects on both perinatal and postnatal lamb viability should be effective.
Animals↗
Differences in heritability estimates from multiple-trait and repeated-records models.
Analyses of ovulation rates in consecutive estrous cycles with multiple-trait and repeated-records animal models resulted in different estimates of heritability. The estimate from the repeated-records model was seen to be approximately the product of the average genetic correlation and the average heritability from the multiple-trait procedure. A simple model is used to show algebraically that such a result is expected, particularly if the environmental correlations are small among records of the same animal. Comparison of results of the two types of analyses of 10 replications of 10 combinations of underlying heritabilities and genetic correlations confirms this explanation.
Animals↗
School-related behavior in children with cancer.
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Analysis of Variance↗
An alternative method for sample size determination in substance misuse prevention research.
There is considerable evidence that social science researchers often fail to adequately address statistical power and related sample size issues. This tendency has been particularly salient in substance misuse prevention research. Although failure to carefully address statistical power and sample size issues most frequently results in studies lacking statistical power, other problems can also occur. For example, sample size determination in controlled studies which focus on rates of substance initiation and similar measures require close consideration of baseline rates indicated by these measures. Otherwise, when conventional procedures for sample size determination are utilized, samples in these studies can exceed the size necessary for predesignated levels of power. This article presents a simple alternative to conventional procedures for sample size determination which can be applied to controlled study of substance initiation and similar outcomes.
Alcoholism↗
[Study on the frequency distribution of the metacercarial density of Clonorchis sinensis in fish host, Pseudorasbora parva]
Since the pattern of the frequency distribution of a parasite within a host showed an overdispersed pattern, various statistical models such as Poisson, negative binomial and lognormal distributions have been applied on the population dynamics in host-parasite relations. The observed data on the number of metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis in a suitable intermediate host, Pseudorasbora parva which were collected from an endemic area, Juk-Rim River, Kim-Hae Goon, South Kyong-Sang Do were applied on the statistical models. The results obtained are as follows. 1. By the calculation of the raw data, 258(94.9%) out of 272 fish showed positive to the metacercarial infection of C. sinensis. The mean number of metacercaria in a fish was 335.1. The standard deviation was 250.6 and the mode was observed between 250 and 299. 2. The frequency distribution pattern of metacercariae of C. sinensis within the fish host in surveyed area was fitted to the lognormal distribution (0.05<p<0.10) rather than to the negative binomial (p<0.005) distribution. From the above statistical analyses, it was concluded that the lognormal distribution was selected as a distribution pattern of metacercariae of C. sinensis in their suitable fish host.
Journal Article↗
The targeting of somatic hypermutation closely resembles that of meiotic mutation.
We have compared the microsequence specificity of mutations introduced during somatic hypermutation (SH) and those introduced meiotically during neutral evolution. We have minimized the effects of selection by studying nonproductive (hence unselected) Ig V region genes for somatic mutations and processed pseudogenes for meiotic mutations. We find that the two sets of patterns are very similar: the mutabilities of nucleotide triplets are positively correlated between the somatic and meiotic sets. The major differences that do exist fall into three distinct categories: 1) The mutability is sharply higher at CG dinucleotides under meiotic but not somatic mutation. 2) The complementary triplets AGC and GCT are much more mutable under somatic than under meiotic mutation. 3) Triplets of the form WAN (W = T or A) are uniformly more mutable under somatic than under meiotic mutation. Nevertheless, the relative mutabilities both within this set and within the SAN (S = G or C) triplets are highly correlated with those under meiotic mutation. We also find that the somatic triplet specificity is strongly symmetric under strand exchange for A/T triplets as well as for G/C triplets in spite of the strong predominance of A over T mutations. Thus, we suggest that somatic mutation has at least two distinct components: one that specifically targets AGC/GCT triplets and another that acts as true catalysis of meiotic mutation.
Base Sequence↗
An assessment of the role of white-tailed deer in the epizootiology of anaplasmosis in the southeastern United States.
The role of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the epizootiology of anaplasmosis in the southeastern United States was examined through retrospective and prospective serosurveys and by experimental infection studies. No serum antibody reactive to Anaplasma marginale was detected with an indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay from any of 1,376 free-ranging deer sampled from 1968 through 1990 from 13 states and Puerto Rico. Thirty-one additional deer from three bovine anaplasmosis enzootic premises also were negative by IFA and Giemsa-stained blood films. Three captive deer given A. marginale intravenously developed antibodies 38 to 41 days post-inoculation (DPI) and remained seropositive for the duration of the study (161 to 287 DPI). At 42 DPI, rickettsemias of approximately 0.0001% infected erythrocytes were observed in all three deer using a DNA probe; low rickettsemias (maximum 0.01%) persisted through 56, 63, and 87 DPI, respectively. One deer had a recrudescent infection from 126 to 146 DPI (maximum rickettsemia 0.001%). We believe that white-tailed deer in the southeastern United States, even though susceptible to A. marginale infection, are not exposed naturally, even at enzootic sites. Furthermore, white-tailed deer did not develop rickettsemias sufficient to support mechanical transmission by biting flies, which is believed to be the primary means of anaplasmosis transmission in this region.
Anaplasma↗
[The immunoglobulin content in the saliva of children living under different radioecological conditions].
Salivary specimens of 80 children aged 8-14 years from the Stolin District and of 34 children of the city of Minsk are examined by radial immunodiffusion in gel and by enzyme immunoassay. Residents of a region contaminated with radionuclides (soil contamination with 137Cs 185-555 kBq/m2) develop an imbalance in the production and secretion of specific salivary antibodies: the production of IgM in early periods of immune response is suppressed and the level of IgE is increased.
Adolescent↗
1-year clinical evaluation of Compoglass and Fuji II LC in cervical erosion/abfraction lesions.
PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to compare the clinical performance of a polyacid-modified resin-based composite and a resin-modified glass-ionomer restorative material over 1 year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four pairs of restorations of Compoglass (C) and Fuji II LC (F) were placed in 31 patients, with no patient receiving more than two pairs, and with materials assigned at random within the pairs. Caries-free cervical erosion/abfraction lesions of the facial surface were restored without tooth preparation according to manufacturers' instructions, except that tooth structure to be restored was etched with 37% phosphoric acid prior to placement of Compoglass. Restorations were clinically evaluated by two blinded examiners at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year, using modified Ryge/USPHS criteria. Restorations receiving a score of "Charlie" in either retention or secondary caries were classified as failed restorations. The incidence of failures was statistically analyzed as a pairwise comparison, using an exact binomial test. RESULTS: Thirty-one pairs of restorations were available for recall at 1 year. The percentage of Alfa scores for each material in each category were: Retention (C = 84%, F = 100%), Color match (C = 81%, F = 100%), Marginal discoloration (C = 78%, F = 97%), Secondary caries (C = 88%, F = 100%), Anatomic form (C = 92%, F = 100%), and Marginal adaptation (C = 26%, F = 46%). Except for the failed restorations, no other Charlie scores were assigned. A significant difference in the incidence of failed restorations was found between the materials (P = 0.01).
Adult↗