Risk perceptions and behaviors of actors in the wild animal value chain in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which contains the greatest area of the second largest rainforest on Earth, people have long been connected to the forest for subsistence and livelihood from wild animals and bushmeat. This qualitative study sought to characterize the bushmeat movement-from hunting wild animals to market sale-and the roles of participants in the animal value chain, as well as their beliefs surrounding zoonotic disease and occupational risk. Actors in in eight bushmeat markets and two ports in Kinshasa, DRC completed semi-structured interviews between 2016 and 2018 in which they expressed belief in transmission of illness from domestic animals to humans, but not from wild animals to humans. Wild animals were viewed as pure and natural, in contrast to domestic animals which were considered tainted by human interference. Participants reported cutting themselves during the process of butchering yet did not consider butchering bushmeat to be a risky activity. Instead, they adopted safety practices learned over time from butchering experts and taught themselves how to butcher in a fashion that reduced the frequency of cutting. In general, butcherers rejected the idea of personal protective equipment use. Port markets were identified as important access points for meat coming from the Congo river and plane transport was identified as important for fresh and live meat coming from Équateur province. Most participants reported having heard about Ebola, but their mistrust in government messaging privileged a word-of-mouth story of witchcraft to be propagated about Ebola's origins. It is critical to better understand how public health messaging about outbreaks can successfully reach high risk communities, and to develop creative risk mitigation strategies for populations in regular contact with animal blood and body fluids. In this paper, we offer suggestions for formal and informal trusted channels through which health messages surrounding zoonotic risk could be conveyed to high-risk populations in Kinshasa.

Trans-seasonal activation of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis: Low-temperature winter dormancy modulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons in garter snakes.

All animals use external cues from the environment to accurately time life-history events. How the brain decodes environmental stimuli to effect changes in physiology and behavior, however, is poorly understood, particularly with regard to supplementary environmental cues such as temperature. We asked if low-temperature dormancy alters the synthesis and/or release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). We used the well-studied red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) for this study, as low-temperature exposure is both necessary and sufficient to induce reproduction in northern populations of this species. Snakes were collected from the field and hibernated at 4°C or 10°C in complete darkness for up to 16 weeks. In males, increasing duration of low-temperature dormancy significantly increased GnRH-immunoreactive cell number and GnRH soma size (a proxy for relative cell activity) in the forebrain. These changes mirrored those in male reproductive behavior (reported previously) and plasma androgen concentrations. The changes in GnRH cell area observed in males were specific to the neuroendocrine population of cells in the medial preoptic area; soma size in the rostral GnRH cells did not change. Finally, temperature-induced changes in GnRH were sexually dimorphic: neither hibernation temperature nor the duration of winter dormancy significantly modulated GnRH cell number or soma size in females, despite the fact that plasma estradiol and corticosterone increased significantly in response to both. These data demonstrate that the neuroendocrine GnRH system is sensitive to environmental temperature and suggest that GnRH neurons play a conserved but trans-seasonal role in mediating changes in reproductive physiology and behavior in dissociated breeders.

Market characteristics and zoonotic disease risk perception in Cameroon bushmeat markets.

Behavioral practices are one of the key factors facilitating zoonotic disease transmission, especially in individuals who have frequent contact with wild animals, yet practices of those who work and live in high-risk animal-human interfaces, such as wild animal 'bushmeat' markets in the Congo Basin are not well documented in the social, health and medical sciences. This region, where hunting, butchering, and consumption of wild animal meat is frequent, represents a hotspot for disease emergence, and has experienced zoonotic disease spillover events, traced back to close human-animal contact with bats and non-human primates. Using a One Health approach, we conducted wildlife surveillance, human behavioral research, and concurrent human and animal biological sampling to identify and characterize factors associated with zoonotic disease emergence and transmission. Research was conducted through the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats program between 2010 and 2019 including qualitative studies of bushmeat markets, with selected study sites prioritized based on proximity to bushmeat markets. Sites included two hospitals where we conducted surveillance of individuals with syndromes of acute febrile illness, community sites where we enrolled actors of the animal value chain (ie. hunters, middlemen, transporters), and bushmeat markets, where we enrolled bushmeat vendors, butchers, market managers, cleaners, and shoppers. Mixed methods research was undertaken at these sites and included investigation of bushmeat market dynamics through observational research, focus group discussions, quantitative questionnaires, and interviews. Participants were asked about their risk perception of zoonotic disease transmission and specific activities related to bushmeat trade, local market conditions, and regulations on bushmeat trade in Cameroon. Risks associated with blood contact and animal infection were not well understood by most market actors. As bushmeat markets are an important disease interface, as seen with CoVID19, risk mitigation measures in markets and bushmeat alternative strategies are discussed.

Serology and Behavioral Perspectives on Ebola Virus Disease Among Bushmeat Vendors in Equateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo, After the 2018 Outbreak.

After the 2018 Ebola outbreak in Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, we conducted behavioral interviews and collected samples from bushmeat vendors and primates in Mbandaka to test for evidence of Ebola virus exposure. Although participants indicated being aware of Ebola, they did not consider themselves at occupational risk for infection. We found antibodies against Zaire ebolavirus in one participant despite no reported history of disease or contact with infected individuals. Our data underline concerns of possible subclinical or undiagnosed Ebola virus infections and the importance and challenges of risk communication to populations who are occupationally exposed to bushmeat. Following the 2018 Ebola outbreak in Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, bushmeat vendors interviewed in Mbandaka indicated being aware of Ebola, but did not consider themselves at occupational risk. Antibodies against Zaire ebolavirus were detected in one participant.

Sexually Dimorphic Patterns of Cell Proliferation in the Brain Are Linked to Seasonal Life-History Transitions in Red-Sided Garter Snakes.

Seasonal rhythms in physiology and behavior are widespread across diverse taxonomic groups and may be mediated by seasonal changes in neurogenesis, including cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. We examined if cell proliferation in the brain is associated with the seasonal life-history transition from spring breeding to migration and summer foraging in a free-ranging population of red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) in Manitoba, Canada. We used the thymidine analog 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label newly proliferated cells within the brain of adult snakes collected from the den during the mating season or from a road located along their migratory route. To assess rates of cell migration, we further categorized BrdU-labeled cells according to their location within the ventricular zone or parenchymal region of the nucleus sphericus (homolog of the amygdala), preoptic area/hypothalamus, septal nucleus, and cortex (homolog of the hippocampus). We found that cell proliferation and cell migration varied significantly with sex, the migratory status of snakes, and reproductive behavior in males. In most regions of interest, patterns of cell proliferation were sexually dimorphic, with males having significantly more BrdU-labeled cells than females prior to migration. However, during the initial stages of migration, females exhibited a significant increase in cell proliferation within the nucleus sphericus, hypothalamus, and septal nucleus, but not in any subregion of the cortex. In contrast, migrating males exhibited a significant increase in cell proliferation within the medial cortex but no other brain region. Because it is unlikely that the medial cortex plays a sexually dimorphic role in spatial memory during spring migration, we speculate that cell proliferation within the male medial cortex is associated with regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Finally, the only brain region where cell migration into the parenchymal region varied significantly with sex or migratory status was the hypothalamus. These results suggest that the migration of newly proliferated cells and/or the continued division of undifferentiated cells are activated earlier or to a greater extent in the hypothalamus. Our data suggest that sexually dimorphic changes in cell proliferation and cell migration in the adult brain may mediate sex differences in the timing of seasonal life-history transitions.

Arginine Vasotocin and Neuropeptide Y Vary with Seasonal Life-History Transitions in Garter Snakes.

Transitions between life-history stages are often accompanied by dramatic behavioral switches that result from a shift in motivation to pursue one resource over another. While the neuroendocrine mechanisms that regulate such behavioral transitions are poorly understood, arginine vasotocin (AVT) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are excellent candidates because they modulate reproductive and feeding behavior, respectively. We asked if seasonal changes in AVT and NPY are concomitant with the seasonal migration to and from the feeding grounds in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). Male and female snakes were collected in different migratory states during both the spring and fall. The total number of AVT- and NPY-immunoreactive (ir) cells was then quantified in each brain region of interest. To correct for potential variation in region volume related to sexually dimorphic body size in this species, we first determined that snout-vent length is an accurate proxy for regional brain volume. We then corrected each individual's ir cell number by its SVL to directly compare seasonal changes in AVT and NPY between males and females. Within the supraoptic nucleus, both males and females had more AVT-ir cells during the fall compared with spring. As predicted, males had significantly more AVT-ir cells during the spring mating season in the hypothalamus (HYP) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, brain regions important in regulating reproductive behavior. Females also had significantly more AVT-ir cells in the HYP during the spring, as well as a significantly higher number of hypothalamic AVT cells than males. During the fall, males had significantly more NPY-ir cells in the cortex and posterior HYP compared with spring, possibly reflecting increased feeding behavior during summer foraging. Females did not exhibit significant main effects of season on NPY-ir cell number in any region. Neither AVT- nor NPY-ir cell number varied significantly with migratory status, but we did observe significant changes related to seasonal transitions in reproductive state. Our results indicate that changes in brain AVT and NPY are associated with seasonal transitions in reproductive and foraging behaviors, and may be involved in mediating sex differences in the timing of life-history events.

Assessing child care providers' knowledge and attitudes regarding support of breastfeeding in a region with low breastfeeding prevalence.

BACKGROUND: Working mothers who place their infants into out-of-home child care face many challenges to sustaining breastfeeding. Child care providers, who are in frequent close contact with young families, may be potential resources for promoting breastfeeding. OBJECTIVES: This study focused on identifying child care providers' attitudes toward and knowledge about breastfeeding as well as providers' perceptions about strategies to increase breastfeeding rates among mothers of infants in child care centers. METHODS: Seventy-five providers from 11 child care centers in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area were surveyed using paper and pencil questionnaires. Self-reported demographics, attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions about breastfeeding were collected. RESULTS: Responses demonstrated a generally positive attitude toward breastfeeding among child care providers but a knowledge deficit in terms of the health impacts and proper handling of breast milk. A minority of providers reported that their center's staff currently receives breastfeeding education, but most providers believed that measures to promote the use of breast milk in their center should target parents rather than the center staff. CONCLUSION: Child care providers need resources about the benefits of human milk, proper handling of expressed milk, and ways to make centers more breastfeeding friendly. Many providers feel ineffective in supporting breastfeeding and are unaware of the role they may play in mothers' infant feeding decisions. Though child care providers do not appear to believe they can influence parents' decisions about breastfeeding, educating and empowering them could play an important role in increasing breastfeeding rates.

Development and evaluation of an educational intervention program for pre-professional adolescent ballet dancers: nutrition for optimal performance.

The purpose of this investigation was to develop, implement, and evaluate a theoretically based nutritional education intervention through a DVD lecture series (three 30-minute classes) in summer intensive programs for pre-professional, adolescent ballet dancers. Objectives of this intervention program were to increase knowledge of basic sports nutrition principles and the Female Athlete Triad and promote self-efficacy for adopting healthier dietary habits. Dancers ranging from 13 to 18 years old who were attending summer intensive programs affiliated with professional ballet companies were recruited. Group One (n = 231) participated in the nutrition education program, while Group Two the control participants (n = 90) did not. Assessments of the participants' dietary status consisted of a demographic questionnaire, a Sports Nutrition Knowledge and Behavior Questionnaire, and a Food Frequency Questionnaire. The intervention group was assessed at baseline, immediately post-program, and at six weeks post-program. The control group was assessed at baseline and at six weeks post-baseline. The intervention program was effective at increasing nutrition knowledge, perceived susceptibility to the Female Athlete Triad, and self-efficacy constructs. Improvements in dietary intake were also observed among intervention group participants. To improve overall health and performance nutrition education should be incorporated into the training regimens of adolescent dancers. This potentially replicable DVD-based program may be an effective, low-cost mechanism for doing that.

Energetic efficiency, menstrual irregularity, and bone mineral density in elite professional female ballet dancers.

Sports that emphasize low body weight for optimal performance, such as ballet, are associated with an increased prevalence of the female athlete triad (FT). Previous research in this area that involves dancers has been limited; the majority of studies have been performed on adolescents training in classical ballet, and not professional adult dancers. The purpose of this study is to compare the physical and behavioral characteristics of female elite ballet dancers to sedentary, recreationally active non-dancing controls, with regard to characteristics of the FT and energetic efficiency. Women aged 18 to 35 years were recruited as participants. The dancers (N = 15) and non-dancing controls (N = 15) were pair-matched via age (dancers: 24.3 ± 1.3 years; controls: 23.7 ± 0.9 years), body mass index (dancers: 18.9 ± 0.2; controls: 19.4 ± 0.2 kg/m 2 ), and fat-free mass (dancers: 44.3 ± 0.8; controls: 44.1 ± 0.9 kg). Assessments included habitual dietary intake using 4-day food records, self-reported physical activity, psychometric measures of eating behaviors, health and menstrual history, body composition and bone density (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry), and resting metabolic rate (RMR) assessed by indirect calorimetry. Characteristics of the FT, specifically menstrual irregularities (6 of 15 dancers reported irregular or no menses; 1 of 15 controls reported irregular menses) and low energy availability, were more prevalent in dancers than in pair-matched controls. Despite having a similar fat-free mass (FFM), dancers had a significantly lower absolute RMR (dancers: 1367 ± 27; controls: 1454 ± 34 kcal/d; p ≤ 0.05) and significantly lower RMR relative to FFM (dancers: 30.9 ± 0.6; controls: 33.1 ± 0.8 kcal/kg fat-free mass/d; p ≤ 0.05). Energy intake between dancers (1577 ± 89 kcal/d) and pair-matched controls (2075 ± 163 kcal/d) also differed significantly (p ≤ 0.01). Six of the 15 dancers met the criteria for the FT (including low bone mineral density, menstrual irregularities, and eating pathology accompanied by low energy availability) and, therefore, represent a population of individuals afflicted with this disorder. These findings provide insight as to the metabolic impact of chronic energy restriction, and suggest that alterations in RMR (i.e., energetic efficiency) may be an indicator of low energy availability. Future larger-scale studies are warranted to address this possibility. Interventions aimed at increasing energy availability in elite female ballet dancers may be needed to promote optimal health status.