Mosaic Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Antigens Elicit Cross-Protective Immunity in Calves.

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is an important pathogen that plays a significant role in initiating Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRDC) in cattle. The disease causes multi-billion dollar losses globally due to high calf mortality and increased morbidity leading to heavy use of antibiotics. Current commercial vaccines provide limited cross-protection with several drawbacks such as safety, immunosuppression, potential reversion to virulence, and induction of neonatal pancytopenia. This study evaluates two prototype vaccines containing multiple rationally designed recombinant mosaic BVDV antigens for their potential to confer cross-protection against diverse BVDV strains. Genes encoding three novel mosaic antigens, designated E2123, NS2-31, and NS2-32, were designed in silico and expressed in mammalian cells for the formulation of a prototype protein-based vaccine. The mosaic antigens contain highly conserved protective epitopes from BVDV-1a, -1b, and -2, and included unique neutralizing epitopes from disparate strains to broaden coverage. We tested immunogenicity and protective efficacy of Expi293TM-expressed mosaic antigens (293F-E2123, 293F-NS2-31, and 293F-NS2-32), and baculovirus-expressed E2123 (Bac-E2123) mosaic antigen in calves. The Expi293TM-expressed antigen cocktail induced robust BVDV-specific cross-reactive IFN-γ responses, broadly neutralizing antibodies, and following challenge with a BVDV-1b strain, the calves had significantly (p < 0.05) reduced viremia and clinical BVD disease compared to the calves vaccinated with a commercial killed vaccine. The Bac-E2123 antigen was not as effective as the Expi293TM-expressed antigen cocktail, but it protected calves from BVD disease better than the commercial killed vaccine. The findings support feasibility for development of a broadly protective subunit BVDV vaccine for safe and effective management of BRD.

Discover Health Services Near You! The North Dakota Story: Part II.

Since the 2003 launch of NC Health Info, the National Library of Medicine has encouraged the development of Go Local databases. A team of Go Local enthusiasts at North Dakota's only medical school library wanted to obtain NLM funding and build a resource for their rural state. Although short on staff, money, and time, the team found a way to realize a Go Local database that serves the state's residents and helps them "Discover Health Services Near You!" A team approach and collaboration with health providers and organizations worked well in this small rural state. North Dakota's Go Local project offers a low-cost model that stresses collaboration, teamwork and technology. Part I which appeared in the last issue describes the rural setting, explains how the project was conceived, and the processes necessary to begin building the database. Part II which appears in this issue details how records were created including developing the input style guide and indexing decisions, the NLM testing and review process, the maintenance and auditing process, and publicity and promotion of the project.

Discover Health Services Near You! The North Dakota Story: Part I.

Since the 2003 launch of NC Health Info, the National Library of Medicine has encouraged the development of Go Local databases. A team of Go Local enthusiasts at North Dakota's only medical school library wanted to obtain NLM funding and build a resource for their rural state. Although short on staff, money, and time, the team found a way to realize a Go Local database that serves the state's residents and helps them "Discover Health Services Near You!" A team approach and collaboration with health providers and organizations worked well in this small rural state. North Dakota's Go Local project offers a low-cost model that stresses collaboration, teamwork and technology. Part I, which appears in this issue, describes the rural setting, explains how the project was conceived, and the processes necessary to begin building the database. Part II, which will appear in the next issue, details how records were created, including developing the input style guide and indexing decisions, the NLM testing and review process, the maintenance and auditing process, and publicity and promotion of the project.

Mental health status and diabetes among Whites and Native Americans: is race an effect modifier?

Depressive symptoms are common among patients with diabetes and may have a significant impact on self-management and health outcomes. The prevalence of both depression and diabetes varies by race. We examined whether race is also an effect modifier in the association between mental health rated "not good" and diabetes using the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2002 to 2005. We found that the prevalence of diabetes among Native American respondents was almost double that among Whites. Respondents with at least two weeks of mental health rated "not good" are significantly higher among diabetic patients than among non-diabetic patients. Native Americans (NAs) with at least two weeks of mental health rated "not good" were more likely to have diabetes. This association is stronger in NAs than in Whites. Future research should focus on a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this plausible association between poor mental health and diabetes.

An empirical analysis of eating disorders and anxiety disorders publications (1980-2000)--part I: Research methods.

OBJECTIVE: The current study compared the eating disorder and anxiety disorder literature in terms of research design and methodologic features in 1980, 1990, and 2000. METHOD: Computer literature searches were conducted using PubMed and PsychInfo databases to identify relevant eating disorder and anxiety disorder articles published at each of the three time points. A total of 456 articles were randomly selected, including 228 articles from the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature. Within each specific literature, one third (76) of the articles were selected from each of the three time points (1980, 1990, 2000). Two raters, from a team of eight trained raters, were randomly assigned to independently rate each article in terms of 75 separate methodologic features. Disagreements in ratings were resolved via consensus. Ratings were tabulated separately for eating disorders and anxiety disorders across the three time points. RESULTS: Although there were some differences between anxiety disorders and eating disorders, most of the variables did not substantially differ between these two fields. There was a consistent trend for both fields to show increases in more rigorous methodologies over time. However, both the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature were characterized by a pervasive absence of many recommended methodologic procedures across the past two decades. CONCLUSION: Although the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature are increasingly characterized by improved reporting of rigorous methodologic procedures, there is still a pervasive absence of such procedures in both literatures, which limits the strength of inference in these studies.

An empirical analysis of eating disorders and anxiety disorders publications (1980-2000)--part II: Statistical hypothesis testing.

OBJECTIVE: The current study compared the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature in terms of statistical hypothesis testing features in 1980, 1990, and 2000. METHOD: Computer literature searches were conducted using PubMed and PsychInfo databases to identify relevant eating disorder and anxiety disorder articles published at each of the three time points. A total of 456 articles were randomly selected, including 228 articles each from the fields of eating disorders and anxiety disorders. Within each field, one third (76) of the articles were selected from each of the three time points. Two raters, from a team of eight trained raters, were randomly assigned to independently rate each article in terms of 75 separate methodologic features. In the current article, we will emphasize the findings about hypothesis testing and statistical analysis. Disagreements in ratings were resolved via consensus. Ratings were tabulated separately by field across the three time points. RESULTS: Few differences were observed between eating disorder and anxiety disorder publications in terms of statistical hypothesis testing features. Although increases were observed in both fields in a number of areas from 1980 to 2000, there remains a pervasive absence of many of the statistical hypothesis testing features recommended by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Statistical Inference. CONCLUSION: These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the fields of eating disorders and anxiety disorders, for researchers, for reviewers, and for professional journals and editorial boards.