Heterosexual Self-Presentation and Other Individual- and Community-Based Correlates of HIV testing among Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men.

From 2010 to 2014, HIV diagnoses among Latino men who have sex with other men (LMSM) have increased by 14%, while diagnoses declined by 11% among white, non-Latino MSM. This health disparity is in part due to exposure to other LMSM with undiagnosed HIV infections. To effectively engage LMSM who are unaware of their serostatus, profiles of men differing in theorized determinants of HIV testing must be considered. In this retrospective study, we examined data from 546 LMSM to investigate whether hypothesized individual- (traditional masculine gender role conformity; sexual identity development status; alcohol and illicit drug use; sexual risk behaviors; perceived HIV susceptibility; and HIV stigma) and community-based (HIV prevention programming, access to health care, social support, neighborhood collective efficacy) factors were associated with differences in HIV testing. Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of men, and subsequent analyses examined whether profiles exhibited differential proportions of HIV testing. Four latent profiles were observed. One profile (50.3% tested) differed markedly from all other profiles (5.1 to 11% tested) in HIV testing. Characteristics of participants in this unique profile included reporting lower levels of heterosexual self-presentation, sexual identity uncertainty (and high levels of sexual identity commitment), condom use, HIV stigma, education, and perceived HIV susceptibility than all other profiles. Findings could improve HIV testing rates among LMSM by specifying ways in which public health advertisements/campaigns and community-based testing outreach efforts could be tailored to men most at-risk for transmitting HIV due to unknown serostatus.

Temporal and Spatial Influences on Fawn Summer Survival in Pronghorn Populations: Management Implications from Noninvasive Monitoring.

Monitoring vital rates allows managers to estimate trends in growth rates of ungulate populations. However, connecting the influence of nutrition on ungulate demography is challenging. Noninvasive sampling offers a low-cost, low-effort alternative for measuring nutritional indices, allowing for an increased understanding of the mechanistic relationships between environmental factors, nutrition, and specific population vital rates. We examined the temporal influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) fawn recruitment. We collected fresh fecal samples from adult female pronghorn in five subpopulations spanning three sampling periods associated with critical maternal life-history stages (late gestation, early lactation, breeding season) for 2 years to investigate both intra- and interannual influences. Intrinsic factors were fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs), nutritional indices (fecal nitrogen (FN) and 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (DAPA)), and dietary composition (protein intake of forbs, graminoids, legumes, other, shrubs), while the extrinsic factor was vegetative greenness (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)). We found variations in DAPA, protein intake of forbs, variation in forb protein intake, and protein intake of legumes during late gestation positively influenced fawn recruitment. Fecal nitrogen during early lactation showed the strongest positive influence on the recruitment of any measured parameter. Finally, breeding season NDVI and the variation in DAPA values positively influenced the subsequent year's fawn recruitment. Our longitudinal study enabled us to investigate which parameter was most important to specific periods of fawn development and recruitment. We combined the results across five subpopulations, but interpretation and subsequent management decisions should be made at the subpopulation level such that pronghorn subpopulations with low recruitment can be positively influenced by increasing nitrogen on the landscape available to adult females during the early lactation period. As the use of noninvasive monitoring methods continues to expand, we believe our methodologies and results can be broadly applied to other ungulate monitoring programs.

Geographic Distribution and Neuropathology of Elaeophora schneideri in Shiras Moose (Alces alces shirasi) in Idaho, USA.

Elaeophorosis, infection by the filarial worm Elaeophora schneideri, is a parasitic disease of wild ungulates in North America; however, our understanding of the relevance of E. schneideri to moose (Alces alces) morbidity and mortality is incomplete. Between March 2020 and July 2022, necropsy and histopathology were performed on 61 Shiras moose (Alces alces shirasi) in Idaho, US. Among the 41 adults (greater than 1 yr old), 21 moose were from northern Idaho, and 20 were from southeastern Idaho. Elaeophorosis was diagnosed in 24% (10 of 41). All 10 infected moose were from southeastern Idaho; none of the 21 moose from northern Idaho were infected. No juvenile moose (nine from northern and 11 from southeastern Idaho) were infected. Microfilariae were detected histologically in 9 of 10 infected moose, most consistently in brain tissue associated with lesions indicative of ischemic injury to the neuroparenchyma attributed to occlusion of arterioles and capillaries by microfilariae or fibrin thrombi, including edema, necrosis, and glial nodules. Microfilariae found in other tissues of the head, including the eye, tongue, and pinnae of some animals, as well as in lung, heart, liver, and kidney, typically were associated with inflammation. Three of the 10 infected moose had cropped ears attributed to elaeophorosis, and four exhibited abnormal behavior, which may have been due to neuropathology associated with E. schneideri microfilariae in the brain.

Seasonal shifts in pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) diets under a new lens: Examining diet composition using a molecular technique.

Foraging is one of the most fundamental activities contributing to the maximization of an animal's fitness, and thus herbivores must optimize their diet selection and intake to meet their nutrient demands for survival, growth, and reproduction. Using plant DNA barcoding, we determined diet composition of five subpopulations of adult female pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) grazing rangelands in southern and southeastern Idaho, USA. Fecal samples were collected for two years (2018-2019), and across metabolically-important adult female life history stages (late gestation, early lactation, breeding season). Plant DNA barcoding yielded 137 detected species within pronghorn diets across subpopulations and sampling periods with forbs being the most abundant. Pronghorn dietary functional group composition ranged from 52.2-60.3% from forbs followed by shrubs (22.6-28.2%), graminoids (8.7-15.7%), and legumes (5.5-9.6%). Dietary protein intake was also highest from forbs and ranged from 32.4-62.4% followed by graminoids (1.2-43.1%), shrubs (18.7-21.3%), and legumes (2.6-7.4%). We found significant intra- and interannual differences in the mean number of genera-based plant detections in pronghorn diets. Dietary protein intake of cultivated legumes (e.g., alfalfa [Medicago sativa] and sainfoin [Onobrychis viciifolia]) was lower than expected, ranging from <1.0-30.8%, suggesting that even within an agricultural-dominated landscape, factors other than plant nutritional composition contributed to pronghorn diets. Although the plant DNA barcoding technique exhibits limitations, it demonstrated potential for elucidating pronghorn dietary species richness, particularly for plants consumed in small proportions, as well as for observing temporal fluctuations in functional group composition and dietary protein intake explained through the interplay between environmental factors, plant chemical composition, and the animals' physiological needs.

Effects of large-scale disturbance on animal space use: Functional responses by greater sage-grouse after megafire.

Global change has altered the nature of disturbance regimes, and megafire events are increasingly common. Megafires result in immediate changes to habitat available to terrestrial wildlife over broad landscapes, yet we know surprisingly little about how such changes shape space use of sensitive species in habitat that remains. Functional responses provide a framework for understanding and predicting changes in space use following habitat alteration, but no previous studies have assessed functional responses as a consequence of megafire. We studied space use and tested for functional responses in habitat use by breeding greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) before and after landscape-level changes induced by a >40,000 ha, high-intensity megafire that burned sagebrush steppe in eastern Idaho, USA. We also incorporated functional responses into predictive resource selection functions (RSFs) to map breeding habitat before and after the fire. Megafire had strong effects on the distribution of available resources and resulted in context-dependent habitat use that was heterogeneous across different components of habitat. We observed functional responses in the use and selection of a variety of resources (shrubs and herbaceous vegetation) for both nesting and brood rearing. Functional responses in the use of nesting habitat were influenced by the overarching effect of megafire on vegetation, whereas responses during brood rearing appeared to be driven by individual variation in available resources that were conditional on nest locations. Importantly, RSFs built using data collected prior to the burn also had poor transferability for predicting space use in a post-megafire landscape. These results have strong implications for understanding and predicting how animals respond to a rapidly changing environment, given that increased severity, frequency, and extent of wildfire are consequences of global change with the capacity to reshape ecosystems. We therefore demonstrate a conceptual framework to better understand space use and aid habitat conservation for wildlife in a rapidly changing world.

Adult Renal Transplantation in a Patient 28 Years after Heart Transplantation as a Neonate for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

We present a case of kidney transplantation in a 28-year-old patient who received a heart transplant at 7 weeks of age due to hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The patient's renal insufficiency was the result of chronic immunosuppression and hypertension. The almost 28-year-old graft demonstrated very good function. This patient represents as one of the longest pediatric cardiac graft recipients living without any significant functional limitations.

Oral L-cysteine ethyl ester (LCEE) reduces amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar.

There is a need for the development of alternative therapeutic treatments for amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. to maintain the sustainability of the Tasmanian Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry. This study aimed to assess the effects of the mucolytic drug L-cysteine ethyl ester (LCEE) on marine Atlantic salmon mucus and whether or not it may have a therapeutic advantage for the alleviation of AGD when administered orally. We also aimed to document any physiological consequences of LCEE. Results showed that LCEE significantly decreased the viscosity of marine Atlantic salmon mucus both in vitro, where LCEE concentration showed a negative relationship to mucus viscosity (R2 = 0.95 at 11.5 s(-1)), and in vivo. Oral administration of LCEE at 52.7 mg LCEE kg(-1) fish d(-1) over 2 wk significantly delayed the progression of AGD-associated pathology during an aggressive, cohabitation induced, laboratory infection. Medicated fish had approximately 50% less gill filaments affected by AGD than control fed fish at 3 d post-infection when assessed using histology. Palatability of medicated feed was shown to be approximately 65% of control feed. No osmoregulatory disturbance was seen in medicated fish, although blood and whole body flux data indicated a slight acidosis coinciding with an increased plasma total ammonia concentration. However, both variables were within a tolerable physiological range and returned to control levels 3 d post-cessation of medicated feed. LCEE holds potential as an in-feed additive when administered over 2 wk prior to infection to delay the progression of AGD associated pathology. From the parameters measured, LCEE seems to have minimal physiological consequences after 2 wk of administration.

The viscosity and glycoprotein biochemistry of salmonid mucus varies with species, salinity and the presence of amoebic gill disease.

Fish mucus has previously been reported to change in appearance and composition among species and in response to changes in salinity and disease status. This study reports on the mucus viscosity and glycoprotein biochemistry of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.), brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum) in freshwater and seawater, both naive to and affected by amoebic gill disease (AGD). Cutaneous mucus viscosity was measured over a range of shear rates (11.5, 23, 46 and 115 s(-1)), and non-Newtonian behaviour was demonstrated for all three species. Mucus viscosity was significantly greater in seawater than in freshwater for all species, and significantly lower in AGD-affected Atlantic salmon and brown trout. Mucus glucose, total protein and osmolality data indicated that differences in viscosity due to salinity were mostly attributed to changes in mucus hydration, while differences due to disease were mostly attributed to changes in mucus composition. Trends in gill mucus cell histochemistry included shifts in glycoproteins from neutral mucins in freshwater to acidic mucins in seawater, and shifts towards neutral mucins, with an increase in mucus cell numbers, in response to AGD. Results suggested that Atlantic salmon and brown trout are more similar to one another in their mucus profile than to rainbow trout. Atlantic salmon and brown trout both exhibited a whole-body mucus response to AGD, whereas rainbow trout exhibited only a local gill response. Findings hold implications for fish physiology and pathology, and indicate that future fish-disease management strategies should be species and condition specific.

Comparative ionic flux and gill mucous cell histochemistry: effects of salinity and disease status in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).

Two experiments were conducted to assess the physiological effects of freshwater exposure and amoebic gill disease (AGD) in marine Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The first experiment monitored marine salmon during a 3 h freshwater exposure, the standard treatment for AGD in Tasmania. The second experiment described the gill mucous cell histochemistry for freshwater adapted and seawater acclimated fish (AGD affected and unaffected) for possible correlations to ionoregulation. When exposed to freshwater, marine Atlantic salmon experienced a minor ionoregulatory dysfunction represented by a net efflux of Cl(-) ions at 3 h. AGD affected fish experienced the net efflux of Cl(-) ions 1 h sooner, and had a significantly greater net efflux of total ammonia. Changes to gill mucous cell populations corresponded to differing salinity and the presence of AGD. In AGD affected fish, these populations significantly differed between lesion and non-lesion associated areas of the gill filament. Our results have shown changes in the ionoregulatory capacity of Atlantic salmon due to freshwater exposure and AGD. Gill mucous cell histochemistry indicates the potential importance of the mucous layer in ionoregulation and disease. In comparison to previous studies on rainbow trout, these results suggest that Atlantic salmon have a greater short-term ionoregulatory capacity.