Ecology, histopathology, and microbial ecology of a white-band disease outbreak in the threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis.

This study is a multi-pronged description of a temperature-induced outbreak of white-band disease (WBD) that occurred in Acropora cervicornis off northern Miami Beach, Florida (USA), from July to October 2014. We describe the ecology of the disease and examine diseased corals using both histopathology and next-generation bacterial 16S gene sequencing, making it possible to better understand the effect this disease has on the coral holobiont, and to address some of the seeming contradictions among previous studies of WBD that employed either a purely histological or molecular approach. The outbreak began in July 2014, as sea surface temperatures reached 29°C, and peaked in mid-September, a month after the sea surface temperature maximum. The microscopic anatomy of apparently healthy portions of colonies displaying active disease signs appeared normal except for some tissue atrophy and dissociation of mesenterial filaments deep within the branch. Structural changes were more pronounced in visibly diseased fragments, with atrophy, necrosis, and lysing of surface and basal body wall and polyp structures at the tissue-loss margin. The only bacteria evident microscopically in both diseased and apparently healthy tissues with Giemsa staining was a Rickettsiales-like organism (RLO) occupying mucocytes. Sequencing also identified bacteria belonging to the order Rickettsiales in all fragments. When compared to apparently healthy fragments, diseased fragments had more diverse bacterial communities made up of many previously suggested potential primary pathogens and secondary (opportunistic) colonizers. Interactions between elevated seawater temperatures, the coral host, and pathogenic members of the diseased microbiome all contribute to the coral displaying signs of WBD.

Perspectives on Living with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: From Onset through Diagnosis and Disease Management in the US.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria is challenging to manage and substantially affects quality of life. This US, non-interventional qualitative study examined patients' clinical journeys and emotional burden from symptom onset through disease management. Chronic spontaneous urticaria patients participated in interviews and completed diaries focusing on disease and treatment history/perspectives, impact on personal/family life, and relationships with physicians/other healthcare providers. Physicians were interviewed about their views on disease management and patient care. Twenty-five patients, previously or currently receiving chronic spontaneous urticaria treatment(s), and 12 physicians participated. Key stages following symptom onset were identified: Crisis (associated with feelings of torment/disorientation/shock); Searching for answers (puzzlement/frustration/anxiety); Diagnosis (relief/satisfaction/fear/isolation); and Disease management (frustration/hope/powerlessness). Findings revealed patients' perceptions and experiences of chronic spontaneous urticaria, including living with a 'skinemy', experiencing their 'own personal hell' and feeling 'like an experiment'. Awareness of unmet needs in patient care/management identified in this study may ultimately improve patient support and enhance physicians' understanding of disease burden.

Measuring food deserts in New York City's low-income neighborhoods.

There has been growing interest in the environmental factors that contribute to poor health outcomes, particularly in areas where health disparities are pronounced. The locations of food deserts, or unhealthy food environments, correspond to areas with the highest proportions of African-American/Black residents, a population suffering from higher rates of many chronic conditions, including obesity and diabetes in our study area. This study seeks to enhance our understanding of the role of the neighborhood environment on residents' health, by examining neighborhood food availability and access in low-income and wealthier neighborhoods of New York City. We documented the neighborhood food environment and areas we call "food deserts" by creating methodological innovations. We calculated the lowest scores within East and Central Harlem and North and Central Brooklyn-areas with the highest proportions of Black residents and the lowest median household incomes. By contrast, the most favorable food desert scores were on the Upper East Side, a predominantly white, middle and upper-income area.

Breastfeeding ambivalence among low-income African American and Puerto Rican women in north and central Brooklyn.

This study explores low-income African American and Puerto Rican women's conceptions and practices around breastfeeding. It examines the impact of such diverse factors as social constructions of the body, local mores around infant care, the practicalities of food availability, in the context of interactions with family members and friends, institutions, and others in women's neighborhoods. The study employed ethnographic methods, including interviews and participant observation, with 28 families in two low-income Brooklyn neighborhoods. While women in this study felt that breastfeeding was the best way to feed their infants, their commitment turned to ambivalence in the face of their perceptions about the dangers of breast milk, the virtues of formula, and the practical and sociocultural challenges of breastfeeding. Women's ambivalence resulted in a widespread complementary feeding pattern that included breast milk and formula, and resulted in short breastfeeding durations. Findings suggest the critical role of breastfeeding "ambivalence" in driving thought and action in women's lives. Ambivalence erodes the permanence of breastfeeding intention, and makes feeding practices provisional. Ambivalence challenges breastfeeding promotion strategies, resulting in weakened public health messages and a difficult-to-realize public health goal.

Understanding the sociocultural roots of childhood obesity: food practices among Latino families of Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Despite prevention efforts, childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. This ethnographic study seeks to enhance understandings of the sociocultural dimensions of childhood obesity and inform prevention efforts. Using participant observation, interviews, and life histories, this research probes the sociocultural roots of childhood obesity by exploring the food practices and everyday lives of Latino families in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a low-income neighborhood in New York City. Mired in persistent poverty, Latino families burdened by teetering resources provide for their children using coping strategies in which everyday food practices play an important part. These practices illuminate cultural ideas about good parenting, well-being, and conceptions of the body. We argue that these practices, embedded in the neighborhood food environment, drive food choice and related activities of families, often leading to overweight and obesity in their children. They form the sociocultural roots of childhood obesity, and their implications are critically important for how public health professionals approach the relationship of food, nutrition, and obesity.

Hypoxia Tolerance in Twelve Species of East African Cichlids: Potential for Low Oxygen Refugia in Lake Victoria.

The species flock of haplochromine cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria is one of the most extensive and recent radiations of vertebrates known. Over the past 15 years, however, many of the haplochromine cichlid species have vanished, and predation by the introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) is thought to be one of the most significant factors underlying this mass extinction. Information on the hypoxia tolerance of haplochromines from the Lake Victoria is valuable for predicting their response to the increasing anoxia within the lake and in evaluating their potential use of low oxygen regions as refugia from predation by introduced Nile perch. This study examines the response of nine cichlid species from Lake Victoria (eight indigenous, one introduced) and three cichlid species from Lake Tanganyika to different low-oxygen regimes under laboratory conditions. Fish were exposed to progressive and acute hypoxia, with and without access to the surface. All species used aquatic surface respiration at very low Po2 . Buccal bubble holding and active swimming at the surface during aquatic surface respiration were used by many species and may serve to increase its efficiency. Lacustrine cichlids endemic to Lake Victoria were more tolerant of hypoxia than ecologically similar species from Lake Tanganyika. The two species examined that are widespread in variety of aquatic habitats exhibited a relatively high tolerance to hypoxia, with well-developed aquatic surface respiration and bubble-holding capabilities and no loss of equilibrium during progressive hypoxia. Species strongly affected by recent changes in Lake Victoria were not consistently poorer in their hypoxia tolerance than less-affected species. But, two of the less-affected species are inhabitants of shallow, rocky habitats, an environment that may be both rich in oxygen and well defended against the Nile perch because of the structural complexity of the rocky, littoral area. The generally high levels of hypoxia tolerance in the cichlid species examined from Lake Victoria suggest that these species potentially could use low-oxygen refugia to escape Nile perch predation. Some species that are thought to have disappeared may currently inhabit low-oxygen refugia that have not been adequately sampled. Tolerancia a la hipoxia en cíclidos del Africa oriental: Refugios con bajo contenido de oxígeno en el lago Victoria.

Resumen: El grupo de especies de peces cíclidos haplocromínidos del lago Victoria es una de las radiaciones de vertebrados más recientes y extensivas de la que se tenga conocimiento. Sin embargo, a lo largo de los últimos 15 años, muchas de las especies de cíclidos haplocromínidos han desaparecido, y la predación por una especie introducida, la perca del Nilo (Lates niloticus) es considerada como uno de los factores más significativos que contribuyeron a esta extinción masiva. La información sobre la tolerancia a la hipoxia de los haplocromínidos del lago Victoria es valiosa para predecir sus respuestas a la anoxia en aumento dentro del lago y en la evaluación del uso potencial de regiones con bajo contenido de oxígeno como refugios contra la predación por parte de la perca del Nilo. Este estudio examina la respuesta de nueve especies de cíclidos del lago Victoria (ocho indígenas y una introducida) y tres especies de cíclidos del lago Tanganica bajo distintos regímenes de bajo contenido en oxígeno en condiciones de laboratorio. Los peces fueron expuestos a una hipoxia progresiva y aguda, con o sin acceso a la superficie. Todas las especies usaron respiración de superficie cuando los niveles de Po2 eran muy bajos. Muchas especies usaron la retención de burbujas en la boca y la natición activa en la superficie durante la respiración de superficie, las cuales podrían servir para aumentar su eficiencia. Los cíclidos lacustres endémicos al lago Victoria fueron más tolerantes a la hipoxia que las especies ecologicamente similares del lago Tanganica. Las dos especies examinadas que tienen amplia distribución en una variedad de hábitats acuáticos exhibieron una tolerancia relativamente alta a la hipoxia, con respiración de superficie y capacidad para la retención de burbujas bien desarrolladas y sin ninguna pérdida en el equilibrio durante la hipoxia progresiva. Las especies fuertemente afectadas por cambios recientes en el lago Victoria no fueron consistentemente más pobres en su tolerancia a la hipoxia que las especies menos afectadas. Sin embargo dos de las especies menos afectadas son residentes de hábitats rocosos someros, un ambiente que podría ser rico en oxígeno y podría estar resguardado de la perca del Nilo debido a la complejidad estructural del área litoral rocosa. Los niveles generalmente altos de tolerancia a la hipoxia en las especies de cíclidos del lago Victoria examinadas sugiere que estas especies podrían usar en forma potencial los refugios con bajo contenido de oxígeno para escapar de la predación por parte de la perca del Nilo. Alguna de las especies que se piensa han desaparecido podrían, en la actualidad, residir en refugios con bajo contenido de oxígeno que no han sido muestreados adecuadamente.