Development and implementation of a distributed data network between an academic institution and state health departments to investigate variation in time to HIV viral suppression in the Deep South.

BACKGROUND: Achieving early and sustained viral suppression (VS) following diagnosis of HIV infection is critical to improving outcomes for persons with HIV (PWH). The Deep South of the United States (US) is a region that is disproportionately impacted by the domestic HIV epidemic. Time to VS, defined as time from diagnosis to initial VS, is substantially longer in the South than other regions of the US. We describe the development and implementation of a distributed data network between an academic institution and state health departments to investigate variation in time to VS in the Deep South. METHODS: Representatives of state health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the academic partner met to establish core objectives and procedures at the beginning of the project. Importantly, this project used the CDC-developed Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS) through a distributed data network model that maintained the confidentiality and integrity of the data. Software programs to build datasets and calculate time to VS were written by the academic partner and shared with each public health partner. To develop spatial elements of the eHARS data, health departments geocoded residential addresses of each newly diagnosed individual in eHARS between 2012-2019, supported by the academic partner. Health departments conducted all analyses within their own systems. Aggregate results were combined across states using meta-analysis techniques. Additionally, we created a synthetic eHARS data set for code development and testing. RESULTS: The collaborative structure and distributed data network have allowed us to refine the study questions and analytic plans to conduct investigations into variation in time to VS for both research and public health practice. Additionally, a synthetic eHARS data set has been created and is publicly available for researchers and public health practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: These efforts have leveraged the practice expertise and surveillance data within state health departments and the analytic and methodologic expertise of the academic partner. This study could serve as an illustrative example of effective collaboration between academic institutions and public health agencies and provides resources to facilitate future use of the US HIV surveillance system for research and public health practice.

Swarming and Aggregation in the Parasitic Diplomonad Flagellate Spironucleus vortens.

Pathogenicity, evolutionary history, and unusual cell organization of diplomonads are well known, particularly for Giardia and Spironucleus; however, behavior of these aerotolerant anaerobes is largely unknown. Addressing this deficit, we studied behavior of the piscine diplomonad Spironucleus vortens (ATCC 50386) in in vitro culture. Spironucleus vortens trophozoites from Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare, were maintained axenically in modified liver digest, yeast extract, and iron (LYI) medium, at 22 °C in the dark, and subcultured weekly. Cultures were monitored every 1-2 d, by removing an aliquot, and loading cells into a hemocytometer chamber, or onto a regular microscope slide. We observed three distinct swimming behaviors: (i) spontaneous formation of swarms, reaching 200 µm in diameter, persisting for up to several min in situ, (ii) directional movement of the swarm, via collective motility, and (iii) independent swimming of trophozoites to form a band (aggregation), presumably at the location of optimal environmental conditions. These behaviors have not previously been reported in Spironucleus. The observation that flagellate motility can change, from individual self-propulsion to complex collective swarming motility, prompts us to advocate S. vortens as a new model for study of group behavioral dynamics, complementing emerging studies of collective swimming in flagellated bacteria.

Potential role of cervicovaginal extracellular particles in diagnosis of endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: Macaques are an excellent model for many human diseases, including reproductive diseases such as endometriosis. A long-recognized need for early biomarkers of endometriosis has not yet resulted in consensus. While biomarker studies have examined many bodily fluids and targets, cervicovaginal secretions have been relatively under-investigated. Extracellular vesicles (EVs, including exosomes and microvesicles) are found in every biofluid examined, carry cargo including proteins and RNA, and may participate in intercellular signaling. Little is known about EVs in the cervicovaginal compartment, including the effects of reproductive tract disease on quantity and quality of EVs. CASE PRESENTATION: In September 2014, a 9-year-old rhesus macaque was diagnosed with endometriosis at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of a cyst and subsequent laparotomy confirmed diagnosis. The animal was sent to necropsy following euthanasia for humane reasons. Perimortem vaginal swabs and cervicovaginal lavages were obtained. Using a combination of methods, including ultracentrifugation and NanoSight visualization technology, approximate numbers of EVs from each sample were calculated and compared to populations of EVs from other, reproductively normal macaques. Fewer EVs were recovered from the endometriosis samples as compared with those from reproductively healthy individuals. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first examination of EVs in primate cervicovaginal secretions, including those of a macaque with endometriosis. This case study suggests that additional research is justified to determine whether quantification of EVs-or their molecular cargo-in cervicovaginal lavage and vaginal swabs may provide a novel, relatively non-invasive diagnostic for primate endometrial disease or other reproductive tract diseases.