ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENTS IN ANESTHETIZED CAPTIVE RED PANDAS (AILURUS FULGENS).

A recent review of mortality in captive red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) listed cardiac pathology as the most common cause of death in the adult age group. The aim of this study was to describe the standard echocardiographic variables in 13 captive, healthy, adult red pandas that underwent an elective health examination. In addition, differences between the two subspecies of red panda, A. f. styani than in A. f. fulgens, and association of these echocardiographic variables with age, sex, and body condition score, were examined. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with isoflurane inhalant anesthetic. All animals underwent a full physical examination and comprehensive echocardiogram including 2D, M-mode, and Doppler modes of ultrasound examination. Mean and SD of the echocardiographic variables are reported. Systolic performance was considered subnormal due to the effect of the anesthetic agent. The echocardiographic variables were similar for the two subspecies and sexes, with the exception of the left atrial dimension (2D), which measured larger (P= 0.03) in A. f. styani than in A. f. fulgens, and left ventricular internal diameter in diastole, which measured larger (P = 0.04) in males than females. Several echocardiographic measurements were correlated with age (P < 0.05), whereas the only measurement that significantly correlated with body condition score was end diastolic volume (P = 0.01). These results provide ranges that can offer guidance for predicting cardiac disease in red panda.

Semen and oocyte collection, sperm cryopreservation and IVF with the threatened North American giant salamander Cryptobranchus alleganiensis.

Semen of high to moderate quality was collected following the hormonal induction of North American giant salamanders Cryptobranchus alleganiensis . Oocytes from one female yielded the first C. alleganiensis produced while maintained in aquaria under human care and the first externally fertilising salamander produced with cryopreserved spermatozoa and IVF. Further research is needed with North American giant salamanders to establish reliable techniques to produce large numbers of viable offspring, along with the application of cryopreserved spermatozoa.

Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet.

Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions (NSECs) are associated with resident diet, but most research has been cross-sectional. We capitalized on a natural experiment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which 1 neighborhood experienced substantial investments and a sociodemographically similar neighborhood that did not, to examine pathways from neighborhood investments to changed NSECs and changed dietary behavior. We examined differences between renters and homeowners. Data were from a random sample of households (n = 831) in each of these low-income Pittsburgh neighborhoods that were surveyed in 2011 and 2014. Structural equation modeling tested direct and indirect pathways from neighborhood to resident dietary quality, adjusting for individual-level sociodemographics, with multigroup testing by homeowners versus renters. Neighborhood investments were directly associated with improved dietary quality for renters (ß = 0.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05, 0.50) and homeowners (ß = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.92). Among renters, investments also were associated with dietary quality through a positive association with commercial prices (ß = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.54) and a negative association with residential prices (ß = -0.30, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.004). Among homeowners, we did not observe any indirect pathways from investments to dietary quality through tested mediators. Investing in neighborhoods may support resident diet through improvements in neighborhood commercial environments for renters, but mechanisms appear to differ for homeowners.

EFFICACY OF SUBCUTANEOUS IMPLANTS TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS PLASMA TERBINAFINE IN HELLBENDERS (CRYPTOBRANCHUS ALLEGANIENSI) FOR FUTURE PROPHYLACTIC USE AGAINST CHYTRIDIOMYCOSIS.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is an important fungal pathogen present in wild hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) populations that appears to cause disease during novel exposure and acute stress. Hellbender repatriation efforts are ongoing to combat declining populations, but mortality by chytridiomycosis (disease from Bd) after release has been reported. The goal was to determine whether a safe antifungal agent could be administered and provide prolonged plasma concentrations without repeated handling. A subcutaneous implant impregnated with 24.5 mg of terbinafine was tested in three juvenile eastern hellbenders (C. a. alleganiensis) raised in human care, and plasma terbinafine concentrations were recorded from weekly to biweekly for 141 days. Plasma concentrations were variable, with peak plasma concentrations of 1,610, 112, and 66 ng/ml between 28 and 56 days postimplant. Although all hellbenders achieved plasma concentrations above the published minimum inhibitory concentration for terbinafine against Bd zoospores (63 ng/ml) at several time points, only one individual remained above this threshold for more than two consecutive time intervals. Results show the potential for these implants as a prophylaxis for chytridiomycosis in captive-to-wild hellbender releases. However, further investigation will be needed to determine the plasma concentrations required to achieve prophylaxis in vivo and implant reliability.

Broken Windows, Broken Zzs: Poor Housing and Neighborhood Conditions Are Associated with Objective Measures of Sleep Health.

African Americans and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals have higher rates of a variety of sleep disturbances, including short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and fragmented sleep. Such sleep disturbances may contribute to pervasive and widening racial and socioeconomic (SES) disparities in health. A growing body of literature demonstrates that over and above individual-level SES, indicators of neighborhood disadvantage are associated with poor sleep. However, there has been scant investigation of the association between sleep and the most proximal environments, the home and residential block. This is the first study to examine the association between objective and self-reported measures of housing and block conditions and sleep. The sample included 634 adults (mean age = 58.7 years; 95% African American) from two low-income urban neighborhoods. Study participants reported whether they experienced problems with any of seven different housing problems (e.g., broken windows) and rated the overall condition of their home. Trained data collectors rated residential block quality. Seven days of wrist actigraphy were used to measure average sleep duration, efficiency, and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), and a sleep diary assessed sleep quality. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted for each sleep outcome with housing or block conditions as predictors in separate models. Participants reporting "fair" or "poor" housing conditions had an adjusted average sleep duration that was 15.4 min shorter than that of participants reporting "good" or "excellent" conditions. Those reporting any home distress had 15.9 min shorter sleep and .19 units lower mean sleep quality as compared with participants who did not report home distress. Poor objectively measured block quality was associated with 14.0 min shorter sleep duration, 1.95% lower sleep efficiency, and 10.7 additional minutes of WASO. Adverse housing and proximal neighborhood conditions are independently associated with poor sleep health. Findings highlight the importance of considering strategies that target upstream determinants of sleep health disparities.

Feasibility of Social Distancing Practices in US Schools to Reduce Influenza Transmission During a Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Schools are socially dense environments, and school-based outbreaks often predate and fuel community-wide transmission of seasonal and pandemic influenza. While preemptive school closures can effectively reduce influenza transmission, they are disruptive and currently recommended only for pandemics. We assessed the feasibility of implementing other social distancing practices in K-12 schools as a first step in seeking an alternative to preemptive school closures. METHODS: We conducted 36 focus groups with education and public health officials across the United States. We identified and characterized themes and compared feasibility of practices by primary versus secondary school and region of the United States. RESULTS: Participants discussed 29 school practices (25 within-school practices implemented as part of the school day and 4 reduced-schedule practices that impact school hours). Participants reported that elementary schools commonly implement several within-school practices as part of routine operations such as homeroom stay, restriction of hall movement, and staggering of recess times. Because of routine implementation and limited use of individualized schedules within elementary schools, within-school practices were generally felt to be more feasible for elementary schools than secondary schools. Of reduced-schedule practices, shortening the school week and the school day was considered the most feasible; however, reduced-schedule practices were generally perceived to be less feasible than within-school practices for all grade levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that schools have many options to increase social distance other than closing. Future research should evaluate which of these seemingly feasible practices are effective in reducing influenza transmission in schools and surrounding communities.

Does Large-Scale Neighborhood Reinvestment Work? Effects of Public-Private Real Estate Investment on Local Sales Prices, Rental Prices, and Crime Rates.

During the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $6 billion in competitive grants called HOPE VI to spur neighborhood redevelopment. We add to HOPE VI research by examining the impacts of a large set of public-private real estate investments, including HOPE VI, made over a 16-year period in a distressed Pittsburgh neighborhood called the Hill District. Specifically, we estimate the effects of the $468 million additional public-private investments that Hill District received compared to a demographically similar neighborhood on sale prices, rental prices, and crime. We find large and statistically significant impacts of the public-private investments on residential sales prices, commercial sales prices, and on rental prices, but only a marginally significant yet meaningful decline in non-violent arrests. For each additional $10 million of public-private investment, we find a 0.95 percent increase in residential sales prices, 2.7 percent increase in commercial sales prices, and 0.55 percent increase in rental prices. Because there was an accumulated difference over 16 years of $468 million in the amount of public-private investment across the two neighborhoods we examine, these percentage increases amount to large changes in real estate prices over that time. Commercial real estate investors and homeowners benefited the most, followed by residential landlords. Our analyses imply cities should anticipate the potential impacts of major neighborhood investment on low-income households, especially unsubsidized renters that most directly experience the brunt of rising rents.

School practices to promote social distancing in K-12 schools: review of influenza pandemic policies and practices.

BACKGROUND: During an evolving influenza pandemic, community mitigation strategies, such as social distancing, can slow down virus transmission in schools and surrounding communities. To date, research on school practices to promote social distancing in primary and secondary schools has focused on prolonged school closure, with little attention paid to the identification and feasibility of other more sustainable interventions. To develop a list and typology of school practices that have been proposed and/or implemented in an influenza pandemic and to uncover any barriers identified, lessons learned from their use, and documented impacts. METHODS: We conducted a review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature on social distancing interventions in schools other than school closure. We also collected state government guidance documents directed to local education agencies or schools to assess state policies regarding social distancing. We collected standardized information from each document using an abstraction form and generated descriptive statistics on common plan elements. RESULTS: The document review revealed limited literature on school practices to promote social distancing, as well as limited incorporation of school practices to promote social distancing into state government guidance documents. Among the 38 states that had guidance documents that met inclusion criteria, fewer than half (42%) mentioned a single school practice to promote social distancing, and none provided any substantive detail about the policies or practices needed to enact them. The most frequently identified school practices were cancelling or postponing after-school activities, canceling classes or activities with a high rate of mixing/contact that occur within the school day, and reducing mixing during transport. CONCLUSION: Little information is available to schools to develop policies and procedures on social distancing. Additional research and guidance are needed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of school practices to promote social distancing.

Intergenerational Social Networks and Health Behaviors Among Children Living in Public Housing.

OBJECTIVES: In a survey of families living in public housing, we investigated whether caretakers' social networks are linked with children's health status. METHODS: In 2011, 209 children and their caretakers living in public housing in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, were surveyed regarding their health and social networks. We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between the perceived health composition of caretaker social networks and corresponding child health characteristics (e.g., exercise, diet). RESULTS: With each 10% increase in the proportion of the caretaker's social network that exercised regularly, the child's odds of exercising increased by 34% (adjusted odds ratio = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 1.69) after the caretaker's own exercise behavior and the composition of the child's peer network had been taken into account. Although children's overweight or obese status was associated with caretakers' social networks, the results were no longer significant after adjustment for caretakers' own weight status. CONCLUSIONS: We found that caretaker social networks are independently associated with certain aspects of child health, suggesting the importance of the broader social environment for low-income children's health.

The impact of public housing on social networks: a natural experiment.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether 2 types of public housing-scattered among market-rate housing developments or clustered in small public housing projects-were associated with the perceived health and health behaviors of residents' social networks. METHODS: Leveraging a natural experiment in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which residents were randomly assigned to different types of public housing, we surveyed 453 heads of household in 2011. We asked residents about their own health as well as the perceived health of their network members, including their neighbors. RESULTS: Residents in scattered-site public housing perceived that their neighbors were more likely to exercise than residents of clustered public housing (24.7% of network members vs 14.0%; P < .001). There were no significant differences in the proportion of network members who were perceived to have major health problems, depressed mood, poor diet, or obesity. Having more network members who smoked was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Different types of public housing have a modest impact on the health composition of one's social network, suggesting the importance of housing policy for health.

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency.

Objective: Radon exposure is a proven cause of lung cancer and is a possible cause of other diseases. Recently, several ecologic studies explored the correlation of county-wide incidence rates for non-lung cancers with residential radon levels, using radon data reported by a commercial laboratory. However, the validity of the commercial radon data, i.e., whether they are an accurate representation of the radon levels in the counties from which they were drawn, is unknown. Methods: We compared county-wide radon data from the commercial laboratory with corresponding measurements from the same counties reported previously by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Matching data were available for four states, Iowa, North Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin, and were compared by paired t-tests. Criterion validity of the commercial tests, i.e., how well the commercial data predicted the EPA data, was tested using non-parametric methods, Kendall's tau, Lin's concordance, and Passing−Bablok regression. Results: The commercial and EPA data pairs from the four states were significantly positively correlated, although the size of the correlations was modest (tau = 0.490, Lin = 0.600). Passing−Bablok regression indicated that the commercial radon values were significantly higher than their EPA pairs and significantly overestimated radon at low levels (<4 pCi/L, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The commercial laboratory data were moderately predictive of EPA radon levels at the county level but were significantly biased upwards at low levels. The disagreement likely has several causes, including selection bias from homes that were tested voluntarily. Ecologic studies that employ radon data obtained from commercial laboratories should be interpreted with caution.

Regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor ubiquitination and trafficking by the USP8·STAM complex.

Reversible ubiquitination of activated receptor complexes signals their sorting between recycling and degradation and thereby dictates receptor fate. The deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8/UBPy) has been previously implicated in the regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); however, the molecular mechanisms governing its recruitment and activity in this context remain unclear. Herein, we investigate the role of USP8 in countering ligand-induced ubiquitination and down-regulation of EGFR and characterize a subset of protein-protein interaction determinants critical for this function. USP8 depletion accelerates receptor turnover, whereas loss of hepatocyte growth factor-regulated substrate (Hrs) rescues this phenotype, indicating that USP8 protects EGFR from degradation via an Hrs-dependent pathway. Catalytic inactivation of USP8 incurs EGFR hyperubiquitination and promotes receptor localization to endosomes marked by high ubiquitin content. These phenotypes require the central region of USP8, containing three extended Arg-X-X-Lys (RXXK) motifs that specify direct low affinity interactions with the SH3 domain(s) of ESCRT-0 proteins, STAM1/2. The USP8·STAM complex critically impinges on receptor ubiquitination status and modulates ubiquitin dynamics on EGFR-positive endosomes. Consequently, USP8-mediated deubiquitination slows progression of EGFR past the early-to-recycling endosome circuit in a manner dependent upon the RXXK motifs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a role for the USP8·STAM complex as a protective mechanism regulating early endosomal sorting of EGFR between pathways destined for lysosomal degradation and recycling.

School and preparedness officials' perspectives on social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic: Considerations to guide future work.

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of school and preparedness officials on the feasibility of implementing a range of social distancing practices to reduce influenza transmission during a pandemic. In the summer of 2017, we conducted 36 focus groups by teleconference and webinar lasting 90 min with school and preparedness stakeholders from across the United States. We identified and characterized 11 themes arising from the focus group protocol's domains as well as unanticipated emergent themes. These themes were: the need for effective stakeholder communication, the importance of partnering for buy-in, the role of social distancing in heightening anxiety, ensuring student safety, how practices work in combination, challenges with enforcement, lack of funding for school nurses, differing views about schools' role in protecting public health, the need for education and community engagement to ensure consistent implementation, the need for collaborative decision-making, and tension between standardizing public health guidance and adapting to local contexts. Addressing several crosscutting considerations can increase the likelihood that social distancing practices will be feasible and acceptable to school stakeholders.

Health implications of social networks for children living in public housing.

This study sought to examine whether: (1) the health composition of the social networks of children living in subsidized housing within market rate developments (among higher-income neighbors) differs from the social network composition of children living in public housing developments (among lower-income neighbors); and (2) children's social network composition is associated with children's own health. We found no significant differences in the health characteristics of the social networks of children living in these different types of public housing. However, social network composition was significantly associated with several aspects of children's own health, suggesting the potential importance of social networks for the health of vulnerable populations.

Building a more resilient haitian state

Ce rapport évalue les plans et politiques passés et actuels visant à améliorer la prestation de services publics en Haïti et, en s'appuyant sur cette évaluation, il fournit des recommandations sur la façon dont ces plans et politiques pourraient être améliorées. Le rapport met l'accent sur l'établissement de priorités pour les années à venir et propose des mesures qui pourraient produire des améliorations palpables dans la fourniture de services publics pendant cette période. Il est destiné au gouvernement d'Haïti pour l'élaboration de plans détaillés pour les réformes politiques et institutionnelles, ainsi qu'à la communauté internationale dans sa détermination de la façon de soutenir les efforts du gouvernement.