Rapid development and evaluation of a live-attenuated QX-like infectious bronchitis virus vaccine

Publication date: 5 July 2018
Source:Vaccine, Volume 36, Issue 29
Author(s): Yun Zhang, Songjian Huang, Yuyao Zeng, Chunyi Xue, Yongchang Cao
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is an acute, highly contagious disease, which causes economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. To control the disease, biosecurity and vaccination are required. In the current research, we rapidly attenuated a QX-like IBV field strain ZYY-2014 using passage in embryos at limiting dilution and tested the safety and efficacy of the attenuated Chinese QX-like IBV strain ZYYR-2014 in 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens through spray route. Our result revealed that the attenuated strain presented a decreased pathogenicity in 1-day-old chickens. The strain ZYY-2014 inoculated birds presented typical IBV clinical signs with a mortality of 43%, while the attenuated strain ZYYR-2014 inoculated birds remained healthy. The strain ZYYR-2014 also presented stronger antibody responses and lower viral loads in tracheas, lungs and kidneys. When vaccinated through spray route into 1-day-old SPF chickens, our data suggest a potential of the attenuated ZYYR-2014 strain as a vaccine candidate applied in hatchery, which can contribute in preventing the QX-like IBV infections. Furthermore, attenuation by passage at limiting dilution could be applied for rapid vaccine development against emerging strains.



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Cost-effectiveness of nonavalent HPV vaccination among males aged 22 through 26 years in the United States

Publication date: 5 July 2018
Source:Vaccine, Volume 36, Issue 29
Author(s): Harrell W. Chesson, Elissa Meites, Donatus U. Ekwueme, Mona Saraiya, Lauri E. Markowitz
IntroductionIn the United States, routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is recommended for females and males at age 11 or 12 years; the series can be started at age 9 years. Vaccination is also recommended for females through age 26 years and males through age 21 years. The objective of this study was to assess the health impact and cost-effectiveness of harmonizing female and male vaccination recommendations by increasing the upper recommended catch-up age of HPV vaccination for males from age 21 to age 26 years.MethodsWe updated a published model of the health impact and cost-effectiveness of 9-valent human papillomavirus vaccine (9vHPV). We examined the cost-effectiveness of (1) 9vHPV for females aged 12 through 26 years and males aged 12 through 21 years, and (2) an expanded program including males through age 26 years.ResultsCompared to no vaccination, providing 9vHPV for females aged 12 through 26 years and males aged 12 through 21 years cost an estimated $16,600 (in 2016 U.S. dollars) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. The estimated cost per QALY gained by expanding male vaccination through age 26 years was $228,800 and ranged from $137,900 to $367,300 in multi-way sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsThe cost-effectiveness ratios we estimated are not so favorable as to make a strong economic case for recommending expanding male vaccination, yet are not so unfavorable as to preclude consideration of expanding male vaccination. The wide range of plausible results we obtained may underestimate the true degree of uncertainty, due to model limitations. For example, the cost per QALY might be less than our lower bound estimate of $137,900 had our model allowed for vaccine protection against re-infection. Models that specifically incorporate men who have sex with men (MSM) are needed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of male HPV vaccination strategies.



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Excitability tests using high-density surface-EMG: A novel approach to studying single motor units

Publication date: August 2018
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology, Volume 129, Issue 8
Author(s): Boudewijn T.H.M. Sleutjes, Judith Drenthen, Ernest Boskovic, Leonard J. van Schelven, Maria O. Kovalchuk, Paul G.E. Lumens, Leonard H. van den Berg, Hessel Franssen
ObjectiveTo study excitability of single motor units (MUs) using high-density surface-EMG.MethodsMotor unit action potentials (MUAPs) were evoked by submaximal stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist and recorded with a 9 × 14 electrode grid on the skin overlying the thenar muscles. For excitability tests of single MUs, the most optimal specific single-channel surface-EMG signal was selected based on the spatiotemporal profile of single MUs.ResultsAxonal excitability measures were successfully obtained from 14 single MUs derived from ten healthy subjects. Selecting the optimal single-channel surface-EMG signals minimized interference from other single MUs and improved signal-to-noise ratio. The muscle fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) could also be derived from the unique spatiotemporal profile of single MUs.ConclusionHigh-density surface-EMG helps to isolate single MUAP responses, making it a suitable technique for assessing excitability in multiple single motor axons per nerve.SignificanceOur method enables the reliable study of ion-channel dysfunction in single motor axons of nerves without any requirement for specific conditions, such as prominent MU loss or enlarged MUAPs due to collateral sprouting.



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Periodic component analysis as a spatial filter for SSVEP-based brain-computer interface

Publication date: Available online 15 June 2018
Source:Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Author(s): G R Kiran Kumar, M Ramasubba Reddy
BackgroundTraditional Spatial filters used for steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) extraction such as minimum energy combination (MEC) require the estimation of the background electroencephalogram (EEG) noise components. Even though this leads to improved performance in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) conditions, it makes such algorithms slow compared to the standard detection methods like canonical correlation analysis (CCA) due to the additional computational cost.New methodIn this paper, Periodic component analysis (πCA) is presented as an alternative spatial filtering approach to extract the SSVEP component effectively without involving extensive modelling of the noise. The πCA can separate out components corresponding to a given frequency of interest from the background electroencephalogram (EEG) by capturing the temporal information and does not generalize SSVEP based on rigid templates.ResultsData from ten test subjects were used to evaluate the proposed method and the results demonstrate that the periodic component analysis acts as a reliable spatial filter for SSVEP extraction. Statistical tests were performed to validate the results.Comparison with existing methodsThe experimental results show that πCA provides significant improvement in accuracy compared to standard CCA and MEC in low SNR conditions.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that πCA provides better detection accuracy compared to CCA and on par with that of MEC at a lower computational cost. Hence πCA is a reliable and efficient alternative detection algorithm for SSVEP based brain-computer interface (BCI).



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Food deprivation reduces the susceptibility to size-contrast illusions

Publication date: 1 September 2018
Source:Appetite, Volume 128
Author(s): Noa Zitron-Emanuel, Tzvi Ganel
Hunger, caused by mild amount of food deprivation, is an everyday physiological state familiar to us all. Ongoing research has pinpointed the way hunger affects people's physiological functions as well as their attitudes and allocation of attention toward domain-specific, food-related objects. Yet, little is known about the way food deprivation affects basic perceptual abilities. Here, we utilized size-contrast visual illusions commonly associated with food to explore the way deprivation affects relative processing of food size. In two experiments (Nexp1 = 32 females, mean age: 24.31; Nexpt2 = 41 females, 40 males, mean age: 23.84), we examined the effect food deprivation has on participants' susceptibility to the Delboeuf illusion, which biases the perceived size of a neutral or of a food-related object when it is placed within the context of another object (e.g., a pizza is perceived as smaller when placed on a larger plate or tray). The results showed that food deprivation reduces the illusory bias for food-related but not for neutral stimuli. Such reduction in the illusory effect indicates reliance on analytic, rather than on relative processing style, for domain-specific stimuli when in the state of hunger.



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In adolescence a higher ‘eveningness in energy intake’ is associated with higher total daily energy intake

Publication date: 1 September 2018
Source:Appetite, Volume 128
Author(s): Tanja Diederichs, Ines Perrar, Sarah Roßbach, Ute Alexy, Anette E. Buyken
The present manuscript addressed two hypotheses: (i) As children age, energy intake is shifted from morning (energy intake <11am) to evening hours (energy intake >6pm) (ii) A higher 'eveningness in energy intake' (i.e. evening minus morning energy intake) is associated with a higher total daily energy intake. Data were analyzed from 262 DONALD cohort study participants, who had completed at least one 3-day weighed dietary record in the age groups 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, 15/16 and 17/18 years (y). 'Eveningness in energy intake' was compared across age groups and related to total daily energy intake for each age group (multiple cross-sectional analyses). 'Eveningness' increased progressively from age group 3/4y to age group 17/18y. A median surplus of evening energy intake (i.e. when evening intake exceeded morning intake) was firstly observed for age group 11/12y. From age group 11/12y onwards, a higher 'eveningness' was associated with a higher total daily energy intake (all p < 0.04). Difference in total daily energy intake between the highest and the lowest tertile of 'eveningness' was largest for age group 17/18y, amounting to an 11% higher intake among adolescents in the highest as compared to those in the lowest tertile. In conclusion, energy intake progressively shifts from morning to evening hours as children age. Once evening energy intake exceeds morning energy intake, a higher 'eveningness in energy intake' is associated with higher total daily energy intake.



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Disordered eating in college sorority women: A social network analysis of a subset of members from a single sorority chapter

Publication date: 1 September 2018
Source:Appetite, Volume 128
Author(s): Kendra R. Becker, Monika M. Stojek, Allan Clifton, Joshua D. Miller
ObjectiveDisordered eating attitudes and behaviors are prevalent among college women, and peers appear to influence current and future eating pathology. Social network analysis (SNA) is an innovative quantitative method to examine relationships (i.e., ties) among people based on their various attributes. In this study, the social network of one sorority was modeled using exponential random graph model (ERGM) to explore if homophily, or the tendency for relationship ties to exist based on shared attributes, was present according to sorority members' disordered eating behaviors/attitudes and their body mass index (BMI).MethodParticipants included members of one sorority at a large Southeastern university. All members were included on a roster unless they elected to opt out during the consent process, and 41 (19%) of the members completed the study measures. Participants completed the Social Network Questionnaire developed for this study (degree of "liking" of every member on the roster), the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q), and a demographics questionnaire in exchange for one hour of community service credit.ResultsThe final sample consisted of mostly White women with an average age of 20. Homophily across liking ties was examined based on the EDE-Q Global scale, episodes of binge eating, and BMI. The greater the difference in EDE-Q Global scores, the more likely the participants were to like one another. The greater the difference in BMI, the less likely the participants were to like one another. Binge eating was unrelated to homophily.DiscussionCollege sorority women appear to prefer other women with dissimilar levels of disordered eating attitudes, suggesting complex interactions between stigmatized or valued disordered eating attributes. Women with similar BMI were more likely to like one another, confirming past findings.



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