Article
Ecology
Xue Yin, Scott Jarvie, Wen-Yong Guo, Tao Deng, Lingfeng Mao, Minhua Zhang, Chengjin Chu, Hong Qian, Jens-Christian Svenning, Fangliang He
Summary: The study reveals niche conservatism among plant species sharing ancestors in eastern Asia and eastern North America, with significant negative relationships between niche overlap and divergence times. Herbaceous plants exhibit higher niche conservatism compared to woody plants.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Adam T. Ladzinski, Aisha Tai, Matthew T. Rumschlag, Christopher S. Smith, Aditya Mehta, Pimpawan Boapimp, Eric J. Edewaard, Richard W. Douce, Larry F. Morgan, Michael S. Wang, Amanda O. Fisher-Hubbard, Matthew J. Cummings, Brett W. Jagger
Summary: Eastern equine encephalitis virus is a mosquito-borne virus that causes severe neurological disease in animals and humans. The mortality rate of encephalitic disease caused by this virus is over 30%. In 2019, there was a significant increase in the number of cases in the United States, including 10 in Michigan. Limited diagnostic methods and lack of effective treatments pose significant challenges in managing this condition.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jean-Paul Carrera, Dimelza Arauz, Alejandra Rojas, Fatima Cardozo, Victoria Stittleburg, Ingra Morales Claro, Josefrancisco Galue, Carlos Lezcano-Coba, Filipe Romero Rebello Moreira, Luis Felipe-Rivera, Maria Chen-German, Brechla Moreno, Zeuz Capitan-Barrios, Sandra Lopez-Verges, Juan Miguel Pascale, Ester C. Sabino, Anayansi Valderrama, Kathryn A. Hanley, Christl A. Donnelly, Nikos Vasilakis, Nuno R. Faria, Jesse J. Waggoner
Summary: Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assays were designed and clinically assessed for detecting Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), Madariaga virus (MADV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus complex (VEEV). The assays successfully detected the presence of VEEV complex RNA in outbreak samples, suspected dengue cases, and mosquito pools, demonstrating the potential application of this method in encephalitic alphavirus surveillance programs.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Courtney J. Marneweck, Todd E. Katzner, David S. Jachowski
Summary: The study indicates that climate has a significant impact on the diversity of scavenger species, with the highest species richness of scavengers observed in relatively warm and dry winters. Additionally, diversity of scavenger species was highest under drier conditions.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Susana E. Freire, Jose L. Villasenor, Claudia Monti, Nestor D. Bayon, Maria A. Migoya
Summary: This article presents a taxonomic revision of the genus Pseudognaphalium in North America, identifying 36 species and providing detailed morphological descriptions, taxonomic data, distinguishing characters, and an identification key. It also includes synonymizations, designation of lectotypes, and additional information on distribution, habitat, and ecological comments.
ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wengui Liang, Minghua Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the mechanisms of increased winter precipitation in the eastern North America under a warmer climate. The research shows that enhanced moisture convergence in the southeast United States is mainly caused by local thermodynamics due to increased moisture, while in the north it is primarily due to the increase of moisture gradient associated with the spatial distribution of temperature and eddy temperature in the region.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Benjamin C. Pierson, Anthony P. Cardile, Arthur C. Okwesili, Isaac L. Downs, Ronald B. Reisler, Ellen F. Boudreau, Mark G. Kortepeter, Craig D. Koca, Manmohan Ranadive, Patricia L. Petitt, Niranjan Kanesa-thasan, Robert G. Rivard, Dani L. Liggett, Jeannine M. Haller, Sarah L. Norris, Bret K. Purcell, Phillip R. Pittman, David L. Saunders, Maryam Keshtkar Jahromi
Summary: The study showed that an inactivated EEEV vaccine is safe and immunogenic in at-risk laboratory personnel. Prolonging the primary vaccination series with a dose at month 6 significantly improved vaccine immunogenicity.
Review
Microbiology
S. Saif Hasan, Debajit Dey, Suruchi Singh, Matthew Martin
Summary: Alphaviruses, including EEEV, cause encephalitis and arthritis in humans. Recent advances in the structural biology of EEEV, mainly based on cryoEM structures, provide insights into the interactions with host proteins, which may lead to therapeutic developments.
Article
Geography, Physical
Helen Mackay, Matthew J. Amesbury, Pete G. Langdon, Dan J. Charman, Gabriel Magnan, Simon van Bellen, Michelle Garneau, Rupert Bainbridge, Paul D. M. Hughes
Summary: The study reconstructs hydroclimatic changes in northeastern North America over the past millennium, revealing spatially divergent patterns during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age. The wetter conditions in southern peatlands and drier conditions in northern and continental sites during these periods suggest complex hydroclimatic patterns. The spatial variability of hydroclimate change during the Little Ice Age may be related to local permafrost aggradation and similarities with dry periods during the Medieval Climate Anomaly.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Brianna M. Winkel, Clayton K. Nielsen, Elizabeth M. Hillard, Ronald W. Sutherland, Michelle A. LaRue
Summary: This study modeled potential cougar habitats and dispersal corridors in eastern North America using expert opinions and various habitat quality indicators. The results showed that potential habitats were predominantly forests and shrublands, and dispersal corridors were present throughout the study area.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Brian Savage
Summary: The mantle structure of the eastern North American continent is found to be more complex than originally thought, with significant and rapid wave speed variations potentially related to the presence of melt and mineral compositions. Additionally, wave speeds along the Atlantic margin are lower than expected, and there are spatial variations in wave speeds within the continent interior.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Seok-Geun Oh, Laxmi Sushama
Summary: Urban heat island is a significant urban climate characteristic affecting heat-stress conditions and extreme precipitation. This study found that realistic representation of urban regions in climate models leads to higher temperatures and reduced precipitation. The research highlights the importance of accurately representing urban regions in climate models for generating realistic climate information.
Editorial Material
Ecology
Elizabeth E. Crone, Cheryl B. Schultz
Summary: The migratory monarch butterfly population in the western United States is rapidly declining, while a resident population in urban gardens is on the rise. However, the resident population is not sufficient to compensate for the loss of the migratory population. This shift highlights the unexpected consequences of environmental change and the importance of defining resilience and viability in changing environments.
Review
Ecology
Rachel Ann Lyman, Christine E. Edwards
Summary: This study analyzed 184 phylogeographical studies of eastern North American taxa published between 2007 and 2019 to evaluate the taxonomic focus of the studies, the adoption of genotyping technologies and analytical approaches, and the support for hypothesized biogeographic discontinuities. The findings showed little change in taxonomic focus, slow uptake of technological and analytical advances, variable support for previously identified discontinuities, and the identification of a new recurrent discontinuity. The study highlights the need to broaden the taxonomic focus, improve genetic resolution, and use analytical approaches to better understand the forces shaping the phylogeography of eastern North America.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Virology
D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana, Christian David Bonilla Carvajal, Emilly Moreno-Ramos, Joshuan J. J. Barboza, Alfonso J. J. Rodriguez-Morales
Summary: This study used geographic information systems and maps to describe the temporal-spatial distribution of EEEV and VEEV viruses in Colombia between 2008 and 2019. The results showed that EEE cases were concentrated in municipalities of the Casanare department, such as Yopal, Aguazul, and Tauramena. This study is important for the prevention and control of the spread of these viruses.
Article
Pathology
Marisa C. Nielsen, Rafael R. G. Machado, Brooke M. Mitchell, Allan J. McConnell, Nehad I. Saada, Scott C. Weaver, Ping Ren
Summary: This study evaluated the Novaplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants I, II, and IV assays from Seegene Technologies, which demonstrated good agreement with traditional spike gene Sanger sequencing results, providing an accurate, rapid, and less labor-intensive method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and identifying known variants of interest and concern.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marciela M. DeGrace, Elodie Ghedin, Matthew B. Frieman, Florian Krammer, Alba Grifoni, Arghavan Alisoltani, Galit Alter, Rama R. Amara, Ralph S. Baric, Dan H. Barouch, Jesse D. Bloom, Louis-Marie Bloyet, Gaston Bonenfant, Adrianus C. M. Boon, Eli A. Boritz, Debbie L. Bratt, Traci L. Bricker, Liliana Brown, William J. Buchser, Juan Manuel Carreno, Liel Cohen-Lavi, Tamarand L. Darling, Meredith E. Davis-Gardner, Bethany L. Dearlove, Han Di, Meike Dittmann, Nicole A. Doria-Rose, Daniel C. Douek, Christian Drosten, Venkata-Viswanadh Edara, Ali Ellebedy, Thomas P. Fabrizio, Guido Ferrari, Will M. Fischer, William C. Florence, Ron A. M. Fouchier, John Franks, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Adam Godzik, Ana Silvia Gonzalez-Reiche, Aubree Gordon, Bart L. Haagmans, Peter J. Halfmann, David D. Ho, Michael R. Holbrook, Yaoxing Huang, Sarah L. James, Lukasz Jaroszewski, Trushar Jeevan, Robert M. Johnson, Terry C. Jones, Astha Joshi, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Lisa Kercher, Marion P. G. Koopmans, Bette Korber, Eilay Koren, Richard A. Koup, Eric B. LeGresley, Jacob E. Lemieux, Mariel J. Liebeskind, Zhuoming Liu, Brandi Livingston, James P. Logue, Yang Luo, Adrian B. McDermott, Margaret J. McElrath, Victoria A. Meliopoulos, Vineet D. Menachery, David C. Montefiori, Barbara Muehlemann, Vincent J. Munster, Jenny E. Munt, Manoj S. Nair, Antonia Netzl, Anna M. Niewiadomska, Sijy O'Dell, Andrew Pekosz, Stanley Perlman, Marjorie C. Pontelli, Barry Rockx, Morgane Rolland, Paul W. Rothlauf, Sinai Sacharen, Richard H. Scheuermann, Stephen D. Schmidt, Michael Schotsaert, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Robert A. Seder, Mayya Sedova, Alessandro Sette, Reed S. Shabman, Xiaoying Shen, Pei-Yong Shi, Maulik Shukla, Viviana Simon, Spencer Stumpf, Nancy J. Sullivan, Larissa B. Thackray, James Theiler, Paul G. Thomas, Sanja Trifkovic, Sina Tureli, Samuel A. Turner, Maria A. Vakaki, Harm van Bakel, Laura A. VanBlargan, Leah R. Vincent, Zachary S. Wallace, Li Wang, Maple Wang, Pengfei Wang, Wei Wang, Scott C. Weaver, Richard J. Webby, Carol D. Weiss, David E. Wentworth, Stuart M. Weston, Sean P. J. Whelan, Bradley M. Whitener, Samuel H. Wilks, Xuping Xie, Baoling Ying, Hyejin Yoon, Bin Zhou, Tomer Hertz, Derek J. Smith, Michael S. Diamond, Diane J. Post, Mehul S. Suthar
Summary: The SAVE program is a real-time risk assessment initiative established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to address the public health threat posed by the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Its goal is to evaluate the potential impact of these variants on transmission, virulence, and immunity induced through infection or vaccination.
Article
Immunology
Brandon J. Beddingfield, Chie Sugimoto, Eryu Wang, Scott C. Weaver, Kasi E. Russell-Lodrigue, Stephanie Z. Killeen, Marcelo J. Kuroda, Chad J. Roy
Summary: Research has found that Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) influences the proliferation rates and kinetics of myeloid lineage cells early during infection, which may be useful in the development of therapeutics and evaluation of infection-induced pathogenesis.
Article
Virology
Sasha R. Azar, Rafael K. Campos, Ruimei Yun, Taylor Strange, Shannan L. Rossi, Kathryn A. Hanley, Nikos Vasilakis, Scott C. Weaver
Summary: Chronic conditions like type II diabetes may increase the risk and severity of infections by arboviruses such as Zika virus. However, the effects of diabetes on human blood and its impact on mosquito vector infectivity are still not well understood.
Article
Virology
Janine S. Sabino, Mariene R. Amorim, William M. de Souza, Lia F. Marega, Luciana S. Mofatto, Daniel A. Toledo-Teixeira, Julia Forato, Rodrigo G. Stabeli, Maria Laura Costa, Fernando R. Spilki, Ester C. Sabino, Nuno R. Faria, Bruno D. Benites, Marcelo Addas-Carvalho, Raquel S. B. Stucchi, Dewton M. Vasconcelos, Scott C. Weaver, Fabiana Granja, Jose Luiz Proenca-Modena, Maria Marluce dos S. Vilela
Summary: This study retrospectively examined the clinical course of an immunodeficient patient chronically infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant who received breast milk as treatment for COVID-19. The patient showed symptom improvement and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 after the treatment. Therefore, the hypothesis that antibodies secreted in breast milk could be useful in treating persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunodeficient patients is proposed.
Article
Cell Biology
Yang Liu, Jianyin Liu, Bryan A. Johnson, Hongjie Xia, Zhiqiang Ku, Craig Schindewolf, Steven G. Widen, Zhiqiang An, Scott C. Weaver, Vineet D. Menachery, Xuping Xie, Pei-Yong Shi
Summary: This study reports that the P681R mutation in the Delta spike plays a crucial role in the replacement of the Alpha variant by the Delta variant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delta variant outcompetes the Alpha variant in human lung cells and airway tissues. The P681R mutation enhances the cleavage of the spike protein, leading to increased replication of the Delta variant.
Article
Immunology
Jacqueline Kyungah Lim, Valery Ridde, Selidji Todagbe Agnandji, Bertrand Lell, Seydou Yaro, Jae Seung Yang, Damien Hoinard, Scott C. Weaver, Jessica Vanhomwegen, Henrik Salje, In Kyu Yoon
Summary: Chikungunya virus serostudies and models were used to identify outbreaks and reconstruct past circulation in Burkina Faso and Gabon. The findings suggest sporadic outbreaks in these settings and underscore the importance of serostudies and models in supporting disease surveillance.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Virology
Craig Schindewolf, Kumari Lokugamage, Michelle N. Vu, Bryan A. Johnson, Dionna Scharton, Jessica A. Plante, Birte Kalveram, Patricia A. Crocquet-Valdes, Stephanea Sotcheff, Elizabeth Jaworski, Rojelio E. Alvarado, Kari Debbink, Matthew D. Daugherty, Scott C. Weaver, Andrew L. Routh, David H. Walker, Kenneth S. Plante, Vineet D. Menachery
Summary: Understanding the role of NSP16 in SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis, this study demonstrates the attenuation of a NSP16 mutant both in vitro and in vivo, as well as its sensitivity to IFN-I. Silencing IFIT1 or IFIT3 partially restores the mutant's fitness. Furthermore, targeting NSP16 with a MTase inhibitor enhances the virus' sensitivity to IFN-I. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of NSP16 in immune evasion and suggest a potential target for antiviral development.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Review
Virology
Rachel A. Reyna, Scott C. Weaver
Summary: Eastern (EEEV), Venezuelan (VEEV), and western equine encephalitis viruses (WEEV) are mosquito-borne alphaviruses that cause febrile illness and severe encephalitic disease. The lack of vaccines and therapeutics highlights the need for advanced animal models and detailed mechanistic understanding of the neurological sequelae induced by these viruses. This review summarizes the clinical neurologic findings, available animal models, and the importance of developing therapeutics and vaccines.
Article
Virology
Se Hun Gu, Marcos Minarro, Carlos Feliu, Jean-Pierre Hugot, Naomi L. Forrester, Scott C. Weaver, Richard Yanagihara
Summary: Recent detection of NVAV and BRGV in European moles in Belgium and Germany prompted a search for related hantaviruses in the Iberian mole. Analysis of lung tissue from 106 Iberian moles in Spain revealed genetically distinct hantaviruses, including a new hantavirus species designated as ASTV. Next generation sequencing of infected moles confirmed the presence of ASTV. These findings challenge the previous assumption that each hantavirus species is limited to a single host species.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Alioune Gaye, Cheikh Fall, Oumar Faye, Myrielle Dupont-Rouzeyrol, El Hadji Ndiaye, Diawo Diallo, Paolo Marinho de Andrade Zanotto, Ibrahima Dia, Scott C. Weaver, Mawlouth Diallo
Summary: This study assessed the susceptibility of A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus to ZIKV strains from Senegal, Brazil, and New Caledonia, and found that the Senegalese strain had a significantly higher infection rate compared to the Brazilian and New Caledonian strains. No infection was recorded for C. quinquefasciatus.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Rafael K. Campos, Shannan L. Rossi, Robert B. Tesh, Scott C. Weaver
Summary: Emerging zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses pose increasing health threats and require global preparedness to effectively mitigate the impacts in terms of health, society, and economy.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Virology
Douglas Barker, Xiaobing Han, Eryu Wang, Ashley Dagley, Deborah M. Anderson, Aruni Jha, Scott C. Weaver, Justin Julander, Cory Nykiforuk, Shantha Kodihalli
Summary: The despeciated equine polyclonal antibody (CHIKV-EIG) treatment shows promising efficacy in preventing and improving CHIKV infection in mice, with significant reduction in mortality, viremia, and clinical symptoms. It also proves effective in reducing virus-induced arthritis in a dose-dependent manner.
Article
Immunology
Rachel A. Reyna, Jordyn Walker, Brooke Mitchell, Divya P. Shinde, Jessica A. Plante, Scott C. Weaver, Kenneth S. Plante
Summary: Anosmia, a common consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is correlated with disease severity. Different variants of the virus can cause significant loss of smell, and vaccination does not prevent anosmia but can protect against severe disease.
Meeting Abstract
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Maria I. Giraldo, Maria Gonzalez Orozco, Stephanea Sotcheff, Victoria Morris, Nathan Elrod, Andrew Routh, Scott C. Weaver, Pei-Yong Shi, Ricardo Rajsbaum
JOURNAL OF WOMENS HEALTH
(2022)