scholarly journals Protection from epidemics is a driving force for evolution of lifespan setpoints

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter V. Lidsky ◽  
Raul Andino
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
New Host ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Pathogen Clearance

Most living organisms age, as determined by species-specific limits to lifespan1–6. The biological driving force for a genetically-defined limit on the lifespan of a given species (herein called “lifespan setpoint”) remains poorly understood. Here we present mathematical models suggesting that an upper limit of individual lifespans protects their cohort population from infection-associated penalties. A shorter lifespan setpoint helps control pathogen spread within a population, prevents the establishment and progression of infections, and accelerates pathogen clearance from the population when compared to populations with long-lived individuals. Strikingly, shorter-living variants efficiently displace longer-living individuals in populations that are exposed to pathogens and exist in spatially structured niches. The beneficial effects of shorter lifespan setpoints are even more evident in the context of zoonotic transmissions, where pathogens undergo adaptation to a new host. We submit that the selective pressure of infectious disease provides an evolutionary driving force to limit individual lifespan setpoints after reproductive maturity to secure its kin’s fitness. Our findings have important public health implications for efforts to extend human’s lifespan.

scholarly journals Epidemics as an adaptive driving force determining lifespan setpoints

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (30) ◽  
pp. 17937-17948
Author(s):  
Peter V. Lidsky ◽  
Raul Andino
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Genetic Control ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
New Host ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Pathogen Clearance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Species Lifespan ◽  
Infection Spread

Species-specific limits to lifespan (lifespan setpoint) determine the life expectancy of any given organism. Whether limiting lifespan provides an evolutionary benefit or is the result of an inevitable decline in fitness remains controversial. The identification of mutations extending lifespan suggests that aging is under genetic control, but the evolutionary driving forces limiting lifespan have not been defined. By examining the impact of lifespan on pathogen spread in a population, we propose that epidemics drive lifespan setpoints’ evolution. Shorter lifespan limits infection spread and accelerates pathogen clearance when compared to populations with longer-lived individuals. Limiting longevity is particularly beneficial in the context of zoonotic transmissions, where pathogens must undergo adaptation to a new host. Strikingly, in populations exposed to pathogens, shorter-living variants outcompete individuals with longer lifespans. We submit that infection outbreaks can contribute to control the evolution of species’ lifespan setpoints.

GENOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF THE PESTICIDE MIXTURES

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Ilyushina ◽  
Yu. A. Revazova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Literature Information ◽  
Genotoxic Effects ◽  
Antagonistic Effects ◽  
Pesticide Mixtures ◽  
The World ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Genetic Structures ◽  
Active Substances

In order to overcome resistance to individual pesticides and improve their effectiveness, formulations containing two or more active substances are constantly being developed and put on the market over recent years. Mixtures of residual amounts of pesticides can be present in water and food and enter the human and animal bodies. However, the combined effect of pesticides on living organisms, including genetic structures in cells, has not been studied enough and it is not yet possible to predict the genotoxic effects of their mixtures based on available data. The purpose of this review was to collect and summarize literature information on the genotoxicity of pesticide combinations obtained at different objects. The results of studies conducted in different countries of the world are discussed, examples of detected synergistic, additive and antagonistic effects are given, indicating the need for testing the genotoxicity of preparative forms of pesticides containing several active substances, as well as mixtures of jointly used pesticides in order to ensure the safe use of pesticides for public health.

Current Challenges in the Development of Vaccines and Drugs Against Emerging Vector-borne Diseases

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 2974-2986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang-sun Kim
Keyword(s):  
New Host ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
Novel Drugs ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
Tick Borne Disease ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Living Organisms

Vectors are living organisms that transmit infectious diseases from an infected animal to humans or another animal. Biological vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and sand flies carry pathogens that multiply within their bodies prior to delivery to a new host. The increased prevalence of Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs) such as Aedes-borne dengue, Chikungunya (CHIKV), Zika (ZIKV), malaria, Tick-Borne Disease (TBD), and scrub typhus has a huge impact on the health of both humans and livestock worldwide. In particular, zoonotic diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks place a considerable burden on public health. Vaccines, drugs, and vector control methods have been developed to prevent and treat VBDs and have prevented millions of deaths. However, development of such strategies is falling behind the rapid emergence of VBDs. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to fighting VBDs must be considered immediately. In this review, I focus on the challenges posed by emerging outbreaks of VBDs and discuss available drugs and vaccines designed to overcome this burden. Research into promising drugs needs to be upgraded and fast-tracked, and novel drugs or vaccines being tested in in vitro and in vivo models need to be moved into human clinical trials. Active preventive tactics, as well as new and upgraded diagnostics, surveillance, treatments, and vaccination strategies, need to be monitored constantly if we are to manage VBDs of medical importance.

scholarly journals Selective Pressure of Antibiotic Pollution on Bacteria of Importance to Public Health

2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (8) ◽  
pp. 1100-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Tello ◽  
Brian Austin ◽  
Trevor C Telfer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Selective Pressure

scholarly journals La Crosse Virus Shows Strain-Specific Differences in Pathogenesis

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 400
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Wilson ◽  
Krisangel López ◽  
Sheryl Coutermash-Ott ◽  
Dawn I. Auguste ◽  
Danielle L. Porier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
North America ◽  
Viral Encephalitis ◽  
Strain Selection ◽  
La Crosse Virus ◽  
Murine Models ◽  
Suckling Mouse ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Representative Strain ◽  
Ancestral Strain

La Crosse virus (LACV) is the leading cause of pediatric viral encephalitis in North America, and is an important public health pathogen. Historically, studies involving LACV pathogenesis have focused on lineage I strains, but no former work has explored the pathogenesis between or within lineages. Given the absence of LACV disease in endemic regions where a robust entomological risk exists, we hypothesize that some LACV strains are attenuated and demonstrate reduced neuroinvasiveness. Herein, we compared four viral strains representing all three lineages to determine differences in neurovirulence or neuroinvasiveness using three murine models. A representative strain from lineage I was shown to be the most lethal, causing >50% mortality in each of the three mouse studies. However, other strains only presented excessive mortality (>50%) within the suckling mouse neurovirulence model. Neurovirulence was comparable among strains, but viruses differed in their neuroinvasive capacities. Our studies also showed that viruses within lineage III vary in pathogenesis with contemporaneous strains, showing reduced neuroinvasiveness compared to an ancestral strain from the same U.S. state (i.e., Connecticut). These findings demonstrate that LACV strains differ markedly in pathogenesis, and that strain selection is important for assessing vaccine and therapeutic efficacies.

Migrant Worker Health

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
High Status ◽  
New Host ◽  
Worker Health

More than 150 million international migrant workers and an unknown number of internal migrant workers toil across the globe. More than workplace exposures affect migrant worker health; their health is also affected by exposures in the sociocultural milieu from which they came and in which they currently live. Although some of these migrant workers include professionals in high-status occupations such as doctors, nurses, engineers, and computer scientists, most are low skill workers employed in the most dangerous jobs in the most hazardous industries. The health of these migrant workers has been a long-term concern in public health, and this concern has increased with the rise of greater globalization, the recent growth of displaced and refugee populations that will need to enter the workforce in their new host countries, and the anticipated effects of climate change. The domain of migrant worker health is expansive, and is necessarily limited in this bibliography. This bibliography focuses on workers and not the family members who may accompany them, although other family members also may be workers. It focuses on low-skill migrant workers, rather than on professionals who migrate for work. Low-skill migrant workers are the individuals for whom health and public health are concerns. Additionally, research on the health of migrant professional workers is scant. At the same time, this bibliography attempts to place migrant worker health in a holistic context; because migrant worker health is affected by more than workplace exposures, the bibliography addresses exposures in their current sociocultural milieu. This bibliography has three major sections. The first section summarizes general resources that provide information on migrant workers, including International Agencies, Nongovernmental Organizations, Data Sources, Reference Works, and Journals. The second section addresses the characteristics of migrant workers that affect their health, including their Personal Characteristics, the Circumstances of Migration, Forced Migration, Industries which employ migrant workers, and 3-D Jobs: Dangerous, Dirty, and Demanding. The final section considers the health status of migrant workers, with discussions of Conceptual Frameworks for understanding migrant worker health, Work Organization Exposures, Environmental Exposures, Sociocultural Exposures, Health Conditions, Approaches to Improve Migrant Worker Health, and Policy/Regulations.

Understanding vaccine hesitancy: the evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 282-287
Author(s):  
Alison While
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Uk

Vaccine hesitancy is a concern both globally and within the UK. Alison While reviews the evidence relating to vaccine hesitancy, its underlying factors and the sociodemographic variations Vaccination is an important public health intervention, but its effectiveness depends upon the uptake of vaccination reaching sufficient levels to yield ‘herd’ immunity. While the majority of the UK hold positive attitudes about vaccination, some people, including health professionals, decline vaccinations. This article reviews the evidence relating to vaccine hesitancy, its underlying factors and the sociodemographic variations.

Acute Pituitary Apoplexy following Snake Bite: A Rare but Treatable Complication

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (06) ◽  
pp. 397-399
Author(s):  
Narendrakumar Barad
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Acute Kidney Injury ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Pituitary Apoplexy ◽  
Kidney Injury ◽  
Snake Bite ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Russell’S Viper ◽  
Public Health Hazards

AbstractPoisonous snake bite is one of the important public health hazards in developing countries, such as India, where majority of the population resides in rural areas. Among various poisonous species of snakes, Russell's viper venom causes neurotoxicity, myotoxicity, hemolysis, and coagulopathies leading to shock and acute kidney injury. Pituitary apoplexy causing acute hypopituitarism is an extremely rare but treatable complication following viper bite. Here in, we report the case of a 14-year-old boy admitted with Russell's viper bite complicated by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), acute kidney injury, and pituitary apoplexy with secondary acute hypopituitarism.

scholarly journals Possible Implications of Chytrid Parasitism for Population Subdivision in Freshwater Cyanobacteria of the GenusPlanktothrix

2010 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 1344-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jørn Henrik Sønstebø ◽  
Thomas Rohrlack
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Population Subdivision ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Filamentous Cyanobacteria ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Host Parasite

ABSTRACTPopulations of the cyanobacteriumPlanktothrixcomprise multiple coexisting oligopeptide chemotypes that can behave differently in nature. We tested whether this population subdivision can, in principle, be driven by parasitic chytrid fungi, which are almost neglected agents ofPlanktothrixmortality. Two chytrid strains, Chy-Lys2009 and Chy-Kol2008, were isolated fromPlanktothrix-dominated lakes in Norway. The two strains shared 98.2% and 86.2% of their 28S and internal transcribe spacer rRNA gene sequences, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis placed them in the order Rhizophydiales family Angulomycetaceae. Chy-Lys2009 and Chy-Kol2008 could completely lysePlanktothrixcultures within days, while they failed to infect other filamentous cyanobacteria. The effect onPlanktothrixwas chemotype dependent, and both chytrid strains showed distinct chemotype preferences. These findings identify chytrid fungi infectingPlanktothrixas highly potent and specialized parasites which may exert strong selective pressure on their hosts. According to established hypotheses on host-parasite coevolution, parasitism with the above properties may result in subdivision ofPlanktothrixpopulations into coexisting chemotypes and periodic shifts in the relativePlanktothrixchemotype composition. These predictions are in agreement with field observations. Moreover, a genetic analysis verified the co-occurrence of Chy-Lys2009 and Chy-Kol2008 or related chytrid strains along with distinctPlanktothrixchemotypes in at least one water body. Our findings are consistent with a scenario where chytrid parasitism is one driving force ofPlanktothrixpopulation subdivision, which in turn leads to polymorphism in parasitic chytrid fungi. Future studies should test the validity of this scenario under field conditions.

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