scholarly journals DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2005
Author(s):  
Genelle L. Diaz-Silveira ◽  
Joan Deutsch ◽  
Damon P. Little
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
Herbal Supplement ◽  
Kalahari Desert ◽  
Devil’S Claw ◽  
Harpagophytum Procumbens

Devil’s claw is the vernacular name for a genus of medicinal plants that occur in the Kalahari Desert and Namibia Steppes. The genus comprises two distinct species: Harpagophytum procumbens and H. zeyheri. Although the European pharmacopeia considers the species interchangeable, recent studies have demonstrated that H. procumbens and H. zeyheri are chemically distinct and should not be treated as the same species. Further, the sale of H. zeyheri as an herbal supplement is not legal in the United States. Four markers were tested for their ability to distinguish H. procumbens from H. zeyheri: rbcL, matK, nrITS2, and psbA-trnH. Of these, only psbA-trnH was successful. A novel DNA mini-barcode assay that produces a 178-base amplicon in Harpagophytum (specificity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.80–1.00]; sensitivity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.75–1.00]) was used to estimate mislabeling frequency in a sample of 23 devil’s claw supplements purchased in the United States. PCR amplification failed in 13% of cases. Among the 20 fully-analyzable supplements: H. procumbens was not detected in 75%; 25% contained both H. procumbens and H. zeyheri; none contained only H. procumbens. We recommend this novel mini-barcode region as a standard method of quality control in the manufacture of devil’s claw supplements.

scholarly journals Longer Residence in the United States is Associated With More Physical Function Limitations in African Immigrant Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097760
Author(s):  
Manka Nkimbeng ◽  
Yvonne Commodore-Mensah ◽  
Jacqueline L. Angel ◽  
Karen Bandeen-Roche ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
High Discrimination ◽  
The Mean

Acculturation and racial discrimination have been independently associated with physical function limitations in immigrant and United States (U.S.)-born populations. This study examined the relationships among acculturation, racial discrimination, and physical function limitations in N = 165 African immigrant older adults using multiple linear regression. The mean age was 62 years ( SD = 8 years), and 61% were female. Older adults who resided in the United States for 10 years or more had more physical function limitations compared with those who resided here for less than 10 years ( b = −2.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [–5.01, –0.23]). Compared to lower discrimination, those with high discrimination had more physical function limitations ( b = −2.51, 95% CI = [–4.91, –0.17]), but this was no longer significant after controlling for length of residence and acculturation strategy. Residing in the United States for more than 10 years is associated with poorer physical function. Longitudinal studies with large, diverse samples of African immigrants are needed to confirm these associations.

scholarly journals Economic Impact from Unrestricted Spread of Potato Cyst Nematodes in Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 99 (12) ◽  
pp. 1387-1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hodda ◽  
D. C. Cook
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Annual Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Potato Cyst Nematodes ◽  
Cyst Nematodes ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Alternative Responses

Potato cyst nematodes (PCN) (Globodera spp.) are quarantine pests with serious potential economic consequences. Recent new detections in Australia, Canada, and the United States have focussed attention on the consequences of spread and economic justifications for alternative responses. Here, a full assessment of the economic impact of PCN spread from a small initial incursion is presented. Models linking spread, population growth, and economic impact are combined to estimate costs of spread without restriction in Australia. Because the characteristics of the Australian PCN populations are currently unknown, the known ranges of parameters were used to obtain cost scenarios, an approach which makes the model predictions applicable generally. Our analysis indicates that mean annual costs associated with spread of PCN would increase rapidly initially, associated with increased testing. Costs would then increase more slowly to peak at over AUD$20 million per year ≈10 years into the future. Afterward, this annual cost would decrease slightly due to discounting factors. Mean annual costs over 20 years were $18.7 million, with a 90% confidence interval between AUD$11.9 million and AUD$27.0 million. Thus, cumulative losses to Australian agriculture over 20 years may exceed $370 million without action to prevent spread of PCN and entry to new areas.

scholarly journals Complete Genome Sequence of Vallota Mosaic Virus Detected In A Narcissus Bulb Imported From The United States to Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuya Imamura ◽  
Moritsugu Oishi ◽  
Yuji Fujiwara ◽  
Hironobu Yanagisawa
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mosaic Virus ◽  
Genome Sequence ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
The United States ◽  
Viral Agent ◽  
Coat Protein Region ◽  
Post Entry ◽  
Rapid Amplification

Abstract Narcissus (Narcissus albidus) imported from the United States exhibited leaf chlorosis during post-entry quarantine. We employed next-generation sequencing (NGS) on symptomatic leaf samples and detected vallota mosaic virus (ValMV) belonging to the genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae, as the viral agent. Sanger sequencing of PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends based on NGS contigs revealed that ValMV was 9,451 nucleotides (nt) in length, excluding the poly(A) tail. Nucleotide and amino acid (aa) sequences of the coat protein region had over 98% identity to previously reported ValMV isolates. At each of the 10 mature protein regions, however, sequence identity with other potyviruses was 49.5–71.9% nt and 18.3–78.9% aa, values that are below the species demarcation criteria for Potyviridae. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that our ValMV isolate is most closely related to known ValMV and is grouped within other potyviruses. Taken together, our results indicate that the newly isolated ValMV belongs to a distinct species of Potyvirus. This study provides the first report of the complete ValMV genome sequence and the first record of this virus from the narcissus.

scholarly journals Racial and Ethnic Variations in Mortality Rates for Patients Undergoing Maintenance Dialysis Treated in US Territories Compared with the US 50 States

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guofen Yan ◽  
Jenny I. Shen ◽  
Rubette Harford ◽  
Wei Yu ◽  
Robert Nee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
American Samoa ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Maintenance Dialysis ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Background and objectivesIn the United States mortality rates for patients treated with dialysis differ by racial and/or ethnic (racial/ethnic) group. Mortality outcomes for patients undergoing maintenance dialysis in the United States territories may differ from patients in the United States 50 states.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsThis retrospective cohort study of using US Renal Data System data included 1,547,438 adults with no prior transplantation and first dialysis treatment between April 1, 1995 and September 28, 2012. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) of death for the territories versus 50 states for each racial/ethnic group using the whole cohort and covariate-matched samples. Covariates included demographics, year of dialysis initiation, cause of kidney failure, comorbid conditions, dialysis modality, and many others.ResultsOf 22,828 patients treated in the territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), 321 were white, 666 were black, 20,299 were Hispanic, and 1542 were Asian. Of 1,524,610 patients in the 50 states, 838,736 were white, 444,066 were black, 182,994 were Hispanic, and 58,814 were Asian. The crude mortality rate (deaths per 100 patient-years) was lower for whites in the territories than the 50 states (14 and 29, respectively), similar for blacks (18 and 17, respectively), higher for Hispanics (27 and 16, respectively), and higher for Asians (22 and 15). In matched analyses, greater risks of death remained for Hispanics (HR, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.60 to 1.70; P<0.001) and Asians (HR, 2.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.78 to 2.27; P<0.001) living in the territories versus their matched 50 states counterparts. There were no significant differences in mortality among white or black patients in the territories versus the 50 states.ConclusionsMortality rates for patients undergoing dialysis in the United States territories differ substantially by race/ethnicity compared with the 50 states. After matched analyses for comparable age and risk factors, mortality risk no longer differed for whites or blacks, but remained much greater for territory-dwelling Hispanics and Asians.

scholarly journals Estimation of the Incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome During Pregnancy in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya R Myers ◽  
Natalie L McCarthy ◽  
Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos ◽  
Saad B Omer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Adverse Event ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
The United States ◽  
Guillain Barre Syndrome ◽  
Rare Occurrence ◽  
Guillain Barré Syndrome ◽  
Safety Assessments ◽  
Few Data ◽  
Guillain Barré

Abstract Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an adverse event of interest after vaccination, yet few data are available for background rates during pregnancy. We confirmed 2 cases of incident GBS and estimated an incidence of 2.8 confirmed GBS cases per million person-years (95% confidence interval, 0.5–9.3), indicating rare occurrence. Our findings will help inform safety assessments of Zika vaccines in pregnant populations.

scholarly journals Confidence Interval Estimation for Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF) Using Short-Range Ensemble Forecasts (SREF)

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Sun Im ◽  
Keith Brill ◽  
Edwin Danaher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Lead Time ◽  
Short Range ◽  
Grid Point ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Ensemble Forecasts ◽  
Forecast Lead Time ◽  
Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts

Abstract The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) at the NCEP has produced a suite of deterministic quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPFs) for over 40 yr. While the operational forecasts have proven to be useful in their present form, they offer no information concerning the uncertainties of individual forecasts. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology to quantify the uncertainty in manually produced 6-h HPC QPFs (HQPFs) using NCEP short-range ensemble forecasts (SREFs). Results presented herein show the SREFs can predict the uncertainty of HQPFs. The correlation between HQPF absolute error (AE) and ensemble QPF spread (SP) is greater than 0.5 at 90.5% of grid points in the continental United States, exceeding 0.8 at 10% of these, for the 6-h forecast in winter. On the basis of the high correlation, the linear regression equations of AE on SP are derived at each point on a grid covering the United States. In addition, the regression equations for data categorized according to the observed and forecasted precipitation amounts are obtained and evaluated. Using the regression model equation parameters for 15 categorized ranges of HQPF at each horizontal grid point for each season and individual forecast lead time, an AE associated with an individual SP is predicted, as is the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the AE. Based on the AE CI forecast and the HQPF itself, the 95% CI of the HQPF is predicted as well. This study introduces an efficient and advanced method, providing an estimate of the uncertainty in the deterministic HQPF. Verification demonstrates the usefulness of the CI forecasts for a variety of classifications, such as season, CI range, HQPF, and forecast lead time.

scholarly journals Comparative effectiveness of oral prostacyclin pathway drugs on hospitalization in patients with pulmonary hypertension in the United States: a retrospective database analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 204589402091183
Author(s):  
John W. McConnell ◽  
Yuen Tsang ◽  
Janis Pruett ◽  
William Drake III
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pulmonary Hypertension ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Lower Risk ◽  
Rate Ratio ◽  
Index Date ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hospitalization Rate ◽  
Hazard Ratio ◽  
Administrative Claims

Two oral medications targeting the prostacyclin pathway are available to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in the United States: oral treprostinil and selexipag. We compared real-world hospitalization in patients receiving these medications. A retrospective administrative claims study was conducted using the Optum® Clinformatics® Data Mart database. Patients with pulmonary hypertension were identified using diagnostic codes. Cohort inclusion required age ≥ 18 years, first oral treprostinil or selexipag prescription between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2017 (index date), and continuous enrollment in the prior ≥6 months. Patients who switched index drug were excluded. Follow-up was from index date until the first of end of index drug exposure, end of continuous enrollment, death, or 31 December 2017. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard and Poisson regression were used to compare risk and rate, respectively, of hospitalization associated with oral treprostinil vs. selexipag, adjusting for potential confounders. The study cohort included 99 patients receiving oral treprostinil and 123 receiving selexipag. Mean age was 61 years, and most patients were females (71%). Compared with oral treprostinil, selexipag was associated with a 46% lower risk of all-cause hospitalization (hazard ratio 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.31, 0.92; P = 0.02), a 47% lower risk of pulmonary hypertension-related hospitalization (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.31, 0.93; P = 0.03), a 42% lower all-cause hospitalization rate (rate ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.39, 0.87; P = 0.01), and a 46% lower pulmonary hypertension-related hospitalization rate (rate ratio 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.35, 0.82; P = 0.004). This study suggests that selexipag is associated with lower hospitalization risk and rate than oral treprostinil.

scholarly journals Comparison of Multilocus Sequence Typing and the Xpert C. difficile/Epi Assay for Identification of Clostridium difficile 027/NAP1/BI

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 775-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy McMillen ◽  
Mini Kamboj ◽  
N. Esther Babady
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Multilocus Sequence Typing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Presumptive Identification ◽  
Good Agreement

Clostridium difficile027/NAP1/BI is the most commonC. difficilestrain in the United States. The XpertC. difficile/Epi assay allows rapid, presumptive identification ofC. difficileNAP1. We compared XpertC. difficile/Epi to multilocus sequence typing for identification ofC. difficileNAP1 and found “very good” agreement at 97.9% (κ = 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.80 to 0.91).

scholarly journals FOUR OCHODÆUS NEW TO THE UNITED STATES

1906 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chas. Schaeffer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North American ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
North American Species ◽  
The North

Working over some neglected material, I found, to my surprise, that the specimens of Ochodœus colleted by me last year in Arizona are separable into three distinct species, none of which agree with the descriptions of the North American species. A few years ago my brother sent me from California, with some other material, two specimens of what I take to be an Ochadœus. Unfortunately, I misplaced one of the specimens, and not wishing to dissect the single remaining one, I leave this species in this genus for the present, till more material is available.

scholarly journals Veterinary Fusarioses within the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 2813-2819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry O'Donnell ◽  
Deanna A. Sutton ◽  
Nathan Wiederhold ◽  
Vincent A. R. G. Robert ◽  
Pedro W. Crous ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dna Sequence Data ◽  
Species Complexes

Multilocus DNA sequence data were used to assess the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships of 67Fusariumstrains from veterinary sources, most of which were from the United States. Molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the strains comprised 23 phylogenetically distinct species, all but two of which were previously known to infect humans, distributed among eight species complexes. The majority of the veterinary isolates (47/67 = 70.1%) were nested within theFusarium solanispecies complex (FSSC), and these included 8 phylospecies and 33 unique 3-locus sequence types (STs). Three of the FSSC species (Fusarium falciforme,Fusarium keratoplasticum, andFusariumsp. FSSC 12) accounted for four-fifths of the veterinary strains (38/47) and STs (27/33) within this clade. Most of theF. falciformestrains (12/15) were recovered from equine keratitis infections; however, strains ofF. keratoplasticumandFusariumsp. FSSC 12 were mostly (25/27) isolated from marine vertebrates and invertebrates. Our sampling suggests that theFusarium incarnatum-equisetispecies complex (FIESC), with eight mycoses-associated species, may represent the second most important clade of veterinary relevance withinFusarium. Six of the multilocus STs within the FSSC (3+4-eee, 1-b, 12-a, 12-b, 12-f, and 12-h) and one each within the FIESC (1-a) and theFusarium oxysporumspecies complex (ST-33) were widespread geographically, including three STs with transoceanic disjunctions. In conclusion, fusaria associated with veterinary mycoses are phylogenetically diverse and typically can only be identified to the species level using DNA sequence data from portions of one or more informative genes.

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