Biology subjects

Wallace, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Wallace, R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Patterns of Ongoing Thought in the Real-World

Previous research has indicated that health and well-being are impacted on by both the way we think, and the things we do. In the laboratory, studies suggest that specific task contexts affect this process because the people we are with, the places we are in, and the activities we perform may influence our thought patterns. In our study participants completed multi-dimensional experience-sampling surveys eight times per day for 5 days to generate thought data across a variety of dimensions in daily life. Principal component analysis was used to decompose the experience sampling data, and linear mixed modelling related these patterns to the activity in daily life in which they emerged. Our study replicated the influence of socializing on patterns of ongoing thought observed in our prior study and established that this is part of a broader set of relationship that links our current activities to how our thoughts are organised in daily life. We also found that factors such as time of day and the physical location are associated with reported patterns of thought, factors that are important for future studies to explore. Our study suggests that sampling thinking in the real world may be able to provide a set of comprehensive thinking-activity mappings that will be useful to researchers and health care professionals interested in health and well-being.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Multi-lingual multi-platform investigations of online trade in jaguar parts

We conducted research to understand online trade in jaguar parts and develop tools of utility for jaguars and other species. Our research took place to identify potential trade across 31 online platforms in Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese. We identified 230 posts from between 2009 and 2019. We screened the images of animal parts shown in search results to verify if from jaguar; 71 posts on 12 different platforms in four languages were accompanied by images identified as definitely jaguar, including a total of 125 jaguar parts (50.7% posts in Spanish, 25.4% Portuguese, 22.5% Chinese and 1.4% French). Search effort varied among languages due to staff availability. Standardizing for effort across languages by dividing number of posts advertising jaguars by search time and number individual searches completed via term/platform combinations, the adjusted rankings of posts were: Portuguese #1, Chinese 2 (time) & 3 (searches), Spanish 3 & 4; French 5 & 4; English 5 & 2, and Dutch 6. Teeth were most common; 156 posts offered at least 367 apparent teeth. From these, 95 teeth were assessed as definitely jaguar; 71 jaguar teeth could be linked to a location, with the majority of the 71 offered for sale from Mexico, China, Bolivia, and Brazil (26.8, 25.4, 16.9, and 12.7% respectively). Ranking of number of teeth was Mexico (19), China (18), Bolivia (12), Brazil (9), Peru/Ecuador (most accurate probable location) (8), Venezuela (3), Guadeloupe (1), and Uruguay (1). The second most traded item, skins and derivative items were only identified from Latin America: Brazil (7), was followed by Peru (6), Bolivia (3), Mexico (2 and 1 skin piece), and Nicaragua and Venezuela (1 each). Whether by number of posts or pieces, the ranking of parts was teeth, skins/pieces of skins, heads, and bodies. Our research presents a snapshot of online jaguar trade and methods that may have utility for many species now traded online. Our research took place within a longer-term project to assist law enforcement in host countries to better identify potential illegal trade online, with research findings informing hubs in Latin America for building such capacity.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

One Health Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Seropositivity among Pets in Households with Confirmed Human COVID-19 Cases - Utah and Wisconsin, 2020

BackgroundApproximately 67% of U.S. households have pets. Limited data are available on SARS-CoV-2 in pets. We assessed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pet cohabitants as a sub-study of an ongoing COVID-19 household transmission investigation. MethodsMammalian pets from households with [≥]1 person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were eligible for inclusion from April-May 2020. Demographic/exposure information, oropharyngeal, nasal, rectal, and fur swabs, feces, and blood were collected from enrolled pets and tested by rRT-PCR and virus neutralization assays. FindingsWe enrolled 37 dogs and 19 cats from 34 of 41 eligible households. All oropharyngeal, nasal, and rectal swabs tested negative by rRT-PCR; one dogs fur swabs (2%) tested positive by rRT-PCR at the first animal sampling. Among 47 pets with serological results from 30 households, eight (17%) pets (4 dogs, 4 cats) from 6 (20%) households had detectable SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. In households with a seropositive pet, the proportion of people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 was greater (median 79%; range: 40-100%) compared to households with no seropositive pet (median 37%; range: 13-100%) (p=0.01). Thirty-three pets with serologic results had frequent daily contact ([≥]1 hour) with the human index patient before the persons COVID-19 diagnosis. Of these 33 pets, 14 (42%) had decreased contact with the human index patient after diagnosis and none (0%) were seropositive; of the 19 (58%) pets with continued contact, 4 (21%) were seropositive. InterpretationsSeropositive pets likely acquired infection from humans, which may occur more frequently than previously recognized. People with COVID-19 should restrict contact with animals. FundingCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Agriculture

microbiology↗