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Contents Congenital abnormalities of the reproductive tract of male sheep were surveyed at three abattoirs in the south west of England during the period June 2000-January 2004. A total of 7307 rams were examined [6521 lambs (prepubescent) and hoggets (aged from their first autumn after birth until first shorn) and 786 adult rams mature rams that had been exposed to ewes]. A total of 156 congenital lesions were detected, 87 of which occurred in lambs. Testicular hypoplasia was the most common lesion occurring in 69 lambs as well as eight hoggets ('microtestes' were recognized in nine other animals in which the testis was disproportionately smaller than the epididymis). The second most common lesion found was notched scrotum occurring in 34 animals (27 young rams and seven adults). Some cases of notched scrotum were accompanied by hypospadias which was seen in a total of seven lambs and eight hoggets. Other lesions, detected in five or less animals (less than approximately 0.05% of the animals examined), included cryptorchidism and various abnormalities of the epididymis (segmental aplasia of the epididymis, blind efferent ducts and epididymal cyst) and congenital scrotal hernia. The overall prevalence of congenital lesions of 2.21% emphasizes the importance of undertaking breeding soundness examinations of young rams before they are put with the flock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With improved access to health information via the Internet, an increasing number of women with breast cancer are using this venue to obtain information about their illness and treatment from physicians. This study aims to identify the needs of women with breast cancer who communicate with physicians on the Internet.Methods: From a total of 4,424 requests posted by Korean women with breast cancer to a physician run Internet Q&A board during 2003 to 2007, we sampled 1,355 representative requests according to different type of online user identification and analyzed these using a qualitative content analytic approach to identify the nature of the requests.Results: The vast majority of women (93.5%) used the online Q&A board to seek informational support from physicians. They requested information across a broad range of topics, including treatment (38.4% of requests), physical condition (31.7%), and lifestyle/self-care (24%).Women at different disease stages made requests indifferent informational domains. Few (<5%) postings were direct requests for emotional support, but emotional requests were often embedded within informational requests. Over 63% of requests expressed concern and worry, and about 75% of the requests included at least one emotional expression. There was no difference by type of online user identification with respect to the subject and purpose of the requests.Conclusions: Korean women with breast cancer expressed diverse needs related to their physical and psychological conditions in their online requests to physicians via a Q&A board. While future research should establish and evaluate the role of internet communications for cancer management,we conclude that an online Q&A board can be a valuable tool in assisting breast cancer patients in managing their physical and psychosocial needs as well as communicating these needs to physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taiwanese practice of patients giving informal payments to physicians to secure services is deeply rooted in social and cultural factors. This study examines the portrayal of informal payments by Taiwanese print news media over a period of 12 years-from prior to until after the implementation of national health insurance (NHI) in Taiwan in 1995. The goal of the study was to examine how the advent of NHI changed the rationale for and use of informal payments. Both before and after the introduction of NHI, Taiwanese newspapers portrayed informal payments as appropriate means to secure access to better health care. Newspaper accounts established that, although NHI reduced patients' financial barriers to care, it did not change deeply held cultural beliefs that good care depended on the development of a reciprocal sense of obligation between patients and physicians. Physicians may have also encouraged the ongoing use of informal payments to make up revenue lost when NHI standardized fees and limited income from dispensing medications. In 2002, seven years after the implementation of NHI, the use of informal payments, though illegal, was still being justified in the print media through allusions to its role in traditional Taiwanese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soldiers reporting for Individual Entry Training from basic training posts frequently arrive unable to initiate or complete training due to musculoskeletal injuries. Therefore, a screening examination was developed to identify musculoskeletal injuries and provide appropriate medical intervention as needed. During a consecutive 5-week period, 1013 soldiers reported for training to Fort Lee, Virginia. Of these, 105 (10.4%) reported for medical screening because they stated that they had an injury or could not pass a physical fitness test. After screening, 76 (72%) were found to have physical restrictions that would limit their ability to fully participate in training. The injured soldiers were referred for and received medical intervention. Of the total number of soldiers screened, 97 (92%) were able to complete their training, pass a physical fitness test, and graduate on time. This study documents the use and benefits of a brief musculoskeletal screening examination for individual entry training soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on newspaper coverage of the Marlene Sharp legal case in Australia, concerning a non-smoking bar worker who was awarded damages for laryngeal cancer caused by passive smoking. All Australian metropolitan and Victorian regional newspaper coverage of the case was obtained from a commercial media monitoring agency for the month of May 2001, yielding 100 articles for analysis. A qualitative text analysis was conducted on newspaper articles, coding for content, tone and frame. Coverage of the outcome of the Marlene Sharp case was predominantly positive for tobacco control, with positive coverage (45% of articles) outweighing negative coverage (13% of articles) by a factor of 3 to 1. The most commonly occurring frame (27% of articles) advanced the view that legislation to protect workers from secondhand smoke is appropriate, even overdue, and encouraged the government to create smoke-free policies to protect workers. Other common frames positive for tobacco control included 'smoking as socially unacceptable' (9%) and 'smoking as a societal problem' (9%). Of articles framed negatively for tobacco control, 'individual rights' (5%) and 'system cynicism' (5%) were most common. Legal cases present special opportunities for public health media advocates to bring a human face to the need to progress passage of smoke-free policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the usefulness of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the insertion sequence IS6110 as the target for DNA to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical specimens from children. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective, controlled, blinded study comparing PCR on clinical specimens, mycobacterial culture, and clinical diagnosis. PATIENTS: Sixty-five hospitalized children were evaluated, 35 with tuberculosis disease and 30 controls. Cases were defined by culture and/or specific clinical criteria. Controls included patients with tuberculosis infection but no detectable disease as well as patients free of tuberculosis infection and disease. RESULTS: Polymerase chain reaction had a sensitivity of 40% and a specificity of 80% compared with clinical diagnosis. Mycobacterial culture had a sensitivity of 37%. The combination of culture and PCR identified 19 of 35 children (54%) with clinically diagnosed tuberculosis. There were six children with false-positive PCR results: One had tuberculosis infection without disease, two had Mycobacterium avium lymphadenitis, and three had diagnoses unrelated to tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of PCR is comparable to that of culture for detecting M tuberculosis in children, and may strengthen and hasten the clinical diagnosis in culture-negative patients. However, because of the limitations in specificity, the results of PCR alone are insufficient to diagnose tuberculosis in children. Although ongoing refinements in PCR techniques should improve the specificity of this test, epidemiologic and clinical information continue to be the most important consideration in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in culture-negative children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare life course characteristics of a cohort of African American women (N=457) by their smoking status at age 42: never smoker (34.1%), former smoker (27.8%), or current smoker (38.1%). The Woodlawn population from which our sample is drawn has been followed from first grade (1966-67) to mid adulthood (2002-3) and is a cohort of children from a disadvantaged Chicago community. Examination of the effects of cumulative disadvantage on smoking behavior showed that nearly half of women who first lived in poverty as children, dropped out of school, became teen mothers, and were poor as young adults currently smoked; less than 22% of women with none of these difficulties were current smokers. Regression analyses focusing on smoking and evidence of social disadvantage in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood showed that women with more education were much less likely to be current smokers. Women reporting low parental supervision in adolescence and less frequent church attendance in young adulthood and those whose mothers' reported regular smoking were significantly more likely to be current smokers. Poverty and marital status in young adulthood varied significantly among smoking categories in bivariate relationships, but not in final multivariate regression models. Few other studies have examined smoking careers with data from age 6-42, comparing social disadvantage characteristics over the life course. While marital status, church involvement and parental supervision are not usually included as measures of socioeconomic status, they represent advantages in terms of social capital and should be considered mechanisms for transmitting disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Continuity and coordination-of-care for childhood cancer survivors with multiple chronic conditions are understudied but critical for appropriate follow-up care., Methods: From April through June 2022, 800 Childhood Cancer Survivor Study participants with two or more chronic conditions (one or more severe/life-threatening/disabling) were emailed the "Patient Perceived Continuity-of-Care from Multiple Clinicians" survey. The survey asked about survivors' main (takes care of most health care) and coordinating (ensures follow-up) provider, produced three care-coordination summary scores (main provider, across multiple providers, patient-provider partnership), and included six discontinuity indicators (e.g., having to organize own care). Discontinuity (yes/no) was defined as poor care on one or more discontinuity item. Chi-square tests assessed associations between discontinuity and sociodemographics. Modified Poisson regression models estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) for discontinuity risk associated with the specialty and number of years seeing the main and coordinating provider, and PRs associated with better scores on the three care-coordination summary measures. Inverse probability weights adjusted for survey non-participation., Results: A total of 377 (47%) survivors responded (mean age 48 years, 68% female, 89% non-Hispanic White, 78% privately insured, 74% ≥college graduate); 147/373 (39%) reported discontinuity. Younger survivors were more likely to report discontinuity (chi-square p = .02). Seeing the main provider ≤3 years was associated with more prevalent discontinuity (PR; 95%CI) (1.17; 1.02-1.34 vs ≥ 10 years). Cancer specialist main providers were associated with less prevalent discontinuity (0.81; 0.66-0.99 vs. primary care). Better scores on all three care-coordination summary measures were associated with less prevalent discontinuity: main provider (0.73; 0.64-0.83), across multiple providers (0.81; 0.78-0.83), patient-provider partnership (0.85; 0.80-0.89)., Conclusions: Care discontinuity among childhood cancer survivors is prevalent and requires intervention., (© 2024 American Cancer Society.)

Until recently, most syringe services programs (SSPs) in the United States operated in metropolitan areas. This study explores how SSP implementers at rural health departments in Kentucky secured support for SSP operations. In late 2020, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 18 people involved with rural SSP implementation in Kentucky. Participants were asked to reflect on their experiences building support for SSP operations among rural health department staff and community members. Participants reported that attitudes and beliefs about SSP implementation among rural health department staff shifted quickly following engagement in educational activities and interaction with SSP clients. Participants explained that successful SSP implementation at rural health departments required sustained educational activities among community members and authorizing authorities. Future work should explore how rural communities may advocate for low-threshold and evidence-based policies that support the provision of harm reduction services., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The final step in Notch signaling activation is the transmembrane cleavage of Notch receptor by γ secretase. Thus far, genetic and biochemical evidence indicates that four subunits are essential for γ secretase activity in vivo: presenilin (the catalytic core), APH-1, PEN-2, and APH-2/nicastrin. Although some γ secretase activity has been detected in APH-2/nicastrin-deficient mammalian cell lines, the lack of biological relevance for this activity has left the quaternary γ secretase model unchallenged. Here, we provide the first example of in vivo Notch signal transduction without APH-2/nicastrin. The surprising dispensability of APH-2/nicastrin is observed in Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells (GSCs) and contrasts with its essential role in previously described C. elegans Notch signaling events. Depletion of GLP-1/Notch, presenilin, APH-1, or PEN-2 causes a striking loss of GSCs. In contrast, aph-2/nicastrin mutants maintain GSCs and exhibit robust and localized expression of the downstream Notch target sygl-1. Interestingly, APH-2/nicastrin is normally expressed in GSCs and becomes essential under conditions of compromised Notch function. Further insight is provided by reconstituting the C. elegans γ secretase complex in yeast, where we find that APH-2/nicastrin increases but is not essential for γ secretase activity. Together, our results are most consistent with a revised model of γ secretase in which the APH-2/nicastrin subunit has a modulatory, rather than obligatory role. We propose that a trimeric presenilin-APH-1-PEN-2 γ secretase complex can provide a low level of γ secretase activity, and that cellular context determines whether or not APH-2/nicastrin is essential for effective Notch signal transduction., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Genetics Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Excessive umbilical cord length (UCL) is associated with equine pregnancy loss. However, a lack of UCL reference values makes it difficult to define excessive UCL. Further, factors associated with differences in UCL are poorly understood., Objectives: To (i) report the total, allantoic and amniotic UCL in healthy term pregnancies in Thoroughbreds, (ii) describe the relationship between gestational age and UCL, fetal weight and crown rump length (CRL) using clinically normal pregnancies (CNPs) from mares dying during gestation, and (iii) identify associations between UCL and maternal age and parity, paternal age, and fetal sex., Study Design: Cross-sectional., Methods: Data including UCLs, fetal weight, CRL and maternal age, parity, paternal age and fetal sex were taken from CNPs from Thoroughbred mares dying during gestation (n = 32), and placentas from HTPs (n = 34) in England. Correlations were assessed using Spearman's rank with significant correlations estimated by locally weighted scatter plot smoothing (LOWESS). Regression plots were fitted to highly correlated variables to further assess and quantify relationships. Differences in UCL between categorical variables were assessed using Kruskall Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests., Results: The median total, amniotic and allantoic HTP UCLs were 53.5 cm (interquartile range [IQR] 16), 29.5 cm (IQR 7) and 25.0 cm (IQR 8) respectively. Gestational age and amniotic UCL were moderately correlated (rho = 0.53, p = 0.04), with LOWESS estimating an exponential increase followed by plateauing at around Day 200. Nonlinear associations were observed between fetal weight and gestational age and CRL (adjusted r 2  = 0.98 and 0.95 respectively). A linear association was observed between gestational age and CRL: predicted CRL = -17.60 + 0.38 × gestational age, p < 0.001., Main Limitations: Limited availability of CNPs from mares dying during gestation. Estimated relationships can only approximate growth., Conclusions: This study provides important UCL and fetal size reference values, which may aid in assessing abnormalities. For the first time, associations between UCL and gestational age have been described., (© 2024 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.)

A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews leaders in community-based organizations, health care, and local public health to understand organizational perspectives of collaboration for health equity and identify opportunities to improve collaboration. Twelve leaders were interviewed from March through May 2023 in Kent County, Michigan. All leaders saw collaboration as valuable for advancing health equity. Key themes that affected collaboration and could be a facilitator or barrier to advancing health equity in the community were inclusion, power, relationships, resources, and organizational traits. Leaders articulated the following factors as those that support collaboration for health equity: authentic inclusion, shared decision-making, taking time to foster trusting relationships, adequate resources to support the infrastructure needed for collaborations, organizational flexibility, and individual commitment. Building partnerships with these facilitators in mind may result in more robust, sustainable, and resilient collaboratives., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Innovative approaches are needed to address the increasing rate of postpartum morbidity and mortality associated with hypertensive disorders., Objective: To determine whether assessing maternal blood pressure (BP) and associated symptoms at time of well-child visits is associated with increased detection of postpartum preeclampsia and need for hospitalization for medical management., Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a pre-post quality improvement (QI) study. Individuals who attended the well-child visits between preimplementation (December 2017 to December 2018) were compared with individuals who enrolled after the implementation of the QI program (March 2019 to December 2019). Individuals were enrolled at an academic pediatric clinic. Eligible participants included birth mothers who delivered at the hospital and brought their newborn for well-child check at 2 days, 2 weeks, and 2 months. A total of 620 individuals were screened in the preintervention cohort and 680 individuals were screened in the QI program. Data was analyzed from March to July 2022., Exposures: BP evaluation and preeclampsia symptoms screening were performed at the time of the well-child visit. A management algorithm-with criteria for routine or early postpartum visits, or prompt referral to the obstetric emergency department-was followed., Main Outcome and Measures: Readmission due to postpartum preeclampsia. Comparisons across groups were performed using a Fisher exact test for categorical variables, and t tests or Mann-Whitney tests for continuous variables., Results: A total of 595 individuals (mean [SD] age, 27.2 [6.1] years) were eligible for analysis in the preintervention cohort and 565 individuals (mean [SD] age, 27.0 [5.8] years) were eligible in the postintervention cohort. Baseline demographic information including age, race and ethnicity, body mass index, nulliparity, and factors associated with increased risk for preeclampsia were not significantly different in the preintervention cohort and postintervention QI program. The rate of readmission for postpartum preeclampsia differed significantly in the preintervention cohort (13 individuals [2.1%]) and the postintervention cohort (29 individuals [5.6%]) (P = .007). In the postintervention QI cohort, there was a significantly earlier time frame of readmission (median [IQR] 10.0 [10.0-11.0] days post partum for preintervention vs 7.0 [6.0-10.5] days post partum for postintervention; P = .001). In both time periods, a total of 42 patients were readmitted due to postpartum preeclampsia, of which 21 (50%) had de novo postpartum preeclampsia., Conclusions and Relevance: This QI program allowed for increased and earlier readmission due to postpartum preeclampsia. Further studies confirming generalizability and mitigating associated adverse outcomes are needed.

Social justice is increasingly being seen as relevant to the science curriculum. We examine the intersection of participatory science, social justice, and higher education in the United States to investigate how instructors can teach about social justice and enhance collaborations to work toward enacting social justice. Participatory science approaches, like those that collect data over large geographic areas, can be particularly useful for teaching students about social justice. Conversely, local-scale approaches that integrate students into community efforts can create powerful collaborations to help facilitate social justice. We suggest a variety of large-scale databases, platforms, and portals that could be used as starting points to address a set of learning objectives about social justice. We also describe local-scale participatory science approaches with a social justice focus, developed through academic and community partnerships. Considerations for implementing participatory science with undergraduates are discussed, including cautions about the necessary time investment, cultural competence, and institutional support. These approaches are not always appropriate but can provide compelling learning experiences in the correct circumstances., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: none.

Biopsy data on externally palpable masses in pet rats (Rattus norvegicus) were retrieved from the archives of a large commercial pathology laboratory between November 2013 and July 2021. A total of 330 samples were submitted from 292 individual animals. Of the 330 samples submitted, 182 (55.2%) were of mammary gland origin and the majority were benign neoplasms, with fibroadenoma most frequent. Of the remaining 148 samples, 101 were neoplastic in nature, with 76 tumours classified as mesenchymal, 23 as epithelial and two classified only as malignant neoplasia not otherwise specified. Malignant neoplasms accounted for 88 of these non-mammary masses, with the most diagnosed tumours including soft tissue sarcoma (including fibrosarcoma) and sarcomas not otherwise specified., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interests The authors declared no conflicts of interest in relation to the research, authorship or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A mesh of cytoskeletal fibers, consisting of microtubules, intermediate filaments, and fibrous actin, prevents the Brownian diffusion of particles with a diameter larger than 0.10 μm, such as vesicular stomatitis virus ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles, in mammalian cells. Nevertheless, RNP particles do move in random directions but at a lower rate than Brownian diffusion, which is thermally driven. This nonthermal biological transport process is called "active diffusion" because it is driven by ATP. The ATP powers motor proteins such as myosin II. The motor proteins bend and cross-link actin fibers, causing the mesh to jiggle. Until recently, little was known about how RNP particles get through the mesh. It has been customary to analyze the tracks of particles like RNPs by computing the slope of the ensemble-averaged mean-squared displacement of the particles as a signature of mechanism. Although widely used, this approach "loses information" about the timing of the switches between physical mechanisms. It has been recently shown that machine learning composed of variational Bayesian analysis, Gaussian mixture models, and hidden Markov models can use "all the information" in a single track to reveal that that the positions of RNP particles are spatially clustered. Machine learning assigns a number, called a state, to each cluster. RNP particles remain in one state for 0.2-1.0 s before switching (hopping) to a different state. This earlier work is here extended to analyze the movements of a particle within a state and to determine particle directionality within and between states., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health advances due to developments in genomic medicine are unequally experienced in the USA; racial differences in the uptake of genetic testing are one factor in this disparity. In collaboration with Black patients and diverse health care providers, we are developing a patient-centered video intervention to increase cancer genetic testing among eligible Black Americans. The objective of the pilot work is to explore the acceptability of and support for the intervention and key content components., Methods: In order to create a patient-centered video intervention prototype, we conducted a targeted, secondary analysis of 47 coded transcripts from video-taped qualitative interviews with people with a known genetic or inherited cancer risk. The review focused on decision-making, testing experiences, and perceived value of genetic testing. We subsequently generated a 15-min video montage of content from 9 diverse (age, gender, race) participants. We used the prototype video as prompt material for semi-structured interviews with 10 Black patients who had undergone genetic testing in the last 2 years and 10 racially diverse providers (genetic counselors, a nurse, and medical oncologists) who provide management recommendations for high-risk patients. Interviews sought to understand the acceptability of a video intervention to enhance informed decision-making by Black patients and key elements for intervention efficacy., Results: Study participants were generally positive about the prototype video and provided guidance for intervention development. Interviewed patients prioritized perceived authenticity and relatability of video participants. The presentation of patients' perspectives on testing, their experiences of testing, and the benefits of having test results were all seen as useful. The benefits of testing for self and family were identified as important considerations. Privacy concerns and science skepticism were identified as germane issues, with guidance to present barriers to testing alongside possible solutions. The inclusion of clinicians was seen as potentially useful but with caution that clinicians are not universally trusted., Conclusions: Study findings provided critical input for the creation of a professionally produced, tailored intervention video for a randomized clinical trial with Black Americans to evaluate the influence on uptake of genetic testing. The interviews suggest the acceptability and potential utility of an authentic, realistic, and tailored, patient-centered video intervention to increase consideration and uptake of genetic testing., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Viral and cellular particles too large to freely diffuse have two different types of mobility in the eukaryotic cell cytoplasm: directed motion mediated by motor proteins moving along cytoskeletal elements with the particle as its load, and motion in random directions mediated by motor proteins interconnecting cytoskeletal elements. The latter motion is referred to as "active diffusion." Mechanisms of directed motion have been extensively studied compared to mechanisms of active diffusion, despite the observation that active diffusion is more common for many viral and cellular particles. Our previous research showed that active diffusion of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) in the cytoplasm consists of hopping between traps and that actin filaments and myosin II motors are components of the hop-trap mechanism. This raises the question whether similar mechanisms mediate random motion of larger particles with different physical and biological properties. Live-cell fluorescence imaging and a variational Bayesian analysis used in pattern recognition and machine learning were used to determine the molecular mechanisms of random motion of VSV inclusion bodies and cellular early endosomes. VSV inclusion bodies are membraneless cellular compartments that are the major sites of viral RNA synthesis, and early endosomes are representative of cellular membrane-bound organelles. Like VSV RNPs, inclusion bodies and early endosomes moved from one trapped state to another, but the distance between states was inconsistent with hopping between traps, indicating that the apparent state-to-state movement is mediated by trap movement. Like VSV RNPs, treatment with the actin filament depolymerizing inhibitor latrunculin A increased VSV inclusion body mobility by increasing the size of the traps. In contrast neither treatment with latrunculin A nor depolymerization of microtubules by nocodazole treatment affected the size of traps that confine early endosome mobility, indicating that intermediate filaments are likely major trap components for these cellular organelles., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Moran et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

An accurate diagnostic test is an essential aspect of successfully monitoring and managing wildlife diseases. Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV) is an avian retrovirus that was first identified in domestic turkeys in Europe and was first reported in a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the United States in 2009. It has since been found to be widely distributed throughout North America. The majority of studies have utilized bone marrow and PCR primers targeting a 413-nucleotide sequence of the gag gene of the provirus to detect infection. While prior studies have evaluated the viability of other tissues for LPDV detection (whole blood, spleen, liver, cloacal swabs) none to date have studied differences in detection rates when utilizing different genomic regions of the provirus. This study examined the effectiveness of another section of the provirus, a 335-nucleotide sequence starting in the U3 region of the LTR (Long Terminal Repeat) and extending into the Matrix of the gag region (henceforth LTR), for detecting LPDV. Bone marrow samples from hunter-harvested Wild Turkeys (n = 925) were tested for LPDV with the gag gene and a subset (n = 417) including both those testing positive and those where LPDV was not detected was re-tested with LTR. The positive percent agreement (PPA) was 97.1% (68 of 70 gag positive samples tested positive with LTR) while the negative percent agreement (NPA) was only 68.0% (236 of 347 gag negative samples tested negative with LTR). Cohen's Kappa (κ = 0.402, Z = 10.26, p<0.0001) and the McNemar test (OR = 55.5, p<0.0001) indicated weak agreement between the two gene regions. We found that in Iowa Wild Turkeys use of the LTR region identified LPDV in many samples in which we failed to detect LPDV using the gag region and that LTR may be more appropriate for LPDV surveillance and monitoring. However, neither region of the provirus resulted in perfect detection and additional work is necessary to determine if LTR is more reliable in other geographic regions where LPDV occurs., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Smith, Blanchong. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Competing Interests: The authors have each completed and submitted an ICMJE form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. The authors declare that they have no competing interests, financial or otherwise, related to the current work. K. Clegg Smith reports that she has a leadership or fiduciary role in Health Experience Research Network and is a Steering Committee member.