Science and Technology Policy Commons^™

Shedding Of Marburg Virus In Naturally Infected Egyptian Rousette Bats, South Africa, 2017, Janusz T. Pawęska, Nadia Storm, Wanda Markotter, Nicholas Di Paola, Michael R. Wiley, Gustavo Palacios, Petrus Jansen Van Vuren

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

We detected Marburg virus RNA in rectal swab samples from Egyptian rousette bats in South Africa in 2017. This finding signifies that fecal contamination of natural bat habitats is a potential source of infection for humans. Identified genetic sequences are closely related to Ravn virus, implying wider distribution of Marburg virus in Africa.

The genus Marburgvirus, family Filoviridae, comprises 1 species, Marburg marburgvirus, which comprises 2 marburgviruses, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV) (1). Marburgviruses cause sporadic but often fatal MARV disease in humans and nonhuman primates (2). The Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) …

Lassa Virus Circulating In Liberia: A Retrospective Genomic Characterisation, Michael R. Wiley, Lawrence S. Fakoli, Andrew G. Letizia, Stephen R. Welch, Jason T. Ladner, Karla Prieto, Daniel Reyes, Nicole Espy, Joseph A. Chitty, Catherine B. Pratt, Nicholas Di Paola, Fahn Taweh, Desmond Williams, Jon Saindon, William G. Davis, Ketan Patel, Mitchell Holland, Daniel Negrón, Ute Ströher, Stuart T. Nichol, Shanmuga Sozhamannan, Pierre E. Rollin, John Dogba, Tolbert Nyenswah, Fatorma Bolay, César G. Albariño, Mosoka Fallah, Gustavo Palacios

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

Background An alarming rise in reported Lassa fever cases continues in west Africa. Liberia has the largest reported per capita incidence of Lassa fever cases in the region, but genomic information on the circulating strains is scarce. The aim of this study was to substantially increase the available pool of data to help foster the generation of targeted diagnostics and therapeutics.

Methods Clinical serum samples collected from 17 positive Lassa fever cases originating from Liberia (16 cases) and Guinea (one case) within the past decade were processed at the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research using a targeted-enrichment sequencing approach, producing …

Qualitative Profiling Of The Humoral Immune Response Elicited By Rvsv-Δg-Ebov-Gp Using A Systems Serology Assay, Domain Programmable Arrays, Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart, Daniel S. Reyes, Jeanette C. Gonzalez, Karla Y. Garcia, Erika C. Villa, Bradley P. Pfeffer, John C. Trefry, Jeffrey R. Kugelman, Margaret L. Pitt, Gustavo Palacios

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

Development of an effective vaccine became a worldwide priority after the devastating 2013–2016 Ebola disease outbreak. To qualitatively profile the humoral response against advanced filovirus vaccine candidates, we developed Domain Programmable Arrays (DPA), a systems serology platform to identify epitopes targeted after vaccination or filovirus infection. We optimized the assay using a panel of well-characterized monoclonal antibodies. After optimization, we utilized the system to longitudinally characterize the immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype-specific responses in non-human primates vaccinated with rVSV-ΔG-EBOV-glycoprotein (GP). Strikingly, we observed that, although the IgM response was directed against epitopes over the whole GP, the IgG and IgA responses were …

Genetic Characterization Of Enterovirus A71 Circulating In Africa, Maria Dolores Fernandez-Garcia, Romain Volle, Marie-Line Joffret, Serge Alain Sadeuh-Mba, Ionela Gouandjika-Vasilache, Ousmane Kebe, Michael R. Wiley, Manasi Majumdar, Etienne Simon-Loriere, Anavaj Sakuntabhai, Gustavo Palacios, Javier Martin, Francis Delpeyroux, Kader Ndiaye, Maël Bessaud

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

We analyzed whole-genome sequences of 8 enterovirus A71 isolates (EV-A71). We confirm the circulation of genogroup C and the new genogroup E in West Africa. Our analysis demonstrates wide geographic circulation and describes genetic exchanges between EV-A71 and autochthonous EV-A that might contribute to the emergence of pathogenic lineages.

Genogroup E was previously identified and characterized only on the basis of VP1 analysis (3). This study confirms the circulation in West and Central Africa of EV-A71 isolates belonging to the new genogroup E on the basis of the characterization of whole genomes. The divergence among isolates indicates that this genogroup …

Genomic Characterisation Of Human Monkeypox Virus In Nigeria, Ousmane Faye, Catherine B. Pratt, Martin Faye, Gamou Fall, Joseph A. Chitty, Moussa M. Diagne, Michael R. Wiley, Adesola F. Yinka-Ogunleye, Sola Aruna, Ebitimitula N. Etebu, Neni Aworabhi, Dimie Ogoina, Wari Numbere, Nwando Mba, Gustavo Palacios, Amadou A. Sall, Chikwe Ihekweazu

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopox genus in the family Poxviridae. First identified in 1958, MPXV has caused sporadic human outbreaks in central and west Africa, with a mortality rate between 1% and 10%.1 Viral genomes from west Africa and the Congo Basin separate into two clades, the latter being more virulent.2 Recently, MPXV outbreaks have occurred in Sudan (2005), the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo (2009), and the Central African Republic (2016).3 A suspected outbreak of human MPXV was reported to WHO on Sept 26, 2017, by …

Preparing For The Future: 2017–2018 Annual Report

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

3 Letter from the Executive Director Robert Hinson

4 About NSRI-- Combatting WMD. Focusing on Deterrence.

6 Key Accomplishments/ Highlights of Business Operations Research Focus Areas

8 Nuclear Detection and Forensics

10 Active and Passive Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction

12 Detection of Chemical and Biological Weapons

14 Consequence Management

16 Mission-Related Research

18 Education & Training

20 Student & Faculty Engagement

22 NSRI/NU Key Journal Articles, 2017–2018

23 NSRI Board of Directors

Creation Of Micro/Nano Surface Structures On Silver Using Collinear Double Femtosecond Laser Pulses With Different Pulse Separation, Nicholas Roth, Craig Zuhlke, Edwin Peng, Scott Hansen, Jeffrey E. Shield, Dennis Alexander

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

Self-organized mound-like micro/nanoscale structures are reported for the first time on silver using a dual-pulse femtosecond laser surface processing technique. The dual-pulse laser processing technique reported in this paper uses femtosecond laser pulse pairs with a controlled temporal delay between the leading and trailing pulses. Using dual pulses at higher fluence values,mound-likemicro/nanostructures have been created on silver samples for the first time. Formation of the self-organized microstructures is shown to be dependent on the time delay between the leading and trailing pulses. Mound-likemicrostructures do not develop on silver for overlapped pulses or using single-pulse femtosecond laser surface processing for the …