Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production

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  Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production Abstract Variability in the antibody response of horses used for snake antivenom manufacture is well recognized, yet its statistical structure and implications for industrial productivity remain poorly characterized. In this study, we quantified antivenom antibody titers by ELISA in a cohort of 14 horses immunized with venoms from the clinically most important snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. To integrate antibody levels with plasma availability, we calculated the Cumulative Plasma Productivity (CPP) by converting individual plasma volumes into titer-corrected equivalents and sequentially pooling these volumes according to their corrected contribution. Distributional analysis revealed right-skewed, heavy-tailed patterns better approximated by a log-normal model than by a strict Pareto (power-law) form, with approximately 20–3...

On an embolus anomaly in a male of the theraphosid Hapalotremus yuraqchanka Sherwood et al., 2021 (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

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On an embolus anomaly in a male of the theraphosid Hapalotremus yuraqchanka Sherwood et al., 2021 (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Abstract and figures

An anomalous left palpal bulb of a non-type male of Hapalotremus yuraqchanka Sherwood et al., 2021 from Bolivia is described, based on a specimen deposited in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History.

Sherwood, Danniella. (2023). On an embolus anomaly in a male of the theraphosid Hapalotremus yuraqchanka Sherwood et al., 2021 (Araneae: Theraphosidae). 38. 120-122.