• Meeting Report Dendroclimatology Conference in Tucson, May 2023

      Frank, David C.; Anchukaitis, Kevin J.; Leavitt, Steven W.; Lab. of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona; School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona (Tree-Ring Society, 2024-02-05)
    • Data use within an education-centered cross-sector collaboration

      Hackmann, Donald G.; Malin, Joel R.; Ahn, Joonkil; Educational Policy Studies and Practice, University of Arizona (Emerald, 2019-02-14)
      Purpose: This study examined data use practices within a cross-sector initiative involving high school career academies. It discerned how partners used data to assess the public value of academies and address equity concerns. Design: Case study methodology was applied to examine cross-sector activities supporting the district’s career academy reform. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Datnow and Park’s (2018) conceptual framework involving key equity dimensions guided the analysis. Findings: Partners used data for both accountability and continuous improvement. Educators were required to document student growth for state accountability purposes, while providing evidence of the public value of the academies to the community. Data use for continuous improvement included identifying annual goals to improve academy performance. There was a lack of a district-wide focus on equity, with educators taking a passive approach to academy and career pathway selections by student subgroups. Practical implications: The findings provide insights into data use practices school and district leaders can implement to ensure equitable student participation in career academies and appropriate data use within cross-sector collaborations. Social implications: Students who are traditionally underrepresented in career fields, including students of color and females, need intentional efforts to encourage their participation in high-skill, high-wage career fields. Originality/value (mandatory): This study identifies critical issues involved with data use for equity when promoting education-centered cross-sector collaboration, while also highlighting existing tensions between data use for accountability and continuous improvement.
    • Wynton Marsalis: What We Need Now

      Asia, Daniel; University of Arizona, School of Music (National Association of Scholars, 2023)
      A review of Marsalis's book "Moving to Higher Ground".
    • An integrated analytical modeling framework for determining site-specific soil screening levels for PFAS

      Smith, Jacob; Brusseau, Mark L.; Guo, Bo; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona; Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona (Elsevier BV, 2024-02-01)
      Soils at many contaminated sites have accumulated a significant amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and may require remediation to mitigate leaching to groundwater. USEPA's current approaches for determining soil screening levels (SSLs) were developed for non-PFAS contaminants. Because many PFAS are interfacially-active with unique leaching behaviors in soils, the current non-PFAS-specific soil screening models may not be applicable. Following USEPA's general methodology, we develop a new modeling framework representing PFAS-specific transport processes for determining site-specific SSLs for PFAS-contaminated sites. We couple a process-based analytical model for PFAS leaching in the vadose zone and a dilution factor model for groundwater in an integrated framework. We apply the new modeling framework to two typical types of contaminated sites. Comparisons with the standard USEPA SSL approach suggest that accounting for the PFAS-specific transport processes may significantly increase the SSL for some PFAS. For the range of soil properties and groundwater recharge rates examined, while SSLs determined with the new model are less than a factor of 2 different from the standard-model values for less interfacially-active shorter-chain PFAS, they are up to two orders of magnitudes greater for more interfacially-active longer-chain PFAS. The new analytical modeling framework provides an effective tool for deriving more accurate site-specific SSLs and improving site characterization and remedial efforts at PFAS-contaminated sites.
    • Transcriptome analysis of reproductive tract tissues of male river prawn Macrobrachium americanum

      Martín-Manzo, Miriam Victoria; Morelos-Castro, Rosa María; Munguia-Vega, Adrian; Soberanes-Yepiz, Maritza Lourdes; Cortés-Jacinto, Edilmar; Conservation Genetics Laboratory, The University of Arizona (Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2024-02-01)
      The cDNA library was constructed and sequenced for each tissue to identify novel transcripts. A combined transcriptome with the three tissues was assembled using Trinity software. Unigenes were annotated using BLASTx and BLAST2GO. The transcriptome assembly generated 1,059,447 unigenes, of which 7222 genes had significant hits (e-value < 1 × 10-5) when compared against the Swiss-Prot database. Around 75 genes were related to sex determination, testis development, spermatogenesis, spermiogenesis, fertilization, maturation of testicular cells, neuropeptides, hormones, hormone receptors, and/or embryogenesis.
    • Improved amplification of fecal DNA supports non-invasive microsatellite genotyping of lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)

      Walker, John-Lee Sky; Steidl, Robert J.; Wolf, Sandy A.; Lee, Ming-Min; Arnold, A. Elizabeth; School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona; School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona; Bio5 Institute, The University of Arizona (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-02-04)
      Feces of animals that forage on nectar and fruit, including many species of bats, often contain DNA that is low in quality and quantity. We developed an approach based on DNA from feces gathered passively to generate microsatellite data for individual lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), which are important pollinators for columnar cacti and agave across much of Mexico and in the southwestern U.S. We collected feces from roosts near the U.S-Mexico border and developed a two-step amplification approach to characterize five highly polymorphic microsatellite loci from fecal DNA. Addition of a multiplex PCR step improved amplification success and conserved DNA extracts with a minimal increase in cost. In our initial screening of 433 samples, five focal loci distinguished individuals reliably, with a probability of identity (i.e., the probability of two unrelated individuals having the same microsatellite profile by chance) of 7.5E-09. Repeated analyses revealed a genotyping error rate < 2%. We explore the benefits and limits of our approach for population studies of lesser long-nosed bats and other nectivorous and frugivorous species that provide key ecosystem services and are often of conservation concern.
    • Release mechanism and interactions of cadmium and arsenic co-contaminated ferrihydrite by simulated in-vitro digestion assays

      Bai, Bing; Kong, Shuqiong; Root, Robert A.; Liu, Ruiqi; Wei, Xiaguo; Cai, Dawei; Chen, Yiyi; Chen, Jie; Yi, Zhihao; Chorover, Jon; et al. (Elsevier BV, 2024-01-26)
      Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) co-contamination is widespread and threatens human health, therefore it is important to investigate the bioavailability of Cd and As co-exposure. Currently, the interactions of Cd and As by in vitro assays are unknown. In this work, we studied the concurrent Cd-As release behaviors and interactions with in vitro simulated gastric bio-fluid assays. The studies demonstrated that As bioaccessibility (2.04 to 0.18 ± 0.03%) decreased with Cd addition compared to the As(V) single system, while Cd bioaccessibility (11.02 to 39.08 ± 1.91%) increased with As addition compared to the Cd single system. Release of Cd and As is coupled to proton-promoted and reductive dissolution of ferrihydrite. The As(V) is released and reduced to As(Ⅲ) by pepsin. Pepsin formed soluble complexes with Cd and As. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that Cd and As formed Fe-As-Cd ternary complexes on ferrihydrite surfaces. The coordination intensity of As-O-Cd is lower than that of As-O-Fe, resulting in more Cd release from Fe-As-Cd ternary complexes. Our study deepens the understanding of health risks from Cd and As interactions during environmental co-exposure of multiple metal(loid)s.
    • Genomic insights into isolation of the threatened Florida crested caracara (Caracara plancus)

      Payne, Natalie; Erwin, John A; Morrison, Joan L; Dwyer, James F; Culver, Melanie; Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona; U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Arizona; School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona (Oxford University Press, 2023-10-14)
      We conducted a population genomic study of the crested caracara (Caracara plancus) using samples (n = 290) collected from individuals in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, United States. Crested caracaras are non-migratory raptors ranging from the southern tip of South America to the southern United States, including a federally protected relict population in Florida long thought to have been isolated since the last ice age. Our objectives were to evaluate genetic diversity and population structure of Florida's apparently isolated population and to evaluate taxonomic relationships of crested caracaras at the northern edge of their range. Using DNA purified from blood samples, we conducted double-digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing and sequenced the mitochondrial ND2 gene. Analyses of population structure using over 9,000 SNPs suggest that two major clusters are best supported, one cluster including only Florida individuals and the other cluster including Arizona and Texas individuals. Both SNPs and mitochondrial haplotypes reveal the Florida population to be highly differentiated genetically from Arizona and Texas populations, whereas, Arizona and Texas populations are moderately differentiated from each other. The Florida population's mitochondrial haplotypes form a separate monophyletic group, while Arizona and Texas populations share mitochondrial haplotypes. Results of this study provide substantial genetic evidence that Florida's crested caracaras have experienced long-term isolation from caracaras in Arizona and Texas and thus, represent a distinct evolutionary lineage possibly warranting distinction as an Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) or subspecies. This study will inform conservation strategies focused on long-term survival of Florida's distinct, panmictic population.
    • Superdirective Unidirectional Mixed-Multipole Antenna Designs

      Ziolkowski, Richard W.; University of Arizona (IEEE, 2023-10-30)
      Highly directive antenna systems are being sought to address the perceived needs of the NextG wireless systems and their applications. However, practical alternatives to complex, power hungry phased arrays are truly desired. Unidirectional mixed-multipole antennas (UMMAs) offer superdirective performance characteristics with high efficiency in a compact format. Superdirective uniform end-fire arrays of active closely-spaced equal-length idealized wire dipoles will be exemplified as reference cases. The Rayleigh quotient (RQ) method typically used to determine their amplitude coefficients and its recent extension to achieve unidirectional outcomes will be discussed. UMMA designs that are approaching those ideal performance characteristics will be presented. These efforts further confirm recent research advances demonstrating practical superdirective systems are achievable.
    • Dating “Sweet Desire”

      Wise, Dennis Wilson; University of Arizona (John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2023-11-17)
      C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are two key figures in the Modern Alliterative Revival, and each sought to revive Old English poetics with close to absolute metrical fidelity. While scholarship on Tolkien's alliterative verse has seen an uptick in recent years, though, Lewis remains the odd poet out. Nominally, this article attempts to assign a composition date for Lewis's poem "Sweet Desire."My dating to early 1930 associates this text with Lewis's famous conversion to theism. More broadly, this article tracks one revivalist's painstaking adaptation of the alliterative meter into Modern English, outlining the technical challenges faced by Lewis and which other contemporary revivalists must overcome as well.
    • Smartphone-Based Microalgae Monitoring Platform Using Machine Learning

      Kim, Sinyang; Sosnowski, Katelyn; Hwang, Dong Soo; Yoon, Jeong-Yeol; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona (American Chemical Society (ACS), 2023-08-17)
      There is a growing demand for microalgae monitoring techniques since microalgae are one of the most influential underwater organisms in aquatic environments. Specifically, such a technique should be hand-held, rapid, and easily accessible in the field since current methods (benchtop microscopy, flow cytometry, or satellite imaging) require high equipment costs and well-trained personnel. This study’s main objective was to develop a field-deployable microalgae monitoring platform using only a single smartphone and inexpensive acrylic color films. It aimed to evaluate the morphological states of microalgae including stress, cell concentration, and dominant species. Using a smartphone’s white LED flash and camera, the platform detected fluorescence and reflectance intensities from microalgal samples in various excitation and emission color combinations. Multidimensional intensity data were evaluated from the smartphone images and used to train a support vector machine (SVM) based machine learning model to classify various morphological states. The SVM classification accuracies were 0.84-0.96 in classifying four- to five-tier stress types, cell concentration, and dominant species and 0.99-1.00 in classifying two-tier stress types and cell concentrations. Additional field samples were collected from the local pond and independently tested using the laboratory-collected training set, showing two-tier classification accuracies of 0.90-1.00. This platform enables accessible and on-site microalgae monitoring for nonexperts and can be potentially applied to monitoring harmful algal blooms (HABs).
    • Language development, linguistic input, and linguistic racism

      Figueroa, Megan; Department of Psychology, University of Arizona (Wiley, 2024-01-31)
      Language development is both remarkable and unremarkable. It is remarkable because children learn the language(s) around them, signed or spoken, without explicit instruction or correction. It is unremarkable because children have done this for thousands of years without worldwide incident or catastrophe. Yet, much research on this organic developmental phenomenon relies on an empirical falsehood: “quality” linguistic input is necessary to facilitate language development. “Quality” is a value judgment, not a structural feature of any human language. I argue selectively legitimizing some linguistic input as “quality” is possible only through mischaracterizing what language is. This falsehood is also linguistic racism because it is based on a deficit perspective of the early linguistic experiences of a subset of children, specifically racialized children. I explore how linguistic racism stalls our collective understanding of language development and promotes an environment of bad science. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Language Acquisition Psychology > Language Neuroscience > Development.
    • Conductive gradient hydrogels allow spatial control of adult stem cell fate

      Song, Shang; McConnell, Kelly W.; Shan, Dingying; Chen, Cheng; Oh, Byeongtaek; Sun, Jindi; Poon, Ada S. Y.; George, Paul M.; Departments of Neuroscience GIDP, Materials Science and Engineering, BIO5 Institute, The University of Arizona; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona (Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2024-01-25)
      Electrical gradients are fundamental to physiological processes including cell migration, tissue formation, organ development, and response to injury and regeneration. Current electrical modulation of cells is primarily studied under a uniform electrical field. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of conductive gradient hydrogels (CGGs) that display mechanical properties and varying local electrical gradients mimicking physiological conditions. The electrically-stimulated CGGs enhanced human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) viability and attachment. Cells on CGGs under electrical stimulation showed a high expression of neural progenitor markers such as Nestin, GFAP, and Sox2. More importantly, CGGs showed cell differentiation toward oligodendrocyte lineage (Oligo2) in the center of the scaffold where the electric field was uniform with a greater intensity, while cells preferred neuronal lineage (NeuN) on the edge of the scaffold on a varying electric field at lower magnitude. Our data suggest that CGGs can serve as a useful platform to study the effects of electrical gradients on stem cells and potentially provide insights on developing new neural engineering applications.
    • Radar Range-Doppler Flow: A Radar Signal Processing Technique to Enhance Radar Target Classification

      Wen, Qi; Cao, Siyang; University of Arizona (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2023-11-30)
      Precise clustering of radar point clouds holds immense value in the context of training data annotations for various radar applications, including autonomous vehicles. However, due to the unique characteristics of radar data, such as sparsity, noise, and specularity, accurately separating radar detections into distinct objects poses a significant challenge. The traditional approaches of using location and Doppler as clustering features often fail when objects are in close spatial proximity and exhibit similar speeds &#x2013; a scenario that is common in urban environments. To address this challenge, we introduce the concept of radar range-Doppler flow and a technique that extracts radial acceleration information of the surrounding targets. By incorporating radial acceleration into the feature space for radar point cloud clustering, we demonstrate a significant advantage over traditional methods, particularly when targets are in close proximity and moving at similar speeds. Our approach provides an effective clustering solution in automotive radar applications in dense urban driving environments and any other similar situations where numerous targets coexist, and exhibit complex and unpredictable motion dynamics. We also share more results on a GitHub repository: <uri>https://github.com/radar-lab/RD_Flow.git</uri>. IEEE
    • Achieving Nearly 100% Photoluminescence Quantum Efficiency in Organic Radical Emitters by Fine‐Tuning the Effective Donor‐Acceptor Distance

      Lu, Chen; Cho, Eunkyung; Wan, Keke; Wu, Chunxiao; Gao, Yuhang; Coropceanu, Veaceslav; Brédas, Jean‐Luc; Li, Feng; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona (Wiley, 2024-02-05)
      Donor-acceptor (D–A•) type luminescent organic radicals have received widespread attention as efficient doublet emitters. However, their generally low photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE) and limited photostability restrict their various applications. Since unraveling the relationship between structure and properties of D–A• type luminescent radicals remains a challenge, here, a series of tri(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl (TTM) radical derivatives, which differ by the location of their ring fusion sites and nature of their heteroatoms, is synthesized. The PLQE of isomers varies by ten times as a function of ring fusion sites. In particular, the PLQE of a radical undergoing ring fusion at the carbazole 3,4-position is as high as 98.0%. Quantum-chemical calculations show that in the case of overlapping holes and electrons, by increasing the effective distance between the D and A moieties, the radiative transition rates of the radicals increase. Also, decreasing the electronic coupling between the charge-transfer and local-excited states and avoiding large geometrical distortions between the ground state (D0)_and the first excited state (D1) can significantly reduce the nonradiative transition rates. This work offers a design strategy to obtain efficient and stable luminescent radicals by modifying the sites of ring fusion, which allows control of the radiative and nonradiative transition rates.
    • Art and emotion processing among arab breast cancer survivors: An exploratory study

      Hebi, Maimounah; Czamanski-Cohen, Johanna; Azaiza, Faisal; Weihs, Karen L.; College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Arizona (Elsevier BV, 2024-02-01)
      Art therapy (AT) has demonstrated potential for improving the well-being of breast cancer (BC) survivors, but limited research exists on emotion processing (EP) of Arab women in this context. Thus, this study delves into the relationship between EP and the art-making of Arab BC survivors in an AT group intervention to provide an in-depth understanding of their unique experience. We hypothesized that openly expressing emotions in the face of life-threatening events, such as BC, might be difficult for individuals from collective cultures with a strong emphasis on social harmony. We conducted a mixed-methods exploratory study (N = 62) with a visual analysis of 22 drawings and a textual analysis of reports from five art therapists. Positive correlations were observed between conservation values, acceptance of emotions, values, and artistic elements. Acceptance of emotions correlated negatively with space in drawing. Textual analysis of therapist reports revealed two themes—coping strategies and mixed emotions—corresponding to phenomena observed in the drawings. The women reported that art-making in a group facilitated access to their inner emotions, reinforced personal boundaries, and provided a safe space for addressing complex experiences. The AT group also offered socialization with women in similar circumstances. We conclude that AT provided these Arab BC survivors a culturally sensitive means of safely processing emotions through creative visual expression. Further research is needed to examine if AT is also helpful to BC survivors from other collectivist ethno-cultures.
    • The impact of multifunctional enkephalin analogs and morphine on the protein changes in crude membrane fractions isolated from the rat brain cortex and hippocampus

      Ujcikova, Hana; Lee, Yeon Sun; Roubalova, Lenka; Svoboda, Petr; Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona (Elsevier Inc., 2024-02-01)
      Endogenous opioid peptides serve as potent analgesics through the opioid receptor (OR) activation. However, they often suffer from poor metabolic stability, low lipophilicity, and low blood-brain barrier permeability. Researchers have developed many strategies to overcome the drawbacks of current pain medications and unwanted biological effects produced by the interaction with opioid receptors. Here, we tested multifunctional enkephalin analogs LYS739 (MOR/DOR agonist and KOR partial antagonist) and LYS744 (MOR/DOR agonist and KOR full antagonist) under in vivo conditions in comparison with MOR agonist, morphine. We applied 2D electrophoretic resolution to investigate differences in proteome profiles of crude membrane (CM) fractions isolated from the rat brain cortex and hippocampus exposed to the drugs (10 mg/kg, seven days). Our results have shown that treatment with analog LYS739 induced the most protein changes in cortical and hippocampal samples. The identified proteins were mainly associated with energy metabolism, cell shape and movement, apoptosis, protein folding, regulation of redox homeostasis, and signal transduction. Among these, the isoform of mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit beta (ATP5F1B) was the only protein upregulation in the hippocampus but not in the brain cortex. Contrarily, the administration of analog LYS744 caused a small number of protein alterations in both brain parts. Our results indicate that the KOR full antagonism, together with MOR/DOR agonism of multifunctional opioid ligands, can be beneficial in treating chronic pain states by reducing changes in protein expression levels but retaining analgesic efficacy.
    • Knowledge distillation under ideal joint classifier assumption

      Li, Huayu; Chen, Xiwen; Ditzler, Gregory; Roveda, Janet; Li, Ao; Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona; BIO5 Institute, The University of Arizona (Elsevier Ltd, 2024-02-03)
      Knowledge distillation constitutes a potent methodology for condensing substantial neural networks into more compact and efficient counterparts. Within this context, softmax regression representation learning serves as a widely embraced approach, leveraging a pre-established teacher network to guide the learning process of a diminutive student network. Notably, despite the extensive inquiry into the efficacy of softmax regression representation learning, the intricate underpinnings governing the knowledge transfer mechanism remain inadequately elucidated. This study introduces the ‘Ideal Joint Classifier Knowledge Distillation’ (IJCKD) framework, an overarching paradigm that not only furnishes a lucid and exhaustive comprehension of prevailing knowledge distillation techniques but also establishes a theoretical underpinning for prospective investigations. Employing mathematical methodologies derived from domain adaptation theory, this investigation conducts a comprehensive examination of the error boundary of the student network contingent upon the teacher network. Consequently, our framework facilitates efficient knowledge transference between teacher and student networks, thereby accommodating a diverse spectrum of applications.
    • Radar-Based Fall Detection: A Survey

      Hu, Shuting; Cao, Siyang; Toosizadeh, Nima; Barton, Jennifer; Hector, Melvin G.; Fain, Mindy J.; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona; Department of Medicine, University of Arizona (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024-02-05)
      Fall detection, particularly critical for high-risk demographics like the elderly, is a key public health concern, where timely detection can greatly minimize harm. With the advancements in radio frequency (RF) technology, radar has emerged as a powerful tool for human fall detection. Traditional machine learning (ML) algorithms, such as support vector machines (SVM) and <italic>k</italic>-nearest neighbors (kNN), have shown promising outcomes. However, deep learning (DL) approaches, notably convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs), have outperformed in learning intricate features and managing large, unstructured datasets. This survey offers an in-depth analysis of radar-based fall detection, with emphasis on micro-Doppler, range-Doppler, and range-Doppler-angles techniques. We discuss the intricacies and challenges in fall detection and emphasize the necessity for a clear definition of falls and appropriate detection criteria, informed by diverse influencing factors. We present an overview of radar signal-processing principles and the underlying technology of radar-based fall detection, providing an accessible insight into ML and DL algorithms. After examining 74 research articles on radar-based fall detection published since 2000, we aim to bridge current research gaps and underscore the potential future research strategies, emphasizing the real-world applications possibility and the unexplored potential of DL in improving radar-based fall detection.
    • Comparison of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay performance in detecting Decapod penstylhamaparvovirus 1 in penaeid shrimp

      Dhar, Arun K; Cruz-Flores, Roberto; Mai, Hung N; Warg, Janet; Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory, School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona (ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2023-11-19)
      Decapod Penstylhamaparvovirus 1, commonly known as infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV), remains an economically important viral pathogen for penaeid shrimp aquaculture due to its effects on growth performance. The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH, Paris, France) recommended methods for the detection of IHHNV include both conventional and real-time PCR. However, published reports and anecdotal evidence suggest the occurrence of non-specific amplifications when testing for IHHNV using the WOAH protocols. Studies were designed to develop a sensitive, robust TaqMan PCR method for detection of IHHNV in the three commercially important penaeid shrimp: Penaeus vannamei, P. monodon and P. stylirostris. We compared the performance of the WOAH-recommended real-time PCR method to several published as well as in-house designed primer/probe sets spanning the entire genome of IHHNV. Our results show that (1) more than one primer/ probe set is needed when testing for the infectious form of IHHNV in all three species of shrimp and (2) primer pairs qIH-Fw/qIH-Rv and 3144F/ 3232R have diagnostic characteristics that would enable IHHNV detection in all three shrimp species. These findings are valuable for a large-scale screening of shrimp using a TaqMan real-time PCR assay.