PRRSV-2 viral load in critical non-lymphoid tissues is associated with late gestation fetal compromise.

The impact of late gestation PRRSV-2 infection is highly variable within a litter, with a subset of fetuses displaying varying degrees of compromise following infection while others remain viable despite significant systemic viral load. To understand the underlying cause of this variation, we examined the susceptibility, distribution and impact of viral infection within non-lymphoid tissues. Samples of brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, and skeletal muscle were obtained from fetuses of pregnant gilts at gestation day 86, and the presence and distribution of CD163+ cells within each tissue evaluated via immunohistofluorescence. Equivalent samples were collected from phenotypic extremes representing resistant, resilient and susceptible fetuses at 21 days following infection of pregnant gilts with PRRSV-2 at day 86 of gestation. Viral load and its impact in each tissue was evaluated by a combination of qPCR, in vitro viral recovery, and local expression of IFNG and CD163. Resting populations of CD163+ cells were observed in all six non-lymphoid tissues from healthy day 86 fetuses, though the apparent density and the morphology of positive cells varied between tissue. Viral RNA was detected in all six tissues derived from fetuses previously classified as highly infected, and infectious viral particles successfully recovered. Significantly more viral RNA was detected in heart, brain, lung and skeletal muscle of susceptible fetuses, relative to their viable counterparts. Infection was associated with an increase in the expression of CD163 in brain, kidney and lung. In addition, the presence of virus in each tissue coincided with a significant upregulation in the expression of IFNG, but the scale of this response was not associated with fetal susceptibility. Thus, PRRSV-2 is widely distributed across these susceptible non-lymphoid fetal tissues, and fetal outcome is associated with local viral load in critical fetal organs.

Planning long lasting insecticide treated net campaigns: should households' existing nets be taken into account?

BACKGROUND: Mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) has led to large increases in LLIN coverage in many African countries. As LLIN ownership levels increase, planners of future mass distributions face the challenge of deciding whether to ignore the nets already owned by households or to take these into account and attempt to target individuals or households without nets. Taking existing nets into account would reduce commodity costs but require more sophisticated, and potentially more costly, distribution procedures. The decision may also have implications for the average age of nets in use and therefore on the maintenance of universal LLIN coverage over time. METHODS: A stochastic simulation model based on the NetCALC algorithm was used to determine the scenarios under which it would be cost saving to take existing nets into account, and the potential effects of doing so on the age profile of LLINs owned. The model accounted for variability in timing of distributions, concomitant use of continuous distribution systems, population growth, sampling error in pre-campaign coverage surveys, variable net 'decay' parameters and other factors including the feasibility and accuracy of identifying existing nets in the field. RESULTS: Results indicate that (i) where pre-campaign coverage is around 40% (of households owning at least 1 LLIN), accounting for existing nets in the campaign will have little effect on the mean age of the net population and (ii) even at pre-campaign coverage levels above 40%, an approach that reduces LLIN distribution requirements by taking existing nets into account may have only a small chance of being cost-saving overall, depending largely on the feasibility of identifying nets in the field. Based on existing literature the epidemiological implications of such a strategy is likely to vary by transmission setting, and the risks of leaving older nets in the field when accounting for existing nets must be considered. CONCLUSIONS: Where pre-campaign coverage levels established by a household survey are below 40% we recommend that planners do not take such LLINs into account and instead plan a blanket mass distribution. At pre-campaign coverage levels above 40%, campaign planners should make explicit consideration of the cost and feasibility of accounting for existing LLINs before planning blanket mass distributions. Planners should also consider restricting the coverage estimates used for this decision to only include nets under two years of age in order to ensure that old and damaged nets do not compose too large a fraction of existing net coverage.

Sex radical communities and the future of sexual ethics.

SUMMARY Many urban-based gay male, lesbian, and mixed-gender sexually radical communities (such as leather and/or S/M groups) portray their interests in sexuality in terms of arousal and pleasure. The writings of many gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and queers involved in such communities suggest that sexual pleasure is based on individual preference, and that all sexual activities need only the consent of participating individuals to render those activities moral and good. Thus, as long as people consent, a wide variety of practices can be authorized in this system, such as non-monogamy, group sex, anonymous sex, domination, etc. In this paper, I will suggest that something much more radical is happening in these communities, that "individual preference" and "consent"-although present -are perhaps not the most interesting way to describe what is happening here. Rather, I will explore the possibility that these sex groups are in the process of providing for us a new kind of ethic based not on individuality, but rather based on community.

The short form test of academic aptitude (SFTAA) as a determinant of minimal brain dysfunction in children.

The Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (SFTAA) has been found to yield results comparable to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. With this in mind, it was hypothesized that children with minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) would obtain significantly different results on the SFTAA than children without MBD. Two studies (N = 40 and N = 72) using randomly selected MBD and non-MBD third-grade children supported the hypothesis. In Study I, the MBD and non-MBD children were matched on IQ; in Study II, they were not. Study I found that MBD children scored better than non-MBD children on subtest four (memory). Study II illustrated an apparent reversal of this finding and concluded that IQ must be considered in this type of investigation, since it tends to mask aptitude test results.