In the Dark: A Consumer Perspective on FCC Broadcast Indecency Denials

Indecency regulation has been a hot political and social topic since Janet Jackson revealed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The number of indecency complaints the FCC receives each year continues to rise. Moreover, to further complicate matters, in 2007 the Second Circuit overturned the FCC policy that so-called fleeting expletives would be considered indecent. However, there has been no systematic review of the complaints from the perspective of the complainant. How has the FCC managed its increasing indecency complaint load, and what does it tell consumers who have taken the time to write formal complaints about what they perceive to be indecent programming? The authors obtained indecency complaints about broadcast programming received and denied by the FCC in 2004 through a Freedom of Information Act request. The nature of the complaint, geographic area, and FCC response were examined from the standpoint of the consumer. The authors make several suggestions to improve the FCC\u27s handling of its increasing load of indecency complaints and its correspondence with the complainants. The authors also take a critical look at activist groups and their effect on the complaint process

In the Dark: A Consumer Perspective on FCC Broadcast Indecency Denials

Indecency regulation has been a hot political and social topic since Janet Jackson revealed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The number of indecency complaints the FCC receives each year continues to rise. Moreover, to further complicate matters, in 2007 the Second Circuit overturned the FCC policy that so-called fleeting expletives would be considered indecent. However, there has been no systematic review of the complaints from the perspective of the complainant. How has the FCC managed its increasing indecency complaint load, and what does it tell consumers who have taken the time to write formal complaints about what they perceive to be indecent programming? The authors obtained indecency complaints about broadcast programming received and denied by the FCC in 2004 through a Freedom of Information Act request. The nature of the complaint, geographic area, and FCC response were examined from the standpoint of the consumer. The authors make several suggestions to improve the FCC\u27s handling of its increasing load of indecency complaints and its correspondence with the complainants. The authors also take a critical look at activist groups and their effect on the complaint process

Xenosurveillance reflects traditional sampling techniques for the identification of human pathogens: A comparative study in West Africa

BACKGROUND: Novel surveillance strategies are needed to detect the rapid and continuous emergence of infectious disease agents. Ideally, new sampling strategies should be simple to implement, technologically uncomplicated, and applicable to areas where emergence events are known to occur. To this end, xenosurveillance is a technique that makes use of blood collected by hematophagous arthropods to monitor and identify vertebrate pathogens. Mosquitoes are largely ubiquitous animals that often exist in sizable populations. As well, many domestic or peridomestic species of mosquitoes will preferentially take blood-meals from humans, making them a unique and largely untapped reservoir to collect human blood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sought to take advantage of this phenomenon by systematically collecting blood-fed mosquitoes during a field trail in Northern Liberia to determine whether pathogen sequences from blood engorged mosquitoes accurately mirror those obtained directly from humans. Specifically, blood was collected from humans via finger-stick and by aspirating bloodfed mosquitoes from the inside of houses. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of RNA and DNA derived from these specimens was performed to detect pathogen sequences. Samples obtained from xenosurveillance and from finger-stick blood collection produced a similar number and quality of reads aligning to two human viruses, GB virus C and hepatitis B virus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study represents the first systematic comparison between xenosurveillance and more traditional sampling methodologies, while also demonstrating the viability of xenosurveillance as a tool to sample human blood for circulating pathogens

Aedes aegypti uses RNA interference in defense against Sindbis virus infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RNA interference (RNAi) is an important anti-viral defense mechanism. The <it>Aedes aegypti </it>genome encodes RNAi component orthologs, however, most populations of this mosquito are readily infected by, and subsequently transmit flaviviruses and alphaviruses. The goal of this study was to use <it>Ae. aegypti </it>as a model system to determine how the mosquito's anti-viral RNAi pathway interacts with recombinant Sindbis virus (SINV; family <it>Togaviridae</it>, genus <it>Alphavirus</it>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SINV (TR339-eGFP) (+) strand RNA, infectious virus titers and infection rates transiently increased in mosquitoes following dsRNA injection to cognate <it>Ago2</it>, <it>Dcr2</it>, or <it>TSN </it>mRNAs. Detection of SINV RNA-derived small RNAs at 2 and 7 days post-infection in non-silenced mosquitoes provided important confirmation of RNAi pathway activity. Two different recombinant SINV viruses (MRE16-eGFP and TR339-eGFP) with significant differences in infection kinetics were used to delineate vector/virus interactions in the midgut. We show virus-dependent effects on RNAi component transcript and protein levels during infection. Monitoring midgut <it>Ago2</it>, <it>Dcr2</it>, and <it>TSN </it>transcript levels during infection revealed that only <it>TSN </it>transcripts were significantly increased in midguts over blood-fed controls. Ago2 protein levels were depleted immediately following a non-infectious bloodmeal and varied during SINV infection in a virus-dependent manner.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show that silencing RNAi components in <it>Ae. aegypti </it>results in transient increases in SINV replication. Furthermore, <it>Ae. aegypti </it>RNAi is active during SINV infection as indicated by production of virus-specific siRNAs. Lastly, the RNAi response varies in a virus-dependent manner. These data define important features of RNAi anti-viral defense in <it>Ae. aegypti</it>.</p

Vector Competence of American Mosquitoes for Three Strains of Zika Virus

In 2015, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae; Flavivirus) emerged in the Americas, causing millions of infections in dozens of countries. The rapid spread of the virus and the association with disease outcomes such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly make understanding transmission dynamics essential. Currently, there are no reports of vector competence (VC) of American mosquitoes for ZIKV isolates from the Americas. Further, it is not clear whether ZIKV strains from other genetic lineages can be transmitted by American Aedes aegypti populations, and whether the scope of the current epidemic is in part facilitated by viral factors such as enhanced replicative fitness or increased vector competence. Therefore, we characterized replication of three ZIKV strains, one from each of the three phylogenetic clades in several cell lines and assessed their abilities to be transmitted by Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. Additionally, laboratory colonies of different Culex spp. were infected with an American outbreak strain of ZIKV to assess VC. Replication rates were variable and depended on virus strain, cell line and MOI. African strains used in this study outcompeted the American strain in vitro in both mammalian and mosquito cell culture. West and East African strains of ZIKV tested here were more efficiently transmitted by Ae. aegypti from Mexico than was the currently circulating American strain of the Asian lineage. Long-established laboratory colonies of Culex mosquitoes were not efficient ZIKV vectors. These data demonstrate the capacity for additional ZIKV strains to infect and replicate in American Aedes mosquitoes and suggest that neither enhanced virus replicative fitness nor virus adaptation to local vector mosquitoes seems likely to explain the extent and intensity of ZIKV transmission in the Americas

Establishment of the Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network: updating the research agenda.

The potential use of ivermectin as an additional vector control tool is receiving increased attention from the malaria elimination community, driven by the increased importance of outdoor/residual malaria transmission and the threat of insecticide resistance where vector tools have been scaled-up. This report summarizes the emerging evidence presented at a side meeting on "Ivermectin for malaria elimination: current status and future directions" at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans on November 4, 2014. One outcome was the creation of the "Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network" whose main goal is to establish a common research agenda to generate the evidence base on whether ivermectin-based strategies should be added to the emerging arsenal to interrupt malaria transmission

West African Anopheles Gambiae Mosquitoes Harbor a Taxonomically Diverse Virome Including New Insect-Specific Flaviviruses, Mononegaviruses, and Totiviruses

Anopheles gambiae are a major vector of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Viruses that naturally infect these mosquitoes may impact their physiology and ability to transmit pathogens. We therefore used metagenomics sequencing to search for viruses in adult Anopheles mosquitoes collected from Liberia, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. We identified a number of virus and virus-like sequences from mosquito midgut contents, including 14 coding-complete genome segments and 26 partial sequences. The coding-complete sequences define new viruses in the order Mononegavirales, and the families Flaviviridae, and Totiviridae. The identification of a flavivirus infecting Anopheles mosquitoes broadens our understanding of the evolution and host range of this virus family. This study increases our understanding of virus diversity in general, begins to define the virome of a medically important vector in its natural setting, and lays groundwork for future studies examining the potential impact of these viruses on anopheles biology and disease transmission

Establishment of the Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network: updating the research agenda

The potential use of ivermectin as an additional vector control tool is receiving increased attention from the malaria elimination community, driven by the increased importance of outdoor/residual malaria transmission and the threat of insecticide resistance where vector tools have been scaled-up. This report summarizes the emerging evidence presented at a side meeting on "Ivermectin for malaria elimination: current status and future directions" at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans on November 4, 2014. One outcome was the creation of the "Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network" whose main goal is to establish a common research agenda to generate the evidence base on whether ivermectin-based strategies should be added to the emerging arsenal to interrupt malaria transmission

Parasitological Indices of Malaria Transmission in Children under Fifteen Years in Two Ecoepidemiological Zones in Southwestern Burkina Faso

Twenty years after the latest publications performed on the parasitological indices of malaria transmission in northwest of the second city of Burkina Faso, it was important to update the epidemiological profile of malaria in children under the age of 15 years. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the parasitological parameters of malaria transmission by season, area, and age in the two zones (rice and savanna) in the northwest of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Overall, the results showed that there was no significant difference in the parasitological indices of malaria transmission within children under fifteen years between the rice site and the savannah site and whatever the season (P>0.05). The profound environmental modifications that occurred in the rice zone would have led to changes in vector behavior and consequently to changes in the epidemiological profile of malaria, contrary to the results obtained since the last publications. An entomological study correlated with this study is therefore necessary for effective decision-making for the malaria control in both areas. Future research must now focus on the impact that these profound environmental modifications of rice area are having on malaria control in Burkina Faso

Ivermectin as a novel complementary malaria control tool to reduce incidence and prevalence: a modelling study.

BACKGROUND: Ivermectin is a potential new vector control tool to reduce malaria transmission. Mosquitoes feeding on a bloodmeal containing ivermectin have a reduced lifespan, meaning they are less likely to live long enough to complete sporogony and become infectious. We aimed to estimate the effect of ivermectin on malaria transmission in various scenarios of use. METHODS: We validated an existing population-level mathematical model of the effect of ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) on the mosquito population and malaria transmission against two datasets: clinical data from a cluster- randomised trial done in Burkina Faso in 2015 wherein ivermectin was given to individuals taller than 90 cm and entomological data from a study of mosquito outcomes after ivermectin MDA for onchocerciasis or lymphatic filariasis in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Liberia between 2008 and 2013. We extended the existing model to include a range of complementary malaria interventions (seasonal malaria chemoprevention and MDA with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine) and to incorporate new data on higher doses of ivermectin with a longer mosquitocidal effect. We consider two ivermectin regimens: a single dose of 400 μg/kg (1 × 400 μg/kg) and three consecutive daily doses of 300 μg/kg per day (3 × 300 μg/kg). We simulated the effect of these two doses in a range of usage scenarios in different transmission settings (highly seasonal, seasonal, and perennial). We report percentage reductions in clinical incidence and slide prevalence. FINDINGS: We estimate that MDA with ivermectin will reduce prevalence and incidence and is most effective in areas with highly seasonal transmission. In a highly seasonal moderate transmission setting, three rounds of ivermectin only MDA at 3 × 300 μg/kg (rounds spaced 1 month apart) and 70% coverage is predicted to reduce clinical incidence by 71% and prevalence by 34%. We predict that adding ivermectin MDA to seasonal malaria chemoprevention in this setting would reduce clinical incidence by an additional 77% in children younger than 5 years compared with seasonal malaria chemoprevention alone; adding ivermectin MDA to MDA with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in this setting would reduce incidence by an additional 75% and prevalence by an additional 64% (all ages) compared with MDA with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine alone. INTERPRETATION: Our modelling predictions suggest that ivermectin could be a valuable addition to the malaria control toolbox, both in areas with persistently high transmission where existing interventions are insufficient and in areas approaching elimination to prevent resurgence. FUNDING: Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship