Pictorial history, Two Hundred Forty-Sixth Coast Artillery (HD), 1940-1941

As uncertainty marks the course of world events and Democracy stands on a threshold of unrest and threats of aggressor nations, citizen soldiers of the 246th Coast Artillery again have calmly adjusted themselves to another unlimited national emergency. While many of the great nations of the world are in a state of undeclared war and their peoples enslaved to a dictatorial tyranny, guardians of the Mother State-many of them reminiscent of their 1917-18 struggle to save the freedom handed down to them from courageous ancestors-are preparing for any eventuality that may threaten the American way of life. Just as the first European government crumbled under the heel of a monstrous conqueror in this World War lI -- the Army of the United States signaled for strength. We, of the 246th Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense), are proud to be a part of this vast bulwark between a free, peace-loving nation and a force so destructive that the entire world fears for its safety.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1029/thumbnail.jp

Episodic Therapy for Genital Herpes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Pooled Analysis from Three Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: A randomized controlled trial in South Africa found a beneficial effect of acyclovir on genital ulcer healing, but no effect was seen in trials in Ghana, Central African Republic and Malawi. The aim of this paper is to assess whether the variation in impact of acyclovir on ulcer healing in these trials can be explained by differences in the characteristics of the study populations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Pooled data were analysed to estimate the impact of acyclovir on the proportion of ulcers healed seven days after randomisation by HIV/CD4 status, ulcer aetiology, size and duration before presentation; and impact on lesional HIV-1. Risk ratios (RR) were estimated using Poisson regression with robust standard errors. Of 1478 patients with genital ulcer, most (63%) had herpetic ulcers (16% first episode HSV-2 ulcers), and a further 3% chancroid, 2% syphilis, 0.7% lymphogranuloma venereum and 31% undetermined aetiology. Over half (58%) of patients were HIV-1 seropositive. The median duration of symptoms before presentation was 6 days. Patients on acyclovir were more likely to have a healed ulcer on day 7 (63% vs 57%, RR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.98-1.18), shorter time to healing (p = 0.04) and less lesional HIV-1 RNA (p = 0.03). Small ulcers (<50 mm(2)), HSV-2 ulcers, first episode HSV-2 ulcers, and ulcers in HIV-1 seropositive individuals responded best but the better effectiveness in South Africa was not explained by differences in these factors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There may be slight benefit in adding acyclovir to syndromic management in settings where most ulcers are genital herpes. The stronger effect among HIV-1 infected individuals suggests that acyclovir may be beneficial for GUD/HIV-1 co-infected patients. The high prevalence in this population highlights that genital ulceration in patients with unknown HIV status provides a potential entry point for provider-initiated HIV testing

SED fitting of nearby galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey

We compute UV to radio continuum spectral energy distributions of 51 nearby galaxies recently observed with SPIRE onboard Herschel and present infrared colours (in the 25-500 μm spectral range). SPIRE data of normal galaxies are well reproduced with a modified black body (β=2) of temperature T≅q 20 K. In ellipticals hosting a radio galaxy, the far-infrared (FIR) emission is dominated by the synchrotron nuclear emission. The colour temperature of the cold dust is higher in quiescent E-S0a than in star-forming systems probably because of the different nature of their dust heating sources (evolved stellar populations, X-ray, fast electrons) and dust grain properties

The cost-effectiveness of herpes simplex virus-2 suppressive therapy with daily aciclovir for delaying HIV disease progression among HIV-1-infected women in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV transmission trial (Partners HSV/HIV Transmission Study) showed that herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) suppressive therapy with daily aciclovir could decrease HIV disease progression amongst HIV-1/HSV-2 coinfected individuals. The cost-effectiveness of daily aciclovir for delaying HIV-1 disease progression in women not eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART) is estimated. METHODS: Resource use/cost data for delivering daily aciclovir at a primary health care HIV clinic were collected in Johannesburg. Effectiveness estimates were obtained from the Partners HSV/HIV Transmission Study trial and epidemiologic data from South Africa. A Markov model simulated the cost-effectiveness of daily aciclovir on HIV-1 disease progression in ART-naive women. Therapy was given to all HIV-1-infected women. Cost-effectiveness was compared against cost per life-year gained (∼US $1200 per LYG) of ART provision in South Africa. RESULTS: For an ART eligibility criteria of CD4 count <200 cells/μL and the cheapest internationally available aciclovir (US$0.026 per day for 2 × 400 mg aciclovir), the median cost per LYG is US $1023 (95$737 (95% CI: 373-2489) if the ART eligibility criteria is CD4 count <350 cells/μL. Both these projections compare favorably with the estimated cost-effectiveness of ART in South Africa (∼US $1200 per LYG). The cost per LYG increases dramatically for the current aciclovir cost in South Africa (US$0.14 per day), if salary costs are higher and if HSV-2 prevalence amongst HIV-1-infected women are lower. Projections suggest HSV-2 suppressive therapy could dramatically increase the proportion of women initiating ART. CONCLUSIONS: HSV-2 suppressive therapy could be an affordable strategy for reducing HIV-1 disease progression and retaining women in care before ART initiation, but cheaply available aciclovir is needed

SirA Orthologs Affect both Motility and Virulence

The sirA gene of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium encodes a two-component response regulator of the FixJ family that has a positive regulatory influence on the expression of type III secretion genes involved with epithelial cell invasion and the elicitation of bovine gastroenteritis. SirA orthologs in Pseudomonas, Vibrio, and Erwinia control the expression of distinct virulence genes in these genera, but an evolutionarily conserved target of SirA regulation has never been identified. In this study we tested the hypothesis that sirA may be an ancient member of the flagellar regulon. We examined the effect of a sirA mutation on transcriptional fusions to flagellar promoters (flhD, fliE, fliF, flgA, flgB, fliC, fliD, motA, and fliA) while using fusions to the virulence gene sopB as a positive control. SirA had only small regulatory effects on all fusions in liquid medium (less than fivefold). However, in various types of motility agar plates, sirA was able to activate a sopB fusion by up to 63-fold while repressing flagellar fusions by values exceeding 100-fold. Mutations in the sirA orthologs of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa result in defects in either motility or motility gene regulation, suggesting that control of flagellar regulons may be an evolutionarily conserved function of sirA orthologs. The implications for our understanding of virulence gene regulation in the gamma Proteobacteria are discussed

Multivalent carbohydrate recognition on a glycodendrimer‐functionalized flow‐through chip

Dendrimers were fitted out with up to eight mannose moieties by “click” chemistry. They were subsequently attached to aluminum oxide chips via a spacer that was linked to the dendrimer core; this resulted in a microarray of glycodendrimers. Binding of the glycodendrimers to the fluorescent lectins ConA and GNA was observable in real time. In a single experiment it was possible to observe the multivalency enhancement or cluster effect in the binding event. This effect was small for ConA, in agreement with its widely spaced binding sites, whereas it was large for GNA, with its twelve much more closely spaced binding sites. The dendrimer-fitted chip represents a valuable screening tool for multivalency effects. Furthermore kinetic and thermodynamic data on binding events can be deduced. Inhibition experiments are also possible with the system as was shown for ConA with α-methyl mannose as the inhibitor

SED fitting of nearby galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey

We compute UV to radio continuum spectral energy distributions of 51 nearby galaxies recently observed with SPIRE onboard Herschel and present infrared colours (in the 25-500 μm spectral range). SPIRE data of normal galaxies are well reproduced with a modified black body (β=2) of temperature T≃q 20 K. In ellipticals hosting a radio galaxy, the far-infrared (FIR) emission is dominated by the synchrotron nuclear emission. The colour temperature of the cold dust is higher in quiescent E-S0a than in star-forming systems probably because of the different nature of their dust heating sources (evolved stellar populations, X-ray, fast electrons) and dust grain properties