Accumulation of Protease Mutations among Patients Failing Second-Line Antiretroviral Therapy and Response to Salvage Therapy in Nigeria

Background: To date, antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines and programs in resource-limited settings (RLS) have focused on 1st- and 2nd-line (2 L) therapy. As programs approach a decade of implementation, policy regarding access to 3rd-line (3 L) ART is needed. We aimed to examine the impact of maintaining patients on failing 2 L ART on the accumulation of protease (PR) mutations. Methods and Findings: From 2004–2011, the Harvard/APIN PEPFAR Program provided ART to >100,000 people in Nigeria. Genotypic resistance testing was performed on a subset of patients experiencing 2 L failure, defined as 2 consecutive viral loads (VL)>1000 copies/mL after ≥6 months on 2 L. Of 6714 patients who received protease inhibitor (PI)-based ART, 673 (10.0%) met virologic failure criteria. Genotypes were performed on 61 samples. Patients on non-suppressive 2 L therapy for 24 months. Patients developed a median of 0.6 (IQR: 0–1.4) IAS PR mutations per 6 months on failing 2 L therapy. In 38% of failing patients no PR mutations were present. For patients failing >24 months, high- or intermediate-level resistance to lopinavir and atazanavir was present in 63%, with 5% to darunavir. Conclusions: This is the first report assessing the impact of duration of non-suppressive 2 L therapy on the accumulation of PR resistance in a RLS. This information provides insight into the resistance cost of failing to switch non-suppressive 2 L regimens and highlights the issue of 3 L access

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling prediction of the effects of dose adjustment in drug–drug interactions between levonorgestrel contraceptive implants and efavirenz-based ART

Background HIV-positive women receiving efavirenz-based ART and levonorgestrel contraceptive implants are at risk of low levonorgestrel exposure and unintended pregnancy. Objectives To investigate clinically applicable dose-adjustment strategies to overcome the known drug–drug interaction (DDI) between levonorgestrel and efavirenz, using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling-based approach. Methods A PBPK model was qualified against clinical data to predict levonorgestrel plasma concentrations when standard-dose (150 mg) levonorgestrel implants were administered alone (control group), as well as when standard-dose or increased-dose (300 mg) levonorgestrel implants were coadministered with either 600 or 400 mg of efavirenz. Results No difference was seen between in vivo clinical and PBPK-model-simulated levonorgestrel plasma concentrations (P > 0.05). Simulated levonorgestrel plasma concentrations were ∼50% lower at 48 weeks post-implant-placement in virtual individuals receiving standard-dose levonorgestrel with either 600 or 400 mg of efavirenz compared with the control group (efavirenz:control geometric mean ratio = 0.42 and 0.49, respectively). Conversely, increased-dose levonorgestrel in combination with either 600 or 400 mg of efavirenz was sufficient to restore levonorgestrel concentrations to levels similar to those observed in the 150 mg levonorgestrel control group 48 weeks post-implant-placement (efavirenz:control geometric mean ratio = 0.86 and 1.03, respectively). Conclusions These results suggest that the clinically significant DDI between efavirenz and levonorgestrel is likely to persist despite efavirenz dose reduction, whereas dose escalation of implantable levonorgestrel may represent a successful clinical strategy to circumvent efavirenz–levonorgestrel DDIs and will be of use to inform clinical trial design to assess coadministration of efavirenz and levonorgestrel implants

Superior Effectiveness of Zidovudine Compared With Tenofovir When Combined With Nevirapine-based Antiretroviral Therapy in a Large Nigerian Cohort

Background. Despite sparse efficacy data, tenofovir–emtricitabine or tenofovir–lamivudine plus nevirapine is used in many resource-constrained settings. Methods. This retrospective cohort study included patients initiating nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) with either tenofovir–emtricitabine or lamivudine (tenofovir group) or zidovudine–lamivudine (zidovudine group). Clinical, virologic, and immunologic evaluations were performed at baseline and every 6 months. Virologic failure was defined as 2 consecutive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-RNA values >1000 copies/mL. Patients were included from ART initiation until time of failure, regimen switch, discontinuation, or last HIV-RNA measurement. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model factors influencing time to failure. Bias due to dependent censoring was investigated via inverse probability weighted pooled logistic regression. Results. A total of 5547 patients were evaluated; 1484 (26.8%) were in the tenofovir group and 4063 (73.2%) were in the zidovudine group. In the adjusted model, tenofovir regimen (hazard ratio [HR], 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.79) and higher baseline log10 HIV-RNA (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03–1.28) were associated with virologic failure. Higher baseline log10 CD4+ cell count (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, .40–.63) and increasing age (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, .97–.99) decreased the risk of virologic failure. Inverse probability weighting results were consistent with the primary analysis. Conclusions. Compared with zidovudine–lamivudine, the use of tenofovir–lamivudine or emtricitabine in combination with nevirapine was a strong predictor of virologic failure in our cohort, which was not explained by other risk factors or criteria for regimen selection

Community Development Venture Capital: Concept and Status Quo in Germany

As most other countries, Germany also faces dramatic regional differences in terms of socioeconomic development. One important driver of such development is the existence of a healthy entrepreneurial activity and the creation of new companies. We argue that venture capital (VC) and especially community development venture capital (CDVC) can be a powerful instrument to stimulate entrepreneurship and to support the growth of ambitious companies. Hence, the present paper deals with the general questions, whether there are regional gaps in the supply of VC in Germany? Whether these regional gaps do geographically correspond to the most deprived areas in Germany, and which kind of VC companies are currently in place in order to close potential regional gaps? Geographically, we find that the north-eastern part of Germany is far more deprived than the rest of the country, but is relatively well supplied with VC. Nevertheless, the primary potential target area for CDVC activities in the country is the federal state of Brandenburg in this area. Our assessment of German players in the VC market reveals that some public VC companies do investments similar to CDVC. However, these companies do not offer real hands-on support for entrepreneurs, and real CDVC engagement in the country is yet to come

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass