Multiple reassortment events in the evolutionary history of H1N1 influenza A virus since 1918

The H1N1 subtype of influenza A virus has caused substantial morbidity and mortality in humans, first documented in the global pandemic of 1918 and continuing to the present day. Despite this disease burden, the evolutionary history of the A/H1N1 virus is not well understood, particularly whether there is a virological basis for several notable epidemics of unusual severity in the 1940s and 1950s. Using a data set of 71 representative complete genome sequences sampled between 1918 and 2006, we show that segmental reassortment has played an important role in the genomic evolution of A/H1N1 since 1918. Specifically, we demonstrate that an A/H1N1 isolate from the 1947 epidemic acquired novel PB2 and HA genes through intra-subtype reassortment, which may explain the abrupt antigenic evolution of this virus. Similarly, the 1951 influenza epidemic may also have been associated with reassortant A/H1N1 viruses. Intra-subtype reassortment therefore appears to be a more important process in the evolution and epidemiology of H1N1 influenza A virus than previously realized

Stochastic Processes Are Key Determinants of Short-Term Evolution in Influenza A Virus

Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of influenza A virus is central to its surveillance and control. While immune-driven antigenic drift is a key determinant of viral evolution across epidemic seasons, the evolutionary processes shaping influenza virus diversity within seasons are less clear. Here we show with a phylogenetic analysis of 413 complete genomes of human H3N2 influenza A viruses collected between 1997 and 2005 from New York State, United States, that genetic diversity is both abundant and largely generated through the seasonal importation of multiple divergent clades of the same subtype. These clades cocirculated within New York State, allowing frequent reassortment and generating genome-wide diversity. However, relatively low levels of positive selection and genetic diversity were observed at amino acid sites considered important in antigenic drift. These results indicate that adaptive evolution occurs only sporadically in influenza A virus; rather, the stochastic processes of viral migration and clade reassortment play a vital role in shaping short-term evolutionary dynamics. Thus, predicting future patterns of influenza virus evolution for vaccine strain selection is inherently complex and requires intensive surveillance, whole-genome sequencing, and phenotypic analysis

Derivation and validation of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus

The Systemic Lupus Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) revised and validated the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE classification criteria in order to improve clinical relevance, meet stringent methodology requirements and incorporate new knowledge in SLE immunology

Small animal clinical pharmacology /

Revised edition of: Small animal clinical pharmacology / Jill E. Maddison, Stephen W. Page, David Church. 2002.Includes bibliographical references and index.Principles of clinical pharmacology / Stephen W. Page and Jill E. Maddison -- Clinical pharmacokinetics / Jill E. Maddison, Stephen W. Page, and Timothy M. Dyke -- Adverse drug reactions / Jill E. Maddison and Stephen W. Page -- The pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system / Matthias J. Kleinz and Ian Spence -- Anesthetic agents / Patricia Pawson and Sandra Forsyth -- Sedatives / Patricia Pawson -- Behavior-modifying drugs / Kersti Seksel -- Antibacterial drugs / Jill E. Maddison, A. David J. Watson and Jonathan Elliott -- Systemic antifungal therapy / Joseph Taboada and Amy M. Grooters -- Antiparasitic drugs / Stephen W. Page -- Glucocorticosteroids and antihistamines / Michael J. Day -- Immunomodulatory therapy / Michael J. Day -- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotective agents / Peter D. Hanson and Jill E. Maddison -- Opioid analgesics / Richard Hammond, Macdonald Christie and Anthony Nicholson -- Cancer chemotherapy / Jane M. Dobson, Ann E. Hohenhaus and Anne E. Peaston -- Anticonvulsant drugs / Karen M. Vernau and Richard A. LeCouteur -- Drugs used in the management of heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias / Sonya G. Gordon and Mark D. Kittelson -- Drugs used in the management of respiratory diseases / Philip Padrid and David B. Church -- Gastrointestinal drugs / Alexander J. German, Jill E. Maddison and Grant Guilford -- Drugs used in the management of thyroid and parathyroid disease / Boyd Jones and Carmel T. Mooney -- Drugs used in the treatment of disorders of pancreatic function / David B. Church -- Dugs used in the treatment of adrenal dysfunction / David B. Church -- Drugs and reproduction / Philip G.A. Thomas and Alain Fontbonne -- Topical dermatological therapy / Ralf S. Mueller -- Ocular clinical pharmacology / Robin G. Stanley.Online resource; title from electronic title page (ScienceDirect, viewed on February 19, 2014).Elsevie

Hard heads and soft hearts: the gendering of Australian political science

Various Australian politicians have argued for the need to combine ‘hard heads and soft hearts’ in politics. Unfortunately, this article argues that that recognition is not yet fully accepted in Australian political science. While there has been a significant progress, both in terms of the number of senior women in the discipline and the gender content of Australian political science, problems still remain. Unfortunately, some of the issues are still those identified by Carole Pateman in her famous 1981 address as President of the Australian Political Studies Association when she noted both the underrepresentation of women in political science and that there was a tendency to define ‘the political’ in narrow ways that excluded the study of women and issues that were of concern to them. This article will explore why political science has been less open to incorporating feminist insights than some other related disciplines. It will analyse a number of issues regarding the gendering of Australian political science. These include narrow definitions of the ‘political’; a continuing implicit (gendered) prioritising of various fields and approaches as ‘hard’ political science and the denigration of other fields as ‘soft’; and the impact of neo-liberalism and the importance of the ‘political’ as a site for constructions of gender identity. It argues that the continuing resistance to ‘reinventing’ political science to take account of gender is particularly concerning given the potential impact on definitions of research ‘excellence’. The article also identifies some areas where more research needs to be done.Carol Johnso