Status of research and development of vaccines for Streptococcus pyogenes.

Streptococcus pyogenes is an important global pathogen, causing considerable morbidity and mortality, especially in low and middle income countries where rheumatic heart disease and invasive infections are common. There is a number of promising vaccine candidates, most notably those based on the M protein, the key virulence factor for the bacterium. Vaccines against Streptococcus pyogenes are considered as impeded vaccines because of a number of crucial barriers to development. Considerable effort is needed by key players to bring current vaccine candidates through phase III clinical trials and there is a clear need to develop a roadmap for future development of current and new candidates

Respiratory diseases among U.S. military personnel: countering emerging threats.

Emerging respiratory disease agents, increased antibiotic resistance, and the loss of effective vaccines threaten to increase the incidence of respiratory disease in military personnel. We examine six respiratory pathogens (adenoviruses, influenza viruses, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Bordetella pertussis) and review the impact of the diseases they cause, past efforts to control these diseases in U.S. military personnel, as well as current treatment and surveillance strategies, limitations in diagnostic testing, and vaccine needs

Sedimentary Regimes at the Macquarie Ridge Complex: Interaction of Southern Ocean Circulation and Plate Boundary Bathymetry

Seafloor structure at the Macquarie Ridge Complex strongly influences the intensity and circulation pattern of ocean currents south of New Zealand. New marine geophysical data show heterogeneous sedimentary environments on Macquarie seafloor that reflect interaction of highly variable bathymetry with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and north flowing Antarctic Bottom Water. Acoustic backscatter, bathymetry, and seismic reflection data collected aboard R/V Rig Seismic in 1994 show five bathymetrically constrained sedimentary provinces flanking the ridge complex: (1) northwest Macquarie hemipelagic drifts, (2) current-modified Solander submarine fan complex, (3) southwest Macquarie manganese nodule province, (4) Emerald Basin pelagic drift province, and (5) sediment-free oceanic crust related to the 53.5°S passage in the Macquarie Ridge Complex. The late Miocene-Pliocene opening of a 53.5°S passage in the ridge complex caused a major increase in the intensity of ocean current circulation, sediment reworking, and erosion in all sedimentary provinces