Antibody maturation in women who acquire HIV infection while using antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis.

CAPRISA, 2015.Abstract available in pdf

Identical Genotype B3 Sequences from Measles Patients in 4 Countries, 2005

Surveillance of measles virus detected an epidemiologic link between a refugee from Kenya and a Dutch tourist in New Jersey, USA. Identical genotype B3 sequences from patients with contemporaneous cases in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in November and December 2005 indicate that Kenya was likely to have been the common source of virus

Treatment as Prevention: Characterization of Partner Infections in the HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 Trial

HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 demonstrated that antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents HIV transmission in serodiscordant couples. HIV from index-partner pairs was analyzed to determine the genetic linkage status of partner infections. Forty-six infections were classified as linked, indicating that the index was the likely source of the partner’s infection. Lack of viral suppression and higher index viral load were associated with linked infection. Eight linked infections were diagnosed after the index started ART: four near the time of ART initiation and four after ART failure. Linked infections were not observed when the index participant was stably suppressed on ART

Characterization of HIV seroconverters in a TDF/FTC PrEP study: HPTN 067/ADAPT

Background: HPTN 067/ADAPT evaluated tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in women (South Africa) and men who have sex with men (Thailand, US). Participants received once-weekly directly observed TDF/FTC (DOT), and were then randomized to daily, time-driven, or event-driven PrEP. This report describes characterization of 12 HIV seroconversion events in this trial. Methods: HIV rapid testing was performed at study sites. Retrospective testing included: 4th generation assays; HIV RNA testing; Western blot; an HIV-1/2 discriminatory assay; resistance testing; and antiretroviral (ARV) drug testing. Results: Six of the 12 seroconverters received TDF/FTC in the DOT phase, but were not randomized (3 were acutely infected at enrollment; 2 were infected during the DOT phase; one was not randomized due to pregnancy). One of the six randomized participants had acute infection at randomization but was not diagnosed for 3–4 months because HIV rapid tests were non-reactive; continued daily PrEP use was associated with false-negative antibody tests and low HIV RNA levels. The five participants infected after randomization included four with low adherence to the PrEP regimen, and one who reported a 7-day period without dosing prior to infection. Three participants had TDF/FTC resistance (M184I, K65R), including two who received only four once-weekly TDF/FTC doses; most TDF/FTC mutations were detected by next generation sequencing only. Conclusions: In HPTN 067/ADAPT, participants who acquired HIV infection had infrequent PrEP dosing or low/suboptimal adherence. Sensitive assays improved detection of HIV infection and drug resistance. Drug resistance was observed with limited PrEP exposure

Congo Basin peatlands: threats and conservation priorities

The recent publication of the first spatially explicit map of peatlands in the Cuvette Centrale, central Congo Basin, reveals it to be the most extensive tropical peatland complex, at ca. 145,500 km2. With an estimated 30.6 Pg of carbon stored in these peatlands, there are now questions about whether these carbon stocks are under threat and, if so, what can be done to protect them. Here, we analyse the potential threats to Congo Basin peat carbon stocks and identify knowledge gaps in relation to these threats, and to how the peatland systems might respond. Climate change emerges as a particularly pressing concern, given its potential to destabilise carbon stocks across the whole area. Socio-economic developments are increasing across central Africa and, whilst much of the peatland area is protected on paper by some form of conservation designation, the potential exists for hydrocarbon exploration, logging, plantations and other forms of disturbance to significantly damage the peatland ecosystems. The low level of human intervention at present suggests that the opportunity still exists to protect the peatlands in a largely intact state, possibly drawing on climate change mitigation funding, which can be used not only to protect the peat carbon pool but also to improve the livelihoods of people living in and around these peatlands

Analysis of Genetic Linkage of HIV From Couples Enrolled in the HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 Trial

Background. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 trial demonstrated that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission from HIV-infected adults (index participants) to their HIV-uninfected sexual partners. We analyzed HIV from 38 index-partner pairs and 80 unrelated index participants (controls) to assess the linkage of seroconversion events

Assessment of the status of measles elimination from reported outbreaks: United States, 1997-1999

The status of measles elimination is best summarized by evaluation of the effective reproduction number R; maintaining R1 case. One hundred seven cases were classified as importations. All 3 methods suggested that R was in the range 0.6-0.7. Results were not sensitive to the minimum size and duration of outbreak considered (so long as single-case chains were excluded) or to exclusion of chains without a known imported source. These results demonstrate that susceptibility to measles was beneath the epidemic threshold and that endemic transmission was eliminated

Collaborating at the Centers: Report from a STEM Education Transformation Workshop Involving Leaders of Centers for Teaching and Learning and STEM Education Centers

This report details how universities can pair the work of STEM Education Centers and Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) to improve teaching and student success in STEM fields. The Collaborating at the Center report, written by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the POD Network in Higher Education, presents key recommendations on ways these two distinct types of campus-based centers can work more closely to further national STEM education improvement efforts. The report is based on some of the key findings of 46 leaders from SECs and CTLs who gathered at a November 2015 workshop that APLU, the POD Network, and the Network of STEM Education Centers (NSEC) convened with support from the National Science Foundation. The workshop was designed to introduce these communities to each other, discuss areas of synergy, and explore ways that these communities could most effectively collaborate to improve student success on their campuses and nationally as networks. Some of the key recommendations from the report include: -Approach cross-unit collaborations by inviting everyone to the table, creating relevant leadership groups, and keeping stakeholders informed. -Map the "territory of collaboration": identify common elements of mission, differentiated strategies, shared goals, strengths, stakeholders, expertise, resources, roles for each center, and benefits from participating in shared projects. -Acknowledge stretched staffing and resources by articulating different possible modes of collaborating at various levels of commitment and normalizing different responses as helpful and not damaging to the centers' relationship. -Record progress and make success visible