Synergism between Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of exposure to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, Salmonella choleraesuis, and stress on young swine. Five-week-old segregated early weaned pigs were randomly assigned to one of eight treatments consisting of all possible combinations of three factors: S. choleraesuis (SC) on day zero, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) on day three, and dexamethasone (DEX) on days three to seven. DEX was used as a proxy for stress. Treatment differences were seen in performance parameters, levels and duration of SC shedding, level and distribution of SC in tissues, clinical disease, and mortality. The results of this study provided evidence to support field observations that clinical outbreaks of PRRS are the result of interactions among concurrent infections and stressors

An update on oral cavity cancer:epidemiological trends, prevention strategies and novel approaches in diagnosis and prognosis

In the UK, the incidence of oral cavity cancer continues to rise, with an increase of around 60% over the past 10 years. Many patients still present with advanced disease, often resulting in locoregional recurrence and poor outcomes, which has not changed significantly for over four decades. Changes in aetiology may also be emerging, given the decline of smoking in developed countries. Therefore, new methods to better target prevention, improve screening and detect recurrence are needed. High-throughput ‘omics’ technologies appear promising for future individual-level diagnosis and prognosis. However, given this is a relatively rare cancer with significant intra-tumour heterogeneity and variation in patient response, reliable biomarkers have been difficult to elucidate. From a public health perspective, implementing these novel technologies into current services would require substantial practical, financial and ethical considerations. This may be difficult to justify and implement at present, therefore focus remains on early detection using new patient-led follow-up strategies. This paper reviews the latest evidence on epidemiological trends in oral cavity cancer to help identify at risk groups, population-based approaches for prevention, in addition to potential cutting-edge approaches in the diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. Keywords: Epidemiology, Oral Cancer, Survival, Risk Factors, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Mouth Neoplasm

Associations between HIV Antiretroviral Therapy and the Prevalence and Incidence of Pregnancy in Rakai, Uganda

Background. Use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may be associated with higher pregnancy rates. Methods. The prevalence and incidence of pregnancy was assessed in 712 HIV+ pre-ART women of reproductive age (WRA) (15–45) and 244 HIV+ WRA initiating ART. Prevalence rate ratios (PRR), incidence rate ratios (IRR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were assessed. Results. The incidence of pregnancy was 13.1/100 py among women in pre-ART care compared to 24.6/100 py among women on ART (IRR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.37, 0.81, p < 0.0017). The prevalence of pregnancy at ART initiation was 12.0% with CD4 counts 100–250 compared with 3.2% with CD4 <100 (PRR = 3.24, CI 1.51–6.93), and the incidence of pregnancy while on ART was highest in women with a good immunologic response. Desire for more children was a very important factor in fertility. Conclusion. ART was associated with increased pregnancy rates in HIV+ women, particularly those with higher CD4 counts and good immunologic response to therapy, suggesting a need to strengthen reproductive health services for both women and their partners that could address their fertility decisions/intentions particularly after ART initiation

FLASH: Faint Lenses from Associated Selection with Herschel

We report the ALMA Band 7 observations of 86 Herschel sources that likely contain gravitationally-lensed galaxies. These sources are selected with relatively faint 500 $\mu$m flux densities between 15 to 85 mJy in an effort to characterize the effect of lensing across the entire million-source Herschel catalogue. These lensed candidates were identified by their close proximity to bright galaxies in the near-infrared VISTA Kilo-Degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) survey. Our high-resolution observations (0.15 arcsec) confirm 47 per cent of the initial candidates as gravitational lenses, while lensing cannot be excluded across the remaining sample. We find average lensing masses (log M/M$_{\odot}$ = 12.9 $\pm$ 0.5) in line with previous experiments, although direct observations might struggle to identify the most massive foreground lenses across the remaining 53 per cent of the sample, particularly for lenses with larger Einstein radii. Our observations confirm previous indications that more lenses exist at low flux densities than expected from strong galaxy-galaxy lensing models alone, where the excess is likely due to additional contributions of cluster lenses and weak lensing. If we apply our method across the total 660 sqr. deg. H-ATLAS field, it would allow us to robustly identify 3000 gravitational lenses across the 660 square degree Herschel ATLAS fields.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Comments and discussion are welcom