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Background: Although social distancing is a key public health response during viral pandemics, psychosocial stressors, such as social isolation, have been implicated in adverse health outcomes in general [1] and in the context of infectious disease, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [2, 3]. A comprehensive understanding of the direct pathophysiologic effects of psychosocial stress on viral pathogenesis is needed to provide strategic and comprehensive care to patients with viral infection.Methods: To determine the effect of psychosocial stress on HIV pathogenesis during acute viral infection without sociobehavioral confounders inherent in human cohorts, we compared commonly measured parameters of HIV progression between singly (n = 35) and socially (n = 41) housed simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).Results: Singly housed macaques had a higher viral load in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid and demonstrated greater CD4 T-cell declines and more CD4 and CD8 T-cell activation compared with socially housed macaques throughout acute SIV infection.Conclusions: These data demonstrate that psychosocial stress directly impacts the pathogenesis of acute SIV infection and imply that it may act as an integral variable in the progression of HIV infection and potentially of other viral infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has three parts. The first outlines the history of Nestorianism. From the end of the fifth century all the way into the thirteenth century (c. e.), quite a large population—in fact most Christians in Asia—belonged to branches of the Nestorian church. The second part provides a brief biography of Nestorius, after whom this church was named. The third part explores two elements of Nestorius's christology, as they are found in his posthumously discovered theological writings. (1) Does Christ have one nature or two (both human and divine), and if two, how can one person have two natures? (2) To what extent was Adam, the first man, created for a role that Christ eventually fulfilled? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background frailty is a dynamic condition for which a range of interventions are available. Health state utilities are values that represent the strength of an individual's preference for specific health states, and are used in economic evaluation. This is a topic yet to be examined in detail for frailty. Likewise, little has been reported on minimally important difference (MID), the extent of change in frailty status that individuals consider to be important. Objectives to examine the relationship between frailty status, for both the frailty phenotype (FP) and frailty index (FI), and utility (preference-based health state), and to determine a MID for both frailty measures. Design and setting population-based cohort of community-dwelling Australians. Participant in total, 874 adults aged ≥65 years (54% female), mean age 74.4 (6.2) years. Measurements frailty was measured using the FP and FI. Utilities were calculated using the short-form 6D health survey, with Australian and UK weighting applied. MID was calculated cross-sectionally. Results for both the FP and FI, frailty was significantly statistically associated (P  < 0.001) with lower utility in an adjusted analysis using both Australian and UK weighting. Between-person MID for the FP was identified as 0.59 [standard deviation (SD) 0.31] (anchor-based) and 0.59 (distribution-based), whereas for the FI, MID was 0.11 (SD 0.05) (anchor-based) and 0.07 (distribution-based). Conclusions frailty is significantly associated with lower preference-based health state utility. Frailty MID can be used to inform design of clinical trials and economic evaluations, as well as providing useful clinical information on frailty differences that patients consider important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hundreds of plant mitogenomes have been sequenced from angiosperms, but relatively few mitogenomes are available from its sister lineage, gymnosperms. To examine mitogenomic diversity among extant gymnosperms, we generated draft mitogenomes from 11 diverse species and compared them with four previously published mitogenomes. Examined mitogenomes from Pinaceae and cycads retained all 41 protein genes and 26 introns present in the common ancestor of seed plants, whereas gnetophyte and cupressophyte mitogenomes experienced extensive gene and intron loss. In Pinaceae and cupressophyte mitogenomes, an unprecedented number of exons are distantly dispersed, requiring trans -splicing of 50–70% of mitochondrial introns to generate mature transcripts. RNAseq data confirm trans- splicing of these dispersed exons in Pinus. The prevalence of trans -splicing in vascular plant lineages with recombinogenic mitogenomes suggests that genomic rearrangement is the primary cause of shifts from cis- to trans- splicing in plant mitochondria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Men Androgen Inflammation Lifestyle Environment and Stress (MAILES) Study was established in 2009 to investigate the associations of sex steroids, inflammation, environmental and psychosocial factors with cardio-metabolic disease risk in men. The study population consists of 2569 men from the harmonisation of two studies: all participants of the Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study (FAMAS) and eligible male participants of the North West Adelaide Health Study (NWAHS). The cohort has so far participated in three stages of the MAILES Study: MAILES1 (FAMAS Wave 1, from 2002-2005, and NWAHS Wave 2, from 2004-2006); MAILES2 (FAMAS Wave 2, from 2007-2010, and NWAHS Wave 3, from 2008-2010); and MAILES3 (a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey of all participants in the study, conducted in 2010). Data have been collected on a comprehensive range of physical, psychosocial and demographic issues relating to a number of chronic conditions (including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and mental health) and health-related risk factors (including obesity, blood pressure, smoking, diet, alcohol intake and inflammatory markers), as well as on current and past health status and medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sensitive assays are needed for detection of residual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in patients with undetectable plasma viral loads to determine whether eradication strategies are effective. The gold standard quantitative viral outgrowth assay (QVOA) underestimates the magnitude of the viral reservoir. We sought to determine whether xenograft of leukocytes from HIV type 1 (HIV)-infected patients with undetectable plasma viral loads into immunocompromised mice would result in viral amplification.Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells or purified CD4(+) T cells from HIV or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected subjects with undetectable plasma viral loads were adoptively transferred into NOD.Cg-Prkdc(scid)Il2rg(tm1Wjl)/SzJ (NSG) mice. The mice were monitored for viremia following depletion of human CD8(+) T cells to minimize antiviral activity. In some cases, humanized mice were also treated with activating anti-CD3 antibody.Results: With this murine viral outgrowth assay (MVOA), we successfully amplified replication-competent HIV or SIV from all subjects tested, including 5 HIV-positive patients receiving suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 6 elite controllers or suppressors who were maintaining undetectable viral loads without ART, including an elite suppressor from whom we were unable to recover virus by QVOA.Conclusions: Our results suggest that the MVOA has the potential to serve as a powerful tool to identify residual HIV in patients with undetectable viral loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Diet and sleep are strongly and bidirectionally linked. This study aims to assess the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and sleep duration using the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANS) of the United States. Methods A total of 27,999 (median age 47 years, 48.6% male) participants were included. Dietary data were collected using 24-hour recall method and DII was calculated using 27 nutrients. Quantiles of DII were constructed (quantile 1, least inflammatory; quantile 5, most inflammatory). Self-reported habitual sleep duration was categorized as ≤ 6 hr (short sleep), ≥7 hr (normal/long sleep). We used log-binomial and multinomial logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounders, to examine the association between DII and short sleep duration. Sensitivity analysis was performed by excluding common chronic diseases. The analyses were adjusted using NHANES sampling weights. Results In the fully adjusted model, higher DII score was associated with shorter sleep duration [odds ratio (OR)quartile2vs1=1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.84-1.29; ORquartile3vs1=1.27; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.52; ORquartile4vs1=95% CI: 1.47; 95 CI: 1.25, 1.74; ORquartile5vs1=1.62; 95% CI: 1.33, 1.97; P for trend<0.0001]. A similar trend of association was observed with long sleep duration and in both male and female participants. Participants in the fifth quantile, compared to those in the first, on average had 6 minutes (95% CI: 1, 11) less sleep. Conclusions Pro-inflammatory diet was positively associated with increased odds of short sleep duration. Key messages Patients with short sleep duration may benefit from avoiding pro-inflammatory foods. The association between DII and sleep duration could be bidirectional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the conflated text of Piers Plowman in NLW MS 733B, tracing its relationships with other conflated texts of the poem, which we locate as products of the metropolitan book-trade. We first show that the A-text section of MS 733B, with its passages intruded from the C text, link it to Borthwick MS Add. 196. We then look at its C-text section to reveal that it is a pair with the C-text passages from the most thoroughly conflated of all texts of Piers Plowman, Huntington MS HM 114. We show that these two manuscripts record a C-text many generations removed from the original. Finally, we look at readings shared by MS 733B with the beta branch of the B text. An investigation of these features is intrinsically valuable, but added interest derives from Lawrence Warner’s recent proposal that the B readings in MS 733B actually survive from a good early draft of the C text and were only subsequently introduced into the B tradition. We argue that this is an impossible hypothesis. Instead, we show that MS 733B, though of no value for determining Langland’s text, illustrates a different ‘lost history’ from the one proposed by Warner: the circulation of passages from the poem among professional London scribes keen to provide as complete a version of Piers Plowman as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most land plant plastomes contain two copies of a large inverted repeat (IR) that promote high-frequency homologous recombination to generate isomeric genomic forms. Among conifer plastomes, this canonical IR is highly reduced in Pinaceae and completely lost from cupressophytes. However, both lineages have acquired short, novel IRs, some of which also exhibit recombinational activity to generate genomic structural diversity. This diversity has been shown to exist between, and occasionally within, cupressophyte species, but it is not known whether multiple genomic forms coexist within individual plants. To examine the recombinational potential of the novel cupressophyte IRs within individuals and between species, we sequenced the plastomes of four closely related species of Juniperus. The four plastomes have identical gene content and genome organization except for a large 36 kb inversion between approximately 250 bp IR containing trnQ-UUG. Southern blotting showed that different isomeric versions of the plastome predominate among individual junipers, whereas polymerase chain reaction and high-throughput read-pair mapping revealed the substoichiometric presence of the alternative isomeric form within each individual plant. Furthermore, our comparative genomic studies demonstrate that the predominant and substoichiometric arrangements of this IR have changed several times in other cupressophytes as well. These results provide compelling evidence for substoichiometric shifting of plastomic forms during cupressophyte evolution and suggest that substoichiometric shifting activity in plastid genomes may be adaptive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platelets are key participants in innate immune responses to pathogens. As a decrease in circulating platelet count is one of the initial hematologic indicators of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, we sought to determine whether decline in platelet number during acute infection results from decreased production, increased antibody-mediated destruction, or increased platelet activation in a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model. During acute SIV infection, circulating platelets were activated with increased surface expression of P-selectin, CD40L and major histocompatibility complex class I. Platelet production was maintained and platelet autoantibodies were not detected during acute infection. Concurrent with a decrease in platelet numbers and an increase in circulating monocytes, platelets were found sequestered in platelet-monocyte aggregates, thereby contributing to the decline in platelet counts. Because the majority of circulating CD16+ monocytes formed complexes with platelets during acute SIV infection, a decreased platelet count may represent platelet participation in the innate immune response to HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The eukaryotic transcription factor NF-Y consists of three subunits (A, B, and C), which are encoded in Arabidopsis thaliana in multigene families consisting of 10, 13, and 13 genes, respectively. In principle, all potential combinations of the subunits are possible for the assembly of the heterotrimeric complex. We aimed at assessing the probability of each subunit to participate in the assembly of NF-Y. The evaluation of physical interactions among all members of the NF-Y subunit families indicate a strong requirement for NF-YB/NF-YC heterodimerization before the entire complex can be accomplished. By means of a modified yeast two-hybrid system assembly of all three subunits to a heterotrimeric complex was demonstrated. Using GFP fusion constructs, NF-YA and NF-YC localization in the nucleus was demonstrated, while NF-YB is solely imported into the nucleus as a NF-YC-associated heterodimer NF-YC. This piggyback transport of the two Arabidopsis subunits differs from the import of the NF-Y heterotrimer of heterotrophic organisms. Based on a peptide structure model of the histone-fold-motifs, disulfide bonding among intramolecular conserved cysteine residues of NF-YB, which is responsible for the redox-regulated assembly of NF-YB and NF-YC in human and Aspergillus nidulans, can be excluded for Arabidopsis NF-YB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. During the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the prevalence of HIV-associated central nervous system (CNS) disease has increased despite suppression of plasma viremia. Methods. In a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) model system in which all animals develop AIDS and 90% develop CNS disease by 3 months after inoculation, pigtailed macaques were treated with a regimen of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, saquinavir, atazanavir, and an integrase inhibitor starting at 12 days after inoculation and were euthanized at ~175 days after inoculation. Results. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) viral loads declined rapidly after the initiation of HAART. Brain viral RNA was undetectable at necropsy, but viral DNA levels were not different from those in untreated SIVinfected macaques. CNS inflammation was significantly reduced, with decreased brain expression of major histocompatibility complex class II and glial fibrillary acidic protein and reduced levels of CSF CCL2 and interleukin 6. Brain from treated macaques had significantly lower levels of interferon β, type 1 interferon-inducible gene myxovirus (influenza) resistance A, and indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase messenger RNA, suggesting that immune hyperactivation was suppressed, and fewer CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, suggesting that trafficking of T cells from peripheral blood was reduced. Brain levels of CD68 protein and tumor necrosis factor a and interferon g RNA were reduced but were not significantly lower, indicating continued CNS inflammation. Conclusions. These data, generated in a rigorous, high-viral-load SIV-infected macaque model, showed that HAART provided benefits with respect to CNS viral replication and inflammation but that no change in the level of viral DNA and continued CNS inflammation occurred in some macaques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Lack of dose adjustment for renally cleared drugs in the presence of poor renal function is a common problem in the hospital setting. The absence of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) from direct clinician workflows such as computerized provider order entry (CPOE) hinders the uptake of CDSS. This study implemented CDSS in an environment independent of CPOE, introduced to prescribers via academic detailing, to address the dosing of renally cleared drugs. Design GFR+ was designed to automatically calculate and update renal function, doses of key drugs adjusted for renal function, and highlight clinically significant decreases in renal function. Prescribers were made aware of GFR+, its navigation, and surrounding clinical issues, using academic detailing. Measurement The rate of dosing conformity and management for key renally cleared drugs in hospitalized patients, before and after GFR+ implementation. Results Improvements were seen in dosing conformity for enoxaparin (from 68% to 86%, p=0.03), gentamicin (63-87%, p=0.01), and vancomycin (47-77%, p=0.07), as well as the appropriate use of gentamicin therapeutic drug monitoring (70-90%, p=0.02). During episodes of acute renal impairment, renally cleared drugs were held on 38% of instances in the pre-intervention period compared with 62% post-intervention (p=0.01). Conclusion Clinical decision support implemented with academic detailing improved dosing conformity and management of key renally cleared drugs in a hospitalized population. Academic detailing should be strongly considered to facilitate the introduction of CDSS systems that cannot be placed directly into the clinician workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the North West Adelaide Health Study (NWAHS), which represents a longitudinal study of 4060 adults ages 18 years and above at the time of recruitment. The goal of this study is to provide data to assist in maximising the effectiveness of strategies being used to prevent, detect and manage chronic conditions. It notes that this study formed the basis for the Nutrition, Obesity, Lifestyle & Environment (NOBLE) Study.

The following theses are defended. Conflict has importantly valuable functions, but we obviously need to limit its destructiveness. The efficacy of reasoning together in resolving or restraining conflict is limited; it needs to be supplemented by procedures such as negotiation, compromise, and voting. Despite the urgency of justice, when the resolution or limitation of a conflict needs to be negotiated, the best attainable outcome will often not seem completely just to all parties, and some claims of justice, as seen by the parties, may need to be subordinated to other moral considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates an alteration of humoral and cellular immune responses upon vaccination with a recombitant measles virus expressing interleukin-12. Vaccination of measles virus on rhesus macaques; Lymphoproliferative response to mitogen; Alteration of T helper type 2 bias of immuno-response after virus vaccination.

Macrophage chemoattractant protein—1 (MCP-1) may be a key trigger for the influx of macrophages into the brain in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) encephalitis. In this study, simian immunodeficiency virus—infected macaques that developed moderate-to-severe encephalitis had significantly higher MCP-1 levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than in plasma as early as 28 days after inoculation, which was before the development of brain lesions. In contrast, CSF:plasma MCP-1 ratios remained constant at preinoculation levels in macaques that developed minimal or no encephalitis. Abundant MCP-1 protein and mRNA were detected in both macrophages and astrocytes in the brain. Macaques with increased MCP-1 in CSF had significantly greater expression of markers of macrophage and microglia activation and infiltration (CD68; P = .003) and astrocyte activation (glial fibrillary acidic protein; P = .019 and P = .031 in white and gray matter, respectively). The results suggest that the CSF:plasma MCP-1 ratio may be a valuable prognostic marker for the development of HIVinduced central nervous system disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study tested the hypothesis that attention mediates the impact of psychological disturbances (i.e. depression, loss of self-control, and bizarre thinking) on immediate memory. A hypothesized model, in which psychological disturbances indirectly impacted immediate memory via attention, was tested using structural equations modeling (EQS). The participants included heterogenous groups of brain-damaged and psychiatric subjects both with and without age-corrected observed variables. These groups did not vary with regard to the relationships within the model, and all models had good fit indices [comparative fit index (CFI)>0.98]. Competing models with paths directly from psychological disturbances to verbal, spatial, and general immediate memory were not significant, and these competing models did not result in a better fitting model. Therefore, the best fitting, most parsimonious model was the hypothesized one. These results corroborate the hypothesis of an indirect relationship between psychological disturbances and immediate memory via attention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background The link between diet, inflammation and depressive symptoms (DepS) are of increasing interest. The study aims to assess the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII®) and DepS using the North-West Adelaide Health Study (NWAHS) cohort and update the previous meta-analysis. Methods A total of 1743 (mean□SD age 56.6±13.6 years, 51% female) and 859 (mean□SD age 58.4±12.1 years, 52.6% female) of NWAHS participants were included for cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis respectively. DII was determined using food frequency questionnaires, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) assessed DepS. Log- and negative binomial regression were used to assess the association between quartiles of DII and DepS. Results In a fully adjusted model, higher DII score (i.e. pro-inflammatory diet) was associated with 79% increase in odds of reporting DepS (ORQuartile4vs1:1.79; 95% CI: 1.14-2.81; p trend =0.026). Men with higher DII had two-fold higher odds of DepS (ORQuartile4vs1:2.27; 95% CI: 1.02-5.06; p trend =0.089). Women with higher DII had an 81% increase in odds of DepS (ORQuartile4vs1:1.81; 95% CI: 1.01-3.26; p trend =0.068). These associations were consistent in the longitudinal analysis. The meta-analysis (n = 12) showed that a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a 45% increase in odds of having DepS (ORQuartile4vs1:1.45; 95% CI: 1.20,1.74, p-value<0.01). Conclusions A pro-inflammatory diet was positively associated with increased risk of DepS. Our findings support the current evidence that shows the role of pro-inflammatory diet in DepS. Key messages Increase the consumption of anti-inflammatory diet to reduce depressive symptoms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Evidence regarding the association between perinatal smoking and insomnia symptoms in adulthood is limited. Using the UK 1970 Birth Cohort Study, we determined the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy and early-childhood with insomnia symptoms at 42 years. Methods Participants were followed from birth (1970; N = 9020; male, 48%) and age 5 (1975; N = 8050; male, 47.9%) to 42 years (2012). Data on maternal smoking was collected at birth and age 5; difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep (DIMS) and DIMS plus daytime symptoms (tiredness, irritability, depression and nervousness) [DIMS plus] at age 42. We used a direct acyclic graph to select confounders. A log-binomial logistic regression, adjusted for confounders, was used to estimate the association. Missing data were imputed via multiple imputation. Results The prevalence of DIMS and DIMS plus was 32% and 25%, respectively. There was a 25% [odds ratio (OR)=1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-1.38)] and 23% [OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.09-1.38] increase in odds of DIMS and DIMS plus among participants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy compared to those whose mother did not. A 24% [OR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.12-1.37] and 18% [OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.05-1.33] increase in odds of DIMS and DIMS plus respectively, was observed among participants who had smoking mothers at age 5. Intensity and duration of smoking had a dose-response relationship with insomnia symptoms. Conclusions Maternal smoking during pregnancy and early-childhood is associated with increased risk of adult insomnia symptoms. Key messages This study suggests that reducing maternal smoking may reduce the risk of adult insomnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Evidence shows that habitual short and long sleep is associated with higher mortality risk in the general population. However, studies on the association between sleep duration and mortality in people with diabetes are scarce. Methods Data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) of the United States (US) between 2004 and 2014 (N = 32,766) were used. Self-reported habitual sleep duration for those with self-reported doctor diagnosed diabetes was categorized as ≤ 6 hr (short sleep), 7-8 hr (adequate sleep), and ≥9 hr (long sleep). Mortality status and cause of death data were retrieved from the US National Death Index and linked. We used adjusted Cox proportional models to examine the association between sleep duration and mortality risk. Dose-response relationships were quantified. Sensitivity analysis was performed excluding cardiovascular and cancer cases. Results In the median follow-up time of 4.6 years (171,375.2 person-years), 5312 all-cause, 1129 cardiovascular, 1148 cancer and 494 diabetes deaths were recorded. Whereas short sleep duration (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR)=1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97, 1.11) in diabetic patients was not associated with all-cause mortality, long sleep duration was positively (aHR=1.43; 95% CI: 1.30, 1.57) associated with increased mortality risk. A similar trend of association was found with cause-specific mortality and the dose-response analysis identified a "J" shape association. Similar results were found upon sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Long but not short sleep duration is associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in diabetic patients. Key messages Sleep should be part of behavioural intervention to prevent premature mortality in those with diabetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the infection rates of six different strains of measles viruses among rhesus macaques. Infection caused detectable by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; Lymphopenia and depressed interleukin production followed by monocytosis and eosinophilia.

The initial phase of the long incubation period of visna virus infection of sheep was studied by intracerebral inoculation of the 1514 strain of visna virus into 12 BorderLeicester sheep. Cell-free virus was recoverable only during the first two weeks after inoculation. Thereafter, virus could be recovered by cocultivation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells or peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) or by explantation of tissues. Virus-specific cell-mediated immunity, measured by stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into PBL and CSF cells, appeared within one week, peaked by two weeks, and then fell to control values by six weeks after inoculation. Histopathologic changes consisted of an initial acute meningoencephalitis changing to a more chronic inflammatory process with the development of dense perivascular infiltration and formation of germinal centers. During the chronic phase virus-neutralizing antibody first appeared in the serum and then in the CSF. We conclude that the initial immune responses of sheep to infection with visna virus are similar to those seen in acute viral infections but fail to eliminate the virus, which eventually results in the slowly evolving neurologic disease visna. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mycosis fungoides is a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma of unknown etiology, thought to be a rare sequela of chronic antigenic stimulation that may occur, for example, with exposure to contact allergens. To explore this possibility, we interviewed 174 patients with mycosis fungoides and 294 randomly selected control subjects in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle areas concerning their lifetime histories of employment, chemical exposures, allergy, atopy, and certain medical conditions. Patients reported higher prevalence of cancers other than the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and skin cancers (relative risk = 3.3, < .001) and were more likely than controls to burn when exposed to the sun (for nonblacks, relative risk = 1.7, = .01). The latter difference may reflect a manifestation rather than a precursor of the disease. We found no consistent or biologically plausible differences between patients and controls with respect to types of jobs held, or to occupational or avocational exposures to chemicals. These findings do not support the hypothesis that persistent antigenic stimulation by contact allergens is etiologically important in the pathogenesis of mycosis fungoides. [J Natl Cancer Inst 81:1560–1567, 1989] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The simian immunodeficiency virus, SIVmac, causes disease affecting multiple organ systems in macaques similar to human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans. Molecularly cloned SIVmac with a strong lymphocyte tropism was used in pathogenesis experiments to correlate viral cell tropism with disease. In 5 animals, exhaustive analyses on viruses from tissues and identification of infected precursor cells were done at multiple times during infection to ensure the virus had not mutated into a macrophage-tropic variant. Viral replication was measured by infectivity, infectious center assays, and in situ hybridization. Lymphocytes produced most virus in tissues, indicating the virus maintained its cell tropism in vivo. Lymphocytes in bone marrow were latently infected and those in the spleen and lymph nodes were productively infected. The virus failed to replicate in the brain after intracerebral inoculation. SIVmac that maintained a strong tropism for lymphocytes and a corresponding poor tropism for macrophages can cause persistent infection and AIDS but not other diseases such as primary pneumonia and encephalitis in rhesus macaques. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the Rapid Access Plant Information Center (RAPIC) of Colorado, a project which seeks to bridge the gap between the systematic biologist and the public. Central to the development of RAPIC have been applied users such as the land-use planner, environmental impact assessor, farmer, rancher, teacher, veterinarian, weed control personnel, and so on. In addition, RAPIC has extensive mapping capabilities. Distribution maps may be generated for any combination of taxa onto any combination of 24 base maps for Colorado. RAPIC allows general public and the biological community to have awareness about the proposed or existing electronic data processing projects.