Serosorting is associated with a decreased risk of HIV seroconversion in the EXPLORE Study Cohort.

Background: Seroadaptation strategies such as serosorting and seropositioning originated within communities of men who have sex with men (MSM), but there are limited data about their effectiveness in preventing HIV transmission when utilized by HIV-negative men.

Methodology/principal Findings: Data from the EXPLORE cohort of HIV-negative MSM who reported both seroconcordant and serodiscordant partners were used to evaluate serosorting and seropositioning. The association of serosorting and seropositioning with HIV seroconversion was evaluated in this cohort of high risk MSM from six U.

Hypertension in pregnancy among HIV-infected women in sub-Saharan Africa: prevalence and infant outcomes.

This analysis was performed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and association of MAP (mean arterial pressure) with birth outcomes among HIV-infected pregnant women not taking antiretrovirals. HIV-infected pregnant women, enrolled into the HPTN024 trial in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia were followed up at 26-30, 36 weeks, and delivery. The prevalence of hypertension was <1% at both 20-24 weeks and 26-30 weeks and 1.

Analysis of HIV diversity using a high-resolution melting assay.

HIV viruses are usually genetically homogeneous shortly after infection, and become more heterogeneous over time. We developed a high-resolution melting (HRM) assay to analyze HIV diversity without sequencing. Plasma samples from the HIVNET 012 trial were obtained from nine Ugandan mother-infant pairs.

Heterosexual HIV-1 transmission after initiation of antiretroviral therapy: a prospective cohort analysis.

Background: High plasma HIV-1 RNA concentrations are associated with increased risk of HIV-1 transmission. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces plasma HIV-1 concentrations. We aimed to assess the effect of ART use by patients infected with HIV-1 on risk of transmission to their uninfected partners.

Use of non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis does not lead to an increase in high risk sex behaviors in men who have sex with men participating in the EXPLORE trial.

Non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) use is an HIV prevention strategy that has been recommended by the CDC to prevent HIV infection after a high risk sexual exposure since 1997. In a behavioral intervention trial of 4,295 MSM we assessed perceptions and use of nPEP over 4 years in six cities across the United States. Overall, 1.

Male circumcision and risk of male-to-female HIV-1 transmission: a multinational prospective study in African HIV-1-serodiscordant couples.

Objective: Male circumcision reduces female-to-male HIV-1 transmission risk by approximately 60%. Data assessing the effect of circumcision on male-to-female HIV-1 transmission are conflicting, with one observational study among HIV-1-serodiscordant couples showing reduced transmission but a randomized trial suggesting no short-term benefit of circumcision.

Design/methods: Data collected as part of a prospective study among African HIV-1-serodiscordant couples were analyzed for the relationship between circumcision status of HIV-1-seropositive men and risk of HIV-1 acquisition among their female partners.

Predictors of early and late mother-to-child transmission of HIV in a breastfeeding population: HIV Network for Prevention Trials 012 experience, Kampala, Uganda.

Objective: To determine the predictors for early versus later (breastfeeding) transmission of HIV-1.

Methods: Secondary data analysis was performed on HIV Network for Prevention Trials 012, a completed randomized clinical trial assessing the relative efficacy of nevirapine (NVP) versus zidovudine in reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1. We used Cox regression analysis to assess risk factors for MTCT.

In utero HIV infection is associated with an increased risk of nevirapine resistance in ugandan infants who were exposed to perinatal single dose nevirapine.

Use of single dose nevirapine (sdNVP) to prevent HIV mother-to-child transmission is associated with the emergence of NVP resistance in many infants who are HIV infected despite prophylaxis. We combined results from four clinical trials to analyze predictors of NVP resistance in sdNVP-exposed Ugandan infants. Samples were tested with the ViroSeq HIV Genotyping System and a sensitive point mutation assay (LigAmp, for detection of K103N, Y181C, and G190A).

Analysis of HIV type 1 gp41 and enfuvirtide susceptibility among men in the United States who were HIV infected prior to availability of HIV entry inhibitors.

We analyzed HIV gp41 from 195 men in the United States who were HIV-1 infected between 1999 and 2002, before enfuvirtide (ENF) was approved for clinical use in the United States. gp41 genotyping results were obtained for 175 samples. None of the samples had major ENF resistance mutations.

Relationships between social norms, social network characteristics, and HIV risk behaviors in Thailand and the United States.

Objective: Social norms have been associated with a wide range of health behaviors. In this study, the authors examined whether the social norms of HIV risk behaviors are clustered within social networks and whether the norms of network members are linked to the risk behaviors of their social network members.

Design: Data were collected from the baseline assessment of 354 networks with 933 participants in a network-oriented HIV prevention intervention targeting injection drug users in Philadelphia, United States, and Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The efficacy of a network intervention to reduce HIV risk behaviors among drug users and risk partners in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Philadelphia, USA.

This HIV Prevention Trials Network study assessed the efficacy of a network-oriented peer education intervention promoting HIV risk reduction among injection drug users and their drug and sexual network members in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Philadelphia, USA. The study was designed to test impact on HIV infection, but the infection rate was low and the study was terminated early. This paper reports efficacy on outcomes of self-reported HIV risk behaviors.

HIV-1 tropism and survival in vertically infected Ugandan infants.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) may utilize the CXCR4 coreceptor (X4 virus), the CCR5 coreceptor (R5 virus), or both (dual/mixed [DM] virus). We analyzed HIV-1 coreceptor tropism in Ugandan infants enrolled in the HIVNET (HIV Network for Prevention Trials) 012 trial.

Methods: Plasma or serum was analyzed using a commercial coreceptor tropism assay.

Detection of K103N in Ugandan women after repeated exposure to single dose nevirapine.

Objectives: Use of single dose nevirapine (SD NVP) for prevention of HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission (pMTCT) is associated with selection of K103N-containing HIV variants. Repeat use of SD NVP for pMTCT may influence emergence and persistence of NVP-resistant variants.

Design: K103N-containing variants were studied in 48 Ugandan women who received SD NVP in the HIVNET 012 trial, and were re-exposed to SD NVP in one (n = 44) or two (n = 4) subsequent pregnancies during a 5-year follow-up study.

Coreceptor tropism in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype D: high prevalence of CXCR4 tropism and heterogeneous composition of viral populations.

In human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype B, CXCR4 coreceptor use ranges from approximately 20% in early infection to approximately 50% in advanced disease. Coreceptor use by non-subtype B HIV is less well characterized. We studied coreceptor tropism of subtype A and D HIV-1 collected from 68 pregnant, antiretroviral drug-naive Ugandan women (HIVNET 012 trial).

Antiretroviral drug resistance, HIV-1 tropism, and HIV-1 subtype among men who have sex with men with recent HIV-1 infection.

Objective: Antiretroviral drug treatment may be complicated in individuals infected with antiretroviral drug-resistant or non-subtype B HIV-1 strains. HIV-1 tropism may also affect disease progression. We analyzed antiretroviral drug resistance, HIV-1 subtype, and HIV-1 tropism among 195 men who have sex with men from six major cities in the United States, using samples collected within 6 months of HIV-1 seroconversion (1999-2003).

Persistence of K103N-containing HIV-1 variants after single-dose nevirapine for prevention of HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission.

K103N-containing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 variants are selected in some women who receive single-dose (SD) nevirapine (NVP) for prevention of HIV-1 mother-infant transmission. We examined the persistence of K103N in women who received SD NVP prophylaxis. K103N was detected using the LigAmp assay (assay cutoff, 0.

Association of cord blood nevirapine concentration with reported timing of dose and HIV-1 transmission.

Background: To correlate nevirapine presence and concentration in cord bloods of infants born to HIV-1 infected women with report of timing of dose and HIV-1 transmission at 6 weeks of age.

Methods: All available cord blood samples from the infants of mothers enrolled in the HIVNET 012 trial who were randomly assigned to receive either nevirapine or zidovudine at the onset of labor were tested for a nevirapine concentration.

Results: Nevirapine was detected in the cord blood of 244 of 259 (94%) infants whose mothers reported they took nevirapine in labor more than 1 h before delivery and in 12 of 13 (92%) infants whose mothers reported they took nevirapine less than 1 h before delivery.

Caste-based differences in gene expression in the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum.

The polyembryonic parasitoid Copidosoma floridanum produces two larval castes, soldiers and reproductives, during development within its host. Soldier larvae defend the brood against competitors while reproductive larvae develop into adult wasps. As with other caste-forming insects, the distinct morphological and behavioral features of soldier and reproductive larvae likely involve differential gene expression.

Interaction between hormonal signaling pathways in Drosophila melanogaster as revealed by genetic interaction between methoprene-tolerant and broad-complex.

Juvenile hormone (JH) regulates insect development by a poorly understood mechanism. Application of JH agonist insecticides to Drosophila melanogaster during the ecdysone-driven onset of metamorphosis results in lethality and specific morphogenetic defects, some of which resemble those in mutants of the ecdysone-regulated Broad-Complex (BR-C). The Methoprene-tolerant (Met) bHLH-PAS gene mediates JH action, and Met mutations protect against the lethality and defects.

The efficacy and safety of QVAR (hydrofluoroalkane-beclometasone diproprionate extrafine aerosol) in asthma (Part 2): Clinical experience in children.

QVAR [hydrofluoroalkane-134a beclometasone dipropionate (BDP)] produces equivalent asthma control to chlorofluorocarbon-based BDP inhalers, at approximately half the daily dose in adults, a probable consequence of the increased lung deposition of QVAR that results from its greater fine particle fraction. Recent studies have relied on the clinical experience with QVAR in adults as a basis for investigations in childhood asthma. Design considerations, such as the use of the breath-actuated Autohaler delivery device and measurement of direct health benefits, account for problems of variation in inspiratory flow, handling difficulties and low airways resistance that are associated with children.

Vitellogenin of the parasitoid wasp, Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae): gene organization and differential use by members of the genus.

The vitellogenin (Vg) gene of the parasitoid wasp, Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), has been cloned and sequenced. The gene codes for a protein consisting of 1814 amino acids in seven exons. The position of the six introns in the E.

The efficacy and safety of QVAR (hydrofluoroalkane-beclometasone diproprionate extrafine aerosol) in asthma (part 1): an update of clinical experience in adults.

In 1999, a robust dose-finding study showed that the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) -free formulation of beclometasone dipropionate (BDP), QVAR (hydrofluoroalkane-134a BDP), produced equivalent asthma control to CFC-BDP at approximately half the daily dose in adults. Since then, a wealth of clinical and pharmaco-vigilance studies have been undertaken to confirm these results and establish dose-potency ratios with other inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). This review summarises the results of studies performed by the manufacturer that have been published since the last comprehensive review of the efficacy and safety of QVAR in 2000.

Caste determination in a polyembryonic wasp involves inheritance of germ cells.

Social insects are characterized by the development of castes in which some colony members reproduce whereas others function as altruistic helpers. The conditional switch controlling caste formation usually involves environmental stimuli that act on processes that regulate development of individuals. Unlike other social species, embryos of polyembryonic wasps develop clonally to produce large numbers of genetically identical offspring and two morphologically distinct castes.

Dental findings in 4-, 14-, and 25-to 35-year-old Hong Kong residents with mental and physical disabilities.

This study was designed to collect baseline data on dental status of 4-, 14- and 25- to 35-year-old Hong Kong residents who were mentally impaired and physically disabled. Participants were randomly selected from figures derived from a pilot survey, and dentally examined. The mean dmft/DMFT scores were 1.