Evaluation of waning of IgG antibody responses after rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP and Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola virus disease vaccines: a modelling study from the PREVAC randomized trial.

rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP and Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo are WHO-prequalified vaccination regimens against Ebola virus disease (EVD). Challenges associated with measuring long-term clinical protection warrant the evaluation of immune response kinetics after vaccination.

Social Mobilization for Ebola Virus Clinical Trials During a Public Health Crisis in Liberia.

Background: At the invitation of the Liberia Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (LMOHSW), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services joined the LMOHSW in establishing the Partnership for Research on Ebola Virus in Liberia (PREVAIL) to develop treatment and prevention strategies for Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Behavioral pharmacology of the mixed-action delta-selective opioid receptor agonist BBI-11008: studies on acute, inflammatory and neuropathic pain, respiration, and drug self-administration.

Rationale And Objectives: The present study characterized the behavioral pharmacology of a novel, mixed-action delta-selective (78:1) opioid receptor agonist, BBI-11008. This glycopeptide drug candidate was tested in assays assessing antinociception (acute, inflammatory, and neuropathic pain-like conditions) and side-effect endpoints (respiratory depression and drug self-administration).

Results: BBI-11008 had a 78-fold greater affinity for the delta opioid receptor than the mu receptor, and there was no binding to the kappa opioid receptor.

Early Presence of HIV-1 Subtype C in Washington, D.C.

The presence of non-B HIV subtypes in the USA has been documented during the epidemic, although the timing of early introductions of different subtypes remains uncertain. Subtype C, the most common HIV variant worldwide, was first reported in the USA in 1996-97, after subtype C had expanded greatly in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we report a patient with subtype C infection acquired by mother-to-child transmission, born in the USA in 1990 to a Washington, D.

Delta/mu opioid receptor interactions in operant conditioning assays of pain-depressed responding and drug-induced rate suppression: assessment of therapeutic index in male Sprague Dawley rats.

Rationale And Objectives: Although delta/mu receptor interactions vary as a function of behavioral endpoint, there have been no assessments of these interactions using assays of pain-depressed responding. This is the first report of delta/mu interactions using an assay of pain-depressed behavior.

Methods: A mult-cycle FR10 operant schedule was utilized in the presence of (nociception) and in the absence of (rate suppression) a lactic acid inflammatory pain-like manipulation.

Exercise reverses pain-related weight asymmetry and differentially modulates trabecular bone microarchitecture in a rat model of osteoarthritis.

Unlabelled: There is great interest in developing and utilizing non-pharmacological/non-invasive forms of therapy for osteoarthritis (OA) pain including exercise and other physical fitness regimens.

Aims: The present experiments determined the effects of prior wheel running on OA-induced weight asymmetry and trabecular bone microarchitecture.

Main Methods: Wheel running included 7 or 21days of prior voluntary access to wheels followed by OA induction, followed by 21days post-OA access to wheels.

Evaluation of a Postoperative Pain-Like State on Motivated Behavior in Rats: Effects of Plantar Incision on Progressive-Ratio Food-Maintained Responding.

There has been recent interest in characterizing the effects of pain-like states on motivated behaviors in order to quantify how pain modulates goal-directed behavior and the persistence of that behavior. The current set of experiments assessed the effects of an incisional postoperative pain manipulation on food-maintained responding under a progressive-ratio (PR) operant schedule. Independent variables included injury state (plantar incision or anesthesia control) and reinforcer type (grain pellet or sugar pellet); dependent variables were tactile sensory thresholds and response breakpoint.

The mixed-action delta/mu opioid agonist MMP-2200 does not produce conditioned place preference but does maintain drug self-administration in rats, and induces in vitro markers of tolerance and dependence.

Previous work in our laboratories provides preclinical evidence that mixed-action delta/mu receptor glycopeptides have equivalent efficacy for treating pain with reduced side effect profiles compared to widely used mu agonist analgesics such as morphine. This study evaluated the rewarding and reinforcing effects of a lead candidate, mixed-action delta/mu agonist MMP-2200, using a conditioned place preference assay as well as a drug self-administration procedure in rats. In place conditioning studies, rats underwent a 2-week conditioning protocol and were then tested for chamber preference.