Community development for improved housing, health equity, and education in rural Honduras.

This paper describes an international, long-term, population health project in rural Honduras among Mayan villagers, focused on collaboration, community building, partnership formation, and improvement of their living situation. Improved housing, health checks, education for their children, and clean water were chosen by the Honduran residents as the projects they thought were most important to improve their health and living conditions. During the short mission trips, the North Americans (NAs) and the villagers worked side-by-side on house building and participated in village life.

Recombinant (F1+V) vaccine protects cynomolgus macaques against pneumonic plague.

Cynomolgus macaques, immunised at the 80 μg dose level with an rF1+rV vaccine (two doses, three weeks apart), were fully protected against pneumonic plague following inhalational exposure to a clinical isolate of Yersinia pestis (strain CO92) at week 8 of the schedule. At this time, all the immunised animals had developed specific IgG titres to rF1 and rV with geometric mean titres of 96.83±20.

Bilateral stapedectomy: association between first- and second-ear surgical findings and their effects on the second-ear outcome.

Objectives: We assessed the association between first-ear and second-ear surgical findings in patients undergoing second-ear stapedectomy for bilateral otosclerosis and the impact of such findings on the audiometric outcome of the second ear.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of all stapedectomy patients who underwent stapes surgery by one of two surgeons in a single tertiary referral institution from 1962 to 2001 was performed, and those patients who underwent bilateral stapedectomy were identified. Patient demographic data, surgical findings, procedure performed, and preoperative and postoperative audiometric data were recorded.

Human immune response to a plague vaccine comprising recombinant F1 and V antigens.

The human immune response to a new recombinant plague vaccine, comprising recombinant F1 (rF1) and rV antigens, has been assessed during a phase 1 safety and immunogenicity trial in healthy volunteers. All the subjects produced specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum after the priming dose, which peaked in value after the booster dose (day 21), with the exception of one individual in the lowest dose level group, who responded to rF1 only. Three subjects, found to have an anti-rV titer at screening, were excluded from the overall analysis.

A modified vaginal wall patch sling technique as a first-line surgical approach for genuine stress incontinence with urethral hypermobility: long-term follow up.

We describe our long-term outcome for patients with genuine stress incontinence (GSI) and urethral hypermobility using a modified vaginal wall patch sling technique. Fifty-three patients were studied. Preoperatively, all patients had a positive standing stress test and urethral hypermobility on Q-tip testing.