METHODS AND RESULTS: Four groups of ferrets received a single vaccination with different recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing: Group 1, control with no glycoprotein; Group 2, the NiV fusion protein (F); Group 3, the NiV attachment protein (G); and Group 4, a combination of the NiV F and G proteins. Animals were challenged intranasally with NiV 28 days after vaccination. Control ferrets in Group 1 showed characteristic clinical signs of NiV disease including respiratory distress, neurological disorders, viral load in blood and tissues, and gross lesions and antigen in target tissues; all animals in this group succumbed to infection by day 8. Importantly, all specifically vaccinated ferrets in Groups 2-4 showed no evidence of clinical illness and survived challenged. All animals in these groups developed anti-NiV F and/or G IgG and neutralizing antibody titers. While NiV RNA was detected in blood at day 6 post challenge in animals from Groups 2-4, the levels were orders of magnitude lower than animals from control Group 1.
CONCLUSIONS: These data show protective efficacy against NiV in a relevant model of human infection. Further development of this technology has the potential to yield effective single injection vaccines for NiV infection.
METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of 334 nulliparous women booking antenatal care at University College London Hospital between August 2008 and September 2009. Women underwent a transabdominal ultrasound examination of uterine arteries for measurement of TVFR at 12, 20 and 24 weeks' gestation. Pregnancy outcomes were recorded and linear regression was used to study the relationship between TVFR and gestational age at delivery and birth weight.
RESULTS: A total of 551 ultrasound scans were performed. There was a significant, positive correlation between TVFR at 11-13 weeks (TVFR1) and at 22-26 weeks (TVFR3) and birth weight. For every 100-mL/min increase in TVFR1 and TVFR3, there was an increase in birth weight of 45 g and 27 g, respectively. There was also a positive association between TVFR1 and gestational age at delivery, with a 1.4-day increase in gestational age for every 100-mL/min increase of TVFR1.
CONCLUSION: Ultrasound measurement of TVFR in the first trimester is significantly associated with both birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
BACKGROUND DATA: The response of human blood to LLL irradiation gives important information about the mechanism of interaction of laser light with living organisms. Materials and methods Blood samples were collected into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-containing tubes, and each sample was divided into two equal aliquots, one to serve as control and the other for irradiation. The aliquot was subjected to laser irradiation for 20, 30, 40, or 50 min at a fixed power density of 0.03 W/cm(2). Mean cell volume (MCV) and red blood cell (RBC) counts were measured immediately after irradiation using a computerized hemtoanalyzer.
RESULTS: Significant decrease in RBC volume (p