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Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an endemic disease causing important economic losses to the US swine industry. The complex epidemiology of the disease, along with the diverse clinical outputs observed in different types of infected farms, have hampered efforts to quantify PRRS’ impact on production over time. We measured the impact of PRRS on the production of weaned pigs using a log-linear fixed effects model to evaluate longitudinal data collected from 16 sow farms belonging to a specific firm. We measured seven additional indicators of farm performance to gain insight into disease dynamics. We used pre-outbreak longitudinal data to establish a baseline that was then used to estimate the decrease in production. A significant rise of abortions in the week before the outbreak was reported was the strongest signal of PRRSV activity. In addition, production declined slightly one week before the outbreak and then fell markedly until weeks 5 and 6 post-outbreak. Recovery was not monotonic, cycling gently around a rising trend. At the end of the study period (35 weeks post-outbreak), neither the production of weaned pigs nor any of the performance indicators had fully recovered to baseline levels. This result suggests PRSS outbreaks may last longer than has been found in most other studies. We assessed PRRS’ effect on farm efficiency as measured by changes in sow production of weaned pigs per year. We translated production losses into revenue losses assuming an average market price of $45.2/weaned pig. We estimate that the average PRSS outbreak reduced production by approximately 7.4%, relative to annual output in the absence of an outbreak. PRRS reduced production by 1.92 weaned pigs per sow when adjusted to an annual basis. This decrease is substantially larger than the 1.44 decrease of weaned pigs per sow/year reported elsewhere.

Noonan Syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant condition affecting 1 in 1000 to 1 in 2500 individuals worldwide. While congenital heart defects are prevalent in 1% of the general population, 80% of people with NS have some form of congenital heart defect. We report a 26-year-old pregnant female with NS who developed pre-term labor and acute cardiopulmonary decompensation due to underlying hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

Due to the highly transmissible nature of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), implementation of regional programs to control the disease may be critical. Because PRRS is not reported in the US, numerous voluntary regional control projects (RCPs) have been established. However, the effect of RCPs on PRRS control has not been assessed yet. This study aims to quantify the extent to which RCPs contribute to PRRS control by proposing a methodological framework to evaluate the progress of RCPs. Information collected between July 2012 and June 2015 from the Minnesota Voluntary Regional PRRS Elimination Project (RCP-N212) was used. Demography of premises (e.g. composition of farms with sows = SS and without sows = NSS) was assessed by a repeated analysis of variance. By using general linear mixed-effects models, active participation of farms enrolled in the RCP-N212, defined as the decision to share (or not to share) PRRS status, was evaluated and used as a predictor, along with other variables, to assess the PRRS trend over time. Additionally, spatial and temporal patterns of farmers' participation and the disease dynamics were investigated. The number of farms enrolled in RCP-N212 and its geographical coverage increased, but the proportion of SS and NSS did not vary significantly over time. A significant increasing (p

Argentina and Uruguay eradicated foot and mouth disease (FMD) in 2000 and 1995, and subsequently gained greater access to FMD-free markets. Although both South American countries suffered from the reintroduction of FMD in late 2000, and had to temporarily cease exports to FMD-free markets, they are expected to eradicate FMD again and will continue to increase exports to FMD-free markets. This article analyzes the changes in international beef trade and, especially, in beef prices that are expected. We use a simulation model that captures the effects of market segmentation due to the FMD status and of the trade policies of exporting and importing countries. The ongoing realignment of trade flows has potential to significantly affect prices in both the FMD-free and the FMD-endemic segments of the world beef market. We demonstrate how growing beef exports from South America to FMD-free markets interact with other on-going changes in international beef markets. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [EconLit citations: Q110: Agriculture, Aggregate Supply and Demand; Q170: Agriculture, International Trade]

Objectives: The paper presents the results of an ecological-economic approach to identifying community-level factors that influence the physical growth of young children. Design: A cross-sectional design was used to obtain both the anthropometry and the ecological-economic data. Setting: The sites were 24 communities located in a tea plantation near Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Subjects: 415 children between the ages of 6 and 18 months. Methods: Epidemiological and ethnographic methods were used to measure community infrastructure and services related to child growth. Anthropometry was used to measure child growth. Econometric methods, including probit and ordinary least squares regression, were used to analyze the effect of community-level factors on child growth. Results: Community vaccination programs, child care services, environmental sanitation and latrines were associated with better child growth. We concluded that community-level goods and services substantially contributed to health in early childhood. Sponsorship: Nestle Foundation. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, Suppl 2, S28–S42

One hundred and sixty-three Australian Aboriginals, who were aged from four months to 60 years, were examined clinically and otologically. Audiometric tests were completed on 110 of these subjects. On the assumptions that the aural health of these people has remained stable for many years, the cross-sectional data which were obtained have been used to infer the natural history of ear disease. Seromucinous otitis media is manifest as a disease of early childhood, which recovers spontaneously in most cases and has no obvious sequelae. Perforated tympanic membranes likewise seem to heal spontaneously in the majority of cases. The evidence suggests that hearing loss is the main problem and treatment should be directed towards the level of hearing loss and its effects.

Two proteases produced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Mproand PLpro, are essential for viral replication and have become the focus of drug development programs for treatment of COVID-19. We screened a highly focused library of compounds containing covalent warheads designed to target cysteine proteases to identify new lead scaffolds for both Mproand PLproproteases. These efforts identified a small number of hits for the Mproprotease and no viable hits for the PLproprotease. Of the Mprohits identified as inhibitors of the purified recombinant protease, only two compounds inhibited viral infectivity in cellular infection assays. However, we observed a substantial drop in antiviral potency upon expression of TMPRSS2, a transmembrane serine protease that acts in an alternative viral entry pathway to the lysosomal cathepsins. This loss of potency is explained by the fact that our lead Mproinhibitors are also potent inhibitors of host cell cysteine cathepsins. To determine if this is a general property of Mproinhibitors, we evaluated several recently reported compounds and found that they are also effective inhibitors of purified human cathepsin L and B and showed similar loss in activity in cells expressing TMPRSS2. Our results highlight the challenges of targeting Mproand PLproproteases and demonstrate the need to carefully assess selectivity of SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors to prevent clinical advancement of compounds that function through inhibition of a redundant viral entry pathway.

Background & Aims: Glecaprevir plus pibrentasvir (G/P) is a pangenotypic, once-daily, ribavirin-free direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In nine phase II or III clinical trials, G/P therapy achieved rates of sustained virologic response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) of 93–100% across all six major HCV genotypes (GTs). An integrated efficacy analysis of 8- and 12-week G/P therapy in patients without cirrhosis with HCV GT 1–6 infection was performed. Methods: Data were pooled from nine phase II and III trials including patients with chronic HCV GT 1–6 infection without cirrhosis who received G/P (300 mg/120 mg) for either 8 or 12 weeks. Patients were treatment naïve or treatment experienced with peginterferon, ribavirin, and/or sofosbuvir; all patients infected with HCV GT 3 were treatment naïve. Efficacy was evaluated as the SVR12 rate. Results: The analysis included 2,041 patients without cirrhosis. In the intent-to-treat population, 943/965 patients (98%) achieved SVR12 when treated for eight weeks, and 1,060/1,076 patients (99%) achieved SVR12 when treated for 12 weeks; the difference in rates was not significant (p = 0.2). A subgroup analysis demonstrated SVR12 rates > 95% across baseline factors traditionally associated with lower efficacy. G/P was well tolerated, with one DAA-related serious adverse event (, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published