Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) play dominant roles in mediating the progression of many inflammatory joint diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis in humans, collagen-induced arthritis in mice and rats, and adjuvant arthritis in rats. Blockade of either cytokine partially controls these diseases. The present study investigated the value of combination anti-cytokine therapy in arthritis: the efficacy of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and 30 kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated soluble TNF receptor type I (PEG sTNF-RI) given together was assessed in Lewis rats with adjuvant arthritis. Administration of either IL-1ra or PEG sTNF-RI partially alleviated joint inflammation, loss of bone mineral density, and loss of body weight. In contrast, combination of these anti-cytokine treatments exhibited a synergistic capacity to inhibit these changes, even when combining doses of IL-1ra and PEG sTNF-RI that did not affect lesion severity when used alone. Statistical analysis of these adjuvant arthritis data using the isobologram method proved that IL-1ra and PEG sTNF-RI were clearly synergistic in inhibiting inflammation, loss of bone mineral density, loss of body weight, and histopathologic parameters of inflammation and joint destruction. These results suggest that treating autoimmune arthritic diseases with combinations of anti-IL-1 and anti-TNF molecules will achieve superior efficacy compared to the use of a single class of anti-cytokine agent and may allow for dose reductions that could prove useful in minimizing potential side effects.

Botanical insecticides are increasingly attracting research attention as they offer novel modes of action that may provide effective control of pests that have already developed resistance to conventional insecticides. They potentially offer cost-effective pest control to smallholder farmers in developing countries if highly active extracts can be prepared simply from readily available plants. Field cage and open field experiments were conducted to evaluate the insecticidal potential of nine common Ghanaian plants: goat weed, Ageratum conyzoides (Asteraceae), Siam weed, Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae), Cinderella weed, Synedrella nodiflora (Asteraceae), chili pepper, Capsicum frutescens (Solanaceae), tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum (Solanaceae) cassia, Cassia sophera (Leguminosae), physic nut, Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae), castor oil plant, Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) and basil, Ocimum gratissimum (Lamiaceae). In field cage experiments, simple detergent and water extracts of all botanical treatments gave control of cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae and diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, equivalent to the synthetic insecticide Attack® (emamectin benzoate) and superior to water or detergent solution. In open field experiments in the major and minor rainy seasons using a sub-set of plant extracts (A. conyzoides, C. odorata, S. nodiflora, N. tabacum and R. communis), all controlled B. brassicae and P. xylostella more effectively than water control and comparably with or better than Attack®. Botanical and water control treatments were more benign to third trophic level predators than Attack®. Effects cascaded to the first trophic level with all botanical treatments giving cabbage head weights, comparable to Attack® in the minor season. In the major season, R. communis and A conyzoides treatment gave lower head yields than Attack® but the remaining botanicals were equivalent or superior to this synthetic insecticide. Simply-prepared extracts from readily-available Ghanaian plants give beneficial, tri-trophic benefits and merit further research as an inexpensive plant protection strategy for smallholder farmers in West Africa.

Milk production, rectal temperature, live weight gain, reproductive performance, and weather data were obtained on 150 Holstein cows managed under two cooling systems on a large dairy farm in Saudi Arabia during the summer months. Cows were paired at the onset of the trial according to days postpartum, lactation number, and current milk production. Females were then allocated either to a system that forced air, precooled by evaporative cooling, over the cows or to a system that alternately showered a fine mist onto the surface of the cows and then forced air at ambient temperature over them. The cows receiving evaporative cooling and those with spray and fan cooling were on sand and on slatted concrete floor, respectively, during the periods of cooling. The onset of estrus was observed during the night when the cows preferred the unshaded corral. For the 120-d trial period, 84% (62 of 75) of the cows receiving evaporative cooling and 60% (44 of 75) of the cows receiving spray and fan cooling became pregnant. In the evaporative cooling system, the pregnancy rate per insemination was 35.2% (179 inseminations) versus 23.2% (194 inseminations) for spray and fan cooling. The mean postpartum interval to pregnancy was 117.6 d for the evaporative cooling cows and 146.7 d for spray and fan cooling cows. The evaporative cooling system, with its open shades and sand bedding, enhanced reproductive performance and milk production compared with that of cows cooled with a spray and fan system with slatted flooring in this hot climate.

Human zygotes resulting from IVF were placed in two different culture systems to evaluate in-vitro development and to establish pregnancies in patients following embryo replacement. Treatment A (control) consisted of culturing zygotes in a modified Earle's Balanced Salt solution while treatment B consisted of culturing zygotes on a monolayer of fetal bovine uterine fibroblasts in this same culture medium. At the time of embryo replacement, embryos within treatments A and B had 3.7 and 4.3 blastomeres present, respectively. After 24 h in culture, the cellular fragmentation rate for treatment A embryos was 0.85 which was greater (P less than 0.05) than the fragmentation rate of 0.40 for embryos within treatment B. The incidence of implantation for patients whose embryos were given treatment A was 17.0% which was lower (P less than 0.05) than 35% for those given treatment B. Implantation rates increased with time in culture (43%) for treatment B embryos. Culture by treatment B of three-pronucleate zygotes resulted in 7/9 and 4/9 reaching the blastocyst and expanded blastocyst stages, respectively, whereas only 1/26 three-pronucleate zygotes cultured using treatment A reached either of these stages.

Objective: To review the trajectory of Rwanda's HIV epidemic, including long term trends and more recent trends in HIV prevalence, markers of HIV incidence, and behavioural indicators. Methods: This paper reviews the history of HIV serological and behavioural surveillance efforts in Rwanda, dating back to the early 1980s, synthesising findings from surveillance, research, and other relevant HIV programmatic data. The documentation reviewed includes published findings, conference abstracts, and unpublished analyses. Special emphasis is given to more recent sentinel surveillance results and data collected using known, documented methods. Recent trends in HIV prevalence were assessed among sites participating in the three most recent consecutive rounds of antenatal clinic sentinel surveillance. Results: Early HIV surveillance in Rwanda documented high HIV prevalence in urban areas with HIV widely disseminated into rural areas by 1986. Between 1988 and 1996, HIV prevalence among pregnant women ranged from 21% to 33% in Kigali, from 8% to 22% in other urban settings, and from 2% to 12% in rural settings. More recent surveillance among pregnant women has demonstrated more moderate prevalence, with urban/rural differences narrowing slightly. Between 1998 and 2003, HIV prevalence may have declined in urban areas, whereas rural areas appear to have remained stable. Age at first sexual intercourse is relatively late in Rwanda (20 years for both males and females) and has remained stable since at least 1992.Conclusions: The present analysis suggests that Rwanda may have experienced declines over the long term in HIV prevalence in urban areas, especially in Kigali, and may have stable or slightly rising HIV prevalence in rural areas. The limited behavioural data available suggest that, on the national level, Rwanda may benefit from a unique combination of low numbers of partners and late sexual debut, which may have had a mitigating effect on HIV prevalence.