Background.Chest radiographs (CXRs) are a valuable diagnostic tool in epidemiologic studies of pneumonia. The World Health Organization (WHO) methodology for the interpretation of pediatric CXRs has not been evaluated beyond its intended application as an endpoint measure for bacterial vaccine trials.Methods.The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study enrolled children aged 1–59 months hospitalized with WHO-defined severe and very severe pneumonia from 7 low- and middle-income countries. An interpretation process categorized each CXR into 1 of 5 conclusions: consolidation, other infiltrate, both consolidation and other infiltrate, normal, or uninterpretable. Two members of a 14-person reading panel, who had undertaken training and standardization in CXR interpretation, interpreted each CXR. Two members of an arbitration panel provided additional independent reviews of CXRs with discordant interpretations at the primary reading, blinded to previous reports. Further discordance was resolved with consensus discussion.Results.A total of 4172 CXRs were obtained from 4232 cases. Observed agreement for detecting consolidation (with or without other infiltrate) between primary readers was 78% (κ = 0.50) and between arbitrators was 84% (κ = 0.61); agreement for primary readers and arbitrators across 5 conclusion categories was 43.5% (κ = 0.25) and 48.5% (κ = 0.32), respectively. Disagreement was most frequent between conclusions of other infiltrate and normal for both the reading panel and the arbitration panel (32% and 30% of discordant CXRs, respectively).Conclusions.Agreement was similar to that of previous evaluations using the WHO methodology for detecting consolidation, but poor for other infiltrates despite attempts at a rigorous standardization process.

SummaryIn the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health study, abnormal chest radiographs (CXRs) in cases were associated with hypoxemia, crackles, tachypnea, and fever. Overall, 54% of CXRs were abnormal (site range, 35%–64%). Consolidation on CXR was associated with an increased risk of mortality.

-A better understanding of protective immune memory against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is needed in order to facilitate the development of safer vaccines based on selected components of the pathogen. For this purpose, cells collected from lymph nodes draining the lungs of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small colony biotype (MmmSC)-infected cattle were stimulated with the pathogen in vitro and evaluated concurrently for proliferation (CFSE based method), expression of activation, memory markers and cytokine production. Direct evidence is presented for a major contribution of CD4 + T cells to the vigorous proliferative and T1 biased cytokine recall responses observed in cattle that have recovered from infection but not in animals developing the acute form of the disease. Two different phenotypes of MmmSC-specific memory CD4 were observed based on CD62L expression and proliferative capacities. Furthermore, recall proliferation of B cells also occurred but was strictly dependent on the presence of CD4. The information provided in this study will facilitate the search for MmmSC antigens that have potential for the development of subunit vaccines against CBPP.contagious bovine pleuropneumonia / Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC / vaccine / memory / CD4

-Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Small Colony (MmmSC

-The purpose of the present study was to characterize the Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small colony (MmmSC)-specific humoral immune response at both systemic and local levels in cattle experimentally infected with MmmSC, for a better understanding of the protective immune mechanisms against the disease. The disease was experimentally reproduced in zebu cattle by contact. Clinical signs, postmortem and microbiological findings were used to evaluate the degree of infection. Serum and bronchial lavage fluids (BAL) were collected sequentially, before contact and over a period of one year after contact. The kinetics of the different antibody isotypes to MmmSC was established. Based on the severity of the clinical signs, post mortem and microbiological findings, the animals were classified into three groups as acute form with deaths, sub-acute to chronic form and resistant animals. Seroconversion was never observed for the control animals throughout the duration of the experiment, nor for those classified as resistant. Instead, seroconversion was measured for all other cattle either with acute or sub-acute to chronic forms of the disease. For these animals, IgM, IgG1, IgG2 and IgA responses were detected in the serum and BAL samples.

Thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP) of the malaria parasite Plasmodiumfalciparum shares two sequence motifs with other proteins which possess adhesive properties. Recently, findings indicate that TRAP is an antigen which contributes to antisporozoite immunity. We have cloned and expressed the TRAP

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The incidence of holoprosencephaly is about 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 births. There are three major forms: alobar, semilobar, and lobar. The alobar form with cyclopia is very rare. The author describes a transabdominal sonographic diagnosis of an alobar form of holoprosencephaly at 20 weeks’ gestational age. The fetus presented with cyclopia, proboscis, absence of ears and nose, polydactyly, hydrocephalus, macrocephaly, and polyhydramnios. After counseling, termination of pregnancy was performed. Two years later, a subsequent pregnancy was normal.