Promising results of novel combination HIV vaccine

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Results from a recent study show that novel vaccine combinations can provide partial protection against infection by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in rhesus monkeys. In addition, in the animals that became infected, the optimal vaccine combinations also substantially reduced the amount of virus in the blood. Results from the studies were published online today in the journal Nature.

This proof-of-concept study, which tested MVA, Ad26, and Ad35 vector-based vaccines, is the first to show partial vaccine protection in the stringent animal model involving heterologous, neutralization-resistant SIVmac251 viral challenges in rhesus monkeys. Preclinical studies of vaccine candidates have typically shown post-infection virologic control, however protection against acquisition of infection has previously only been reported using less rigorous viral challenges. The new Ad26/MVA and Ad35/Ad26 vector-based vaccine regimens resulted in over 80% reduction in the per-exposure probability of acquisition of infection against repetitive challenges of SIV, a virus similar to HIV that infects monkeys.

"This study allowed us to evaluate the protective efficacy of several prime-boost vaccine combinations, and these data will help guide the advancement of the most promising candidates into clinical trials," noted lead author Dr. Dan Barouch of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.

Further analysis also provided insights into the immune responses that might have provided protection, called "immune correlates." The results show that antibodies to Env (the envelope protein that makes up the outer coat of the virus) correlated with protection against acquisition, whereas both T cell and antibody responses correlated with post-infection virologic control.

"These distinct immunologic correlates likely reflect fundamentally different requirements to block establishment of infection compared with controlling viral replication after infection," said Col. Nelson Michael, director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and senior author on the paper.

Barouch noted that "we have clearly shown that including Env in the vaccine is beneficial." The findings also suggest that a substantial degree of protection can be achieved against stringent virus challenges, even in the absence of high levels of tier 2 neutralizing antibodies.

These new preclinical studies provide support for advancing the Ad26/MVA prime-boost vaccine candidate into clinical development. Collaborators are planning clinical testing of this HIV vaccine regimen in healthy adults at research sites in the U.S., East Africa, South Africa, and Thailand.

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US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases: http://www.usamriid.army.mil

Thanks to US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116431/Promising_results_of_novel_combination_HIV_vaccine

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New Jersey Governor backs online gaming (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? New Jersey's legislature has briefly delayed a vote on a bill that would legalize online gambling but Governor Chris Christie said the state should become an "epicenter" for the business.

A Christie spokesman confirmed the Republican governor's remarks, his first regarding online gambling after he vetoed a similar measure last year, questioning its legality.

Christie said: "I think we should be an epicenter for that business, but I want to do it right -- I do not want to rush and get legislation that either doesn't pass state constitutional muster, or creates other problems for us."

New Jersey's Atlantic City resorts have struggled in recent years due to fierce competition from neighboring states, including Pennsylvania and Connecticut, which gained new tax revenue and jobs. The competition will get even stiffer if New York state legalizes table games, as Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed on Wednesday.

If legalized by New Jersey, Internet-based gambling would be limited to state residents, who would need to be in the state when playing, The Record newspaper reported in its print edition on Wednesday. Additionally, computer servers for the games -- poker, blackjack and baccarat -- would have to be located in New Jersey's Atlantic City, a bid to boost its resorts.

Christie vetoed a similar measure last year to legalize online gambling, but The Star Ledger said a late December ruling by the Justice Department clarified legal concerns held by the governor.

New Jersey's Internet gambling bill, if approved, would not allow betting on sports, in accordance with the Justice Department's ruling that online gaming does not violate the law but sports gaming remains illegal.

The state legislature was expected to vote on the Internet gaming measure on Monday, but its chief backer, Democratic Senator Raymond Lesniak, in a statement on Wednesday said he expected lawmakers to enact a bill and send it to Christie in the first few weeks of the new legislative session.

The current session ends on Monday. The new session begins on Tuesday, a Lesniak spokesman said by email.

(Reporting By Joan Gralla; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120105/wr_nm/us_newjersey_gaming

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Low reporting of clinical trial data in key U.S. database, study shows

ScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2012) ? Many clinical trials in the US are failing to report their findings in a publically available database, despite a recent law that compels them to do so, say researchers at The University of Nottingham.

The study, by Dr Andrew Prayle, Dr Matthew Hurley and Professor Alan Smyth in the University's Division of Child Health and reported in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), showed that out of the studies completed in the States during the course of 2009, less than one-quarter had logged their results on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Dr Prayle said: "We think it's really important that the results of clinical trials are widely disseminated to help doctors make the right decisions when treating patients. The ClinicalTrials.gov website allows researchers to publish summary results of clinical trials on their website, which is free for all to view. This will improve access to trial results, as not all trials end up being published in academic journals.

"Recent legislation in the USA requires some clinical trials to publish their results on the website within a year of the trial finishing. We cross-referenced the ClinicalTrials.gov database and another database called Drugs@FDA to identify trials which should have reported results, and found that around a quarter had uploaded results to the website."

A key principal of best practice in the conduct of clinical trials is that a summary of the trial should be freely available while the study is ongoing and that, on completion of the study, the results should also be easily and quickly accessed. However, until recent times, there was no legal obligation for scientists to offer access to the results of their trial, many of which go unreported by scientific or medical journals.

The US has lead the way in legislation to make clinical trials more transparent. In February 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act in the US prompted the creation of a national clinical trials registry, ClinicalTrials.gov. The FDA Amendments Act (FDAAA) of 2007 made it a mandatory requirement for the registration of trial result summaries within a year in most cases for studies that have at least one site in the US, are of a drug, device or biological agent and had started or were ongoing as of September 2007. This visionary legislation will revolutionise access to clinical trial data, as it is free for all to access.

To check compliance with the US law, the Nottingham team selected trials subject to mandatory reporting within one year which were completed between January 1 and December 31 2009. The timeframe was chosen because all the studies completing within the year would have had at least one year to report results.

They then cross-referenced the investigational drug for each of the applicable clinical trials with the FDA database of approved drugs, Drugs@FDA. They found that out of 738 trials that were classified as subject to mandatory reporting, just 163 (22 per cent) had reported results. The study found that the influence of the funding body or sponsor seemed to be considerable -- industry funded trials subject to mandatory reporting were far more likely to report results compared with other funders. Importantly a positive effect of the legislation was noted -- where trials did not fall under the legislation only 10 per cent of them had reported results.

Dr Prayle added: "Further research is needed to identify why many trials had not had results uploaded. The legislation has only recently been enacted, and we hope that given time more clinical trials will report their results."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Nottingham, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

1. A. P. Prayle, M. N. Hurley, A. R. Smyth. Compliance with mandatory reporting of clinical trial results on ClinicalTrials.gov: cross sectional study. BMJ, 2012; 344 (jan03 1): d7373 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d7373

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/py4ctF4dwzs/120105145149.htm

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Labor market shows signs of revving up

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

A "now hiring" sign and job applications are posted outside of the soon-to-be-open Marin Ace Hardware store in San Rafael, Calif.

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

The job market got a bucket of good news Thursday showing private sector hiring picking up and new claims for unemployment benefits dropping.

The Labor Department reported that jobless claims fell 15,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 372,000 in the week ended Dec. 31 from a revised 387,000 in the prior week. The four-week moving average, seen as a better gauge of labor market trends, dropped 3,250 to 373,250.

Applications have declined steadily over the past three months and have dropped in four of the past five weeks. The four-week moving average fell 11 percent in 2011, evidence that companies are laying off fewer workers.

Meanwhile, businesses boosted hiring by more than expected in December, a private sector employment survey showed Thursday.

U.S. private employers added 325,000 jobs in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.?Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the?report would show a gain of 178,000 jobs.

Joel Prakken of Macroeconomic Advisers struck a note of caution, telling reporters that the December surge in hiring might have been caused in part by year-end seasonal factors and revisions were possible.

Still, economists took a positive view of the data, saying that if Friday's crucial monthly employment report from the Labor Department matches the ADP?surge, it could?boost optimism that the U.S. recovery, at least, is on solid ground.?Economists predict that employers added 150,000 net jobs, which would be an improvement from November's gain of 120,000.

"The ADP number was a gigantic figure. Even if they're only 50 percent right, the number is still a huge improvement,"?Landcolt Trading?Managing Director Todd Schoenberger told Reuters.

ADP's November private payrolls reading was revised down to a 204,000 increase from the previously reported 206,000.

An improving labor market has boosted the view the economy wrapped up 2011 on better footing, leaving it well positioned to deal with headwinds from Europe's debt crisis and fiscal tightening at home.

Still, a moribund U.S. housing market and persistently high unemployment threaten the recovery.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This number is the continuation acceleration of employment began in late summer of 2011, says Joel Prakken, Macroeconomic Advisers, who says GDP numbers is expected to rise in Q4, and a breakdown of the numbers with CNBC's Steve Liesman.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/05/9973243-labor-market-shows-more-signs-of-revving-up

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South Africa v Sri Lanka scorecard

Test match series: South Africa v Sri Lanka
Tuesday, 3 January 2012 at Cape Town, Day 1 of 5

In Play

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field

?	?		Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	?	b Prasad	16	15	3	0
Petersen	not out	?	97	157	12	1
Amla	lbw	b Prasad	16	32	3	0
Kallis	not out	?	102	115	17	0
Extras	?	2nb	2	?
Total	?	for 2	233	(52.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Welegedara 14.0 3 54 0 Perera 10.0 1 60 0 Prasad 12.5 2 58 2 Mathews 5.0 0 25 0 Herath 11.0 1 36 0

Fall of wicket ? 25 Smith 56 Amla

Back to top

Umpires: R A Kettleborough, R J Tucker, B C Broad, S J Davis
South Africa: Smith (C), Petersen, Amla, Kallis, de Villiers, Rudolph, Boucher (W), Steyn, M Morkel, Tahir, Philander
Sri Lanka: Dilshan (C), Thirimanne, Sangakkara, M Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Mathews, Chandimal (W), Perera, Herath, Welegedara, Prasad

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport/hi/english/static/cricket/statistics/scorecards/2012/01/87477/html/scorecard.stm

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High salaries for Italian lawmakers stirs anger

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010 file photo, Italian Lawmakers attend a voting session at the lower chamber in Rome. A government-mandated report has confirmed, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, what many Italians long suspected: The ?11,000 ($14,300) that Italian lawmakers earn each month outpaces their European colleagues, and Italy has many public agencies and councils that simply don't exist in other countries. Italy's bloated public sector and the privileges of its political elite have come under fire as the country battles its debt crisis with tax hikes, labor market reforms and pension reforms. Many ordinary Italians have been hurt by the changes. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010 file photo, Italian Lawmakers attend a voting session at the lower chamber in Rome. A government-mandated report has confirmed, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, what many Italians long suspected: The ?11,000 ($14,300) that Italian lawmakers earn each month outpaces their European colleagues, and Italy has many public agencies and councils that simply don't exist in other countries. Italy's bloated public sector and the privileges of its political elite have come under fire as the country battles its debt crisis with tax hikes, labor market reforms and pension reforms. Many ordinary Italians have been hurt by the changes. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

ROME (AP) ? A government-mandated report has confirmed what many Italians long suspected: The euro11,000 ($14,300) that Italian lawmakers earn each month far outpaces what their peers in some of Europe's largest economies get.

Italy's bloated public sector and the privileges of its political elite have come under fire as the country battles its debt crisis with tax hikes, labor market and pension reforms that are hurting ordinary Italians.

Premier Mario Monti has vowed to trim the cost of governing as part of his austerity measures, and has renounced his own salary as premier and economy minister.

The report, published Tuesday, looked at comparisons between labor costs for lawmakers in Italy compared to France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. It also considered 34 public agencies in Italy to see if there were analogous ones in the other countries. The commission's president hopes the findings will provide "food for thought" even while stressing the difficulty in comparing data from wildly diverse governments.

International markets have punished Italy in recent months for failing to come up with a coherent strategy to deal with its euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) debt mountain. That drove up the borrowing rates for the eurozone's third-largest economy and effectively forced Silvio Berlusconi from office.

His replacement, the well-respected economist, Monti, has formed a government of technocrats to grapple with the problems and has already undertaken a series of unpopular spending cuts and tax hikes.

The findings, which the authors freely admit are incomplete and provisional, showed that a lawmaker in Italy's lower Chamber of Deputies earns euro11,283 a month followed by euro8,503 for a Dutch lawmaker, down to as little as euro2,813 for one in Spain.

The Italian salary is fully taxed, but there are perks that are either more generous than, or similarly generous in other countries: euro3,503 a month tax-free in cost of living allowances and free travel on trains, planes, boats and Italian highways. Only German lawmakers have a higher cost of living allowance at nearly euro4,000, while Belgian lawmakers get none.

Adding to the strain on public coffers is the euro3,690 in office expenses the government spends every month for each Italian deputy. Only France spends more, at euro6,412 ? though both France and Germany spend much more to pay the deputy's assistants: a maximum of euro9,138 in France and euro14,712 in Germany, while Italian deputies have to pay their assistants out of the office budget.

The findings sparked a new round of calls for an end to the privileges of Italy's political class, given that ordinary Italians are being asked to make sacrifices including a sales tax that has already increased one percentage point to 21 percent and is due to rise further to 23 percent in September.

"Parliament can no longer find excuses to not approve cuts to its privileges," Antonio Di Pietro, head of the left-leaning Italy of Values party, wrote on his blog.

The study also set out to determine if 34 Italian public agencies had corresponding ones in the six other countries analyzed.

Much of the debate in Italy over cuts to public spending has focused on reducing the duplicative functions of Italy's regional and provincial governments. The study though found that such divisions existed in other countries.

On the other hand, there were several Italian public agencies that had no counterparts elsewhere including the "independent commission for the evaluation, transparency and integration of public administration," the authority overseeing public contracts and one making sure essential public services work during Italy's frequent strikes.

While the findings imply possible areas for streamlining, the study's authors note that many of those jobs may be being carried out in other countries, just not as independent commissions with their own administrative bureaucracies. And the study didn't investigate whether there were agencies in other countries that had no counterparts in Italy. And during the six-month course of the study, three of the Italian agencies were either eliminated or merged into other government structures.

Enrico Giovannini, the head of Italy's national statistics bureau Istat and the president of the commission, said clearly each country has different needs. Italy, for example, is the only one of the seven that has an agency to administer assets seized from the mafia.

But he said the data, albeit provisional, should provide "food for thought" over the coming months.

"We have put all the data on the table, now it's up to the politicians or government to make decisions, and the public opinion to assess," he said in a telephone interview.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-03-EU-Italy-Financial-Crisis/id-319088ff95364014b4935fac6a2a04ae

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No action over ?Facebook sale? of Norfolk whale teeth - BBC News

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