Prevention of vaginal SHIV transmission in rhesus macaques through inhibition of CCR5

Topical agents, such as microbicides, that can protect against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission are urgently needed. Using a chimeric simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV SF162), which is tropic for the chemokine receptor CCR5, we report that topical application of high doses of PSC-RANTES, an amino terminus-modified analog of the chemokine RANTES, provided potent protection against vaginal challenge in rhesus macaques. These experimental findings have potentially important implications for understanding vaginal transmission of HIV and the design of strategies for its prevention.     

Radar soundings of the subsurface of Mars

The martian subsurface has been probed to kilometer depths by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding instrument aboard the Mars Express orbiter. Signals penetrate the polar layered deposits, probably imaging the base of the deposits. Data from the northern lowlands of Chryse Planitia have revealed a shallowly buried quasi-circular structure about 250 kilometers in diameter that is interpreted to be an impact basin. In addition, a planar reflector associated with the basin structure may indicate the presence of a low-loss deposit that is more than 1 kilometer thick.     

Water Availability for Winter Wheat Affected by Summer Fallow Tillage Practices in Slope Dryland

The tillage experiments for winter wheat were conducted on the slope farmland in Luoyang,Henan Province in the semihumid to arid loess plateau areas of North China. Different tillage methods inclu-ding reduced tillage (RT), no-till (NT), 2 crops/year (2C), subsoiling(SS), and conventional tillage (CT)were compared to determine the effects of tillage methods on soil water conservation, water availability, andwheat yields in a search for better farming systems in the areas. The NT and SS showed good effects on waterconservation. The soil water storage increased 12 - 33 mm with NT and 9 - 24 mm with SS at the end of sum-mer fallow periods. The soil evaporation with NT and SS decreased 7 - 8 mm and 34 - 36 mm during the fallowperiods of 1999 and 2001, respectively. Evapotranspiration (ET) with NT and SS increased about 47 mm dur-ing wheat growth periods of 2000 to 2001. Treatment RT and 2C had low water storage and high water lossesduring the fallow periods. The winter wheat yields with conservation tillage practices were improved in the 2ndyear, increased by 3, 5 and 8 % with RT, NT and SS, respectively, compared with CT. The highest wheatyields were obtained with subsoiling, and the maximum economic benefits from no-till. All conservation tillagepractices provided great benefits to saving energy and labors, reducing operation inputs, and increasing eco-nomic returns. No-till and subsoiling have shown promise in increasing water storage, reducing water loss, en-hancing water availability, and saving energy, as well as increasing wheat yield.