Co-occurrence of Point Mutations in the Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel of Pyrethroid-Resistant Aedes aegypti Populations in Myanmar

Background:Single amino acid substitutions in the voltage-gated sodium channel associated with pyrethroid resistance constitute one of the main causative factors of knockdown resistance in insects. The kdr gene has been observed in several mosquito species; however, point mutations in the para gene of Aedes aegypti populations in Myanmar have not been fully characterized. The aim of the present study was to determine the types and frequencies of mutations in the para gene of Aedes aegypti collected from used tires in Yangon City, Myanmar.Methodology/Principal Findings:We determined high pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti larvae at all collection sites in Yangon City, by using a simplified knockdown bioassay. We showed that V1016G and S989P mutations were widely distributed, with high frequencies (84.4% and 78.8%, respectively). By contrast, we were unable to detect I1011M (or I1011V) or L1014F mutations. F1534C mutations were also widely distributed, but with a lower frequency than the V1016G mutation (21.2%). High percentage of co-occurrence of the homozygous V1016G/S989P mutations was detected (65.7%). Additionally, co-occurrence of homozygous V1016G/F1534C mutations (2.9%) and homozygous V1016G/F1534C/S989P mutations (0.98%) were detected in the present study.Conclusions/Significance:Pyrethroid insecticides were first used for malaria control in 1992, and have since been constantly used in Myanmar. This intensive use may explain the strong selection pressure toward Aedes aegypti, because this mosquito is generally a domestic and endophagic species with a preference for indoor breeding. Extensive use of DDT for malaria control before the use of this chemical was banned may also explain the development of pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Autothermal reforming of palm empty fruit bunch bio-oil: thermodynamic modelling

This work focuses on thermodynamic analysis of the autothermal reforming of palm empty fruit bunch (PEFB) bio-oil for the production of hydrogen and syngas. PEFB bio-oil composition was simulated using bio-oil surrogates generated from a mixture of acetic acid, phenol, levoglucosan, palmitic acid and furfural. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the hydrogen and syngas yields were not sensitive to actual bio-oil composition, but were determined by a good match of molar elemental composition between real bio-oil and surrogate mixture. The maximum hydrogen yield obtained under constant reaction enthalpy and pressure was about 12 wt% at S/C = 1 and increased to about 18 wt% at S/C = 4; both yields occurring at equivalence ratio Φ of 0.31. The possibility of generating syngas with varying H2 and CO content using autothermal reforming was analysed and application of this process to fuel cells and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is discussed. Using a novel simple modelling methodology, reaction mechanisms were proposed which were able to account for equilibrium product distribution. It was evident that different combinations of reactions could be used to obtain the same equilibrium product concentrations. One proposed reaction mechanism, referred to as the ‘partial oxidation based mechanism’ involved the partial oxidation reaction of the bio-oil to produce hydrogen, with the extent of steam reforming and water gas shift reactions varying depending on the amount of oxygen used. Another proposed mechanism, referred to as the ‘complete oxidation based mechanism’ was represented by thermal decomposition of about 30% of bio-oil and hydrogen production obtained by decomposition, steam reforming, water gas shift and carbon gasification reactions. The importance of these mechanisms in assisting in the eventual choice of catalyst to be used in a real ATR of PEFB bio-oil process was discussed

Inverse‐Designed Meta‐Optics with Spectral‐Spatial Engineered Response to Mimic Color Perception

Meta-optics have rapidly become a major research field within the optics and photonics community, strongly driven by the seemingly limitless opportunities made possible by controlling optical wavefronts through interaction with arrays of sub-wavelength scatterers. As more and more modalities are explored, the design strategies to achieve desired functionalities become increasingly demanding, necessitating more advanced design techniques. Herein, the inverse-design approach is utilized to create a set of single-layer meta-optics that simultaneously focus light and shape the spectra of focused light without using any filters. Thus, both spatial and spectral properties of the meta-optics are optimized, resulting in spectra that mimic the color matching functions of the CIE 1931 XYZ color space, which links the distributions of wavelengths in light and the color perception of a human eye. Experimental demonstrations of these meta-optics show qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions and help elucidate the focusing mechanism of these devices

Mães de crianças com deficiência visual: dificuldades e facilidades enfrentadas no cuidado

Objetivou-se conhecer as dificuldades e facilidades enfrentadas pelas mães de crianças com deficiência visual (DV) no cuidado. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva, realizada no segundo semestre de 2011, com dez mães de crianças com deficiência visual, de um Centro de Educação para deficientes visuais, no sul do Brasil. Foram realizadasentrevistas semiestruturadas e análise de conteúdo temática das informações. Foram verificados como dificuldades o desconhecimento acerca da doença e da forma de cuidar da criança, a falta de acesso aos serviços de saúde, a sobrecarga pela dependência da criança, a falta de apoio e o preconceito na própria família. Quanto às facilidades, foram referidos a vontade do desenvolvimento saudável das crianças, a convivência com profissionais qualificados para sua educação e o contato com outras crianças com DV. Faz-se importante a instrumentalização da família para o cuidado à criança com DV como forma de garantir a aquisição de habilidades e competências, possibilitando-a um viver com qualidade