Ensemble Modeling of the Likely Public Health Impact of a Pre-Erythrocytic Malaria Vaccine

Using an ensemble modeling approach, Thomas Smith and colleagues find that targeted mass vaccination with a pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine RTS,S in low-transmission settings might have better health effects than vaccination through national EPI programs

Large scale pre-rain vegetation green up across Africa

Information on the response of vegetation to different environmental drivers, including rainfall, forms a critical input to ecosystem models. Currently, such models are run based on parameters that, in some cases, are either assumed or lack supporting evidence (e.g., that vegetation growth across Africa is rainfall‐driven). A limited number of studies have reported that the onset of rain across Africa does not fully explain the onset of vegetation growth, for example, drawing on the observation of prerain flush effects in some parts of Africa. The spatial extent of this prerain green‐up effect, however, remains unknown, leaving a large gap in our understanding that may bias ecosystem modelling. This paper provides the most comprehensive spatial assessment to‐date of the magnitude and frequency of the different patterns of phenology response to rainfall across Africa and for different vegetation types. To define the relations between phenology and rainfall, we investigated the spatial variation in the difference, in number of days, between the start of rainy season (SRS) and start of vegetation growing season (SOS); and between the end of rainy season (ERS) and end of vegetation growing season (EOS). We reveal a much more extensive spread of prerain green‐up over Africa than previously reported, with prerain green‐up being the norm rather than the exception. We also show the relative sparsity of postrain green‐up, confined largely to the Sudano‐Sahel region. While the prerain green‐up phenomenon is well documented, its large spatial extent was not anticipated. Our results, thus, contrast with the widely held view that rainfall drives the onset and end of the vegetation growing season across Africa. Our findings point to a much more nuanced role of rainfall in Africa's vegetation growth cycle than previously thought, specifically as one of a set of several drivers, with important implications for ecosystem modelling

A multidisciplinary consensus on the morphological and functional responses to immunotherapy treatment

The implementation of immunotherapy has radically changed the treatment of oncological patients. Currently, immunotherapy is indicated in the treatment of patients with head and neck tumors, melanoma, lung cancer, bladder tumors, colon cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, liver cancer, leukemia and lymphomas. However, its efficacy is restricted to a limited number of cases. The challenge is, therefore, to identify which subset of patients would benefit from immunotherapy. To this end, the establishment of immunotherapy response criteria and predictive and prognostic biomarkers is of paramount interest. In this report, a group of experts of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM), and Spanish Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SEMNIM) provide an up-to-date review and a consensus guide on these issues

Immune mechanisms in malaria: new insights in vaccine development.

Early data emerging from the first phase 3 trial of a malaria vaccine are raising hopes that a licensed vaccine will soon be available for use in endemic countries, but given the relatively low efficacy of the vaccine, this needs to be seen as a major step forward on the road to a malaria vaccine rather than as arrival at the final destination. The focus for vaccine developers now moves to the next generation of malaria vaccines, but it is not yet clear what characteristics these new vaccines should have or how they can be evaluated. Here we briefly review the epidemiological and immunological requirements for malaria vaccines and the recent history of malaria vaccine development and then put forward a manifesto for future research in this area. We argue that rational design of more effective malaria vaccines will be accelerated by a better understanding of the immune effector mechanisms involved in parasite regulation, control and elimination

Calidad de las elecciones a titular del Ejecutivo en el Centro y Centro-occidente de México

La presente obra comienza con un capítulo que contiene tanto consideraciones teóricas y metodológicas como una comparación sistemática de los resultados obtenidos en las investigaciones de las 14 entidades federativas incluidas en ella. Estas investigaciones están divididas en dos secciones, que corresponden a las dos regiones de las que forman parte —Centro y Centro-occidente—, las cuales han sido delimitadas con criterios convencionales de orden geográfico. La secuencia de los capítulos dentro de cada sección también resulta discutible: pusimos en primer lugar a la capital del país, y ordenamos a los estados según la distancia de la capital estatal respecto al Distrito Federal. La no coincidencia de los años de las elecciones a titular del Poder Ejecutivo (que se denominan gobernadores en los estados y jefe de gobierno en el Distrito Federal) en las distintas entidades federativas resulta lógica dada la naturaleza federal del Estado mexicano. De hecho, las elecciones analizadas en la presente obra abarcan de 2006 a 2011: las del Distrito Federal, Morelos, Guanajuato y Jalisco corresponden a la primera de estas fechas; la de Michoacán a 2007; las de Querétaro, San Luis Potosí y Colima a 2009; las de Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala y Aguascalientes a 2010, y las del Estado de México y Nayarit a 2011. El libro termina con tres conjuntos de anexos: el primero sintetiza la guía metodológica de la Renicadem; el segundo, dividido en tres cuadros, presenta los datos proporcionados por los equipos de investigación de las 14 entidades federativas; y el tercero incluye en un solo cuadro las evaluaciones de los tres anteriores, con la finalidad de facilitar su comparación.Este libro, que tiene por objetivo analizar la calidad de las elecciones celebradas entre 2006 y 2011 para ocupar la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo de las 14 entidades federativas de la República Mexicana que conforman las regiones Centro y Centro-occidente de este país, ha sido elaborado por investigadores pertenecientes a la Red Nacional de Investigación sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en México (Renicadem), la cual cuenta con un equipo de investigación en cada una de las entidades federativas del país. A su vez, esta Red constituye una de las cuatro líneas temáticas que componen la red temática del Conacyt “Sociedad civil y calidad de la democracia”. Con todo, la presente obra puede considerarse, en dos sentidos, como el resultado parcial de estudios realizados por investigadores que conforman la mencionada Renicadem. Por un lado, trata sólo de una de las varias dimensiones que esta Red ha establecido como necesarias para analizar la calidad de la democracia: la calidad electoral (otras dimensiones, que se encuentran en proceso de investigación, son calidad de vida, rendición de cuentas y Estado de derecho). También es parcial porque no abarca la totalidad de la República Mexicana, sino únicamente a las 14 entidades indicadas

Calidad de las elecciones a titular del Ejecutivo en el Centro y Centro-occidente de México

Este libro, que tiene por objetivo analizar la calidad de las elecciones celebradas entre 2006 y 2011 para ocupar la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo de las 14 entidades federativas de la República Mexicana que conforman las regiones Centro y Centro-occidente de este país, ha sido elaborado por investigadores pertenecientes a la Red Nacional de Investigación sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en México (Renicadem), la cual cuenta con un equipo de investigación en cada una de las entidades federativas del país. A su vez, esta Red constituye una de las cuatro líneas temáticas que componen la red temática del Conacyt “Sociedad civil y calidad de la democracia”. Con todo, la presente obra puede considerarse, en dos sentidos, como el resultado parcial de estudios realizados por investigadores que conforman la mencionada Renicadem. Por un lado, trata sólo de una de las varias dimensiones que esta Red ha establecido como necesarias para analizar la calidad de la democracia: la calidad electoral (otras dimensiones, que se encuentran en proceso de investigación, son calidad de vida, rendición de cuentas y Estado de derecho). También es parcial porque no abarca la totalidad de la República Mexicana, sino únicamente a las 14 entidades indicadas.UAE

RTS,S/AS01E immunization increases antibody responses to vaccine-unrelated Plasmodium falciparum antigens associated with protection against clinical malaria in African children:a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Vaccination and naturally acquired immunity against microbial pathogens may have complex interactions that influence disease outcomes. To date, only vaccine-specific immune responses have routinely been investigated in malaria vaccine trials conducted in endemic areas. We hypothesized that RTS,S/A01E immunization affects acquisition of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum antigens not included in the vaccine and that such responses have an impact on overall malaria protective immunity. METHODS: We evaluated IgM and IgG responses to 38 P. falciparum proteins putatively involved in naturally acquired immunity to malaria in 195 young children participating in a case-control study nested within the African phase 3 clinical trial of RTS,S/AS01E (MAL055 NCT00866619) in two sites of different transmission intensity (Kintampo high and Manhiça moderate/low). We measured antibody levels by quantitative suspension array technology and applied regression models, multimarker analysis, and machine learning techniques to analyze factors affecting their levels and correlates of protection. RESULTS: RTS,S/AS01E immunization decreased antibody responses to parasite antigens considered as markers of exposure (MSP142, AMA1) and levels correlated with risk of clinical malaria over 1-year follow-up. In addition, we show for the first time that RTS,S vaccination increased IgG levels to a specific group of pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage antigens (MSP5, MSP1 block 2, RH4.2, EBA140, and SSP2/TRAP) which levels correlated with protection against clinical malaria (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.53 [0.3-0.93], p = 0.03, for MSP1; 0.52 [0.26-0.98], p = 0.05, for SSP2) in multivariable logistic regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Increased antibody responses to specific P. falciparum antigens in subjects immunized with this partially efficacious vaccine upon natural infection may contribute to overall protective immunity against malaria. Inclusion of such antigens in multivalent constructs could result in more efficacious second-generation multistage vaccines