Susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii from clinical and environment sources in Nairobi, Kenya

Objective: To determine anti-fungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans andCryptococcus gattii from environmental and clinical sources in Nairobi, Kenya.Design: Prospective study.Setting: Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mycology laboratory, Nairobi, Kenya.Subjects: A total of 123 isolates were tested for their susceptibility to fluconazole(FLC), amphotericin B(AMP) and fluorocytosine (5FC). Clinical isolates were 70(66Cryptococcus neoformans and 4 Cryptococcus gattii) while environmental isolates were53(41 C. neoformans and 12 C. gattii). The isolates were characterised using variousphenotypic tests including microscopic morphology, physiological and biochemicaltests (API 20 Caux), pigmentation on bird seed agar and reaction on canavanineglycine-bromthymolblue agar. European Committee on Anti-microbial SusceptibilityStandards (EUCAST) was used as the reference method for susceptibility testing.Results: Most C. neoformans isolates; clinical (61/66; 92.4%) and environmental (38/41;92.7%) were susceptible to FLC. The number of C. neoformans isolates inhibited atsusceptible dose dependent (SDD) range (16-32μg/ml) by FLC were clinical (4/66; 6.1%)and environmental (2/41; 4.9%). One C. neoformans isolate each; clinical (1/66; 1.5%)and environmental (1/41; 2.4%) was resistant to FLC. All C. gatti isolates from clinicaland environmental were fully susceptible to FLC. The percentage of C. neoformansisolates that were susceptible (S) (MIC ≤ 1.0 μg/ml) to AMP were; clinical(52/66; 90.2%)and environmental (37/41; 78.8%) while the rest were susceptible dose dependent(SDD) with MIC (2-8μg/ml). Reduced susceptibilities to 5FC was displayed in allclinical and environmental C. neoformans and C. gatii isolates; for instance resistanceto 5FC was reported in C. neoformans; clinical (8/66; 12.1%) and environmental (1/41;2.4 %). Among the C. gattii isolates there was also decreased susceptibility to 5FCwith Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) range of between 0.5-32 μg/ml. Therewere no significant differences in susceptibility ranges among all the clinical andenvironmental isolates.Conclusion: This study demonstrated reduced susceptibilities among C. neoformansand C. gattii isolates to commonly used anti-fungal drugs

How does a biopsy of endoscopically normal terminal ileum contribute to the diagnosis? Which patients should undergo biopsy?

Background: Terminal ileum endoscopy and biopsy are the diagnostic tools of diseases attacking the ileum. However, abnormal histological findings can be found in endoscopically normal terminal ileum.Objective: This study was performed to evaluate the histopathological results of biopsies from endoscopically normal terminal ileum in order to determine pre-procedure clinical and laboratory factors predicting abnormal histopathological results, if any.Methods: A total of 297 patients who underwent colonoscopy and terminal ileum biopsy and had normal terminal ileum or a few aphthous ulcers in the terminal ileum together with completely normal colon mucosa were included in the study. The patients were grouped into two arms as normal cases and cases with aphthous ulcers. Histopathological and pre-procedural laboratory results of patients were analyzed according to their indications.Results: The terminal ileum was endoscopically normal in 200 patients, and 97 patients had aphthous ulcers. Chronic ileitis rate was present in 5.5% of those with endoscopically normal terminal ileum and in 39.2% of the patients with aphthous ulcers. In both groups, the highest rate of chronic ileitis was detected in the patients with known inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (15.4 and 50%, respectively), anemia (9.5 and 43.5%, respectively), and in the patients having chronic diarrhea together with abdominal pain (7.7 and 44.8%, respectively). We found that the sensitivity of mean platelet volume for predicting chronic ileitis was 87% and the specificity was 45% at a cut-off value lower than 9.35 fl.Conclusion: In anemia indication or chronic diarrhea together with abdominal pain, the frequency of aphthous ulcers detected by ileoscopy and the frequency of chronic ileitis detected histopathologically despite a normal-appearing ileum were elevated.Keywords: Terminal ileum; ileoscopy; chronic ileitis; inflammatory bowel diseas

Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus infection by age and cervical cytology in Thika, Kenya

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause cervical cancer and premalignant dysplasia. Data on HPV and cervical cancer in Kenya are scarce. Type-specific HPV prevalence data provides a basis for assessing the impact of HPV vaccination programs on cervical cytology and how HPV based screening will influence cervical cancer prevention. To investigate HPV infections in a population in Kenya, we obtained cervical cells specimen from 498 women in a population in Thika district. We report HPV type specific prevalence and distribution data for 498 women (age range 18-74 years; mean age 36 years) recruited into the study in relation to age and cervical cytology. The study was conducted between January to May 2010. Pap smears were performed, HR HPV DNA were detected by Digene Hybrid capture 2® (hc2) test and HPV genotyping was performed with Multiplex Luminex HPV genotyping kit (Multimetrix, Progen, Germany). Samples from 106 women (21.3%) tested positive for HPV. Multiple HPV types were detected in 40 (37.7% of HC2-positive samples) and the rest had infection with single HPV type. The most common HR HPV type at all ages was HPV16, 52, 56, 66, and 18. There was a marked decline in the prevalence of HR-HPV with age. The pattern of HR HPV distribution in this population was slightly different from existing literature, which has important consequences for HPV vaccination and prevention programs

Biogeographical survey of soil microbiomes across sub-Saharan Africa:structure, drivers, and predicted climate-driven changes

BACKGROUND: Top-soil microbiomes make a vital contribution to the Earth’s ecology and harbor an extraordinarily high biodiversity. They are also key players in many ecosystem services, particularly in arid regions of the globe such as the African continent. While several recent studies have documented patterns in global soil microbial ecology, these are largely biased towards widely studied regions and rely on models to interpolate the microbial diversity of other regions where there is low data coverage. This is the case for sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of regional microbial studies is very low in comparison to other continents. RESULTS: The aim of this study was to conduct an extensive biogeographical survey of sub-Saharan Africa’s top-soil microbiomes, with a specific focus on investigating the environmental drivers of microbial ecology across the region. In this study, we sampled 810 sample sites across 9 sub-Saharan African countries and used taxonomic barcoding to profile the microbial ecology of these regions. Our results showed that the sub-Saharan nations included in the study harbor qualitatively distinguishable soil microbiomes. In addition, using soil chemistry and climatic data extracted from the same sites, we demonstrated that the top-soil microbiome is shaped by a broad range of environmental factors, most notably pH, precipitation, and temperature. Through the use of structural equation modeling, we also developed a model to predict how soil microbial biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa might be affected by future climate change scenarios. This model predicted that the soil microbial biodiversity of countries such as Kenya will be negatively affected by increased temperatures and decreased precipitation, while the fungal biodiversity of Benin will benefit from the increase in annual precipitation. CONCLUSION: This study represents the most extensive biogeographical survey of sub-Saharan top-soil microbiomes to date. Importantly, this study has allowed us to identify countries in sub-Saharan Africa that might be particularly vulnerable to losses in soil microbial ecology and productivity due to climate change. Considering the reliance of many economies in the region on rain-fed agriculture, this study provides crucial information to support conservation efforts in the countries that will be most heavily impacted by climate change. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40168-022-01297-w

Multilateral benefit-sharing from digital sequence information will support both science and biodiversity conservation

Open access to sequence data is a cornerstone of biology and biodiversity research, but has created tension under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Policy decisions could compromise research and development, unless a practical multilateral solution is implemented

Multilateral benefit-sharing from digital sequence information will support both science and biodiversity conservation

Open access to sequence data is a cornerstone of biology and biodiversity research, but has created tension under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Policy decisions could compromise research and development, unless a practical multilateral solution is implemented.This workwas funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) WiLDSI 031B0862 (A.H.S., J.O., and J.F.) and Horizon Europe EVA-GLOBAL 871029 (A.H.S.). I.K.M. was supported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health

(Per)chlorate reduction by an acetogenic bacterium, Sporomusa sp., isolated from an underground gas storage

A mesophilic bacterium, strain An4, was isolated from an underground gas storage reservoir with methanol as substrate and perchlorate as electron acceptor. Cells were Gram-negative, spore-forming, straight to curved rods, 0.5–0.8 μm in diameter, and 2–8 μm in length, growing as single cells or in pairs. The cells grew optimally at 37°C, and the pH optimum was around 7. Strain An4 converted various alcohols, organic acids, fructose, acetoin, and H2/CO2 to acetate, usually as the only product. Succinate was decarboxylated to propionate. The isolate was able to respire with (per)chlorate, nitrate, and CO2. The G+C content of the DNA was 42.6 mol%. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain An4 was most closely related to Sporomusa ovata (98% similarity). The bacterium reduced perchlorate and chlorate completely to chloride. Key enzymes, perchlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase, were detected in cell-free extracts

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives