An ex vivo, assessor blind, randomised, parallel group, comparative efficacy trial of the ovicidal activity of three pediculicides after a single application - melaleuca oil and lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil, and a "suffocation" pediculicide

Background: There are two components to the clinical efficacy of pediculicides: (i) efficacy against the crawling-stages (lousicidal efficacy); and (ii) efficacy against the eggs (ovicidal efficacy). Lousicidal efficacy and ovicidal efficacy are confounded in clinical trials. Here we report on a trial that was specially designed to rank the clinical ovicidal efficacy of pediculicides. Eggs were collected, pre-treatment and post-treatment, from subjects with different types of hair, different coloured hair and hair of different length.Method: Subjects with at least 20 live eggs of Pediculus capitis (head lice) were randomised to one of three treatment-groups: a melaleuca oil (commonly called tea tree oil) and lavender oil pediculicide (TTO/LO); a eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (EO/LTTO); or a "suffocation" pediculicide. Pre-treatment: 10 to 22 live eggs were taken from the head by cutting the single hair with the live egg attached, before the treatment (total of 1,062 eggs). Treatment: The subjects then received a single treatment of one of the three pediculicides, according to the manufacturers' instructions. Post-treatment: 10 to 41 treated live eggs were taken from the head by cutting the single hair with the egg attached (total of 1,183 eggs). Eggs were incubated for 14 days. The proportion of eggs that had hatched after 14 days in the pre-treatment group was compared with the proportion of eggs that hatched in the post-treatment group. The primary outcome measure was % ovicidal efficacy for each of the three pediculicides.Results: 722 subjects were examined for the presence of eggs of head lice. 92 of these subjects were recruited and randomly assigned to: the "suffocation" pediculicide (n = 31); the melaleuca oil and lavender oil pediculicide (n = 31); and the eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (n = 30 subjects). The group treated with eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil had an ovicidal efficacy of 3.3% (SD 16%) whereas the group treated with melaleuca oil and lavender oil had an ovicidal efficacy of 44.4% (SD 23%) and the group treated with the "suffocation" pediculicide had an ovicidal efficacy of 68.3% (SD 38%).Conclusion: Ovicidal efficacy varied substantially among treatments, from 3.3% to 68.3%. The "suffocation" pediculicide and the melaleuca oil and lavender oil pediculicide (TTO/LO) were significantly more ovicidal than eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (EO/LTTO) (P < 0.0001). Ranking: 1. "Suffocation" pediculicide (68.3% efficacy against eggs); 2. Melaleuca oil and lavender oil (44.4%) pediculicide; 3. Eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil (3.3%) pediculicide. The "suffocation" pediculicide and TTO/LO are also highly efficacious against the crawling-stages. Thus, the "suffocation" pediculicide and TTO/LO should be recommended as first line treatments.Trial Registration: The study was listed at the Australian/New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR): reg. no. 12609000884202

Palatability and digestibility of horse diets containing increasing levels of citrus pulp

ABSTRACT Objective. To evaluate the impact of citrus pulp on the palatability and digestibility of horse diets and the physicochemical characteristics of the feces. Materials and methods. The diets were composed of 60% of the energy from the forage and 40% from the concentrate, with increasing levels of citrus pulp. Two different tests were performed. The first test assessed the palatability of concentrates. Using a randomized experimental design, 15 horses were observed for 10 days. The variables recorded were first action, first choice and intake ratio (IR). Five horses were arranged in 5x5 Latin Square design for the test assessing digestibility and fecal physicochemical characteristics. The apparent digestibility of the nutrients and the color, consistency, pH and buffering capacity (BC) of the feces were evaluated. Results. The addition of increasing levels of citrus pulp had an effect (p≤0.001) on first action. A difference was also observed in first choice, and the addition of 0, 7 or 14% of citrus pulp was preferred. A difference between treatments (p≤0.001) was also observed for IR, and the control concentrate was consumed the most. The amount of citrus pulp included had no effect (p>0.05) on the digestibility of nutrients, fecal consistency and color, and there was no effect (p>0.05) on fecal pH and BC. Conclusions. Horses can identify the presence of citrus pulp in concentrates but prefer concentrates without added citrus pulp. Citrus pulp does not negatively affect the digestibility of concentrates or the physicochemical characteristics of the feces; thus, citrus pulp is a viable alternative ingredient in the formulation of horse diets. RESUMEN Objetivo. Evaluar la inclusión de pulpa de cítricos en la dieta de los caballos a través de la evaluación de la de palatabilidad, digestibilidad y características fisicoquímicas de las heces. Materiales y métodos. El valor energético de las dietas fue aportado en el 60% por la energía del forraje y en el 40% a partir del concentrado con niveles crecientes de pulpa de cítricos. En la primera prueba se evaluó la palatabilidad de los concentrados. Se utilizó un diseño experimental aleatório. Se observaron 15 caballos durante 10 días. Las variables registradas fueron la primera acción, la primera opción y la relación de la ingesta (IR). Cinco caballos fueron dispuestos en un diseño cuadrado latino 5x5 para la evaluación de la digestibilidad y las características fisicoquímicas fecales. La digestibilidad de los nutrientes y el color, la consistencia, el pH, y se evaluó la capacidad de tamponamiento (CT) de las heces. Resultados. El nível de inclusión de pulpa de cítricos tuvo un efecto (p0.05) la digestibilidad, consistencia fecal y el color de las heces, pH fecal y CT de las heces. Conclusiones. Los caballos pueden identificar la presencia de pulpa de cítricos en los concentrados, pero prefieren concentrados sin pulpa de cítricos. La pulpa de cítricos no afecta la digestibilidad de los nutrimentos en el concentrado, ni las características fisicoquímicas de las heces; la pulpa de cítricos es un ingrediente alternativo viable en la formulación de dietas para caballos

Bacteria-Killing Type IV Secretion Systems

Bacteria have been constantly competing for nutrients and space for billions of years. During this time, they have evolved many different molecular mechanisms by which to secrete proteinaceous effectors in order to manipulate and often kill rival bacterial and eukaryotic cells. These processes often employ large multimeric transmembrane nanomachines that have been classified as types I–IX secretion systems. One of the most evolutionarily versatile are the Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs), which have been shown to be able to secrete macromolecules directly into both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Until recently, examples of T4SS-mediated macromolecule transfer from one bacterium to another was restricted to protein-DNA complexes during bacterial conjugation. This view changed when it was shown by our group that many Xanthomonas species carry a T4SS that is specialized to transfer toxic bacterial effectors into rival bacterial cells, resulting in cell death. This review will focus on this special subtype of T4SS by describing its distinguishing features, similar systems in other proteobacterial genomes, and the nature of the effectors secreted by these systems and their cognate inhibitor

Toll-like receptor 9 polymorphisms are associated with severity variables in a cohort of meningococcal meningitis survivors

BACKGROUND: Genetic variation in immune response genes is associated with susceptibility and severity of infectious diseases. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to develop meningococcal meningitis (MM). The aim of this study is to compare genotype distributions of two TLR9 polymorphisms between clinical severity variables in MM survivors. METHODS: We used DNA samples of a cohort of 390 children who survived MM. Next, we determined the genotype frequencies of TLR9 -1237 and TLR9 +2848 polymorphisms and compared these between thirteen clinical variables associated with prognostic factors predicting adverse outcome of bacterial meningitis in children. RESULTS: The TLR9 -1237 TC and CC genotypes were associated with a decreased incidence of a positive blood culture for Neisseria (N.) meningitidis (p = 0.014, odds ratio (OR) 0.5. 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.3 – 0.9). The TLR9 +2848 AA mutant was associated with a decreased incidence of a positive blood culture for N. meningitidis (p = 0.017, OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3 – 0.9). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leukocytes per μL were higher in patients carrying the TLR9 -1237 TC or CC genotypes compared to carriers of the TT wild type (WT) (p = 0.024, medians: 2117, interquartile range (IQR) 4987 versus 955, IQR 3938). CSF blood/glucose ratios were lower in TLR9 -1237 TC or CC carriers than in carriers of the TT WT (p = 0.017, medians: 0.20, IQR 0.4 versus 0.35, IQR 0.5). CSF leukocytes/μL were higher in patients carrying the TLR9 +2848 AA mutant compared to carriers of GG or GA (p = 0.0067, medians: 1907, IQR 5221 versus 891, IQR 3952). CONCLUSIONS: We identified TLR9 genotypes associated with protection against meningococcemia and enhanced local inflammatory responses inside the central nervous system, important steps in MM pathogenesis and defense

Maternal Dietary Supplementation with Oligofructose-Enriched Inulin in Gestating/Lactating Rats Preserves Maternal Bone and Improves Bone Microarchitecture in Their Offspring

This study received financial support from Abbott Nutrition, a commercial company, and coauthors PBV, MM, JMLP and RR are employees of Abbott Nutrition. There are two patents related with the data presented (EP 2502507 A1 and EP 2745706 A1).Some of these results were presented in the 7th World Congress of DOHaD (2011) and in the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease (WCO-IOF-ESCEO) (2014).Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation could exert a key role not only on maternal bone, but also could influence the skeletal development of the offspring. This study was performed in rats to assess the relationship between maternal dietary intake of prebiotic oligofructose-enriched inulin and its role in bone turnover during gestation and lactation, as well as its effect on offspring peak bone mass/architecture during early adulthood. Rat dams were fed either with standard rodent diet (CC group), calcium-fortified diet (Ca group), or prebiotic oligofructose-enriched inulin supplemented diet (Pre group), during the second half of gestation and lactation. Bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC), as well as micro-structure of dams and offspring at different stages were analysed. Dams in the Pre group had significantly higher trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and smaller specific bone surface (BS/BV) of the tibia in comparison with CC dams. The Pre group offspring during early adulthood had an increase of the lumbar vertebra BMD when compared with offspring of CC and Ca groups. The Pre group offspring also showed significant increase versus CC in cancellous and cortical structural parameters of the lumbar vertebra 4 such as Tb.Th, cortical BMD and decreased BS/BV. The results indicate that oligofructose-enriched inulin supplementation can be considered as a plausible nutritional option for protecting against maternal bone loss during gestation and lactation preventing bone fragility and for optimizing peak bone mass and architecture of the offspring in order to increase bone strength.This study was funded by Abbott Nutrition R&D, and co-authors PBV, MM, JMLP and RR receive salary from Abbott Nutrition

Human Rights Shaming Through INGOs and Foreign Aid Delivery

Does the ``shaming" of human rights violations influence foreign aid delivery decisions across OECD donor countries? We examine the effect of shaming, defined as targeted negative attention by human rights international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), on donor decisions about how to deliver bilateral aid. We argue that INGO shaming of recipient countries leads donor governments, on average, to ``bypass" the recipient government in favor of non-state aid delivery channels, including international and local NGOs and international organizations (IOs). However, we expect this relationship to be conditional on a donor country's position in the international system. Minor power countries have limited influence in global affairs and are therefore more able to centrally promote human rights in their foreign policy. Major power countries, on the other hand, shape world politics and often confront ``realpolitik" concerns that may require government-to-government aid relations in the presence of INGO shaming. We expect aid officials of minor donor countries to be more likely to condition aid delivery decisions on human rights shaming than their counterparts of major donor countries. Using compositional data analysis, we test our argument using originally collected data on human rights shaming events in a time-series cross-sectional framework from 2004 to 2010. We find support for our hypotheses: On average, OECD donor governments increase the proportion of bypass when INGOs shame the recipient government. When differentiating between donor types we find that this finding holds for minor but not for major powers. These results add to both our understanding of the influences of aid allocation decision-making and our understanding of the role of INGOs on foreign-policy