Evaluation of the health-related quality of life of children in Schistosoma haematobium-endemic communities in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis remains a global public health challenge, with 93% of the ~237 million infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Though rarely fatal, its recurring nature makes it a lifetime disorder with significant chronic health burdens. Much of its negative health impact is due to non-specific conditions such as anemia, undernutrition, pain, exercise intolerance, poor school performance, and decreased work capacity. This makes it difficult to estimate the disease burden specific to schistosomiasis using the standard DALY metric. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In our study, we used Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), a modular instrument available for ages 2-18 years, to assess health-related quality of life (HrQoL) among children living in a Schistosoma haematobium-endemic area in coastal Kenya. The PedsQL questionnaires were administered by interview to children aged 5-18 years (and their parents) in five villages spread across three districts. HrQoL (total score) was significantly lower in villages with high prevalence of S. haematobium (-4.0%, p<0.001) and among the lower socioeconomic quartiles (-2.0%, p<0.05). A greater effect was seen in the psychosocial scales as compared to the physical function scale. In moderate prevalence villages, detection of any parasite eggs in the urine was associated with a significant 2.1% (p<0.05) reduction in total score. The PedsQL reliabilities were generally high (Cronbach alphas ≥0.70), floor effects were acceptable, and identification of children from low socioeconomic standing was valid. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that exposure to urogenital schistosomiasis is associated with a 2-4% reduction in HrQoL. Further research is warranted to determine the reproducibility and responsiveness properties of QoL testing in relation to schistosomiasis. We anticipate that a case definition based on more sensitive parasitological diagnosis among younger children will better define the immediate and long-term HrQoL impact of Schistosoma infection

G1 Cosmologies with Gravitational and Scalar Waves

I present here a new algorithm to generate families of inhomogeneous massless scalar field cosmologies. New spacetimes, having a single isometry, are generated by breaking the homogeneity of massless scalar field $G_2$ models along one direction. As an illustration of the technique I construct cosmological models which in their late time limit represent perturbations in the form of gravitational and scalar waves propagating on a non-static inhomogeneous background. Several features of the obtained metrics are discussed, such as their early and late time limits, structure of singularities and physical interpretation.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure

A questionnaire to identify patellofemoral pain in the community: an exploration of measurement properties

Background Community-based studies of patellofemoral pain (PFP) need a questionnaire tool that discriminates between those with and those without the condition. To overcome these issues, we have designed a self-report questionnaire which aims to identify people with PFP in the community. Methods Study designs: comparative study and cross-sectional study. Study population: comparative study: PFP patients, soft-tissue injury patients and adults without knee problems. Cross-sectional study: adults attending a science festival. Intervention: comparative study participants completed the questionnaire at baseline and two weeks later. Cross-sectional study participants completed the questionnaire once. The optimal scoring system and threshold was explored using receiver operating characteristic curves, test-retest reliability using Cohen’s kappa and measurement error using Bland-Altman plots and standard error of measurement. Known-group validity was explored by comparing PFP prevalence between genders and age groups. Results Eighty-four participants were recruited to the comparative study. The receiver operating characteristic curves suggested limiting the questionnaire to the clinical features and knee pain map sections (AUC 0.97 95 % CI 0.94 to 1.00). This combination had high sensitivity and specificity (over 90 %). Measurement error was less than the mean difference between the groups. Test–retest reliability estimates suggest good agreement (N = 51, k = 0.74, 95 % CI 0.52–0.91). The cross-sectional study (N = 110) showed expected differences between genders and age groups but these were not statistically significant. Conclusion A shortened version of the questionnaire, based on clinical features and a knee pain map, has good measurement properties. Further work is needed to validate the questionnaire in community samples

A random cell motility gradient downstream of FGF controls elongation of amniote embryos

Vertebrate embryos are characterized by an elongated antero-posterior (AP) body axis, which forms by progressive cell deposition from a posterior growth zone in the embryo. Here, we used tissue ablation in the chicken embryo to demonstrate that the caudal presomitic mesoderm (PSM) has a key role in axis elongation. Using time-lapse microscopy, we analysed the movements of fluorescently labelled cells in the PSM during embryo elongation, which revealed a clear posterior-to-anterior gradient of cell motility and directionality in the PSM. We tracked the movement of the PSM extracellular matrix in parallel with the labelled cells and subtracted the extracellular matrix movement from the global motion of cells. After subtraction, cell motility remained graded but lacked directionality, indicating that the posterior cell movements associated with axis elongation in the PSM are not intrinsic but reflect tissue deformation. The gradient of cell motion along the PSM parallels the fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) gradient1, which has been implicated in the control of cell motility in this tissue2. Both FGF signalling gain- and loss-of-function experiments lead to disruption of the motility gradient and a slowing down of axis elongation. Furthermore, embryos treated with cell movement inhibitors (blebbistatin or RhoK inhibitor), but not cell cycle inhibitors, show a slower axis elongation rate. We propose that the gradient of random cell motility downstream of FGF signalling in the PSM controls posterior elongation in the amniote embryo. Our data indicate that tissue elongation is an emergent property that arises from the collective regulation of graded, random cell motion rather than by the regulation of directionality of individual cellular movements

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) family

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) enzymes are secreted, multi-domain matrix-associated zinc metalloendopeptidases that have diverse roles in tissue morphogenesis and patho-physiological remodeling, in inflammation and in vascular biology. The human family includes 19 members that can be sub-grouped on the basis of their known substrates, namely the aggrecanases or proteoglycanases (ADAMTS1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 15 and 20), the procollagen N-propeptidases (ADAMTS2, 3 and 14), the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-cleaving enzymes (ADAMTS7 and 12), the von-Willebrand Factor proteinase (ADAMTS13) and a group of orphan enzymes (ADAMTS6, 10, 16, 17, 18 and 19). Control of the structure and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a central theme of the biology of the ADAMTS, as exemplified by the actions of the procollagen-N-propeptidases in collagen fibril assembly and of the aggrecanases in the cleavage or modification of ECM proteoglycans. Defects in certain family members give rise to inherited genetic disorders, while the aberrant expression or function of others is associated with arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. In particular, ADAMTS4 and 5 have emerged as therapeutic targets in arthritis. Multiple ADAMTSs from different sub-groupings exert either positive or negative effects on tumorigenesis and metastasis, with both metalloproteinase-dependent and -independent actions known to occur. The basic ADAMTS structure comprises a metalloproteinase catalytic domain and a carboxy-terminal ancillary domain, the latter determining substrate specificity and the localization of the protease and its interaction partners; ancillary domains probably also have independent biological functions. Focusing primarily on the aggrecanases and proteoglycanases, this review provides a perspective on the evolution of the ADAMTS family, their links with developmental and disease mechanisms, and key questions for the future

Late adoptions:Attachment security and emotional availability in mother-child and father-child dyads

A growing body of research suggests that a history of neglect, abuse and institutionalization can negatively affect late-adopted children's attachment representations, and that adoptive parents can play a key role in enabling adopted children to earn secure attachments. Still, only a few studies have explored the quality of caregiver-child interaction in adoptive families. The present study aimed at verifying both the concordance of attachment in adoptive dyads (mother-children and father-children) and the relationship between attachment representations and parent-child interaction. The research involved 20 adoptive families in which the child's arrival had occurred between 12 to 36 months before the assessment, and where children were aged between 4.5 and 8.5 years. Attachment was assessed through the Adult Attachment Interview for parents and through the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task for children. The emotional quality of parent-child interaction was assessed trough the Emotional Availability Scales. Our results pointed out the presence of a relation between attachment representations of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers (75%, K = 0.50, p =.025). In addition, we found that both insecure children and mothers showed lower levels of EA than secure ones. Some explanations are presented about why, in the early post-adoption period, child attachment patterns and dyadic emotional availability seem to be arranged on different frameworks for the two parental figures

Data Descriptor: Systematic, continental scale temporal monitoring of marine pelagic microbiota by the Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative

© 2018 Author(s). Sustained observations of microbial dynamics are rare, especially in southern hemisphere waters. The Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative (AMMBI) provides methodologically standardized, continental scale, temporal phylogenetic amplicon sequencing data describing Bacteria, Archaea and microbial Eukarya assemblages. Sequence data is linked to extensive physical, biological and chemical oceanographic contextual information. Samples are collected monthly to seasonally from multiple depths at seven sites: Darwin Harbour (Northern Territory), Yongala (Queensland), North Stradbroke Island (Queensland), Port Hacking (New South Wales), Maria Island (Tasmania), Kangaroo Island (South Australia), Rottnest Island (Western Australia). These sites span ~30° of latitude and ~38° longitude, range from tropical to cold temperate zones, and are influenced by both local and globally significant oceanographic and climatic features. All sequence datasets are provided in both raw and processed fashion. Currently 952 samples are publically available for bacteria and archaea which include 88,951,761 bacterial (72,435 unique) and 70,463,079 archaeal (24,205 unique) 16 S rRNA v1-3 gene sequences, and 388 samples are available for eukaryotes which include 39,801,050 (78,463 unique) 18 S rRNA v4 gene sequences

Can the stroma provide the clue to the cellular basis for mammographic density?

Mammographic density is recognised as a useful phenotypic biomarker of breast cancer risk. Deeper understanding is needed of the cellular basis, but evidence is limited because of difficulty in designing studies to validate hypotheses. The ductal epithelial components do not adequately explain the physical and dynamic features observed. The stroma is thought to interact with ductal structures in cancer initiation. Stromal tissues might account for the mammographic features, and this interplay can be hypothesised to relate risk to density. In a paper in this issue of Breast Cancer Research, Alowami has shown a relationship between density and stromal proteins, which might provide useful insight into mammographic density