Does Cataract Surgery Alleviate Poverty? Evidence from a Multi-Centre Intervention Study Conducted in Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Poverty and blindness are believed to be intimately linked, but empirical data supporting this purported relationship are sparse. The objective of this study is to assess whether there is a reduction in poverty after cataract surgery among visually impaired cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multi-centre intervention study was conducted in three countries (Kenya, Philippines, Bangladesh). Poverty data (household per capita expenditure--PCE, asset ownership and self-rated wealth) were collected from cases aged ≥50 years who were visually impaired due to cataract (visual acuity<6/24 in the better eye) and age-sex matched controls with normal vision. Cases were offered free/subsidised cataract surgery. Approximately one year later participants were re-interviewed about poverty. 466 cases and 436 controls were examined at both baseline and follow-up (Follow up rate: 78% for cases, 81% for controls), of which 263 cases had undergone cataract surgery ("operated cases"). At baseline, operated cases were poorer compared to controls in terms of PCE (Kenya: $22 versus £35 p = 0.02, Bangladesh:$16 vs $24 p = 0.004, Philippines:$24 vs 32 p = 0.0007), assets and self-rated wealth. By follow-up PCE had increased significantly among operated cases in each of the three settings to the level of controls (Kenya: $30 versus £36 p = 0.49, Bangladesh:$23 vs $23 p = 0.20, Philippines:$45 vs $36 p = 0.68). There were smaller increases in self-rated wealth and no changes in assets. Changes in PCE were apparent in different socio-demographic and ocular groups. The largest PCE increases were apparent among the cases that were poorest at baseline. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that cataract surgery can contribute to poverty alleviation, particularly among the most vulnerable members of society. This study highlights the need for increased provision of cataract surgery to poor people and shows that a focus on blindness may help to alleviate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Performance Factors in Associative Learning: Assessment of the Sometimes Competing Retrieval Model

Previous simulations revealed that the sometimes competing retrieval model (SOCR; Stout & Miller, 2007), which assumes local error reduction, can explain many cue interaction phenomena that elude traditional associative theories based on total error reduction. Here we applied SOCR to a new set of Pavlovian phenomena. Simulations used a single set of fixed parameters to simulate each basic effect (e.g., blocking) and, for specific experiments using different procedures, used fitted parameters discovered through hillclimbing. In Simulation 1, SOCR was successfully applied to basic acquisition, including the ‘overtraining effect,’ which is context dependent. In Simulation 2, we applied SOCR to basic extinction and renewal. SOCR anticipated these effects with both fixed parameters and best fitting parameters, although the renewal effects were weaker than those observed in some experiments. In Simulation 3a, feature negative training was simulated, including the often observed transition from second-order conditioning to conditioned inhibition. In Simulation 3b, SOCR predicted the observation that conditioned inhibition after feature-negative and differential conditioning depends on intertrial interval. In Simulation 3c, SOCR successfully predicted failure of conditioned inhibition to extinguish with presentations of the inhibitor alone under most circumstances. In Simulation 4, cue competition, including blocking (4a), recovery from relative validity (4b), and unblocking (4c), were simulated. In Simulation 5, SOCR correctly predicted that inhibitors gain more behavioral control than excitors when they are trained in compound. Simulation 6 demonstrated that SOCR explains the slower acquisition observed following CS-weak shock pairings

Vaccination of Rhesus Macaques with a Recombinant Measles Virus Expressing Interleukin-12 Alters Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses

Lack of a vaccine for infants and immunosuppression after infection are problems associated with measles virus (MV). Because interleukin (IL)-12 has been used successfully as a vaccine adjuvant and because inhibition of IL-12 expression has been associated with immunosuppression during measles, the addition of IL-12 may enhance the immune response to MV. To determine the effect of IL-12 supplementation, rhesus macaques were vaccinated with a recombinant MV expressing IL-12; these macaques had increased interferon-γ production by CD4+ T cells, decreased production of IL-4, and lower levels of MV-specific immunoglobulin G4 and neutralizing antibody. Lymphoproliferative responses to mitogen were not improved. IL-12 supplementation altered the T helper type 2 bias of the immune response after MV vaccination, had a detrimental effect on the protective neutralizing antibody response, and did not improve other manifestations of immunosuppression. Reduced IL-12 levels are not the sole factor in MV-induced immunosuppressio

Analysis of Sustainability of Three Pest Management Alternatives in Greenhouse Tomato in the Horticultural Belt of La Plata

El Manejo Convencional de plagas (MC) en tomate se basa en el uso de insecticidas, frecuentemente en forma indiscriminada, convirtiéndolo en poco sustentable económica, ecológica y socialmente. El Manejo Integrado de Plagas (MIP) aparece como alternativa y establece pautas como monitoreo de plagas, aplicación de niveles máximos de tolerancia (NMT) y el uso de insecticidas selectivos. El Manejo Orgánico (MO) incluye el control de plagas a través de preparados caseros (purines) y del aumento de diversidad vegetal que provee alimento y refugio para la fauna benéfica. Se comparó la sustentabilidad de estas tres alternativas de manejo sanitario en tomate bajo cubierta para sus dos principales plagas: 1) Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) y 2) Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). El estudio se realizó en tres fincas durante dos campañas consecutivas. El mayor valor de sustentabilidad se encontró en el MO, seguido por el MIP, debido a que ambos presentaron un menor número de puntos críticos en las diferentes dimensiones (ecológica, económica, socio-cultural y técnica-productiva). El MC resultó ser no sustentable. El MIP sería el manejo más apropiado para el tomate bajo cubierta en el CHP porque: 1) actualmente se aplica en la región, 2) es más compatible con los principios agroecológicos, y 3) su implementación a mayor escala espacio-temporal conllevaría a un serie de beneficios (reducción de la contaminación ambiental, la mejora en las condiciones laborales, y la compatibilización con otras técnicas de control).Tomato pests in greenhouses are conventionally controlled by means of insecticides (referred herein as CM), which are frequently used indiscriminately, making the crop economically, ecologically and socially non-sustainable. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) provides alternative techniques different from the exclusive use of pesticides to cope with sanitary problems in crops. For the Horticultural Belt surrounding La Plata City (CHP), an Integrated Pest Control Management Protocol is being under implementation, and includes guidelines for producers (pest monitoring, use of maximum tolerance levels (MTL) and selective insecticides. Organic Management (OM) is also applied at a lesser extent in protected tomato in the region, and includes pest control through home-made preparations (“purines”), plant diversification that provides food and refuge for beneficial fauna (predators, parasitoids and pollinators), among others. In this contribution, the sustainability of three pest management alternatives in greenhouse tomato in the CHP, for: 1) Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and 2) Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) were analyzed. The study was carried out in three commercial farms in CHP during two consecutive production years. Sustainability analyses show that OM greenhouses, followed by IPM crops, had the higher sustainability values of the ecological, economical, social-cultural and technical-productive dimensions considered in this study, since both had the lesser number of critical points. CM crops were significantly non sustainable. To conclude, IPM is proposed as a proper pest management to carry out in greenhouse tomato in the CHP, because: 1) it is being applied in the region, 2) it is more compatible with agro-ecological principles, and 3) its implementation to larger space and temporal scales would imply a series of benefits (reduction of environmental contamination, improvement in rural work conditions, and its compatibility with another pest control techniques).Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Murine model for Fusarium oxysporum invasive fusariosis reveals organ-specific structures for dissemination and long-term persistence

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Maternal-fetal immunologic response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in a symptomatic vulnerable population: A prospective cohort

Background: COVID-19 disproportionally affects pregnant women and their newborn, yet little is known about the variables that modulate the maternal-fetal immune response to infection.Methods: We prospectively studied socioeconomic, biologic and clinical factors affecting humoral immunity in 87 unvaccinated pregnant women admitted to hospital in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area for symptoms consistent with COVID-19 disease.Results: The number of days between symptom onset and childbirth predicted maternal and newborn virus Spike protein Receptor Binding Domain (RBD)-specific IgG. These findings suggest newborns may benefit less when mothers deliver soon after COVID-19 infection. Similarly, a longer time between symptom onset and birth predicted higher in utero transfer of maternal IgG and its concentration in cord blood. Older gestational ages at birth were associated with lower maternal IgG: cord blood IgG ratios. Eighty seven percent of women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection developed RBD-specific IgA responses in breast milk within 96 h of childbirth. IgA was not significantly associated with time from infection but correlated with maternal serum IgG and placental transfer.Conclusions: These results demonstrate the combined role of biologic, clinical and socioeconomic variables associated with maternal SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific antibodies and supports early vaccination strategies for COVID-19 in socioeconomically vulnerable pregnant women.Fil: Larcade, Ramon. No especifíca;Fil: DeShea, Lise. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Lang, Gillian A.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Caballero, Mauricio Tomás. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ferretti, Adrian. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Beasley, William H.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Tipple, Trent E.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Vain, Néstor Eduardo. No especifíca;Fil: Prudent, Luis. No especifíca;Fil: Lang, Mark L.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Polack, Fernando Pedro. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Ofman, Gaston. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; Argentin

The geographical distribution and burden of trachoma in Africa.

BACKGROUND: There remains a lack of epidemiological data on the geographical distribution of trachoma to support global mapping and scale up of interventions for the elimination of trachoma. The Global Atlas of Trachoma (GAT) was launched in 2011 to address these needs and provide standardised, updated and accessible maps. This paper uses data included in the GAT to describe the geographical distribution and burden of trachoma in Africa. METHODS: Data assembly used structured searches of published and unpublished literature to identify cross-sectional epidemiological data on the burden of trachoma since 1980. Survey data were abstracted into a standardised database and mapped using geographical information systems (GIS) software. The characteristics of all surveys were summarized by country according to data source, time period, and survey methodology. Estimates of the current population at risk were calculated for each country and stratified by endemicity class. RESULTS: At the time of writing, 1342 records are included in the database representing surveys conducted between 1985 and 2012. These data were provided by direct contact with national control programmes and academic researchers (67%), peer-reviewed publications (17%) and unpublished reports or theses (16%). Prevalence data on active trachoma are available in 29 of the 33 countries in Africa classified as endemic for trachoma, and 1095 (20.6%) districts have representative data collected through population-based prevalence surveys. The highest prevalence of active trachoma and trichiasis remains in the Sahel area of West Africa and Savannah areas of East and Central Africa and an estimated 129.4 million people live in areas of Africa confirmed to be trachoma endemic. CONCLUSION: The Global Atlas of Trachoma provides the most contemporary and comprehensive summary of the burden of trachoma within Africa. The GAT highlights where future mapping is required and provides an important planning tool for scale-up and surveillance of trachoma control