Candidate malaria susceptibility/protective SNPs in hospital and population-based studies: the effect of sub-structuring

Background: Populations of East Africa including Sudan, exhibit some of the highest indices of genetic diversity in the continent and worldwide. The current study aims to address the possible impact of population structure and population stratification on the outcome of case-control association-analysis of malaria candidate-genes in different Sudanese populations, where the pronounced genetic heterogeneity becomes a source of concern for the potential effect on the studies outcome. Methods: A total of 72 SNPs were genotyped using the Sequenom iPLEX Gold assay in 449 DNA samples that included; cases and controls from two village populations, malaria patients and out-patients from the area of Sinnar and additional controls consisting of healthy Nilo-Saharan speaking individuals. The population substructure was estimated using the Structure 2.2 programme. Results & Discussion: The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium values were generally within expectation in Hausa and Massalit. However, in the Sinnar area there was a notable excess of homozygosity, which was attributed to the Whalund effect arising from population amalgamation within the sample. The programme STRUCTURE revealed a division of both Hausa and Massalit into two substructures with the partition in Hausa more pronounced than in Massalit; in Sinnar there was no defined substructure. More than 25 of the 72 SNPs assayed were informative in all areas. Some important SNPs were not differentially distributed between malaria cases and controls, including SNPs in CD36 and NOS2. A number of SNPs showed significant p-values for differences in distribution of genotypes between cases and controls including: rs1805015 (in IL4R1) (P=0001), rs17047661 (in CR1) (P=0.02) and rs1800750 (TNF-376) (P=0.01) in the hospital samples; rs1050828 (G6PD+202) (P=0.02) and rs1800896 (IL10-1082) (P=0.04) in Massalit and rs2243250 (IL4-589) (P=0.04) in Hausa. Conclusions: The difference in population structure partly accounts for some of these significant associations, and the strength of association proved to be sensitive to all levels of sub-structuring whether in the hospital or population-based study

Association of Human Herpesvirus-6B with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Steve Jacobson and colleagues report finding human herpesvirus-6B DNA in brain resections from 11 of 16 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, strengthening the evidence for a role for this virus in this condition

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is at Herd Immunity in the Majority Segment of the Population of Qatar.

BACKGROUND: Qatar experienced a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic that disproportionately affected the craft and manual worker (CMW) population, who comprise 60% of the total population. This study aimed to assess ever and/or current infection prevalence in this population. METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted during July 26 to September 09, 2020, to assess both anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity through serological testing and current infection positivity through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Associations with antibody and PCR positivity were identified through regression analyses. RESULTS: The study included 2641 participants, 69.3% of whom were <40 years of age. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity was 55.3% (95% CI, 53.3%-57.3%) and was significantly associated with nationality, geographic location, educational attainment, occupation, and previous infection diagnosis. PCR positivity was 11.3% (95% CI, 9.9%-12.8%) and was significantly associated with nationality, geographic location, occupation, contact with an infected person, and reporting 2 or more symptoms. Infection positivity (antibody and/or PCR positive) was 60.6% (95% CI, 58.6%-62.5%). The proportion of antibody-positive CMWs who had a prior SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis was 9.3% (95% CI, 7.9%-11.0%). Only seven infections were ever severe, and only 1 was ever critical-an infection severity rate of 0.5% (95% CI, 0.2%-1.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Six in every 10 CMWs in Qatar have been infected, suggestive of reaching the herd immunity threshold. Infection severity was low, with only 1 in every 200 infections progressing to be severe or critical. Only 1 in every 10 infections had been previously diagnosed, which is suggestive of mostly asymptomatic or mild infections

Improving Return on Investment for Photovoltaic Plants by Deploying Customized Load

&copy; 2020 IEEE. The deployment of grid connected photovoltaic (PV) power plants is increasing dramatically recently. Due to the intermittent nature of the PV power plant, a battery and/or a power curtailment controller has to be installed to maintain the stability of the distribution network. The battery is an additional cost in the system so the return on investment (ROI) analysis has to be conducted. An alternative to the battery, a customized load can be used to consume the surplus energy. This load has to make an additional income to be profitable for the plant\u27s owner. Such load can be crypto-currency mining rig that does calculation to validate the transaction in the Blockchain network. This study compared the ROI of the battery and the mining rig. The study shows that mining rig has higher ROI of 7.7% compared to 4.5% for battery

Seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 among the migrant workers in Qatar

Background: Limited data exists on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) infections in migrant populations. This study investigated HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalences and associations among craft and manual workers (CMWs) in Qatar who constitute 60% of Qatar’s population. Methods: A national population-based cross-sectional seroprevalence survey was conducted on the CMW population, all men, between July 26 and September 9, 2020. 2,612 sera were tested for anti-HSV-1 IgG antibodies using HerpeSelect 1 ELISA IgG kits and for anti-HSV-2 IgG antibodies using HerpeSelect 2 ELISA IgG kits (Focus Diagnostics, USA). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify associations with HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections. Results: Serological testing identified 2,171 sera as positive, 403 as negative, and 38 as equivocal for HSV-1 antibodies, and 300 sera as positive, 2,250 as negative, and 62 as equivocal for HSV-2 antibodies. HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalences among CMWs were estimated at 84.2% (95% CI 82.8–85.6%) and 11.4% (95% CI 10.1–12.6%), respectively. HSV-1 infection was associated with nationality, educational attainment, and occupation. HSV-2 infection was associated with age, nationality, and educational attainment. Conclusions: Over 80% of CMWs are infected with HSV-1 and over 10% are infected with HSV-2. The findings highlight the need for sexual health programs to tackle sexually transmitted infections among the CMW population.The authors are grateful for support from the Biomedical Research Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Research Core, both at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as for support provided by the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation. HHA acknowledges the support of Qatar University internal grant QUCG-CAS-23/24-114. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among migrant workers in Qatar.

Limited data exist on viral hepatitis among migrant populations. This study investigated the prevalence of current hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and lifetime hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Qatar's migrant craft and manual workers (CMWs), constituting 60% of the country's population. Sera collected during a nationwide COVID-19 population-based cross-sectional survey on CMWs between July 26 and September 9, 2020, underwent testing for HBsAg and HCV antibodies. Reactive samples underwent confirmatory testing, and logistic regression analyses were employed to explore associations with HBV and HCV infections. Among 2528 specimens tested for HBV infection, 15 were reactive, with 8 subsequently confirmed positive. Three samples lacked sufficient sera for confirmatory testing but were included in the analysis through multiple imputations. Prevalence of current HBV infection was 0.4% (95% CI 0.2-0.7%). Educational attainment and occupation were significantly associated with current HBV infection. For HCV infection, out of 2607 specimens tested, 46 were reactive, and 23 were subsequently confirmed positive. Prevalence of lifetime HCV infection was 0.8% (95% CI 0.5-1.2%). Egyptians exhibited the highest prevalence at 6.5% (95% CI 3.1-13.1%), followed by Pakistanis at 3.1% (95% CI 1.1-8.0%). Nationality, geographic location, and occupation were significantly associated with lifetime HCV infection. HBV infection is relatively low among CMWs, while HCV infection falls within the intermediate range, both compared to global and regional levels.This work was supported by the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) [grant number 12S-0216-190094] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation), and the Undergraduate Research Experience Program UREP30-041-3-014 from Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council. The authors are also grateful for support from the Biomedical Research Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Research Core, both at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as for support provided by the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation. HHA acknowledges the support of Qatar University internal grant QUCG-CAS-23/24-114. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. All kits (except Abia HCV Ab) employed in this project were provided at no cost as in-kind support for GKN Lab

Deammonifisering av Rejekt Forbehandlet med Termisk Hydrolyse

Cambi sin termiske hydrolyse prosess(THP) er en kjent og effektiv forbehandlingsprosess for slam før den stabiliseres i en råtnetank. Vannstrømmen som resulterer etter at det fordøyde slammet er avvannet, er rik på ammonium og kalles rejekt. Deammonifisering er en energieffektiv og kjent mikrobiell nitrogenfjerningsprosess for rejekt hvor ammonium omdannes til nitrogengass via nitritt, uten behov for en tilgjengelig karbonkilde. Denne prosessen utføres av ammonium oksiderende bakterier(AOB) og anaerobe ammonium oksiderende bakterier(anammox). Rejekt fra en råtnetank med THP forbehandling har en høyere konsentrasjon av ammonium og kjemisk oksygenforbruk(KOF) sammenlignet med konvensjonelt rejekt. Deammonifisering av THP rejekt har vist seg å være mindre effektivt enn for konvensjonelt rejekt, og det spekuleres i om det er de høye KOF-konsentrasjonene som virker inhiberende på prosessen. Målet med dette arbeidet var å undersøke mulige hemmende virkninger på deammonifiseringsprosessen fra ulike KOF-fraksjoner som finnes i THP rejekt. Dette inkluderte også undersøkelser av mulig tilstedeværelse av heterotrofe organismer grunnet tilgjengeligheten av bionedbrytbart KOF. Deammonifisering av THP rejekt i IFAS ANITA Mox prosessen ble undersøkt i både simuleringer og laboratorieforsøk. Kun anammox biomassen, som vokste på K5 bærere, ble undersøkt i laboratorieforsøkene. Simuleringene viste konkurranse mellom heterotrofe organismer og AOB, konsentrasjonen av AOB i prosessen ble redusert når fraksjonene med bionedbrytbart KOF økte. Ingen tydelige observasjoner av inhibering av anammox ble observert. Laboratorieforsøkene viste tilstedeværelse av heterotrofe denitrifiserende bakterier som konkurrerte med anammox. En høyere konkurranse for nitritt ble observert for økende eksponering av THP rejekt, også for THP rejekt med reduserte KOF-konsentrasjoner. Reduksjon i de større KOF-fraksjonene i THP rejektet minket anammox aktiviteten, mens reduksjon i de mindre KOF-fraksjonene økte anammox aktiviteten. Både simuleringene og laboratorieforsøkene indikerte at de minste og bionedbrytbare KOF-forbindelsene ga en høyere vekst og konkurranse fra heterotrofe organismer, som resulterte i at ytelsen til den deammonifiserende biomassen ble svekket. Resultatene kunne verken utelukke eller konkludere med at andre forbindelser tilstede i THP rejektet virket inhiberende på prosessen