Interpreting ambiguous ‘trace’ results in Schistosoma mansoni CCA Tests: Estimating sensitivity and specificity of ambiguous results with no gold standard

Background The development of new diagnostics is an important tool in the fight against disease. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of tests in the absence of a gold standard. The main field diagnostic for Schistosoma mansoni infection, Kato-Katz (KK), is not very sensitive at low infection intensities. A point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) test has been shown to be more sensitive than KK. However, CCA can return an ambiguous ‘trace’ result between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’, and much debate has focused on interpretation of traces results. Methodology/Principle findings We show how LCA can be extended to include ambiguous trace results and analyse S. mansoni studies from both Côte d’Ivoire (CdI) and Uganda. We compare the diagnostic performance of KK and CCA and the observed results by each test to the estimated infection prevalence in the population. Prevalence by KK was higher in CdI (13.4%) than in Uganda (6.1%), but prevalence by CCA was similar between countries, both when trace was assumed to be negative (CCAtn: 11.7% in CdI and 9.7% in Uganda) and positive (CCAtp: 20.1% in CdI and 22.5% in Uganda). The estimated sensitivity of CCA was more consistent between countries than the estimated sensitivity of KK, and estimated infection prevalence did not significantly differ between CdI (20.5%) and Uganda (19.1%). The prevalence by CCA with trace as positive did not differ significantly from estimates of infection prevalence in either country, whereas both KK and CCA with trace as negative significantly underestimated infection prevalence in both countries. Conclusions Incorporation of ambiguous results into an LCA enables the effect of different treatment thresholds to be directly assessed and is applicable in many fields. Our results showed that CCA with trace as positive most accurately estimated infection prevalence

Linkage mapping of the Phg-1 and Co-14 genes for resistance to angular leaf spot and anthracnose in the common bean cultivar AND 277

The Andean common bean AND 277 has the Co-14 and the Phg-1 alleles that confer resistance to 21 and eight races, respectively, of the anthracnose (ANT) and angular leaf spot (ALS) pathogens. Because of its broad resistance spectrum, Co-14 is one of the main genes used in ANT resistance breeding. Additionally, Phg-1 is used for resistance to ALS. In this study, we elucidate the inheritance of the resistance of AND 277 to both pathogens using F2 populations from the AND 277 × Rudá and AND 277 × Ouro Negro crosses and F2:3 families from the AND 277 × Ouro Negro cross. Rudá and Ouro Negro are susceptible to all of the above races of both pathogens. Co-segregation analysis revealed that a single dominant gene in AND 277 confers resistance to races 65, 73, and 2047 of the ANT and to race 63-23 of the ALS pathogens. Co-14 and Phg-1 are tightly linked (0.0 cM) on linkage group Pv01. Through synteny mapping between common bean and soybean we also identified two new molecular markers, CV542014450 and TGA1.1570, tagging the Co-14 and Phg-1 loci. These markers are linked at 0.7 and 1.3 cM, respectively, from the Co-14/Phg-1 locus in coupling phase. The analysis of allele segregation in the BAT 93/Jalo EEP558 and California Dark Red Kidney/Yolano recombinant populations revealed that CV542014450 and TGA1.1570 segregated in the expected 1:1 ratio. Due to the physical linkage in cis configuration, Co-14 and Phg-1 are inherited together and can be monitored indirectly with the CV542014450 and TGA1.1570 markers. These results illustrate the rapid discovery of new markers through synteny mapping. These markers will reduce the time and costs associated with the pyramiding of these two disease resistance genes

OCCURRENCE OF Calodium hepaticum (BANCROFT, 1893) MORAVEC, 1982 EGGS IN FECES OF DOGS AND CATS IN LAGES, SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL

This study aims to report the incidence of Calodium hepaticum among dogs and cats, pets or stray animals, captured by the Zoonosis Control Center (CCZ) in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Fecal samples from 108 pet dogs and eight pet cats, and from 357 stray dogs and 97 stray cats, captured by CCZ, were analyzed within the period from July 2010 to November 2012. Coproparasitological exams were performed by techniques of sedimentation, centrifuge-flotation, and simple flotation. Among 465 fecal samples from dogs and 105 from cats, the overall spurious infections for C. hepaticum eggs were 1.05%. For dogs, this positivity was 0.43% and for cats it was 3.81%. The two positive dogs were stray and out of the four cats, three were stray and one was a pet. Although the occurrence of C. hepaticum eggs was low, these data reveal the existence of infected rodents, especially in public places, since, out of the six infected animals, five (83.33%) were stray. These results are discussed and analyzed with an emphasis on the risk to public health

A well-kept treasure at depth: precious red coral rediscovered in Atlantic deep coral gardens (SW Portugal) after 300 years

The highly valuable red coral Corallium rubrum is listed in several Mediterranean Conventions for species protection and management since the 1980s. Yet, the lack of data about its Atlantic distribution has hindered its protection there. This culminated in the recent discovery of poaching activities harvesting tens of kg of coral per day from deep rocky reefs off SW Portugal. Red coral was irregularly exploited in Portugal between the 1200s and 1700s, until the fishery collapsed. Its occurrence has not been reported for the last 300 years.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

International Care programs for Pediatric Post-COVID Condition (Long COVID) and the way forward

Background: Pediatric Post-COVID-Condition (PPCC) clinics treat children despite limited scientific substantiation. By exploring real-life management of children diagnosed with PPCC, the International Post-COVID-Condition in Children Collaboration (IP4C) aimed to provide guidance for future PPCC care. // Methods: We performed a cross-sectional international, multicenter study on used PPCC definitions; the organization of PPCC care programs and patients characteristics. We compared aggregated data from PPCC cohorts and identified priorities to improve PPCC care. // Results: Ten PPCC care programs and six COVID-19 follow-up research cohorts participated. Aggregated data from 584 PPCC patients was analyzed. The most common symptoms included fatigue (71%), headache (55%), concentration difficulties (53%), and brain fog (48%). Severe limitations in daily life were reported in 31% of patients. Most PPCC care programs organized in-person visits with multidisciplinary teams. Diagnostic testing for respiratory and cardiac morbidity was most frequently performed and seldom abnormal. Treatment was often limited to physical therapy and psychological support. // Conclusions: We found substantial heterogeneity in both the diagnostics and management of PPCC, possibly explained by scarce scientific evidence and lack of standardized care. We present a list of components which future guidelines should address, and outline priorities concerning PPCC care pathways, research and international collaboration

Multiscale multifactorial approaches for engineering tendon substitutes

The physiology of tendons and the continuous strains experienced daily make tendons very prone to injury. Excessive and prolonged loading forces and aging also contribute to the onset and progression of tendon injuries, and conventional treatments have limited efficacy in restoring tendon biomechanics. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) approaches hold the promise to provide therapeutic solutions for injured or damaged tendons despite the challenging cues of tendon niche and the lack of tendon-specific factors to guide cellular responses and tackle regeneration. The roots of engineering tendon substitutes lay in multifactorial approaches from adequate stem cells sources and environmental stimuli to the construction of multiscale 3D scaffolding systems. To achieve such advanced tendon substitutes, incremental strategies have been pursued to more closely recreate the native tendon requirements providing structural as well as physical and chemical cues combined with biochemical and mechanical stimuli to instruct cell behavior in 3D architectures, pursuing mechanically competent constructs with adequate maturation before implantation.Authors acknowledge the project “Accelerating tissue engineering and personalized medicine discoveries by the integration of key enabling nanotechnologies, marinederived biomaterials and stem cells,” supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Authors acknowledge the H2020 Achilles Twinning Project No. 810850, and also the European Research Council CoG MagTendon No. 772817, and the FCT Project MagTT PTDC/CTM-CTM/ 29930/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-29930