Follow-up Reproductive Health Needs Assessment for Evaluation of a CBD Program in Maramba Division,Muheza District

This is the report of a follow up household survey conducted in 8 villages of Maramba Division, Muheza District 1.5 years after starting a CBD program. The main findings are; The contraceptive prevalence for modern methods was 33% compared to 24% in 1999. Among clients of oral contraceptives compliance to pill use can be estimated to be about 77%. Delivery indicators show that the rate of professionally assisted deliveries decreased from 55% in 1999 to only 33% in 2001. Knowledge on how to prevent STDs has improved. More women mention the use of condoms 16%(against 10% in 99) and having only one sexual partner 43% (against 27% in 99). It is concluded that CBD activities have a measurable impact on the contraceptive prevalence rate. If established at large scale the contraceptive prevalence of a whole region or even the whole country could increase considerably... Delivery indicators showed that the rate of home deliveries is increasing. Especially alarming is the increase in birth only attended by untrained people. There is an urgent need to further explore the reason and to react with appropriate measures. This rapid assessment methodology is very useful to provide at low cost population based data. This is especially important as long as reliable population data are missing. In selected area this type of survey should accompany a CBD program on regular basis

The geochemistry and geochronology of the Eocene Absaroka volcanic province northern Wyoming and southwest Montana, USA

The Absaroka volcanic province is the largest of Eocene volcanic fields in the northern Cordillera of the western U.S., and consists of 25,000 km2 of lava flows, shallow intrusions, ash-flow tuffs and volcaniclastic deposits. It is aligned with northwest-trending Precambrian lineaments, and includes the remains of at least ten volcanic centers. This study presents 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data, and major, trace element and isotopic compositional data which are the result of detailed mapping and field sampling of four representative volcanic centers, peripheral lava flows, intrusions, and ash-flow tuffs. Age data show that volcanism occurred between 53 and 43 Ma in a general northwest to southeast age progression, and have allowed significant revisions in regional correlations across the volcanic province. Local dike orientations from one volcanic center suggest that volcanism occurred during extensional faulting. Geochemical and Nd, Sr and Pb isotopic data show that mafic lavas are enriched in incompatible elements derived from an ancient source. Mafic rocks (5% MgO) are characteristically potassic, and are typical products of early eruptions at each of the Hyalite, Crandall, Ishawooa, and Rampart volcanic centers, and not spatially restricted to any one region. Although products of volcanism are broadly similar, volcanic centers exhibit distinct mineralogic, compositional and isotopic characteristics. Least squares calculations based on mineralogical data indicate that shoshonites can be produced from mafic samples by fractionation of olivine and augite t plagioclase. More silicic samples have petrographic features and compositions which indicate they are derived from a mixture of sources including continental crust. Changing chemical and isotopic compositions suggest that early eruptions contain a lithospheric mantle component, with an increasing melt contribution from crustal sources with time. The last eruptions include rhyolite from the southern Absaroka volcanic province and basanite with an asthenospheric isotopic composition sampled from a peripheral lava flow in the northern Absaroka volcanic province

Development of the CNPP Prices Database

Data are available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood.htmfood prices, USDA Food Plans, NHANES, CNPP Prices Database, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Diagnostic accuracy of a sequence-specific Mtb-DNA hybridization assay in urine: a case-control study including subclinical TB cases.

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally. Timely diagnosis is a key step in the management of TB patients and in the prevention of further transmission events. Current diagnostic tools are limited in these regards. There is an urgent need for new accurate non-sputum-based diagnostic tools for the detection of symptomatic as well as subclinical TB. In this study, we recruited 52 symptomatic TB patients (sputum Xpert MTB/RIF positive) and 58 household contacts to assess the accuracy of a sequence-specific hybridization assay that detects the presence of Mtb cell-free DNA in urine. Using sputum Xpert MTB/RIF as a reference test, the magnetic bead-capture assay could discriminate active TB from healthy household contacts with an overall sensitivity of 72.1% [confidence interval (CI) 0.59-0.86] and specificity of 95.5% (CI 0.90-1.02) with a positive predictive value of 93.9% and negative predictive value of 78.2%. The detection of Mtb-specific DNA in urine suggested four asymptomatic TB infection cases that were confirmed in all instances either by concomitant Xpert MTB/RIF sputum testing or by follow-up investigation raising the specificity of the index test to 100%. We conclude that sequence-specific hybridization assays on urine specimens hold promise as non-invasive tests for the detection of subclinical TB. There is an urgent need for a non-sputum-based diagnostic tool allowing sensitive and specific detection of all forms of tuberculosis (TB) infections. In that context, we performed a case-control study to assess the accuracy of a molecular detection method enabling the identification of cell-free DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is shed in the urine of tuberculosis patients. We present accuracy data that would fulfill the target product profile for a non-sputum test. In addition, recent epidemiological data suggested that up to 50% of individuals secreting live bacilli do not present with symptoms at the time of screening. We report, here, that the investigated index test could also detect instances of asymptomatic TB infections among household contacts

Case-control diagnostic accuracy study of a non-sputum CD38-based TAM-TB test from a single milliliter of blood

Background: CD4 T cell phenotyping-based blood assays have the potential to meet WHO target product profiles (TPP) of non-sputum-biomarker-based tests to diagnose tuberculosis (TB). Yet, substantial refinements are required to allow their implementation in clinical settings. This study assessed the real time performance of a simplified T cell activation marker (TAM)-TB assay to detect TB in adults from one millilitre of blood with a 24h turnaround time. Methods: We recruited 479 GeneXpert® positive cases and 108 symptomatic but GeneXpert® negativecontrols from presumptive adult TB patients in the Temeke District of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. TAM-TB assay accuracy was assessed by comparison with a composite reference standard comprising GeneXpert® and solid culture. A single millilitre of fresh blood was processed to measure expression of CD38 or CD27 by CD4 T cells producing INF-γ and/or TNF-α in response to a synthetic peptide pool covering the sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) ESAT-6, CFP-10 and TB10.4 antigens on a 4-color FACSCalibur apparatus. Results: Significantly superior to CD27 in accurately diagnosing TB, the CD38-based TAM-TB assay specificity reached 93.4% for a sensitivity of 82.2% with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.87 (95% CI 0.84-0.91). The assay performance was not significantly affected by HIV status. Conclusions: Wesuccessfully implemented TAM-TB immunoassay routine testing with a 24h turnaround time at district level in a resource limited setting. Starting from one millilitre of fresh blood and being not influenced by HIV status, TAM-TB assay format and performance appears closely compatible with the optimal TPP accuracy criteria defined by WHO for a non-sputum confirmatory TB test

CD38 expression by antigen-specific CD4 t cells is significantly restored 5 months after treatment initiation independently of sputum bacterial load at the time of tuberculosis diagnosis

T cell activation markers (TAM) expressed by antigen-specific T cells constitute promising candidates to attest the presence of an active infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Reciprocally, their modulation may be used to assess antibiotic treatment efficacy and eventually attest disease resolution. We hypothesized that the phenotype of Mtb-specific T cells may be quantitatively impacted by the load of bacteria present in a patient. We recruited 105 Tanzanian adult tuberculosis (TB) patients and obtained blood before and after 5 months of antibiotic treatment. We studied relationships between patients' clinical characteristics of disease severity and microbiological as well as molecular proxies of bacterial load in sputum at the time of diagnosis. Besides, we measured by flow cytometry the expression of CD38 or CD27 on CD4+ T cells producing interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and/or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in response to a synthetic peptide pool covering the sequences of Mtb antigens ESAT-6, CFP-10, and TB10.4. Reflecting the difficulty to extrapolate bacterial burden from a single end-point read-out, we observed statistically significant but weak correlations between Xpert MTB/RIF, molecular bacterial load assay and time to culture positivity. Unlike CD27, the resolution of CD38 expression by antigen-specific T cells was observed readily following 5 months of antibiotic therapy. However, the intensity of CD38-TAM signals measured at diagnosis did not significantly correlate with Mtb 16S RNA or rpoB DNA detected in patients' sputa. Altogether, our data support CD38-TAM as an accurate marker of infection resolution independently of sputum bacterial load

Drosophila eiger Mutants Are Sensitive to Extracellular Pathogens

We showed previously that eiger, the Drosophila tumor necrosis factor homolog, contributes to the pathology induced by infection with Salmonella typhimurium. We were curious whether eiger is always detrimental in the context of infection or if it plays a role in fighting some types of microbes. We challenged wild-type and eiger mutant flies with a collection of facultative intracellular and extracellular pathogens, including a fungus and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The response of eiger mutants divided these microbes into two groups: eiger mutants are immunocompromised with respect to extracellular pathogens but show no change or reduced sensitivity to facultative intracellular pathogens. Hence, eiger helps fight infections but also can cause pathology. We propose that eiger activates the cellular immune response of the fly to aid clearance of extracellular pathogens. Intracellular pathogens, which can already defeat professional phagocytes, are unaffected by eiger

When a calorie is not just a calorie : Diet quality and timing as mediators of metabolism and healthy aging

Funding Information: We thank Dr. Yih-Woei Fridell of the National Institute on Aging for organizing the meeting, as well as the NIA Division of Aging Biology for their support. We thank Dr. Gino Cortopassi for his edits and suggestions. The figures were created with BioRender.com. The Mihaylova lab is supported in part by the NIA (R00AG054760), Office of the NIH Director (DP2CA271361), the American Federation for Aging Research, the V Foundation, Pew Biomedical Scholar award, and startup funds from the Ohio State University. The Delibegovic lab is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, BBSRC, NHS Grampian, Tenovus Scotland, and the Development Trust (University of Aberdeen). J.J.R. is supported by NIA PO1AG062817, R21AG064290, and R21AG071156. Research support for J.B. was from NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) grants R01DK127800, R01DK113011, R01DK090625, and R01DK050203 and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) grants R01AG065988 and P01AG011412, as well as the University of Chicago Diabetes Research and Training Center grant P30DK020595. This work was supported by NIH grants AG065992 to G.M. and AG068550 to G.M. and S.P. as well as UAB Startup funds 3123226 and 3123227 to G.M. R.S. is supported by NIH grants RF1AG043517, R01AG065985, R01DK123327, R56AG074568, and P01AG031782. Z.C. is primarily funded by The Welch Foundation (AU-1731-20190330) and NIH/NIA (R01AG065984, R56AG063746, RF1AG061901, and R56AG076144). A.C. is supported by NIA grant R01AG065993. W.W.J. is supported by the NIH (R01DC020031). M.S.-H. is supported by NIH R01 R35GM127049, R01 AG045842, and R21 NS122366. The research in the Dixit lab was supported in part by NIH grants AG031797, AG045712, P01AG051459, AR070811, AG076782, AG073969, and AG068863 and Cure Alzheimer's Fund (CAF). A.E.T.-M. is supported by the NIH/NIA (AG075059 and AG058630), NIAMS (AR071133), NHLBI (HL153460), pilot and feasibility funds from the NIDDK-funded UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center (DK056336) and the NIA-funded UAB Nathan Shock Center (AG050886), and startup funds from UAB. J.A.M. is supported by the Intramural Research Program, NIA, NIH. The Panda lab is supported by the NIH (R01CA236352, R01CA258221, RF1AG068550, and P30CA014195), the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, and the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. The Lamming lab is supported in part by the NIA (AG056771, AG062328, AG061635, and AG081482), the NIDDK (DK125859), startup funds from UW-Madison, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (I01-BX004031), and this work was supported using facilities and resources from the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. This work does not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. D.W.L. has received funding from, and is a scientific advisory board member of, Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, which seeks to develop novel, selective mTOR inhibitors for the treatment of various diseases. S.P. is the author of the books The Circadian Code and The Circadian Diabetes Code. Funding Information: We thank Dr. Yih-Woei Fridell of the National Institute on Aging for organizing the meeting, as well as the NIA Division of Aging Biology for their support. We thank Dr. Gino Cortopassi for his edits and suggestions. The figures were created with BioRender.com . The Mihaylova lab is supported in part by the NIA ( R00AG054760 ), Office of the NIH Director ( DP2CA271361 ), the American Federation for Aging Research , the V Foundation , Pew Biomedical Scholar award, and startup funds from the Ohio State University . The Delibegovic lab is funded by the British Heart Foundation , Diabetes UK , BBSRC , NHS Grampian , Tenovus Scotland , and the Development Trust ( University of Aberdeen ). J.J.R. is supported by NIA PO1AG062817 , R21AG064290 , and R21AG071156 . Research support for J.B. was from NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) grants R01DK127800 , R01DK113011 , R01DK090625 , and R01DK050203 and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) grants R01AG065988 and P01AG011412 , as well as the University of Chicago Diabetes Research and Training Center grant P30DK020595 . This work was supported by NIH grants AG065992 to G.M. and AG068550 to G.M. and S.P., as well as UAB Startup funds 3123226 and 3123227 to G.M. R.S. is supported by NIH grants RF1AG043517 , R01AG065985 , R01DK123327 , R56AG074568 , and P01AG031782 . Z.C. is primarily funded by The Welch Foundation ( AU-1731-20190330 ) and NIH/NIA ( R01AG065984 , R56AG063746 , RF1AG061901 , and R56AG076144 ). A.C. is supported by NIA grant R01AG065993 . W.W.J. is supported by the NIH ( R01DC020031 ). M.S.-H. is supported by NIH R01 R35GM127049 , R01 AG045842 , and R21 NS122366 . The research in the Dixit lab was supported in part by NIH grants AG031797 , AG045712 , P01AG051459 , AR070811 , AG076782 , AG073969 , and AG068863 and Cure Alzheimer's Fund (CAF). A.E.T.-M. is supported by the NIH/NIA ( AG075059 and AG058630 ), NIAMS ( AR071133 ), NHLBI ( HL153460 ), pilot and feasibility funds from the NIDDK -funded UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center ( DK056336 ) and the NIA -funded UAB Nathan Shock Center ( AG050886 ), and startup funds from UAB . J.A.M. is supported by the Intramural Research Program, NIA, NIH . The Panda lab is supported by the NIH ( R01CA236352 , R01CA258221 , RF1AG068550 , and P30CA014195 ), the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance , and the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation . The Lamming lab is supported in part by the NIA ( AG056771 , AG062328 , AG061635 , and AG081482 ), the NIDDK ( DK125859 ), startup funds from UW-Madison , and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ( I01-BX004031 ), and this work was supported using facilities and resources from the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. This work does not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.Peer reviewedPostprin

The Circadian Clock Protein Timeless Regulates Phagocytosis of Bacteria in Drosophila

Survival of bacterial infection is the result of complex host-pathogen interactions. An often-overlooked aspect of these interactions is the circadian state of the host. Previously, we demonstrated that Drosophila mutants lacking the circadian regulatory proteins Timeless (Tim) and Period (Per) are sensitive to infection by S. pneumoniae. Sensitivity to infection can be mediated either by changes in resistance (control of microbial load) or tolerance (endurance of the pathogenic effects of infection). Here we show that Tim regulates resistance against both S. pneumoniae and S. marcescens. We set out to characterize and identify the underlying mechanism of resistance that is circadian-regulated. Using S. pneumoniae, we found that resistance oscillates daily in adult wild-type flies and that these oscillations are absent in Tim mutants. Drosophila have at least three main resistance mechanisms to kill high levels of bacteria in their hemolymph: melanization, antimicrobial peptides, and phagocytosis. We found that melanization is not circadian-regulated. We further found that basal levels of AMP gene expression exhibit time-of-day oscillations but that these are Tim-independent; moreover, infection-induced AMP gene expression is not circadian-regulated. We then show that phagocytosis is circadian-regulated. Wild-type flies exhibit up-regulated phagocytic activity at night; Tim mutants have normal phagocytic activity during the day but lack this night-time peak. Tim appears to regulate an upstream event in phagocytosis, such as bacterial recognition or activation of phagocytic hemocytes. Interestingly, inhibition of phagocytosis in wild type flies results in survival kinetics similar to Tim mutants after infection with S. pneumoniae. Taken together, these results suggest that loss of circadian oscillation of a specific immune function (phagocytosis) can have significant effects on long-term survival of infection