New approaches to measuring anthelminthic drug efficacy: parasitological responses of childhood schistosome infections to treatment with praziquantel

By 2020, the global health community aims to control and eliminate human helminthiases, including schistosomiasis in selected African countries, principally by preventive chemotherapy (PCT) through mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelminthics. Quantitative monitoring of anthelminthic responses is crucial for promptly detecting changes in efficacy, potentially indicative of emerging drug resistance. Statistical models offer a powerful means to delineate and compare efficacy among individuals, among groups of individuals and among populations.; We illustrate a variety of statistical frameworks that offer different levels of inference by analysing data from nine previous studies on egg counts collected from African children before and after administration of praziquantel.; We quantify responses to praziquantel as egg reduction rates (ERRs), using different frameworks to estimate ERRs among population strata, as average responses, and within strata, as individual responses. We compare our model-based average ERRs to corresponding model-free estimates, using as reference the World Health Organization (WHO) 90 % threshold of optimal efficacy. We estimate distributions of individual responses and summarize the variation among these responses as the fraction of ERRs falling below the WHO threshold.; Generic models for evaluating responses to anthelminthics deepen our understanding of variation among populations, sub-populations and individuals. We discuss the future application of statistical modelling approaches for monitoring and evaluation of PCT programmes targeting human helminthiases in the context of the WHO 2020 control and elimination goals

Biotransformation of lanthanum by Aspergillus niger

Lanthanum is an important rare earth element and has many applications in modern electronics and catalyst manufacturing. However, there exist several obstacles in the recovery and cycling of this element due to a low average grade in exploitable deposits and low recovery rates by energy-intensive extraction procedures. In this work, a novel method to transform and recover La has been proposed using the geoactive properties of Aspergillus niger. La-containing crystals were formed and collected after A. niger was grown on Czapek-Dox agar medium amended with LaCl 3. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) showed the crystals contained C, O, and La; scanning electron microscopy revealed that the crystals were of a tabular structure with terraced surfaces. X-ray diffraction identified the mineral phase of the sample as La 2(C 2O 4) 3·10H 2O. Thermogravimetric analysis transformed the oxalate crystals into La 2O 3 with the kinetics of thermal decomposition corresponding well with theoretical calculations. Geochemical modelling further confirmed that the crystals were lanthanum decahydrate and identified optimal conditions for their precipitation. To quantify crystal production, biomass-free fungal culture supernatants were used to precipitate La. The results showed that the precipitated lanthanum decahydrate achieved optimal yields when the concentration of La was above 15 mM and that 100% La was removed from the system at 5 mM La. Our findings provide a new aspect in the biotransformation and biorecovery of rare earth elements from solution using biomass-free fungal culture systems. </p

Overview of biologically digested leachate treatment using adsorption

Biological process is effective in treating most biodegradable organic matter present in leachate; however, a significant amount of ammonia, metals and refractory organic compounds may still remain in this biologically digested leachate. This effluent cannot be released to receiving bodies until the discharge limit is met. Several physical/chemical processes have been practiced as post-treatment to remove the remaining pollutants including coagulation–flocculation, oxidation and adsorption. Adsorption is often applied in leachate treatment as it enhances removal of refractory organic compounds. This chapter will focus on works related to adsorption as one of the commonly used methods to treat biologically digested leachate further down to acceptable discharge limit

Overview of biologically digested leachate treatment using adsorption

Biological process is effective in treating most biodegradable organic matter present in leachate; however, a significant amount of ammonia, metals and refractory organic compounds may still remain in this biologically digested leachate. This effluent cannot be released to receiving bodies until the discharge limit is met. Several physical/chemical processes have been practiced as post-treatment to remove the remaining pollutants including coagulation–flocculation, oxidation and adsorption. Adsorption is often applied in leachate treatment as it enhances removal of refractory organic compounds. This chapter will focus on works related to adsorption as one of the commonly used methods to treat biologically digested leachate further down to acceptable discharge limit

Congenital Rubella Syndrome: A Case Report from Somalia

Farah Abdullahi Ismail,1 Yasir Khalif Ali,1 Ahmed Mohamed Ali,2 Ibrahim Mohamed Hirsi,1 Naima Abukar Ali,1 Mohamed Mukhtar Kassim,1 Farah Ali Ahmed,1 Mohamed Nur Ali1 1Pediatric Department of Mogadishu-Somalia Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia; 2Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Mogadishu-Somalia Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, SomaliaCorrespondence: Farah Abdullahi Ismail; Ahmed Mohamed Ali, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a serious condition with a high rate of morbidity. It is currently a rare disorder, especially in developed countries, because of universal vaccination campaigns. However, it remains a public health concern in developing countries. Here, we report a case of congenital rubella syndrome in a mother who did not receive any prenatal care or had a known history of vaccination. He is a term male infant, and the infant’s positive rubella IgM confirmed the diagnosis. The baby had a bilateral cataract, convulsions, Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)-related cardiomegaly, and bilateral hearing loss. The only known preventive measure for congenital rubella syndrome is vaccination.Keywords: congenital rubella syndrome, vaccine, prenatal car

Influence of halloysite nanotubes on physical and mechanical properties of cellulose fibres reinforced vinyl ester composites

Natural fibres are generally added to polymer matrix composites to produce materials with the desirable mechanical properties of higher specific strength and higher specific modulus while at the same time to maintain a low density and low cost. The physical and mechanical properties of polymer composites can be enhanced through the addition of nanofillers such as halloysite nanotubes. This article describes the fabrication of vinyl ester eco-composites and eco-nanocomposites and characterizes these samples in terms of water absorption, mechanical and thermal properties. Weight gain test and Fourier transform infrared analysis indicated that 5% halloysite nanotube addition gave favourable reduction in the water absorption and increased the fibre–matrix adhesion leading to improved strength properties in the eco-nanocomposites. However, halloysite nanotube addition resulted in reduced toughness but improved thermal stability

Relationship between parental locus of control and caries experience in preschool children – cross-sectional survey

Background: Due to high prevalence and serious impacts, childhood caries represents a public health issue. Behavioural risk factors such as locus of health control have been implicated in the development of the disease; however their association with childhood caries has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the relationship between parental locus of health control and caries experience and untreated caries of their preschool children in a representative sample in Czech Republic, adjusting for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A representative sample of 285 preschool children and their parents was recruited. Study data included children's dental status recorded in nurseries and parental questionnaires with 13 attitudinal items regarding locus of control (LoC) in caries prevention. The association between parental locus of control and children's caries experience and level of untreated caries was analysed using logistic regression, adjusting for the effect of key sociodemographic variables. Results: There was a statistically highly significant linear trend between increased parental LoC and higher probability of the children to be free from untreated caries, independent from the effect of sociodemographic variables of children and parents. A similar highly statistically significant trend, although not entirely linear, and independent from sociodemographic variables was observed with respect to the chance of the children to be free from caries experience with increasing strength of parental LoC. After full adjustment, children in the strongest parental LoC quintile were 2.81 (1.23–6.42, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from untreated caries in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile and 2.32 (1.02–5.25, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from caries experience in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile. Conclusion: The findings support the hypothesis that higher internal parental LoC is associated with better control of both untreated caries and caries experience in their preschool children and highlight that a more internal LoC within the family is advantageous in the prevention of dental caries

Clear View Sdn. Bhd. / Im Qama Azhar Zulkifli ... [et al.]

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Comparative analysis of sequence characteristics of imprinted genes in human, mouse, and cattle

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic mechanism that results in monoallelic expression of genes depending on parent-of-origin of the allele. Although the conservation of genomic imprinting among mammalian species has been widely reported for many genes, there is accumulating evidence that some genes escape this conservation. Most known imprinted genes have been identified in the mouse and human, with few imprinted genes reported in cattle. Comparative analysis of genomic imprinting across mammalian species would provide a powerful tool for elucidating the mechanisms regulating the unique expression of imprinted genes. In this study we analyzed the imprinting of 22 genes in human, mouse, and cattle and found that in only 11 was imprinting conserved across the three species. In addition, we analyzed the occurrence of the sequence elements CpG islands, C + G content, tandem repeats, and retrotransposable elements in imprinted and in nonimprinted (control) cattle genes. We found that imprinted genes have a higher G + C content and more CpG islands and tandem repeats. Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) were notably fewer in number in imprinted cattle genes compared to control genes, which is in agreement with previous reports for human and mouse imprinted regions. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and long terminal repeats (LTRs) were found to be significantly underrepresented in imprinted genes compared to control genes, contrary to reports on human and mouse. Of considerable significance was the finding of highly conserved tandem repeats in nine of the genes imprinted in all three species