Reduced Plasmodium vivax Erythrocyte Infection in PNG Duffy-Negative Heterozygotes

BACKGROUND: Erythrocyte Duffy blood group negativity reaches fixation in African populations where Plasmodium vivax (Pv) is uncommon. While it is known that Duffy-negative individuals are highly resistant to Pv erythrocyte infection, little is known regarding Pv susceptibility among heterozygous carriers of a Duffy-negative allele (+/−). Our limited knowledge of the selective advantages or disadvantages associated with this genotype constrains our understanding of the effect that interventions against Pv may have on the health of people living in malaria-endemic regions. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted cross-sectional malaria prevalence surveys in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where we have previously identified a new Duffy-negative allele among individuals living in a region endemic for all four human malaria parasite species. We evaluated infection status by conventional blood smear light microscopy and semi-quantitative PCR-based strategies. Analysis of a longitudinal cohort constructed from our surveys showed that Duffy heterozygous (+/−) individuals were protected from Pv erythrocyte infection compared to those homozygous for wild-type alleles (+/+) (log-rank tests: LM, p = 0.049; PCR, p = 0.065). Evaluation of Pv parasitemia, determined by semi-quantitative PCR-based methods, was significantly lower in Duffy +/− vs. +/+ individuals (Mann-Whitney U: p = 0.023). Overall, we observed no association between susceptibility to P. falciparum erythrocyte infection and Duffy genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide the first evidence that Duffy-negative heterozygosity reduces erythrocyte susceptibility to Pv infection. As this reduction was not associated with greater susceptibility to Pf malaria, our in vivo observations provide evidence that Pv-targeted control measures can be developed safely

The Microfluidic Jukebox

Music is a form of art interweaving people of all walks of life. Through subtle changes in frequencies, a succession of musical notes forms a melody which is capable of mesmerizing the minds of people. With the advances in technology, we are now able to generate music electronically without relying solely on physical instruments. Here, we demonstrate a musical interpretation of droplet-based microfluidics as a form of novel electronic musical instruments. Using the interplay of electric field and hydrodynamics in microfluidic devices, well controlled frequency patterns corresponding to musical tracks are generated in real time. This high-speed modulation of droplet frequency (and therefore of droplet sizes) may also provide solutions that reconciles high-throughput droplet production and the control of individual droplet at production which is needed for many biochemical or material synthesis applications