Examining the early distribution of the artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum kelch13 R561H mutation in areas of higher transmission in Rwanda

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin resistance mutations in Plasmodium falciparum kelch13 (Pfk13) have begun to emerge in Africa, with Pfk13-R561H being the first reported in Rwanda in 2014, but limited sampling left questions about its early distribution and origin. METHODS: We genotyped P. falciparum positive dried blood spot (DBS) samples from a nationally representative 2014-2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) HIV study. DBS were subsampled from DHS sampling clusters with >15% P. falciparum prevalence, as determined by rapid testing or microscopy done during the DHS study (n clusters = 67, n samples = 1873). RESULTS: We detected 476 parasitemias among 1873 residual blood spots from a 2014-2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey. We sequenced 351 samples: 341/351 were wild-type (97.03% weighted), and 4 samples (1.34% weighted) harbored R561H that were significantly spatially clustered. Other nonsynonymous mutations found were V555A (3), C532W (1), and G533A (1). CONCLUSIONS: Our study better defines the early distribution of R561H in Rwanda. Previous studies only observed the mutation in Masaka as of 2014, but our study indicates its presence in higher-transmission regions in the southeast of the country at that time

Reproductive Performances of a cameroonian dual-purpose local chicken strain fed pelleted diets containing graded levels of cassava and sweet potato meal as an energy substitute for maize.

The continuous rising price of maize due to an increasing competition between humans and livestock requires palliative measures to sustain animal production. cassava-sweet potato meal combination can be used as a substitute for maize in feeding chicken. This study aimed at improving poultry productivity through the enhancement of the reproductive performances of Cameroon Kabir chickens fed pelleted diets of graded levels inclusion of cassava-sweet potato meal as an energy substitute for maize.315 Kabir chickens (270 hens and 45 rosters) of 23 weeks of age, were randomly allocated to five treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 with graded levels of cassava-sweet potato meal as energy substitute for maize, and eggs were collected for the evaluation of laying performances and characteristics. Fertility and hatchability were also evaluated across four successive batches of incubations. The eggs? weight was significantly (P<0.05) different between treatments at weeks 2, 4, 5 and 12, highly significant (P<0.01) at week 9, and very highly significant (P<0.001) at week 6, 7, 8 and 10. The highest number of eggs laid, egg weight and mass were recorded in chicken receiving 25% (T2) replacement of maize with cassava and sweet potato meal, followed by T4 (75%), T5 (100%), T3 (50%) while T1, receiving control diet without cassava and sweet potato meal performed less for all the parameters. Generally, the trend of the feed conversion ratio was decreasing with increasing the inclusion level of cassava and sweet potato meal. The egg index showed significant differences in weeks 6 and 12, while week 2 showed high significant difference between the treatments. T2 (25%) recorded the highest fertility, while animals receiving control ration without maize substitution recorded the highest hatchability. In general, incorporation of 25% of fifty-fifty percent weight to weight of cassava and sweet potato meal can be recommended for reproduction in chicken without affecting neither the hatchability nor the physical characteristics of the eggs, though hatchability will require better attention

A prática agroecológica como base para produção de galinhas poedeiras.

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Lactate and base deficit are predictors of mortality in critically ill patients with cancer

Cancer patients frequently require admission to intensive care unit. However, there are a few data regarding predictive factors for mortality in this group of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether arterial lactate or standard base deficit on admission and after 24 hours can predict mortality for patients with cancer.Journal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Nonradioactive heteroduplex tracking assay for the detection of minority-variant chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Madagascar

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Strains of <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>genetically resistant to chloroquine (CQ) due to the presence of <it>pfcrt </it>76T appear to have been recently introduced to the island of Madagascar. The prevalence of such resistant genotypes is reported to be low (< 3%) when evaluated by conventional PCR. However, these methods are insensitive to low levels of mutant parasites present in patients with polyclonal infections. Thus, the current estimates may be an under representation of the prevalence of the CQ-resistant <it>P. falciparum </it>isolates on the island. Previously, minority variant chloroquine resistant parasites were described in Malawian patients using an isotopic heteroduplex tracking assay (HTA), which can detect <it>pfcrt </it>76T-bearing <it>P. falciparum </it>minority variants in individual patients that were undetectable by conventional PCR. However, as this assay required a radiolabeled probe, it could not be used in many resource-limited settings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study describes a digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled chemiluminescent heteroduplex tracking assay (DIG-HTA) to detect <it>pfcrt </it>76T-bearing minority variant <it>P. falciparum</it>. This assay was compared to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and to the isotopic HTA for detection of genetically CQ-resistant parasites in clinical samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty one clinical <it>P. falciparum </it>isolates (15 primary isolates and 16 recurrent isolates) from 17 Malagasy children treated with CQ for uncomplicated malaria were genotyped for the <it>pfcrt </it>K76T mutation. Two (11.7%) of 17 patients harboured genetically CQ-resistant <it>P. falciparum </it>strains after therapy as detected by HTA. RFLP analysis failed to detect any <it>pfcrt </it>K76T-bearing isolates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings indicate that genetically CQ-resistant <it>P. falciparum </it>are more common than previously thought in Madagascar even though the fitness of the minority variant <it>pfcrt </it>76T parasites remains unclear. In addition, HTAs for malaria drug resistance alleles are promising tools for the surveillance of anti-malarial resistance. The use of a non-radioactive label allows for the use of HTAs in malaria endemic countries.</p

Individual Plasmodium vivax msp1 Variants within Polyclonal P. vivax Infections Display Different Propensities for Relapse

Using a newly developed Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein 1 gene (Pvmsp1) heteroduplex tracking assay, we genotyped 107 P. vivax infections in individuals from Cambodia, 45 of whom developed recurrent parasitemia within 42 days. The majority of isolates were polyclonal, but recurrent parasitemias displayed fewer variants compared to initial parasitemias. Two Pvmsp1 gene variants occurred more frequently in the initial genotypes of those who developed recurrent parasitemia, representing the first time P. vivax variants associated with a higher risk of relapse have been described

Genome-wide analyses reveal a highly conserved Dengue virus envelope peptide which is critical for virus viability and antigenic in humans.

Targeting regions of proteins that show a high degree of structural conservation has been proposed as a method of developing immunotherapies and vaccines that may bypass the wide genetic variability of RNA viruses. Despite several attempts, a vaccine that protects evenly against the four circulating Dengue virus (DV) serotypes remains elusive. To find critical conserved amino acids in dengue viruses, 120 complete genomes of each serotype were selected at random and used to calculate conservation scores for nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The identified peptide sequences were analysed for their structural conservation and localisation using crystallographic data. The longest, surface exposed, highly conserved peptide of Envelope protein was found to correspond to amino acid residues 250 to 270. Mutation of this peptide in DV1 was lethal, since no replication of the mutant virus was detected in human cells. Antibodies against this peptide were detected in DV naturally infected patients indicating its potential antigenicity. Hence, this study has identified a highly conserved, critical peptide in DV that is a target of antibodies in infected humans

Avaliação da produção do primeiro e segundo corte e da proteína bruta de quatro cultivares de sorgo (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) submetidos a três doses de nitrogênio.

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a produção de matéria natural (MN) e massa seca (MS) em t/ha e os teores de matéria seca (MS%) e proteína bruta (PB%) de quatro cultivares de sorgo forrageiro sob três doses de nitrogênio (O; 60 e 120 kg/ha). O delineamento utilizado foi de blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 4 x 3, sendo quatro cultivares e três doses de nitrogênio, com quatro repetições. A produção de MN e MS , no primeiro corte, diferiu (P0.05) em relação aos teores de PB em nenhuma das doses, no entanto, foram influenciadas (P<0,05) em relação a palha