Transcriptional Profiling of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites from Patients with Severe Malaria Identifies Distinct Low vs. High Parasitemic Clusters

Background: In the past decade, estimates of malaria infections have dropped from 500 million to 225 million per year; likewise, mortality rates have dropped from 3 million to 791,000 per year. However, approximately 90% of these deaths continue to occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and 85% involve children less than 5 years of age. Malaria mortality in children generally results from one or more of the following clinical syndromes: severe anemia, acidosis, and cerebral malaria. Although much is known about the clinical and pathological manifestations of CM, insights into the biology of the malaria parasite, specifically transcription during this manifestation of severe infection, are lacking. Methods and Findings: We collected peripheral blood from children meeting the clinical case definition of cerebral malaria from a cohort in Malawi, examined the patients for the presence or absence of malaria retinopathy, and performed whole genome transcriptional profiling for Plasmodium falciparum using a custom designed Affymetrix array. We identified two distinct physiological states that showed highly significant association with the level of parasitemia. We compared both groups of Malawi expression profiles with our previously acquired ex vivo expression profiles of parasites derived from infected patients with mild disease; a large collection of in vitro Plasmodium falciparum life cycle gene expression profiles; and an extensively annotated compendium of expression data from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The high parasitemia patient group demonstrated a unique biology with elevated expression of Hrd1, a member of endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation system. Conclusions: The presence of a unique high parasitemia state may be indicative of the parasite biology of the clinically recognized hyperparasitemic severe disease syndrome

Prevalence of visual impairment, cataract surgery and awareness of cataract and glaucoma in Bhaktapur district of Nepal: The Bhaktapur Glaucoma Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cataract and glaucoma are the major causes of blindness in Nepal. Bhaktapur is one of the three districts of Kathmandu valley which represents a metropolitan city with a predominantly agrarian rural periphery. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of visual impairment, cataract surgery and awareness of cataract and glaucoma among subjects residing in this district of Nepal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects aged 40 years and above was selected using a cluster sampling methodology and a door to door enumeration was conducted for a population based cross sectional study. During the community field work, 11499 subjects underwent a structured interview regarding awareness (heard of) and knowledge (understanding of the disease) of cataract and glaucoma. At the base hospital 4003 out of 4800 (83.39%) subjects underwent a detailed ocular examination including log MAR visual acuity, refraction, applanation tonometry, cataract grading (LOCSΙΙ), retinal examination and SITA standard perimetry when indicated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The age-sex adjusted prevalence of blindness (best corrected <3/60) and low vision (best corrected <6/18 ≥3/60) was 0.43% (95%C.I. 0.25 - 0.68) and 3.97% (95% C.I. 3.40 - 4.60) respectively. Cataract (53.3%) was the principal cause of blindness. The leading causes of low vision were cataract (60.8%) followed by refractive error (12%). The cataract surgical coverage was 90.36% and was higher in the younger age group, females and illiterate subjects. Pseudophakia was seen in 94%. Awareness of cataract (6.7%) and glaucoma (2.4%) was very low. Among subjects who were aware, 70.4% had knowledge of cataract and 45.5% of glaucoma. Cataract was commonly known to be a 'pearl like dot' white opacity in the eye while glaucoma was known to cause blindness. Awareness remained unchanged in different age groups for cataract while for glaucoma there was an increase in awareness with age. Women were significantly less aware (odds ratio (OR): 0.63; 95%, confidence interval (CI): 0.54 - 0.74) for cataract and (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.50 - 0.81) for glaucoma. Literacy was also correlated with awareness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The low prevalence of visual impairment and the high cataract surgical coverage suggests that cataract intervention programs have been successful in Bhaktapur. Awareness and knowledge of cataract and glaucoma was very poor among this population. Eye care programs needs to be directed towards preventing visual impairment from refractive errors, screening for incurable chronic eye diseases and promoting health education in order to raise awareness on cataract and glaucoma among this population.</p

Surgery versus epilation for the treatment of minor trichiasis in Ethiopia: a randomised controlled noninferiority trial.

Trachomatous trichiasis can cause corneal damage and visual impairment. WHO recommends surgery for all cases. However, in many regions surgical provision is inadequate and patients frequently decline. Self-epilation is common and was associated with comparable outcomes to surgery in nonrandomised studies for minor trichiasis (<six lashes touching eye). This trial investigated whether epilation is noninferior to surgery for managing minor trichiasis

Seismic Wave Attenuation in Carbonates

The effect of pore fluids on seismic wave attenuation in carbonate rocks is important for interpreting remote sensing observations of carbonate reservoirs undergoing enhanced oil recovery. Here we measure the elastic moduli and attenuation in the laboratory for five carbonate samples with 20% to 30% porosity and permeability between 0.03 and 58.1 mdarcy. Contrary to most observations in sandstones, bulk compressibility losses dominate over shear wave losses for dry samples and samples fully saturated with either liquid butane or brine. This observation holds for four out of five samples at seismic (10–1000 Hz) and ultrasonic frequencies (0.8 MHz) and reservoir pressures. Attenuation modeled from the modulus data using Cole-Cole relations agrees in that the bulk losses are greater than the shear losses. On average, attenuation increases by 250% when brine substitutes a light hydrocarbon in these carbonate rocks. For some of our samples, attenuation is frequency-dependent, but in the typical exploration frequency range (10–100 Hz), attenuation is practically constant for the measured samples

Does Cataract Surgery Alleviate Poverty? Evidence from a Multi-Centre Intervention Study Conducted in Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Poverty and blindness are believed to be intimately linked, but empirical data supporting this purported relationship are sparse. The objective of this study is to assess whether there is a reduction in poverty after cataract surgery among visually impaired cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multi-centre intervention study was conducted in three countries (Kenya, Philippines, Bangladesh). Poverty data (household per capita expenditure--PCE, asset ownership and self-rated wealth) were collected from cases aged ≥50 years who were visually impaired due to cataract (visual acuity<6/24 in the better eye) and age-sex matched controls with normal vision. Cases were offered free/subsidised cataract surgery. Approximately one year later participants were re-interviewed about poverty. 466 cases and 436 controls were examined at both baseline and follow-up (Follow up rate: 78% for cases, 81% for controls), of which 263 cases had undergone cataract surgery ("operated cases"). At baseline, operated cases were poorer compared to controls in terms of PCE (Kenya: $22 versus £35 p = 0.02, Bangladesh:$16 vs $24 p = 0.004, Philippines:$24 vs 32 p = 0.0007), assets and self-rated wealth. By follow-up PCE had increased significantly among operated cases in each of the three settings to the level of controls (Kenya: $30 versus £36 p = 0.49, Bangladesh:$23 vs $23 p = 0.20, Philippines:$45 vs $36 p = 0.68). There were smaller increases in self-rated wealth and no changes in assets. Changes in PCE were apparent in different socio-demographic and ocular groups. The largest PCE increases were apparent among the cases that were poorest at baseline. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that cataract surgery can contribute to poverty alleviation, particularly among the most vulnerable members of society. This study highlights the need for increased provision of cataract surgery to poor people and shows that a focus on blindness may help to alleviate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Molecular systematics of flyingfishes (Teleostei: Exocoetidae): evolution in the epipelagic zone

The flyingfish family Exocoetidae is a diverse group of marine fishes that are widespread and abundant in tropical and subtropical seas. Flyingfishes are epipelagic specialists that are easily distinguished by their enlarged fins, which are used for gliding leaps over the surface of the water. Although phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed for flyingfish genera based on morphology, no comprehensive molecular studies have been performed. In the present study, we describe a species-level molecular phylogeny for the family Exocoetidae, based on data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1137 bp) and the nuclear RAG2 gene (882 bp). We find strong support for previous morphology-based phylogenetic hypotheses, as well as the monophyly of most currently accepted flyingfish genera. However, the most diverse genus Cheilopogon is not monophyletic. Using our novel flyingfish topology, we examine previously proposed hypotheses for the origin and evolution of gliding. The results support the progressive transition from two-wing to four-wing gliding. We also use phylogenetic approaches to test the macroecological effects of two life history characters (e.g. egg buoyancy and habitat) on species range size in flyingfishes. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2011, 102, 161–174.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79173/1/BIJ_1550_sm_Appendix_S1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79173/2/j.1095-8312.2010.01550.x.pd

Glycan based detection and drug susceptibility of influenza virus

ABSTRACT: We have developed a panel of synthetic glycans as receptor mimics for the specific capture of influenza viruses. The glycans were printed onto commercial glass slides using a free amine at the end of a spacer to generate a small focused microarray. The microarray was evaluated for its ability to capture three different strains of influenza A virus, two H1N1, A/Brisbane/59/2007 and A/Solomon Islands/3/2006 and one H3N2, A/Aichi/2/1968. We observed an excellent detection ability with some compounds exhibiting clinically relevant (101 plaque forming units) limit of detection. We also tested the drug susceptibility of current antivirals, Zanamivir and Ostelamivir using this microarray and could determine antiviral resistance for these strains

The Global Trachoma Mapping Project: Methodology of a 34-Country Population-Based Study.

PURPOSE: To complete the baseline trachoma map worldwide by conducting population-based surveys in an estimated 1238 suspected endemic districts of 34 countries. METHODS: A series of national and sub-national projects owned, managed and staffed by ministries of health, conduct house-to-house cluster random sample surveys in evaluation units, which generally correspond to "health district" size: populations of 100,000-250,000 people. In each evaluation unit, we invite all residents aged 1 year and older from h households in each of c clusters to be examined for clinical signs of trachoma, where h is the number of households that can be seen by 1 team in 1 day, and the product h × c is calculated to facilitate recruitment of 1019 children aged 1-9 years. In addition to individual-level demographic and clinical data, household-level water, sanitation and hygiene data are entered into the purpose-built LINKS application on Android smartphones, transmitted to the Cloud, and cleaned, analyzed and ministry-of-health-approved via a secure web-based portal. The main outcome measures are the evaluation unit-level prevalence of follicular trachoma in children aged 1-9 years, prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis in adults aged 15 + years, percentage of households using safe methods for disposal of human feces, and percentage of households with proximate access to water for personal hygiene purposes. RESULTS: In the first year of fieldwork, 347 field teams commenced work in 21 projects in 7 countries. CONCLUSION: With an approach that is innovative in design and scale, we aim to complete baseline mapping of trachoma throughout the world in 2015