An affordable, quality-assured community-based system for high-resolution entomological surveillance of vector mosquitoes that reflects human malaria infection risk patterns.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: More sensitive and scalable entomological surveillance tools are required to monitor low levels of transmission that are increasingly common across the tropics, particularly where vector control has been successful. A large-scale larviciding programme in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is supported by a community-based (CB) system for trapping adult mosquito densities to monitor programme performance. Methodology An intensive and extensive CB system for routine, longitudinal, programmatic surveillance of malaria vectors and other mosquitoes using the Ifakara Tent Trap (ITT-C) was developed in Urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and validated by comparison with quality assurance (QA) surveys using either ITT-C or human landing catches (HLC), as well as a cross-sectional survey of malaria parasite prevalence in the same housing compounds. RESULTS: Community-based ITT-C had much lower sensitivity per person-night of sampling than HLC (Relative Rate (RR) [95% Confidence Interval (CI)] = 0.079 [0.051, 0.121], P < 0.001 for Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 0.153 [0.137, 0.171], P < 0.001 for Culicines) but only moderately differed from QA surveys with the same trap (0.536 [0.406,0.617], P = 0.001 and 0.747 [0.677,0.824], P < 0.001, for An. gambiae or Culex respectively). Despite the poor sensitivity of the ITT per night of sampling, when CB-ITT was compared with QA-HLC, it proved at least comparably sensitive in absolute terms (171 versus 169 primary vectors caught) and cost-effective (153US$versus 187US$ per An. gambiae caught) because it allowed more spatially extensive and temporally intensive sampling (4284 versus 335 trap nights distributed over 615 versus 240 locations with a mean number of samples per year of 143 versus 141). Despite the very low vectors densities (Annual estimate of about 170 An gambiae s.l bites per person per year), CB-ITT was the only entomological predictor of parasite infection risk (Odds Ratio [95% CI] = 4.43[3.027,7. 454] per An. gambiae or Anopheles funestus caught per night, P =0.0373). Discussion and conclusion CB trapping approaches could be improved with more sensitive traps, but already offer a practical, safe and affordable system for routine programmatic mosquito surveillance and clusters could be distributed across entire countries by adapting the sample submission and quality assurance procedures accordingly

Simultaneous determination of dopamine, uric acid and estriol in maternal urine samples based on the synergetic effect of reduced graphene oxide, silver nanowires and silver nanoparticles in their ternary 3D nanocomposite

A facile and efficient electrochemical biosensing platform based on screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with three-dimensional (3D) nanocomposite consists of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with the insertion of silver nanowires (AgNWs) followed by the anchoring of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is constructed as RGO/AgNWs/AgNPs/SPCE for the simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA), uric acid (UA) and estriol (EST). The morphology characteristic and surface elemental composition of RGO/AgNWs/AgNPs nanocomposite are investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry are utilized to explore the electrochemical performances of the constructed electrodes. Due to abundant active sites and excellent electrocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite, the RGO/AgNWs/AgNPs/SPCE sensor exhibits well-resolved oxidation peaks and enhanced oxidation peak currents in the ternary mixture of DA, UA and EST with respective linear response ranges of 0.6 to 50 μM, 1 to 100 μM and 1 to 90 μM and detection limits (S/N = 3) of 0.16 μM, 0.58 μM and 0.58 μM, respectively. Moreover, the constructed biosensor exhibits good selectivity, reproducibility and stability, and excellent performance in determining DA, UA and EST in synthetic urine samples with excellent recovery. The results reveal that the RGO/AgNWs/AgNPs nanocomposite is a promising candidate for advanced electrode material in electrochemical sensing field and possesses great application prospects in further sensing researches

Hydrogen storage properties of B- and N-doped microporous carbon

A B- and N-doped microporous carbon has been synthesized via a substitution reaction. The obtained carbon exhibited much higher surface area than the previously reported B- and N-doped carbon. The hydrogen storage measurements indicated that the B- and N-doped microporous carbon had a 53% higher storage capacity than the carbon materials with similar surface areas. Furthermore, hydrogen storage via spillover was studied on Ru-supported B- and N-doped microporous carbon and a storage capacity of 1.2 wt % at 298 K and 10 MPa was obtained, showing an enhancement factor of 2.2. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations were also performed for the binding energies between the spiltover hydrogen atom and various sites on the doped carbon. The theoretical calculations can explain the experimental results well, which also shed light on the most favorable and possible sites with which the spiltover hydrogen atoms bind. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63091/1/11851_ftp.pd

Hydrogen Storage in Porous Materials: Status, Milestones, and Challenges

In this account the most relevant advancements in hydrogen storage in porous materials are presented. These include the current state‐of‐the‐art, the challenges which have been overcome, and the hurdles which still remain. The most important milestones which will be discussed in this work will be the development of new apparatuses capable of delivering reliable results under a broad range of operational conditions, in which analysis temperature and pressure are critical parameters. Other aspects such as the materials storage capacity in gravimetric and volumetric terms will be critically discussed to identify the conditions required from an ideal material. Finally, different upgrade possibilities from modifying the adsorbate‐adsorbent interaction to using rigid or flexible materials will be presented and put into perspective with current literature.We thank the MINECO, GV, and FEDER (Projects CTQ2015-66080-R MINECO/FEDER and PROMETEOII/2014/010) for financial support

Complement Inhibition Promotes Endogenous Neurogenesis and Sustained Anti-Inflammatory Neuroprotection following Reperfused Stroke

The restoration of blood-flow following cerebral ischemia incites a series of deleterious cascades that exacerbate neuronal injury. Pharmacologic inhibition of the C3a-receptor ameliorates cerebral injury by attenuating post-ischemic inflammation. Recent reports also implicate C3a in the modulation of tissue repair, suggesting that complement may influence both injury and recovery at later post-ischemic time-points.To evaluate the effect of C3a-receptor antagonism on post-ischemic neurogenesis and neurological outcome in the subacute period of stroke, transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced in adult male C57BL/6 mice treated with multiple regimens of a C3a receptor antagonist (C3aRA).Low-dose C3aRA administration during the acute phase of stroke promotes neuroblast proliferation in the subventricular zone at 7 days. Additionally, the C3a receptor is expressed on T-lymphocytes within the ischemic territory at 7 days, and this cellular infiltrate is abrogated by C3aRA administration. Finally, C3aRA treatment confers robust histologic and functional neuroprotection at this delayed time-point.Targeted complement inhibition through low-dose antagonism of the C3a receptor promotes post-ischemic neuroblast proliferation in the SVZ. Furthermore, C3aRA administration suppresses T-lymphocyte infiltration and improves delayed functional and histologic outcome following reperfused stroke. Post-ischemic complement activation may be pharmacologically manipulated to yield an effective therapy for stroke

A systematic review of the effectiveness of self-management interventions in people with multiple sclerosis at improving depression, anxiety and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Self-management interventions have become increasingly popular in the management of long-term health conditions; however, little is known about their impact on psychological well-being in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). PURPOSE: To examine the effectiveness of self-management interventions on improving depression, anxiety and health related quality of life in people with MS. METHOD: A structured literature search was conducted for the years 2000 to 2016. The review process followed the PRISMA guidelines, and is registered with PROSPERO (no. CRD42016033925). RESULTS: The review identified 10 RCT trials that fulfilled selection criteria and quality appraisal. Self-management interventions improved health-related quality of life in 6 out of 7 studies, with some evidence of improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSION: Although the results are promising more robust evaluation is required in order to determine the effectiveness of self-management interventions on depression, anxiety and quality of life in people with MS. Evaluation of the data was impeded by a number of methodological issues including incomplete content and delivery information for the intervention and the exclusion of participants representing the disease spectrum. Recommendations are made for service development and research quality improvement

Understanding interactions in face-to-face and remote undergraduate science laboratories

This paper reviews the ways in which interactions have been studied, and the findings of such studies, in science education in both face-to-face and remote laboratories. Guided by a systematic selection process, 27 directly relevant articles were analysed based on three categories: the instruments used for measuring interactions, the research findings on student interactions, and the theoretical frameworks used in the studies of student interactions. In face-to-face laboratories, instruments for measuring interactions and the characterisation of the nature of interactions were prominent. For remote laboratories, the analysis of direct interactions was found to be lacking. Instead, studies of remote laboratories were mainly concerned with their practical scope. In addition, it is found that only a limited number of theoretical frameworks have been developed and applied in the research design. Existent theories are summarised and possible theoretical frameworks that may be implemented in studies of interactions in undergraduate laboratories are proposed. Finally, future directions for research on the interrelationship between student interactions and laboratory learning are suggested

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/