Isolation and characterization of engine oil degrading indigenous microrganisms in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

As the usage of petroleum hydrocarbon products increases, soil contamination with diesel and engine oils is becoming one of the major environmental problems. To investigate the countermeasure toremediate soils contaminated with oils, bioremediation provide an effective and efficient strategy to speed up the clean-up processes. Three bacterial isolates capable of utilizing used engine-oil as acarbon source were isolated from contaminated soils using the enrichment technique. Three isolates were identified as Flavobacterium sp., Acinetobacterium calcoaceticum and Pseudomonas aeruginosabased on biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequencing. The gavimetric analysis revealed that A. calcoaceticum and a consortium of the isolates were capable of utilizing 80 and 90% of used engine oil,respectively, under laboratory conditions at 30°C and 160 rpm with Bushnell-Haas media in a 4 week period. An increase in oil degradation is correlated to an increase in cell number indicating that thebacterial isolates were responsible for the oil degradation. All isolates were capable of degrading the nparaffin up to 80% in a 2 week period. The optimal temperatures at which biodegradation occurred at30–37°C. The preference of nitrogen sources and minimal salts were different for different bacterial isolates. The results obtained demonstrate the potential for oil bioremediation of these isolates in situand/or ex situ

Maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation and other biomedical and socioenvironmental infl uences on children’s cognition at age 9–12 years in Indonesia: follow-up of the SUMMIT randomised trial

Background Brain and cognitive development during the fi rst 1000 days from conception are aff ected by multiple biomedical and socioenvironmental determinants including nutrition, health, nurturing, and stimulation. An improved understanding of the long-term infl uence of these factors is needed to prioritise public health investments to optimise human development. Methods We did a follow-up study of the Supplementation with Multiple Micronutrients Intervention Trial (SUMMIT), a double-blind, cluster-randomised trial of maternal supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MMN) or iron and folic acid (IFA) in Indonesia. Of 27 356 live infants from birth to 3 months of age in 2001–04, we re-enrolled 19 274 (70%) children at age 9–12 years, and randomly selected 2879 from the 18 230 who were attending school at a known location. Of these, 574 children were oversampled from mothers who were anaemic or malnourished at SUMMIT enrolment. We assessed the eff ects of MMN and associations of biomedical (ie, maternal and child anthropometry and haemoglobin and preterm birth) and socioenvironmental determinants (ie, parental education, socioeconomic status, home environment, and maternal depression) on general intellectual ability, declarative memory, procedural memory, executive function, academic achievement, fi ne motor dexterity, and socioemotional health. The SUMMIT trial was registered, number ISRCTN34151616. Findings Children of mothers given MMN had a mean score of 0·11 SD (95% CI 0·01–0·20, p=0·0319) higher in procedural memory than those given IFA, equivalent to the increase in scores with half a year of schooling. Children of anaemic mothers in the MMN group scored 0·18 SD (0·06–0·31, p=0·0047) higher in general intellectual ability, similar to the increase with 1 year of schooling. Overall, 18 of 21 tests showed a positive coeffi cient of MMN versus IFA (p=0·0431) with eff ect sizes from 0·00–0·18 SD. In multiple regression models, socioenvironmental determinants had coeffi cients of 0·00–0·43 SD and 22 of 35 tests were signifi cant at the 95% CI level, whereas biomedical coeffi cients were 0·00–0·10 SD and eight of 56 tests were signifi cant, indicating larger and more consistent impact of socioenvironmental factors (p<0·0001). Interpretation Maternal MMN had long-term benefi ts for child cognitive development at 9–12 years of age, thereby supporting its role in early childhood development, and policy change toward MMN. The stronger association of socioenvironmental determinants with improved cognition suggests present reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health programmes focused on biomedical determinants might not suffi ciently enhance child cognition, and that programmes addressing socioenvironmental determinants are essential to achieve thriving populations

The Relative Association of Bio-Medical and Socio-Environmental Risk Factors with School-Age Child Cognition in Indonesia

<p>(A) Scheme of the TcNRBD1 gene. (B) TcNRBD1 expression throughout the parasite's life cycle: 1 –epimastigote in exponential growth, 2—epimastigote under nutritional stress, 3 –epimastigotes adhered to the substrate for 24 hours, 4—metacyclic trypomastigote, 5—amastigote (5x10⁶ parasites in each lane). Secondary antibodies: anti-rabbit peroxidase (1:1000) and anti-mouse phosphatase (1:10000). (C) Immunolocalization of TcNRBD1 during the <i>T</i>. <i>cruzi</i> lifecycle. The bottom panel is the promastigote form of <i>T</i>. <i>brucei</i>. The primary antibody was diluted 1:300. The kinetoplast and nucleus were stained with DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride) 1:1000. The secondary antibody was Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated anti-rabbit diluted 1:400. Field 1, DIC; Field 2, immunofluorescence of TcNRBD1; Field 3, DAPI.</p

Test selection, adaptation, and evaluation:a systematic approach to assess nutritional influences on child development in developing countries

Background: Evaluating the impact of nutrition interventions on developmental outcomes in developing countries can be challenging since most assessment tests have been produced in and for developed country settings. Such tests may not be valid measures of children's abilities when used in a new context. Aims: We present several principles for the selection, adaptation, and evaluation of tests assessing the developmental outcomes of nutrition interventions in developing countries where standard assessment tests do not exist. We then report the application of these principles for a nutrition trial on the Indonesian island of Lombok. Sample: Three hundred children age 22-55 months in Lombok participated in a series of pilot tests for the purpose of test adaptation and evaluation. Four hundred and eighty-seven 42-month-old children in Lombok were tested on the finalized test battery. Methods: The developmental assessment tests were adapted to the local context and evaluated for a number of psychometric properties, including convergent and discriminant validity, which were measured based on multiple regression models with maternal education, depression, and age predicting each test score. Results: The adapted tests demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and the expected pattern of relationships with the three maternal variables. Maternal education significantly predicted all scores but one, maternal depression predicted socio-emotional competence, socio-emotional problems, and vocabulary, while maternal age predicted socio-emotional competence only. Conclusion: Following the methodological principles we present resulted in tests that were appropriate for children in Lombok and informative for evaluating the developmental outcomes of nutritional supplementation in the research context. Following this approach in future studies will help to determine which interventions most effectively improve child development in developing countries

Maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation and other biomedical and socioenvironmental influences on children's cognition at age 9–12 years in Indonesia: follow-up of the SUMMIT randomised trial

Background: Brain and cognitive development during the first 1000 days from conception are affected by multiple biomedical and socioenvironmental determinants including nutrition, health, nurturing, and stimulation. An improved understanding of the long-term influence of these factors is needed to prioritise public health investments to optimise human development. Methods: We did a follow-up study of the Supplementation with Multiple Micronutrients Intervention Trial (SUMMIT), a double-blind, cluster-randomised trial of maternal supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MMN) or iron and folic acid (IFA) in Indonesia. Of 27 356 live infants from birth to 3 months of age in 2001–04, we re-enrolled 19 274 (70%) children at age 9–12 years, and randomly selected 2879 from the 18 230 who were attending school at a known location. Of these, 574 children were oversampled from mothers who were anaemic or malnourished at SUMMIT enrolment. We assessed the effects of MMN and associations of biomedical (ie, maternal and child anthropometry and haemoglobin and preterm birth) and socioenvironmental determinants (ie, parental education, socioeconomic status, home environment, and maternal depression) on general intellectual ability, declarative memory, procedural memory, executive function, academic achievement, fine motor dexterity, and socioemotional health. The SUMMIT trial was registered, number ISRCTN34151616. Findings: Children of mothers given MMN had a mean score of 0·11 SD (95% CI 0·01–0·20, p=0·0319) higher in procedural memory than those given IFA, equivalent to the increase in scores with half a year of schooling. Children of anaemic mothers in the MMN group scored 0·18 SD (0·06–0·31, p=0·0047) higher in general intellectual ability, similar to the increase with 1 year of schooling. Overall, 18 of 21 tests showed a positive coefficient of MMN versus IFA (p=0·0431) with effect sizes from 0·00–0·18 SD. In multiple regression models, socioenvironmental determinants had coefficients of 0·00–0·43 SD and 22 of 35 tests were significant at the 95% CI level, whereas biomedical coefficients were 0·00–0·10 SD and eight of 56 tests were significant, indicating larger and more consistent impact of socioenvironmental factors (p<0·0001). Interpretation: Maternal MMN had long-term benefits for child cognitive development at 9–12 years of age, thereby supporting its role in early childhood development, and policy change toward MMN. The stronger association of socioenvironmental determinants with improved cognition suggests present reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health programmes focused on biomedical determinants might not sufficiently enhance child cognition, and that programmes addressing socioenvironmental determinants are essential to achieve thriving populations. Funding: Grand Challenges Canada Saving Brains Program