Preliminary development of a model for insects information system/ J. Roslan, M. Muzamil and S. Ana Salwa

This paper discussed the development of a model for insect information system. The information system is developed using the Microsoft Access 2000 as the database and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 for the interface. The database was developed using Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) model. The database comprises 3 major fields which are collection specimen, specimen and species. There are 14 attributes for collection specimen namely country, island, state, district, locality, longitude, latitude, date, altitude. habitat, sex, collector/s, source locality, specimen identification; 17 attributes for specime'1 namely specimen identification, cabinet number, species identification, repository, collection event, identified by, literature cited, modification date, sound, image, DNA fingerprint, host, host plant, parasitoid, pest, pesticide and vector; and 10 attributes for species namely species identification, class, order, family, subfamily, tribe, genus, species, subspecies and authority. The system capable runs several functions such as inventory, search, loan, report and user's information record. This system will facilitate the researchers to access and retrieving insect diversity information in Malaysia. This system will be upgraded for Internet and online processing and become Malaysian Insects Online (MIOL)

Malaria infection by sporozoite challenge induces high functional antibody titres against blood stage antigens after a DNA prime, poxvirus boost vaccination strategy in Rhesus macaques

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A DNA prime, poxvirus (COPAK) boost vaccination regime with four antigens, i.e. a combination of two <it>Plasmodium knowlesi </it>sporozoite (<it>csp/ssp2</it>) and two blood stage (<it>ama1/msp1</it>_<it>42</it>) genes, leads to self-limited parasitaemia in 60% of rhesus monkeys and survival from an otherwise lethal infection with <it>P. knowlesi</it>. In the present study, the role of the blood stage antigens in protection was studied in depth, focusing on antibody formation against the blood stage antigens and the functionality thereof.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Rhesus macaques were immunized with the four-component vaccine and subsequently challenged i.v. with 100 <it>P. knowlesi </it>sporozoites. During immunization and challenge, antibody titres against the two blood stage antigens were determined, as well as the <it>in vitro </it>growth inhibition capacity of those antibodies. Antigen reversal experiments were performed to determine the relative contribution of antibodies against each of the two blood stage antigens to the inhibition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After vaccination, PkAMA1 and PkMSP1₁₉antibody titres in vaccinated animals were low, which was reflected in low levels of inhibition by these antibodies as determined by <it>in vitro </it>inhibition assays. Interestingly, after sporozoite challenge antibody titres against blood stage antigens were boosted over 30-fold in both protected and not protected animals. The <it>in vitro </it>inhibition levels increased to high levels (median inhibitions of 59% and 56% at 6 mg/mL total IgG, respectively). As growth inhibition levels were not significantly different between protected and not protected animals, the ability to control infection appeared cannot be explained by GIA levels. Judged by <it>in vitro </it>antigen reversal growth inhibition assays, over 85% of the inhibitory activity of these antibodies was directed against PkAMA1.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first report that demonstrates that a DNA prime/poxvirus boost vaccination regimen induces low levels of malaria parasite growth inhibitory antibodies, which are boosted to high levels upon challenge. No association could, however, be established between the levels of inhibitory capacity <it>in vitro </it>and protection, either after vaccination or after challenge.</p

Patient-level performance evaluation of a smartphone-based malaria diagnostic application

Background Microscopic examination is commonly used for malaria diagnosis in the field. However, the lack of well-trained microscopists in malaria-endemic areas impacted the most by the disease is a severe problem. Besides, the examination process is time-consuming and prone to human error. Automated diagnostic systems based on machine learning offer great potential to overcome these problems. This study aims to evaluate Malaria Screener, a smartphone-based application for malaria diagnosis. Methods A total of 190 patients were recruited at two sites in rural areas near Khartoum, Sudan. The Malaria Screener mobile application was deployed to screen Giemsa-stained blood smears. Both expert microscopy and nested PCR were performed to use as reference standards. First, Malaria Screener was evaluated using the two reference standards. Then, during post-study experiments, the evaluation was repeated for a newly developed algorithm, PlasmodiumVF-Net. Results Malaria Screener reached 74.1% (95% CI 63.5–83.0) accuracy in detecting Plasmodium falciparum malaria using expert microscopy as the reference after a threshold calibration. It reached 71.8% (95% CI 61.0–81.0) accuracy when compared with PCR. The achieved accuracies meet the WHO Level 3 requirement for parasite detection. The processing time for each smear varies from 5 to 15 min, depending on the concentration of white blood cells (WBCs). In the post-study experiment, Malaria Screener reached 91.8% (95% CI 83.8–96.6) accuracy when patient-level results were calculated with a different method. This accuracy meets the WHO Level 1 requirement for parasite detection. In addition, PlasmodiumVF-Net, a newly developed algorithm, reached 83.1% (95% CI 77.0–88.1) accuracy when compared with expert microscopy and 81.0% (95% CI 74.6–86.3) accuracy when compared with PCR, reaching the WHO Level 2 requirement for detecting both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria, without using the testing sites data for training or calibration. Results reported for both Malaria Screener and PlasmodiumVF-Net used thick smears for diagnosis. In this paper, both systems were not assessed in species identification and parasite counting, which are still under development. Conclusion Malaria Screener showed the potential to be deployed in resource-limited areas to facilitate routine malaria screening. It is the first smartphone-based system for malaria diagnosis evaluated on the patient-level in a natural field environment. Thus, the results in the field reported here can serve as a reference for future studies

Exploration of pathomechanisms triggered by a single-nucleotide polymorphism in titin\u27s I-band: the cardiomyopathy-linked mutation T2580I

Missense single-nucleotide polymorphisms (mSNPs) in titin are emerging as a main causative factor of heart failure. However, distinguishing between benign and disease-causing mSNPs is a substantial challenge. Here, we research the question of whether a single mSNP in a generic domain of titin can affect heart function as a whole and, if so, how. For this, we studied the mSNP T2850I, seemingly linked to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). We used structural biology, computational simulations and transgenic muscle in vivo methods to track the effect of the mutation from the molecular to the organismal level. The data show that the T2850I exchange is compatible with the domain three-dimensional fold, but that it strongly destabilizes it. Further, it induces a change in the conformational dynamics of the titin chain that alters its reactivity, causing the formation of aberrant interactions in the sarcomere. Echocardiography of knock-in mice indicated a mild diastolic dysfunction arising from increased myocardial stiffness. In conclusion, our data provide evidence that single mSNPs in titin\u27s I-band can alter overall muscle behaviour. Our suggested mechanisms of disease are the development of non-native sarcomeric interactions and titin instability leading to a reduced I-band compliance. However, understanding the T2850I-induced ARVC pathology mechanistically remains a complex problem and will require a deeper understanding of the sarcomeric context of the titin region affected

A pandemic within a pandemic? Admission to COVID-19 wards in hospitals is associated with increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in two African settings

BACKGROUND: Patients who develop severe illness due to COVID-19 are more likely to be admitted to hospital and acquire bacterial co-infections, therefore the WHO recommends empiric treatment with antibiotics. Few reports have addressed the impact of COVID-19 management on emergence of nosocomial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in resource constrained settings. This study aimed to ascertain whether being admitted to a COVID-19 ward (with COVID-19 infection) compared to a non-COVID-19 ward (as a COVID-19 negative patient) was associated with a change in the prevalence of bacterial hospital acquired infection (HAI) species or resistance patterns, and whether there were differences in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards. The study was conducted in Sudan and Zambia, two resource constrained settings with differing country-wide responses to COVID-19. METHODS: Patients suspected of having hospital acquired infections were recruited from COVID-19 wards and non-COVID-19 wards. Bacteria were isolated from clinical samples using culture and molecular methods and species identified. Phenotypic and genotypic resistance patterns were determined by antibiotic disc diffusion and whole genome sequencing. Infection prevention and control guidelines were analysed for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards to identify potential differences. RESULTS: 109 and 66 isolates were collected from Sudan and Zambia respectively. Phenotypic testing revealed significantly more multi-drug resistant isolates on COVID-19 wards in both countries (Sudan p = 0.0087, Zambia p = 0.0154). The total number of patients with hospital acquired infections (both susceptible and resistant) increased significantly on COVID-19 wards in Sudan, but the opposite was observed in Zambia (both p = ≤ 0.0001). Genotypic analysis showed significantly more β-lactam genes per isolate on COVID-19 wards (Sudan p = 0.0192, Zambia p = ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Changes in hospital acquired infections and AMR patterns were seen in COVID-19 patients on COVID-19 wards compared to COVID-19 negative patients on non-COVID-19 wards in Sudan and Zambia. These are likely due to a potentially complex combination of causes, including patient factors, but differing emphases on infection prevention and control, and antimicrobial stewardship policies on COVID-19 wards were highlighted

Performance of quantitative point-of-care tests to measure G6PD activity: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the main risk factor for severe haemolysis following treatment with 8-aminoquinolines (8AQ). The World Health Organization recommends G6PD testing prior to 8AQ-based hypnozoitocidal treatment. Methods: We undertook an individual level meta-analysis of the performance of commercially available quantitative point-of-care diagnostics (PoCs) compared with reference spectrophotometry. A systematic literature search (PROSPERO: CRD42022330733) identified 595 articles of which 16 (2.7%) fulfilled pre-defined inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis, plus an additional 4 datasets. In total there were 12,678 paired measurements analyzed, 10,446 (82.4%) by STANDARD G6PD Test (SD Biosensor, RoK, [SDB]), 2,042 (16.1%) by CareStart G6PD Biosensor (AccessBio, USA, [CSA]), 150 (1.2%) by CareStart Biosensor (WellsBio, RoK [CSW]), and 40 (0.3%) by FINDER (Baebies, USA, [FBA]). Findings: The pooled sensitivities of the SDB when measuring G6PD activity 96%) for all blood samples and G6PD activity thresholds. Irrespective of the blood samples and thresholds applied, sensitivity of the CSA did not exceed 62%, although specificity remained high at both 30% and 70% thresholds (>88%). Only one study each for CSW and FBA was included. Sensitivities of the CSW were 0.04 (95% CI: 0.01-0.14) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71-0.89) at the 30% and 70% thresholds, respectively (venous blood samples). Sensitivities of the FBA were 1.00 (95% CI: 0.29-1.00) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.19-0.99) at the 30% and 70% thresholds (venous blood samples). Specificities of the CSW and FBA were consistently high (>90%) at both thresholds. Accuracy of the SDB was higher in females at the 30% cut-off (OR: 3.49, p=0.002) and lower in malaria patients at the 70% cut-off (OR: 0.59, p = 0.005). Conclusions: The SDB performed better than other PoCs. More evidence was available for the performance of the SDB compared to other PoCs, giving higher confidence in its utility in diagnosing G6PD deficiency

Married women's decision making power on modern contraceptive use in urban and rural southern Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Women in developing countries are either under collective decision making with their partners or completely rely on the male partner's decision on issues that affect their reproductive live. Identifying the major barriers of married women's decision making power on contraceptive use has significant relevance for planning contextually appropriate family planning interventions. The objective of this study was to determine current modern contraceptive practices and decision making power among married women in Tercha Town and surrounding rural areas of Dawro zone, Southern Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Community based comparative cross-sectional design with both quantitative and Qualitative study has been employed in March and April 2010. The respondents were 699 married women of child bearing age from urban and rural parts of Dawro zone. After conducting census, we took the sample using simple random sampling technique.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Current modern contraceptive use among married women in the urban was 293 (87.5%) and 243 (72.8%) in rural. Married women who reside in urban area were more likely to decide on the use of modern contraceptive method than rural women. Having better knowledge about modern contraceptive methods, gender equitable attitude, better involvement in decisions related to children, socio-cultural and family relations were statistically significant factors for decision making power of women on the use of modern contraceptive methods in the urban setting. Better knowledge, fear of partner's opposition or negligence, involvement in decisions about child and economic affairs were statistically significant factors for better decision making power of women on the use of modern contraceptive methods in the rural part.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High level of current modern contraceptive practice with reduced urban-rural difference was found as compared to regional and national figures. Urban women had better power to make decisions on modern contraceptive than rural women. Modern family planning interventions in the area should be promoted by considering empowering of women on modern contraceptive use decision making.</p