Effect of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation on anthropometry and blood pressure in mid-childhood in Nepal: follow-up of a double-blind randomised controlled trial

Background: In a randomized controlled trial in southern Nepal, we found that children born to mothers who had taken multiple micronutrient supplements during pregnancy had mean birthweight 77 g greater than a control group allocated to iron and folic acid supplements. They were a mean 204 g heavier at 2·5 years of age and their systolic blood pressure was a mean 2·5 mmHg lower. We followed the same children up in mid-childhood, hypothesizing that these differences would be sustained. Methods: We identified children from the original trial and measured anthropometry, body composition using bioelectrical impedance (with population-specific isotope calibration), blood pressure, and renal dimensions by ultrasound. We documented socieconomic status, household food security, and air pollution.Results: We assessed 841 children (422 control, 419 intervention) at mean age 8·5 years. Unadjusted differences (intervention minus control) were 0·05 z-scores (95% CI -0·09, 0·19) in weight-for-age, 0·02 z-scores (-0·10, 0·15) in height-for-age, and 0·04 z-scores (-0·09, 0·18) in body-mass-index-for-age. There was no difference in blood pressure. Adjusted differences were similar for all outcomes. Discussion: Differences in phenotype between children born to mothers who received antenatal multiple micronutrient or iron and folate supplements were not apparent at 8·5 years. Our findings did not extend to physiological differences or potential longer-term effects

Cross-sectional study of asthma and rhinitis symptoms in the context of exposure to air pollution in Nepal

Asthma is common in children worldwide, although its prevalence varies substantially by location. The prevalence of wheeze over a 12-month period ranged from 2.1% to 32.2% in the older age group (13–14 years) and 4.1% to 32.1% in the younger age group (6–7 years) [1]. There is a positive association between current symptoms of asthma in younger and older children with gross national income [2], and it is generally slightly less common in girls than boys in the younger group [1–3]. Exposure to air pollution is associated with asthma exacerbations. Odds ratios for wheeze in the past year and the use of solely an open fire for cooking were 2.17 (95% CI 1.64–2.87) for children aged 6–7 years and 1.35 (95% CI 1.11–1.64) for children aged 13–14 years [4]. Nepalese children are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution from the burning of biomass fuels [5]. This study aimed to estimate their prevalence of asthma, and to investigate the association of air pollution and risk of wheeze and rhinitis symptoms using personal exposure estimates of air pollution

Effects of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation on lung function in mid-childhood: follow-up of a double-blind randomised controlled trial in Nepal

A randomised trial of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation in Nepalese women increased birthweight and weight at 2 years of age in offspring, compared to those born to mothers who only received iron and folic acid supplements. Further follow-up of this cohort provided an opportunity to investigate the effect of antenatal multiple micronutrients on subsequent lung function by measuring spirometry at 7-9 years of age in C: hildren born during the trial. 841 children (80% of the cohort) were seen at mean±sd 8.5±0.4 years. Technically successful spirometry results were obtained in 793 (94.3%) children, 50% of whom had been randomised to micronutrient supplementation. Background characteristics, including anthropometry, were similar in the two allocation groups. Lung function was also similar, mean (95% CI) difference in z-scores (supplementation minus control) was -0.08 (-0.19-0.04), -0.05 (-0.17-0.06) and -0.04 (-0.15-0.07) for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity and FEV1/FVC, respectively. Compared with healthy white children, FEV1 and FVC in the "healthy" Nepalese children were ∼1 (∼13%) z-score lower, with no difference in FEV1/FVC. We conclude that, compared with routine iron and folic acid, multiple micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy has no effect on spirometric lung function in Nepalese children at 8.5 years of age

A Simple and Sensitive Method for Measuring Tumor-Specific T Cell Cytotoxicity

A simple and sensitive method to quantitatively measure the cytolytic effect of tumor-specific T killer cells is highly desirable for basic and clinical studies. Chromium (51Cr) release assay has been the “gold standard” for quantifying cytolytic activities of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against target cells and this method is still being used in many laboratories. However, a major drawback of this method is the use of radioactive materials, which is inconvenient to handle because of environmental safety concerns and expensive due to the short half-life of the isotope. Consequently, several nonradioactive methods have been reported recently. Here we report a new method that we recently developed for quantifying antigen-specific cytolytic activity of CTLs. This method fully exploits the high sensitivity and the relative simplicity of luciferase quantitative assay. We initially expected the released luciferase in the supernatant to be the adequate source for monitoring cell death. However, to our total surprise, incubation of these killer T cells with the tumor cell targets did not result in significant release of luciferase in the culture medium. Instead, we found that the remaining luciferase inside the cells could accurately reflect the overall cell viability

Epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii infection in Africa: a OneHealth systematic review

Background: Q fever is a common cause of febrile illness and community-acquired pneumonia in resource-limited settings. Coxiella burnetii, the causative pathogen, is transmitted among varied host species, but the epidemiology of the organism in Africa is poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review of C. burnetii epidemiology in Africa from a “One Health” perspective to synthesize the published data and identify knowledge gaps.<p></p> Methods/Principal Findings: We searched nine databases to identify articles relevant to four key aspects of C. burnetii epidemiology in human and animal populations in Africa: infection prevalence; disease incidence; transmission risk factors; and infection control efforts. We identified 929 unique articles, 100 of which remained after full-text review. Of these, 41 articles describing 51 studies qualified for data extraction. Animal seroprevalence studies revealed infection by C. burnetii (≤13%) among cattle except for studies in Western and Middle Africa (18–55%). Small ruminant seroprevalence ranged from 11–33%. Human seroprevalence was <8% with the exception of studies among children and in Egypt (10–32%). Close contact with camels and rural residence were associated with increased seropositivity among humans. C. burnetii infection has been associated with livestock abortion. In human cohort studies, Q fever accounted for 2–9% of febrile illness hospitalizations and 1–3% of infective endocarditis cases. We found no studies of disease incidence estimates or disease control efforts.<p></p> Conclusions/Significance: C. burnetii infection is detected in humans and in a wide range of animal species across Africa, but seroprevalence varies widely by species and location. Risk factors underlying this variability are poorly understood as is the role of C. burnetii in livestock abortion. Q fever consistently accounts for a notable proportion of undifferentiated human febrile illness and infective endocarditis in cohort studies, but incidence estimates are lacking. C. burnetii presents a real yet underappreciated threat to human and animal health throughout Africa.<p></p&gt

Comprehensiveness and programmatic vulnerability to stds/hiv/aids in primary care

This study aimed to identify programmatic vulnerability to STDs/HIV/AIDS in primary health centers (PHCs). This is a descrip - tive and quantitative study carried out in the city of São Paulo. An online survey was applied (FormSUS platform), involving administrators from 442 PHCs in the city, with responses received from 328 of them (74.2%), of which 53.6% were nurses. At - tention was raised in relation to program - matic vulnerability in the PHCs regarding certain items of infrastructure, prevention, treatment, prenatal care and integration among services on STDs/HIV/AIDS care. It was concluded that in order to reach comprehensiveness of actions for HIV/ AIDS in primary health care, it is necessary to consider programmatic vulnerability, in addition to more investment and reor - ganization of services in a dialogue with the stakeholders (users, multidisciplinary teams, and managers, among others)

Association mapping for yield and grain quality traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Association analysis was applied to a panel of accessions of Embrapa Rice Core Collection (ERiCC) with 86 SSR and field data from two experiments. A clear subdivision between lowland and upland accessions was apparent, thereby indicating the presence of population structure. Thirty-two accessions with admixed ancestry were identified through structure analysis, these being discarded from association analysis, thus leaving 210 accessions subdivided into two panels. The association of yield and grain-quality traits with SSR was undertaken with a mixed linear model, with markers and subpopulation as fixed factors, and kinship matrix as a random factor. Eight markers from the two appraised panels showed significant association with four different traits, although only one (RM190) maintained the marker-trait association across years and cultivation. The significant association detected between amylose content and RM190 was in agreement with previous QTL analyses in the literature. Herein, the feasibility of undertaking association analysis in conjunction with germplasm characterization was demonstrated, even when considering low marker density. The high linkage disequilibrium expected in rice lines and cultivars facilitates the detection of marker-trait associations for implementing marker assisted selection, and the mining of alleles related to important traits in germplasm