The Promise of Autonomy Supportive Contexts to Promote Youth Participatory Competence

A municipal youth citizenship initiative was implemented with the aim of providing adolescents with autonomy supportive contexts to plan and implement activities that were meaningful to youth and contributed to the collective good. The study purpose was to assess whether autonomy support, operationalized as instrumental practitioner support, influenced youth perceptions of participatory group competence beyond individual level factors. Youth participated in groups of 8 to 20 peers with practitioners facilitating youth participation in collective decision-making, planning and activity implementation. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by 79 of 113 eligible youth participants actively involved in the citizenship initiative implemented during the 2003-04 school year. Practitioner support was significantly related to participatory group competence, beyond perceived self-efficacy and age. Study findings suggest that there may be some merit to the implementation of youth citizenship initiatives that create autonomy supportive contexts and allow youth the opportunity to develop their participatory competence. Experiences such as this may allow young people to flourish as individuals and citizens and thus realize their full potential

The Promise of Autonomy Supportive Contexts to Promote Youth Participatory Competence

A municipal youth citizenship initiative was implemented with the aim of providing adolescents with autonomy supportive contexts to plan and implement activities that were meaningful to youth and contributed to the collective good. The study purpose was to assess whether autonomy support, operationalized as instrumental practitioner support, influenced youth perceptions of participatory group competence beyond individual level factors. Youth participated in groups of 8 to 20 peers with practitioners facilitating youth participation in collective decision-making, planning and activity implementation. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by 79 of 113 eligible youth participants actively involved in the citizenship initiative implemented during the 2003-04 school year. Practitioner support was significantly related to participatory group competence, beyond perceived self-efficacy and age. Study findings suggest that there may be some merit to the implementation of youth citizenship initiatives that create autonomy supportive contexts and allow youth the opportunity to develop their participatory competence. Experiences such as this may allow young people to flourish as individuals and citizens and thus realize their full potential

Enterovirus D68 in Viet Nam (2009-2015)

Background: Since 1962, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been implicated in multiple outbreaks and sporadic cases of respiratory infection worldwide, especially in the USA and Europe with an increasing frequency between 2010 and 2014. We describe the detection, associated clinical features and molecular characterization of EV-D68 in central and southern Viet Nam between 2009 and 2015. Methods: Enterovirus/rhinovirus PCR positive respiratory or CSF samples taken from children and adults with respiratory/central nervous system infections in Viet Nam were tested by an EV-D68 specific PCR. The included samples were derived from 3 different observational studies conducted at referral hospitals across central and southern Viet Nam 2009 2015. Whole-genome sequencing was carried out using a MiSeq based approach. Phylogenetic reconstruction and estimation of evolutionary rate and recombination were carried out in BEAST and Recombination Detection Program, respectively. Results: EV-D68 was detected in 21/625 (3.4%) enterovirus/rhinovirus PCR positive respiratory samples but in none of the 15 CSF. All the EV-D68 patients were young children (age range: 11.8 – 24.5 months) and had moderate respiratory infections. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the Vietnamese sequences clustered with those from Asian countries, of which 9 fell in the B1 clade, and the remaining sequence was identified within the A2 clade. One intra sub-clade recombination event was detected, representing the second reported recombination within EV-D68. The evolutionary rate of EV-D68 was estimated to be 5.12E -3 substitutions/site/year. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the virus was imported into Viet Nam in 2008. Conclusions: We have demonstrated for the first time EV-D68 has been circulating at low levels in Viet Nam since 2008, associated with moderate acute respiratory infection in children. EV-D68 in Viet Nam is most closely related to Asian viruses, and clusters separately from recent US and European viruses that were suggested to be associated with acute flaccid paralysis

Distribution of infectious and parasitic agents among three sentinel bee species across European agricultural landscapes

Infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs) and their associated diseases are major environmental stressors that jeopardize bee health, both alone and in interaction with other stressors. Their impact on pollinator communities can be assessed by studying multiple sentinel bee species. Here, we analysed the field exposure of three sentinel managed bee species (Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis) to 11 IPAs (six RNA viruses, two bacteria, three microsporidia). The sentinel bees were deployed at 128 sites in eight European countries adjacent to either oilseed rape fields or apple orchards during crop bloom. Adult bees of each species were sampled before their placement and after crop bloom. The IPAs were detected and quantified using a harmonised, high-throughput and semi-automatized qPCR workflow. We describe differences among bee species in IPA profiles (richness, diversity, detection frequencies, loads and their change upon field exposure, and exposure risk), with no clear patterns related to the country or focal crop. Our results suggest that the most frequent IPAs in adult bees are more appropriate for assessing the bees' IPA exposure risk. We also report positive correlations of IPA loads supporting the potential IPA transmission among sentinels, suggesting careful consideration should be taken when introducing managed pollinators in ecologically sensitive environments

The prevalence and genetic diversity of group A rotaviruses on pig farms in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

Group A rotaviruses (ARoVs) are a common cause of severe diarrhea among children worldwide and the cause of approximately 45% of pediatric hospitalizations for acute diarrhea in Vietnam. ARoVs are known to cause significant economic losses to livestock producers by reducing growth performance and production efficiencies, however little is known about the implications of asymptomatic endemic circulation of ARoV. We aimed to determine the prevalence and predominant circulating genotypes of ARoVs on pig farms in a southern province of Vietnam. We found overall animal-level and farm-level prevalence of 32.7% (239/730) and 74% (77/104), respectively, and identified six different G types and 4 P types in various combinations (G2, G3, G4, G5, G9, G11 and P[6], P[13], P[23], and P[34]). There was no significant association between ARoV infection and clinical disease in pigs, suggesting that endemic asymptomatic circulation of ARoV may complicate rotavirus disease attribution during outbreaks of diarrhea in swine. Sequence analysis of the detected ARoVs suggested homology to recent human clinical cases and extensive genetic diversity. The epidemiological relevance of these findings for veterinary practitioners and to ongoing pediatric ARoV vaccine initiatives in Vietnam merits further study

Gastrointestinal Microbes Interact with Canine Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro and Enhance Immunomodulatory Functions

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are somatic, multipotent stromal cells with potent immunomodulatory and regenerative properties. Although MSCs have pattern recognition receptors and are modulated by Toll-like receptor ligands, MSC-microbial interactions are poorly defined. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of bacterial association on MSC function. We hypothesized that gastrointestinal bacteria associate with MSCs and alter their immunomodulatory properties. The effect of MSC-microbial interactions on MSC morphology, viability, proliferation, migration, and immunomodulatory functions was investigated. MSCs associated with a remarkable array of enteric pathogens and commensal bacteria. MSC interactions with two model organisms, the pathogen Salmonella typhimurium and the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus, were further investigated. While ST readily invaded MSCs, LB adhered to the MSC plasma membrane. Neither microbe induced MSC death, degeneration, or diminished proliferation. Microbial association did not upregulate MHC-II, CD80/86, or CD1 expression. MSC-microbial interaction significantly increased transcription of key immunomodulatory genes, including COX2, IL6, and IL8, coupled with significantly increased prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), interleukin (IL)6, and IL8 secretion. MSC-ST coincubation resulted in increased MSC expression of CD54, and significant augmentation of MSC inhibition of mitogen-induced T-cell proliferation. T-cell proliferation was partially restored when PGE(2) secretion was blocked from ST-primed MSCs. MSC-microbe interactions have a profound effect on MSC function and may be pivotal in a variety of clinical settings where MSCs are being explored as potential therapeutics in the context of microbial communities, such as Crohn's disease, chronic nonhealing wounds, and sepsis

Central nervous system infection diagnosis by next-generation sequencing: a glimpse into the future?

Japanese encephalitis virus was detected by deep sequencing for the first time in urine of a 16-year-old boy with encephalitis. Seroconversion and polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the metagenomics finding. Urine is useful for diagnosis of flaviviral encephalitis, whereas deep sequencing can be a panpathogen assay for the diagnosis of life-threatening infectious diseases

Population susceptibility to a variant swine-origin influenza virus A(H3N2) in Vietnam, 2011-2012

A reassortant swine-origin A(H3N2) virus (A/swine/BinhDuong/03-9/2010) was detected through swine surveillance programmes in southern Vietnam in 2010. This virus contains haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes from a human A(H3N2) virus circulating around 2004-2006, and the internal genes from triple-reassortant swine influenza A viruses (IAVs). To assess population susceptibility to this virus we measured haemagglutination inhibiting (HI) titres to A/swine/BinhDuong/03-9/2010 and to seasonal A/Perth/16/2009 for 947 sera collected from urban and rural Vietnamese people during 2011-2012. Seroprevalence (HI ⩾ 40) was high and similar for both viruses, with 62·6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 59·4-65·7] against A/Perth/16/2009 and 54·6% (95% CI 51·4-57·8%) against A/swine/BinhDuong/03-9/2010, and no significant differences between urban and rural participants. Children aged <5 years lacked antibodies to the swine origin H3 virus despite high seroprevalence for A/Perth/16/2009. These results reveal vulnerability to infection to this contemporary swine IAV in children aged <5 years; however, cross-reactive immunity in adults would likely limit epidemic emergence potential