Farmers' perception of and adaptation to climate change: An investigation in Northeast Vietnam

This study investigates farmers’ perception of and adaptation to climate change in Thai Nguyen province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. Using a structured survey questionnaire, personal interviews were conducted with 534 farmers in the study province. A multivariate probit model was utilized to examine factors affecting farmers’ choices of adaptation to climate change. The results show that climate change has threatened farmers’ livelihood and agricultural cultivation. Gender, education, farming experience, land, perceived temperature, perceived precipitation, income source, climate information, agricultural training, membership and credit access significantly affect farmers’ choices of different adaptation methods. The results suggest that government should integrate climate change adaptation activities into local development plans. In addition, climate information, agricultural training, and community-based networks should be made available and accessible to all farmer

Rapid Identification of Bio-Molecules Applied for Detection of Biosecurity Agents Using Rolling Circle Amplification

Detection and identification of pathogens in environmental samples for biosecurity applications are challenging due to the strict requirements on specificity, sensitivity and time. We have developed a concept for quick, specific and sensitive pathogen identification in environmental samples. Target identification is realized by padlock- and proximity probing, and reacted probes are amplified by RCA (rolling-circle amplification). The individual RCA products are labeled by fluorescence and enumerated by an instrument, developed for sensitive and rapid digital analysis. The concept is demonstrated by identification of simili biowarfare agents for bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pantoea agglomerans) and spores (Bacillus atrophaeus) released in field

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Reinfection after Drug Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Infections with soil-transmitted helminths (the roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides, the whipworm Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm) affect over 1 billion people, particularly rural communities in the developing world. The global strategy to control soil-transmitted helminth infections is ‘preventive chemotherapy’, which means large-scale administration of anthelmintic drugs to at-risk populations. However, because reinfection occurs after treatment, ‘preventive chemotherapy’ must be repeated regularly. Our systematic review and meta-analysis found that at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment, A. lumbricoides prevalence reached 26% (95% confidence interval (CI): 16–43%), 68% (95% CI: 60–76%) and 94% (95% CI: 88–100%) of pretreatment levels, respectively. For T. trichiura, respective reinfection prevalence at these time points were 36% (95% CI: 28–47%), 67% (95% CI: 42–100%), and 82% (95% CI: 62–100%); and for hookworm, 30% (95% CI: 26–34%), 55% (95% CI: 34–87%), and 57% (95% CI: 49–67%). Prevalence and intensity of reinfection were positively correlated with pretreatment infection status. Our results suggest a frequent anthelmintic drug administration to maximize the benefit of preventive chemotherapy. Moreover, an integrated control strategy, consisting of preventive chemotherapy combined with health education and environmental sanitation is needed to interrupt transmission of soil-transmitted helminths

Adaptation of a Problem-solving Program (Friendship Bench) to Treat Common Mental Disorders Among People Living With HIV and AIDS and on Methadone Maintenance Treatment in Vietnam: Formative Study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs) among people living with HIV and people who inject drugs is high worldwide and in Vietnam. However, few evidence-informed CMD programs for people living with HIV who inject drugs have been adapted for use in Vietnam. We adapted the Friendship Bench (FB), a problem-solving therapy (PST)-based program that was successfully implemented among patients with CMDs in primary health settings in Zimbabwe and Malawi for use among people living with HIV on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) with CMDs in Hanoi, Vietnam. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the adaptation process with a detailed presentation of 4 phases from the third (adaptation) to the sixth (integration) of the Assessment-Decision-Adaptation-Production-Topical Experts-Integration-Training-Testing (ADAPT-ITT) framework. METHODS: The adaptation phase followed a qualitative study design to explore symptoms of CMDs, facilitators, and barriers to conducting FB for people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam, and patient, provider, and caretaker concerns about FB. In the production phase, we revised the original program manual and developed illustrated PST cases. In the topical expert and integration phases, 2 investigators (BNG and BWP) and 3 subject matter experts (RV, DC, and GML) reviewed the manual, with reviewer comments incorporated in the final, revised manual to be used in the training. The draft program will be used in the training and testing phases. RESULTS: The study was methodologically aligned with the ADAPT-ITT goals as we chose a proven, effective program for adaptation. Insights from the adaptation phase addressed the who, where, when, and how of FB program implementation in the MMT clinics. The ADAPT-ITT framework guided the appropriate adaptation of the program manual while maintaining the core components of the PST of the original program throughout counseling techniques in all program sessions. The deliverable of this study was an adapted FB manual to be used for training and piloting to make a final program manual. CONCLUSIONS: This study successfully illustrated the process of operationalizing the ADAPT-ITT framework to adapt a mental health program in Vietnam. This study selected and culturally adapted an evidence-informed PST program to improve CMDs among people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam. This adapted program has the potential to effectively address CMDs among people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04790201; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04790201

IL-18 inhibits growth of murine orthotopic prostate carcinomas via both adaptive and innate immune mechanisms

Interleukin(IL)-18 is a pleiotrophic cytokine with functions in immune modulation, angiogenesis and bone metabolism. In this study, the potential of IL-18 as an immunotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa) was examined using the murine model of prostate carcinoma, RM1 and a bone metastatic variant RM1(BM)/B4H7-luc. RM1 and RM1(BM)/B4H7-luc cells were stably transfected to express bioactive IL-18. These cells were implanted into syngeneic immunocompetent mice, with or without an IL-18-neutralising antibody (αIL-18, SK113AE4). IL-18 significantly inhibited the growth of both subcutaneous and orthotopic RM1 tumors and the IL-18 neutralizing antibody abrogated the tumor growth-inhibition. In vivo neutralization of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) completely eliminated the anti-tumor effects of IL-18 confirming an essential role of IFN-γ as a down-stream mediator of the anti-tumor activity of IL-18. Tumors from mice in which IL-18 and/or IFN-γ was neutralized contained significantly fewer CD4+ and CD8+ T cells than those with functional IL-18. The essential role of adaptive immunity was demonstrated as tumors grew more rapidly in RAG1−/− mice or in mice depleted of CD4+ and/or CD8+ cells than in normal mice. The tumors in RAG1−/− mice were also significantly smaller when IL-18 was present, indicating that innate immune mechanisms are involved. IL-18 also induced an increase in tumor infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils but not NK cells. In other experiments, direct injection of recombinant IL-18 into established tumors also inhibited tumor growth, which was associated with an increase in intratumoral macrophages, but not T cells. These results suggest that local IL-18 in the tumor environment can significantly potentiate anti-tumor immunity in the prostate and clearly demonstrate that this effect is mediated by innate and adaptive immune mechanisms

Epidemic features affecting the performance of outbreak detection algorithms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Outbreak detection algorithms play an important role in effective automated surveillance. Although many algorithms have been designed to improve the performance of outbreak detection, few published studies have examined how epidemic features of infectious disease impact on the detection performance of algorithms. This study compared the performance of three outbreak detection algorithms stratified by epidemic features of infectious disease and examined the relationship between epidemic features and performance of outbreak detection algorithms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), cumulative sum (CUSUM) and moving percentile method (MPM) algorithms were applied. We inserted simulated outbreaks into notifiable infectious disease data in China Infectious Disease Automated-alert and Response System (CIDARS), and compared the performance of the three algorithms with optimized parameters at a fixed false alarm rate of 5% classified by epidemic features of infectious disease. Multiple linear regression was adopted to analyse the relationship of the algorithms’ sensitivity and timeliness with the epidemic features of infectious diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The MPM had better detection performance than EWMA and CUSUM through all simulated outbreaks, with or without stratification by epidemic features (incubation period, baseline counts and outbreak magnitude). The epidemic features were associated with both sensitivity and timeliness. Compared with long incubation, short incubation had lower probability (β* = −0.13, P < 0.001) but needed shorter time to detect outbreaks (β* = −0.57, P < 0.001). Lower baseline counts were associated with higher probability (β* = −0.20, P < 0.001) and longer time (β* = 0.14, P < 0.001). The larger outbreak magnitude was correlated with higher probability (β* = 0.55, P < 0.001) and shorter time (β* = −0.23, P < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study suggest that the MPM is a prior algorithm for outbreak detection and differences of epidemic features in detection performance should be considered in automatic surveillance practice.</p