Reduced prevalence of placental malaria in primiparae with blood group O

Background Blood group O protects African children against severe malaria and has reached high prevalence in malarious regions. However, its role in malaria in pregnancy is ambiguous. In 839 delivering Ghanaian women, associations of ABO blood groups with Plasmodium falciparum infection were examined. Methods Plasmodium falciparum infection was diagnosed in placental blood samples by microscopy and PCR assays. Present or past infection was defined as the detection of parasitaemia or haemozoin by microscopy, or a positive PCR result. Blood groups were inferred from genotyping rs8176719 (indicating the O allele) and rs8176746/rs8176747 (distinguishing the B allele from the A allele). Results The majority of women had blood group O (55.4%); present or past P. falciparum infection was seen in 62.3% of all women. Among multiparae, the blood groups had no influence on P. falciparum infection. In contrast, primiparae with blood group O had significantly less present or past infection than women with non-O blood groups (61.5 vs 76.2%, P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, the odds of present or past placental P. falciparum infection were reduced by 45% in blood group O primiparae (aOR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.33–0.94]). Conclusions The present study shows a clear protective effect of blood group O against malaria in primiparae. This accords with findings in severe malaria and in vitro results. The data underline the relevance of host genetic protection among primiparae, i.e. the high-risk group for malaria in pregnancy, and contribute to the understanding of high O allele frequencies in Africa

Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses

[EN] The genetic structure of a small population of New Zealand White rabbits maintained at the Sheep Breeding and Research Station, Sandynallah, The Nilgiris, India, was evaluated through pedigree analyses. Data on pedigree information (n=2503) for 18 yr (1995-2012) were used for the study. Pedigree analysis and the estimates of population genetic parameters based on the gene origin probabilities were performed. The analysis revealed that the mean values of generation interval, coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were 1.49 yr, 13.23 and 17.59%, respectively. The proportion of population inbred was 100%. The estimated mean values of average relatedness and individual increase in inbreeding were 22.73 and 3.00%, respectively. The percentage increase in inbreeding over generations was 1.94, 3.06 and 3.98 estimated through maximum generations, equivalent generations and complete generations, respectively. The number of ancestors contributing the majority of 50% genes (fa50) to the gene pool of reference population was only 4, which might have led to reduction in genetic variability and increased the amount of inbreeding. The extent of genetic bottleneck assessed by calculating the effective number of founders (fe) and the effective number of ancestors (fa), as expressed by the fe/fa ratio was 1.1, which is indicative of the absence of stringent bottlenecks. Up to 5th generation, 71.29% pedigree was complete, reflecting the well maintained pedigree records. The maximum known generations were 15, with an average of 7.9, and the average equivalent generations traced were 5.6, indicating a fairly good depth in pedigree. The realized effective population size was 14.93, which is very critical, and with the increasing trend of inbreeding the situation has been assessed as likely to become worse in future. The proportion of animals with the genetic conservation index (GCI) greater than 9 was 39.10%, which can be used as a scale to use such animals with higher GCI to maintain balanced contribution from the founders. From the study, it was evident that the herd was completely inbred, with a very high inbreeding coefficient, and the effective population size was critical. Recommendations were made to reduce the probability of deleterious effects of inbreeding and to improve genetic variability in the herd. The present study can help in carrying out similar studies to meet the demand for animal protein in developing countries.The authors acknowledge the support provided by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) for successful completion of the study.Sakthivel, M.; Balasubramanyam, D.; Kumarasamy, P.; Raja, A.; Anilkumar, R.; Gopi, H.; Devaki, A. (2018). Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses. 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Direct correlation between the circadian sleep-wakefulness rhythm and time estimation in humans under social and temporal isolation

Several bodily functions in humans vary on a 24 h pattern and most of these variations persist with a circadian period of ca 25 h when subjects are studied under conditions of social and temporal isolation. We report in this paper that the estimates of short time intervals (TE) of 2 h are strongly coupled to the circadian rhythm in sleepwakefulness. There is a linear correlation between the number of hours humans stay awake (α) and their estimation of 2 h intervals. The coupling of TE to α appears to obtain only under conditions of physical well-being

Switching to second-line antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings: comparison of programmes with and without viral load monitoring.

In high-income countries, viral load is routinely measured to detect failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and guide switching to second-line ART. Viral load monitoring is not generally available in resource-limited settings. We examined switching from nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based first-line regimens to protease inhibitor-based regimens in Africa, South America and Asia

KvLQT1 and KCNE1 K+ channel gene polymorphisms in long QT syndrome

Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a disorder of the cardiac repolarization process with prolongation of the QT interval (QTc ≥0.46 seconds), is an ion-channelopathy. Mutations in either KCNQ1 or KCNE1 genes are susceptible to LQTS. Hence, screening of KCNQ1 and KCNE1 genes is taken up to evaluate the genetic correlation of these genes in Long QT patients of Indian origin. A total of 33 Long QT Syndrome patients and 100 healthy subjects were enrolled for the present study. PCR-SSCP protocol was utilised for screening of KCNQ1 and KCNE1 genes followed by In-silico and statistical analysis. The clinical profile of the Long QT syndrome patients in our study revealed a higher percentage of females with the mean age also being higher in females when compared to males. The two variations (S546S and IVS13+36A>G) in KCNQ1 and the S38G polymorphism in KCNE1 gene were identified and their association with Long QT syndrome is being reported for the first time in Indian population. S546S is located in the KCNQ1 C terminus close to this domain and IVS13+36A>G is located in the intronic region in close proximity to the coding region for C-terminal domain; these may therefore affect the functional protein through non-assembly. S38G leads to a substitution of serine to glycine at 38th amino acid position (S38G) in the transmembrane domain of KCNE1. Our study reports compound heterozygosity/genetic compound ofS546S and IVS13+36A>G of KCNQ1 gene. Haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed a significant association between the three biomarkers. Compound heterozygosity of the polymorphisms influence downstream signalling and KCNQ1-KCNE1 interactions

Nature-inspired nano-additives for Biofuel application – A Review

The increasing demand and cost of conventional fuels have forced humanity to consider various alternative fuels. Low yield and massive cost are significant limitations in biofuel production. Nanotechnology has emerged as a prominent research area in the scientific community with a wide range of applications, including biofuels. This review discusses the specific approaches and methods to synthesize nanoparticles from natural materials. In addition, it summarizes the use of nanocatalyst, nano-additives and microbial enzymes to enhance biofuel properties and production processes. This review also highlights the effect of plant-based nanoparticles on diesel engines' combustion performance and emissions

Association of Ficolin-2 serum levels and FCN2 genetic variants with Indian Visceral Leishmaniasis

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), one of the neglected tropical diseases, is endemic in the Indian subcontinent. Ficolins are circulating serum proteins of the lectin complement system and involved in innate immunity. Methods: We have estimated ficolin-2 serum levels and analyzed the functional variants of the encoding gene FCN2 in 218 cases of VL and in 225 controls from an endemic region of India. Results: Elevated levels of serum ficolin-2 were observed in VL cases compared to the controls (adjusted P<0.0001). The genetic analysis revealed that the FCN2 structural variant +6359 C>T (p.T236M) was associated with VL (OR=2.2, 95% CI = 1.23-7.25, P = 0.008) and with high ficolin-2 serum levels. We also found that the FCN2*AAAC haplotype occurred more frequently among healthy controls when compared to cases (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37-0.94, P = 0.023). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the FCN2 variant +6359C>T is associated with the occurrence of VL and that ficolin-2 serum levels are elevated in Leishmania infections

Prioritising prevention strategies for patients in antiretroviral treatment programmes in resource-limited settings

Expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) offers opportunities to strengthen HIV prevention in resource-limited settings. We invited 27 ART programmes from urban settings in Africa, Asia and South America to participate in a survey, with the aim to examine what preventive services had been integrated in ART programmes. Twenty-two programmes participated; eight (36%) from South Africa, two from Brazil, two from Zambia and one each from Argentina, India, Thailand, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Morocco, Uganda and Zimbabwe and one occupational programme of a brewery company included five countries (Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi). Twenty-one sites (96%) provided health education and social support, and 18 (82%) provided HIV testing and counselling. All sites encouraged disclosure of HIV infection to spouses and partners, but only 11 (50%) had a protocol for partner notification. Twenty-one sites (96%) supplied male condoms, seven (32%) female condoms and 20 (91%) provided prophylactic ART for the prevention of mother-to child transmission. Seven sites (33%) regularly screened for sexually transmitted infections (STI). Twelve sites (55%) were involved in activities aimed at women or adolescents, and 10 sites (46%) in activities aimed at serodiscordant couples. Stigma and discrimination, gender roles and funding constraints were perceived as the main obstacles to effective prevention in ART programmes. We conclude that preventive services in ART programmes in lower income countries focus on health education and the provision of social support and male condoms. Strategies that might be equally or more important in this setting, including partner notification, prompt diagnosis and treatment of STI and reduction of stigma in the community, have not been implemented widely