Seroprevalence and distribution of arboviral infections among rural Kenyan adults: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Arthorpod-borne viruses (arboviruses) cause wide-spread morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa, but little research has documented the burden and distribution of these pathogens.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a population-based, cross-sectional study design, we administered a detailed questionnaire and used ELISA to test the blood of 1,141 healthy Kenyan adults from three districts for the presence of anti-viral Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the following viruses: dengue (DENV), West Nile (WNV), yellow fever (YFV), Chikungunya (CHIKV), and Rift Valley fever (RVFV).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of these, 14.4% were positive for DENV, 9.5% were WNV positive, 9.2% were YFV positive, 34.0% were positive for CHIKV and 0.7% were RVFV positive. In total, 46.6% had antibodies to at least one of these arboviruses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For all arboviruses, district of residence was strongly associated with seropositivity. Seroprevalence to YFV, DENV and WNV increased with age, while there was no correlation between age and seropositivity for CHIKV, suggesting that much of the seropositivity to CHIKV is due to sporadic epidemics. Paradoxically, literacy was associated with increased seropositivity of CHIKV and DENV.</p

Interstitial deletion at 11q14.2-11q22.1 may cause severe learning difficulties, mental retardation and mild heart defects in 13-year old male

Interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 11 are rare, and they could be assumed as non-recurrent chromosomal rearrangements due to high variability of the size and the breakpoints of the deleted region. The exact region of the deletion was difficult to be determined before the use of molecular cytogenetic techniques such as array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). Here, a 13-year old boy with severe learning difficulties, mental retardation and mild heart defects is described. Conventional G-band karyotyping was performed and it is found that the patient is a carrier of a de novo interstitial deletion on the long arm of chromosome 11, involving 11q14 and 11q22 breakpoints. Further investigation, using aCGH, specified the deleted region to 11q14.2-11q22.1. There was a difficulty in correlating the genotype with the phenotype of the patient due to lack of similar cases in literature. More studies should be done in order to understand the genetic background that underlies the phenotypic differences observed in similar cases. © 2015 Papoulidis et al

Processing of pheromone information in related species of Heliothine moths

In heliothine moths, the male-specific olfactory system is activated by a few odor molecules, each of which is associated with an easily identifiable glomerulus in the primary olfactory center of the brain. This arrangement is linked to two well-defined behavioral responses, one ensuring attraction and mating behavior by carrying information about pheromones released by conspecific females and the other inhibition of attraction via signal information emitted from heterospecifics. The chance of comparing the characteristic properties of pheromone receptor proteins, male-specific sensory neurons and macroglomerular complex (MGC)-units in closely-related species is especially intriguing. Here, we review studies on the male-specific olfactory system of heliothine moths with particular emphasis on five closely related species, i.e., Heliothis virescens, Heliothis subflexa, Helicoverpa zea, Helicoverpa assulta and Helicoverpa armigera