Electrochemical detection of Toxocara canis excretory-secretory antigens in children from rural communities in Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador: association between active infection and high eosinophilia.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of active Toxocara canis infections in humans is challenging. Larval stages of T. canis do not replicate in human tissues and disease may result from infection with a single T. canis larva. Recently, we developed a nanobody-based electrochemical magnetosensor assay with superior sensitivity to detect T. canis excretory-secretory (TES) antigens. Here, we evaluate the performance of the assay in children from an Ecuadorian birth cohort that followed children to five years of age. METHODS: Samples were selected based on the presence of peripheral blood eosinophilia and relative eosinophil counts. The samples were analyzed by the nanobody-based electrochemical magnetosensor assay, which utilizes a bivalent biotinylated nanobody as capturing agent on the surface of streptavidin pre-coated paramagnetic beads. Detection was performed by a different nanobody chemically labelled with horseradish peroxidase. RESULTS: Of 87 samples tested, 33 (38%) scored positive for TES antigen recognition by the electrochemical magnetosensor assay. The average concentration of TES antigen in serum was 2.1 ng/ml (SD = 1.1). The positive result in the electrochemical assay was associated with eosinophilia > 19% (P = 0.001). Parasitological data were available for 57 samples. There was no significant association between positivity by the electrochemical assay and the presence of other soil-transmitted helminth infections. CONCLUSIONS: Our nanobody-based electrochemical assay provides highly sensitive quantification of TES antigens in serum and has potential as a valuable tool for the diagnosis of active human toxocariasis

A Hospital Based Cross-Sectional Study, 2015–2019

792. The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization through the Health System Strengthening (HSS) project. The Flandres Government, BICMINS project. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from where J?lia Sambo, Marta Cassocera and Assuc?nio Chissaque have a PhD fellowship. Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the parents or guardians who consented for their children to be enrolled in the surveillance and all ViNaDia team for their dedication and effort with recruitment, data collection and shipment of specimens to the central laboratory in Maputo: Miguel Bambo, Carlos Guilamba, Celina Nhamuave, M?rcia Nhaca, Judite Sal?ncia, Herm?nio Cossa, F?lix Gundane, Aun?sia Marurele, Angelina Pereira, Mulaja Kabeya ?tienne, Celso Gabriel, Titos Maulate, Julieta Ernesto, Siasa Mendes, H?rcio Simbine, Susete de Carvalho, Marcos Joaquim, Elvira Sarguene, Fernando Vilanculos, Felicidade Martins, Dulce Gra?a, Edma Samuel, Vivaldo Pedro, L?cia Matabel, Aida Junta, Gilda Maria Safrina, Nat?rcia Abreu, Vanessa da Silva, Nazareth Mabutana, Delcio Muteto, Benilde Munlela and Carolina Conjo. A special thank you also to Timothy Kellogg for all the guidance during the initial data analysis process. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Diarrhoea is associated with undernutrition and this association is related to increased morbidity and mortality in children under-five. In this analysis we aimed to assess the frequency and associated factors of undernutrition in children under-five with diarrhoea. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2019 through a surveillance system in five sentinel hospitals in Mozambique. Sociodemographic and clinical information was collected, including anthropometry. A total of 963 children were analysed. The overall undernutrition frequency was 54.1% (95% CI: 50.9–57.2), with 32.5% (95% CI: 29.6–35.5) stunting, 26.6% (95% CI: 23.9–29.6) wasting and 24.7% (95% CI: 22.1–27.5) underweight. Children from Nampula province had 4.7 (p = 0.016) higher odds for stunting compared with children from Maputo and Zambézia. Children whose mother was illiterate had higher odds of being underweight 5.4 (p < 0.001). Children born under 2500 g of weight had 2.85 (p = 0.001), 2.97 (p < 0.001) and 2.19 (p = 0.013) higher odds for being underweighted, wasted and stunted, respectively. The HIV positive status of the children was associated with higher odds of being underweight 2.88 (p = 0.005), wasted 2.24 (p = 0.025), and stunted 2.89 (p = 0.004). The province, caregiver education level, child’s birthweight and HIV status were factors associated with undernutrition in children with diarrhoea. These findings emphasise the need for additional caregiver’s education on the child’s nutrition and associated infectious diseases. More studies are needed to better understand the social context in which a child with diarrhoea and undernutrition is inserted.publishersversionpublishe

Maternal supplementation with n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during perinatal period alleviates the metabolic syndrome disturbances in adult hamster pups fed a high-fat diet after weaning

Perinatal nutrition is thought to affect the long-term risk of the adult to develop metabolic syndrome. We hypothesized that maternal supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid during pregnancy and lactation would protect offspring fed a high-fat diet from developing metabolic disturbances. Thus, two groups of female hamsters were fed a low-fat control diet, either alone (LC) or enriched with n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) (LO), through the gestational and lactation periods. After weaning, male pups were randomized to separate groups that received either a control low-fat diet (LC) or a high-fat diet (HC) for 16 weeks. Four groups of pups were defined (LC-LC, LC-HC, LO-LC and LO-HC), based on the combinations of maternal and weaned diets. Maternal n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation was associated with reduced levels of basal plasma glucose, hepatic triglycerides secretion and postprandial lipemia in the LO-HC group compared to the LC-HC group. Respiratory parameters were not affected by maternal supplementation. In contrast, n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation significantly enhanced the activities of citrate synthase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase compared to the offspring of unsupplemented mothers. Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, fatty acid synthase, stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 and tumor necrosis factor α expression levels were not affected by n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation. These results provide evidence for a beneficial effect of n-3 LC-PUFA maternal supplementation in hamsters on the subsequent risk of metabolic syndrome. Underlying mechanisms may include improved lipid metabolism and activation of the mitochondrial oxidative pathway

High Prevalence of Mansonella perstans Filariasis in Rural Senegal.

Large parts of African and American countries are colonized by Mansonella, a very common but poorly described filarial nematode. Bloodsucking flies of the genus Culicoides are suspected to be the vector of Mansonella perstans, but no study in Senegal has confirmed that Culicoides can transmit the parasite. Designed specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) can be used to identify microfilaria in stained blood smears. This study was performed in July and December 2010 in the southeastern Senegal, which is known to be endemic for M. perstans. We analyzed 297 blood smears from febrile and afebrile resident people by qPCR. The global prevalence of M. perstans was approximately 14.5% in both febrile and afebrile individuals. The age group of > 30 years had the highest prevalence (22.0%). No Culicoides among 1,159 studied specimens was positive for M. perstans and its vector in Senegal still requires identification

Predicting wine prices based on the weather: Bordeaux vineyards in a changing climate

Each grapevine cultivar needs a certain amount of cumulated heat over its growing season for its grapes to ripen properly. In the twentieth century’s Bordeaux vineyard, the average growing season temperature was not always sufficient, thus higher than usual summer temperatures were on average linked with higher grape and wine quality. However, over the last 60+ years, global warming gradually increased the vineyard’s temperatures up to the point where additional growing season heat is not required anymore, and can even become detrimental to wine quality: hence the positive effect of higher-than-usual summer temperatures has progressively vanished. In this context, it is unknown whether any weather variable is still a good predictor of a vintage’s quality. Here we provide a predictive model of wine prices, based only on weather data. We establish that it predicts more accurately a vintage’s long-term quality than a world-class expert rating this same vintage in the year following its production. We first design a corpus of features suited to the grapevine lifecycle to extract from them the most powerful drivers of wine quality. We then build a predictive model that leverages Local Least Squares kernel regression (LLS) to factor in the time-varying nature of climate impact on the grapevine. Hence, it is able to outperform previous models and even provides a better predictive ranking of successive vintages than the grades given by world-famous wine critic Robert Parker. This predictive power demonstrates that weather is still a very efficient predictor of wine quality in Bordeaux. The two main features on which this model is built – following grapevine’s phenological calendar and using a LLS architecture to let the inputoutput relationship vary over time – could help model other agricultural systems amidst climate change and adaptation of production processes.The paper was written by a former student from the MPhil programme based on his dissertation

Maternal and fetal plasma lipid concentrations across gestation in the growth restricted baboon

International audienc

Sex-specific responses in placental fatty acid oxidation, esterification and transfer capacity to maternal obesity

International audienceFatty acid metabolism and oxidation capacity in the placenta, which likely affects the rate and composition of lipid delivered to the fetus remains poorly understood. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are critical for fetal growth and brain development. We determined the impact of maternal obesity on placental fatty acid oxidation, esterification and transport capacity by measuring PhosphatidylCholine (PC) and LysoPhosphatidylCholine (LPC) containing DHA by mass spectrometry in mother-placenta-baby triads as well as placental free carnitine and acylcarnitine metabolites in women with normal and obese pre-pregnancy BMI. Placental protein expression of enzymes involved in beta-oxidation and esterification pathways, MFSD2a (lysophosphatidylcholine transporter) and OCTN2 (carnitine transporter) expression in syncytiotrophoblast microvillous (MVM) and basal (BM) membranes were determined by Western Blot. Maternal obesity was associated with decreased umbilical cord plasma DHA in LPC and PC fractions in male, but not female, fetuses. Basal membrane MFSD2a protein expression was increased in placenta of males of obese mothers. In female placentas, despite an increased MVM OCTN2 expression, maternal obesity was associated with a reduced MUFA-carnitine levels and increased esterification enzymes. We speculate that lower DHA-PL in fetal circulation of male offspring of obese mothers, despite a significant increase in transporter expression for LPC-DHA, may lead to low DHA needed for brain development contributing to neurological consequences that are more prevalent in male children. Female placentas likely have reduced beta-oxidation capacity and appear to store FA through greater placental esterification, suggesting impaired placenta function and lipid transfer in female placentas of obese mothers