Unraveling the Nexus:Oil Price Dynamics and Inflation

This work employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the nexus between macroeconomic variables and inflation in Madagascar. The findings reveal significant impacts of various factors, including imports, GDP, exchange rates, and oil prices, on inflation dynamics. Specifically, the study highlights the substantial influence of oil prices, with a one-unit increase leading to a 9.21 unit rise in inflation. These results underscore the importance of implementing targeted policy measures to address the inflationary pressures arising from volatile oil markets. Strategies such as diversification of imports, energy source diversification, and improvements in public transportation infrastructure are recommended to mitigate the adverse effects of oil price fluctuations and promote economic stability in Madagascar

Assessing the challenges and initiatives to increase women’s integration into science in Madagascar

We present here a commentary essay on the challenges and perspectives on the recruitment and retention of Malagasy women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). We base the essay on our personal experience as Malagasy women scientists and support the arguments with the responses of 60 Malagasy women scientists to an online survey that was shared among Malagasy scientists. We identified that the main causes for a limited number of Malagasy women in STEM relied upon traditional expectations and heavily ingrained cultural values. The situation becomes more complicated when accounting for familial constraints, financial constraints, and communication gaps between students and professors. This is obviously an unfortunate situation; however, there have been bridging-gap initiatives—financial, awareness to family pressure, and knowledge difference between senior and junior scientists—that should be continued to provide support to promising students and enhance STEM education as a tool for development in Madagascar. RésuméCet essai discute les défis et les perspectives dans le recrutement et le maintien des femmes citoyennes de Madagascar dans les sciences, la technologie, l’ingénierie et les mathématiques (STIM). Les arguments présentés sont basés sur nos expériences personnelles en tant que femmes scientifiques nées et ayant grandies à Madagascar. Ces arguments sont soutenus par des informations issues d’un sondage effectué en ligne auprès de 60 femmes scientifiques, s’identifiant elles-mêmes originaires de Madagascar. Les raisons pour lesquelles ces femmes sont peu nombreuses à participer activement dans les domaines des STIM à Madagascar sont liées à des contraintes traditionnelles et à des valeurs culturelles fortement ancrées depuis leur enfance. La situation se complique lorsqu’on tient compte des contraintes financières et des écarts de communication entre étudiants et professeurs. Si cette situation est évidemment regrettable, il existe cependant des initiatives visant à combler le fossé qui sont financières, ou qui s’inscrivent dans la sensibilisation à la pression familiale et à la différence de connaissances entre les scientifiques seniors et juniors. Ces encouragements devraient être poursuivis afin d'apporter un soutien aux étudiantes prometteuses et d'améliorer l'enseignement des femmes en STIM qui sont importantes pour le développement de Madagascar

Respiratory viral pathogens among Singapore military servicemen 2009 - 2012: Epidemiology and clinical characteristics

10.1186/1471-2334-14-204BMC Infectious Diseases141-BIDM

Auxiliary role for D-alanylated wall teichoic acid in Toll-like receptor 2-mediated survival of Staphylococcus aureus in macrophages

金沢大学医薬保健研究域薬学系We previously reported that Staphylococcus aureus avoids killing within macrophages by exploiting the action of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which leads to the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-mediated inhibition of superoxide production. To search for bacterial components responsible for this event, a series of S. aureus mutants, in which the synthesis of the cell wall was interrupted, were screened for the level of JNK activation in macrophages. In addition to a mutant lacking the lipoproteins that have been suggested to act as a TLR2 ligand, two mutant strains were found to activate the phosphorylation of JNK to a lesser extent than the parental strain, and this defect was recovered by acquisition of the corresponding wild-type genes. Macrophages that had phagocytosed the mutant strains produced more superoxide than those engulfing the parental strain, and the mutant bacteria were more efficiently killed in macrophages than the parent. The genes mutated, dltA and tagO, encoded proteins involved in the synthesis of D-alanylated wall teichoic acid. Unlike a cell wall fraction rich in lipoproteins, d-alanine-bound wall teichoic acid purified from the parent strain by itself did not activate JNK phosphorylation in macrophages. These results suggest that the D-alanylated wall teichoic acid of S. aureus modulates the cell wall milieu for lipoproteins so that they effectively serve as a ligand for TLR2. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Viral Etiology of Influenza-Like Illnesses in Antananarivo, Madagascar, July 2008 to June 2009

In Madagascar, despite an influenza surveillance established since 1978, little is known about the etiology and prevalence of viruses other than influenza causing influenza-like illnesses (ILIs).From July 2008 to June 2009, we collected respiratory specimens from patients who presented ILIs symptoms in public and private clinics in Antananarivo (the capital city of Madagascar). ILIs were defined as body temperature ≥38°C and cough and at least two of the following symptoms: sore throat, rhinorrhea, headache and muscular pain, for a maximum duration of 3 days. We screened these specimens using five multiplex real time Reverse Transcription and/or Polymerase Chain Reaction assays for detection of 14 respiratory viruses. We detected respiratory viruses in 235/313 (75.1%) samples. Overall influenza virus A (27.3%) was the most common virus followed by rhinovirus (24.8%), RSV (21.2%), adenovirus (6.1%), coronavirus OC43 (6.1%), influenza virus B (3.9%), parainfluenza virus-3 (2.9%), and parainfluenza virus-1 (2.3%). Co-infections occurred in 29.4% (69/235) of infected patients and rhinovirus was the most detected virus (27.5%). Children under 5 years were more likely to have one or more detectable virus associated with their ILI. In this age group, compared to those ≥5 years, the risk of detecting more than one virus was higher (OR = 1.9), as was the risk of detecting of RSV (OR = 10.1) and adenovirus (OR = 4.7). While rhinovirus and adenovirus infections occurred year round, RSV, influenza virus A and coronavirus OC43 had defined period of circulation.In our study, we found that respiratory viruses play an important role in ILIs in the Malagasy community, particularly in children under 5 years old. These data provide a better understanding of the viral etiology of outpatients with ILI and describe for the first time importance of these viruses in different age group and their period of circulation

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa

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The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

Investment in SARS-CoV-2 sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences generated, now exceeding 100,000 genomes, used to track the pandemic on the continent. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries able to sequence domestically, and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround time and more regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and shed light on the distinct dispersal dynamics of Variants of Concern, particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve, while the continent faces many emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants