Role of the Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, in Inhibition of Sensory Neurite Regeneration

In the adult mammalian brain and spinal cord, neuronal injury results in failed neurite regeneration, in part due to the up-regulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). CSPGs are molecules consisting of a protein core with covalently bound glycosaminoglycans (GAGS), specifically, chondroitin sulfate side-chains. The majority of CSPGs produced after injury originate from reactive astrocytes found in the glial scar surrounding the injury site. Although this milieu is very complex and involves more than just CSPGs, axonal regrowth may be improved if the expression of specific, highly inhibitory CSPGs produced after injury were attenuated selectively. Neurocan is one type of CSPG that is upregulated after injury and inhibits neurite regeneration. The over-arching goal of this study is to focus on the response and growth of sensory neurons in the presence of astrocytes that express neurocan, in relation to those astrocytes in which neurocan has been “knocked down” by shRNA transfection. In order to perform this analysis, the conditions needed for the co-culture experiment of chick astrocytes and chick neurons were optimized. A series of preliminary tests were performed on chick astrocytes, including a test to monitor the upregulation of CSPGs after treatment with Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β), previously shown to mimic injury in an In vitro setting in rat astrocytes (G. Curinga et. al, 2008), and a test to demonstrate that chick astrocytes express Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) in culture. Through these optimizations, co-culture analysis will be used to evaluate neuronal responses to neurocan. Other techniques used were tissue culture, immunofluorescence, and neurite outgrowth analyses

Serologic Markers for Detecting Malaria in Areas of Low Endemicity, Somalia, 2008

These markers can identify spatial variations in transmission patterns

Just What is Sprawl, Anyway?

Urban sprawl is a hot-button issue in the U.S. Though the term is widely used to describe the distaste for contemporary American suburban and urban development, a select few group of researchers, academics and practitioners have led the response to the argument against sprawl. This paper seeks to characterize sprawl from the perspective of landscape architecture while focusing on quantitative measurements and definitions of sprawl. At its core it examines the issue of the evolution of urban form through time, and offers options for addressing the debates over the negative or positive ramifications of sprawl

Effect of the Pre-erythrocytic Candidate Malaria Vaccine RTS,S/AS01E on Blood Stage Immunity in Young Children

(See the article by Greenhouse et al, on pages 19-26.

Malaria epidemiology in the Ahafo area of Ghana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria remains endemic in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana. The epidemiology of malaria in special areas, such as mining areas needs to be monitored and controlled. Newmont Ghana Gold Limited is conducting mining activities in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana that may have an impact on the diseases such as malaria in the mining area.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prior to the start of mining activities, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2006/2007 to determine malaria epidemiology, including malaria parasitaemia and anaemia among children < 5 years and monthly malaria transmission in a mining area of Ghana.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 1,671 households with a child less than five years were selected. About 50% of the household heads were males. The prevalence of any malaria parasitaemia was 22.8% (95% CI 20.8 - 24.9). <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>represented 98.1% (95% CI 96.2 - 99.2) of parasitaemia. The geometric mean <it>P. falciparum </it>asexual parasite count was 1,602 (95% CI 1,140 - 2,252) and 1,195 (95% CI 985 - 1,449) among children < 24 months and ≥ 24 months respectively. Health insurance membership (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.45 - 0.80, p = 0.001) and the least poor (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37 - 0.90, p = 0.001) were protected against malaria parasitaemia. The prevalence of anaemia was high among children < 24 months compared to children ≥ 24 months (44.1% (95% CI 40.0 - 48.3) and 23.8% (95% CI 21.2 - 26.5) respectively. About 69% (95% CI 66.3 - 70.9) of households own at least one ITN. The highest EIRs were record in May 2007 (669 <it>ib/p/m</it>) and June 2007 (826 <it>ib/p/m</it>). The EIR of <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>were generally higher than <it>Anopheles funestus</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The baseline malaria epidemiology suggests a high malaria transmission in the mining area prior to the start of mining activities. Efforts at controlling malaria in this mining area have been intensified but could be enhanced with increased resources and partnerships between the government and the private sector.</p

Hitting Hotspots: Spatial Targeting of Malaria for Control and Elimination

Teun Bousema and colleagues argue that targeting malaria “hotspots” is a highly efficient way to reduce malaria transmission at all levels of transmission intensity

Estimating malaria transmission intensity from Plasmodium falciparum serological data using antibody density models.

BACKGROUND: Serological data are increasingly being used to monitor malaria transmission intensity and have been demonstrated to be particularly useful in areas of low transmission where traditional measures such as EIR and parasite prevalence are limited. The seroconversion rate (SCR) is usually estimated using catalytic models in which the measured antibody levels are used to categorize individuals as seropositive or seronegative. One limitation of this approach is the requirement to impose a fixed cut-off to distinguish seropositive and negative individuals. Furthermore, the continuous variation in antibody levels is ignored thereby potentially reducing the precision of the estimate. METHODS: An age-specific density model which mimics antibody acquisition and loss was developed to make full use of the information provided by serological measures of antibody levels. This was fitted to blood-stage antibody density data from 12 villages at varying transmission intensity in Northern Tanzania to estimate the exposure rate as an alternative measure of transmission intensity. RESULTS: The results show a high correlation between the exposure rate estimates obtained and the estimated SCR obtained from a catalytic model (r = 0.95) and with two derived measures of EIR (r = 0.74 and r = 0.81). Estimates of exposure rate obtained with the density model were also more precise than those derived from catalytic models. CONCLUSION: This approach, if validated across different epidemiological settings, could be a useful alternative framework for quantifying transmission intensity, which makes more complete use of serological data