Tuberculosis incidence in foreign-born people residing in European countries in 2020.

BackgroundEuropean-specific policies for tuberculosis (TB) elimination require identification of key populations that benefit from TB screening.AimWe aimed to identify groups of foreign-born individuals residing in European countries that benefit most from targeted TB prevention screening.MethodsThe Tuberculosis Network European Trials group collected, by cross-sectional survey, numbers of foreign-born TB patients residing in European Union (EU) countries, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020 from the 10 highest ranked countries of origin in terms of TB cases in each country of residence. Tuberculosis incidence rates (IRs) in countries of residence were compared with countries of origin.ResultsData on 9,116 foreign-born TB patients in 30 countries of residence were collected. Main countries of origin were Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Morocco, Romania and Somalia. Tuberculosis IRs were highest in patients of Eritrean and Somali origin in Greece and Malta (both > 1,000/100,000) and lowest among Ukrainian patients in Poland (3.6/100,000). They were mainly lower in countries of residence than countries of origin. However, IRs among Eritreans and Somalis in Greece and Malta were five times higher than in Eritrea and Somalia. Similarly, IRs among Eritreans in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK were four times higher than in Eritrea.ConclusionsCountry of origin TB IR is an insufficient indicator when targeting foreign-born populations for active case finding or TB prevention policies in the countries covered here. Elimination strategies should be informed by regularly collected country-specific data to address rapidly changing epidemiology and associated risks

Disruption of Yarrowia lipolytica TPS1 Gene Encoding Trehalose-6-P Synthase Does Not Affect Growth in Glucose but Impairs Growth at High Temperature

We have cloned the Yarrowia lipolytica TPS1 gene encoding trehalose-6-P synthase by complementation of the lack of growth in glucose of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae tps1 mutant. Disruption of YlTPS1 could only be achieved with a cassette placed in the 3′half of its coding region due to the overlap of its sequence with the promoter of the essential gene YlTFC1. The Yltps1 mutant grew in glucose although the Y. lipolytica hexokinase is extremely sensitive to inhibition by trehalose-6-P. The presence of a glucokinase, insensitive to trehalose-6-P, that constitutes about 80% of the glucose phosphorylating capacity during growth in glucose may account for the growth phenotype. Trehalose content was below 1 nmol/mg dry weight in Y. lipolytica, but it increased in strains expressing YlTPS1 under the control of the YlTEF1promoter or with a disruption of YALI0D15598 encoding a putative trehalase. mRNA levels of YlTPS1 were low and did not respond to thermal stresses, but that of YlTPS2 (YALI0D14476) and YlTPS3 (YALI0E31086) increased 4 and 6 times, repectively, by heat treatment. Disruption of YlTPS1 drastically slowed growth at 35°C. Homozygous Yltps1 diploids showed a decreased sporulation frequency that was ascribed to the low level of YALI0D20966 mRNA an homolog of the S. cerevisiae MCK1 which encodes a protein kinase that activates early meiotic gene expression

Action Pattern of Human Pancreatic and Salivary α-Amylase on 1,4-α-D-Nitrophenylmaltooligosaccharides. 1,4-α-D-Nitrophenylmaltooligosaccharides as Substrates of α-Amylase, I

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