Role of traditional healers in psychosocial support in caring for the orphans: A case of Dar-es Salaam City, Tanzania

Orphans are an increasing problem in developing countries particularly in Africa; due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and needs collective effort in intervention processes by including all stakeholders right from the grass roots level. This paper attempts to present the role of traditional healers in psychosocial support for orphan children in Dar-es-Salaam City with special focus on those whose parents have died because of HIV/AIDS. Six traditional healers who were involved in taking care of orphans were visited at their "vilinge" (traditional clinics). In total they had 72 orphans, 31 being boys and 41 being girls with age range from 3 years to 19. It was learned that traditional healers, besides providing remedies for illnesses/diseases of orphans, they also provided other basic needs. Further, they even provided psychosocial support allowing children to cope with orphan hood life with ease. Traditional healers are living within communities at the grass roots level; and appear unnoticed hidden forces, which are involved in taking care of orphans. This role of traditional healers in taking care of orphans needs to be recognised and even scaling it up by empowering them both in financial terms and training in basic skills of psychosocial techniques in how to handle orphans, in order to reduce discrimination and stigmatisation in the communities where they live.     

Plant genetic engineering for biofuel production: towards affordable cellulosic ethanol

Biofuels provide a potential route to avoiding the global political instability and environmental issues that arise from reliance on petroleum. Currently, most biofuel is in the form of ethanol generated from starch or sugar, but this can meet only a limited fraction of global fuel requirements. Conversion of cellulosic biomass, which is both abundant and renewable, is a promising alternative. However, the cellulases and pretreatment processes involved are very expensive. Genetically engineering plants to produce cellulases and hemicellulases, and to reduce the need for pretreatment processes through lignin modification, are promising paths to solving this problem, together with other strategies, such as increasing plant polysaccharide content and overall biomass.     

Mitofusins and OPA1 Mediate Sequential Steps in Mitochondrial Membrane Fusion

Mitochondrial fusion requires the coordinated fusion of the outer and inner membranes. Three large GTPases—OPA1 and the mitofusins Mfn1 and Mfn2—are essential for the fusion of mammalian mitochondria. OPA1 is mutated in dominant optic atrophy, a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve. In yeast, the OPA1 ortholog Mgm1 is required for inner membrane fusion in vitro; nevertheless, yeast lacking Mgm1 show neither outer nor inner membrane fusion in vivo, because of the tight coupling between these two processes. We find that outer membrane fusion can be readily visualized in OPA1-null mouse cells in vivo, but these events do not progress to inner membrane fusion. Similar defects are found in cells lacking prohibitins, which are required for proper OPA1 processing. In contrast, double Mfn-null cells show neither outer nor inner membrane fusion. Mitochondria in OPA1-null cells often contain multiple matrix compartments bounded together by a single outer membrane, consistent with uncoupling of outer versus inner membrane fusion. In addition, unlike mitofusins and yeast Mgm1, OPA1 is not required on adjacent mitochondria to mediate membrane fusion. These results indicate that mammalian mitofusins and OPA1 mediate distinct sequential fusion steps that are readily uncoupled, in contrast to the situation in yeast.     

Molecular constitution of breast but not other reproductive tissues is rich in growth promoting molecules: A possible link to highest incidence of tumor growths

In the current study we tested if highest incidence of benign as well as cancer growths in breast tissue is due to constitutive molecular composition of this tissue. To delineate the molecular basis, we compared the expression of nine functional gene modules (total 578 genes) that regulate major positive growth and negative inhibitory signals in normal breast with two other reproductive tissues, ovary and uterus. We present data to demonstrate that breast tissues constitutively have very highly elevated levels of several growth promoting molecules and diminished levels of inhibitory molecules which may, in part, contribute for highest incidence of tumor growths in this tissue.     

Broad-range PCR,cloning and sequencing of the full 16S rRNA gene for detection of bacterial DNA in synovial fluid samples of Tunisian patients with reactive and undifferentiated arthritis

Introduction

Broad-range rDNA PCR provides an alternative, cultivation-independent approach for identifying bacterial DNA in reactive and other form of arthritis. The aim of this study was to use broad-range rDNA PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene in patients with reactive and other forms of arthritis and to screen for the presence of DNA from any given bacterial species in synovial fluid (SF) samples.

Methods

We examined the SF samples from a total of 27 patients consisting of patients with reactive arthritis (ReA) (n = 5), undifferentiated arthritis (UA) (n = 9), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 7), and osteoarthritis (n = 6) of which the latter two were used as controls. Using broad-range bacterial PCR amplifying a 1400 bp fragment from the 16S rRNA gene, we identified and sequenced at least 24 clones from each SF sample. To identify the corresponding bacteria, DNA sequences were compared to the EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) database.

Results

Bacterial DNA was identified in 20 of the 27 SF samples (74, 10%). Analysis of a large number of sequences revealed the presence of DNA from more than one single bacterial species in the SF of all patients studied. The nearly complete sequences of the 1400 bp were obtained for most of the detected species. DNA of bacterial species including Shigella species, Escherichia species, and other coli-form bacteria as well as opportunistic pathogens such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Achromobacter xylosoxidans were shared in all arthritis patients. Among pathogens described to trigger ReA, DNA from Shigella sonnei was found in ReA and UA patients. We also detected DNA from rarely occurring human pathogens such as Aranicola species and Pantoea ananatis. We also found DNA from bacteria so far not described in human infections such as Bacillus niacini, Paenibacillus humicus, Diaphorobacter species and uncultured bacterium genera incertae sedis OP10.

Conclusions

Broad-range PCR followed by cloning and sequencing the entire 16S rDNA, allowed the identification of the bacterial DNA environment in the SF samples of arthritic patients. We found a wide spectrum of bacteria including those known to be involved in ReA and others not previously associated with arthritis.     

Proteomics analysis of the actions of grape seed extract in rat brain: technological and biological implications for the study of the actions of psychoactive compounds

Grape seed extract (GSE) is a commonly available dietary supplement taken for the anti-oxidant activity that's attributed to its proanthocyanidin (oligomers of monomeric polyphenols) content. Similar polyphenol-enriched preparations from blueberries and soy have shown protection against ovariectomy-induced or age-related cognitive deficits, suggesting that the molecular changes induced by these polyphenol preparations correlated with behavioral benefit. We hypothesized that ingestion of polyphenol-enriched preparations such as GSE would be manifested as protein changes that would be consistent with neuroprotection. Proteomics technology, namely 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, identified quantitative changes in specific proteins induced in adult rat brain following ingestion of a powdered preparation of GSE. As recently reported [Deshane, J., Chaves, L., Sarikonda, K.V., Isbell, S., Wilson, L., Kirk, M., Grubbs, C., Barnes, S., Meleth, S. and Kim, H., 2004. Proteomics analysis of rat brain protein modulations by grape seed extract. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52, 7872-7883.], the direction of change for the majority of the affected proteins was opposite to the direction the proteins were changed in either Alzheimer disease or in transgenic mouse models of dementia. A conservative conclusion is that GSE has neuroprotective activity, by affecting specific proteins in particular ways. In this chapter, elements of proteomics-type analysis are discussed that demonstrate the power of the technology to enable discovery of proteins involved in the response of the brain to a stimulus whether it be a dietary supplement, or a psychoactive drug. The fact that GSE affects proteins implicated in cognitive disorders suggests moreover that GSE may have impact on the actions of psychoactive drugs by maintaining an overall viability of the nervous system.     

Natural Selection of Human Embryos: Decidualizing Endometrial Stromal Cells Serve as Sensors of Embryo Quality upon Implantation

Background

Pregnancy is widely viewed as dependent upon an intimate dialogue, mediated by locally secreted factors between a developmentally competent embryo and a receptive endometrium. Reproductive success in humans is however limited, largely because of the high prevalence of chromosomally abnormal preimplantation embryos. Moreover, the transient period of endometrial receptivity in humans uniquely coincides with differentiation of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) into highly specialized decidual cells, which in the absence of pregnancy invariably triggers menstruation. The role of cyclic decidualization of the endometrium in the implantation process and the nature of the decidual cytokines and growth factors that mediate the crosstalk with the embryo are unknown.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We employed a human co-culture model, consisting of decidualizing ESCs and single hatched blastocysts, to identify the soluble factors involved in implantation. Over the 3-day co-culture period, approximately 75% of embryos arrested whereas the remainder showed normal development. The levels of 14 implantation factors secreted by the stromal cells were determined by multiplex immunoassay. Surprisingly, the presence of a developing embryo had no significant effect on decidual secretions, apart from a modest reduction in IL-5 levels. In contrast, arresting embryos triggered a strong response, characterized by selective inhibition of IL-1β, -6, -10, -17, -18, eotaxin, and HB-EGF secretion. Co-cultures were repeated with undifferentiated ESCs but none of the secreted cytokines were affected by the presence of a developing or arresting embryo.

Conclusions

Human ESCs become biosensors of embryo quality upon differentiation into decidual cells. In view of the high incidence of gross chromosomal errors in human preimplantation embryos, cyclic decidualization followed by menstrual shedding may represent a mechanism of natural embryo selection that limits maternal investment in developmentally impaired pregnancies.