Glaucacyclopeptide A from the seeds of Annona glauca

The seeds of Annona glauca furnished two cyclopeptides one of which is novel. The structure was elucidated on the basis on mass spectrometry, 2D NMR methods and amino acids analysis.     

Evaluation of anti-Plasmodium falciparum antibodies in Senegalese adults using different types of crude extracts from various strains of parasite

To date, no consensus exists on the type of crude Plasmodium falciparum Ags to be used in a standard assay for the evaluation of the overall anti-blood-stage immune response in humans. Comparison of the dose-dependent reactivity of using a pool of hyper-immune Senegalese sera to saponin and water schizont extracts of the Senegalese 07/03 isolate indicated similar reactivity on both types of antigen preparations. Water schizont extracts from three different strains of P. falciparum adapted to in vitro culture probed with a panel of specific mouse antisera and monoclonal antibodies reacting with conserved antigens showed similar antigenic content. Seroreactivity of immune individuals living in three different areas of endemicity was assessed in parallel on water crude extracts. The individual IgG, IgM and IgG subclass antibody responses to the various schizont preparations correlated positively. The specific IgM response was higher on the Senegalese schizont extract than on the FCR3 extract and was highest in Dielmo villagers. The IgG response was similar in all three locations and was strain independent. These results indicate that monitoring IgG antibody levels to the widely distributed FCR3 strain using an easily prepared crude lysate might represent a valuable reference ELISA allowing homogenisation and comparison of data from different laboratories.     

Diversity assessment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Banco National Park (Banco Stream,Côte d'Ivoire)

In the present study, a first inventory of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Banco Stream, Côte d'Ivoire, and the correlations between environmental variables and taxonomic richness were analysed. Seven stations were sampled monthly over a 1‐year period, using a hand net (10 × 10 cm, 250 μm mesh, 50 cm length). One hundred and thirty‐two macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded. These taxa were distributed among 74 families and 15 orders belonging to Insecta (118 taxa; 89% of total richness), Oligochaeta (seven taxa), Crustacea (five taxa) and Mollusca (two taxa). Kruskal–Wallis test revealed significant difference (at least P < 0.05) in macroinvertebrate richness between upstream stations (S1 and S2) and stations S4, S5 and S6. Chironominae and Tanypodinae (Insecta) were the two very frequent taxa in all the stations. Lumbriculidae (Oligochaeta), Desmocaris trispinosa (Crustacea) and Eurymetra sp. (Insecta) were frequently found in the samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed three groups of sampling stations according to taxonomic similarity. Taxonomic richness was significantly and negatively correlated with conductivity, while it was significantly and positively correlated with substrate types (woody debris and gravel). Due to the fact that Banco stream is the locality type of an endemic shrimp species (Macrobrachium thysi), this basin is of high conservation priority.     

Impact of Annual Praziquantel Treatment on Urogenital Schistosomiasis in a Seasonal Transmission Focus in Central Senegal

In Sub-Saharan Africa, urogenital schistosomiasis remains a significant public health problem, causing 150.000 deaths/year with approximately 112 million cases diagnosed. The Niakhar district is a disease hotspot in central Senegal where transmission occurs seasonally with high prevalences. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of annual treatment over 3 years on the seasonal transmission dynamics of S. haematobium in 9 villages in the Niakhar district. Adults and children aged between 5 and 60 years were surveyed from 2011 to 2014. Urine samples were collected door-to-door and examined for S. haematobium eggs at baseline in June 2011, and all participants were treated in August 2011 with PZQ (40 mg/kg). After this initial examination, evaluations were conducted at 3 successive time points from September 2011 to March 2014, to measure the efficacy of the annual treatments and the rates of reinfection. Each year, during the transmission period, from July to November-December, malacological surveys were also carried out in the fresh water bodies of each village to evaluate the infestation of the snail intermediate hosts. At baseline, the overall prevalence of S. haematobium infection was 57.7%, and the proportion of heavy infection was 45.3%, but one month after the first treatment high cure rates (92.9%) were obtained. The overall infection prevalence and proportion of heavy infection intensities were drastically reduced to 4.2% and 2.3%, respectively. The level of the first reinfection in February-March 2012 was 9.5%. At follow-up time points, prevalence levels varied slightly between reinfection and treatment from 9.5% in June 2012 to 0.3% in March 2013, 11.2 in June 2013, and 10.1% April 2014. At the end of the study, overall prevalence was significantly reduced from 57.7% to 10.1%. The overall rate of infested Bulinid snails was reduced after repeated treatment from 0.8% in 2012 to 0.5% in 2013. Repeated annual treatments are suggested to have a considerable impact on the transmission dynamics of S. haematobium in Niakhar, due to the nature of the epidemiological system with seasonal transmission. Thus, to maintain this benefit and continue to reduce the morbidity of urogenital schistosomiasis, other approaches should be integrated into the strategy plans of the National program to achieve the goal of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in seasonal foci in Senegal.