Pneumococcal Carriage in Children under Five Years in Uganda-Will Present Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Be Appropriate?

BackgroundPneumonia is the major cause of death in children globally, with more than 900,000 deaths annually in children under five years of age. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes most deaths, most often in the form of community acquired pneumonia. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are currently being implemented in many low-income countries. PCVs decrease vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage, a prerequisite for invasive pneumococcal disease, and thereby affects pneumococcal disease and transmission. In Uganda, PCV was launched in 2014, but baseline data is lacking for pneumococcal serotypes in carriage.ObjectivesTo study pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and serotype distribution in children under 5 years of age prior to PCV introduction in UgandaMethodsThree cross-sectional pneumococcal carriage surveys were conducted in 2008, 2009 and 2011, comprising respectively 150, 587 and 1024 randomly selected children aged less than five years from the Iganga/Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. The caretakers were interviewed about illness history of the child and 1723 nasopharyngeal specimens were collected. From these, 927 isolates of S. pneumoniae were serotyped.ResultsOverall, the carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 56% (957/1723). Pneumococcal carriage was associated with illness on the day of the interview (OR = 1.50, p = 0.04). The most common pneumococcal serotypes were in descending order 19F (16%), 23F (9%), 6A (8%), 29 (7%) and 6B (7%). One percent of the strains were non-typeable. The potential serotype coverage rate for PCV10 was 42% and 54% for PCV13.ConclusionAbout half of circulating pneumococcal serotypes in carriage in the Ugandan under-five population studied was covered by available PCVs.     

Temperature responses of three Fibrocapsa japonica strains (Raphidophyceae) from different climate regions

The harmful bloom alga Fibrocapsa japonica has a worldwide distributionin temperate regions and is occasionally responsible for massmortality of fish. Little is known about requirements for optimalgrowth and survival of this species, especially about temperatureconstraints that define natural distribution. Therefore, westudied thermal traits in three Fibrocapsa strains from differentclimate regions. All strains were eurythermal and viable between4 and 32°C, explaining their presence in temperate regions.Some differences in temperature response among the strains wereobserved, not only for growth rate but also for biovolume andnet production. The implication of the observed responses wasevaluated by translating growth performance of strains in thelaboratory to potential performance in the natural habitats.Only the Japanese strain seemed to be well adapted to its environment,while the New Zealand strain exhibited growth and survival overa much broader temperature range, despite the small temperaturefluctuations in its habitat. Interestingly, the German WaddenSea strain encounters lethal temperatures in winter and musthave a resting stage, able to survive temperatures <4°C,to explain its occurrence in this region. However, in general,the responses of the three F. japonica strains in culture werein good agreement with the observed seasonal occurrence in thefield.     

The PPAR-alpha activator fenofibrate fails to provide myocardial protection in ischemia and reperfusion in pigs

Rodent studies suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) activation reduces myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and infarct size; however, effects of PPAR-alpha activation in large animal models of myocardial I/R are unknown. We determined whether chronic treatment with the PPAR-alpha activator fenofibrate affects myocardial I/R injury in pigs. Domestic farm pigs were assigned to treatment with fenofibrate 50 mg.kg(-1).day(-1) orally or no drug treatment, and either a low-fat (4% by weight) or a high-fat (20% by weight) diet. After 4 wk, 66 pigs underwent 90 min low-flow regional myocardial ischemia and 120 min reperfusion under anesthetized open-chest conditions, resulting in myocardial stunning. The high-fat group received an infusion of triglyceride emulsion and heparin during this terminal experiment to maintain elevated arterial free fatty acid (FFA) levels. An additional 21 pigs underwent 60 min no-flow ischemia and 180 min reperfusion, resulting in myocardial infarction. Plasma concentration of fenofibric acid was similar to the EC50 for activation of PPAR-alpha in vitro and to maximal concentrations achieved in clinical use. Myocardial expression of PPAR-alpha mRNA was prominent but unaffected by fenofibrate treatment. Fenofibrate increased expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-I mRNA in liver and decreased arterial FFA and lactate concentrations (each P < 0.01). However, fenofibrate did not affect myocardial CPT-I expression, substrate uptake, lipid accumulation, or contractile function during low-flow I/R in either the low- or high-fat group, nor did it affect myocardial infarct size. Despite expression of PPAR-alpha in porcine myocardium and effects of fenofibrate on systemic metabolism, treatment with this PPAR-alpha activator does not alter myocardial metabolic or contractile responses to I/R in pigs.     

No loss of genetic diversity in small and isolated populations of Medicago sativa subsp. falcata

Molecular allozyme markers of three polymorphic isozymes were used to estimate the genetic diversity among the seed progeny in fragmented Estonian populations of sickle medic Medicago sativa ssp. falcata L. depending on the population size and the isolation degree. Genetic diversity H_e was high in all populations, ranging between 0.795 and 0.893. No correlation between the genetic diversity measures and population size or isolation distance was found. Even the smallest population had equally high genetic diversity as about a hundred times larger population. Genetic differentiation of populations into two major groups was associated with the geographic position of populations, except one remote population. Elimination of seed progeny of reduced fitness by embryo abortion and continuous yearlong contribution of the highly heterozygous progeny through the soil seed bank are considered as important supplementary factors that have contributed to maintaining high levels of genetic diversity in populations of sickle medic in addition to its autotetraploid nature and perennial life form.     

Proteomic and functional analysis of the mitotic Drosophila centrosome

Regulation of centrosome structure, duplication and segregation is integrated into cellular pathways that control cell cycle progression and growth. As part of these pathways, numerous proteins with well‐established non‐centrosomal localization and function associate with the centrosome to fulfill regulatory functions. In turn, classical centrosomal components take up functional and structural roles as part of other cellular organelles and compartments. Thus, although a comprehensive inventory of centrosome components is missing, emerging evidence indicates that its molecular composition reflects the complexity of its functions. We analysed the Drosophila embryonic centrosomal proteome using immunoisolation in combination with mass spectrometry. The 251 identified components were functionally characterized by RNA interference. Among those, a core group of 11 proteins was critical for centrosome structure maintenance. Depletion of any of these proteins in Drosophila SL2 cells resulted in centrosome disintegration, revealing a molecular dependency of centrosome structure on components of the protein translation machinery, actin‐ and RNA‐binding proteins. In total, we assigned novel centrosome‐related functions to 24 proteins and confirmed 13 of these in human cells.     

Elevated CO2 concentration and temperature effects on the partitioning of chemical components along juvenile Scots pine stems (Pinus sylvestris L.)

The effects of doubled ambient [CO₂] and different temperature levels on young Pinus sylvestris growing in phytotron chambers were studied. Five chambers were supplied with ~380 (‘ambient air’) and five with ~700 μmol mol⁻¹ CO₂ (‘elevated [CO₂]’). Temperature levels in the chambers ranged in increment steps of 2°C from −4°C to +4°C relative to the long-term monthly (day and night) average air temperature levels in Berlin–Dahlem. Substrate was medium fertile; soil moisture and air humidity were kept constant. After three vegetation periods twigs and stems were harvested, weighed, homogenized, and analyzed chemically. There was no significant temperature effect on wood mass accumulation, clearest positive [CO₂] effect occurred in the youngest twigs. In total, wood mass increased by 28.5% at doubled ambient [CO₂]. N-contents (percentage) decreased at elevated [CO₂] in the uppermost stem sections and not in twig wood causing wider C/N ratios in total. In response to elevated temperature, N-contents decreased slightly in twigs (~0.3%). Traces of free glucose, fructose and sucrose, which decreased from the top to the bottom, were found in stem wood, in contrast to traces of starch that increased from the top to the bottom. In response to elevated [CO₂] only a little more (0.05%) was accumulated in the top shoot and in tendency; glucose, fructose, and sucrose contents were lower at the bottom of stems as compared to the control. There was no obvious response of these non-structural carbohydrates to elevated temperature except for starch that decreased to half of the content from the lowest to the highest temperature level. Among the hemicellulose compounds, rhamnose and arabinose declined from the top shoot to the bottom of stem, whereas 4-O-methyl-d-glucuronic-acid, mannose, and xylose increased. Contents (percentage) of galactose remained approximately stable along the stem. The clearest positive effect of elevated [CO₂] along the whole stem was found for mannose with differences of 0.6–0.3%. In contrast to rhamnose and arabinose that showed a negative response to elevated [CO₂], mannose was reduced towards the uppermost stem sections. The 4-O-methyl-d-glucuronic-acid was slightly lowered at the bottom, and galactose and xylose showed no [CO₂] response. The only hemicellulose compound which reacted to temperature elevation was galactose. It increased slightly (~0.1% per 1°C). Cellulose and lignin (Klason) behaved oppositely: cellulose increased and lignin decreased from the top to the bottom. These structural components behaved reversely also in response to elevated [CO₂]. In stem parts above the bottom section, cellulose content was slightly higher at elevated [CO₂], and lignin content was slightly lower at the bottom. Lignin reacted to temperature elevation by a very slight increase on the average (~0.1% per one 1°C). Cellulose, however, decreased by ~0.2% per 1°C temperature elevation. The importance of persistent sinks of carbon in woody plant parts is discussed in respect to the greenhouse effect.