Diagnostic Accuracy and Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative Methods for Detection of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Post-Treatment Setting in Western Kenya

Objectives

This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the Kato-Katz and Mini-FLOTAC methods for detection of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in a post-treatment setting in western Kenya. A cost analysis also explores the cost implications of collecting samples during school surveys when compared to household surveys.

Methods

Stool samples were collected from children (n = 652) attending 18 schools in Bungoma County and diagnosed by the Kato-Katz and Mini-FLOTAC coprological methods. Sensitivity and additional diagnostic performance measures were analyzed using Bayesian latent class modeling. Financial and economic costs were calculated for all survey and diagnostic activities, and cost per child tested, cost per case detected and cost per STH infection correctly classified were estimated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact of various survey parameters on cost estimates.

Results

Both diagnostic methods exhibited comparable sensitivity for detection of any STH species over single and consecutive day sampling: 52.0% for single day Kato-Katz; 49.1% for single-day Mini-FLOTAC; 76.9% for consecutive day Kato-Katz; and 74.1% for consecutive day Mini-FLOTAC. Diagnostic performance did not differ significantly between methods for the different STH species. Use of Kato-Katz with school-based sampling was the lowest cost scenario for cost per child tested ($10.14) and cost per case correctly classified ($12.84). Cost per case detected was lowest for Kato-Katz used in community-based sampling ($128.24). Sensitivity analysis revealed the cost of case detection for any STH decreased non-linearly as prevalence rates increased and was influenced by the number of samples collected.

Conclusions

The Kato-Katz method was comparable in diagnostic sensitivity to the Mini-FLOTAC method, but afforded greater cost-effectiveness. Future work is required to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of STH surveillance in different settings.     

Microtubule-dependent transport and dynamics of vimentin intermediate filaments

We studied two aspects of vimentin intermediate filament dynamics—transport of filaments and subunit exchange. We observed transport of long filaments in the periphery of cells using live-cell structured illumination microscopy. We studied filament transport elsewhere in cells using a photoconvertible-vimentin probe and total internal reflection microscopy. We found that filaments were rapidly transported along linear tracks in both anterograde and retrograde directions. Filament transport was microtubule dependent but independent of microtubule polymerization and/or an interaction with the plus end–binding protein APC. We also studied subunit exchange in filaments by long-term imaging after photoconversion. We found that converted vimentin remained in small clusters along the length of filaments rather than redistributing uniformly throughout the network, even in cells that divided after photoconversion. These data show that vimentin filaments do not depolymerize into individual subunits; they recompose by severing and reannealing. Together these results show that vimentin filaments are very dynamic and that their transport is required for network maintenance.     

The effects of climate change on the phenology of selected Estonian plant, bird and fish populations

This paper summarises the trends of 943 phenological time-series of plants, fishes and birds gathered from 1948 to 1999 in Estonia. More than 80% of the studied phenological phases have advanced during springtime, whereas changes are smaller during summer and autumn. Significant values of plant and bird phases have advanced 5–20 days, and fish phases have advanced 10–30 days in the spring period. Estonia’s average air temperature has become significantly warmer in spring, while at the same time a slight decrease in air temperature has been detected in autumn. The growing season has become significantly longer in the maritime climate area of Western Estonia. The investigated phenological and climate trends are related primarily to changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) during the winter months. Although the impact of the winter NAOI on the phases decreases towards summer, the trends of the investigated phases remain high. The trends of phenophases at the end of spring and the beginning of summer may be caused by the temperature inertia of the changing winter, changes in the radiation balance or the direct consequences of human impacts such as land use, heat islands or air pollution.     

烟酸转磷酸核糖激酶和丙酮酸羧化酶共表达对大肠杆菌BA002产丁二酸的影响

大肠杆菌BA002是敲除了乳酸脱氢酶的编码基因 (ldhA) 和丙酮酸-甲酸裂解酶的编码基因 (pflB) 的工程菌。厌氧条件下NADH不能及时再生为NAD+,引起胞内辅酶NAD(H)的不平衡,最终导致厌氧条件下菌株不能利用葡萄糖生长代谢。pncB是烟酸转磷酸核糖激酶 (NAPRTase) 的编码基因,通过过量表达pncB基因能够提高NAD(H)总量与维持合适的NADH/NAD+,从而恢复了厌氧条件下重组菌E. coli BA014 (BA002/pTrc99a-pncB) 的生长和产丁二酸的性能。然而,BA014在厌氧发酵过程中有大量丙酮酸积累,为进一步提高菌株的丁二酸生产能力,减少副产物丙酮酸的生成,共表达NAPRTase和来自于乳酸乳球菌 NZ9000中丙酮酸羧化酶 (PYC) 的编码基因pyc,构建了重组菌E. coli BA016 (BA002/pTrc99a-pncB-pyc)。3 L发酵罐结果表明,BA016发酵112 h后,共消耗了35.00 g/L的葡萄糖。发酵结束时,菌体OD600为4.64,产生了25.09 g/L丁二酸。通过共表达pncB和pyc基因,使BA016的丙酮酸积累进一步降低,丁二酸产量进一步提高。     

Pan-pathway based interaction profiling of FDA-approved nucleoside and nucleobase analogs with enzymes of the human nucleotide metabolism

To identify interactions a nucleoside analog library (NAL) consisting of 45 FDA-approved nucleoside analogs was screened against 23 enzymes of the human nucleotide metabolism using a thermal shift assay. The method was validated with deoxycytidine kinase; eight interactions known from the literature were detected and five additional interactions were revealed after the addition of ATP, the second substrate. The NAL screening gave relatively few significant hits, supporting a low rate of "off target effects." However, unexpected ligands were identified for two catabolic enzymes guanine deaminase (GDA) and uridine phosphorylase 1 (UPP1). An acyclic guanosine prodrug analog, valaciclovir, was shown to stabilize GDA to the same degree as the natural substrate, guanine, with a ΔT(agg) around 7°C. Aciclovir, penciclovir, ganciclovir, thioguanine and mercaptopurine were also identified as ligands for GDA. The crystal structure of GDA with valaciclovir bound in the active site was determined, revealing the binding of the long unbranched chain of valaciclovir in the active site of the enzyme. Several ligands were identified for UPP1: vidarabine, an antiviral nucleoside analog, as well as trifluridine, idoxuridine, floxuridine, zidovudine, telbivudine, fluorouracil and thioguanine caused concentration-dependent stabilization of UPP1. A kinetic study of UPP1 with vidarabine revealed that vidarabine was a mixed-type competitive inhibitor with the natural substrate uridine. The unexpected ligands identified for UPP1 and GDA imply further metabolic consequences for these nucleoside analogs, which could also serve as a starting point for future drug design.     

单克隆抗体对肾综合征出血热病毒50k蛋白的分析

用18株抗肾综合征出血热(Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome,以下简称HFRS)病毒McAb,以Western-blot技术分析了纯化的该病毒50k蛋白。结果有7株McAb可与该蛋白反应。这7株McAb的特性(包括感染细胞膜抗原免疫荧光染色模式、中和活性及HI活性等)亦各不相同,提示它们所针对的抗原决定簇的特性也不同。用ELISA阻断试验等证明,上述7株McAb中,有5株所针对的抗原决定簇之间有部分相同或重叠,提示这些具有不同特性的抗原决定簇确实位于同一结构蛋白上。分析结果表明,该50k蛋白的特性及结构均较复杂,尚须进一步研究。