Is Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) Useful in Risk Behaviour Assessment of Female and Male Sex Workers,Mombasa, Kenya?

Background

Audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) may elicit more frequent reporting of socially sensitive behaviours than face-to-face (FtF)-interview. However, no study compared responses to both methods in female and male sex workers (FSW; MSW) in Africa.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We sequentially enrolled adults recruited for an HIV-1 intervention trial into a comparative study of ACASI and FtF-interview, in a clinic near Mombasa, Kenya. Feasibility and acceptability of ACASI, and a comparative analysis of enrolment responses between ACASI and FtF on an identical risk assessment questionnaire were evaluated. In total, 139 women and 259 men, 81% of eligible cohort participants, completed both interviews. ACASI captured a higher median number of regular (2 vs. 1, p<0.001, both genders) and casual partners in the last week (3 vs. 2, p = 0.04 in women; 2 vs. 1, p<0.001 in men). Group sex (21.6 vs. 13.5%, p<0.001, in men), intravenous drug use (IDU; 10.8 vs. 2.3%, p<0.001 in men; 4.4 vs. 0%, p = 0.03 in women), and rape (8.9 vs. 3.9%, p = 0.002, in men) were reported more frequently in ACASI. A surprisingly high number of women reported in ACASI that they had paid for sex (49.3 vs. 5.8%, p<0.001). Behaviours for recruitment (i.e. anal sex, sex work, sex between males) were reported less frequently in ACASI. The majority of women (79.2%) and men (69.7%) felt that answers given in ACASI were more honest. Volunteers who were not able to take ACASI (84 men, and 37 women) mostly lacked reading skills.

Conclusions/Significance

About 1 in 5 cohort participants was not able to complete ACASI, mostly for lack of reading skills. Participants who completed ACASI were more likely to report IDU, rape, group sex, and payment for sex by women than when asked in FtF interview. ACASI appears to be a useful tool for high risk behaviour assessments in the African context.     

Weather patterns, food security and humanitarian response in sub-Saharan Africa

Although considerable achievements in the global reduction of hunger and poverty have been made, progress in Africa so far has been very limited. At present, a third of the African population faces widespread hunger and chronic malnutrition and is exposed to a constant threat of acute food crisis and famine. The most affected are rural households whose livelihood is heavily dependent on traditional rainfed agriculture. Rainfall plays a major role in determining agricultural production and hence the economic and social well being of rural communities. The rainfall pattern in sub-Saharan Africa is influenced by large-scale intra-seasonal and inter-annual climate variability including occasional El Ni?o events in the tropical Pacific resulting in frequent extreme weather event such as droughts and floods that reduce agricultural outputs resulting in severe food shortages. Households and communities facing acute food shortages are forced to adopt coping strategies to meet the immediate food requirements of their families. These extreme responses may have adverse long-term, impacts on households' ability to have sustainable access to food as well as the environment. The HIV/AIDS crisis has also had adverse impacts on food production activities on the continent. In the absence of safety nets and appropriate financial support mechanisms, humanitarian aid is required to enable households effectively cope with emergencies and manage their limited resources more efficiently. Timely and appropriate humanitarian aid will provide households with opportunities to engage in productive and sustainable livelihood strategies. Investments in poverty reduction efforts would have better impact if complemented with timely and predictable response mechanisms that would ensure the protection of livelihoods during crisis periods whether weather or conflict-related. With an improved understanding of climate variability including El Ni?o, the implications of weather patterns for the food security and vulnerability of rural communities have become more predictable and can be monitored effectively. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how current advances in the understanding of climate variability, weather patterns and food security could contribute to improved humanitarian decision-making. The paper will propose new approaches for triggering humanitarian responses to weather-induced food crises.     

Validation of Trypanosoma brucei trypanothione synthetase as drug target

In trypanosomes, the parasite-specific thiol trypanothione [T(SH)2] fulfills various functions, the best established being detoxification of H2O2 and organic hydroperoxides and ribonucleotide reduction. Recently, a trypanothione synthetase (Tb-TryS) gene from Trypanosoma brucei was isolated and the heterologously expressed Tb-TryS catalyzed the entire synthesis of T(SH)2 from glutathione (GSH) and spermidine in vitro. To confirm the in situ function of the complex Tb-TryS activities and to evaluate the importance of T(SH)2 metabolism in T. brucei, TryS suppression by double-stranded RNA interference was performed. Knockdown of TryS led to depletion of both T(SH)2 and glutathionylspermidine (Gsp) and accumulation of GSH, while concomitantly impairment of viability and arrest of proliferation were observed. TryS-downregulated cells displayed a significantly increased sensitivity to H2O2 and tert.-butyl hydroperoxide. These data verify the hypothesis that in T. brucei, a single enzyme synthesizes the spermidine-conjugated thiols (Gsp and T(SH)2) and further confirms the significance of trypanothione in the defense against oxidative stress and the maintenance of viability and proliferation in unstressed parasites.     

Imported longhorned weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) injury to soybean: physiological response and injury guild-level economic injury levels

The imported longhorned weevil, Calomycterus setarius Roelofs, is an occasional pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.), and can cause substantial defoliation of seedling soybean when the weevil is present in large numbers. Because weevil populations can reach high levels, the potential exists for significant seedling injury, so economic injury levels (EILs) are needed for imported longhorned weevil on seedling soybean. Because the bean leaf beetle, Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster), also is present on seedling soybean, injury by this insect should be included in EIL calculations. This study was conducted to (1) determine daily soybean consumption rates of imported longhorned weevil; (2) compare soybean injury responses between weevil injured and noninjured soybeans; and (3) develop multiple species EILs for imported longhorned weevil and bean leaf beetle. Field and laboratory studies were conducted in 1997 to determine weevil daily consumption rates. Field experiments were conducted in 1998 to examine physiological responses of soybean to weevil injury. Field and laboratory consumption rates were 0.16 and 0.21 cm2 per day, respectively. There were no significant differences in physiological responses (i.e., photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rates) between noninjured soybean leaflets (caged) and weevil-injured leaflets. Multiple-species EILs were developed for imported longhorned weevil and bean leaf beetle on VC through V3 soybean.     

Iron increases expression of iron-export protein MTP1 in lung cells

Accumulation of reactive iron in acute and chronic lung disease suggests that iron-driven free radical formation could contribute to tissue injury. Safe transport and sequestration of this metal is likely to be of importance in lung defense. We provide evidence for the expression and iron-induced upregulation of the metal transporter protein-1 (MTP1) genes in human and rodent lung cells at both the protein and mRNA levels. In human bronchial epithelial cells, a 3.8-fold increase in mRNA level and a 2.4-fold increase in protein level of MTP1 were observed after iron exposure. In freshly isolated human macrophages, as much as an 18-fold increase in the MTP1 protein level was detected after incubation with an iron compound. The elevation in expression of MTP1 gene was also demonstrated in iron-instilled rat lungs and in hypotransferrinemic mouse lungs. This is similar to our previous findings with divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT1), an iron transporter that is required for iron uptake and intracellular iron trafficking. These studies suggest the presence of iron mobilization and/or detoxification pathways in the lung that are crucial for iron homeostasis and lung defense.     

Expression of an abscisic acid responsive promoter in Picea abies (L.) Karst. following bombardment from an electric discharge particle accelerator

The 1.5 kilobase promoter sequence upstream of Dc8, a late embryo abundant gene of Daucus, fused to the reporter -glucuronidase gene was introduced into several tissues of Picea abies via a custom-made electric-discharge particle accelerator. Transient expression was measured histochemically as spot number 2 d after bombardment. Embryogenic suspensions gave higher levels of expression depending upon cell line than embryogenic callus or zygotic embryos. Expression was enhanced when cultures were treated with abscisic acid for 3 d before bombardment. A mean and maximum of 17 and 34 spots/disk, respectively, were observed with the best cell line, which was comparable with the level of expression driven by an enhanced 35S promoter.Abbreviations ABA Abscisic acid - BA Benzyladenine - 2,4-D 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid     

Ancient DNA reveals complexity in the evolutionary history and taxonomy of the endangered Australian brush-tailed bettongs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bettongia</Emphasis>: Marsupialia: Macropodidae: Potoroinae)

The three surviving ‘brush-tailed’ bettong species—Bettongia gaimardi (Tasmania), B. tropica (Queensland) and B. penicillata (Western Australia), are all classified as threatened or endangered. These macropodids are prolific diggers and are recognised as important ‘ecosystem engineers’ that improve soil quality and increase seed germination success. However, a combination of introduced predators, habitat loss and disease has seen populations become increasingly fragmented and census numbers decline. Robust phylogenies are vital to conservation management, but the extent of extirpation and fragmentation in brush-tailed bettongs is such that a phylogeny based upon modern samples alone may provide a misleading picture of former connectivity, genetic diversity and species boundaries. Using ancient DNA isolated from fossil bones and museum skins, we genotyped two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes: cytochrome b (266 bp) and control region (356 bp). These ancient DNA data were combined with a pre-existing modern DNA data set on the historically broadly distributed brush-tailed bettongs (~300 samples total), to investigate their phylogenetic relationships. Molecular dating estimates the most recent common ancestor of these bettongs occurred c. 2.5 Ma (million years ago), which suggests that increasing aridity likely shaped their modern-day distribution. Analyses of the concatenated mtDNA sequences of all brush-tailed bettongs generated five distinct and well-supported clades including: a highly divergent Nullarbor form (Clade I), B. tropica (Clade II), B. penicillata (Clades III and V), and B. gaimardi (Clade IV). The generated phylogeny does not reflect current taxonomy and the question remains outstanding of whether the brush-tailed bettongs consisted of several species, or a single widespread species. The use of nuclear DNA markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms and/or short tandem repeats) will be needed to better inform decisions about historical connectivity and the appropriateness of ongoing conservation measures such as translocations and captive breeding.     

Proteomics Analyses and Morphological Structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> Inactivated by Pulsed Magnetic Field

Pulsed magnetic field (PMF) technology has emerged as a non-thermal method for inhibition of spoilage microorganism in food. In this study, we evaluate the effect of PMF treatment on the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis. The mechanisms responsible for cell death were also studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and proteome approaches. Results showed that the survival rate of B. subtilis generally decreased with an increase of pulse numbers at the intensity of 3.30 T. The observation of TEM showed damage in cell cytoplasm and cytoplasmic membrane after PMF treatment. Additionally, 18 differentially expressed protein spots were identified by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) analysis. The down-regulated outer membrane protein A (OmpA) illustrated that PMF destroyed the cell membrane. Furthermore, Gene ontology (GO) analysis and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were used to characterize the functions of those proteins. That PMF treatment damaged the membrane component, depressed cellular molecular functions and biological process, and decreased the carbohydrate metabolism and energy metabolism, which explain the death of cells. The presented results give the better view into the proteome of food microorganism and provide insight into the nature of PMF inactivation mechanisms.     

Ancient DNA chronology within sediment deposits: are paleobiological reconstructions possible and is DNA leaching a factor?

In recent years, several studies have reported the successful extraction of ancient DNA (aDNA) from both frozen and nonfrozen sediments (even in the absence of macrofossils) in order to obtain genetic "profiles" from past environments. One of the hazards associated with this approach, particularly in nonfrozen environments, is the potential for vertical migration of aDNA across strata. To assess the extent of this problem, we extracted aDNA from sediments up to 3300 years old at 2 cave sites in the North Island of New Zealand. These sites are ideal for this purpose as the presence or absence of DNA from nonindigenous fauna (such as sheep) in sediments deposited prior to European settlement can serve as an indicator of DNA movement. Additionally, these strata are well defined and dated. DNA from sheep was found in strata that also contained moa DNA, indicating that genetic material had migrated downwards. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses demonstrated that the amount of sheep DNA decreased as the age of sediments increased. Our results suggest that sedimentary aDNA is unlikely to be deposited from wind-borne DNA and that physical remains of organisms or their ejecta need to have been incorporated in the sediments for their DNA to be detected. Our study indicates that DNA from sediments can still offer a rich source of information on past environments, provided that the risk from vertical migration can be controlled for.