Infestation of people with lice in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal

The prevalence of infestation with head lice and body lice, Pediculus spp. (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) and pubic (crab) lice Pthirus pubis (L.) (Phthiraptera: Pthiridae), was recorded from 484 people in Nepal. The prevalence of head lice varied from 16% in a sample of people aged 10-39 years of age, to 59% in street children. Simultaneous infestations with head and body lice (double infestations) varied from 18% in slum children to 59% in street children.     

Electron acceptor availability alters carbon and energy metabolism in a thermoacidophile

The thermoacidophilic Acidianus strain DS80 displays versatility in its energy metabolism and can grow autotrophically and heterotrophically with elemental sulfur (S°), ferric iron (Fe³⁺) or oxygen (O₂) as electron acceptors. Here, we show that autotrophic and heterotrophic growth with S° as the electron acceptor is obligately dependent on hydrogen (H₂) as electron donor; organic substrates such as acetate can only serve as a carbon source. In contrast, organic substrates such as acetate can serve as electron donor and carbon source for Fe³⁺ or O₂ grown cells. During growth on S° or Fe³⁺ with H₂ as an electron donor, the amount of CO₂ assimilated into biomass decreased when cultures were provided with acetate. The addition of CO₂ to cultures decreased the amount of acetate mineralized and assimilated and increased cell production in H₂/Fe³⁺ grown cells but had no effect on H₂/S° grown cells. In acetate/Fe³⁺ grown cells, the presence of H₂ decreased the amount of acetate mineralized as CO₂ in cultures compared to those without H₂. These results indicate that electron acceptor availability constrains the variety of carbon sources used by this strain. Addition of H₂ to cultures overcomes this limitation and alters heterotrophic metabolism.     

Poor Nutrition Status and Associated Feeding Practices among HIV-Positive Children in a Food Secure Region in Tanzania: A Call for Tailored Nutrition Training

Undernutrition among HIV-positive children can be ameliorated if they are given adequate foods in the right frequency and diversity. Food insecurity is known to undermine such efforts, but even in food rich areas, people have undernutrition. As yet no study has examined feeding practices and their associations with nutrition status among as HIV-positive children in regions with high food production. We therefore examined the magnitude of undernutrition and its association with feeding practices among HIV-positive children in a high food production region in Tanzania.

Methods

We conducted this mixed-method study among 748 children aged 6 months-14 years attending 9 of a total of 32 care and treatment centers in Tanga region, Tanzania. We collected quantitative data using a standard questionnaire and qualitative data through seven focus group discussions (FGDs).

Results

HIV-positive children had high magnitudes of undernutrition. Stunting, underweight, wasting, and thinness were prevalent among 61.9%, 38.7%, 26.0%, and 21.1% of HIV-positive children, respectively. They also had poor feeding practices: 88.1% were fed at a frequency below the recommendations, and 62.3% had a low level of dietary diversity. Lower feeding frequency was associated with stunting (β = 0.11, p = 0.016); underweight (β = 0.12, p = 0.029); and thinness (β = 0.11, p = 0.026). Lower feeding frequency was associated with low wealth index (β = 0.06, p<0.001), food insecurity (β = −0.05, p<0.001), and caregiver''s education. In the FGDs, participants discussed the causal relationships among the key associations; undernutrition was mainly due to low feeding frequency and dietary diversity. Such poor feeding practices resulted from poor nutrition knowledge, food insecurity, low income, and poverty.

Conclusion

Feeding practices and nutrition status were poor among HIV-positive children even in food rich areas. Improving feeding frequency may help to ameliorate undernutrition. To improve it, tailored interventions should target children of poor households, the food insecure, and caregivers who have received only a low level of education.     

Effect of red- and blue-light-emitting diodes on growth and morphogenesis of grapes

The effect of red- and blue-light-emitting diodes on shoot and root growth of Hybrid Franc grape, a rootstock cultivar, along with two other grape genotypes, Kadainou R-1 and Vitis ficifolia var. ganebu, were investigated in vitro. Plants cultured under red-light-emitting diodes produced the longest shoots with longer internodes for all genotypes. The chlorophyll content measured as SPAD value and leaf number per explant were highest on plants cultured under blue-light-emitting diodes in all the genotypes. Blue light was also responsible for a higher number of stomata in all the genotypes; however, there was no significant difference in size of stomata in all genotypes under the different light conditions tested. Different light-emitting diodes did not affect the rooting percentage of Hybrid Franc but red-light-emitting diodes gave a higher rooting percentage along with higher root numbers for the two other grape genotypes.     

Role of the C8 gem-dimethyl group of bryostatin 1 on its unique pattern of biological activity

The role of the C(8) gem-dimethyl group in the A-ring of bryostatin 1 has been examined through chemical synthesis and biological evaluation of a new analogue. Assays for biological function using U937, K562, and MV4-11 cells as well as the profiles for downregulation of PKC isozymes revealed that the presence of this group is not a critical determinant for the unique pattern of biological activity of bryostatin.     

High Risk of ART Non-Adherence and Delay of ART Initiation among HIV Positive Double Orphans in Kigali, Rwanda

Background

To reduce HIV/AIDS related mortality of children, adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) is critical in the treatment of HIV positive children. However, little is known about the association between ART adherence and different orphan status. The aims of this study were to assess the ART adherence and identify whether different orphan status was associated with the child’s adherence.

Methods

A total of 717 HIV positive children and the same number of caregivers participated in this cross-sectional study. Children’s adherence rate was measured using a pill count method and those who took 85% or more of the prescribed doses were defined as adherent. To collect data about adherence related factors, we also interviewed caregivers using a structured questionnaire.

Results

Of all children (N = 717), participants from each orphan category (double orphan, maternal orphan, paternal orphan, non-orphan) were 346, 89, 169, and 113, respectively. ART non-adherence rate of each orphan category was 59.3%, 44.9%, 46.7%, and 49.7%, respectively. The multivariate analysis indicated that maternal orphans (AOR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12–0.80), paternal orphans (AOR 0.35, 95% CI 0.14–0.89), and non-orphans (AOR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21–0.99) were less likely to be non-adherent compared to double orphans. Double orphans who had a sibling as a caregiver were more likely to be non-adherent. The first mean CD4 count prior to initiating treatment was 520, 601, 599, and 844 (cells/ml), respectively (p<0.001). Their mean age at sero-status detection was 5.9, 5.3, 4.8, and 3.9 (year old), respectively (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Double orphans were at highest risk of ART non-adherence and especially those who had a sibling as a caregiver had high risk. They were also in danger of initiating ART at an older age and at a later stage of HIV/AIDS compared with other orphan categories. Double orphans need more attention to the promote child’s adherence to ART.     

Induction of somatopause in adult mice compromises bone morphology and exacerbates bone loss during aging

Somatopause refers to the gradual declines in growth hormone (GH) and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 throughout aging. To define how induced somatopause affects skeletal integrity, we used an inducible GH receptor knockout (iGHRKO) mouse model. Somatopause, induced globally at 6 months of age, resulted in significantly more slender bones in both male and female iGHRKO mice. In males, induced somatopause was associated with progressive expansion of the marrow cavity leading to significant thinning of the cortices, which compromised bone strength. We report progressive declines in osteocyte lacunar number, and increases in lacunar volume, in iGHRKO males, and reductions in lacunar number accompanied by ~20% loss of overall canalicular connectivity in iGHRKO females by 30 months of age. Induced somatopause did not affect mineral/matrix ratio assessed by Raman microspectroscopy. We found significant increases in bone marrow adiposity and high levels of sclerostin, a negative regulator of bone formation in iGHRKO mice. Surprisingly, however, despite compromised bone morphology, osteocyte senescence was reduced in the iGHRKO mice. In this study, we avoided the confounded effects of constitutive deficiency in the GH/IGF‐1 axis on the skeleton during growth, and specifically dissected its effects on the aging skeleton. We show here, for the first time, that induced somatopause compromises bone morphology and the bone marrow environment.     

The Curation of Genetic Variants: Difficulties and Possible Solutions

The curation of genetic variants from biomedical articles is required for various clinical and research purposes. Nowadays, establishment of variant databases that include overall information about variants is becoming quite popular. These databases have immense utility, serving as a user-friendly information storehouse of variants for information seekers. While manual curation is the gold standard method for curation of variants, it can turn out to be time-consuming on a large scale thus necessitating the need for automation. Curation of variants described in biomedical literature may not be straightforward mainly due to various nomenclature and expression issues. Though current trends in paper writing on variants is inclined to the standard nomenclature such that variants can easily be retrieved, we have a massive store of variants in the literature that are present as non-standard names and the online search engines that are predominantly used may not be capable of finding them. For effective curation of variants, knowledge about the overall process of curation, nature and types of difficulties in curation, and ways to tackle the difficulties during the task are crucial. Only by effective curation, can variants be correctly interpreted. This paper presents the process and difficulties of curation of genetic variants with possible solutions and suggestions from our work experience in the field including literature support. The paper also highlights aspects of interpretation of genetic variants and the importance of writing papers on variants following standard and retrievable methods.     

Increased cardiogenesis in P19-GFP teratocarcinoma cells expressing the propeptide IGF-1Ea

The mechanism implicated in differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells into cardiomyocytes to regenerate the heart tissue upon an insult remains elusive, limiting the therapeutical goals to exogenous cell injection and/or gene therapy. We have shown previously that cardiac specific overexpression of the insulin-like growth factor 1 propeptide IGF-1Ea induces beneficial myocardial repair after infarct. Although the mechanism is still under investigation, the possibility that this propeptide may be involved in promoting stem cell differentiation into the cardiac lineage has yet to be explored. To investigate whether IGF-1Ea promote cardiogenesis, we initially modified P19 embryonal carcinoma cells to express IGF-1Ea. Taking advantage of their cardiomyogenic nature, we analyzed whether overexpression of this propeptide affected cardiac differentiation program. The data herein presented showed for the first time that constitutively overexpressed IGF-1Ea increased cardiogenic differentiation program in both undifferentiated and DMSO-differentiated cells. In details, IGF-1Ea overexpression promoted localization of alpha-actinin in finely organized sarcomeric structure compared to control cells and upregulated the cardiac mesodermal marker NKX-2.5 and the ventricular structural protein MLC2v. Furthermore, activated IGF-1 signaling promoted cardiac mesodermal induction in undifferentiated cells independently of cell proliferation. This analysis suggests that IGF-1Ea may be a good candidate to improve both in vitro production of cardiomyocytes from pluripotent stem cells and in vivo activation of the differentiation program of cardiac progenitor cells.