The Long-Term Dynamics of Mortality Benefits from Improved Water and Sanitation in Less Developed Countries

The problem of inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in less-developed nations has received much attention over the last several decades (most recently in the Millennium Development Goals), largely because diseases associated with such conditions contribute substantially to mortality in poor countries. We present country-level projections for WASH coverage and for WASH-related mortality in developing regions over a long time horizon (1975–2050) and provide dynamic estimates of the economic value of potential reductions in this WASH-related mortality, which go beyond the static results found in previous work. Over the historical period leading up to the present, our analysis shows steady and substantial improvements in WASH coverage and declining mortality rates across many developing regions, namely East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The economic value of potential health gains from eliminating mortality attributable to poor water and sanitation has decreased substantially, and in the future will therefore be modest in these regions. Where WASH-related deaths remain high (in parts of South Asia and much of Sub-Saharan Africa), if current trends continue, it will be several decades before economic development and investments in improved water and sanitation will result in the capture of these economic benefits. The fact that health losses will likely remain high in these two regions over the medium term suggests that accelerated efforts are needed to improve access to water and sanitation, though the costs and benefits of such efforts in specific locations should be carefully assessed.     

Global transcriptional response of pig brain and lung to natural infection by Pseudorabies virus

Background  

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesviruses whose native host is pig. PRV infection mainly causes signs of central nervous system disorder in young pigs, and respiratory system diseases in the adult.     

Discovery and optimization of a potent and selective triazolopyridinone series of c-Met inhibitors

Deregulation of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met has been implicated in several human cancers and is an attractive target for small molecule drug discovery. Herein, we report the discovery of a structurally diverse series of carbon-linked quinoline triazolopyridinones, which demonstrates nanomolar inhibition of c-Met kinase activity. This novel series of inhibitors exhibits favorable pharmacokinetics as well as potent inhibition of HGF-mediated c-Met phosphorylation in a mouse liver pharmacodynamic model.     

A web server to locate periodicities in a sequence

Summary : FT is a tool written in C++, which implements the Fourier analysis method to locate periodicities in aminoacid or DNA sequences. It is provided for free public use on a WWW server with a Java interface. Availability : The server address is http://o2.db. uoa.gr/FT Contact : shamodr@atlas.uoa.gr      

Phylogenetic analysis of the Monocotylidae (Monogenea) inferred from 28S rDNA sequences

The current classification of the Monocotylidae (Monogenea) is based on a phylogeny generated from morphological characters. The present study tests the morphological phylogenetic hypothesis using molecular methods. Sequences from domains C2 and D1 and the partial domains C1 and D2 from the 28S rDNA gene for 26 species of monocotylids from six of the seven subfamilies were used. Trees were generated using maximum parsimony, neighbour joining and maximum likelihood algorithms. The maximum parsimony tree, with branches showing less than 70% bootstrap support collapsed, had a topology identical to that obtained using the maximum likelihood analysis. The neighbour joining tree, with branches showing less than 70% support collapsed, differed only in its placement of Heterocotyle capricornensis as the sister group to the Decacotylinae clade. The molecular tree largely supports the subfamilies established using morphological characters. Differences are primarily how the subfamilies are related to each other. The monophyly of the Calicotylinae and Merizocotylinae and their sister group relationship is supported by high bootstrap values in all three methods, but relationships within the Merizocotylinae are unclear. Merizocotyle is paraphyletic and our data suggest that Mycteronastes and Thaumatocotyle, which were synonymized with Merizocotyle after the morphological cladistic analysis, should perhaps be resurrected as valid genera. The monophyly of the Monocotylinae and Decacotylinae is also supported by high bootstrap values. The Decacotylinae, which was considered previously to be the sister group to the Calicotylinae plus Merizocotylinae, is grouped in an unresolved polychotomy with the Monocotylinae and members of the Heterocotylinae. According to our molecular data, the Heterocotylinae is paraphyletic. Molecular data support a sister group relationship between Troglocephalus rhinobatidis and Neoheterocotyle rhinobatidis to the exclusion of the other species of Neoheterocotyle and recognition of Troglocephalus renders Neoheterocotyle paraphyletic. We propose Troglocephalus incertae sedis. An updated classification and full species list of the Monocotylidae is provided.     

Survival of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Dam Water and Sediment

In a previous longitudinal study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis survived for 55 weeks in fecal material in the shade, but for much shorter periods in exposed locations. In this experiment, the survival of the organism was studied in 250 liters of dam water and sediment in large water troughs that were placed in either a semiexposed location or in a shaded location and compared to survival in fecal material and soil in the shaded location. Survival in water and/or sediment in the shade was for up to 48 weeks compared to 36 weeks in the semiexposed location. Survival in sediment was 12 to 26 weeks longer than survival in the water column. Survival in soil and fecal material in the terrestrial environment in the shaded location was only 12 weeks. Although disturbance to sediment could not be ruled out as a factor, there was evidence of dormancy in both the water column and the sediment, since the organism could not be recovered for several months before again becoming detectable. The results suggest that water may be a significant reservoir of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection. Further research on the biology of the organism in aquatic environments is warranted. Animal health authorities will need to provide appropriate advice to farmers to minimize exposure of livestock to potentially infected water sources. Survival of the organism in water destined for human consumption will need to be addressed if the organism is found to be involved in the etiology of Crohn's disease.