Guidelines for the prevention and control of tuberculosis in non-human primates: recommendations of the European Primate Veterinary Association Working Group on Tuberculosis

Background  Effective tuberculosis (TB) control requires accurate diagnostic methods but the tuberculin skin test has serious limitations. Both false-negative and false-positive reactions are common, resulting in the spread of the infection and devastating TB outbreaks. Results of questionnaire surveys concerning TB testing practices in primate housing facilities showed great differences in testing practices. Although there was some uniformity regarding the sites of application, the amounts of tuberculin used and the time intervals for retesting, a great deal of variety was revealed considering the types of tuberculin preparations, the interpretation of tests and the susceptibility of animals.
Conclusion  Here, we summarize the most common practices as regards TB control and prevention for non-human primates, and attempt to establish a uniform guideline based upon our experience with primate husbandry and care programmes as well as recent developments in the literature. The present guideline represents a consensus recommendation intending to harmonize the existing protocols.     

Relative climatic,edaphic and management controls of plant functional trait signatures

Objective: To identify the relative roles of climatic, edaphic and management factors in controlling the weighted mean traits of vegetation. Location: Eleven sites in Europe and one in Israel undergoing transitions in land use. Material and Methods: Standardised methods were used to collect information on species traits and attributes from plots covering a range of land uses at each site. This was combined with abundance data to create a plot × trait matrix. Variance partitioning was used to identify the relative roles of climate, soil and management on the weighted and unweighted mean traits of the vegetation in the full data set, and the data set divided into vegetative traits (including life‐form, clonality, defence and a range of leaf traits) and traits linked to regeneration via seeds (including seed mass, dispersal and pollination mechanism). Results: Variance partitioning of the full data set showed that climate (18.7%), explained more variance in the weighted mean traits of the vegetation than climate and soil together (9.2), soil (6.9) and management (6.1). There was a similar distribution of variance explained for both vegetative and regeneration via seed traits, although more variance was explained for the latter. This restricted set of climatic, edaphic and management variables could explain 45‐50% of the variance in the weighted mean traits of the vegetation between plots. There were only small differences between analyses of the weighted and unweighted data. Conclusions: Despite large variations in climate and soils between sites, there was still a separate and recognisable impact of management on the mean weighted traits of the vegetation. There was also a degree of shared variation between the three groups of factors, indicating that the response of plant traits to one group of factors may not be predictable because they may be modulated by their response to other groups.     

Effects of species traits on the genetic diversity of high-mountain plants: a multi-species study across the Alps and the Carpathians

Aim  To test the influence of various species traits, elevation and phylogeographical history on the genetic diversity of high-mountain plants in the Alps and Carpathians.
Location  The regular sampling grid comprised the whole range of the European Alps and the Carpathians.
Methods  Twenty-two high-mountain plant species were exhaustively sampled and their genetic diversity was assessed with amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). ANOVAs were used to check for relationships between species traits and species genetic diversity, and to test whether genetic diversity was influenced by altitude and phylogeographical history (i.e. Alps versus Carpathians).
Results  In both mountain systems, species dispersed and pollinated by wind showed higher genetic diversity than species with self or insect pollination, and with animal- or gravity-dispersed seeds. Only in the Alps did altitudinal range size affect species genetic diversity significantly: species with narrow altitudinal ranges in the highest vegetation belts had significantly higher genetic diversity than those expanding over wide altitudinal ranges. Genetic diversity was species specific and significantly higher in the Alps than in the Carpathians, but it was not influenced by elevation.
Main conclusions  Wind pollination and wind dispersal seem to foster high genetic diversity. However, species traits are often associated and their effects on genetic diversity cannot be clearly disentangled. As genetic diversity is species specific, comparisons across species need to be interpreted with care. Genetic diversity was generally lower in the Carpathians than in the Alps, due to higher topographical isolation of alpine habitats in the Carpathians and this mountain massif's divergent phylogeographical history. Elevation did not influence genetic diversity, challenging the long-held view of decreasing genetic diversity with increasing elevation in mountain plants.     

A clinical registry of dementia based on the principle of epidemiological surveillance

Background  

Traditional epidemiological studies do not allow elucidating the reality of referral and diagnosis patterns of dementia in routine clinical practice within a defined territory. This information is useful and necessary in order to plan and allocate healthcare resources. This paper presents the results from a dementia case registry based on epidemiological surveillance fundamentals.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">ADDME – Avoiding Drug Development Mistakes Early</Emphasis>: central nervous system drug discovery perspective

The advent of early absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) screening has increased the attrition rate of weak drug candidates early in the drug-discovery process, and decreased the proportion of compounds failing in clinical trials for ADMET reasons. This paper reviews the history of ADMET screening and its place in pharmaceutical development, and central nervous system drug discovery in particular. Assays that have been developed in response to specific needs and improvements in technology that result in higher throughput and greater accuracy of prediction of human mechanisms of absorption and toxicity are discussed. The paper concludes with the authors' forecast of new models that will better predict human efficacy and toxicity.     

Association of common genetic variation in the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway with human longevity

The insulin/IGF1 signaling pathways affect lifespan in several model organisms, including worms, flies and mice. To investigate whether common genetic variation in this pathway influences lifespan in humans, we genotyped 291 common variants in 30 genes encoding proteins in the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway in a cohort of elderly Caucasian women selected from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). The cohort included 293 long-lived cases (lifespan ≥ 92 years (y), mean ± standard deviation (SD) = 95.3 ± 2.2y) and 603 average-lifespan controls (lifespan ≤ 79y, mean = 75.7 ± 2.6y). Variants were selected for genotyping using a haplotype-tagging approach. We found a modest excess of variants nominally associated with longevity. Nominally significant variants were then replicated in two additional Caucasian cohorts including both males and females: the Cardiovascular Health Study and Ashkenazi Jewish Centenarians. An intronic single nucleotide polymorphism in AKT1 , rs3803304, was significantly associated with lifespan in a meta-analysis across the three cohorts (OR = 0.78 95%CI = 0.68–0.89, adjusted P  = 0.043); two intronic single nucleotide polymorphisms in FOXO3A demonstrated a significant lifespan association among women only (rs1935949, OR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.15–1.57, adjusted P  = 0.0093). These results demonstrate that common variants in several genes in the insulin/IGF1 pathway are associated with human lifespan.     

Knowledge of Malaria and Its Association with Malaria-Related Behaviors—Results from the Malaria Indicator Survey,Ethiopia, 2007

Background

In 2005, the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia launched a major effort to distribute over 20 million long-lasting insecticidal nets, provide universal access to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs), and train 30,000 village-based health extension workers.

Methods and Findings

A cross-sectional, nationally representative Malaria Indicator Survey was conducted during the malaria transmission season in 2007. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of women''s malaria knowledge on household ITN ownership and women''s ITN use. In addition, we investigated the effect of mothers'' malaria knowledge on their children under 5 years of age''s (U5) ITN use and their access to fever treatment on behalf of their child U5. Malaria knowledge was based on a composite index about the causes, symptoms, danger signs and prevention of malaria. Approximately 67% of women (n = 5,949) and mothers of children U5 (n = 3,447) reported some knowledge of malaria. Women''s knowledge of malaria was significantly associated with household ITN ownership (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–2.7) and with increased ITN use for themselves (aOR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.3–2.5). Knowledge of malaria amongst mothers of children U5 was associated with ITN use for their children U5 (aOR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.1–2.4), but not significantly associated with their children U5 seeking care for a fever. School attendance was a significant factor in women''s ITN use (aOR = 2.0; 95% CI 1.1–3.9), their children U5′s ITN use (aOR = 4.4; 95% CI 1.6–12.1), and their children U5 having sought treatment for a fever (aOR = 6.5; 95% CI 1.9–22.9).

Conclusions

Along with mass free distribution of ITNs and universal access to ACTs, delivery of targeted malaria educational information to women could improve ITN ownership and use. Efforts to control malaria could be influenced by progress towards broader goals of improving access to education, especially for women.