46 research outputs found
Microbiological assessment of drinking water with reference to diarrheagenic bacterial pathogens in Shashemane Rural District, Ethiopia
No full textFecal contamination of drinking water is a major problem in rural communities of Ethiopia, where surface water sources like rivers, wells, and lakes are used for drinking. In spite of these problems, few data exist on the microbiological safety of water sources in these settings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological safety of drinking water from the sources and households in selected communities of Shashemane rural district, Ethiopia. A descriptive analytic study was used to examine the bacteriological quality of drinking water from sources and household containers. Data on water collection and storage practices were collected using structured questionnaires. Water samples were collected according to the WHO Guidelines for drinking water quality assessment from surface and ground water sources which are used directly for drinking purpose in the community. Water samples were examined for total coliforms and fecal coliforms using the most probable number methods. The detection of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio cholerae were assessed by biochemical tests. Total coliforms were detected in higher proportion in all water source samples. Fecal coliform contamination was detected in all water sources, except in hand pipes. E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella species were detected in water samples from river and wells. Total coliforms, fecal coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella spp. were also detected in water samples from households. The bacteriological load of the sampled water from source and households was found to be higher than the maximum value set for drinking water. Therefore, enabling the community access to potable water through encouraging construction of toilets, creating proper domestic and animal waste disposal system and rendering health education and sanitation practices for the community is recommended
The Microbiology of Teff (Eragrostis Tef) Enjera
No full textEnjera, an indigenous Ethiopian pancake is the one of the staple foods of Ethiopians. There is few information available concerning the succession and activities of microflora of its fermentation. Therefore this study was carried out to assess the microbiology of teff enjera. A total of 34 samples from “kuncho” and “Magna” enjera batter were collected during 96 hr fermentation at 6 hr intervals.“Kuncho” and “Magna” were bought from Debrezeit Agriculture Research Center and from Hawassa open market, respectively. Samples were analysed for changes in pH, titratable acidity (TA) and microbial count. The pH decreased with increasing TA during “kuncho” and “Magna” teff enjera batter fermentation. Total aerobic mesophilic count, LAB and yeast increasedby about 3 log cycles until 48 hr fermentation, while Enterobacteriaceae were reduced below detectable levels after 18 hr due to the low pH of the teff batter. Generally, the pH, TA and microbial count of enjera from the two cultivars of teff batter were not different
Knowledge and self-care practice of leprosy patients at ALERT Hospital, Ethiopia
No full textSummary Introduction: In addition to multi-drug treatment, patient self-care practice is crucial for the successful treatment of the disease. This study assessed the knowledge and self-care practices of leprosy patients at ALERT leprosy referral hospital in Ethiopia. Methods: A total of 424 leprosy patients were interviewed using pre-tested structured questionnaires. The questionnaires included core points such as sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of leprosy and self-care practices. Bloom’s cut off point was used to describe the knowledge and self-care practices of the respondents and statistical significance was assessed at 95% confidence interval with 5% of level of significance. Results: The knowledge score of the respondents was poor for 276 (65·1%) and good for 148 (34·9%). The level of knowledge varied significantly with respect to age group (p , 0·01), sex (p , 0·01), marital status (p ¼ 0·003), educational status (p , 0·01) and income (p , 0·01). About 77·4% of interviewed patients had poor self-care practices and only 22·6 of patients had a good self-care practice score (p , 0·01). Age (p ¼ 0·002), previous disability due to leprosy (p , 0·01), knowledge of leprosy (p ¼ 0·038) and income (P ¼ 0·028), were significantly associated with poor selfcare practice. Conclusion: Although leprosy treatment, disability prevention and rehabilitation programs have been run in the country for decades, poor leprosy self-care practice and poor leprosy knowledge has been confirmed in this study. Therefore, the leprosy program should re-visit its strategy and mode of delivery to improve the leprosy knowledge and leprosy self-care practices of patients
Insights into the contribution of multiple factors on Ixodes ricinus abundance across Europe spanning 20 years using different machine learning algorithms
No full textThe interplay of biotic and abiotic factors driving Ixodes ricinus abundance trends are not fully understood. Machine learning (ML) approaches are being increasingly used to explore this and predict future abundance patterns of this species, however, the studies focusing on this to date have had limitations (including short study duration, limited sample size, narrow geographical range and use of a single ML model). This study was undertaken to address these limitations by applying 11 predictive ML models (across three data clustering techniques) to a large I. ricinus occurrence dataset (27,150 records) containing geographical and temporal data from a 20-year period across 30 European countries, coupled with data covering a range of climatic and habitat features (temperature, rainfall, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), percentage of discontinuous urban fabric and land use category). To assess which ML model was most suited to prediction of I. ricinus abundance, four performance metric values were calculated per model: Normalised Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE), Scatter Index (SI), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and R2, all of which describe the statistical relationship between predicted and actual I. ricinus abundance values. Furthermore, using a Random Forest (RF) model across three clustering methods, we determined which features most significantly impacted upon I. ricinus abundance. The study demonstrated that Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AC) methods and Linear Regression (LR) modelling performed best with this dataset. Our findings revealed that land use and rainfall were the primary contributors to I. ricinus abundance, with temperature playing a lesser role. This was measured according to the extent of prediction error increase following exclusion of that factor from the analysis. We provide a summary of the factors most strongly linked to I. ricinus abundance, which can be used to guide interventions to aid the control of ticks and tick-borne disease across Europe
Cereblon expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to in vitro stimulation with M. leprae
No full textBackground The host immune responses associated with the clinical phenotypes of Mycobacterium leprae infection are not fully understood. The inflammatory complications of leprosy, leprosy reactions, particularly erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), present therapeutic challenges. Thalidomide is an effective drug for ENL but is not widely available due to teratogenicity. Thalidomide binds cereblon (CRBN), a substrate receptor for the E3 ligase complex, promoting ubiquitination. Thus, we investigated the CRBN expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to in vitro stimulation with M. leprae with/without CRBN blockade peptide. Methods Blood samples were obtained from apparently BCG-vaccinated and BCG-unvaccinated healthy volunteers. PBMC was isolated and stimulated with irradiated M. leprae with or without CRBN blockade peptide. CRBN, NF-kB, and PARK2 proteins were determined by ELISA, and their gene expression by qPCR. Results Stimulation with M. leprae significantly increased CRBN gene expression and protein production. Incubation of PBMCs with M. leprae with CRBN blockade significantly increased NF-kB expression. In a subgroup analysis, CRBN and NF-kB gene expression following stimulation with M. leprae (p ≤ 0.05) was significantly higher in PBMCs from Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated individuals compared to those from unvaccinated participants. PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein were significantly decreased in PBMCs stimulated with M. leprae compared to unstimulated PBMCs (p ≤ 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein were decreased in the PBMCs from BCG-unvaccinated individuals following incubation with M. leprae compared to those from BCG-vaccinated individuals. Stimulation of the PBMCs with M. leprae with CRBN blockade increased PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein production (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion The findings are evidence that CRBN may have a role in modulating PARK2 and NF-kB gene expression in response to M. leprae infection. This needs further investigation in individuals with leprosy. The differential gene expression of CRBN and PARK2 in BCG-vaccinated and BCG-unvaccinated individuals could be further explored to understand the mechanism of BCG protection against leprosy
Machine Learning-Based Techniques for Assessing Critical Factors for European Tick Abundance
No full textTick-borne diseases are a significant health risk to humans and animals worldwide. It is important to understand the environmental and climatic factors that contribute to tick occurrence rates in order to reduce the proliferation of tick borne diseases. Using machine learning and spatial indexing techniques, this study covers tick occurrence rates in Europe over the last 20 years to understand the environmental and climatic factors that contribute to Ixodes ricinus tick abundance. We used biodiversity databases to study land cover categories, climate, vegetation index, and sociological factors. Areas with agriculture and natural vegetation, especially broad-leaved forests, had the strongest tick correlation. Waterways and pastures also showed significant positive correlations, indicating tick habitats. Ticks have moderate associations with urban green spaces, industrial units, and mixed forests suggesting their presence in ecologically disturbed habitats. Geoclimatic factors namely Normalised Difference Vegetation Index and rainfall, showed weak to negative correlations with tick population, indicating that they were less important than previously assumed. Linear Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine were compared. We found that feature set and outlier presence significantly affected model performance. After removing outliers, Linear Regression performed best for land use features, with a R² value of 0.81, NRMSE of 1.56, SI of 1.56, and MAPE of 1.22. Outlier exclusion improved the model performance results. This research emphasises the importance of specific land uses in predicting the dynamics of tick population. Our findings lay the groundwork for focused intervention strategies to reduce the spread of tick-borne diseases using an innovative and intelligent approach, while also emphasising the need for further investigation into the complex interactions between environmental factors and tick abundance
Cereblon expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to in vitro stimulation with M. leprae
No full textBackgroundThe host immune responses associated with the clinical phenotypes of Mycobacterium leprae infection are not fully understood. The inflammatory complications of leprosy, leprosy reactions, particularly erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), present therapeutic challenges. Thalidomide is an effective drug for ENL but is not widely available due to teratogenicity. Thalidomide binds cereblon (CRBN), a substrate receptor for the E3 ligase complex, promoting ubiquitination. Thus, we investigated the CRBN expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to in vitro stimulation with M. leprae with/without CRBN blockade peptide.MethodsBlood samples were obtained from apparently BCG-vaccinated and BCGunvaccinated healthy volunteers. PBMC was isolated and stimulated with irradiated M. leprae with or without CRBN blockade peptide. CRBN, NF-kB, and PARK2 proteins were determined by ELISA, and their gene expression by qPCR.ResultsStimulation with M. leprae significantly increased CRBN gene expression and protein production. Incubation of PBMCs with M. leprae with CRBN blockade significantly increased NF-kB expression. In a subgroup analysis, CRBN and NFkB gene expression following stimulation with M. leprae (p ≤ 0.05) was significantly higher in PBMCs from Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated individuals compared to those from unvaccinated participants. PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein were significantly decreased in PBMCs stimulated with M. leprae compared to unstimulated PBMCs (p ≤ 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein were decreased in the PBMCs from BCGunvaccinated individuals following incubation with M. leprae compared to those from BCG-vaccinated individuals. Stimulation of the PBMCs with M. leprae with CRBN blockade increased PARK2 gene expression and parkin protein production (p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionThe findings are evidence that CRBN may have a role in modulating PARK2 and NF-kB gene expression in response to M. leprae infection. This needs further investigation in individuals with leprosy. The differential gene expression of CRBN and PARK2 in BCG-vaccinated and BCG-unvaccinated individuals could be further explored to understand the mechanism of BCG protection against leprosy
Insights into the contribution of multiple factors on Ixodes ricinus abundance across Europe spanning 20 years using different machine learning algorithms
No full textThe interplay of biotic and abiotic factors driving Ixodes ricinus abundance trends are not fully understood. Machine learning (ML) approaches are being increasingly used to explore this and predict future abundance patterns of this species, however, the studies focusing on this to date have had limitations (including short study duration, limited sample size, narrow geographical range and use of a single ML model). This study was undertaken to address these limitations by applying 11 predictive ML models (across three data clustering techniques) to a large I. ricinus occurrence dataset (27,150 records) containing geographical and temporal data from a 20-year period across 30 European countries, coupled with data covering a range of climatic and habitat features (temperature, rainfall, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), percentage of discontinuous urban fabric and land use category). To assess which ML model was most suited to prediction of I. ricinus abundance, four performance metric values were calculated per model: Normalised Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE), Scatter Index (SI), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and R2, all of which describe the statistical relationship between predicted and actual I. ricinus abundance values. Furthermore, using a Random Forest (RF) model across three clustering methods, we determined which features most significantly impacted upon I. ricinus abundance. The study demonstrated that Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AC) methods and Linear Regression (LR) modelling performed best with this dataset. Our findings revealed that land use and rainfall were the primary contributors to I. ricinus abundance, with temperature playing a lesser role. This was measured according to the extent of prediction error increase following exclusion of that factor from the analysis. We provide a summary of the factors most strongly linked to I. ricinus abundance, which can be used to guide interventions to aid the control of ticks and tick-borne disease across Europe
New Insight into the Pathogenesis of Erythema Nodosum Leprosum: The Role of Activated Memory T-Cells
No full textMemory T-cells, particularly, effector memory T cells are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and may contribute to tissue injury and disease progression. Although erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) is an inflammatory complication of leprosy, the role of memory T cell subsets has never been studied in this patient group. The aim of this study was at investigate the kinetics of memory T cell subsets in patients with ENL before and after prednisolone treatment. A case–control study design was used to recruit 35 untreated patients with ENL and 25 non-reactional lepromatous leprosy (LL) patient controls at ALERT Hospital, Ethiopia. Venous blood samples were obtained before, during, and after treatment from each patient. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and used for immunophenotyping of T cell activation and memory T-cell subsets by flow cytometry. The kinetics of these immune cells in patients with ENL before and after treatment were compared with LL patient controls as well as within ENL cases at different time points. The median percentage of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T-cells expressing activated T-cells were significantly higher in the PBMCs from patients with ENL than from LL patient controls before treatment. The median percentage of central and activated memory T-cells was significantly increased in patients with ENL compared to LL patient controls before treatment. Interestingly, patients with ENL had a lower percentage of naïve T cells (27.7%) compared to LL patient controls (59.5%) (P < 0.0001) before treatment. However, after prednisolone treatment, patients with ENL had a higher median percentage of naïve T-cells (43.0%) than LL controls (33.0%) (P < 0.001). The median percentage of activated T-cells (effector memory and effector T-cells) was significantly increased in patients with ENL (59.2%) before treatment compared to after treatment with prednisolone (33.9%) (P < 0.005). This is the first work which has shown T-cell activation and the different subsets of memory T cells in untreated patients with ENL. Consequently, this study delineates the role of T-cell activation in the pathogenesis of ENL reaction and challenges the long-standing dogma of immune complex as a sole etiology of ENL reaction
Increased activated memory B-cells in the peripheral blood of patients with erythema nodosum leprosum reactions.
No full textB-cells, in addition to antibody secretion, have emerged increasingly as effector and immunoregulatory cells in several chronic inflammatory diseases. Although Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) is an inflammatory complication of leprosy, the role of B- cell subsets has never been studied in this patient group. Therefore, it would be interesting to examine the contribution of B-cells in the pathogenesis of ENL. A case-control study design was used to recruit 30 untreated patients with ENL and 30 non-reactional lepromatous leprosy (LL) patient controls at ALERT Hospital, Ethiopia. Peripheral blood samples were obtained before, during and after treatment from each patient. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and used for immunophenotyping of B- cell subsets by flow cytometry. The kinetics of B-cells in patients with ENL before, during and after Prednisolone treatment of ENL was compared with LL patient controls as well as within ENL group. Total B-cells, mature B-cells and resting memory B-cells were not significantly different between patients with ENL reactions and LL controls before treatment. Interestingly, while the percentage of naive B-cells was significantly lower in untreated ENL patients than in LL patient controls, the percentage of activated memory B-cells was significantly higher in these untreated ENL patients than in LL controls. On the other hand, the percentage of tissue-like memory B-cells was considerably low in untreated ENL patients compared to LL controls. It appears that the lower frequency of tissue-like memory B-cells in untreated ENL could promote the B-cell/T-cell interaction in these patients through downregulation of inhibitory molecules unlike in LL patients. Conversely, the increased production of activated memory B-cells in ENL patients could imply the scale up of immune activation through antigen presentation to T-cells. However, the generation and differential function of these memory B-cells need further investigation. The finding of increased percentage of activated memory B-cells in untreated patients with ENL reactions suggests the association of these cells with the ENL pathology. The mechanism by which inflammatory reactions like ENL affecting these memory cells and contributing to the disease pathology is an interesting area to be explored for and could lead to the development of novel and highly efficacious drug for ENL treatment
