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Low prevalence of an acute phase response in asymptomatic children from a malaria-endemic area of Papua New Guinea
No full textLevels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a classic marker for the acute phase response (APR), were measured in children with asymptomatic malaria infection in the Amele region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Despite the presence of parasitemia, the prevalence of CRP levels consistent with an APR (CRP > 10 (xg/mL) was very low (< 10%). Splenomegaly was significantly associated with increased parasitemia (P < 0.001) and CRP levels (P < 0.001), highlighting the importance of splenomegaly as an indicator of recent high density infection in this population. Multivariate analysis showed that CRP levels were significantly associated with splenomegaly, fever, hemoglobin, and age (P < 0.002). CRP levels also increased with increasing parasitemia (P < 0.001) but remained < 3.5 (xg/mL. The low levels of CRP indicate that children in the Amele modulate inflammation associated with malaria
Haptoglobin levels are associated with haptoglobin genotype and a+-thalassaemia in a malaria-endemic area
No full textHaptoglobin (Hp) is an acute phase protein that removes free hemoglobin (Hb) released during hemolysis. Hp has also been shown to be toxic for malaria parasites. a+-Thalassemia is a hemoglobinopathy that results in subclinical hemolytic anemia. a+-Thassemia homozygosity confers protection against severe malarial disease by an as yet unidentified mechanism. Hp levels were measured in a serial cross-sectional survey of children in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Hp levels were related to age, Hp genotype, Hb levels, parasitemia, splenomegaly, and ot+-thalassemia genotype. Surprisingly, children who were homozygous for a+-thalassemia had significantly higher levels of Hp than did heterozygotes, after controlling for relevant confounders. We suggest that this is the result of either reduced mean cell Hb associated with a+-thalassemia homozygosity or an elevated IL-6-dependent acute phase response
Association of haptoglobin levels with age, parasite density, and haptoglobin genotype in a malaria-endemic area of Gabon.
No full textItem does not contain fulltextHaptoglobin (Hp) levels were investigated in relation to host genotype in a malaria-endemic area in Gabon. A cross-sectional study of 1-12-year-old children was conducted in the rainy season, a period of high malaria transmission, to examine this relationship. Variables that influenced Hp levels were Hp genotype, location, and age interacting with parasite density. At low parasite densities, there was a negative correlation between Hp levels and age. At higher densities, there was a positive correlation with age. This suggests that in the presence of greater parasite-induced hemolysis, older children are capable of increased production of Hp. Sickle cell trait and ABO blood group was not associated with Hp levels in this population
Light and electron microscopical observations of the effects of high-density lipoprotein on growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro
No full textAuthor Posting. © Cambridge University Press, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of Cambridge University Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Parasitology 128 (2004): 577-584, doi:10.1017/S0031182004005025.Human serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is necessary and sufficient for the short-term maintenance of Plasmodium falciparum in in vitro culture. However, at high concentrations it is toxic to the parasite. A heat-labile component is apparently responsible for the stage-specific toxicity to parasites within infected erythrocytes 12–42 h after invasion, i.e. during trophozoite maturation. The effects of HDL on parasite metabolism (as determined by nucleic acid synthesis) are evident at about 30 h after invasion. Parasites treated with HDL show gross abnormalities by light and electron microscopy.Professor Hajduk was supported by NIH. Professor Day
was supported by a Research Leave Fellowship from The
Wellcome Trust. Dr Imrie and Ms Carter were supported
by Programme Grant funding awarded to Professor Day
from The Wellcome Trust. Dr Ferguson was supported by
an equipment grant from The Wellcome Trust
A cognitive behavioural intervention to reduce sexually transmitted infections among gay men: randomised trial
No full textObjective To determine the effectiveness of a brief cognitive behavioural intervention in reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted infections among gay men.Design Randomised controlled trial with 12 months' follow up.Setting Sexual health clinic in London.Participants 343 gay men with an acute sexually transmitted infection or who reported having had unprotected anal intercourse in the past year.Main outcome measures Number of new sexually transmitted infections diagnosed during follow up and self reported incidence of unprotected anal intercourse.Results 72% (361/499) of men invited to enter the study did so. 90% (308/343) of participants returned at least one follow up questionnaire or re-attended the clinic and requested a check up for sexually transmitted infections during follow up. At baseline, 37% (63/172) of the intervention group and 30% (50/166) of the control group reported having had unprotected anal intercourse in the past month. At. 12 months, the proportions were 27% (31/114) and 32% (39/124) respectively (P = 0.56). However, 31% (38/123) of the intervention group and 21% (35/168) of controls had had at least one new infection diagnosed at the clinic (adjusted odds ratio 1.66, 95% confidence interval 1.00 to 2.74). Considering only men who requested a check up for sexually transmitted infections, the proportion diagnosed with a new infection was 58% (53/91) for men in the intervention group and 43% (35/81) for men in the control group (adjusted odds ratio 1.84, 0.99 to 3.40). Using a regional database that includes information from 23 sexual health clinics in London, we determined that few participants had attended other sexual health clinics.Conclusions This behavioural intervention was acceptable and feasible to deliver, but it did not reduce the risk of acquiring a new sexually transmitted infection among these gay men at high risk. Even carefully designed interventions should not be assumed to bring benefit. It is important to evaluate their effects in randomised trials with objective clinical end points
Hydrogen bonding and the design of twist-bend nematogens
No full textAcknowledgements The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319. RW gratefully thanks the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for the award of a PhD Scholarship (2015-2018). The Erasmus programme is thanked for supporting a study visit for CAC to Warsaw. Declaration of competing interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Author statement Rebecca Walker: Investigation, Formal analysis, Validation, Visualisation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Reviewing and Editing Damian Pociecha: Visualisation, Investigation, Formal analysis Catriona Crawford: Investigation, Formal analysis John MD Storey: Resources, Supervision Ewa Gorecka: Investigation, Formal analysis, Resources, Supervision Corrie T Imrie: Conceptualization, Supervision, Resources, Writing – Reviewing and EditingPeer reviewe
Stimulation of bovine monocyte-derived macrophages with lipopolysaccharide, interferon-?, Interleukin-4 or Interleukin-13 does not induce detectable changes in nitric oxide or arginase activity
No full textBackground: Bacterial lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ stimulation of rodent macrophages in vitro induces up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase, whereas interleukin-4 stimulation results in increased activity of arginase-1. Thus different stimulants result in differing macrophage phenotypes, appropriate for responses to a range of pathogens. The current study was conducted in order to determine whether bovine macrophages derived from monocytes and spleen respond similarly. Results: Lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ did not induce detectable increases in nitric oxide production by bovine monocyte-derived or splenic macrophages in vitro. Similarly, interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 did not affect arginase activity. However, changes in transcription of genes coding for these products were detected. Conclusion: Differences between macrophage activation patterns exist between cattle and other species and these differences may occur during the post-transcription phase
The Politics of Land Inheritance as Represented in Raoul of Cambrai
No full textThe twelfth century chanson de geste, Raoul of Cambrai, serves as a political commentary on land inheritance, depicting the lack of leadership and legal protection present at this time in France. This poem represented the many issues that surrounded the complex matter of land ownership including conflicting land inheritance methods, the ill-defined limits of royal power in regards to marriage and the nature of ecclesiastical land tenure. Drawing from primary source passages this paper will work to show that the author of Raoul of Cambrai was seeking to convey the issues pertaining to land inheritance and ownership that existed within his own society in the chanson de geste that he created
Chris Allen and Rob Imrie (eds): The knowledge business: the commodification of urban and housing research
No full textSupport OTBOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen
Two steps forward, one step back? A commentary on the disease-specific core sets of the international classification of functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
No full textThe International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is advocated
as a biopsychosocial framework and classification and has been received favourably by
occupational therapists, disability rights organisations and proponents of the social
model of disability. The success of the ICF largely depends on its uptake in practice and
it is considered unwieldy in its full format. Therefore, to make the ICF user friendly, the
World Health Organisation (WHO) have condensed the original format and developed
core sets, some of which are disease specific. The authors use the ICF Core Set for
stroke as an example to debate if by reverting to classification according to disease, the
ICF is at risk of taking two steps forward, one step back in its holistic portrayal of health
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