Contrasting genomic epidemiology between sympatric Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax populations.

The malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax differ in key biological processes and associated clinical effects, but consequences on population-level transmission dynamics are difficult to predict. This co-endemic malaria study from Guyana details important epidemiological contrasts between the species by coupling population genomics (1396 spatiotemporally matched parasite genomes, primarily from 2020-21) with sociodemographic analysis (nationwide patient census from 2019). We describe how P.

Temporal and spatial dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum clonal lineages in Guyana.

Plasmodium parasites, the causal agents of malaria, are eukaryotic organisms that obligately undergo sexual recombination within mosquitoes. In low transmission settings, parasites recombine with themselves, and the clonal lineage is propagated rather than broken up by outcrossing. We investigated whether stochastic/neutral factors drive the persistence and abundance of Plasmodium falciparum clonal lineages in Guyana, a country with relatively low malaria transmission, but the only setting in the Americas in which an important artemisinin resistance mutation (pfk13 C580Y) has been observed.

Temporal and spatial dynamics of clonal lineages in Guyana.

parasites, the causal agents of malaria, are eukaryotic organisms that obligately undergo sexual recombination within mosquitoes. However, in low transmission settings where most mosquitoes become infected with only a single parasite clone, parasites recombine with themselves, and the clonal lineage is propagated rather than broken up by outcrossing. We investigated whether stochastic/neutral factors drive the persistence and abundance of clonal lineages in Guyana, a country with relatively low malaria transmission, but the only setting in the Americas in which an important artemisinin resistance mutation ( C580Y) has been observed.

The use of innovative approaches to strengthen health system resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: case studies from selected Commonwealth countries.

This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities and limitations of many health systems and underscored the need for strengthening health system resilience to make and sustain progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC), global health security and healthier populations in tandem. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Commonwealth countries have been practicing a combination of innovative integrated approaches and actions to build health systems resilience.

Stevens - Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis; Extensive Review of Reports of Drug-Induced Etiologies, and Possible Therapeutic Modalities.

Stevens - Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis are adverse hypersensitivity reactions that affect the skin and mucous membranes. They are characterised by erythematous macules and hemorrhagic erosions of the mucous membranes. Epidermal detachments of varying degrees of severity also occur in these conditions.

Poorer Arthroscopic Outcomes of Mild Dysplasia With Cam Femoroacetabular Impingement Versus Mixed Femoroacetabular Impingement in Absence of Capsular Repair.

Purpose: To compare outcomes of mild dysplasia with cam femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) vs mixed FAI with hip arthroscopy without capsular repair.

Methods: A retrospective review of a 2009 to 2010 multicenter prospective outcome study was performed comparing a cohort with mild dysplasia and cam femoroacetabular impingement (cohort D) to a cohort with mixed FAI (cohort M). Outcome measures included Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS) and satisfaction with minimum 2-year follow-up.

Multicenter outcomes of arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement in the community hospital setting.

The purpose of this study is to determine multi-center outcomes from arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement in the community hospital setting. A prospective design with 2-year minimum follow-up using the nonarthritic hip score (NAHS), a 100-point scale of perceived post-operative change for pain, activities of daily living, sports activities, and patient satisfaction was implemented at three community hospitals. Of 150 enrolled patients (159 hips) with mean age of 40 years (range, 12-73), there was 81% participation.

Multi-Center, Community-Based Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices Registry: Population, Device Utilization, and Outcomes.

Background: The purpose of this study is to describe key elements, clinical outcomes, and potential uses of the Kaiser Permanente-Cardiac Device Registry.

Methods And Results: This is a cohort study of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), pacemakers (PM), and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices implanted between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013 by ≈400 physicians in 6 US geographical regions. Registry data variables, including patient characteristics, comorbidities, indication for procedures, complications, and revisions, were captured using the healthcare system's electronic medical record.

Effect of Advancing Age and Multiple Chronic Conditions on Mortality in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease after Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Placement.

Context: There is insufficient information on the effect that advancing age and multiple chronic conditions (MCC) have on mortality after placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) vs non-ESRD.

Objective: To assess whether a differential effect of age and MCC exists between ESRD and non-ESRD.

Design: Population-based, retrospective cohort study using data from the national Kaiser Permanente Cardiac Device Registry of patients who underwent placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2013.

A multiregional registry experience using an electronic medical record to optimize data capture for longitudinal outcomes in endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Objective: Registries have been proven useful to assess clinical outcomes, but data entry and personnel expenses are challenging. We developed a registry to track patients undergoing endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) in an integrated health care system, leveraging an electronic medical record (EMR) to evaluate clinical practices, device performance, surgical complications, and medium-term outcomes. This study describes the registry design, data collection, outcomes validation, and ongoing surveillance, highlighting the unique integration with the EMR.

The coffee genome provides insight into the convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis.

Coffee is a valuable beverage crop due to its characteristic flavor, aroma, and the stimulating effects of caffeine. We generated a high-quality draft genome of the species Coffea canephora, which displays a conserved chromosomal gene order among asterid angiosperms. Although it shows no sign of the whole-genome triplication identified in Solanaceae species such as tomato, the genome includes several species-specific gene family expansions, among them N-methyltransferases (NMTs) involved in caffeine production, defense-related genes, and alkaloid and flavonoid enzymes involved in secondary compound synthesis.

Mortality after shoulder arthroplasty.

One year post-operative mortality among patients with primary elective total shoulder arthroplasty (ETSA) and traumatic shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) were compared to the general population of a large healthcare system. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. 614 ETSA patients, 1.

Effect of maternal protein restriction during pregnancy and postweaning high-fat feeding on diet-induced thermogenesis in adult mouse offspring.

Purpose: Prenatal undernutrition followed by postweaning feeding of a high-fat diet results in obesity in the adult offspring. In this study, we investigated whether diet-induced thermogenesis is altered as a result of such nutritional mismatch.

Methods: Female MF-1 mice were fed a normal protein (NP, 18% casein) or a protein-restricted (PR, 9% casein) diet throughout pregnancy and lactation.

BAC-end sequences analysis provides first insights into coffee (Coffea canephora P.) genome composition and evolution.

Coffee is one of the world's most important agricultural commodities. Coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family in the euasterid I clade of dicotyledonous plants, to which the Solanaceae family also belongs. Two bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries of a homozygous doubled haploid plant of Coffea canephora were constructed using two enzymes, HindIII and BstYI.

Developmental exposure to bisphenol A leads to cardiometabolic dysfunction in adult mouse offspring.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound that has adverse health outcomes in adults when exposed during the perinatal period. However, its effect on cardiovascular function remains to be elucidated. In this study, we examined the effects of daily administration of BPA to pregnant mice from gestational days 11 to 19 on cardiometabolic outcomes in the adult offspring.

Expression and trans-specific polymorphism of self-incompatibility RNases in coffea (Rubiaceae).

Self-incompatibility (SI) is widespread in the angiosperms, but identifying the biochemical components of SI mechanisms has proven to be difficult in most lineages. Coffea (coffee; Rubiaceae) is a genus of old-world tropical understory trees in which the vast majority of diploid species utilize a mechanism of gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI). The S-RNase GSI system was one of the first SI mechanisms to be biochemically characterized, and likely represents the ancestral Eudicot condition as evidenced by its functional characterization in both asterid (Solanaceae, Plantaginaceae) and rosid (Rosaceae) lineages.

Effect of Maternal HIV-1 Status and Antiretroviral Drugs on Haematological Profiles of South African Infants in Early Life.

Maternal HIV-1 status and antiretroviral drug exposure may influence the haematological profiles of infants. We recruited infants from 118 uninfected control women and from 483 HIV-1 infected women who received no antiretroviral drugs (n=28), or received single-dose Nevirapine (sdNVP) (n=424) or triple-drug combination therapy (n=31) to reduce HIV-1 transmission. Blood was drawn from infants within 24 hours of delivery or 6-12 weeks post-delivery and full blood counts performed using a fully automated AcT-5-diff haematology analyser and reference controls.

Effect of a low-protein diet during pregnancy on expression of genes involved in cardiac hypertrophy in fetal and adult mouse offspring.

Gene markers for cardiomyocyte growth, proliferation and remodeling were examined in mouse fetuses and adult male offspring exposed to maternal low-protein (LP) diet during pregnancy. Whole heart volume, measured by magnetic resonance imaging, was smaller in day 15 LP fetuses v. those from chow-fed dams (C), whereas heart volume was greater in adult LP v.

Atorvastatin restores endothelial function in offspring of protein-restricted rats in a cholesterol-independent manner.

Maternal protein restriction in rats leads to endothelial dysfunction and decreased NO bioavailability in the offspring. Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) are recognized to have pleiotropic actions including increasing NO bioavailability and reducing inflammation and oxidative damage. This study assessed statin treatment on vascular function in a model of endothelial dysfunction, which is independent of dyslipidemia.

Long-term maternal high-fat feeding from weaning through pregnancy and lactation predisposes offspring to hypertension, raised plasma lipids and fatty liver in mice.

In rodents, adverse prenatal nutrition, such as a maternal diet rich in fat during pregnancy, enhances susceptibility of the offspring to hypertension, type 2 diabetes and other features of the human metabolic syndrome in adulthood. However, previous experimental studies were confined to short-term modifications of the maternal diet during pregnancy and/or lactation periods, a situation uncommon in humans. Moreover in humans, the offspring may also consume a high-fat diet, which may take them beyond the range to which their development has adapted them to respond healthily.

Sensitivity of housekeeping genes in the hypothalamus to mismatch in diets between pre- and postnatal periods in mice.

Housekeeping genes are used as internal controls in gene expression studies, but their expression levels vary according to tissue types and experimental treatments. A nutritional mismatch between pre- and postnatal periods, wherein the in utero nutritional environment is suboptimal and post-weaning diet is rich in fat, results in altered hypothalamic expression levels of genes that regulate the offspring's physiology, metabolism and behavior. The present study investigated hypothalamic expression of the housekeeping genes glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), beta-actin and 18s ribosomal RNA (18s rRNA) in offspring subjected to this pre- and postnatal dietary mismatch.

Appetite regulatory mechanisms and food intake in mice are sensitive to mismatch in diets between pregnancy and postnatal periods.

Human and animal studies suggest that obesity in adulthood may have its origins partly during prenatal development. One of the underlying causes of obesity is the perturbation of hypothalamic mechanisms controlling appetite. We determined mRNA levels of genes that regulate appetite, namely neuropeptide Y (NPY), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and the leptin receptor isoform Ob-Rb, in the hypothalamus of adult mouse offspring from pregnant dams fed a protein-restricted diet, and examined whether mismatched post-weaning high-fat diet altered further expression of these gene transcripts.

A pilot study of Connexin 43 (Cx43) in human bladder tissue in patients with idiopathic detrusor overactivity.

Objective: Aim of the study was to compare Connexin 43 (Cx43) in human bladder tissue of urodynamically proven idiopathic detrusor overactivity to those of urodynamically stable bladders.

Study Design: We compared bladder biopsies of patients with detrusor overactivity and those with stable bladder analysing Cx43 message by RNA extraction and PCR amplification. All patients had multichannel urodynamics prior to the biopsies.

Early intervention in developmental delay.

A 10-month-old child with prenatal history of vaginal bleeding in mother at 8 weeks of pregnancy, delivered by cesarean section and history of neonatal jaundice was bought with poor social smile, poor eye contact, and inability to sit independently. He was enrolled in early intervention programme, which included relaxation exercises, passive exercises, visual stimulation and auditory stimulation. By the end of 8 months of the therapy, he could walk independently, was able to pick glassful of water and keeping away after drinking, was using disyllabic words meaningfully, could indicate for hunger and toilet and was able to recognize the parents and self.