Health Aid Is Allocated Efficiently, But Not Optimally: Insights From A Review Of Cost-Effectiveness Studies.

Development assistance from high-income countries to the health sectors of low- and middle-income countries (health aid) is an important source of funding for health in low- and middle-income countries. However, the relationship between health aid and the expected health improvements from those expenditures--the cost-effectiveness of targeted interventions--remains unknown. We reviewed the literature for cost-effectiveness of interventions targeting five disease categories: HIV; malaria; tuberculosis; noncommunicable diseases; and maternal, newborn, and child health.

Role of Phenol-Soluble Modulins in Formation of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms in Synovial Fluid.

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of prosthetic joint infections, which, as we recently showed, proceed with the involvement of biofilm-like clusters that cause recalcitrance to antibiotic treatment. Here we analyzed why these clusters grow extraordinarily large, reaching macroscopically visible extensions (>1 mm). We found that while specific S.

ReactomeFIViz: a Cytoscape app for pathway and network-based data analysis.

High-throughput experiments are routinely performed in modern biological studies. However, extracting meaningful results from massive experimental data sets is a challenging task for biologists. Projecting data onto pathway and network contexts is a powerful way to unravel patterns embedded in seemingly scattered large data sets and assist knowledge discovery related to cancer and other complex diseases.

Production of an attenuated phenol-soluble modulin variant unique to the MRSA clonal complex 30 increases severity of bloodstream infection.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a leading cause of morbidity and death. Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are recently-discovered toxins with a key impact on the development of Staphylococcus aureus infections. Allelic variants of PSMs and their potential impact on pathogen success during infection have not yet been described.

New rocaglamide derivatives from Vietnamese Aglaia species.

Phytochemical analysis of the leaves of different Aglaia species collected in Vietnam yielded eight rocaglamide derivatives, which are responsible for the strong insecticidal activity against Spodoptera littoralis, including rocaglamide A (1), rocaglamide 1 (2), rocaglamide W (3), rocaglamide AB (4), rocaglamide J (5), rocaglaol (6), rocaglamide S (7) and the new rocaglamide AY (8). The structures of these compounds were elucidated through extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and analysis of their mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) and HRESIMS data.

Genome-wide analysis of the regulatory function mediated by the small regulatory psm-mec RNA of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Several methicillin resistance (SCCmec) clusters characteristic of hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains harbor the psm-mec locus. In addition to encoding the cytolysin, phenol-soluble modulin (PSM)-mec, this locus has been attributed gene regulatory functions. Here we employed genome-wide transcriptional profiling to define the regulatory function of the psm-mec locus.

Human papillomavirus infections of the oral mucosa and upper respiratory tract.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are frequently detected in a variety of lesions in the oral mucosa and upper respiratory tract. The pathogenesis in these areas is not as clearly elucidated as in other anatomical regions, but most experts agree that HPVs are responsible for the commonly observed benign lesions, such as squamous papillomas, verruca vulgaris and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Transformation of these benign lesions is well described, but it is not clear what role the virus plays, if any, in carcinogenesis.

Scalable, semicontinuous production of micelles encapsulating nanoparticles via electrospray.

Nanoparticle encapsulation within micelles has been demonstrated as a versatile platform for creating water-soluble nanocomposites. However, in contrast to typical micelle encapsulants, such as small molecule drugs and proteins, nanoparticles are substantially larger, which creates significant challenges in micelle synthesis, especially at large scale. Here, we describe a new nanocomposite synthesis method that combines electrospray, a top-down, continuous manufacturing technology currently used for polymer microparticle fabrication, with bottom-up micellar self-assembly to yield a scalable, semicontinuous micelle synthesis method: i.

A pipeline of programs for collecting and analyzing group II intron retroelement sequences from GenBank.

Background: Accurate and complete identification of mobile elements is a challenging task in the current era of sequencing, given their large numbers and frequent truncations. Group II intron retroelements, which consist of a ribozyme and an intron-encoded protein (IEP), are usually identified in bacterial genomes through their IEP; however, the RNA component that defines the intron boundaries is often difficult to identify because of a lack of strong sequence conservation corresponding to the RNA structure. Compounding the problem of boundary definition is the fact that a majority of group II intron copies in bacteria are truncated.

Single-crystal structure of a covalent organic framework.

The crystal structure of a new covalent organic framework, termed COF-320, is determined by single-crystal 3D electron diffraction using the rotation electron diffraction (RED) method for data collection. The COF crystals are prepared by an imine condensation of tetra-(4-anilyl)methane and 4,4'-biphenyldialdehyde in 1,4-dioxane at 120 °C to produce a highly porous 9-fold interwoven diamond net. COF-320 exhibits permanent porosity with a Langmuir surface area of 2400 m(2)/g and a methane total uptake of 15.

Delivery of host cell-directed therapeutics for intracellular pathogen clearance.

Intracellular pathogens present a major health risk because of their innate ability to evade clearance. Their location within host cells and ability to react to the host environment by mutation or transcriptional changes often enables survival mechanisms to resist standard therapies. Host-directed drugs do not target the pathogen, minimizing the potential development of drug resistance; however, they can be difficult to deliver efficiently to intracellular sites.

Insight into structure-function relationship in phenol-soluble modulins using an alanine screen of the phenol-soluble modulin (PSM) α3 peptide.

Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are a family of peptides with multiple functions in staphylococcal pathogenesis. To gain insight into the structural features affecting PSM functions, we analyzed an alanine substitution library of PSMα3, a strongly cytolytic and proinflammatory PSM of Staphylococcus aureus with a significant contribution to S. aureus virulence.

Costing analysis of national HIV treatment and care program in Vietnam.

Background: Vietnam achieved rapid scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), although external funds are declining sharply. To achieve and sustain universal access to HIV services, evidence-based planning is essential. To date, there had been limited HIV treatment and care cost data available in Vietnam.

Essential Staphylococcus aureus toxin export system.

Widespread antibiotic resistance among important bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus calls for alternative routes of drug development. Interfering with crucial virulence determinants is considered a promising new approach to control bacterial infection. Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are peptide toxins with multiple key roles in pathogenesis and have a major impact on the ability of highly virulent S.

Electrospray encapsulation of toll-like receptor agonist resiquimod in polymer microparticles for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the intracellular protozoan, Leishmania. A current treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis involves the delivery of imidazoquinolines via a topical cream. However, there are no parenteral formulations of imidazoquinolines for the most deadly version of the disease, visceral leishmaniasis.

Bis(2,2'-bipyrimidine-κ(2)N(1),N(1'))palladium(II) bis-(tetra-fluoro-borate) acetonitrile monosolvate.

The reaction of [Pd(MeCN)(4)](BF(4))(2) with 2,2'-bipyrimidine (bpm) in MeCN-CHCl(3) afforded the title compound, [Pd(C(8)H(6)N(4))(2)](BF(4))(2)·C(2)H(3)N. The asymmetric unit contains two half complexes, with the Pd(II) atoms both lying on a twofold axis. Each metal atom adopts a tetra-hedrally distorted square-planar geometry.

Multilevel predictors of concurrent opioid use during methadone maintenance treatment among drug users with HIV/AIDS.

Background: Ongoing drug use during methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) negatively affects outcomes of HIV/AIDS care and treatment for drug users. This study assessed changes in opioid use, and longitudinal predictors of continued opioid use during MMT among HIV-positive drug users in Vietnam, with the aim of identifying changes that might enhance program efficacy.

Methods: We analyze data of 370 HIV-positive drug users (mean age 29.

Financial burden of health care for HIV/AIDS patients in Vietnam.

Objective: To assess the out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for health-care services of HIV/AIDS patients, and identify associated factors in Vietnam.

Methods: Cross-sectional multisite survey of 1016 HIV/AIDS patients attending 7 hospitals and health centres in Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City in 2012.

Results: HIV/AIDS patients used inpatient and outpatient care on average 5.

The cost-effectiveness and budget impact of Vietnam's methadone maintenance treatment programme in HIV prevention and treatment among injection drug users.

We analysed the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of the methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programme in HIV prevention and treatment among injection drug users (DUs) in Vietnam. The costs and health outcomes of providing MMT for opioid-dependent DUs versus non-MMT were estimated using a decision analytical model. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to justify uncertainties of model parameters simultaneously.

Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use disorders during antiretroviral treatment in injection-driven HIV epidemics in Vietnam.

Background: Alcohol use disorders (AUD) negatively affects adherence to and outcomes of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV/AIDS patients. This study determined the prevalence of AUD and identified correlates of alcohol consumption and drinking problems during ART in large injection-driven HIV epidemics in Vietnam.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1016 patients (36.

Cost-effectiveness of integrating methadone maintenance and antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive drug users in Vietnam's injection-driven HIV epidemics.

Drug use negatively affects adherence to and outcomes of antiretroviral treatment (ART). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of integrating methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) with ART for HIV-positive drug users (DUs) in Vietnam. A decision analytical model was developed to compare the costs and consequences of 3 HIV/AIDS treatment strategies for DUs: (1) only ART, (2) providing ART and MMT in separated sites (ART-MMT), and (3) integrating ART and MMT with direct administration (DAART-MMT).

Aerial development in Streptomyces coelicolor requires sortase activity.

Streptomyces coelicolor is a multicellular bacterium whose life cycle encompasses three differentiated states: vegetative hyphae, aerial hyphae and spores. Among the factors required for aerial development are the 'chaplins', a family of eight secreted proteins that coat the surface of aerial hyphae. Three chaplins (the 'long' chaplins, ChpA, B and C) possess an LAXTG-containing C-terminal sorting signal and are predicted sortase substrates.

Tramiprosate in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease - a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre study (the Alphase Study).

Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess the clinical efficacy, safety, and disease-modification effects of tramiprosate (homotaurine, ALZHEMED(TM)) in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Material And Methods: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in 67 clinical centres across North America. Patients aged ≥ 50 years, with mild-to-moderate AD (Mini-Mental State Examination score between 16 and 26) and on stable doses of cholinesterase inhibitors, alone or with memantine.

How Staphylococcus aureus biofilms develop their characteristic structure.

Biofilms cause significant problems in the environment and during the treatment of infections. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying biofilm formation are poorly understood. There is a particular lack of knowledge about biofilm maturation processes, such as biofilm structuring and detachment, which are deemed crucial for the maintenance of biofilm viability and the dissemination of cells from a biofilm.