Evaluating the performance of Plasmodium falciparum genetics for inferring National Malaria Control Program reported incidence in Senegal.

Genetic surveillance of the parasite shows great promise for helping National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) assess parasite transmission. Genetic metrics such as the frequency of polygenomic (multiple strain) infections, genetic clones, and the complexity of infection (COI, number of strains per infection) are correlated with transmission intensity. However, despite these correlations, it is unclear whether genetic metrics alone are sufficient to estimate clinical incidence.

Polyethyleneimine as a tool for compounds fractionation by flocculation in a microalgae biorefinery context.

In the context of emerging biorefinery for microalgae, polyethyleneimine (PEI), has been tested in order to achieve separation of fat-soluble and water-soluble compounds from Haematococcus pluvialis. Several parameters were taken into account (ratio between sample and PEI, pH, and ionic strength) and 2 conditions (0.075% PEI pH 7.

Assessing whether universal coverage with insecticide-treated nets has been achieved: is the right indicator being used?

Background/methods: Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are the primary tool for malaria vector control in sub-Saharan Africa, and have been responsible for an estimated two-thirds of the reduction in the global burden of malaria in recent years. While the ultimate goal is high levels of ITN use to confer protection against infected mosquitoes, it is widely accepted that ITN use must be understood in the context of ITN availability. However, despite nearly a decade of universal coverage campaigns, no country has achieved a measured level of 80% of households owning 1 ITN for 2 people in a national survey.

Assessment of the utility of a symptom-based algorithm for identifying febrile patients for malaria diagnostic testing in Senegal.

Background: Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) enable point-of-care testing to be nearly as sensitive and specific as reference microscopy. The Senegal National Malaria Control Programme introduced RDTs in 2007, along with a case management algorithm for uncomplicated febrile illness, in which the first step stipulates that if a febrile patient of any age has symptoms indicative of febrile illness other than malaria (e.g.

Glycemic Control in a Clinic-Based Sample of Diabetics in M'Bour Senegal.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Senegal is faced with a significant and increasing burden of type 2 diabetes. However, little information is available about diabetes management among Senegalese diabetics.

Purpose: The current study aims to describe the level of glycemic control among a convenience sample of diabetics who receive care at the M'Bour Hospital in M'Bour, Senegal.

Haematococcus pluvialis soluble proteins: Extraction, characterization, concentration/fractionation and emulsifying properties.

A water-soluble matrix was extracted from green vegetative Haematococcus pluvialis through high-pressure cell disruption either at native pH (5.7) or with pH shifting to neutral (7). The resulting supernatant is mainly composed of carbohydrates and proteins, with the highest yield of proteins obtained at neutral pH (73±2% of total biomass proteins).

Human IgG response to a salivary peptide, gSG6-P1, as a new immuno-epidemiological tool for evaluating low-level exposure to Anopheles bites.

Background: Human populations exposed to low malaria transmission present particular severe risks of malaria morbidity and mortality. In addition, in a context of low-level exposure to Anopheles vector, conventional entomological methods used for sampling Anopheles populations are insufficiently sensitive and probably under-estimate the real risk of malaria transmission. The evaluation of antibody (Ab) responses to arthropod salivary proteins constitutes a novel tool for estimating exposure level to insect bites.

Antimalarial drug use in general populations of tropical Africa.

Background: The burden of Plasmodium falciparum malaria has worsened because of the emergence of chloroquine resistance. Antimalarial drug use and drug pressure are critical factors contributing to the selection and spread of resistance. The present study explores the geographical, socio-economic and behavioural factors associated with the use of antimalarial drugs in Africa.

Evaluation of the antibody response to Anopheles salivary antigens as a potential marker of risk of malaria.

The evaluation of human immune responses to arthropod bites may be a useful marker of exposure to vector-borne diseases, with applications to malaria, the most serious parasitic infection in humans. The specific antibody (Ab) IgG response to saliva obtained from Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes was evaluated in young children from an area of seasonal malaria transmission in Senegal. Specific IgG was higher in children who developed clinical Plasmodium falciparum malaria within the 3 months that followed than in those who did not (P<0.

Assemblies of redox-active metallodendrimers using hydrogen bonding for the electrochemical recognition of the H2PO4- and adenosine-triphosphate (ATP2-) anions.

Two families of five metallodendrimers have been assembled by hydrogen bonding between the primary amino groups of DSM dendrimers G(n)-DAB-dendr-(NH(2))x (n = 1-5; x = 4, 8, 16, 32, 64) and the OH group of phenol dendrons containing a triallyl or a triferrocenylalkyl tripod in para position. These H-bonded dendrimers noted G(1)-DAB-12Fc, G(2)-DAB-24Fc, G(3)-DAB-48Fc, G(4)-DAB-96Fc, and G(5)-DAB-192Fc have been characterized as resulting from fast, reversible hydrogen bonding by the single broad signal observed in (1)H NMR for the three NH(2) + OH protons whose location depends on the concentration. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) show a single reversible ferrocenyl wave due to the equivalence of these groups and the fast rotation of the supramolecular ensemble compared to the CV time scale.