Cytomegalovirus infections in infants in Uganda: Newborn-mother pairs, neonates with sepsis, and infants with hydrocephalus.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections among newborn-mother pairs, neonates with sepsis, and infants with hydrocephalus in Uganda.

Design And Methods: Three populations-newborn-mother pairs, neonates with sepsis, and infants (≤3 months) with nonpostinfectious (NPIH) or postinfectious (PIH) hydrocephalus-were evaluated for CMV infection at 3 medical centers in Uganda. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to characterize the prevalence of CMV.

Vaginal microbiome topic modeling of laboring Ugandan women with and without fever.

The composition of the maternal vaginal microbiome influences the duration of pregnancy, onset of labor, and even neonatal outcomes. Maternal microbiome research in sub-Saharan Africa has focused on non-pregnant and postpartum composition of the vaginal microbiome. Here we aimed to illustrate the relationship between the vaginal microbiome of 99 laboring Ugandan women and intrapartum fever using routine microbiology and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing from two hypervariable regions (V1-V2 and V3-V4).

Pan-African evolution of within- and between-country COVID-19 dynamics.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is heterogeneous throughout Africa and threatening millions of lives. Surveillance and short-term modeling forecasts are critical to provide timely information for decisions on control strategies. We created a strategy that helps predict the country-level case occurrences based on cases within or external to a country throughout the entire African continent, parameterized by socioeconomic and geoeconomic variations and the lagged effects of social policy and meteorological history.

Immune activation during brain infection in African infants with frequent cytomegalovirus co-infection.

Inflammation during neonatal brain infections leads to significant secondary sequelae such as hydrocephalus, which often follows neonatal sepsis in the developing world. In 100 African hydrocephalic infants we identified the biological pathways that account for this response. The dominant bacterial pathogen was a species, with frequent cytomegalovirus co-infection.

Tracking and predicting the African COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is heterogeneous throughout Africa and threatening millions of lives. Surveillance and short-term modeling forecasts are critical to provide timely information for decisions on control strategies. We use a model that explains the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic over time in the entire African continent, parameterized by socioeconomic and geoeconomic variations and the lagged effects of social policy and meteorological history.

The Problem of Microbial Dark Matter in Neonatal Sepsis.

Neonatal sepsis (NS) kills 750,000 infants every year. Effectively treating NS requires timely diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy matched to the causative pathogens, but most blood cultures for suspected NS do not recover a causative pathogen. We refer to these suspected but unidentified pathogens as microbial dark matter.

infection with frequent viral coinfection contributes to postinfectious hydrocephalus in Ugandan infants.

Postinfectious hydrocephalus (PIH), which often follows neonatal sepsis, is the most common cause of pediatric hydrocephalus worldwide, yet the microbial pathogens underlying this disease remain to be elucidated. Characterization of the microbial agents causing PIH would enable a shift from surgical palliation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulation to prevention of the disease. Here, we examined blood and CSF samples collected from 100 consecutive infant cases of PIH and control cases comprising infants with non-postinfectious hydrocephalus in Uganda.

Capping protein is essential for cell migration in vivo and for filopodial morphology and dynamics.

Capping protein (CP) binds to barbed ends of growing actin filaments and inhibits elongation. CP is essential for actin-based motility in cell-free systems and in Dictyostelium. Even though CP is believed to be critical for creating the lamellipodial actin structure necessary for protrusion and migration, CP's role in mammalian cell migration has not been directly tested.

Altered testicular gene expression patterns in mice lacking the polyubiquitin gene Ubb.

Ubiquitin (Ub) is an essential protein found in all eukaryotic cells and plays important roles in a variety of cellular functions including germ cell development. We have previously reported that targeted disruption of the polyubiquitin gene Ubb results in male and female infertility in Ubb(-/-) mice, with germ cells arrested at meiotic prophase I. Although reduced Ub levels in germ cells are believed to be responsible for the fertility defect in Ubb(-/-) mice, it is still unclear how reduced Ub levels result in sterility.

Prospective randomized comparison of 1-day and 3-day application of topical 0.5% moxifloxacin in eliminating preoperative conjunctival bacteria.

Purpose: Compare the efficacy of a 1-day versus 3-day application of topical 0.5% moxifloxacin in reducing preoperative conjunctival bacteria.

Methods: Following IRB approval, patients (n = 144) scheduled for ocular surgery between 2004 and 2005 were recruited and randomized to receive topical 0.

The mouse polyubiquitin gene Ubb is essential for meiotic progression.

Ubiquitin is encoded in mice by two polyubiquitin genes, Ubb and Ubc, that are considered to be stress inducible and two constitutively expressed monoubiquitin (Uba) genes. Here we report that targeted disruption of Ubb results in male and female infertility due to failure of germ cells to progress through meiosis I and hypogonadism. In the absence of Ubb, spermatocytes and oocytes arrest during meiotic prophase, before metaphase of the first meiotic division.