Background Poor environmental conditions and hygiene practices at the time of childbirth is linked to life-threatening infections and death in mothers and babies. Improvements in water, sanitation, ...and hygiene (WASH) have been identified as a means through which the lives of mothers and babies could be saved. This study was carried out to explore WASH conditions and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in traditional birth homes/centers in Abeokuta, Southwest Nigeria. A total of 50 traditional birth centers and attendants (TBAs) were enrolled in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics of the TBAs and features of the birth centers were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire. Assessment of WASH conditions and IPC practices was based on established protocols. Results Findings revealed that majority of the centers operated under poor WASH conditions and IPC practices; none met with the WHO minimum standards for environmental health. Conclusions Adequate WASH facilities and IPC practices remain a critical component of maternal and child health even in non-facility birth. As the transition to facility births continues in many countries, the large number of non-facility births demands their inclusion in WASH-related strategies, if global goals of reducing deaths of newborns and women deaths will be achieved.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Utilised in a variety of consumer products, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are major environmental contaminants that accumulate in living organisms due to their highly hydrophobic, ...lipophobic, heat-resistant, and non-biodegradable properties. This review summarizes their effects on microbial populations in soils, aquatic and biogeochemical systems, and the human microbiome. Specific microbes are insensitive to and even thrive with PFAS contamination, such as
and the
in soil and aquatic environments, while some bacterial species, such as
and
, are sensitive and drop in population. Some bacterial species, in turn, have shown success in PFAS bioremediation, such as
. and
In resource-poor settings, perinatal infections contribute significantly to maternal and neonatal deaths, and the use of clean delivery kits (CDKs) has been proposed as a tool to reduce the risk of ...infection-related deaths. This study aims to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of CDKs in preventing infections in deliveries attended by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
The study was a cluster-randomized trial with 67 birth centres/clusters, 453 births/mothers, and 457 babies randomized to intervention or control arms; intervention involved supplementation of delivery with JANMA CDKs. Interviews were conducted at the birth homes, and the primary outcomes were neonatal infection and puerperal fever. The association between infection and perinatal risk factors was tested using the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.
CDKs were well accepted by TBAs. The incidence of puerperal fever and neonatal infection was 1.1% and 11.2%, respectively. Concurrent infection was found in 1 (0.22%) of the mother-neonate pair. There was no significant association between any of the sociodemographic factors and infection for both mothers and neonates. PROM and prolonged labour were significantly associated with puerperal infection. All mothers with puerperal fever were from the control group. Compared to the control group, the relative risk of puerperal infection and neonatal infection in the intervention group was 0.08 (0.004 -1.35, p = 0.079) and 0.64 (0.37 to 1.1, p = 0.10), respectively.
CDKs hold promising results in attenuating maternal infections in resource-poor settings. Larger studies with greater statistical power are required to establish statistically reliable information.
Aim
To investigate hand‐dug well water used for drinking and domestic purposes in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria for water safety and fungal presence as well as to determine the antifungal ...resistance and aflatoxigenic potentials of isolated fungi.
Methods and Results
Water samples were analysed for risk of contamination, bacteriological and mycological parameters using a standard sanitary survey checklist and microbiological culturing. Isolates were identified and subjected to antifungal resistance profiling using the diffusion method for susceptibility testing of filamentous fungi. Multidrug‐resistant strains were confirmed with DNA barcoding identification. Fungal isolates were screened for aflatoxigenic potentials by culture methods and confirmed by densitometric analysis. From the 23 hand‐dug wells assessed, 56.52% had a high risk of contamination (ROC) score, nitrate >50 mg/L (73.9%), and the presence of total coliforms (100%), Escherichia coli (43.48%) and fungi (91.3%). Spearman rank correlation coefficient gave a positive and strong correlation between Total Fungi and Faecal Coliform (r = 0.701; p = 0.016; n = 23) at 0.05 significance level (2‐tailed). Aspergillus sp. (34%), Penicillium sp. (18%) and Rhizopus sp. (17%) were the most dominant fungal genera. Isolates were resistant to fluconazole (76.19%), ketoconazole (73.80%), clotrimazole (92.86%), griseofulvin (88.09%) and nystatin (100%). Penicillium and Aspergillus (50%) were positive for cultural mycotoxin screening. A strain of antifungal‐resistant A. flavus produced aflatoxin B1 (752 ppb) and B2 (15 ppb).
Significance of the study
The existence of antifungal‐resistant and aflatoxigenic fungi in water used for drinking and domestic purposes shows that filamentous fungi constitute greater threats than previously recognized and this call for a paradigm shift from the perceived safety of untreated hand‐dug well‐water.
Lake Erie ice is a repository of organisms Iwaloye, Opeoluwa F; Michaud, Brenna; Alloy, Tessa ...
Microbiology resource announcements,
04/2024, Letnik:
13, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Organism abundance and diversity were assessed in Lake Erie ice samples using sequences derived from a combined metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis. The 68,417 unique sequences were from ...Bacteria (77.5%), Eukarya (22.3%), and Archaea (0.2%) and indicated diverse species of organisms from 32 bacterial, 8 eukaryotic, and 2 archaeal taxonomic groups.
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of pancreatic β cells. Genetics and environmental factors play crucial roles in T1D development. Four single nucleotide ...polymorphisms in IFIH1, encoding the viral sensor MDA5 have been linked to T1D. MDA5 promotes anti-viral responses and may link genetics with environmental factors to promote or suppress T1D. A stop-gain mutation in IFIH1 (rs35744605) results in a non-functional MDA5 protein (MDA5627X). We hypothesized that MDA5627X protects against T1D by dampening inflammatory anti-viral responses resulting in reduced autoimmunity. We gene edited human induced pluripotent stem cells at rs35744605 using a CRISPR/Cas9 strategy to generate iPSC encoding the stop-gain variant (MDA5627X). Macrophages (Mφ) have been demonstrated to be indispensable for T1D-initiation and regulate anti-viral responses. We differentiated iPSCs into Mφ and studies responses to high molecular weight Poly I:C to mimic viral infection. The outcome measures were Type 1 Interferon (IFN1) production, antigen presentation, and immune activation markers. Treatment of MDA5 intact Mφ with Poly I:C resulted in 60-fold increase in IFN1 production and a 3-fold elevation in human leukocyte antigen Class I (HLA-I) expression. In contrast, treated MDA5627X Mφ failed to increase IFN1 or HLA-I at any Poly I:C dose. While Poly I:C did not increase HLA-I expression, untreated MDA5627X Mφ had elevated HLA-1 compared to MDA5 intact Mφ (P=0.0306). Also, we assessed the expression of CD80, CD86, CD40, and MHC-II, however there were no differences in the expression between Mφ with intact MDA5 or MDA5627X. In contrast, IFNg and LPS treatment elevated expression of CD80, CD86, CD40, and MHC-II in both Mφ populations. In conclusion, our data point to a protective effect of the MDA5627X variant in T1D through decreased inflammatory IFN1 levels and T cell activation by Mφ.
Disclosure
O.Iwaloye: None. L.H.Armitage: None. A.M.Meacham: None. C.E.Mathews: None.
Funding
National Institutes of Health (R01DK127497, P01AI042288, UH3DK122638)
Lake Erie is one of the five Laurentian Great Lakes, that includes three basins. The central basin is the largest, with a mean volume of 305 km2, covering an area of 16,138 km2. The ice used for this ...research was collected from the central basin in the winter of 2010. DNA and RNA were extracted from this ice. cDNA was synthesized from the extracted RNA, followed by the ligation of EcoRI (NotI) adapters onto the ends of the nucleic acids. These were subjected to fractionation, and the resulting nucleic acids were amplified by PCR with EcoRI (NotI) primers. The resulting amplified nucleic acids were subject to PCR amplification using 454 primers, and then were sequenced. The sequences were analyzed using BLAST, and taxonomic affiliations were determined. Information about the taxonomic affiliations, important metabolic capabilities, habitat, and special functions were compiled.With a watershed of 78,000 km2, Lake Erie is used for agricultural, forest, recreational, transportation, and industrial purposes. Among the five great lakes, it has the largest input from human activities, has a long history of eutrophication, and serves as a water source for millions of people. These anthropogenic activities have significant influences on the biological community. Multiple studies have found diverse microbial communities in Lake Erie water and sediments, including large numbers of species from the Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria, as well as a diverse set of eukaryotic taxa. Sequences obtained from the metagenomic, and transcriptomic analyses match diverse organisms from thirty-two bacterial, two archaeal, and eight eukaryotic phyla. Some of the organisms found were capable of nitrogen, carbon, iron, sulfur, and hydrocarbon metabolism. Sequences from pathogenic and toxin-producing organisms were found. Organisms associated with several human activities, including pollution, agriculture, cultivation, manufacturing, shipping, and other activities were found. These results suggest that the ice contains a large diversity of organisms that are indicative of the diverse biological and anthropogenic influences in and around Lake Erie. The results also showed that the lake ice contains a considerable number of cyanobacterial sequences, which often are in low concentrations in the lake water during winter.
Budući da se koriste u izradi raznih potrošačkih proizvoda, per- i polifluoroalkilne tvari (engl. per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, krat. PFAS) veliki su zagađivači okoliša koji se nakupljaju u ...živim organizmima zbog svoje izrazite hidrofobičnosti, lipofobičnosti, otpornosti na topline i biološke nerazgradljivosti. Ovaj članak donosi sažeti pregled njihova djelovanja na populacije mikroba u tlu, vodnim i biogeokemijskim sustavima te na humanom mikrobiomu. Pojedini su mikrobi neosjetljivi na zagađenje PFAS-om, čak i napreduju, poput bakterije Escherichia coli i proteobakterija u tlu i vodi, a osjetljive su pojedine bakterijske vrste, poput rodova Actinobacteria i Chloroflexi, pa im se smanjuje populacija u takvom okružju. Neke su se, pak, bakterije pokazale uspješnima u bioremedijaciji, poput vrsta Acidimicrobium sp. i Pseudomonas parafulva.
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