The World Health Organization has set ambitious targets for the global elimination of tuberculosis. However, these targets will not be achieved at the current rate of progress.
We performed a ...cluster-randomized, controlled trial in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, to evaluate the effectiveness of active community-wide screening, as compared with standard passive case detection alone, for reducing the prevalence of tuberculosis. Persons 15 years of age or older who resided in 60 intervention clusters (subcommunes) were screened for pulmonary tuberculosis, regardless of symptoms, annually for 3 years, beginning in 2014, by means of rapid nucleic acid amplification testing of spontaneously expectorated sputum samples. Active screening was not performed in the 60 control clusters in the first 3 years. The primary outcome, measured in the fourth year, was the prevalence of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis among persons 15 years of age or older. The secondary outcome was the prevalence of tuberculosis infection, as assessed by an interferon gamma release assay in the fourth year, among children born in 2012.
In the fourth-year prevalence survey, we tested 42,150 participants in the intervention group and 41,680 participants in the control group. A total of 53 participants in the intervention group (126 per 100,000 population) and 94 participants in the control group (226 per 100,000) had pulmonary tuberculosis, as confirmed by a positive nucleic acid amplification test for
(prevalence ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.40 to 0.78; P<0.001). The prevalence of tuberculosis infection in children born in 2012 was 3.3% in the intervention group and 2.6% in the control group (prevalence ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.70 to 2.36; P = 0.42).
Three years of community-wide screening in persons 15 years of age or older who resided in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, resulted in a lower prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in the fourth year than standard passive case detection alone. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council; ACT3 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12614000372684.).
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•IDPs are involved in neurodegenerative diseases.•Structure determination of the Aβ, tau and α-synuclein proteins is a challenge.•Computer simulation results free or guided by ...experimental data.•PEP-fold results on α-synuclein monomer.
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) play many biological roles in the human proteome ranging from vesicular transport, signal transduction to neurodegenerative diseases. The Aβ and tau proteins, and the α-synuclein protein, key players in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, respectively are fully disordered at the monomer level. The structural heterogeneity of the monomeric and oligomeric states and the high self-assembly propensity of these three IDPs have precluded experimental structural determination. Simulations have been used to determine the atomic structures of these IDPs. In this article, we review recent computer models to capture the equilibrium ensemble of Aβ, tau and α-synuclein proteins at different association steps in aqueous solution and present new results of the PEP-FOLD framework on α-synuclein monomer.
Summary
Azole‐resistant environmental Aspergillus fumigatus presents a threat to public health but the extent of this threat in Southeast Asia is poorly described. We conducted environmental ...surveillance in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, collecting air and ground samples across key land‐use types, and determined antifungal susceptibilities of Aspergillus section Fumigati (ASF) isolates and azole concentrations in soils. Of 119 ASF isolates, 55% were resistant (or non‐wild type) to itraconazole, 65% to posaconazole and 50% to voriconazole. Azole resistance was more frequent in A. fumigatus sensu stricto isolates (95%) than other ASF species (32%). Resistant isolates and agricultural azole residues were overrepresented in samples from cultivated land. cyp51A gene sequence analysis showed 38/56 resistant A. fumigatus sensu stricto isolates carried known resistance mutations, with TR34/L98H most frequent (34/38).
•Antibacterial ZnO nanoparticles for edible surface coatings were successfully fabricated.•Incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles in a chitosan/gum arabic edible coating was evaluated.•Effects of ZnO ...nanoparticles on the performance of the edible coating for banana preservation were investigated.•Properties of the edible coating and changes in the physical chemical properties of the banana were investigated.•The developed edible coating composite can be applied for banana preservation.
ZnO nanoparticles are nontoxic inorganic oxides that have been extensively used as a supplement for zinc nutrients and antibacterial agents in the food industry, especially in edible coatings to protect food from deterioration by viruses, fungi, and bacteria. In this work, ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated by a hydrothermal method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The prepared ZnO nanoparticles exhibited good antibacterial properties against several bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis. The ZnO nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent were incorporated into a chitosan/gum arabic (CH/GA) edible coating, and the protective performance for the preservation of bananas was investigated. The obtained CH/GA/ZnO coating significantly improved the quality and shelf life of bananas at a temperature of 35 °C and relative humidity (RH) of 54 %. The banana surface treated with the CH/GA/ZnO coating was relatively smooth with a CH/GA/ZnO film thickness of approximately 50 μm. The utilization of the resultant coating enabled the maintenance of banana quality, including fruit firmness, weight loss, reducing sugar, and titratable acidity, for a remarkably longer period. The banana coated with the CH/GA/ZnO system was demonstrated to maintain freshness for more than 17 d in comparison with the less than 13 d for the control banana at 35 °C and 54 % RH.
The dimer of the amyloid-β peptide Aβ of 42 residues is the smallest toxic species in Alzheimer’s disease, but its equilibrium structures are unknown. Here we determined the equilibrium ensembles ...generated by the four atomistic OPLS-AA, CHARMM22*, AMBER99sb-ildn, and AMBERsb14 force fields with the TIP3P water model. On the basis of 144 μs replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations (with 750 ns per replica), we find that the four force fields lead to random coil ensembles with calculated cross-collision sections, hydrodynamics properties, and small-angle X-ray scattering profiles independent of the force field. There are, however, marked differences in secondary structure, with the AMBERsb14 and CHARMM22* ensembles overestimating the CD-derived helix content, and the OPLS-AA and AMBER99sb-ildn secondary structure contents in agreement with CD data. Also the intramolecular beta-hairpin content spanning residues 17–21 and 30–36 varies between 1.5% and 13%. Overall, there are significant differences in tertiary and quaternary conformations among all force fields, and the key finding, irrespective of the force field, is that the dimer is stabilized by nonspecific interactions, explaining therefore its possible transient binding to multiple cellular partners and, in part, its toxicity.
Abstract
Background
Little is known about the natural history of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Methods
We conducted a prospective study at a ...quarantine center for coronavirus disease 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We enrolled quarantined people with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)–confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, collecting clinical data, travel and contact history, and saliva at enrollment and daily nasopharyngeal/throat swabs (NTSs) for RT-PCR testing. We compared the natural history and transmission potential of asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals.
Results
Between 10 March and 4 April 2020, 14 000 quarantined people were tested for SARS-CoV-2; 49 were positive. Of these, 30 participated in the study: 13 (43%) never had symptoms and 17 (57%) were symptomatic. Seventeen (57%) participants imported cases. Compared with symptomatic individuals, asymptomatic people were less likely to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 in NTS collected at enrollment (8/13 62% vs 17/17 100%; P = .02). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 20 of 27 (74%) available saliva samples (7 of 11 64% in the asymptomatic group and 13 of 16 81% in the symptomatic group; P = .56). Analysis of RT-PCR positivity probability showed that asymptomatic participants had faster viral clearance than symptomatic participants (P < .001 for difference over the first 19 days). This difference was most pronounced during the first week of follow-up. Two of the asymptomatic individuals appeared to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to 4 contacts.
Conclusions
Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and can be detected by analysis of saliva or NTSs. The NTS viral loads fall faster in asymptomatic individuals, but these individuals appear able to transmit the virus to others.
Forty-three percent (13/30) of confirmed SARS-CoV-2–infected individuals were asymptomatic, with the virus detected in both saliva and nasopharyngeal/throat swabs. Viral clearance was faster in asymptomatic individuals, but they still appeared able to pass the infection to others.
A novel series of two zirconium- and one indium-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), namely, MOF-892, MOF-893, and MOF-894, constructed from the hexatopic linker, ...1′,2′,3′,4′,5′,6′-hexakis(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene, were synthesized and fully characterized. MOF-892 and MOF-893 are two new exemplars of materials with topologies previously unseen in the important family of zirconium MOFs. MOF-892, MOF-893, and MOF-894 exhibit efficient heterogeneous catalytic activity for the cycloaddition of CO2, resulting in a cyclic organic carbonate formation with high conversion, selectivity, and yield under mild conditions (1 atm CO2, 80 °C, and solvent-free). Because of the structural features provided by their building units, MOF-892 and MOF-893 are replete with accessible Lewis and Brønsted acid sites located at the metal clusters and the non-coordinating carboxylic groups of the linkers, respectively, which is found to promote the catalytic CO2 cycloaddition reaction. As a proof-of-concept, MOF-892 exhibits high catalytic activity in the one-pot synthesis of styrene carbonate from styrene and CO2 without preliminary synthesis and isolation of styrene oxide.
This study presents the removal of phosphate from aqueous solution using a new silver nanoparticles-loaded tea activated carbon (AgNPs-TAC) material. In order to reduce costs, the tea activated ...carbon was produced from tea residue. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of impregnation ratio of AgNPs and TAC, pH solution, contact time, initial phosphate concentration and dose of AgNPs-AC on removing phosphate from aqueous solution. Results show that the best conditions for phosphate adsorption occurred at the impregnation ratio AgNPs/TAC of 3% w/w, pH 3, and contact time lasting 150 min. The maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate on AgNPs-TAC determined by the Langmuir model was 13.62 mg/g at an initial phosphate concentration of 30 mg/L. The adsorption isotherm of phosphate on AgNPs-TAC fits well with both the Langmuir and Sips models. The adsorption kinetics data were also described well by the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models with high correlation coefficients of 0.978 and 0.966, respectively. The adsorption process was controlled by chemisorption through complexes and ligand exchange mechanisms. This study suggests that AgNPs-TAC is a promising, low cost adsorbent for phosphate removal from aqueous solution.
We study the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on shareholder value. We argue that long-term investors can ensure that managers choose the amount of CSR that maximizes shareholder ...value. We find that long-term investors do increase the value to shareholders of CSR activities, not through higher cash flow but rather through lower cash flow risk. Following prior work, we use indexing by investors and state laws on stakeholder orientation for identification. Our findings suggest that CSR activities can create shareholder value as long as managers are properly monitored by long-term investors.
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