We investigated the immunogenicity of recombinant rMSP1 (rPbMSP1) that was generated from Plasmodium berghei. The rPbMSP1 formulated in alum was found to be immunogenic which induced high levels of specific anti-rPbMSP1 antibody. The IgG2a response predominated over IgG1 during the challenge infection in the vaccinated mice. Mice vaccinated with rPbMSP1 in alum mounted significant protective immunity against challenge infection (P < 0.01). On day 121 after the booster, three out of ten mice immunized with rPbMSP1 in PBS survived parasite infection (P < 0.05) and eight out of ten mice vaccinated with r MSP1 in alum did (P < 0.01). Hence, immunization with MSP1 in alum obviously has conferred protective effects, which prevented death from P. berghei lethal infection in mice (P < 0.01). These observations provide an excellent model for clinical assessment of this formulation in human subjects.
aluminum sulfate ; Laboratory mice ; upper case pea ; Infection as complication of medical care ; protect

Although not strictly a highlands province, Morobe encompasses large highlands areas, the most important being Aseki, Menyamya and Wau-Bulolo. A series of rapid malaria surveys conducted in both the wet and dry seasons found malaria to be clearly endemic in areas below 1400 m in Menyamya and Wau-Bulolo, with overall prevalence rates in the wet season (25.5%, range: 9.1%-39.2%) greatly exceeding those in the dry season (8.3%, range: 2.4%-22.8%; p < 0.001). In the wet season surveys Plasmodium falciparum was the clearly predominant species, accounting for 63% of all infections. P. vivax increased in frequency in the dry season (from 27% to 46%, p < 0.001), while P. falciparum and P. malariae decreased. In line with past surveys a low prevalence of malaria was found in the Aseki area. Malaria was found to be the main source of febrile illness in the wet season with at least 60% of measured or reported fever associated with parasitaemia. Other causes of febrile illness dominated in the dry. In villages with parasite prevalence rates < 20% mean haemoglobin levels and prevalence of severe anaemia were strongly correlated with overall parasite prevalence. In addition concurrent malarial infections were associated with a strong reduction of individual haemoglobin levels (-1.2 g/dl) and there was increased risk of moderate-to-severe anaemia with concurrent malaria. Malarial infections are thus the most significant cause of febrile illness and anaemia in the highlands fringe populations in Morobe. As a consequence all villages below 1500-1600 m in Morobe Province should be included in malaria control activities.
Malaria ; Seasons ; Prevalence aspects ; Fever ; upper case pea

Orofacial clefts, particularly non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) are the most common craniofacial deformities, affecting one in every 700 to 1000 newborns worldwide. Numerous efforts have been made to understand the etiology of CL/P so as to predict its occurrence and to prevent it from occurring in the future. In the recent years, advances in genetics and molecular biology have begun to reveal the basis of craniofacial development. Various genetic approaches, including genome-wide and candidate gene association studies as well as linkage analysis, have been undertaken to identify aetiologic factors, but results have often been inconclusive or contradictory. These results may support the presence of aetiologic heterogeneity among populations and the presence of multiple genes involved in the aetiology of CL/P. Despite these difficulties, several different genes have been implicated in harbouring genes that contribute to the aetiology of CL/P. In conclusion, the genetic basis of CL/P is still controversial because of genetic complexity of clefting.
Chloride Ion ; upper case pea ; Genetic ; Cleft Lip ; Palate

This cross sectional study was conducted to determine the validity of three screening tools, Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF), Malnutrition Risk Screening Tool for Community (MRST-C) and Malnutrition Risk Screening Tool for Hospital (MRST-H) among elderly people at health clinics. The screening tools were validated against anthropometric and functional assessments. The anthropometric assessments that were carried out included body weight, height, arm span, body mass index (BMI), calf circumference (CC) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC). A set of questionnaire on manual dexterity, muscular strength, instrumental activities daily living (IADL) and cognitive status was used to assess functional abilities. A total of 156 subjects were recruited from rural (38 subjects) and urban (118 subjects) health clinics at Sabak Bernam and Cheras respectively. Subjects’ age ranged from 60 to 83 years old, with 44.2% were men and 55.8% women. The prevalence of muscle wasting among the subjects assessed from MUAC and CC were both 7.0%. MNA-SF had the highest correlation with BMI (r = 0.497, p<0.001), followed by MUAC (r = 0.398, p<0.001), CC (r = 0.473, p<0.001), cognitive assessment (r = 0.229, p<0.001) and handgrip strength (r = 0.209, p<0.001). Whilst MRST-C had the highest correlation with IADL score (r = -0.320, p<0.001) and MRST-H had the highest correlation with the lock and key test (r = -0.325, p<0.01). Sensitivity was the highest for MNA-SF (93.2%), followed by MRST-H (52.5%) and MRST-C (25.8%). Specificity was the highest for MRST-H (97.3%), followed by MRST-C (90.8%) and MNA-SF (79.4%). Positive predictive value (PPV) for MRST-H, MNA-SF and MRST-C was 55.5%, 18.2% and 14.1%, respectively. In conclusion, among the screening tools being validated, MNA-SF is considered the most appropriate tool to be used in health clinics for identification of elderly individuals who are at high risk of malnutrition.
Lower case are ; lower case pea ; SF Brand of Topical Fluoride ; Carbon ion ; upper case aitch

Malaria is a disease which is still endemic and has become a disastrous scourge because of the emergence of antimalarial drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum. A new approach in addressing this is in developing a combination drug. This study is to show the enhancement of antimalarial properties, when single compound, goniothalamin combine with standard drug, chloroquine. Based on 4 Day Test, percentage of parasite growth on treated infected mice were determined. Oral treatment with 1 mg/kg BW of chloroquine on experimental mice suppressed 70% and 76.7% of both Plasmodium yoelii and Plasmodium berghei, respectively. The infection of P. berghei in mice was inhibited less than 50% by goniothalamin individual treatment at all doses in this study. About 27.8% and 18.5% inhibition of infection were observed in P. yoelii infected mice treated with 30 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg of goniothalamin respectively and the suppression exceed more than 50% at higher doses (90 and 120 mg/kg). Combination of 1 mg/kg chloroquine with either 30 mg/kg or 60 mg/kg of goniothalamin decreased the parasitemia of P. yoelii infected mice more than 90% and prolong the survival up to 100% after treatment. Similar treatment to P. berghei infected mice only shows about 60% reduction of parasitemia. The study findings showed that antimalarial property of goniothalamin was enhanced by combination with chloroquine at lower dose of each drug.
Laboratory mice ; Chloroquine ; goniothalamin ; upper case pea ; therapeutic aspects

Endemic malaria still exists in the Republic of Vanuatu, an 80-island archipelago that sits astride the southeast margin of the Southeast Asian-Melanesian malaria band (Buxton Line 170 degrees E, 20 degrees S). The annual parasite incidence has decreased dramatically over the past decade, which has been attributed to an intensive insecticide-treated bednet distribution program and implementation of a revised Plasmodium falciparum treatment policy that employs combination chloroquine + sulfadoxinelpyrimethamine as a first-line therapy. Standard malariometric surveys were conducted at 10 locations in 2 provinces, screening 2351 adults and children towards the end of the peak transmission season. Spleen rates were consistent with mesoendemic malaria. Examination of blood slides revealed a mean slide-positive rate of 22% (range 4% to 33%). P. falciparum predominated, accounting for 73% of infections, followed by P. vivax (25%). Among 396 individuals with P. falciparum, the gametocyte rate was 54%, with 37% presenting gametocytes alone without asexual stages. Only 8% and 4% of persons with asexual stage P. falciparum and P. vivax parasitaemia, respectively, were symptomatic. These data suggest that malaria transmission has increased in some locations in Vanuatu over the past decade and this report underscores the importance of appropriate bednet use and vector control in this setting as well as the impact of adding sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and removing primaquine from the national malaria treatment formulary.
Malaria ; upper case pea ; Vanuatu ; control ; asexual

We examined the usefulness of serum leptin concentration as an index for the diagnosis of fatty liver. Twenty-two patients diagnosed with fatty liver by abdominal ultrasonography, participated in this study together with 7 indinduels as controls. As laboratory findings showed, body fat percentage (29.5±1.4 vs 19.1±1.6%, P<0.001), BMI (25.7±0.7 vs 20.8±1.0 kg/m2, P<0.005), procollagen III peptide (P III P) (0.58±0.04 vs 0.42±0.04 U/ml, P<0.05), and serum leptin levels (7.3±1.0 vs 2.9±0.5 ng/ml, P<0.001) were significantly higher in the fatty liver group than in the control group. Serum leptin levels were correlated significantly with body fat percentage (r=0.76, P<0.0001) and BMI (r=0.61, P<0.001), though there was a significant correlation between serum leptin levels and liver-kidney contrast (r=0.47, P<0.05) only in males. In addition, when the fatty liver group was classified into two groups by GPT levels, m-GOT (mitochondrial glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase) (8.6±1.0 vs 5.7±1.0 IU/l/37°C, P<0.05) and P III P (0.65±0.06 vs 0.49±0.04 U/ml, P<0.05) were significantly higher in the elevated GPT group than in the normal GPT group.These results suggest that serum leptin levels may be indicative of fatty liver and that fatty liver is not always a reversible disease.
upper case pea ; Fatty Liver ; Leptin ; Serum ; Lower case are

The genetic property of subclinical eating behaviour (SEB) and the link between SEB and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been studied before but the role of leptin within this connection has never been investigated. The objective of this study was 1). to study the genetic property of SEB. 2). To find a link between leptin, SEB and PCOS. One hundred and fifty four (77 pairs) female-female Iranian twins including 96 MZ individuals (48 pairs) and 58 DZ individuals (29 pairs) participated in the study. Clinical, biochemical and ultrasound tools were used to diagnose polycystic ovary syndrome. BITE questionnaire was filled out for subjects. Eight percent of subjects were diagnosed for subclinical eating disorder. No significant difference was found between intraclass correlation of MZ and DZ (z = 0.57, P = 0.569). Serum leptin level correlated significantly with bulimia score (P < 0.007). The mean (+/-SD) value for bulimia score was found to be higher among PCOS(positive) subjects (3.27 +/- 5.51) in comparison with PCOS(negative) subjects (2.06 +/- 4.48) (P < 0.001). The genetic property of subclinical eating disorder was not confirmed as shared environment might have played a major role in likeliness of DZ twins as well as MZ. Leptin is linked with both subclinical eating disorder and PCOS.
Leptin ; Eating Disorders ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; upper case pea ; Genetic

With a renewed interest in large-scale malaria interventions, knowledge about the possible long-term effects of such interventions on the nature of malaria transmission is essential. We document complex changes in malaria epidemiology over the last 40 years associated with changing malaria control activities in Karimui, an isolated area in Papua New Guinea. An initially equal distribution of Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae changed to currently 68% P. falciparum, after passing through a phase of transitory P. vivax dominance, when control started to fail. Initial drops in malaria prevalence proved difficult to sustain and present post-control levels are significantly higher than pre-control levels. The example of Karimui indicates that unsustained control can lead to changes in malaria patterns that may leave a population worse off.
Malaria ; control ; upper case pea ; Papua New Guinea ; epidemiologic

Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and P. vivax (Pv) to standard antimalarials is widespread in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The objective of the study was to assess the rate of clinical treatment failure (TF) and parasite resistance to amodiaquine (AQ), chloroquine (CQ) and quinine+sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (Q+SP) for malaria in a rural health centre of the East Sepik Province. 179 patients presenting with symptoms and signs of malaria and with Pf (144 patients), Pv (18 patients), P. malariae (Pm) (7 patients) or mixed infection (10 patients) were included. 86 were treated with AQ, 88 with CQ and 5 with Q+SP. 21/179 patients (12%) were not cured or had a recrudescence of symptoms associated with parasitaemia in the 28 days following treatment, 14% after AQ, 10% after CQ and 0% after Q+SP. The proportion of TF was higher (17%) when the analysis population included only the 108 subjects who had a complete follow-up, especially for failure with Pf following AQ treatment (26%). During the 28 days of follow-up, RII or RIII level of resistance in Pf was detected in 55% of the subjects treated with amodiaquine, 30% of those treated with chloroquine and 0% of those treated with quinine+SP. Of the Pv or Pm parasites only one Pv was found to be RII resistant to CQ in the 28-day test. In vitro resistance of Pf to CQ was higher than to AQ (50% versus 27% of 36 parasite samples that grew successfully). The level of TF and parasitological resistance to standard antimalarial drugs was lower in this area than in urban settings, where drugs are more easily available. AQ performed less well than CQ but the difference is likely to be due to the age of the users, ie, their level of immunity, AQ being the first-line drug for young children. These results provided support for the recent change in the policy for the standard treatment of uncomplicated malaria in PNG from AQ or CQ to the combination of AQ+SP or CQ+SP, a recommendation aimed at slowing down the spread of multidrug resistance.
upper case pea ; Status post ; therapeutic aspects ; Cancer resistance to treatment ; Upper case queue