Enhanced biomass production of duckweeds by inoculating a plant growth-promoting bacterium, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus P23, in sterile medium and non-sterile environmental waters.

Duckweed offers the promise of a co-benefit culture combining water purification with biomass production. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus P23 is a plant growth-promoting bacterium isolated from a duckweed, Lemna aequinoctialis. This study quantified its growth-promoting effect on three duckweeds (L. aoukikusa, L. minor, and Spirodela polyrhiza) in sterile Hoagland solution and evaluated its usefulness in duckweed culture under non-sterile conditions. P23 promoted growth of three duckweeds in sterile Hoagland solution at low to high nutrient concentrations (1.25-10 mg NO3-N/L and 0.25-2.0 mg PO4-P/L). It increased the biomass production of L. aequinoctialis 3.8-4.3-fold, of L. minor 2.3-3.3-fold, and of S. polyrhiza 1.4-1.5-fold after 7 days compared with noninoculated controls. P23 also increased the biomass production of L. minor 2.4-fold in pond water and 1.7-fold in secondary effluent of a sewage treatment plant under non-sterile conditions at laboratory-scale experiments. P23 rescued L. minor from growth inhibition caused by microorganisms indigenous to the pond water. The results demonstrate that the use of P23 in duckweed culture can improve the efficiency of duckweed biomass production, and a positive effect of P23 on duckweed-based wastewater treatment can be assumed.

The WHO application of ICD-10 to deaths during the perinatal period (ICD-PM): results from pilot database testing in South Africa and United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: To apply the World Health Organization (WHO) Application of the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) to deaths during the perinatal period: ICD-Perinatal Mortality (ICD-PM) to existing perinatal death databases. DESIGN: Retrospective application of ICD-PM. SETTING: South Africa, UK. POPULATION: Perinatal death databases. METHODS: Deaths were grouped according to timing of death and then by the ICD-PM cause of death. The main maternal condition at the time of perinatal death was assigned to each case. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Causes of perinatal mortality, associated maternal conditions. RESULTS: In South Africa 344/689 (50%) deaths occurred antepartum, 11% (n = 74) intrapartum and 39% (n = 271) in the early neonatal period. In the UK 4377/9067 (48.3%) deaths occurred antepartum, with 457 (5%) intrapartum and 4233 (46.7%) in the neonatal period. Antepartum deaths were due to unspecified causes (59%), chromosomal abnormalities (21%) or problems related to fetal growth (14%). Intrapartum deaths followed acute intrapartum events (69%); neonatal deaths followed consequences of low birthweight/ prematurity (31%), chromosomal abnormalities (26%), or unspecified causes in healthy mothers (25%). Mothers were often healthy; 53%, 38% and 45% in the antepartum, intrapartum and neonatal death groups, respectively. Where there was a maternal condition, it was most often maternal medical conditions, and complications of placenta, cord and membranes. CONCLUSIONS: The ICD-PM can be a globally applicable perinatal death classification system that emphasises the need for a focus on the mother-baby dyad as we move beyond 2015. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: ICD-PM is a global system that classifies perinatal deaths and links them to maternal conditions.

Application of ICD-PM to preterm-related neonatal deaths in South Africa and United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: We explore preterm-related neonatal deaths using the WHO application of the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) to deaths during the perinatal period: ICD-PM as an informative case study, where ICD-PM can improve data use to guide clinical practice and programmatic decision-making. DESIGN: Retrospective application of ICD-PM. SETTING: South Africa, and the UK. POPULATION: Perinatal death databases. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of neonatal deaths and maternal conditions present. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Causes of preterm neonatal mortality and associated maternal conditions. RESULTS: We included 98 term and 173 preterm early neonatal deaths from South Africa, and 956 term and 3248 preterm neonatal deaths from the UK. In the South African data set, the main causes of death were respiratory/cardiovascular disorders (34.7%), low birthweight/prematurity (29.2%), and disorders of cerebral status (25.5%). Amongst preterm deaths, low birthweight/prematurity (43.9%) and respiratory/cardiovascular disorders (32.4%) were the leading causes. In the data set from the UK, the leading causes of death were low birthweight/prematurity (31.6%), congenital abnormalities (27.4%), and deaths of unspecified cause (26.1%). In the preterm deaths, the leading causes were low birthweight/prematurity (40.9%) and deaths of unspecified cause (29.6%). In South Africa, 61% of preterm deaths resulted from the maternal condition of preterm spontaneous labour. Among the preterm deaths in the data set from the UK, no maternal condition was present in 36%, followed by complications of placenta, cord, and membranes (23%), and other complications of labour and delivery (22%). CONCLUSIONS: ICD-PM can be used to appraise the maternal and newborn conditions contributing to preterm deaths, and can inform practice. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: ICD-PM can be used to appraise maternal and newborn contributors to preterm deaths to improve quality of care.

Optimising the International Classification of Diseases to identify the maternal condition in the case of perinatal death.

OBJECTIVE: The WHO application of the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to deaths during the perinatal period (ICD Perinatal Mortality, ICD-PM) captures the essential characteristics of the mother-baby dyad that contribute to perinatal deaths. We compare the capture of maternal conditions in the existing ICD-PM with the maternal codes from the WHO application of ICD-10 to deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (ICD Maternal Mortality, ICD-MM) to explore potential benefits in the quality of data received. DESIGN: Retrospective application of ICD-PM. SETTING: South Africa and the UK. POPULATION: Perinatal death databases. METHODS: The maternal conditions were classified using the ICD-PM groupings for maternal condition in perinatal death, and then mapped to the ICD-MM groupings of maternal conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Main maternal conditions in perinatal deaths. RESULTS: We reviewed 9661 perinatal deaths. The largest group (4766 cases, 49.3%) in both classifications captures deaths where there was no contributing maternal condition. Each of the other ICD-PM groups map to between three and six ICD-MM groups. If the cases in each ICD-PM group are re-coded using ICD-MM, each group becomes multiple, more specific groups. For example, the 712 cases in group M4 in ICD-PM become 14 different and more specific main disease categories when the ICD-MM is applied instead. CONCLUSIONS: As we move towards ICD-11, the use of the more specific, applicable, and relevant codes outlined in ICD-MM for both maternal deaths and the maternal condition at the time of a perinatal death would be preferable, and would provide important additional information about perinatal deaths. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Improving the capture of maternal conditions in perinatal deaths provides important actionable information.

Opportunistic testing for urogenital infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in south-western Switzerland, 2012: a feasibility study.

The feasibility of opportunistic screening of urogenital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis was assessed in a cross-sectional study in 2012, in two cantons of south-western Switzerland: Vaud and Valais. Sexually active persons younger than 30 years, not tested for C. trachomatis in the last three months, were invited for free C. trachomatis testing by PCR in urine or self-applied vaginal swabs. Of 2,461 consenting participants, 1,899 (77%) were women and all but six (0.3%) submitted a sample. Forty-seven per cent of female and 25% of male participants were younger than 20 years. Overall, 134 (5.5%) of 2,455 tested participants had a positive result and were followed up. Seven per cent of all candidates for screening were not invited, 10% of invited candidates were not eligible, 15% of the eligible candidates declined participation, 5% of tested participants testing positive were not treated, 29% of those treated were not retested after six months and 9% of those retested were positive for C. trachomatis. Opportunistic C. trachomatis testing proved technically feasible and acceptable, at least if free of charge. Men and peripheral rural regions were more difficult to reach. Efforts to increase testing and decrease dropout at all stages of the screening procedure are necessary.

[Chlamydia: from population screening to individual repeated screening]. / Chlamydia: du dépistage de la population au dépistage individuel répété.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a frequent sexually transmitted infection especially in young adults and adolescents. Its complications can impair a woman's reproductive potential. chlamydia control has several challenges. These include asymptomatic infections; a long duration of untreated infections; re-infections and partner treatments. Any person with infection is at high risk of re-infection. Repeated screening would decrease, at an individual level, the risk of complications. General practitioners, gynaecologists and centres for sexual health could participate in Chlamydia screening for asymptomatic infections, in Switzerland, the cost of the laboratory test is fixed by national tariff regulations. The cost is high and prohibitive for many, especially adolescents and young adults and needs to be lowered.

Multivalent immunity targeting tumor-associated antigens by intra-lymph node DNA-prime, peptide-boost vaccination.

Active immunotherapy of cancer has yet to yield effective therapies in the clinic. To evaluate the translatability of DNA-based vaccines we analyzed the profile of T-cell immunity by plasmid vaccination in a murine model, using transcriptome microarray analysis and flow cytometry. DNA vaccination resulted in specific T cells expressing low levels of co-inhibitory molecules (most notably PD-1), strikingly different from the expression profile elicited by peptide immunization. In addition, the T-cell response primed through this dual-antigen-expressing plasmid (MART-1/Melan-A and tyrosinase) translated into a substantial proliferation capacity and functional conversion to antitumor effector cells after tyrosinase and MART-1/Melan-A peptide analog boost. Furthermore, peptide boost rescued the immune response against the subdominant tyrosinase epitope. This immunization approach could be adapted to elicit potent immunity against multiple tumor antigens, resulting in a broader immune response that was more effective in targeting human tumor cells. Finally, this study sheds light on a novel mechanism of immune homeostasis through synchronous regulation of co-inhibitory molecules on T cells, highly relevant to heterologous prime boost approaches involving DNA vaccines as priming agents.