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Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tam-10.1177_17588359211006348 for Early discontinuation and dose reduction of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients by Daniel Boakye, Lina Jansen, Niels Halama, Jenny Chang-Claude, Michael Hoffmeister and Hermann Brenner in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tam-10.1177_17588359211006348 for Early discontinuation and dose reduction of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients by Daniel Boakye, Lina Jansen, Niels Halama, Jenny Chang-Claude, Michael Hoffmeister and Hermann Brenner in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tam-10.1177_1758835920986520 for The association of comorbidities with administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Daniel Boakye, Rajini Nagrini, Wolfgang Ahrens, Ulrike Haug and Kathrin Günther in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tam-10.1177_1758835920986520 for The association of comorbidities with administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Daniel Boakye, Rajini Nagrini, Wolfgang Ahrens, Ulrike Haug and Kathrin Günther in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Background Evidence from recent studies in Schistosoma mansoni-endemic areas show an age-associated immunity that is positively correlated with IgE titres to Schistosoma mansoni-specific tegumental allergen-like protein 1 (SmTAL1). The structural homology between SmTAL1 and the S. haematobium-specific TAL1 (ShTAL1) has been verified, yet it remains unclear whether similar age- and immune-associated trends characterize ShTAL1. This community-based intervention study was conducted to assess whether ShTAL1IgE responses post-treatment with praziquantel (PZQ) might be associated with a reduced risk to re-infection with S. haematobium. Methodology/Principal findings This study was conducted at Agona Abodom, Central Region, Ghana, and involved 114 participants aged 6 to 55 years. EDTA blood samples were collected at baseline and 7 weeks after PZQ treatment (Follow-up). Baseline and Follow-up titres of specific IgG1, IgG4, and IgE antibodies to the S. haematobium-specific adult worm antigen (ShAWA), the Sh-specific soluble egg antigen (ShSEA), and the Sh-specific tegumental-allergen-like 1 protein (ShTAL1) in plasma samples were measured using sandwich ELISA. Participants at both time points also provided stool and urine for helminth egg detection by microscopy. Prevalence of S. haematobium at baseline was 22.80%, and decreased to 3.50% at Follow-up. The egg reduction rate (ERR) was 99.87%. Overall plasma levels of ShTAL1-IgE increased 7 weeks post-PZQ treatment, and with increasing age; whiles S. haematobium infection prevalence and intensity decreased. For S. haematobium-infected participants who were egg-negative at Follow-up (N = 23), minimal median levels of ShTAL1-IgE were observed for all age groups prior to treatment, whilst median levels increased considerably among participants aged 12 years and older at Follow-up; and remained minimal among participants aged 11 years or less. In the univariate analysis, being aged 12 years or older implied an increased likelihood for ShTAL1-IgE positivity [12–14 years (cOR = 9.64, 95% CI = 2.09–44.51; p = 0.004); 15+ years (cOR = 14.26, 95% CI = 3.10–65.51; p = 0.001)], and this remained significant after adjusting for confounders [12–14 years (aOR = 22.34, 95% CI = 2.77–180.14; p = 0.004); ≥15 years (aOR = 51.82, 95% CI = 6.44–417.17; p < 0.001)]. Conversely, median ShTAL1-IgG4 titres were hardly detectible at Follow-up. Conclusions/Significance These findings demonstrate that increased IgE levels to ShTAL1 7 weeks after PZQ treatment could be associated with a reduced risk to re-infection, and adds to the large body of evidence suggesting a protective role of the treatment-induced ShTAL1 antigen in schistosomiasis infections. It was also quite clear from this work that apart from being persistently S. haematobium-positive, elevated ShTAL1-IgG4 levels at Follow-up could be indicative of susceptibility to re-infection. These outcomes have important implications in vaccine development, and in shifting the paradigm in mass chemotherapy programmes from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to more sub-group-/participant-specific strategies in endemic areas.

Multilingual abstracts in the five official working languages of the United Nations. (PDF 262 kb)

Table S1. Bodadjougou’s onchocerciasis entomological indicators of transmission. Table S2. Bolibana onchocerciasis entomological indicators of transmission Table S3. Badara Karaboro onchocerciasis entomological indicators of transmission. Table S4. Badara Dogossè de Folonzo onchocerciasis entomological indicators of transmission Table S5. Molecular identification of the infected larvae harvested. (DOCX 30 kb)

Abundance of aquatic stages of Simulium black fly collected from different sites in Galabat sub-focus, during 2009, 2013 and 2015. (DOCX 26 kb)

SPIRIT Checklist. (DOC 119 kb)

Informed Consent Material. (DOCX 219 kb)

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc N-glycosylation affects antibody-mediated effector functions and varies with inflammation rooted in both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Worldwide, communicable and non-communicable diseases tend to segregate geographically. Therefore, we studied whether IgG Fc N-glycosylation varies in populations with different environmental exposures in different parts of the world. IgG Fc N-glycosylation was analysed in serum/plasma of 700 school-age children from different communities of Gabon, Ghana, Ecuador, the Netherlands and Germany. IgG1 galactosylation levels were generally higher in more affluent countries and in more urban communities. High IgG1 galactosylation levels correlated with low total IgE levels, low C-reactive protein levels and low prevalence of parasitic infections. Linear mixed modelling showed that only positivity for parasitic infections was a significant predictor of reduced IgG1 galactosylation levels. That IgG1 galactosylation is a predictor of immune activation is supported by the observation that asthmatic children seemed to have reduced IgG1 galactosylation levels as well. This indicates that IgG1 galactosylation levels could be used as a biomarker for immune activation of populations, providing a valuable tool for studies examining the epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases.

Rainfall data for study years and informal validation of EPIONCHO using the value of HBI estimated for the savannah members of the Simulium damnosum (s.l.) complex. (DOC 94Â kb)

Promoting sustainable development calls for investing rents from exhaustible mineral resources into human, physical and social capital, so as to protect the wealth of countries and the economic opportunities of their citizens. This has been difficult in well-governed Ghana in the last decade; and might prove to be extremely challenging in post-conflict countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, where preference for the present is high and institutions to collect rents and convert them into effective investments weak. The paper reviews the countries'degrees of preparedness to confront the various challenges associated with ongoing mineral booms, and tries to identify country-specific policy areas of particular relevance and potential impact for sustainable development.