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With 3 figures and 4 tables A sample of 39 spring type faba bean landraces from four provinces in China, were compared in diversity with 136 spring accessions from the rest of the world, including Africa, Canada, Asia, Europe, and 41 breeding lines from ICARDA. These germplasm were characterised with 12 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs. 244 unambiguous bands were detected, of which 236 were polymorphic, and four gene pool populations were identified. The spring faba bean accessions were broadly geographically associated in their genetic diversity, and ICARDA breeding lines were relatively narrow in genetic diversity. Chinese spring faba bean landraces differed to some extent from the rest of the world, with distribution in three of the four gene pool populations. The diversity levels of accession gene pool populations were measured and compared for relationship to geographic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transmission of malaria is known to be affected by climatic factors. However, existing studies on the impact of temperature and precipitation on malaria incidence offer no clear-cut conclusions, and there is a lack of research on a global scale. We aimed to estimate the association of temperature and precipitation with malaria incidence globally from 2000 to 2019., Methods: We used meteorological data from the National Centers for Environmental Information and malaria incidence data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to calculate effect sizes through quasi-Poisson generalised linear models while controlling for confounders., Results: 231.4 million malaria cases occurred worldwide in 2019. National annual average temperature and precipitation were associated with malaria incidence, with an increase in the age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of 2.01% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.00, 2.02) and 6.04% (95% CI = 6.00, 6.09) following one unit increase of national annual average temperature and precipitation. In subgroup analysis, we found that malaria incidence in Asian countries was most affected by temperature, while the incidence in African countries was most affected by precipitation (P < 0.05). Stratified by age, children under five were most affected by both temperature and precipitation (P < 0.05). We additionally found that the impact of the national annual average temperature on malaria incidence increased over time (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: We advocate for a comprehensive approach to malaria prevention, focussed on addressing the impact of climate factors through international collaboration, adaptive measures, and targeted interventions for vulnerable populations., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To estimate the global prevalence of hip osteoarthritis (HOA) through a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to determine by regression analysis the respective relationships between age and sex, and sex and prevalence., Methods: EMBASE, PubMed, Web of science, CINAHL, and SCOPUS were searched from inception until August 2022. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the quality of the retrieved literature. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed to derive the pooled prevalence. Variations in the prevalence estimate in different subgroups, including diagnostic methods, region, and patient sex, were examined by subgroup meta-analysis. Meta-regression was used to construct the age-specific prevalence of HOA., Results: A total of 31 studies were included in our analysis, involving 326,463 participants. Quality evaluation showed that all studies included in the analysis had a Quality Score of at least 4. The most frequently used method for diagnosing HOA was the Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grade classification, accounting for 19/31 (61.3%) studies. The pooled prevalence of HOA diagnosed based on the K-L grade ≥ 2 criterion was 8.55% (95% CI 4.85-13.18) worldwide. The prevalence of HOA was lowest in Africa at 1.20% (95% CI: 0.40-2.38), followed by Asia at 4.26% (95% CI 0.02-14.93) and North America at 7.95% (95% CI 1.98-17.36), and highest in Europe at 12.59% (95% CI 7.17-19.25). There was no statistically significant difference in HOA prevalence between men (9.42%, 95% CI:4.81-15.34) and women at (7.94%, 95% CI: 3.57-13.81). The regression model showed a correlation between age and the prevalence of HOA., Conclusion: HOA has high prevalence worldwide and increases with age. The prevalence varies significantly by region but not by patient sex. High-quality epidemiological studies are warranted to more accurately estimate the prevalence of HOA., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Research assessing the trend in online search activity on monkeypox (mpox) and the correlation with the mpox epidemic at the global and national level is scarce. The trend of online search activity and the time-lag correlations between it and daily new mpox cases were estimated by using segmented interrupted time-series analysis and Spearman correlation coefficient (rs), respectively. We found that after the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the proportion of countries or territories with increasing changes in online search activity was lowest in Africa (8.16%, 4/49), and a downward trend in online search activity was highest in North America (8/31, 25.81%). The time-lag effect of global online search activity on daily new cases was significant (rs = 0.24). There were eight countries or territories with significant time-lag effect; the top three countries or territories were Brazil (rs = 0.46), United States (rs = 0.24), and Canada (rs = 0.24). Interest behavior in mpox was insufficient, even after the declaration of PHEIC, especially in Africa and North America. Online search activity could be used as an early indicator of the outbreak of mpox at the global level and in epidemic countries.

Imported malaria due to Plasmodium ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri infections from African countries has increased recently (2011-2014) in Chinese travelers. We report novel genotypes, their prevalence and the predominant haplotypes of P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri circumsporozoite protein (CSP) from 20 African countries in Chinese travelers. These genotypes should be considered while designing a CSP-based vaccine against P. ovale malaria., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The tumor suppressor TP53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer and serves to restrict tumor initiation and progression. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in TP53 and p53 pathway genes can have a marked impact on p53 tumor suppressor function, and some have been associated with increased cancer risk and impaired response to therapy. Approximately 6% of Africans and 1% of African Americans express a p53 allele with a serine instead of proline at position 47 (Pro47Ser). This SNP impairs p53-mediated apoptosis in response to radiation and genotoxic agents and is associated with increased cancer risk in humans and in a mouse model. In this study, we compared the ability of wild-type (WT) and S47 p53 to suppress tumor development and respond to therapy. Our goal was to find therapeutic compounds that are more, not less, efficacious in S47 tumors. We identified the superior efficacy of two agents, cisplatin and BET inhibitors, on S47 tumors compared with WT. Cisplatin caused dramatic decreases in the progression of S47 tumors by activating the p53/PIN1 axis to drive the mitochondrial cell death program. These findings serve as important proof of principle that chemotherapy can be tailored to p53 genotype. Significance: A rare African-derived radioresistant p53 SNP provides proof of principle that chemotherapy can be tailored to TP53 genotype. Cancer Res; 78(19); 5694-705. ©2018 AACR ., (©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Human sparganosis is a food borne zoonosis caused by the plerocercoid larvae (spargana) of various diphyllobothroid tapeworms of the genus Spirometra. Human infections are acquired by ingesting the raw or undercooked meat of snakes or frogs, drinking untreated water, or using raw flesh in traditional poultices. More than 1600 cases of sparganosis have been documented worldwide, mostly in east and southeast Asia. Sporadic cases have been reported in South America, Europe, and Africa, and several cases have been described in travellers returning from endemic regions. Epidemiological data suggest that the increased effect of sparganosis on human health is because of greater consumption of raw meat of freshwater frogs and snakes. This Review provides information about the Spirometra parasites and their lifecycles, summarises clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of human sparganosis, and describes geographical distribution and infection characteristics of Spirometra parasites in host animals., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a novel human coronavirus that caused outbreaks of a SARS-like illness in the Middle East, is now considered a threat to global public health. This review discusses the challenges in identifying the source of this fatal virus and developing effective and safe anti-MERS-CoV vaccines and therapeutics in order to control its spread and to combat any future pandemic., (Copyright © 2013 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Rabies is prevented by post-exposure vaccination with several doses of vaccine given over 4 - 14 weeks. In case of severe exposure, the first dose of vaccine is combined with passive transfer of a rabies virus-specific immunoglobulin preparation. Preventative vaccination for rabies, also referred as pre-exposure vaccination, is reserved for humans at high risk. Although available vaccines are efficacious in preventing disease, rabies still claims the lives of an estimated 55,000 humans residing in Africa and Asia each year. Half of the death occurs in children under the age of 15., Areas Covered: This paper discusses whether preventative vaccination of all children in Africa and Asia, which was deemed non-cost-effective compared to post-exposure vaccination using currently licensed vaccines in Thailand, could be cost-effective using more immunogenic novel vaccines., Expert Opinion: At least in theory, novel one-dose rabies vaccines may be cost-effective for preventative childhood immunization, which in turn should reduce the incidence of this disease. Further clinical testing of such vaccines with the goal to develop a low-cost vaccine that can be incorporated into childhood immunization programs for areas with a high incidence of rabies-related death should be strongly encouraged.

Strong genetic contributions to drug abuse vulnerability are well documented, but few chromosomal locations for human drug-abuse vulnerability alleles have been confirmed. We now identify chromosomal markers whose alleles distinguish drug abusers from control individuals in each of two samples, on the basis of pooled-sample microarray and association analyses. Reproducibly positive chromosomal regions defined by these markers in conjunction with previous results were especially unlikely to have been identified by chance. Positive markers identify the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) locus, flank the brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) locus, and mark seven other regions previously linked to vulnerability to nicotine or alcohol abuse. These data support polygenic contributions of common allelic variants to polysubstance abuse vulnerability.