Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Noelie B. Henry, Issiaka Soulama, Samuel S. Serme, Judith M. Bolscher, Tonnie T. G. Huijs, Aboubacar S. Coulibaly, Salif M. Sombie, Nicolas Ouedraogo, Amidou B. Diarra, Soumanaba B. Zongo, Wamdaogo M. Guelbeogo, Issa A. Nebie, Sodiomon B. J. Sirima, Alfred B. Tiono, Alano Pietro, Katharine A. Collins, Koen J. Dechering, Teun Bousema
Summary: This study aimed to develop a pipeline to test the transmission-blocking activity of antimalarial drugs against Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte field isolates and evaluate the activity of novel compounds. Two assays were designed to assess the overall transmission-blocking activity and discriminate between drugs active against gametocytes or those blocking development in mosquitoes. Methylene-blue, MMV693183, DDD107498, atovaquone, and P218 showed potent transmission-blocking activity, with atovaquone and P218 also inhibiting sporogonic development.
Review
Immunology
Shasha Yu, Jing Wang, Xue Luo, Hong Zheng, Luhan Wang, Xuesen Yang, Ying Wang
Summary: Malaria remains a widespread parasitic disease and poses a threat to underdeveloped areas. New control methods targeting the mosquito phase and direct killing of mosquitoes, as well as utilizing microorganisms like Wolbachia and gut flora, show potential in blocking malaria transmission.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Harouna M. Soumare, Wamdaogo Moussa Guelbeogo, Marga van de Vegte-Bolmer, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Zongo Soumanaba, Alphonse Ouedraogo, Maurice S. Ouattara, Ahmad Abdullahi, Lamin Jadama, Muhammed M. Camara, Pa Modou Gaye, Michael Mendy, Nwakanma Davis, Alfred B. Tiono, Umberto D'Alessandro, Chris Drakeley, Teun Bousema, Marta Moreno, Katharine A. Collins
Summary: The study established the optimal method for storing and transporting gametocyte-infected blood using cultured Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes and direct membrane feeding assays in the field. Short-term and long-term temperature changes had minimal impact on the infectivity of gametocytes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benjamin Wong Wei Xiang, Wilfried A. A. Saron, James C. Stewart, Arthur Hain, Varsha Walvekar, Dorothee Misse, Frederic Thomas, R. Manjunatha Kini, Benjamin Roche, Adam Claridge-Chang, Ashley L. St. John, Julien Pompon
Summary: A study found that DENV infection increases mosquito attraction to hosts and hinders their biting efficiency, resulting in infected mosquitoes needing more bites to reach similar blood repletion. By establishing transmission models and mathematical models, the study also revealed that the number of infected hosts per infected mosquito tripled when mosquito behavior was influenced by DENV infection.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Elsa A. van Wassenaer, Kay Diederen, Ester M. M. van Leeuwen, Geert R. D'Haens, Marc A. Benninga, Bart G. P. Koot, Angelika Kindermann
Summary: The agreement between the EliA 2 and EK-Cal assays for determining fecal calprotectin levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is substantial to almost perfect. However, there is higher variability between the assays in the highest fecal calprotectin category.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jonathan L. Sessler
Summary: In a recently published paper, researchers demonstrate that talin, a mechanosensitive protein in cells, can be modified to create shock-absorbing hydrogels capable of withstanding impacts from supersonic projectiles. This interdisciplinary achievement combines synthetic biology, chemistry, astrophysics, and materials science, leveraging millions of years of evolutionary optimization that protect mammalian cells from environmental forces.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Kiril Alexiev, Teodor Vakarelski
Summary: This paper investigates microsaccades as a source of information for biometric analysis and explains why they are preferred over other fixational eye movements. The process of microsaccade extraction is described, including the definition and derivation of thirteen parameters for analysis. A gradient algorithm is used to solve the biometric problem and an assessment of parameter weights is made.
Article
Immunology
Jordache Ramjith, Manon Alkema, John Bradley, Alassane Dicko, Chris Drakeley, Will Stone, Teun Bousema
Summary: Malaria transmission depends on the presence of mature Plasmodium transmission stages. Transmission-blocking antimalarial drugs and vaccines can prevent transmission by reducing gametocyte densities or infectivity to mosquitos. This online tool helps researchers calculate the sample size to detect reductions in mosquito infection rate or infection burden.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Richard L. Kraus, Fuqiang Zhao, Parul S. Pall, Dan Zhou, Joshua D. Vardigan, Andrew Danziger, Yuxing Li, Christopher Daley, Jeanine E. Ballard, Michelle K. Clements, Rebecca M. Klein, Marie A. Holahan, Thomas J. Greshock, Ronald M. Kim, Mark E. Layton, Christopher S. Burgey, Jordi Serra, Darrell A. Henze, Andrea K. Houghton
Summary: Humans with mutations in the Na(v)1.7 channel gene can either be insensitive to pain or suffer from inherited pain syndromes. Clinical studies using Na(v)1.7 inhibitors have not shown significant pain relief, leading researchers to develop rhesus macaque models to measure target modulation and efficacy.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan D. Hall, Joshua M. Madsen
Summary: Although behavioral interventions are designed to seize attention, they may have costly consequences. A study on a safety campaign reveals that displaying traffic fatality counts during the campaign weeks leads to an increase in crashes statewide, with no sustained effects beyond the campaign weeks. This suggests that behavioral interventions, particularly negatively framed ones, can be too salient and can backfire with important considerations being crowded out.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Jerome Molenat, Cecile Dages, Maroua Bouteffeha, Insaf Mekki
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of small reservoirs for estimating stream runoff, especially at short temporal resolutions. The main factors contributing to estimation uncertainty are reservoir water level measurements and percolation rates.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ellie Sherrard-Smith, Corine Ngufor, Antoine Sanou, Moussa W. Guelbeogo, Raphael N'Guessan, Eldo Elobolobo, Francisco Saute, Kenyssony Varela, Carlos J. Chaccour, Rose Zulliger, Joseph Wagman, Molly L. Robertson, Mark Rowland, Martin J. Donnelly, Samuel Gonahasa, Sarah G. Staedke, Jan Kolaczinski, Thomas S. Churcher
Summary: Traditionally, estimating the effectiveness of malaria vector control interventions requires resource-intensive cluster randomised trials. In this study, the authors propose using entomological data from experimental hut trials to estimate changes in malaria prevalence, which could serve as an alternative route for the approval of interventions in certain situations.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Malin Lueking, David van der Spoel, Johan Elf, Gareth A. A. Tribello
Summary: There are difficult problems in biochemistry that are challenging to study experimentally, but simulation methods provide a direct way to obtain atomic coordinates over time. However, molecular simulations face challenges in system size and time scales. Enhanced sampling algorithms can potentially overcome these limitations. This paper discusses a problem in biochemistry that serves as a benchmark for comparing machine learning approaches, focusing on the transitions of LacI between non-specific and specific DNA binding states.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Hendrik J. du Toit, Gareth Goldswain, Gerrit Olivier
Summary: Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is being increasingly used in various geoscientific fields, including monitoring microseismicity in underground mines as shown in this study. By installing fiber optic cable and comparing it with geophone sensors, it was found that DAS data had relatively good agreement with the geophone data for larger seismic events. Additionally, DAS data was processed and located using PhaseNet, a machine-learning algorithm, and an interferometric method. However, challenges remain in terms of the background noise and the feasibility of using existing mining communication infrastructure for accurate seismic sensing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROCK MECHANICS AND MINING SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ying Xu, Hanghang Yan, Tao Li, Yuan Liu, Jianmin Luo, Weiyang Li, Xiangyang Cui, Lei Chen, Qin Yue, Yijin Kang
Summary: The study introduces a strategy of using a nitrogen- and carboxyl-rich hollow carbon sponge reservoir to confine electrolyte, which effectively mitigates safety issues and cycling degradation caused by dendrite growth and high reactivity of Li in lithium metal batteries. The carboxyl groups in the carbon sponge can form hydrogen bonds with certain components in the electrolyte, enhancing Li mobility and suppressing dendrite growth.
ENERGY STORAGE MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Manon Alkema, Isaie J. Reuling, Gerdie M. de Jong, Kjerstin Lanke, Luc E. Coffeng, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Marga van de Vegte-Bolmer, Quirijn de Mast, Reinout van Crevel, Karen Ivinson, Christian F. Ockenhouse, James S. McCarthy, Robert Sauerwein, Katharine A. Collins, Teun Bousema
Summary: The study found that the method of infection through mosquito bites or induced blood-stage malaria has a significant impact on gametocyte production, despite similar asexual parasite densities. The findings suggest that induced blood-stage malaria may be more conducive to gametocyte production compared to mosquito bites.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Laurent Dembele, Jean-Francois Franetich, Valerie Soulard, Nadia Amanzougaghene, Shahin Tajeri, Teun Bousema, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Roger Le Grand, Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet, J. Kevin Baird, Dominique Mazier, Georges Snounou
Summary: This study found that chloroquine can potentiate the activity of 8-aminoquinoline compound primaquine against several malarial parasites in normal primary hepatocytes, but not in a hepatocarcinoma cell line.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Elifaged Hailemeskel, Surafel K. Tebeje, Sinknesh W. Behaksra, Girma Shumie, Getasew Shitaye, Migbaru Keffale, Wakweya Chali, Abrham Gashaw, Temesgen Ashine, Chris Drakeley, Teun Bousema, Endalamaw Gadisa, Fitsum G. Tadesse
Summary: The study investigated the epidemiology and detectability of asymptomatic malaria infections caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in different transmission settings in Ethiopia. It was found that conventional diagnostics missed nearly half of the asymptomatic Plasmodium reservoir detected by nPCR, especially in older age groups and low transmission settings. This highlights the need for sensitive diagnostic tools to detect the entire parasite reservoir and potential infection transmitters.
Article
Biology
Joel Hellewell, Ellie Sherrard-Smith, Sheila Ogoma, Thomas S. Churcher
Summary: Malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa relies on the use of insecticidal nets and indoor spraying, but outdoor biting can still occur. New vector control tools like spatial repellents can target outdoor biting. The effectiveness of these control strategies is influenced by factors such as insecticide resistance, efficacy, and mosquito feeding behavior.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Roos M. de Jong, Lisette Meerstein-Kessel, Dari F. Da, Sandrine Nsango, Joseph D. Challenger, Marga van de Vegte-bolmer, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Elias Duarte, Noam Teyssier, Robert W. Sauerwein, Thomas S. Churcher, Roch K. Dabire, Isabelle Morlais, Emily Locke, Martijn A. Huynen, Teun Bousema, Matthijs M. Jore
Summary: This study investigated the impact of natural genetic diversity on the functional activity of transmission-blocking antibodies. Despite the conserved nature of sexual stage antigens, minor sequence variation can significantly impact the efficacy of transmission-blocking antibodies. The findings support further clinical development of mAb 45.1 and may inform Pfs48/45 vaccine design.
Review
Infectious Diseases
Charles Whittaker, Hannah Slater, Rebecca Nash, Teun Bousema, Chris Drakeley, Azra C. Ghani, Lucy C. Okell
Summary: The systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that submicroscopic infections predominate in low-transmission settings, with marked geographical variation and the highest proportion in South American surveys and the lowest in west African surveys. The size of the submicroscopic reservoir is influenced by geographical location, historical transmission intensity, demographic structure of the infected population, and the methodology used. In addition, there is a small yet significant influence of seasonality on the prevalence of submicroscopic infection.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Daniel Ayo, Bakar Odongo, Joseph Omara, Chiara Andolina, Ole Mulder, Sarah G. Staedke, Teun Bousema
Summary: The article presents five cases of Plasmodium malariae infections from Eastern Uganda, which were initially misdiagnosed as P. falciparum. These findings highlight the importance of considering non-falciparum species in clinical malaria cases. In areas with high P. falciparum transmission, non-falciparum malaria cases may be missed due to commonly used rapid diagnostic tests.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Marga van de Vegte-bolmer, Wouter Graumans, Rianne Stoter, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Robert Sauerwein, Katharine A. Collins, Teun Bousema
Summary: This study aimed to identify new culture-adapted transmissible P. falciparum isolates from different geographical locations. Out of 21 isolates tested, nine fulfilled selection criteria and could be transmitted to Anopheles mosquitoes, providing a valuable addition to the malaria research tool box, particularly for studying malaria transmission.
Article
Parasitology
Stijn W. van Beek, Elin M. Svensson, Alfred B. Tiono, Joseph Okebe, Umberto D'Alessandro, Bronner P. Goncalves, Teun Bousema, Chris Drakeley, Rob ter Heine
Summary: This study predicts small and transient reductions in hemoglobin levels following mass drug administration with single low-dose primaquine (SLD-PQ) in a sub-Saharan African setting, supporting its feasibility.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Caroline Stephenson, Eric Coker, Samantha Wisely, Song Liang, Rhoel R. Dinglasan, John A. Lednicky
Summary: This study investigated the incidence of dengue fever in Florida and found that average temperature, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature were associated with the risk of local dengue virus transmission. Additionally, moderate rainfall and increasing numbers of travel-related cases were also associated with local transmission. The study provides a parsimonious predictive model for dengue fever incidence in Florida and highlights the importance of travel-related cases and environmental conditions in dengue virus transmission.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Long T. Nguyen, Nicolas C. Macaluso, Brianna L. M. Pizzano, Melanie N. Cash, Jan Spacek, Jan Karasek, Megan R. Miller, John A. Lednicky, Rhoel R. Dinglasan, Marco Salemi, Piyush K. Jain
Summary: This study describes a one-pot detection reaction using a thermostable Cas12b effector endonuclease from Brevibacillus sp. that can efficiently detect and discriminate SARS-CoV-2 VOCs, validated in clinical samples. The technology offers a fast, sensitive, and cost-effective approach for COVID-19 diagnostics, enabling real-time monitoring and point-of-care testing.
Article
Microbiology
Elangwe M. Sarah-Matio, Emilie Guillochon, Sandrine E. Nsango, Luc Abate, Christelle M. Ngou, Gaelle A. Bouopda, Lionel B. Feufack-Donfack, Albert N. Bayibeki, Majoline Tchioffo Tsapi, Arthur Talman, Alejandro Marin-Menendez, Lawrence Ayong, Antoine Claessens, Thierry Lefevre, Antoine Berry, Isabelle Morlais
Summary: Malaria control heavily relies on passive case detection, which is unable to detect asymptomatic infections. This study used genotyping to reveal the genetic diversity and polymorphisms associated with antimalarial resistance in natural Plasmodium falciparum infections. The study identified higher genetic diversity in asymptomatic infections and found no genetic differentiation between parasites from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals. The findings also confirmed a return to chloroquine-sensitive parasites in Cameroon and suggested the persistence of low-density chloroquine-resistant parasites as a factor contributing to genetic diversity.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. Juliette T. Unwin, Ellie Sherrard-Smith, Thomas S. Churcher, Azra C. Ghani
Summary: Long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) provide protection against malaria through both direct and indirect effects, even in the presence of resistance. Mathematical modelling predicts that LLINs will provide enhanced benefit over untreated nets, even at high levels of resistance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Vincent O. Nyasembe, Timothy Hamerly, Borja Lopez-Gutierrez, Alexandra M. Leyte-Vidal, Heather Coatsworth, Rhoel R. Dinglasan
Summary: Plasmodium falciparum infection activates adipokinetic hormone signaling and lipid mobilization in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito vector to promote sporogony. It was found that P. falciparum infection significantly up-regulates the AKH pathway and lipid mobilization in An. gambiae, which is crucial for the growth and maturation of sporozoites.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Kyndall C. Dye-Braumuller, Jennifer R. Gordon, Danielle Johnson, Josie Morrissey, Kaci McCoy, Rhoel R. Dinglasan, Melissa S. Nolan
Summary: This study conducted a survey of vector control programs in the southeastern United States and found that a majority of the region is vulnerable to vector-borne disease outbreaks. The study highlights the critical need for increased resources to improve vector control programs and protect public health.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2022)
