Efficacy of praziquantel and artemisinin derivatives for the treatment and prevention of human schistosomiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Praziquantel has been used as first-line drug for chemotherapy of schistosomiasis since 1984. Besides praziquantel, artemether and artesunate have also been used for the control of this infectious disease since late 1990s. In this article, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the antischistosomal efficacy of different medication strategies including monotherapy or combination therapies of these drugs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A number of 52 trials from 38 articles published in peer-reviewed journals before July 2011 were selected for analysis after searching the following literature databases: the Cochrane Library, PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Our meta-analyses showed that a dosage of 30-60 mg/kg praziquantel compared with placebo produced a protection rate of about 76% (95% CI: 67%-83%) for treating human schistosomiasis, which varied from 70% to 76% with no significant differences among the subspecies <it>S. haematobium</it>, <it>S. japonicum </it>or <it>S. mansoni</it>. Protection rates were higher when praziquantel doses were elevated, as concluded from the nRCTs results: the protection rate of praziquantel at 40 mg/kg was 52% (95% CI: 49%-55%), and it increased to 91% (95% CI: 88%-92%) when the dosages were elevated to 60/80/100 mg/kg divided two or more doses. Multiple doses of artemether or artesunate over 1- or 2-week intervals resulted in protection rates of 65% to 97% for preventing schistosomiasis, and increased doses and shorter medication intervals improved their efficacies. Praziquantel and artemisinin derivatives (artemether or artesunate) in combination resulted in a higher protection rate of 84% (95% CI: 64%-91%) than praziquantel monotherapy for treatment. praziquantel and artesunate in combination had a great protection rate of 96% (95% CI: 78%-99%) for preventing schistosomes infection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>According to the results, praziquantel remains effective in schistosomiasis treatment, and multiple doses would improve its efficacy; meanwhile, praziquantel is also a good drug for preventing acute schistosomiasis morbidity. It's better to use multiple doses of artemether or artesunate with 1- or 2-week intervals for prevention against schistosome infection. Praziquantel and artemether or artesunate in combination perform better in treatment than praziquantel monotherapy, and they are especially suitable for treating the patients with repeated exposure to infected water.</p

Core Cosmology Library: Precision cosmological predictions for LSST

The Core Cosmology Library (CCL) provides routines to compute basic cosmological observables to a high degree of accuracy, which have been verified with an extensive suite of validation tests. Predictions are provided for many cosmological quantities, including distances, angular power spectra, correlation functions, halo bias, and the halo mass function through state-of-the-art modeling prescriptions available in the literature. Fiducial specifications for the expected galaxy distributions for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) are also included, together with the capability of computing redshift distributions for a user-defined photometric redshift model. A rigorous validation procedure, based on comparisons between CCL and independent software packages, allows us to establish a well-defined numerical accuracy for each predicted quantity. As a result, predictions for correlation functions of galaxy clustering, galaxy–galaxy lensing, and cosmic shear are demonstrated to be within a fraction of the expected statistical uncertainty of the observables for the models and in the range of scales of interest to LSST. CCL is an open source software package written in C, with a Python interface and publicly available at https://github.com/LSSTDESC/CCL

Biogeography of Australian seagrasses: NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Temperate Queensland

This chapter presents an introduction to the biogeography of southeastern Australian seagrasses, explaining the distribution and basic ecology of the 22 species that inhabit this 10,000 km stretch of coastline, from the northern limit of Queensland's temperate zone through to Tasmania. The chapter draws on 25 years of new information (peer-reviewed literature, books, personal communications, etc.) that has been generated since the previous biogeography chapter of its kind was written by Larkum et al. (Biology of Seagrasses-a treatise on the biology of seagrasses with special reference to the Australian region. Elsevier, The Netherlands, 1989). The influence of local (e.g. geomorphic environment) and large-scale (e.g. temperature) factors on the distribution of species are discussed. Also, we present up-to-date information on the status (declining, increasing, or no change) of each species from a conservation point of view on a state-by-state basis. Not surprisingly, many species are reported to have declined for a variety of reasons, including: flood events, boat moorings, and coastal development (e.g. dredging). Fortunately, there are also reports of recovery. Thanks to developments in genetic sequencing we have been able to present new data on genetic connectivity, gene flow, and source-sink populations for a handful of species. In the coming years we expect and hope that improvements in remote sensing technology will allow for more accurate, more frequent, and higher resolution mapping of seagrasses along this stretch of coast

Framing Ecosystem services for sustainability?

International audienc