The incidence of malaria in travellers to South-East Asia: is local malaria transmission a useful risk indicator?

BACKGROUND: The presence of ongoing local malaria transmission, identified though local surveillance and reported to regional WHO offices, by S-E Asian countries, forms the basis of national and international chemoprophylaxis recommendations in western countries. The study was designed to examine whether the strategy of using malaria transmission in a local population was an accurate estimate of the malaria threat faced by travellers and a correlate of malaria in returning travellers. METHODS: Malaria endemicity was described from distribution and intensity in the local populations of ten S-E Asian destination countries over the period 2003-2008 from regionally reported cases to WHO offices. Travel acquired malaria was collated from malaria surveillance reports from the USA and 12 European countries over the same period. The numbers of travellers visiting the destination countries was based on immigration and tourism statistics collected on entry of tourists to the destination countries. RESULTS: In the destination countries, mean malaria rates in endemic countries ranged between 0.01 in Korea to 4:1000 population per year in Lao PDR, with higher regional rates in a number of countries. Malaria cases imported into the 13 countries declined by 47% from 140 cases in 2003 to 66 in 2008. A total of 608 cases (27.3% Plasmodium falciparum (Pf)) were reported over the six years, the largest number acquired in Indonesia, Thailand and Korea. Four countries had an incidence > 1 case per 100,000 traveller visits; Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos (range 1 to 11.8-case per 100,000 visits). The remaining six countries rates were 1 case per 100,000 visits to consider targeted malaria prophylaxis recommendations to minimize use of chemoprophylaxis for low risk exposure during visits to S-E Asia. Policy needs to be adjusted regularly to reflect the changing risk

Design for quiet living. A Science and Technology Studies perspective on architecture and noise mitigation policies

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Crystal structure of magnesium selenate heptahydrate, MgSeO4·7H2O, from neutron time-of-flight data

MgSeO4·7H2O is isostructural with the analogous sulfate, MgSO4·7H2O, consisting of isolated [Mg(H2O)6](2+) octa-hedra and [SeO4](2-) tetra-hedra, linked by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, with a single inter-stitial lattice water mol-ecule. As in the sulfate, the [Mg(H2O)6](2+) coordination octa-hedron is elongated along one axis due to the tetra-hedral coordination of the two apical water mol-ecules; these have Mg-O distances of ∼2.10 Å, whereas the remaining four trigonally coordinated water mol-ecules have Mg-O distances of ∼2.05 Å. The mean Se-O bond length is 1.641 Å and is in excellent agreement with other selenates. The unit-cell volume of MgSeO4·7H2O at 10 K is 4.1% larger than that of the sulfate at 2 K, although this is not uniform; the greater part of the expansion is along the a axis of the crystal

Highly efficient oxidation of amines to aldehydes via flow-based biocatalysis

A new mild and efficient process for the preparation of aldehydes in water employed as flavour and fragrance components in food, beverage, cosmetics, as well as in pharmaceuticals was developed using a continuous-flow approach based on an immobilized pure transaminase-packed bed reactor. HEWT, an ω-transaminase from the haloadapted bacterium Halomonas elongata, has been selected for its excellent stability and substrate scope. Sixteen different amines were rapidly (3-15 min) oxidized into the corresponding aldehydes (90 to 99 %) with only 1 to 5 equivalents of sodium pyruvate. The process was fully automated allowing for the in-line recovery of the pure aldehydes (chemical purity >99% and isolated yields above 80%), without any further work-up procedure

Severe Dengue Virus Infection in Travelers: Risk Factors and Laboratory Indicators

Background. Dengue fever is the most common arboviral disease in travelers. In countries where dengue virus is endemic, sequential (secondary) infections with different dengue virus serotypes are associated with disease severity. Data on severity and secondary infection rates in a population of travelers are lacking. Methods. Intensified surveillance of dengue fever in travelers was performed within the European Network on Surveillance of Imported Infectious Diseases. Data were collected at 14 European clinical referral centers between 2003 and 2005. Results. A total of 219 dengue virus infections imported from various regions of endemicity were reported. Serological analysis revealed a secondary immune response in 17%. Spontaneous bleeding was observed in 17 (8%) patients and was associated with increased serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferase levels and lower median platelet counts. Two (0.9%) patients fulfilled the World Health Organization (WHO) case definition for dengue hemorrhagic fever. However, 23 (11%) travelers had severe clinical manifestations (internal hemorrhage, plasma leakage, shock, or marked thrombocytopenia). A secondary immune response was significantly associated with both spontaneous bleeding and other severe clinical manifestations. Conclusions. In travelers, severe dengue virus infections are not uncommon but may be missed if the WHO classification is strictly applied. High liver enzyme levels and low platelet counts could serve as indicators of disease severit

A Letter by Friar Aicardo da Camodea, Archbishop of Milan (28th of June 1319)

The aim of this paper is to give a crital edition and to study a litterae patentes sent from Avignon by Aicardo of Camodeia, archibishop of Milan, to Obizzone of Momo, archibishop’s vicar. This missive is dated on 28th of June 1319 and it is kept at Berio Library in Genoa.Lo scopo di questo contributo è di fornire l’edizione critica e di analizzare una lettera patente spedita da Avignone dall’arcivescovo di Milano Aicardo da Camodeia al suo vicario Obizzone da Momo. La missiva è datata 28 giugno 1319 ed è conservata presso la Biblioteca Civica Berio di Genova

Sentinel surveillance of imported dengue via travellers to Europe 2012 to 2014: TropNet data from the DengueTools Research Initiative.

We describe the epidemiological pattern and genetic characteristics of 242 acute dengue infections imported to Europe by returning travellers from 2012 to 2014. The overall geographical pattern of imported dengue (South-east Asia > Americas > western Pacific region > Africa) remained stable compared with 1999 to 2010. We isolated the majority of dengue virus genotypes and epidemic lineages causing outbreaks and epidemics in Asia, America and Africa during the study period. Travellers acted as sentinels for four unusual dengue outbreaks (Madeira, 2012-13; Luanda, 2013; Dar es Salaam, 2014; Tokyo, 2014). We were able to characterise dengue viruses imported from regions where currently no virological surveillance data are available. Up to 36% of travellers infected with dengue while travelling returned during the acute phase of the infection (up to 7 days after symptom onset) or became symptomatic after returning to Europe, and 58% of the patients with acute dengue infection were viraemic when seeking medical care. Epidemiological and virological data from dengue-infected international travellers can add an important layer to global surveillance efforts. A considerable number of dengue-infected travellers are viraemic after arrival back home, which poses a risk for dengue introduction and autochthonous transmission in European regions where suitable mosquito vectors are prevalent