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Udgivelsesdato: 2010-Oct, The World Health Organisation recommends vitamin A supplementation (VAS) to children aged 6 months to 5 years in low-income countries, and for logistic reasons, this has been linked to routine childhood immunizations. Observational studies suggest that VAS given with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine may increase mortality from non-targeted diseases. We investigated the non-targeted effect of pretreatment with VAS and DTP vaccine in a murine model of experimental cerebral malaria. Our a priori hypothesis was that VAS/DTP would aggravate the infection. We found that the effect of VAS and DTP depended on pathogenesis; VAS/DTP tended to increase parasitaemia and significantly depressed cytokine responses in mice, which developed cerebral malaria, but this was not seen in mice dying of anaemia. The divergent effect according to pathogenesis may help elucidate why VAS has divergent effects on different diseases in humans. Our results support the hypothesis that immunological effects of VAS/DTP may have detrimental implications for disease outcomes.

Udgivelsesdato: 2009-Oct, Flow cytometry is potentially an effective method for counting malaria parasites, but inconsistent results have hampered its routine use in rodent models. A published two-channel method using acridine orange offers clear discrimination between the infected and uninfected erythrocytes. However, preliminary studies showed concerns when dealing with Plasmodium berghei-infected blood samples with high numbers of reticulocytes. In hyperparasitemic or chronic P. berghei infection, enhanced erythropoietic activity results in high numbers of circulating immature reticulocytes. We show that even though the protocol offered good discrimination in newly infected animals, discrimination between infected erythrocytes and uninfected reticulocytes became difficult in animals with hyperparasitemia or chronic infections maintained with subcurative treatment. Discrimination was especially hampered by increased nucleic acid content in immature uninfected reticulocytes. Our data confirms that though flow cytometry is a promising analytical tool in malaria research, care should still be taken when analysing samples from anemic or chronically infected animals.

A limited environmental survey of a proposed excess area in the northern portion of Indiana Army Ammunition Plant was performed to determine the extent of residual hazardous contamination. Two areas, the Burning Ground and the Static Test Area, were surveyed. Soils of the Burning Ground were sampled and analyzed for nitrocellulose. Buildings surfaces in the Static Test Area were sampled and analyzed for nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. In addition, paints on building surfaces were tested for heavy metals and asbestos content. Nitrocellulose was not found in soil, sediment or sewer samples. Building surfaces were free of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin contamination. Paint samples contained high levels of copper, chromium and zinc and low levels of lead and cadmium. Mercury was not found in any paint samples. (Author)