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Abstract Background Over 1 billion of the world's poorest inhabitants are afflicted by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Integrated control programmes aimed at tackling these debilitating NTDs have been recently initiated, mainly using preventative chemotherapy. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of these integrated programs presents particular challenges over and above those required for single disease vertical programmes. We used baseline data from the National NTD Control Programme in Burkina Faso in order to assess the feasibility of an integrated survey design, as well as to elucidate the contribution of environmental variables to the risk of either Schistosoma haematobium, trachoma, or both among school-aged children. Methods S. haematobium infection was diagnosed by detecting eggs in urine. A trachoma case was defined by the presence of Trachomatous inflammation-Follicular (TF) and/or Trachomatous inflammation-Intense (TI) in either eye. Baseline data collected from 3,324 children aged 7-11 years in 21 sentinel sites across 11 regions of Burkina Faso were analyzed using simple and multivariable hierarchical binomial logistic regression models fitted by Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation methods. Probabilities of the risk of belonging to each infection/disease category were estimated as a function of age, gender (individual level), and environmental variables (at sentinel site level, interpolated from national meteorological stations). Results Overall prevalence at the sentinel sites was 11.79% (95% CI: 10.70-12.89) for S. haematobium; 13.30% (12.14-14.45) for trachoma and 0.84% (0.53-1.15) for co-infections. The only significant predictor of S. haematobium infection was altitude. There were significant negative associations between the prevalence of active trachoma signs and minimum temperature, and air pressure. Conditional upon these predictors, these data are consistent with the two pathogens being independent. Conclusions Urogenital schistosomiasis and trachoma constitute public health problems in Burkina Faso. Sentinel site (at school level) surveys for these two NTDs can be implemented simultaneously. However, to support MDA treatment decisions in Burkina Faso, the protocol used in this study would only be applicable to hypoendemic trachoma areas. More research is needed to confirm if these findings can be generalized to West Africa and beyond.

Some dietary fibers originated from insects such as silkworm (Sericin) and others along with constituents of several representative seaweeds such as wakame Undaria pinnatifida; hijiki Hizikia fusifome; and kombu Laminaria japonica, were found to have fairly large reaction rates determined by quenching experiments of emission spectra in the near-infrared region lambdamax 1270 nm for singlet oxygen 1O2, Cypridina luminescence method for superoxide, and peroxide value (POV) for autoxidation. The determined reaction rates are between 10(3)-10(5) (g/L)(-1) s(-1) for the insect and the plant dietary fibers; the larger ones are as large as that of ascorbic acid, 1.93 x 10(4) (g/L)(-1) s(-1) for singlet oxygen. Most of these seaweed constituents also showed antioxidative activity against autoxidation and superoxide as well as their immunological enhancing activity. These results suggest a possibility that dietary fibers that are supposed to prevent the large-intestine cancer by their physical properties may prevent the cancer, at least in parts, by their chemical, antioxidative activity.

Reaction rate constants between superoxide (O2(-)) and natural anti-oxidants, amino acids and some related sulfur-containing compounds were determined by quenching the chemiluminescence of a Cypridina luciferin analogue, 2-methyl-6-phenyl-3,7-dihydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3-one (CLA) in pH 7.0 buffer solutions at 25°C as described in our previous report. The results are discussed in comparison with the literature data. We found that the present method can be applied to measured antioxidative activity of even a fairly unstable sample.

Heme oxygenase (HO), the primary enzyme responsible for heme catabolism, was measured in spleens from 10 normal subjects, 14 patients with chronic hemolytic anemia (HA), 12 with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and 10 with various lymphoproliferative disorders (LD) to determine the splenic enzymatic capacity for heme catabolism and the response of splenic HO to hemolysis. Splenic NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity and cytochrome P-450 levels were also measured. Splenic HO specific activity in normal spleens was 0.235 +/- 0.106 (SE) nmoles bilirubin/mg protein/min; in HA, 0.276 +/- 0.050; in ITP, 0.228 +/- 0.036; and in LD, 0.420 +/- 0.105. However, the total HO activity per spleen was significantly greater in HA (742.9 +/- 137.4 (SE) nmoles/min, p less than 0.001) and LD (681.9 +/- 180.3, p less than 0.005) than in normal spleens (137.1 +/- 55.0), but was not significantly increased in ITP (269.5 +/- 121.5). In normal spleens cytochrome P-450 was 0.052 +/- 0.006 (SE) nmoles/mg and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity was 8.3 +/- 2.2 (SE) nmoles/mg/min; neither of these specific activities was significantly altered in HA, ITP, or LD. Again, total activity was significantly increased in HA and LD associated with increased splenic size. Although total HO activity is greater in the larger spleens, HO activity does not increase per unit weight of tissue. In normal spleen the calculated capacity for bilirubin production by HO was 115 mg per day. This accounts for only 50% of normal daily production from erythroid sources and suggests that other sites are of major importance for hemoglobin degradation.

An extremely sensitive single photon counter was developed that could quantitatively detect very weak, spontaneous light emission from human blood samples. Ultra-weak chemiluminescence intensities of cigarette smokers' blood plasma reached significantly higher levels than those of nonsmokers. Elevated levels of the chemiluminescence of the smokers' plasma returned to the nonsmokers' range within 12 hr after cessation of cigarette smoking. We propose that this higher chemiluminescent property of the smokers' plasma might be somehow related to cigarette smoking-associated health disorders, e.g., carcinogenesis.

We studied the platelet sensitivity to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and to prostacyclin (PGI2) in order to clarify the mechanism of the onset or development of diabetic retinopathy. The platelet sensitivity to ADP in diabetics with simple and proliferative retinopathy was significantly increased as compared with that in diabetics without retinopathy and in controls. The platelet sensitivity to PGI2 in diabetics with simple and proliferative retinopathy was decreased significantly as compared with the normal value. There was a significant negative correlation between the platelet sensitivity to ADP and that to PGI2 in all diabetics. Since the effect of PGI2 on platelets is to inhibit its aggregation, the decreased sensitivity to PGI2 implies a tendency to accelerate platelet aggregation. The increased platelet aggregation due to the alteration of the platelet sensitivity is considered as an important factor in diabetic microangiopathy.

The diurnal change of gallbladder size was clearly measured with a real time ultrasonography. To visualize the gallbladder, 21 diabetic patients and 11 healthy subjects were scanned right subcostally in the supine position nine times between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Photographs of the images were produced on Polaroid film, and the area of gallbladder was calculated. The diurnal changes of the gallbladder size were expressed as the percentage of the size measured at 8:00 a.m. after an overnight fast. The gallbladder in normal control started contracting immediately after breakfast and reached 57.2 +/- 7.6% at 9:00 a.m. In the diabetic patients with and without autonomic neuropathy the gallbladder contracted to 80.9 +/- 14.5% and 72.4 +/- 14.8%, respectively, at 9:00 a.m. while the nadir of the diurnal profile curve in healthy subjects was 24.5 +/- 3.6% at 3:00 p.m., in the diabetic patients with and without autonomic neuropathy those were 57.7 +/- 6.1% at 6:00 p.m. and 41.3 +/- 8.3% at 8:00 p.m., respectively. This implies that the gallbladder contraction was delayed and poor in diabetic patients. In this paper, the gallbladder tonicity index is proposed, which is useful for the easy evaluation of autonomic state of gallbladder in diabetes mellitus.