Land use regression modelling of outdoor NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations in three low income areas in the Western Cape Province, South Africa (Publications)
NO(2) and PM2.5 were 22.1 μg/m(3) and 10.2 μg/m(3), respectively. The NO(2) models for the warm season, cold season, and overall year explained 62%, 77%, and 76% of the variance (R(2)). The PM2.5 annual models [...] Explanatory power for PM2.5 models is lower due to lower spatial variability and the possible impact of local transient sources. The study was able to provide NO(2) and PM2.5 seasonal exposure estimates [...] can help to inform communities, industries, and policy makers. Weekly...
Low sensitivity of the MPT64 identification test to detect lineage 5 of the <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> complex (Publications)
the rapid MPT64 antigen identification test for the detection of Mycobacterium africanum lineage 5 (MAF L5). METHODOLOGY: Smear-positive tuberculosis patients' sputa were included prospectively. Culture [...] MTBc isolates (93.2 %, 300/322), but it failed to detect 24 % of the L5 isolates (18/75) versus 2 % (4/202) of the L4 ones [OR=15.6 (5.3-45.8), P
Global, regional, and national under-5 mortality, adult mortality, age-specific mortality, and life expectancy, 1970-2016: a systematic analysis for... (Publications)
deaths in children younger than 5 years decreased from 1970 to 2016, and slower decreases occurred at ages 5-24 years. By contrast, numbers of adult deaths increased in each 5-year age bracket above the age [...] For other locations, we took advantage of different data sources available to measure under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) using complete birth histories, summary birth histories, and incomplete VR with adjustments; [...] distribution methods for adults and from consideration of survey and...
Comparative genomics of <em>Mycobacterium africanum</em> lineage 5 and lineage 6 from Ghana suggests distinct ecological niches (Publications)
Lineage 5 (L5) and N = 78 Lineage 6 (L6). We found that the genomic diversity of L6 was higher than in L5 despite the smaller sample size. Regulatory proteins appeared to evolve neutrally in L5 but under [...] epitopes overall compared to L5. Of the 10% human T cell epitopes that were variable, most carried mutations that were lineage-specific. Our findings indicate that Maf L5 and L6 differ in some of their
Spatial PM2.5, NO2, O3 and BC models for Western Europe - evaluation of spatiotemporal stability (Publications)
health relevant air pollutants (PM2.5, NO2, BC, O3) across Europe. METHODS: We developed West-European land use regression models (LUR) for 2010 estimating annual mean PM2.5, NO2, BC and O3 concentrations [...] time, separate models were developed for different years (NO2 and O3: 2000 and 2005; PM2.5: 2013). RESULTS: The PM2.5, BC, NO2, O3 annual, O3 warm season and O3 cold season models explained respectively 72% [...] and 16% of the R(2) in the PM2.5, O3 warm and O3 cold models. Explained...
Hourly land-use regression modeling for NO2 and PM2.5 in the Netherlands (Publications)
performed overall well (5-fold cross validation R(2) = 0.50 - 0.78), while the PM(2.5) performed moderately (5-fold cross validation R(2) = 0.24 - 0.62). Both for NO(2) and PM(2.5) the warm season models [...] this study we aimed to model average hourly concentrations for two major pollutants, NO(2) and PM(2.5), for the Netherlands using the LUR algorithm. We modelled the spatial variation of average hourly [...] models performed overall worse than both modelling approaches (NO(2) hourly R(2) =...
Association between concurrence of multiple risk factors and under-5 mortality: a pooled analysis of data from demographic and health survey in 61... (Publications)
al strategies to address preventable under-5 mortality (U5M). This study aims to assess the associations between concurrence of multiple risk factors and U5M in LMICs. METHODS: We extracted data from the [...] 61 LMICs. Our primary outcome was U5M, defined as deaths from birth to 59 months. Binary logistic regression model was applied to ascertain the association between U5M and a total of 20 critical risk factors [...] factors in each individual and assessed their combined effects on U5M with...
Test-treat-track-test-treat (5T) approach for <em>Schistosoma haematobium</em> elimination on Pemba Island, Tanzania (Publications)
survey was 1.4% (21/1560) in 2021 and 1.5% (24/1645) in 2022. In the household-based survey, it was 3.3% (98/2975) in 2021 and 5.4% (159/2920) in 2022. During the 5T interventions, the microhaematuria prevalence [...] school-based survey in 15 low-prevalence implementation units was 0.5% (7/1560) in 2021 and 0.4% (6/1645) in 2022. In the household-based survey, 0.5% (14/2975) and 0.7% (19/2920) of participants were infected [...] n are needed. We report results, strengths, and shortcomings of...
Incidence of cough from acute exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Madagascar: a pilot study (Publications)
association between hourly PM2.5 exposure and cough counts. Peaks in both PM2.5 concentration and cough frequency were observed during the day. A 10-fold increase in hourly PM2.5 concentration corresponded [...] feasibility of objective PM2.5 and cough monitoring in remote settings. An association between hourly PM2.5 exposure and cough frequency was detected, suggesting that PM2.5 exposure may have immediate effects [...] exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a known risk to...
<em>TOLLIP</em> and <em>MUC5B</em> modulate the effect of ambient NO2 on respiratory symptoms in infancy (Publications)
Significant interaction was observed between modelled air pollution (weekly NO(2) exposure) and 5 SNPs within MUC5B and TOLLIP genes regarding respiratory symptoms as outcome: E.g., infants carrying minor alleles [...] BACKGROUND: Current knowledge suggests that the gene region containing MUC5B and TOLLIP plays a role in airway defence and airway inflammation, and hence respiratory disease. It is also known that exposure [...] on the immune response and respiratory symptoms in infants may be...