Limited value of whole blood Xpert® MTB/RIF for diagnosing tuberculosis in children (Publications)
14 (6.0%) had culture-confirmed tuberculosis. The Xpert(R) MTB/RIF assay detected M. tuberculosis in 5/232 (2.2%) blood samples with 1 (0.4%) error reading and presumably 1 (0.4%) false-positive result. [...] assay in children with culture-confirmed (1/14) versus no tuberculosis (1/117) was 7.1% (95% CI, 1.3-31.5). Three of the five Xpert(R) MTB/RIF positive patients had negative cultures, but were classified as [...] against a composite reference standard (culture-confirmed, highly probable or...
Risk factors for helminth infections in a rural and a peri-urban setting of the Dongting Lake area, People's Republic of China (Publications)
prevalences of single infections of S. japonicum, A. lumbricoides, hookworm and T. trichiura were 6.5%, 5.5%, 3.0% and 0.8%, respectively; the majority of the infections were of light intensity. We found
Diagnostic accuracy and case management of clinical malaria in the primary health services of a rural area in south-eastern Tanzania (Publications)
of any density, 25.5% of all children attending the health services had malaria. This yielded a sensitivity of 70.4% (IC95% = 65.9-74.8%) and a specificity of 68.9% (IC95% = 66.2-71.5%). Accordingly, 30 [...] cases left with no antimalarial treatment. Among malaria-diagnosed patients, 10% were underdosed and 10.5% were overdosed. In this area, as in many African rural areas, the low diagnostic accuracy may imply
The burden of surgical site infections and related antibiotic resistance in two geographic regions of Sierra Leone: a prospective study (Publications)
older. Of the 417 patients, 233 (55.9%) were enrolled in MGH. Most were women 294 (70.5%). The incidence rate of SSI was 5.5 per 1000 patient-days, and the cumulative incidence of SSI was 8.2%. Common bacteria
Inflammatory response and IgE sensitization at early age (Publications)
concentrations (sIgE) at the age of one and 4.5 yr. Analyses were made by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The risk of allergic sensitization at the age of 4.5 yr was decreased in children who had increased [...] and the development of allergic sensitization, atopic dermatitis (AD), and asthma at the age of 4.5 yr. METHODS: We studied 636 children participating in the PASTURE study in Finland, Germany, Austria
Evaluation of land use regression models for NO2 and particulate matter in 20 European study areas: the ESCAPE project (Publications)
correlation between concentrations of PM metrics and NO2. LUR models have been developed for NO2, PM2.5 absorbance and Copper (Cu) in PM10 based on 20 sites in each of the 20 study areas of the ESCAPE project [...] concentrations with measured NO2 concentrations at the 20 additional NO2 sites in each area. For NO2, PM2.5 absorbance and PM10 Cu, the median LOOCV R2s were 0.83, 0.81 and 0.76 whereas the median HEV R2 were [...] were 0.52, 0.44 and 0.40. There was a positive association between the...
Transcriptomic and lipidomic profiles of glycerolipids during <em>Arabidopsis</em> flower development (Publications)
system to synchronize flower development in Arabidopsis. The transgenic plant PAP1::AP1-GR ap1-1 cal-5 showed synchronized flower development upon dexamethasone treatment, which enabled massive harvesting [...] nonphosphorous galactolipids during the late stage. Moreover, in the midstage, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate concentration was increased transiently, which suggests the stimulation of the phosphoinositide [...] of multiple phosphoinositide biosynthetic genes associated with the...
Diagnostic accuracy and case management of clinical malaria in the primary health services of a rural area in south-eastern Tanzania (Publications)
of any density, 25.5% of all children attending the health services had malaria. This yielded a sensitivity of 70.4% (IC95% = 65.9-74.8%) and a specificity of 68.9% (IC95% = 66.2-71.5%). Accordingly, 30 [...] cases left with no antimalarial treatment. Among malaria-diagnosed patients, 10% were underdosed and 10.5% were overdosed. In this area, as in many African rural areas, the low diagnostic accuracy may imply
Socioeconomic disparities in childhood cancer survival in Switzerland (Publications)
nervous system (CNS) tumors); with an overall 5-year survival of 77% (95%CI 75-79%). Higher SES, particularly parents' education, was associated with a lower 5-year cumulative mortality. Results varied by [...] (parental education, living condition, area-based SES). Using Cox proportional hazards models, we analyzed 5-year cumulative mortality in all patients registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry diagnosed
The influence of meteorological factors and atmospheric pollutants on the risk of preterm birth (Publications)
Cox models. The frequency of preterm birth was 5.0%. Preterm birth risk tended to increase with first-trimester average atmospheric pressure (odds ratio per 5-mbar increase = 1.06, 95% confidence interval: [...] some evidence of an increase in preterm birth risk with first-trimester average temperature in the -5 degrees C to 15 degrees C range, with a plateau afterwards (spline coding, P = 0.08). No evidence of
