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People with epilepsy (PWE) may experience cognitive deficits but fail to undergo formal evaluation. This study compares cognitive status between PWE and healthy controls in the West African Republic of Guinea. A cross-sectional, case-control study was conducted in sequential recruitment phases (July 2024-July 2025) at Ignace Deen Hospital, Conakry. Adult (≥ 18 years) PWE enrolled consecutively, excluding those with a seizure within the past 24 h. Controls were healthy adults accompanying PWE at the hospital. Cognitive status was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in French or translated into the patient's preferred language (Pular, Susu, Maninka, Kissi) as needed. We enrolled 100 PWE (mean age 30.4 years, range 18-71, SD = 12.0) and 100 controls (mean age 39.4 years, range 19-70, SD = 12.3). Although 93% of PWE had previously used anti-seizure medications (ASMs), only 85% were currently receiving treatment and 50% reported interrupted access to ASMs, primarily due to cost barriers. The mean MoCA score of controls (21.8, SD = 4.9) was higher than that of PWE (17.9, SD = 6.1; mean difference -4.2, 95% CI [-5.6, -2.8], SE = 0.69, p < 0.001), adjusted for education level, sex, age, and language. Participants who attended lower secondary, upper secondary, or university education scored 4.9, 5.3, and 8.3 points higher, respectively, than those with no school or primary education (all p < 0.001). Speaking an indigenous language was on average associated with a 2.5-point decline in MoCA scores (95% CI [-3.8, -1.2], SE = 0.65, p < 0.001). PWE in Guinea demonstrated significantly lower cognitive performance on the MoCA compared to healthy controls, even after adjusting for covariates.

A multiple linear correlation is done between atmospheric transmissivity for four biologically active radiation daily doses (UVB, erythemal, DNA and plant damage) T, and three parameters (daily sunshine fraction s, cosine of the daily minimum solar zenith angle kmin and daily total ozone column W). T is defined as the ratio of a daily dose to its extra-atmospheric value. The data used are spectral UV measurements (390-400 nm at 0.5 nm step) recorded along year 2000 and over 8 months of year 2001 at Briancon Station (Alps, 1300 m above sea level) that forms part of the French UV network. The coefficients obtained from year 2000 correlation permit to retrieve daily doses for year 2001 with an average error running from 3 to 9% for monthly mean values and from 2 to 4.5% for 3-monthly mean values, depending on daily dose type. The retrieval of yearly mean value gives an error between 4 and 7.5%. Retrieving the daily dose of a given day, where s . 0.2, introduces error running from 16 to 32% depending on daily dose. An attempt to retrieve the yearly mean UVB daily dose for a northern France site, from the previous coefficients, gives encouraging results.

To assess child vitamin A supplementation (VAS) coverage in 2019 and 2020 and explore key factors, including COVID-19 concerns, that influenced VAS status in four sub-Saharan African countries. Data from eight representative household surveys were used to assess VAS coverage. Multivariable logistic regression models examined the effect of rural/urban residence, child sex and age, caregiver education, COVID-19 concern and household wealth on VAS status. Nine (2019) and 12 (2020) districts in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Mali. 28 283 caregivers of children aged 6-59 months. Between 2019 and 2020, VAS coverage increased in Burkina Faso (82·2-93·1 %), Côte d'Ivoire (90·3-93·3 %) and Mali (76·1-79·3 %) and decreased in Guinea (86·0 % to 81·7 %). Rural children had a higher likelihood of VAS uptake compared with urban children in Burkina Faso (adjusted OR (aOR) = 4·22; 95 % CI: 3·11, 5·72), Côte d'Ivoire (aOR = 5·19; 95 % CI: 3·10, 8·70) and Mali (aOR = 1·41; 95 % CI: 1·15, 1·74). Children aged 12-59 months had a higher likelihood of VAS uptake compared with children aged 6-11 months in Côte d'Ivoire (aOR = 1·67; 95 % CI: 1·12, 2·48) and Mali (aOR = 1·74; 95 % CI: 1·34, 2·26). Moderate-to-high COVID-19 concern was associated with a lower likelihood of VAS uptake in Côte d'Ivoire (aOR = 0·55; 95 % CI: 0·37, 0·80). The increase in VAS coverage from 2019 to 2020 suggests that COVID-19 concerns may not have limited VAS uptake in some African countries, though geographic inequities should be considered.

Schistosomiasis is a debilitating parasitic disease of poverty that affects more than 200 million people worldwide, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and is clearly associated with the construction of dams and water resource management infrastructure in tropical and subtropical areas. Changes to hydrology and salinity linked to water infrastructure development may create conditions favorable to the aquatic vegetation that is suitable habitat for the intermediate snail hosts of schistosome parasites. With thousands of small and large water reservoirs, irrigation canals, and dams developed or under construction in Africa, it is crucial to accurately assess the spatial distribution of high-risk environments that are habitat for freshwater snail intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis in rapidly changing ecosystems. Yet, standard techniques for monitoring snails are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and provide information limited to the small areas that can be manually sampled. Consequently, in low-income countries where schistosomiasis control is most needed, there are formidable challenges to identifying potential transmission hotspots for targeted medical and environmental interventions. In this study, we developed a new framework to map the spatial distribution of suitable snail habitat across large spatial scales in the Senegal River Basin by integrating satellite data, high-definition, low-cost drone imagery, and an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computer vision technique called semantic segmentation. A deep learning model (U-Net) was built to automatically analyze high-resolution satellite imagery to produce segmentation maps of aquatic vegetation, with a fast and robust generalized prediction that proved more accurate than a more commonly used random forest approach. Accurate and up-to-date knowledge of areas at highest risk for disease transmission can increase the effectiveness of control interventions by targeting habitat of disease-carrying snails. With the deployment of this new framework, local governments or health actors might better target environmental interventions to where and when they are most needed in an integrated effort to reach the goal of schistosomiasis elimination.

Background Zaire Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreaks can be controlled using rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination and other public health measures. People in high-risk areas may have pre-existing antibodies from asymptomatic Ebolavirus exposure that might affect response to rVSV-ZEBOV. Therefore, we assessed the impact pre-existing immunity had on post-vaccination IgG titre, virus neutralisation, and reactogenicity following vaccination. Methods In this prospective cohort study, 2115 consenting close contacts (“ proches ”) of EVD survivors were recruited. Proches were vaccinated with rVSV-ZEBOV and followed up for 28 days for safety and immunogenicity. Anti-GP IgG titre at baseline and day 28 was assessed by ELISA. Samples from a representative subset were evaluated using live virus neutralisation. Results Ten percent were seropositive at baseline. At day 28, IgG in baseline seronegative (GMT 0.106 IU/ml, 95% CI: 0.100 to 0.113) and seropositive (GMT 0.237 IU/ml, 0.210 to 0.267) participants significantly increased from baseline (both p  < 0.0001). There was strong correlation between antibody titres and virus neutralisation in day 28 samples (Spearman’s rho 0.75). Vaccinees with baseline IgG antibodies against Zaire Ebolavirus had similar safety profiles to those without detectable antibodies (63.6% vs 66.1% adults experienced any adverse event; 49.1% vs 60.9% in children), with almost all adverse events graded as mild. No serious adverse events were attributed to vaccination. No EVD survivors tested positive for Ebolavirus by RT-PCR. Conclusions These data add further evidence of rVSV-ZEBOV safety and immunogenicity, including in people with pre-existing antibodies from suspected natural ZEBOV infection whose state does not blunt rVSV-ZEBOV immune response. Pre-vaccination serological screening is not required.

Insulin-degrading enzyme is a zinc metalloprotease that degrades low-molecular-weight substrates, including insulin. Ubiquitous expression, high evolutionary conservation, upregulation of Ide in stress situations, and literature findings suggest a broader function of Ide in cell physiology and protein homeostasis that remains to be elucidated. We used proteomics and transcriptomics approaches to search for leads related to a broader role of Ide in protein homeostasis. We combined an analysis of the proteome and single-cell transcriptome of Ide+/+ and Ide−/− pancreatic islet cells with an examination of the interactome of human cytosolic Ide using proximity biotinylation. We observe an upregulation of pathways related to RNA processing, translation and splicing in Ide+/+ relative to Ide−/− islet cells. Corroborating these results and providing a potential mechanistic explanation, proximity biotinylation reveals interaction of Ide with several subunits of CCR4-NOT, a key mRNA deadenylase regulating gene expression “from birth to death”. We propose a speculative model in which human and murine Ide cooperate with CCR4-NOT to control protein expression in proteotoxic and metabolic stress situations through cooperation between their deadenylase and protease functions.

Background Drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum is a major threat to malaria control efforts. Pathogen genomic surveillance could be invaluable for monitoring current and emerging parasite drug resistance. Methods Data from two decades (2000–2020) of continuous molecular surveillance of P. falciparum parasites from Senegal were retrospectively examined to assess historical changes in malaria drug resistance mutations. Several known drug resistance markers and their surrounding haplotypes were profiled using a combination of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) molecular surveillance and whole genome sequence based population genomics. Results This dataset was used to track temporal changes in drug resistance markers whose timing correspond to historically significant events such as the withdrawal of chloroquine (CQ) and the introduction of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in 2003. Changes in the mutation frequency at Pfcrt K76T and Pfdhps A437G coinciding with the 2014 introduction of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in Senegal were observed. In 2014, the frequency of Pfcrt K76T increased while the frequency of Pfdhps A437G declined. Haplotype-based analyses of Pfcrt K76T showed that this rapid increase was due to a recent selective sweep that started after 2014. Discussion (Conclusion) The rapid increase in Pfcrt K76T is troubling and could be a sign of emerging amodiaquine (AQ) resistance in Senegal. Emerging AQ resistance may threaten the future clinical efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and AQ-dependent SMC chemoprevention. These results highlight the potential of molecular surveillance for detecting rapid changes in parasite populations and stress the need to monitor the effectiveness of AQ as a partner drug for artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and for chemoprevention.