Background Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia contributed 81% of 5•9 million under-5 deaths and 77% of 2•6 million stillbirths worldwide in 2015. Vital registration and verbal autopsy data are mainstays for the estimation of leading causes of death, but both are non-specific and focus on a single underlying cause. We aimed to provide granular data on the contributory causes of death in stillborn fetuses and in deceased neonates and children younger than 5 years, to inform child mortality prevention efforts. Methods The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network was established at sites in seven countries (

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Anopheline vectors and malaria transmission were studied in 2 river-irrigated, rice-growing districts of eastern Afghanistan from May 1995 to December 1996. Clinical malaria was monitored in 12 rural villages (population 14,538) by passive case detection at local clinics. Adult mosquitoes were collected by space-spraying of living quarters and stables and by cattle bait catches. Mosquito head-thoraces (17,255 specimens) were tested for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax circumsporozoite protein (CSP) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The recorded incidence of P. vivax and P. falciparum was 199 and 41 episodes per 1000 person years, respectively. Twelve species of anopheline were recorded; Anopheles stephensi comprised 82% and A. culicifacies 5%. Eight species tested positive for CSP: A. stephensi, A. culicifacies, A. fluviatilus, A. annularis, A. pulcherrimus, A. maculatus, A. splendidus and A. superpictus. Among infected mosquitoes 46% were positive for P. falciparum, 45% for P. vivax VK-247, and 9% for P. vivax PV-210. Estimates of the feeding rates of infective vectors on humans indicated that A. stephensi would contribute 76% of infective bites, A. fluviatilis and A. pulcherrimus 7% each, and A. culicifacies and A. superpictus 3% each. The overall infective vector feeding rate correlated with the P. vivax incidence rate in the human population. The conventional view of A. culicifacies being the main rural vector and A. stephensi important only in urban settings needs to be reconsidered in western outreaches of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

BackgroundWe performed a genome-wide scan of 27,578 CpG loci covering 14,475 genes to identify differentially methylated loci (DML) in colorectal carcinoma (CRC).MethodsWe used Illumina's Infinium methylation assay in paired DNA samples extracted from 24 fresh frozen CRC tissues and their corresponding normal colon tissues from 24 consecutive diagnosed patients at a tertiary medical center.ResultsWe found a total of 627 DML in CRC covering 513 genes, of which 535 are novel DML covering 465 genes. We also validated the Illumina Infinium methylation data for top-ranking genes by non-bisulfite conversion q-PCR-based methyl profiler assay in a subset of the same samples. We also carried out integration of genome-wide copy number and expression microarray along with methylation profiling to see the functional effect of methylation. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) showed that among the major "gene sets" that are hypermethylated in CRC are the sets: "inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity by G-protein signaling", "Rac guanyl-nucleotide exchange factor activity", "regulation of retinoic acid receptor signaling pathway" and "estrogen receptor activity". Two-level nested cross validation showed that DML-based predictive models may offer reasonable sensitivity (around 89%), specificity (around 95%), positive predictive value (around 95%) and negative predictive value (around 89%), suggesting that these markers may have potential clinical application.ConclusionOur genome-wide methylation study in CRC clearly supports most of the previous findings; additionally we found a large number of novel DML in CRC tissue. If confirmed in future studies, these findings may lead to identification of genomic markers for potential clinical application.

Abstract. Spraying of canvas tents with residual pyrethroid insecticide is an established method of malaria vector control in tented refugee camps. In recent years, plastic sheeting (polythene tarpaulins) has replaced canvas as the utilitarian shelter material for displaced populations in complex emergencies. Advances in technology enable polythene sheeting to be impregnated with pyrethroid during manufacture. The efficacy of such material against mosquitoes when erected as shelters under typical refugee camp conditions is unknown. Tests were undertaken with free-flying mosquitoes on entomological study platforms in an Afghan refugee camp to compare the insecticidal efficacy of plastic tarpaulin sprayed with deltamethrin on its inner surface (target dose 30 mg/m 2 ), tarpaulin impregnated with deltamethrin (initially ! 30 mg/m 2 ) during manufacture, and a tent made from the factory impregnated tarpaulin material. Preliminary tests done in the laboratory with Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera: Culicidae) showed that 1-min exposure to factory-impregnated tarpaulins would give 100% mortality even after outdoor weathering in a temperate climate for 12 weeks. Outdoor platform tests with the erected materials (baited with human subjects) produced mosquito mortality rates between 86±100% for sprayed or factory-impregnated tarpaulins and tents (average $40 anophelines and $200 culicines/per platform/ night), whereas control mortality (with untreated tarpaulin) was no more than 5%. Fewer than 20% of mosquitoes blood-fed on human subjects under either insecticide-treated or non-treated shelters. The tarpaulin shelter was a poor barrier to host-seeking mosquitoes and treatment with insecticide did not reduce the proportion blood-feeding. Even so, the deployment of insecticide-impregnated tarpaulins in refugee camps, if used by the majority of refugees, has the potential to control malaria by killing high proportions of mosquitoes and so reducing the average life expectancy of vectors (greatly reducing vectorial capacity), rather than by directly protecting refugees from mosquito bites. Mass coverage with deltamethrin-sprayed or impregnated tarpaulins or tents has strong potential for preventing malaria in displaced populations affected by conflict.