Institution
University of Zimbabwe
Education•Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe•
About: University of Zimbabwe is a education organization based out in Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 4378 authors who have published 6800 publications receiving 160720 citations. The organization is also known as: UZ & University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Topics: Population, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Public health, Agriculture, Health care
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: Nine branching process models, which differ in assumptions regarding the regulation of transposition and the effect of copy number on fitness, have been evaluated and there is a highly significant positive association among the insertion sequences considered in the aggregate.
Abstract: A reference collection of 71 natural isolates of Escherichia coli (the ECOR collection) has been studied with respect to the distribution and abundance of transposable insertion sequences using DNA hybridization. The data include 1 173 occurrences of six unrelated insertion sequences (IS 1, IS2, IS3, IS4, IS5 and IS30). The number of insertion elements per strain, and the sizes of DNA restriction fragments containing them, is highly variable and can be used to discriminate even among closely related strains. The occurrence and abundance of pairs of unrelated insertion sequences are apparently statistically independent, but significant correlations result from stratifications in the reference collection. However, there is a highly significant positive association among the insertion sequences considered in the aggregate. Nine branching process models, which differ in assumptions regarding the regulation of transposition and the effect of copy number on fitness, have been evaluated with regard to their fit of the observed distributions. No single model fits all copy number distributions. The best models incorporate no regulation of transposition and a moderate to strong decrease in fitness with increasing copy number for IS1 and IS5, strong regulation of transposition and a negligible to weak decrease in fitness with increasing copy number for IS3, and less than strong regulation of transposition for IS2, IS4 and IS30. NSERTION sequences are a special class of transI posable elements found in prokaryotes that have been studied extensively in Escherichia coli K12 (CALOS and MILLER 1980). They usually range in size from 1 to 2 kilobasepairs (kb) and contain perfect or nearly perfect inverted terminal repeat sequences. The terminal sequences flank a unique central sequence with at least one long open reading frame coding, presumably, for the transposase protein. One evolutionary implication of insertion sequences derives from their mutagenic activity in causing insertion mutations. The ability of insertion sequences to inactivate genes
154 citations
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University College London1, Médecins Sans Frontières2, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation3, Medical Research Council4, University of London5, University of Copenhagen6, Imperial College London7, Makerere University8, World Health Organization9, Johns Hopkins University10, Erasmus University Rotterdam11, Northwestern University12, University of the Witwatersrand13, Stanford University14, Harvard University15, University of Washington16, New York University17, University of Zimbabwe18, University of New South Wales19, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia20, University of York21, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention22
TL;DR: It is found that viral-load-informed differentiated care using dried blood sample testing is cost-effective and is a recommended strategy for patient monitoring, although further empirical evidence as the approach is rolled out would be of value.
Abstract: There are inefficiencies in current approaches to monitoring patients on antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. Patients typically attend clinics every 1 to 3 months for clinical assessment. The clinic costs are comparable with the costs of the drugs themselves and CD4 counts are measured every 6 months, but patients are rarely switched to second-line therapies. To ensure sustainability of treatment programmes, a transition to more cost-effective delivery of antiretroviral therapy is needed. In contrast to the CD4 count, measurement of the level of HIV RNA in plasma (the viral load) provides a direct measure of the current treatment effect. Viral-load-informed differentiated care is a means of tailoring care so that those with suppressed viral load visit the clinic less frequently and attention is focussed on those with unsuppressed viral load to promote adherence and timely switching to a second-line regimen. The most feasible approach to measuring viral load in many countries is to collect dried blood spot samples for testing in regional laboratories; however, there have been concerns over the sensitivity and specificity of this approach to define treatment failure and the delay in returning results to the clinic. We use modelling to synthesize evidence and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of viral-load-informed differentiated care, accounting for limitations of dried blood sample testing. We find that viral-load-informed differentiated care using dried blood sample testing is cost-effective and is a recommended strategy for patient monitoring, although further empirical evidence as the approach is rolled out would be of value. We also explore the potential benefits of point-of-care viral load tests that may become available in the future.
154 citations
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TL;DR: Despite screening, mild-to-moderate baseline renal impairment was relatively common, but these participants had greatest increases in eGFR after starting ART, with small but statistically significant differences between regimens.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: We sought to investigate renal function in previously untreated symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults with CD4(+) cell counts of or =60 but or =30 but <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) impairments in eGFR. First-line ART regimens included zidovudine-lamivudine plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (for 74% of patients), nevirapine (16%), and abacavir (9%) (mostly nonrandomized allocation). After ART initiation, the median eGFR was 89-91 mL/min/1.73 m(2) for the period from week 4 through week 96. Fifty-two participants (1.6%) developed severe reductions in eGFR by week 96; there was no statistically significant difference between these patients and others with respect to first-line ART regimen received (P = .94). Lower baseline eGFR or hemoglobin level, lower body mass index, younger age, higher baseline CD4(+) cell count, and female sex were associated with greater increases in eGFR over baseline, with small but statistically significant differences between regimens (P < .001 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Despite screening, mild-to-moderate baseline renal impairment was relatively common, but these participants had greatest increases in eGFR after starting ART. Severe eGFR impairment was infrequent regardless of ART regimen and was generally related to intercurrent disease. Differences between ART regimens with respect to changes in eGFR through 96 weeks were of marginal clinical relevance, but investigating longer-term nephrotoxicity remains important.
154 citations
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TL;DR: Age–prevalence data for human infection with S. haematobium are analysed to find patterns of variation that are indeed consistent with the epidemiological effects of acquired immunity predicted by mathematical models.
Abstract: Human immune responses to schistosome infection have been characterized in detail. But there has been controversy over the relative importance of ecological factors (variation in exposure to infection) and immunological factors (acquired immunity) in determining the relationships between levels of infection and age typically found in areas where infection is endemic. Independent effects of exposure and age on the rates of reinfection with Schistosoma haematobium after chemotherapy have been demonstrated in the Gambia and Zimbabwe. This age effect could be the result of acquired immunity to infection. Indeed, allowing for variation in exposure and age, low rates of reinfection in the Gambia are correlated with high amounts of specific IgE antibodies--human IgE can kill S. mansoni schistosomulae in vitro. Further, animals can acquire immunologically mediated resistance to S. mansoni infection, although nonimmunological factors could also be involved. Acquisition of this immunity seems to be related to the cumulative effects of repeated infection and provides only partial protection. These characteristics are consistent with immuno-epidemiological data for both S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections of humans. We have now analysed age-prevalence data for human infection with S. haematobium, and find patterns of variation that are indeed consistent with the epidemiological effects of acquired immunity predicted by mathematical models.
154 citations
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TL;DR: The provision of mobile services, combined with appropriate support activities, may have significant effects on utilization of voluntary counseling and testing and provide early support for community mobilization as a strategy for increasing testing rates.
Abstract: Conclusions: The provision of mobile services, combined with appropriate support activities, may have significant effects on utilization of voluntary counseling and testing. These findings also provide early support for community mobilization as a strategy for increasing testing rates.
153 citations
Authors
Showing all 4433 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
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Didier Raoult | 173 | 3267 | 153016 |
Roy M. Anderson | 116 | 526 | 65549 |
Vikram Patel | 116 | 654 | 59717 |
Richard M. Cowling | 96 | 392 | 30042 |
Ken E. Giller | 92 | 555 | 36374 |
Leif Bertilsson | 87 | 321 | 23933 |
Johan Rockström | 85 | 236 | 57842 |
Alex Aiken | 77 | 295 | 20254 |
Frances M. Cowan | 76 | 456 | 19984 |
Robert J. Biggar | 73 | 231 | 18474 |
Charles A. Thornton | 71 | 182 | 17195 |
David Wilson | 69 | 618 | 18780 |
David Katzenstein | 69 | 280 | 21239 |
Bruce M. Campbell | 67 | 227 | 17616 |
David Sanders | 65 | 492 | 17119 |