HIV-1/2 differentiation in a South African public laboratory

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus type-2 (HIV-2) prevalence in South Africa (SA) is unknown, however, sporadic cases have been reported. Human immunodeficiency virus -1 and 2 differentiation is not part of most South African public laboratories’ testing algorithm. Human immunodeficiency virus -2 diagnosis using serology assays may be complicated by HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibody cross-reactivity.Objectives: To determine the proportion of HIV-2 infections in specimens that tested HIV-1/2 positive at a public laboratory in Tshwane.Method: A total of 480 specimens that were previously tested with fourth generation ELISA platforms (Modular E170 [Roche, Switzerland] and Architect i2000 [Abbott, Germany]) were randomly selected. Human immunodeficiency virus -1 and 2 antibody differentiation testing was carried out using the Multispot HIV-1/2 rapid assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA). An in-house nested HIV-2 PCR assay targeting the 5′-long terminal repeats (5′-LTR) region was evaluated and used as a confirmatory test.Results: The study tested 480 HIV-1/2 seropositive patients and their mean age was 36.7 years (range 3–82 years). Of the 480 patients, 292 (60.8%) were female, 182 (37.9%) were male and 6 (1.3%) were not specified. Human immunodeficiency virus differentiation results were as follows: 466 (97.1%) were positive for only HIV-1 antibodies, 11 (2.3%) [95%CI: (0.98%; 3.74%)] were positive for both HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies, 3 (0.6%) were negative for both antibodies and none were positive for only HIV-2 antibodies. Of the 11 specimens with both HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies, seven had sufficient volume for confirmatory testing and were all negative on the in-house HIV-2 PCR assay.Conclusion: The multispot HIV-1/2 rapid assay demonstrated cross-reactivity between HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies. Human immunodeficiency virus -2 infections were not detected.

Decolonizing Science Diplomacy: A Case Study of the Dominican Republic’s COVID-19 Response

The COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare systems globally to handle a dramatic surge in healthcare utilization while also taxing available testing resources. In the context of healthcare systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, COVID-19 added to the existing burden of infectious diseases related to endemic infections such as arboviruses and HIV. In the Dominican Republic, testing is supplied mostly by the private sector and a national public laboratory. The surge in testing demands laid bare a lack of installed capacities both in laboratory facilities and equipment and trained staff in molecular biology laboratory procedures. This article discusses a case of how science diplomacy and a relatively new law fostering public-private partnerships allowed a university to play a major role in public health response while generating knowledge to inform public policy decisions in an unprecedented manner in the country. Science diplomacy is discussed in the context of decolonization and the importance of the local gaze when creating academic partnerships in the context of global health emergencies.

Construction of a database for the correct and incorrect use of considerate expressions, for the formation of a Japanese considerate expression dictionary

Professor Masaki Yamaoka, based at the Department of Humanities, Faculty of Letters, Soka University in Japan is leading a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary team that features researchers from academic institutions around the world, with a view to clarifying the actual situation of considerate expressions. It is hoped that this will make real contributions to anthropological fields that provide a more complete picture of what it means to be human.<br/> Some considerate expressions are common to all languages, while others are unique to a specific language. One that is common to many languages is the use of 'maybe' and 'may' which have the effect of making what is said less forceful or certain. By being less emphatic, it is thought that a consideration for the other person's feelings is sometimes part of the language process. It is a usage called 'hedge' in linguistics. For example, in English, 'it might be better to' is a kind of hedge. We can use this phrase as a considerate expression like that 'it might be better to leave here' instead of 'Leave here.'<br/> It is worth bearing in mind that, until now, research into considerate expressions has almost exclusively been conducted with researchers rather than the general public. Laboratory conditions can have the effect of providing an incomplete picture, so Yamaoka wants to make the research more reliable by collecting data on the actual usage of considerate expressions by members of the general public. A large-scale corpus of written and spoken language has already been developed in Japanese, Professor Yamaoka in the process of collecting as many examples of considerate expressions as possible and storing them in the database. The Japanese considerate expression dictionary can be composed by selecting information which is beneficial to Japanese learners from the database. In addition, Professor Yamaoka would also like to publish this database among researchers for the convenience of those who are engaged in research on considerate expressions in the future.

Treatment of clay soils with steel slag, in road engineering

The road construction sector draws large quantities of materials every day to meet the needs of infrastructure networks. The main aim of the link between different regions is to facilitate the transport and connection of these agglomerations. With such a pace, a shortage of these materials is worsening by the day, causing an imbalance in our “ecosystem” on the way. All these factors and many others have raised the alarm among managers in the construction industry. Environmental organizations have since been constantly seeking palliative solutions to this global scourge. In addition, several industries generate a large amount of waste annually, in some cases recoverable while respecting certain technical and environmental criteria. It is in this environmental approach, embracing a philosophy of circular economy that multiple co-products (Slag, Fly Ash, Phosphogypsum, Silica Fume…etc.) have been tested and numerous studies have demonstrated their ability to be used as a substitute for natural resources. In this respect, the following article will focus, through studies conducted in public laboratory, on various mixtures of the "soil-slag" couple to assess their possible use in road engineering. First, an identification of the materials (soil from the Sidi Kacem region and slags from a steel industry) to be adopted in our analysis will be carried out, then we will proceed to Proctor/CBR tests on soil-slag mixtures, defined in advance in order to decide on the possibility of developing them in road engineering and thereby reduce the quantities in contribution of noble materials.

Nonconformities in Veterinary Cytopathological Examinations: A Retrospective Study of Unsuitable Samples for Analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the main nonconformities that result in cytopathological samples inappropriate for diagnosis in veterinary medicine. All cytopathological samples, obtained from different canine and feline tissues/lesions, included in the study were received and classified as inconclusive by a single public laboratory of veterinary pathology, located in Pernambuco State, Brazil, between 2012 and 2016. Nonconformities regarding the smear quality, cellularity, presence or absence of hemorrhage, cellular overlapping, desiccation, and presence or absence of necrotic debris and/or artifacts were evaluated. Data were tabulated using Microsoft Excel 2007; absolute and relative frequencies were calculated using EPIINFO 3.5.2. From the 3268 cases received between 2012 and 2016, 190 cases were selected and comprised 514 inconclusive slides. The most frequent nonconformities detected were insufficient/absence of cellularity in 100% (514/514), inadequate submacroscopic presentation in 87% (446/514), and hemorrhage in 69% (356/514) of samples. Other features identified were cellular overlapping in 34% (175/514), inadequate staining in 31% (175/514), artifacts in 30% (154/514), desiccation in 28% (145/514), and necrotic debris in 26% (133/514) of samples. The implementation of laboratory standard operational procedures aimed at maintaining quality is essential. It is necessary to initially identify the main errors occurring in the processing stages as a way to guide and design strategies to avoid them.