Trends in Reported Sexual Behavior and Y-Chromosomal DNA Detection Among Female Sex Workers in the Senegal Preexposure Prophylaxis Demonstration Project.

BACKGROUND: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can reduce HIV acquisition among female sex workers (FSWs). However, changes in condomless sex frequency after PrEP initiation could reduce PrEP effectiveness when PrEP adherence is suboptimal as well as increase the risk of acquiring other sexually transmitted infections. Objective measures of condomless sex may be more accurate for determining changes in sexual behavior than self-reported measures. METHODS: We longitudinally measured self-reported condom use, number of clients, and presence of Y-chromosomal DNA (Yc-DNA) in vaginal swabs among 267 FSWs accessing PrEP at 4 clinics in Senegal between 2015 and 2016. We assessed trends in sexual behavior over time since PrEP initiation using generalized estimating equations and evaluated predictors of Yc-DNA detection. RESULTS: We found no increase in self-reported condomless sex with clients (odds ratio [OR], 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-1.00), main partners (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.96-1.02), or Yc-DNA detection (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.90-1.08) over time since initiation. Y-chromosomal DNA was detected in 34 (22%) of 154 swabs tested and in 15 (26%) of 58 swabs from FSW reporting consistent condom use among both clients and main partners. Self-reported condom use with clients or main partners did not predict Yc-DNA detection. CONCLUSIONS: In a FSW PrEP demonstration project in Senegal, we found no evidence of risk compensation among FSWs on PrEP as measured by self-reported behavior or through Yc-DNA detection. Y-chromosomal DNA detection was frequently detected among FSWs reporting consistent condom use, highlighting limitations of self-reported sexual behavioral measures.

Evaluation of Senegal's prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program data for HIV surveillance.

BACKGROUND: With the expansion of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services in Senegal, there is growing interest in using PMTCT program data in lieu of conducting unlinked anonymous testing (UAT)-based ANC Sentinel Surveillance. For this reason, an evaluation was conducted in 2011-2012 to identify the gaps that need to be addressed while transitioning to using PMTCT program data for surveillance. METHODS: We conducted analyses to assess HIV prevalence rates and agreements between Sentinel Surveillance and PMTCT HIV test results. Also, a data quality assessment of the PMTCT program registers and data was conducted during the Sentinel Surveillance period (December 2011 to March 2012) and 3 months prior. Finally, we also assessed selection bias, which was the percentage difference from the HIV prevalence among all women enrolled in the antenatal clinic and the HIV prevalence among women who accepted PMTCT HIV testing. RESULTS: The median site HIV prevalence using routine PMTCT HIV testing data was 1.1% (IQR: 1.0) while the median site prevalence from the UAT HIV Sentinel Surveillance data was at 1.0% (IQR: 1.6). The Positive per cent agreement (PPA) of the PMTCT HIV test results compared to those of the Sentinel Surveillance was 85.1% (95% CI 77.2-90.7%), and the percent-negative agreement (PNA) was 99.9% (95% CI 99.8-99.9%). The overall HIV prevalence according to UAT was the same as that found for women accepting a PMTCT HIV test and those who refused, with percent bias at 0.00%. For several key PMTCT variables, including "HIV test offered" (85.2%), "HIV test acceptance" (78.0%), or "HIV test done" (58.8%), the proportion of records in registers with combined complete and valid data was below the WHO benchmark of 90%. CONCLUSIONS: The PPA of 85.1 was below the WHO benchmarks of 96.6%, while the combined data validity and completeness rates was below the WHO benchmark of 90% for many key PMTCT variables. These results suggested that Senegal will need to reinforce the quality of onsite HIV testing and improve program data collection practices in preparation for using PMTCT data for surveillance purposes.

1,5-Bis(2-hy-droxy-3-meth-oxy-benzyl-idene)carbonohydrazide methanol 0.47-solvate.

In the title compound, C17H18N4O5·0.47CH3OH, the virtually planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.128 Å) carbonohydrazide mol-ecule is located on a twofold axis and conformation of its C=N bonds is E. There are short intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds between the hy-droxy groups and hydrazide N atoms. In the crystal, bifurcated N-H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bonds assemble the carbonohydrazide mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network. There are C 2 symmetric voids in this network, 47% of which are occupied by disordered methanol mol-ecules.

Crystal structure of 1-(1,3-benzo-thia-zol-2-yl)-3-(4-bromo-benzo-yl)thio-urea.

The chemical reaction of 4-bromo-benzoyl-chloride and 2-amino-thia-zole in the presence of potassium thio-cyanate yielded a white solid formulated as C15H10BrN3OS2, which consists of 4-bromo-benzamido and 2-benzo-thia-zolyl moieties connected by a thio-urea group. The 4-bromo-benzamido and 2-benzo-thia-zolyl moieties are in a trans conformtion (sometimes also called s-trans due to the single bond) with respect to the N-C bond. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the 4-bromo-phenyl and the 2-benzo-thia-zolyl units is 10.45 (11)°. The thio-urea moiety, -C-NH-C(=S) -NH- fragment forms a dihedral angle of 8.64 (12)° with the 4-bromo-phenyl ring and is almost coplanar with the 2-benzo-thia-zolyl moiety, with a dihedral angle of 1.94 (11)°. The mol-ecular structure is stabilized by intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of an S(6) ring. In the crystal, pairs of adjacent mol-ecules inter-act via inter-molecular hydrogen bonds of type C-H⋯N, C-H⋯S and N-H⋯S, resulting in mol-ecular layers parallel to the ac plane.

Crystal structure of poly[hexa-µ-bro-mido-bis{2-[1-(py-ri-din-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]ethanol-ato}tetracopper(II)].

The reaction of the Schiff base 2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]-ethanol (HL), which is formed by reaction of 2-amino-ethanol and 2-acetyl-pyridine with CuBr2 in ethanol results in the isolation of the new polymeric complex poly[hexa-µ-bromido-bis-{2-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl-idene-amino]-ethano-lato}tetra-copper(II)], [Cu4Br6(C9H11N2O)2]n or [Cu4Br6 L 2]n. The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure of the polymeric [Cu4Br6 L 2]n complex is composed by four copper (II) cations, two monodeprotonated mol-ecules of the ligand, and six bromide anions, which act as bridges. The ligand mol-ecules act in a tridentate fashion through their azomethine nitro-gen atoms, their pyridine nitro-gen atoms, and their alcoholate O atoms. The crystal structure shows two types of geometries in the coordination polyhedrons around Cu2+ ions. Two copper cations are situated in a square-based pyramidal environment, while the two other copper cations adopt a tetra-hedral geometry. Bromides anions acting as bridges between two metal ions connect the units, resulting in a tetra-nuclear polymer compound.

Evaluation of a Training Program on Gender Mainstreaming in Health Research Evaluation at the Senegalese National Research Ethics Committee.

Health research must be of high ethical and scientific quality and consider the needs and experiences of women, men, and nonbinary individuals. National Research Ethics Committees (RECs) are in a strategic position to impede sex- and gender-blind research. In 2020 and 2021, training programs on gender mainstreaming and sex and gender approaches in research evaluation were launched in Senegal. They were evaluated through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. Knowledge acquisition was 16.67%, 8.54%, and 28.42% for the trainees of 2021, 2020, and those who attended the training in both years, respectively. Gender mainstreaming was reported as pertinent in research ethics by 74% of participants. This training is expected to catalyze gender-transformative research ethics in West Africa.

Bis(2-{[2-(2-hy-droxy-benzyl-amino)-eth-yl]amino-meth-yl}phenolato-κN,N',O)cobalt(III) nitrate monohydrate.

In the title compound, [Co(C(16)H(19)N(2)O(2))(2)]NO(3)·H(2)O, the Co(III) ion is located on an inversion center and is six-coordinated by two phenolate O atoms and four amino N atoms from two diamine ligands, forming an octa-hedral geometry. The water mol-ecule and the nitrate anion are located close to an inversion center, and are thus equally disordered by symmetry. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the uncoordinated water mol-ecule and the free phenol hydroxyl group with the nitrate anion. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the amino groups and the nitrate anions connect the complex mol-ecules along the c axis.

Hexanuclear copper(II) complex of 2-hy-droxy-N,N'-bis-[1-(2-hy-droxy-phen-yl)ethyl-idene]propane-1,3-di-amine incorporating an open-cubane core.

The title mol-ecular structure, namely, di-aqua-tris-(µ3-1,3-bis-{[1-(2-oxidophen-yl)ethyl-idene]amino}-propan-2-olato)-µ3-hydroxido-dinitrato-hexa-copper(II) ethanol tris-olvate, [Cu6(C19H19N2O3)3(NO3)2(OH)(H2O)2]·3C2H5OH, corres-ponds to a non-symmetric hexa-nuclear copper complex. The complex exhibits one core in which three CuII metal centres are mutually inter-connected, two by two, via three phenolato oxygen anions acting in a µ2-mode. These three copper cations are inter-connected in a µ3-mode by one hydroxyl group. An open-cube structure is generated in which each of the CuII cations of the three CuO4N units is connected by two µ2-O anions from phenolate groups and one µ3-O atom from a hy-droxy anion. Each of the three penta-coordinated CuII cations situated in the open-cube unit has a distorted NO4 square-pyramidal environment. Each of these three CuII centres is inter-connected with another CuII cation via one enolate O atom in µ2-mode, yielding one CuNO4 unit and two CuNO3 units. The penta-coordinated CuII atom has a distorted square-pyramidal environment while the two tetra-coordinated copper(II) cations are situated in a square-planar environment. A series of intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed. In the crystal, the units are connected two by two by inter-molecular C-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, thus forming sheets parallel to the ac plane.

Di-aqua-bis-{µ-1,5-bis-[(pyridin-2-yl)methyl-idene]carbonohydrazide(1-)}di-µ-chlorido-tetra-chlorido-tetra-zinc(II).

A tetra-nuclear ZnII complex, [Zn4(C13H11N6O)2Cl6(H2O)2] or {[Zn2(HL)(H2O)(Cl2)](µCl)2[Zn2(HL)(H2O)(Cl)]}2, was synthesized by mixing an equimolar amount of a methanol solution containing ZnCl2 and a methanol solution containing the ligand H2 L [1,5-bis-(pyridin-2-yl-methyl-ene)carbono-hydrazide]. In the tetra-nuclear complex, each of the two ligand mol-ecules forms a dinuclear unit that is connected to another dinuclear unit by two bridging chloride anions. In each dinuclear unit, one ZnII cation is penta-coordinated in a N2OCl2 in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry, while the other ZnII cation is hexa-coordinated in a N3OCl2 environment with a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The basal plane around the penta-coordinated ZnII cation is formed by one chloride anion, one oxygen atom, one imino nitro-gen atom and one pyridine nitro-gen atom with the apical position occupied by a chloride anion. The basal plane of the hexa-coordinated ZnII cation is formed by one chloride anion, one hydrazinyl nitro-gen atom, one imino nitro-gen atom and one pyridine nitro-gen atom with the apical positions occupied by a water oxygen atom and a bridged chloro anion from another dinuclear unit, leading to a tetra-nuclear complex. A series of intra-molecular C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds is observed in each tetra-nuclear unit. In the crystal, the tetra-nuclear units are connected by inter-molecular C-H⋯Cl, C-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a planar two-dimensional structure in the ac plane.

Uptake, retention, and outcomes in a demonstration project of pre-exposure prophylaxis among female sex workers in public health centers in Senegal.

The Senegal pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Demonstration Project was an open-label cohort study assessing the delivery of daily oral PrEP to HIV-negative female sex workers (FSWs) in four Ministry of Health (MoH)-run clinics in Dakar, Senegal. We assessed uptake, retention in care, and adherence over up to 12 months of follow-up as well as HIV infection rates. Between July and November 2015, 350 individuals were approached and 324 (92.6%) were preliminarily eligible. Uptake was high, with 82.4% of eligible participants choosing to enroll and take PrEP. The mean age of those enrolled was 37.7 years (SD = 8.7), and approximately half had not attended school (41.2%). Among the 267 participants who were prescribed PrEP, 79.9 and 73.4% were retained in PrEP care at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Older age among FSWs was found to be the only significant predictor of lower discontinuation. We did not find significant differences in retention by site, education, condom use, or HIV risk perception. There were no new HIV infections at follow-up. Our results showed evidence of high interest in PrEP and very good PrEP retention rates among FSWs at 12-month follow-up when offered in MoH-run clinics, with older age as the only significant predictor of higher PrEP retention. This highlights the role that these clinics can play in expanding PrEP access nationwide.

3,3'-Dibenzoyl-1,1'-(3,6-dioxaoctane-1,8-di-yl)dithio-urea.

In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(22)H(26)N(4)O(4)S(2), the central O-CH(2)-CH(2)-O chain adopts a synclinal conformation [torsion angle = 65.0 (2)°]. The crystal structure is stabilized by intra-molecular N-H⋯O=C and inter-molecular N-H⋯O-C hydrogen bonds.

Effectiveness of the prevention of HIV mother -to-child transmission (PMTCT) program via early infant diagnosis (EID) data in Senegal.

BACKGROUND: To improve the care and treatment of HIV-exposed children, early infant diagnosis (EID) using dried blood spot (DBS) sampling has been performed in Senegal since 2007, making molecular diagnosis accessible for patients living in decentralized settings. This study aimed to determine the evolution of the HIV transmission rate in children from 2008 to 2015 and to analyze associated factors, particularly the mother's treatment status and/or child's prophylaxis status and the feeding mode. METHODS: The data were analyzed using EID reports from the reference laboratory. Information related to sociodemographic characteristics, HIV profiles, the mother's treatment status, the child's prophylaxis status, and the feeding mode was included. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 5418 samples (5020 DBS and 398 buffy coat) from 168 primary prevention of HIV mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) intervention sites in Senegal were tested. The samples were collected from 4443 children with a median age of 8 weeks (1-140 weeks) and a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.1 (2309/2095). One-third (35.2%; N = 1564) of the children were tested before 6 weeks of age. Twenty percent (N = 885) underwent molecular diagnostic testing more than once. An increased number of mothers receiving treatment (57.4%; N = 2550) and children receiving prophylaxis (52.1%; N = 2315) for protection against HIV infection during breastfeeding was found over the study period. The transmission rate decreased from 14.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 11.4-18.3) in 2008 to 4.1% (95% CI: 2.5-7.5) in 2015 (p < 0.001). However, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that independent predictors of HIV mother-to-child transmission included lack of mother's treatment (adjusted odd ratio (aOR) = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.9-7.7; p˂0.001), lack of child's prophylaxis (aOR = 7.8, 95% CI: 1.7-35.7; p = 0.009), infant age at diagnosis (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.3 for ≤6 weeks versus 12-24 weeks; p = 0.025) and protective effect of breastfeeding on ART against formula feeding (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7; p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of PMTCT interventions in Senegal but indicates also that increased efforts should be continued to reduce the MTCT rate to less than 2%.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a second generation of pyridothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides acting as AMPA potentiators.

Taking into account structure-activity relationships obtained with our previous series, new diversely substituted 1,2,4-pyridothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides were designed to obtain novel AMPA potentiators. The aim of this work was focused on the improvement of lipophilicity, which is well known as a critical parameter to obtain in vivo active central nervous system agents. For this purpose, two positions on the pyridine ring were privileged to insert selected groups. Among the synthesized compounds emerged 7-chloro-4-ethyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrido[2,3-e]-[1,2,4]-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide (12d), which was evaluated in two memory tests in Wistar rats and showed cognition enhancing effects after intraperitoneal injection at doses as low as 0.3mg/kg.

Crystal structure of (µ-trans-1,2-bis-{2-[(2-oxido-phen-yl)methyl-idene]hydrazin-1-yl-idene}ethane-1,2-diolato-κ3O,O',N)bis-[di-tert-butyl-tin(IV)].

The binuclear complex, [Sn2(C4H9)4(C16H10N4O4)], contains two Sn4+ ions, connected by doubly N-deprotonated oxalylbis[(2-oxido-benzyl-idene)hydrazide] ligands, and each Sn4+ ion is linked to two tert-butyl groups. The coordination sphere of each Sn atom is best described as a distorted trigonal bipyramid. Each stannic ion in the complex is in a C2O2N environment. The two homologous parts of the doubly deprotonated ligand are located in trans positions with respect to the C-C bond of the oxalamide group. The oxalamide group exhibits an asymmetric coordination geometry, as seen by the slight difference between the C-O and C-N bond lengths. The three-dimensional network is a multilayer of complex mol-ecules with no strong supramolecular inter-actions.