1,604 research outputs found
Coinfection of Schistosoma species with Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C Viruses
No full textAlthough a considerable number of studies have been undertaken to date, it is still controversial as to whether or not coinfection with schistosomiasis increases the susceptibility to or progression from HBV or HCV infection. This review is a closer examination of the key studies conducted on human populations on clinical factors that were published in English between 1975 to January 2015. Our review is mainly based on tables containing the salient information, which are arranged first by study population, country of study, and publication date. We provide further explanation, clarification and discussion in the text. As such, it includes both studies that have been conducted on general populations who are largely asymptomatic for clinical disease (Table 1.2.1), as well as those focusing on special populations, which are usually comprised of clinical patients. These special populations have been presented as follow: subjects with chronic liver disease or related conditions such as cirrhosis, Table 1.3.1; subjects with primary liver cancer, Table 1.3.2; subjects with schistosomiasis, Table 1.3.3; subjects with acute or chronic hepatitis resulting from Hepatitis B virus, Table 1.3.4; and, subjects with Hepatitis C virus, Table 1.3.5. We have presented studies that compared two mono-infected groups with one that is coinfected separately in Table 1.4, as these offer us the best basis from which to evaluate if any synergistic effects accompany coinfection.
A number of factors contributed to the results reported in our tables. These included, but are not limited to: subject selection (i.e., asymptomatic cases typically drawn from the general population vs. subjects presenting to a hospital or clinic with clinical disease); study design, which directly impacts our ability to infer causality (i.e., case series, cross-sectional, case control, cohort study); use and choice of control population (i.e., apparently healthy subjects vs. other hospital patients vs. none); sample size, which directly impacts statistical power and can result in a Type II error; geographic area, which may reflect differences in population genetics, public health history, environmental differences or any number of other important factors (i.e., Egypt, Brazil, China); method of testing for schistosomal infections (i.e., stool vs. antibody test); method of testing to determine if advanced schistosomal disease was present (i.e., ultrasound, liver biopsy vs. none); method of serological testing for HBV (i.e., use of HBsAg alone or with other markers or DNA testing); method of serological testing for HCV (i.e., use of anti-HCV alone or with RNA testing); and, year of the study, which reflects among other things, technological improvements between tests as well as possible changes in the frequency of exposure in the populations under study (i.e., use of parenteral anti-schistosomal therapy vs. the oral anti-schistosomal medication).
Despite all these differences, throughout this review we have observed general patterns that seem largely consistent with one another. Studies conducted on general, largely asymptomatic populations tend to support the view that having one of the diseases in question (i.e., schistosomiasis does not necessarily predispose one to becoming coinfected with another (i.e., HBV or HCV). Rather, the probability of becoming coinfected seems most closely associated with modes of transmission for either HBV or HCV in schistosome-endemic areas, such as the past use of parenteral anti-schistosomal therapy or frequent blood transfusion. Once coinfected, however, the clinical course of illness for those with Schistosoma-HBV or Schistosoma-HCV infections are typically much more severe than for mono-infected subjects. The strongest evidence for this was found in the half-dozen or so prospective cohort studies that systematically monitored disease progression in their subjects. With respect to HBV infection, coinfection with Schistosoma prolonged the carriage state and more often resulted in chronic hepatitis with greater cirrhosis as well as higher mortality. Much of the same was also observed with respect to HCV, where coinfection with Schistosoma was associated with a reduced ability to spontaneously resolve the viral infection and more often resulted in rapid fibrosis as well as higher mortality. Furthermore, two of these studies which were fully comparative in nature, support the supposition that there is a synergistic association between Schistosoma-HCV for both liver fibrosis and mortality. Immunological studies, all conducted on HCV, also generally seem to support this.
The results of our research argue for greater primary prevention for both HBV and HCV in Schistosoma-endemic populations. Although no vaccine currently exists for HCV as it does for HBV, additional steps can still be taken to reduce transmission in high risk populations. Greater use of the HBV vaccine is particularly advisable. Finally, additional observational, longitudinal studies conducted on human populations that are fully comparative in nature could help answer some of the remaining questions on both Schistosoma-HBV as well as Schistosoma-HCV coinfections. Some of these include the role of active vs. past schistosomal infections, the role of genetic variants, as well as the effect of coinfection on treatment. Future studies should make a particular effort to use a sufficient sample size to ensure adequate statistical power, which was not often properly considered in many of the studies we reviewed for this paper.Peer reviewe
Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest
No full textThis revised 11-page fact sheet outlines the rules of the annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest and guides participants in correctly completing the Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation scorecards. Written by Amy L. Shober, L. Rex Ellis, Christine Wiese, Edward A. Hanlon, Randy B. Brown, and J.H. Herbert, Jr., and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, November 2011.
SL144/SS195: Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest (ufl.edu
Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest
No full textThis revised 11-page fact sheet outlines the rules of the annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest and guides participants in correctly completing the Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation scorecards. Written by Amy L. Shober, L. Rex Ellis, Christine Wiese, Edward A. Hanlon, Randy B. Brown, and J.H. Herbert, Jr., and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, November 2011.
SL144/SS195: Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest (ufl.edu
Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest
No full textThis revised 11-page fact sheet outlines the rules of the annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest and guides participants in correctly completing the Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation scorecards. Written by Amy L. Shober, L. Rex Ellis, Christine Wiese, Edward A. Hanlon, Randy B. Brown, and J.H. Herbert, Jr., and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, November 2011.
SL144/SS195: Rules and Scorecard Grading Policies for the Annual Florida 4-H/FFA Land Judging Contest (ufl.edu
Life in a One-Room School by Amy Kathleen Stafford
No full textNotes - In this document, Amy Kathleen Stafford discusses her accounts of being both a student and a teacher in a one room school house. Many of her recollections are of her experiences as a teacher in the 1920s and 1930s. She describes school houses as usually being wooden buildings; although one account was given where she taught in one that was made of sheet metal. Also included in her description is the layout of the school house, including where the teacher's desk was and what it looked like, the children's desks, how the school was heated often by a Waterbury furnace and cooled by one wall of opening windows; as well as describing the school's contents. She recalls the many modes of transportation which children used to get to school. She also discusses the class sizes and grades which were present in the one-room classroom. A classroom may have contained children aged 6 - 16; which meant a lot of work for one teacher. Ms. Stafford also describes the many games the children played in the school yard at both recess and lunch, such as tag and hunting games. She remembers many of the special events that the school held, such as Arbor Day, Fall Fair, the Christmas Concert, and the end of the year picnic. Agriculture played an important part in the student's education. In the spring the Department of Agriculture would give the school seeds which were then dispersed to the students. Students were expected to plant and tend gardens both at home and at the school. Students competed for recognition for the best produce and school work. Ms. Stafford also describes how teachers gained their education by attending Normal School and their daily standard of living (10 pages
A sibling-mediated behavioral intervention for promoting play skills in children with autism
No full textSiblings of children with autism often experience isolation and frustration within the sibling relationship. Studies have suggested that the quantity and quality of interaction between the pair is significantly poorer relative to sibling dyads affected by other developmental disabilities. However, research has shown that siblings can act as effective interventionists for their sibling with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The present study assessed the efficacy of a home-based treatment program to teach siblings to use three sets of behavioral skills while playing with their brother or sister with autism. In a multiple baseline design across skills, three sibling dyads were trained to a) elicit play and play related speech, b) to deliver reinforcement and c) to prompt the child with autism following an incorrect or non-response. Siblings were also given a target word for each session which they attempted to teach. As evidenced in the completer dyad, siblings successfully acquired these behavioral skills, they maintained over time, and generalized to untrained contexts. Siblings with autism showed increases in responding to and initiating play-based interactions, and one of the children spontaneously verbalized target words. Siblings found the treatment to be acceptable, and parents indicated satisfaction with the procedures. These findings support the hypothesis that siblings can utilize behavioral skills to act as effective interventionists in a play setting with their brother or sister with autism.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Amy P. Hansfor
Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida: A Beekeeper’s Guide
No full textFeral colonies of honey bees nesting near humans or domestic animals can pose a stinging threat and may be considered a nuisance and possibly a threat to animal or public health, and therefore bees often need to be removed or eradicated when they are found nesting near homes or other property. This 14-page guide written by Mary Bammer, Jamie Ellis, Eric Baxter, Krista Butler, John Coldwell, B. Keith Councell, Kevin Easton, Brendhan Horne, Brandi Stanford, and Amy T. Vu and published by the UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department details best management practices for live bee removals and serves as a reference for beekeepers who choose to perform live bee removal services in Florida
Data_WallaceEtAl_Reconstructions of individual fish trophic geographies using isotopic analysis of eye-lens amino acids
No full textAmino-acid isotope data associated with publication entitled "Reconstructions of individual fish trophic geographies using isotopic analysis of eye-lens amino acids" by Amy A. Wallace, Greg S. Ellis, and Ernst B. Peeble
Evaluation of fish habitat models
No full textby Hiram W. Li, Carl B. Schreck, Richard A. Tubb, Kenneth Rodnick, Marie Alhgren, Amy Crook (Oregon Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University)."Final technical completion report for project no. B-077-ORE."This archived document is maintained by the State Library of Oregon as part of the Oregon Documents Depository Program. It is for informational purposes and may not be suitable for legal purposes.Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-81).Project sponsored by Water Resources Research Institute; partially funded by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, United States Department of the Interior 14-34-0001-1259.Mode of access: Internet from the Oregon Government Publications Collection.Text in English
Risk - adjusted rates of return for project appraisal
No full textIncorporating risk assessment into public project appraisal makes sense when project risk is significantly correlated with uncertainty about national income. It is especially important in countries that specialize in particular agricultural or resource sectors. This report presents the following conclusions: (a) risk corrections can be substantial; (b) the intuition that risk is great for further investment in a crop or sector that constitutes a large part of a country's GNP is not invalid, but the effect may be offset by other forces in operation; (c) risk corrections can be negative because of a negative correlation between project return and GNP; (d) risk premia vary greatly across countries and sectors - so recognizing the risk correction needed for each project on its own merits makes more sense than including a common general risk premium in the rate of return required for all lending; (e) risk corrections are small for many sectors and countries - so efforts can be concentrated on the other categories, where the proposed treatment of risk makes a big difference; (f) risk affects investment projects in many different, subtle ways; and (g) resource requirements for this are not great.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Statistical&Mathematical Sciences,Crops&Crop Management Systems
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