258 research outputs found
Malaria mosquito resistance to agricultural insecticides: risk area mapping in Thailand
No full textMalaria / Disease vectors / Waterborne diseases / Irrigated farming / Pest control / Insecticides / Public health / Risks / Mapping / GIS / Land use / Thailand / Chiang Mai / Mae Hong Son / Tak / Kanchanaburi
Continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation Demonstrates a Causal Role of Premotor Homunculus in Action Understanding
No full textAlthough it is well established that regions of premotor cortex (PMC) are active during action observation, it remains controversial whether they play a causal role in action understanding. In the experiment reported here, we used off-line continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to investigate this question. Participants received cTBS over the hand and lip areas of left PMC, in separate sessions, before completing a pantomime-recognition task in which half of the trials contained pantomimed hand actions, and half contained pantomimed mouth actions. The results reveal a double dissociation: Participants were less accurate in recognizing pantomimed hand actions after receiving cTBS over the hand area than over the lip area and less accurate in recognizing pantomimed mouth actions after receiving cTBS over the lip area than over the hand area. This finding constrains theories of action understanding by showing that somatotopically organized regions of PMC contribute causally to action understanding and, thus, that the mechanisms underpinning action understanding and action performance overlap. © The Author(s) 2014
Healthy Schools: Reducing Dengue and Diarrheal Diseases in Primary Schools in Colombia, 2013
No full textLas enfermedades diarreicas y el dengue son problemas de salud a nivel global que ponen en riesgo a 3900 millones de personas aproximadamente y causan millones de muertes cada año. En Latinoamérica ambas enfermedades son prevalentes y tienen altas tasas de infección. En lugares en los cuales el abastecimiento de agua es inadecuado, el almacenamiento es crucial. La contaminación fecal de agua almacenada es una fuente frecuente de enfermedades diarreicas. Además, el agua almacenada es un potencial lugar de cría de los mosquitos vectores de dengue. Es poco conocido el rol del agua almacenada para el doble riesgo de diarrea y dengue. En este proyecto conjuntos de intervenciones para dengue y diarrea fueron evaluadas en escuelas rurales en Colombia para reducir el ausentismo por diarrea entre los estudiantes y los factores de riesgo de dengue. Se realizaron ensayos controlados aleatorizados usando intervenciones integradas para el manejo adecuado del agua de consumo y el control del vector del dengue en las escuelas para evaluar los resultados sobre las enfermedades, calidad del agua, densidad del mosquito vector y cambios potenciales en los conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas de los estudiantes, docentes y padres de familia. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar si intervenciones específicas pueden reducir las enfermedades diarreicas en los estudiantes de las escuelas rurales y reducir factores de riesgo entomológico. Esta iniciativa contribuyó a desarrollar una plataforma científica y educativa entre la Universidad de Ciencias de la Vida de Noruega (UMB) y la Universidad El Bosque (UEB) en Colombia.Diarrheal diseases and dengue fever are major global health problems resulting in millions of deaths every year. Billions of people live in risk areas. In Latin America both diseases are prevalent and infection rates are high. Where provision of clean water is inadequate, water storage is crucial. Fecal contamination of stored water is a common source of diarrheal illness. Stored water is also a potential breeding site for dengue vector mosquitoes. Little is known of the role of stored water for the dual risk of diarrhea and dengue. In this project sets of diarrhea and dengue interventions were evaluated in rural primary schools in Colombia to reduce absence due to diarrheal disease among pupils and dengue risk factors. Randomized controlled trials were carried out using integrated water management and dengue vector control interventions in schools to assess disease outcome, water quality, mosquito vector density, and potential changes in people's knowledge, attitudes and practices. The objective of the study was to investigate whether specific interventions could reduce diarrheal disease in school children and reduce entomological risk factors. This initiative aimed to develop a scientific and educational collaborative platform between the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) and the Universidad El Bosque(UED) in Colombia
Malaria transmission after five years of vector control on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.
No full textBACKGROUND: Malaria is endemic with year-round transmission on Bioko Island. The Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) started in 2004 with the aim to reduce malaria transmission and to ultimately eliminate malaria. While the project has been successful in reducing overall malaria morbidity and mortality, foci of high malaria transmission still persist on the island. Results from the 2009 entomological collections are reported here. METHODS: Human landing collections (HLC) and light trap collections (LTC) were carried out on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea in 2009. The HLCs were performed in three locations every second month and LTCs were carried out in 10 locations every second week. Molecular analyses were performed to identify species, detect sporozoites, and identify potential insecticide resistance alleles. RESULTS: The entomological inoculation rates (EIR) on Bioko Island ranged from 163 to 840, with the outdoor EIRs reaching > 900 infective mosquito bites per year. All three human landing collection sites on Bioko Island had an annual EIR exceeding the calculated African average of 121 infective bites per year. The highest recorded EIRs were in Punta Europa in northwestern Bioko Island with human biting rates of 92 and 66 mosquito landings per person per night, outdoors and indoors, respectively. Overall, the propensity for mosquito biting on the island was significantly higher outdoors than indoors (p < 0.001). Both Anopheles gambiae s.s. and An. melas were responsible for malaria transmission on the island, but with different geographical distribution patterns. Sporozoite rates were the highest in An. gambiae s.s. populations ranging from 3.1% in Punta Europa and 5.7% in Riaba in the southeast. Only the L1014F (kdr-west) insecticide resistance mutation was detected on the island with frequencies ranging from 22-88% in An. gambiae s.s. No insecticide resistance alleles were detected in the An. melas populations. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of five years of extensive malaria control and a generalized reduction in the force of transmission, parasite prevalence and child mortality, foci of very high transmission persist on Bioko Island, particularly in the northwestern Punta Europa area. This area is favorable for anopheline mosquito breeding; human biting rates are high, and the EIRs are among the highest ever recorded. Both vector species collected in the study have a propensity to bite outdoors more frequently than indoors. Despite current vector control efforts mosquito densities remain high in such foci of high malaria transmission. To further reduce transmission, indoor residual spraying (IRS) needs to be supplemented with additional vector control interventions
Probing the accuracy and precision of Hirshfeld atom refinement with HARt interfaced with Olex2
No full textHirshfeld atom refinement (HAR) is a novel X-ray structure refinement technique that employs aspherical atomic scattering factors obtained from stockholder partitioning of a theoretically determined tailor-made static electron density. HAR overcomes many of the known limitations of independent atom modelling (IAM), such as too short element–hydrogen distances, r(X—H), or too large atomic displacement parameters (ADPs). This study probes the accuracy and precision of anisotropic hydrogen and non-hydrogen ADPs and of r(X—H) values obtained from HAR. These quantities are compared and found to agree with those obtained from (i) accurate neutron diffraction data measured at the same temperatures as the X-ray data and (ii) multipole modelling (MM), an established alternative method for interpreting X-ray diffraction data with the help of aspherical atomic scattering factors. Results are presented for three chemically different systems: the aromatic hydrocarbon rubrene (orthorhombic 5,6,11,12-tetraphenyltetracene), a co-crystal of zwitterionic betaine, imidazolium cations and picrate anions (BIPa), and the salt potassium hydrogen oxalate (KHOx). The non-hydrogen HAR-ADPs are as accurate and precise as the MM-ADPs. Both show excellent agreement with the neutron-based values and are superior to IAM-ADPs. The anisotropic hydrogen HAR-ADPs show a somewhat larger deviation from neutron-based values than the hydrogen SHADE-ADPs used in MM. Element–hydrogen bond lengths from HAR are in excellent agreement with those obtained from neutron diffraction experiments, although they are somewhat less precise. The residual density contour maps after HAR show fewer features than those after MM. Calculating the static electron density with the def2-TZVP basis set instead of the simpler def2-SVP one does not improve the refinement results significantly. All HARs were performed within the recently introduced HARt option implemented in the Olex2 program. They are easily launched inside its graphical user interface following a conventional IAM
Razones de ausentismo en escuelas primarias rurales de dos municipios colombianos
No full textBackground: School absenteeism is a considerable problem generally related to higher dropout rates, poor academic achievement and school lag. This study determined the frequency and causes of overall and illness-related absenteeism of students in rural schools from two Colombian municipalities.
Methods: A prospective and descriptive study was conducted in a population of 948 school children from 34 rural schools. Absenteeism data were collected for 2013 academic year consisted of the number of students registered and absent by grade, school, day and reason for absence. Absence rates (overall and illness-related absenteeism) were recorded, based on full or partial days absence, measured both as episodes, and accumulating the number of days.
Results: From the students included in the study, 55.1% were male and 71.6% were between 5 and 9 years old. The overall absence rate was 5.7 episodes per child-year (95% confidence interval 5.5 to 5.8) and 8.6 days per child-year (8.4 to 8.9). The main reasons for non-attendance were illness (24.4%), medical or dental check-up (12.9%), travel (12.3%), lack of motivation to attend school (10.0%) and bad weather (9.3%). The illness-related absence rate was 1.4 episodes per child-year (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 1.5) and 2.5 days per child-year (2.4 to 2.6). The main reasons for illness-related absence were cold (37.0%), nonspecific fever (10.9%) and stomach pain or vomiting (8.4%).
Conclusions: In this study, the most common reasons for non-attendance were illness-related. The importance of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in absenteeism was evident, showing rates similar to other urban school studies. Then, the results of this study provide knowledge on the magnitude and reasons for absenteeism in rural schoolchildren.Antecedentes. El ausentismo escolar es un problema importante relacionado con altas tasas de abandono escolar, bajo rendimiento académico y rezago escolar. Este estudio determinó la frecuencia y las causas del ausentismo general y el ausentismo relacionado con la enfermedad en estudiantes de escuelas rurales de dos municipios de Colombia.
Métodos. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo en una población de 948 escolares de 34 escuelas rurales. Los datos de ausentismo recopilados para el año 2013 consistieron en el número de episodios y días de ausentismo por grado y motivo de ausencia general y por enfermedad. Se calcularon las tasas de ausentismo general y por enfermedad.
Resultados. El 55,1% de la población participante eran hombres y el 71,6% tenían entre 5 y 9 años. La tasa de ausentismo general fue 5,7 episodios por niño-año, IC 95% (5,5-5,8) y 8,6 días por niño-año, IC 95% (8,4-8,9). Las principales razones del ausentismo fueron enfermedades (24,4%), chequeo médico u odontológico (12,9%), viajes (12,3%), falta de motivación para asistir a la escuela (10,0%) y mal clima (9,3%). La tasa de ausentismo por enfermedad fue 1,4 episodios por niño-año IC 95% (1,3-1,5) y 2,5 días por niño-año IC 95% (2,4-2,6). Las principales razones del ausentismo por enfermedad fueron el resfriado común (37,0%), la fiebre inespecífica (10,9%) y el dolor de estómago o vómito (8,4%).
Conclusiones. Las razones más comunes para la no asistencia estuvieron relacionadas con la enfermedad. La importancia de las infecciones respiratorias y gastrointestinales en el absentismo fue evidente, mostrando tasas similares a las de otros estudios en escuelas urbanas. Los resultados de este estudio proporcionan conocimiento sobre la magnitud y las razones del absentismo en la población escolar rural
Dengue Seroprevalence and Seroconversion in Urban and Rural Populations in Northeastern Thailand and Southern Laos
No full textDengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. The detection of clinical cases enables us to measure the incidence of dengue infection, whereas serological surveys give insights into the prevalence of infection. This study aimed to determine dengue seroprevalence and seroconversion rates in northeastern Thailand and southern Laos and to assess any association of mosquito control methods and socioeconomic factors with dengue virus (DENV) infection. Cross-sectional seroprevalence surveys were performed in May and November 2019 on the same individuals. Blood samples were collected from one adult and one child, when possible, in each of 720 randomly selected households from two urban and two rural sites in both northeastern Thailand and southern Laos. IgG antibodies against DENV were detected in serum using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Overall, 1071 individuals participated in the study. The seroprevalence rate was high (91.5%) across all 8 study sites. Only age and province were associated with seroprevalence rates. There were 33 seroconversions during the period from May to November, of which seven reported fever. More than half of the seroconversions occurred in the rural areas and in Laos. Dengue seroconversion was significantly associated with young age (<15 years old), female gender, province, and duration of living in the current residence. No socioeconomic factors or mosquito control methods were found to be associated with seroprevalence or seroconversion. Notably, however, the province with most seroconversions had lower diurnal temperature ranges than elsewhere. In conclusion, our study has highlighted the homogeneity of dengue exposure across a wide range of settings and most notably those from rural and urban areas. Dengue can no longer be considered to be solely an urban disease nor necessarily one linked to poverty.Errata: Doum D, Overgaard HJ, Mayxay M, Suttiprapa S, Saichua P, Ekalaksananan T, Tongchai P, Rahman MS, Haque U, Phommachanh S, Pongvongsa T, Rocklöv J, Paul R, Pientong C. Correction: Doum, D., et al. Dengue Seroprevalence and Seroconversion in Urban and Rural Populations in Northeastern Thailand and Southern Laos. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 9134. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(4):1439. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041439</p
The Cambridge companion to philosophical methodology /
No full textThe Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology offers clear and comprehensive coverage of the main methodological debates and approaches within philosophy. The chapters in this volume approach the question of how to do philosophy from a wide range of perspectives, including conceptual analysis, critical theory, deconstruction, experimental philosophy, hermeneutics, Kantianism, methodological naturalism, phenomenology, and pragmatism. They explore general conceptions of philosophy, centred on the question of what the point of philosophising might be; the method of conceptual analysis and its recent naturalistic critics and competitors; perspectives from continental philosophy; and also a variety of methodological views that belong neither to the mainstream of analytic philosophy, nor to continental philosophy as commonly conceived. Together they will enable readers to grasp an unusually wide range of approaches to methodological debates in philosophy.Includes bibliographical references (pages 418-449) and index.Introduction / Giuseppina D'oro and Søren Overgaard -- Part I. Visions of Philosophy {u2013} 1. Doing Philosophy / Alessandra Tanesini -- 2 .Philosophy as Rational Systematization / Nicholas Rescher {u2013} 3. Sense-making From a Human Point of View / A. W. Moore {u2013} 4. Disagreement in Philosophy: An Optimistic Perspective / Herman Cappelen -- Part II. Conceptual Analysis and the Naturalistic Challenge {u2013} 5. Impure Conceptual Analysis / Hans-Johann Glock {u2013} 6. What Can We Do, When We Do Metaphysics? / Amie L. Thomasson {u2013} 7. Armchair Metaphysics Revisited: The Three Grades of Involvement in Conceptual Analysis / Frank Jackson -- .8 A Naturalistic Methodology / Hilary Kornblith {u2013} 9. What is Negative Experimental Philosophy Good For? / Jonathan M. Weinberg -- Part III. Between Analysis and the Continent {u2013} 10. Life-changing Metaphysics: Rational Anthropology and its Kantian Methodology / Robert Hanna {u2013} 11. Collingwood's Idealist Metaontology: Between Therapy and Armchair Science / Giuseppina D'oro {u2013} 12. Pragmatism and the Limits of Metaphilosophy / Robert B. Talisse {u2013} 13. On Metaphysical Quietism and Everyday Life / David Macarthur {u2013} 14. The Metaphilosophy of the Analytic-Continental Divide: From History to Hope / Robert Piercey -- Part IV. Continental perspectives {u2013} 15. Phenomenological Method and the Achievement of Recognition: Who's Been Waiting for Phenomenology? / David R. Cerbone {u2013} 16. Existentialist Methodology and Perspective: Writing the First Person / J. Reynolds and P. Stokes {u2013} 17. Hermeneutics and the Question of Method / Kristin Gjesdal {u2013} 18. Critical Theory's Philosophy / Fabian Freyenhagen {u2013} 19. An Extension of Deconstructionist Methodology / Leonard R. Lawlor {u2013} 20. Pathological Experience: A Challenge for Transcendental Constitution Theory? / Jean-Luc Petit.The Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology offers clear and comprehensive coverage of the main methodological debates and approaches within philosophy. The chapters in this volume approach the question of how to do philosophy from a wide range of perspectives, including conceptual analysis, critical theory, deconstruction, experimental philosophy, hermeneutics, Kantianism, methodological naturalism, phenomenology, and pragmatism. They explore general conceptions of philosophy, centred on the question of what the point of philosophising might be; the method of conceptual analysis and its recent naturalistic critics and competitors; perspectives from continental philosophy; and also a variety of methodological views that belong neither to the mainstream of analytic philosophy, nor to continental philosophy as commonly conceived. Together they will enable readers to grasp an unusually wide range of approaches to methodological debates in philosophy
Link Between Diarrhea and Dengue: Fecal Contamination and Dengue Mosquito Production in Household Water, 2014
No full textDiarrheal diseases and dengue fever are major global health problems resulting in millions of deaths every year and billions of people live in risk areas. In the Southeast Asian region both diseases are prevalent and infection rates are high. In communities where provision of clean water is inadequate, storage of water for domestic use is crucial. Fecal contamination of stored water is a common source of diarrhea. Stored water is also a potential breeding site for dengue mosquitoes. Little is known of the role of stored household water for the dual risk of diarrhea and dengue. The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to assess health risks associated with household water storage by identifying relationships between household water management, contaminated drinking water, and mosquito production in household water containers. The project will identify water management practices and key vector producing container types, quantify fecal contamination and its effect on mosquito production. Results will assist in development of integrated disease control strategies appropriate for the Southeast Asian region. The expected outputs of the project are: 1) Household water management practices in selected study communities identified; 2) Key container types i dentified from which the majority of Aedes aegypti emerge; 3) Total coliforms and E. coli detected and quantified in water stored in domestic containers; and 4) Relationship between coliform contamination of drinking water and mosquito production in house hold storage containers identified and quantified
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