9 research outputs found
Evaluating Groundwater Flow Effects for Enhancement of Ground-Source Heat Pipes in the Case of the Toyohira River Alluvial Fan, Japan
No full textThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential enhancement of ground-source heat pipes by groundwater advection at two sites within an alluvial fan of Toyohira River, Sapporo. Two sites were selected: one in the fan toe, for negligible groundwater flow (Site 1), and the other in the apex for fast flows, the latter characterized by a specific discharge of 1.0 m/d from the losing river (Site 2). The evaporator section(s) of a single (double) heat pipe(s) was installed in a borehole at each site; the condenser section(s) on the ground was placed inside cooled brine at a set temperature, resulting in heat extraction under steady conditions. The single heat pipe experiments showed that the heat extraction rates ranged between 0.23 and 0.79 kW and were not clearly different at the two sites, considering some uncertainty. For double heat pipes, the heat extraction rates were unchanged at Site 1, but were about 146% higher at Site 2 compared to the single tests, due to groundwater advection. This study revealed that the number of ground-source heat pipes required could be reduced from three to two in areas near Site 2
Deletion of vitamin D receptor leads to premature emphysema/COPD by increased matrix metalloproteinases and lymphoid aggregates formation
No full textDeficiency of vitamin D is associated with accelerated decline in lung function. Vitamin D is a ligand for nuclear hormone vitamin D receptor (VDR), and upon binding it modulates various cellular functions. The level of VDR is reduced in lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which led us to hypothesize that deficiency of VDR leads to significant alterations in lung phenotype that are characteristics of COPD/emphysema associated with increased inflammatory response. We found that VDR knock-out (VDR(-/-)) mice had increased influx of inflammatory cells, phospho-acetylation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) associated with increased proinflammatory mediators, and up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-12 in the lung. This was associated with emphysema and decline in lung function associated with lymphoid aggregates formation compared to WT mice. These findings suggest that deficiency of VDR in mouse lung can lead to an early onset of emphysema/COPD because of chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and lung destruction
Evaluating Groundwater Flow Effects for Enhancement of Ground-Source Heat Pipes in the Case of the Toyohira River Alluvial Fan, Japan
No full textBig sugar in southern Africa : rural development and the perverted potential of sugar/ethanol exports
No full textThis paper asks how investment in large-scale sugar cane production has contributed, and will contribute, to rural development in southern Africa. Taking a case study of the South African company Illovo in Zambia, the argument is made that the potential for greater tax revenue, domestic competition, access to resources and wealth distribution from sugar/ethanol production have all been perverted and with relatively little payoff in wage labour opportunities in return. If the benefits of agro-exports cannot be so easily assumed, then the prospective 'balance sheet' of biofuels needs to be re-examined. In this light, the paper advocates smaller-scale agrarian initiatives
Maintaining HIV testing and treatment services in Zambia during COVID-19: a story of success and resilience
No full textBackground Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. As countries struggled to control the spread of the virus through among other measures closure of health facilities, repurposing of health care workers, and restrictions on people’s movement, HIV service delivery was affected. Objectives To assess the impact of COVID-19 on HIV service delivery in Zambia by comparing uptake of HIV services before and during COVID-19. Methods We used repeated cross-sectional quarterly and monthly data on HIV testing, HIV positivity rate, people living with HIV initiating ART and use of essential hospital services from July 2018 to December 2020. We assessed quarterly trends and measured proportionate changes comparing periods before and during COVID-19 divided into three different comparison time frames: (1) annual comparison 2019 versus 2020; (2) April to December 2019 versus same period in 2020; and (3) Quarter 1 of 2020 as base period versus each of the other quarters of year 2020. Results Annual HIV testing dropped by 43.7% (95%CI 43.6–43.7) in 2020 compared to 2019 and was similar by sex. Overall, annual recorded number of newly diagnosed PLHIV fell by 26.5% (95% CI 26.37–26.73) in 2020 compared to 2019, but HIV positivity rate was higher in 2020, 6.44% (95%CI 6.41–6.47) compared to 4.94% (95% CI 4.92–4.96) in 2019. Annual ART initiation dropped by 19.9% (95%CI 19.7–20.0) in 2020 compared to 2019 while use of essential hospital services dropped during the early months of COVID-19 April to August 2020 but picked up later in the year. Conclusion While COVID-19 had a negative impact on health service delivery, its impact on HIV service delivery was not huge. HIV policies that were implemented before COVID-19 on testing made it easier to adopt COVID-19 control measures and to continue providing HIV testing services without much disruption
The Englishization of Tanzanian Kiswahili: A study in language contact and convergence
No full textThe main focus of the study is to examine the Englishization of Tanzanian Kiswahili resulting from the contact between Kiswahili and English. A cusory examination of the research on bilingualism and multilingualism indicates that the vast majority of studies on language variation and change in African languages have generally been undertaken from the point of view of Africanization of European languages (e.g., Spencer 1971, Sey 1973, Angogo et al. 1980, Bokamba 1982, Chishimba 1984, Kamwangamalu 1989, Kapanga 1990, Schmeid 1990) among others. Practically no study up to date has examined the reverse phenomenon, the influence of European languages on African lingua francas. The absence of such studies leaves the erroneous impression that European languages have had no significant impact, for almost a century. The Europeanization of African languages is a very productive process as it will be attested in this study.This study shows that the Englishization of Kiswahili is a natural development given the historical contact between the two languages. It further shows how this contact situation has resulted in important linguistic changes in the phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax of Kiswahili. It is shown that the enevitable attempt by language planners to expand the lexicon through English borrowings not only results in the modernization, but eventually leads to the Englishization not only of the lexicon but also of the phonology, morphology, intonation and orthographic patterns. Syntactically, the Englishization of Kiswahili originates from the transfer of elements through code mixing and borrowings. This results in the establishment of new registers and styles of discourse, leading to variation and change in the language.The study also discusses the different attitudes which the Tanzanians have towards Englishization. It will be realized that, although the depth and range of Englishization is being restricted by the expansion in the use of Kiswahili, English is still considered an important linguistic tool by both the government (state) and individual groups of people (i.e., speech fellowship) who use it for interpersonal communication and for various functions, such as ascertaining authority. This discussion of the Englishization of Kiswahili is particularly interesting and motivating because of the insights it offers in the study of language contact situations.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T12:15:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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The genomic trajectory of ovarian high grade serous carcinoma can be observed in STIC lesions
No full textOvarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) originates in the fallopian tube, with secretory cells carrying a TP53 mutation, known as p53 signatures, identified as potential precursors. p53 signatures evolve into serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) lesions, which in turn progress into invasive HGSC, which readily spreads to the ovary and disseminates around the peritoneal cavity. We recently investigated the genomic landscape of early- and late-stage HGSC and found higher ploidy in late-stage (median 3.1) than early-stage (median 2.0) samples. Here, to explore whether the high ploidy and possible whole-genome duplication (WGD) observed in late-stage disease were determined early in the evolution of HGSC, we analysed archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples from five HGSC patients. p53 signatures and STIC lesions were laser-capture microdissected and sequenced using shallow whole-genome sequencing (sWGS), while invasive ovarian/fallopian tube and metastatic carcinoma samples underwent macrodissection and were profiled using both sWGS and targeted next-generation sequencing. Results showed highly similar patterns of global copy number change between STIC lesions and invasive carcinoma samples within each patient. Ploidy changes were evident in STIC lesions, but not p53 signatures, and there was a strong correlation between ploidy in STIC lesions and invasive ovarian/fallopian tube and metastatic samples in each patient. The reconstruction of sample phylogeny for each patient from relative copy number indicated that high ploidy, when present, occurred early in the evolution of HGSC, which was further validated by copy number signatures in ovarian and metastatic tumours. These findings suggest that aberrant ploidy, suggestive of WGD, arises early in HGSC and is detected in STIC lesions, implying that the trajectory of HGSC may be determined at the earliest stages of tumour development. © 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
Drug resistance maps to guide intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in African infants.
No full textIntermittent preventive treatment of infants (IPTi) with sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended as an additional malaria control intervention in high transmission areas of sub-Saharan Africa, provided its protective efficacy is not compromised by SP resistance. A significant obstacle in implementing SP-IPTi, is in establishing the degree of resistance in an area. Since SP monotherapy is discontinued, no contemporary measures of in vivo efficacy can be made, so the World Health Organisation has recommended a cut-off based upon molecular markers, stating that SP-IPTi should not be implemented when the prevalence of the dhps 540E mutation among infections exceeds 50%. We created a geo-referenced database of SP resistance markers in Africa from published literature. By selecting surveys of malaria infected blood samples conducted since 2004 we have mapped the contemporary prevalence of dhps 540E. Additional maps are freely available in interactive form at http://www.drugresistancemaps.org/ipti/. Eight countries in East Africa are classified as unsuitable for SP-IPTi when data are considered at a national level. Fourteen countries in Central and West Africa were classified as suitable while seven countries had no available contemporary data to guide policy. There are clear deficiencies in molecular surveillance data coverage. We discuss requirements for ongoing surveillance of SP resistance markers in support of the use of SP-IPTi
Análisis comparativo de tres métodos rápidos de extracción de ADN a partir de flebotomíneos para la vigilancia de patógenos en Colombia
No full textLa extracción de ADN el punto de partida para la mayoría de análisis genéticos y evolutivos, por lo que se requiere un extracto de ADN óptimo, sin embargo, la mayoría de métodos de extracción existentes son laboriosos, costosos y/o emplean compuestos tóxicos, por lo que el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la eficacia de tres métodos rápidos de extracción de ADN para la vigilancia de patógenos en Colombia. Para lo cual, se emplearon flebotomíneos del género Lutzomyia, se procesaron en grupos de (1, 5, 10 y 30 individuos), cada uno de esos grupos de insectos se usó en los distintos métodos rápidos de extracción de ADN: I) Edwards (EOT), II) HotSHOT (HS), y III) Gloor and Engels (GE), empleando como referencia el método de Salting Out. Posteriormente, se evaluó el desempeño de cada protocolo de extracción mediante estimaciones del rendimiento (ng/uL), relaciones de pureza, y cualitativamente por PCR con el fin de determinar el rendimiento de cada protocolo. También se evaluó la estabilidad temporal del ADN durante ocho semanas. El análisis en la evaluación de la concentración y la pureza de los extractos de ADN demuestra que estas variables no están asociadas directamente con el éxito en la amplificación por PCR. En cuanto a la estabilidad temporal, HS y GE permiten la amplificación de un mayor porcentaje de muestras a lo largo del tiempo con respecto a los otros métodos evaluados. Finalmente, HS y GE lograron detectar parásitos tripanosomatídeos, demostrando así su potencial uso como métodos alternativos para la vigilancia de patógenos.DNA extraction is the starting point for most genetic and evolutionary analyses, so an optimal DNA extract is required, however, most existing extraction methods are laborious, expensive and use toxic compounds, so the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of three rapid DNA extraction methods for pathogen surveillance in Colombia. For this purpose, phlebotomine sandflies of the genus Lutzomyia were processed in (1, 5, 10 and 30 individuals), each of these groups was used in the different rapid DNA extraction methods: I) Edwards (EOT), II) HotSHOT (HS), and III) Gloor and Engels (GE), using the Salting Out method as a reference. Subsequently, the performance of each extraction protocol was evaluated by yield estimates (ng/uL), purity ratios, and qualitatively by PCR in order to determine the yield of each protocol. Temporal stability of DNA over eight weeks was also evaluated. Analysis in evaluating the concentration and purity of DNA extracts demonstrates that these variables are not directly associated with success in PCR amplification. In terms of temporal stability, HS and GE allow the amplification of a higher percentage of samples over time with respect to the other methods evaluated. Finally, HS and GE were able to detect trypanosomatid parasites, thus demonstrating their potential use as alternative methods for pathogen surveillance.Lista de FigurasLista de TablasLista de AnexosResumenAbstractCapítulo 1 IntroducciónCapítulo 2 ObjetivosObjetivo generalObjetivos específicosCapítulo 3 Marco teórico3.1. Enfermedades zoonóticas3.2. Importancia médica y económica de las enfermedades zoonóticas3.3. Vectores de enfermedades3.4. Enfermedades transmitidas por vectores3.5. Importancia médica de los flebotomíneos3.6. Sistemática molecular de flebotomíneos y vigilancia de patógenos asociados3.7. Métodos de extracción de ADN a partir de insectos vectoresCapítulo 4 Metodología4.1. Captura de flebotomíneos4.2. Procesamiento e identificación taxonómica de los flebotomíneos4.3. Extracción de ADN4.3.1. Extracción de ADN mediante Edwards One-Tube (EOT)4.3.2. Extracción de ADN mediante HotSHOT (HS)4.3.3. Extracción de ADN mediante Gloor & Engels (GE)4.3.4. Extracción de ADN por altas concentraciones de sales (Ref)4.4. Evaluación de la calidad, rendimiento y utilidad de extractos de ADN4.4.1. Calidad y rendimiento de los extractos4.4.2. Valoración en la utilidad de los extractos4.5. Estabilidad temporal e integridad de los ácidos nucleicos4.6. Eficacia del mejor método alternativo para la vigilancia de patógenos4.7. Análisis de costo / beneficio de los métodos de extracción evaluadosCapítulo 5 Resultados5.1. Identificación taxonómica de los flebotomíneos5.2. Evaluación de la calidad, rendimiento y utilidad de los extractos de ADN5.2.1. Calidad y rendimiento de los extractos5.2.2. Valoración en la utilidad de los extractos5.3. Estabilidad temporal e integridad de los ácidos nucleicos5.4. Eficacia del mejor método alternativo para la vigilancia de patógenos5.5. Análisis de costo / beneficio de los métodos de extracción evaluadosCapítulo 6 DiscusiónCapítulo 7 ConclusionesReferenciasAnexosTabla de ContenidoMaestríaMagíster en BiotecnologíaTrabajos de Investigación y/o Extensió
