479 research outputs found
D'Agata and Maina 2022 (One Earth)
No full textRepository reproducing plots and processing used in D'Agata and Maina, 2022 (One Earth)
For questions and comments about the paper, please contact Stephanie D'Agata([email protected]). For full details, please see https://github.com/StephDag/OneEarth_2022_Climate_MPAs_WIO
Emerging Non-OECD Countries: Global Shifts in Power and Geopolitical Regionalization
No full textSince 1990 the banning of ethnic and other identity-based parties has become the norm in sub-Saharan Africa. This article focuses on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as three East African countries that have opted for different ways of dealing with such parties. Using case studies, it traces the origins of the party bans in Tanzania and Uganda and explores the reasons for the absence of a ban in Kenya. The analysis shows that the laws on particularistic parties have actually been implemented by the appropriate institutions. However,these laws have only marginally influenced the character of the political parties in the three countries: A comparison of regional voting patterns suggests that bans on particularistic parties have not ensured the emergence of aggregative parties with a national following in Tanzania and Uganda. In Kenya on the other hand, where such a ban was nonexistent until 2008, parties have not proven to be more regional.Sub-Saharan Africa, party ban, ethnic parties, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,party regulation, party nationalization
„Maina i Kościej” (1843) Narcyzy Żmichowskiej w kontekście badań nad mitologią Słowian
No full textThe article offers a comprehensive analysis of a single work, the early poem Maina i Kościej [Maina and Koshchei] by Narcyza Żmichowska. So far, it has been subjected to various interpretations, viewing the text from either biographical, intertextual (in relation to French literature), feminist, and philosophical perspectives. All of these readings are recalled either directly in the text or in footnotes. Notably, in the course of her queries, the author has not come across a study juxtaposing various snippets of information on Slavic culture and mythology embedded in the poem with the latest findings in religious studies. The ‘Eastward’ turn of European (and further) public discourse has resulted in the tremendous popularity of research on the heritage of Slavic pagan culture, which is currently experiencing a revival — not unlike in the Romantic period, during which Żmichowska operated. In this author’s opinion, Maina i Kościej is a work that merits a reinterpretation from a previously unexplored angle. The article initially outlines the historical context in which the poem was penned, taking into account both Żmichowska’s historiosophical interest in Slavic Antiquity and the period of the November Uprising, as the poem by Żmichowska alludes to both. The study mentions the sources the author drew upon while composing Maina i Kościej, including Adam Naruszewicz’s study on Slavic deities. It then follows with an in-depth analysis of the poem, taking into account references to Slavic mythology, other Romantic-era works, the distinctive poetics of the period, as well as relevant philosophical and historical contexts. As a result, it offers a novel interpretation of a text that deserves to be counted among the unjustly forgotten poetic works of the Romantic era
The Ceramic Assemblage from Staraya Maina Hillfort Long House
No full textThe article is devoted to the analysis of pottery traditions of the population associated with the existence of “long houses” on Staraya-Maina hillfort (Ulyanovsk Oblast), dated by the Great Migration Period. The research is based on the ceramic collection found on the hillfort during the excavations in 1990–1991. This paper presents a typological description of vessels and the results of technological analysis conducted by the author according to A. A. Bobrinsky’s method. The analysis revealed two massive pottery traditions, one of which was widely known on Imenkovo culture settlements, while the second one was a new discovery. The author suggests that this group of ceramics might be associated with an inflow of population from the Middle Oka region and from the Oka-Sura region in the fifth century AD, which brought the typical complex of garnishments of Ryazan-Oka type to the Middle Volga region
Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense isolates from Ibba, South Sudan, an area of high melarsoprol treatment failure rate
No full textResistance of trypanosomes to melarsoprol is ascribed to reduced uptake of the drug via the P2 nucleoside transporter. The aim of this study was to look for evidence of drug resistance in Trypanosoma brucei gambiense isolates from sleeping sickness patients in Ibba, South Sudan, an area of high melarsoprol failure rate. Eighteen T. b. gambiense stocks were phenotypically and only 10 strains genotypically characterized. In vitro, all isolates were sensitive to melarsoprol, melarsen oxide, and diminazene. Infected mice were cured with a 4 day treatment of 2.5mg/kg bwt melarsoprol, confirming that the isolates were sensitive. The gene that codes for the P2 transporter, TbATI, was amplified by PCR and sequenced. The sequences were almost identical to the TbAT1(sensitive) reference, except for one point mutation, C1384T resulting in the amino acid change proline-462 to serine. None of the described TbAT1(resistant)-type mutations were detected. In a T. b. gambiense sleeping sickness focus where melarsoprol had to be abandoned due to the high incidence of treatment failures, no evidence for drug resistant trypanosomes or for TbAT1(resistant)-type alleles of the P2 transporter could be found. These findings indicate that factors other than drug resistance contribute to melarsoprol treatment failures
ASO Author Reflections: Hypertrophic Techniques Have an Impact on the Complexity and Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Major Hepatectomies
No full textNational and sub-national variation in patterns of febrile case management in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textGiven national healthcare coverage gaps, understanding treatment-seeking behaviour for fever is crucial for the management of childhood illness and to reduce deaths. Here, we conduct a modelling study triangulating household survey data for fever in children under the age of five years with georeferenced public health facility databases (n = 86,442 facilities) in 29 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, to estimate the probability of seeking treatment for fever at public facilities. A Bayesian item response theory framework is used to estimate this probability based on reported fever episodes, treatment choice, residence, and estimated travel-time to the nearest public-sector health facility. Findings show inter- and intra-country variation, with the likelihood of seeking treatment for fever less than 50% in 16 countries. Results highlight the need to invest in public healthcare and related databases. The variation in public sector use illustrates the need to include such modelling in future infectious disease burden estimation. © 2018, The Author(s)
Processes of transgression: inverting dichotomies \"from object to subject\" in Maina Mendes and Myra, by Maria Velho da Costa
No full textMaria Velho da Costa, autora de escrita íngreme, apresentou um legado de transgressão na literatura portuguesa contemporânea de autoria feminina. Neste trabalho, procuramos analisar as obras Maina Mendes (1969), romance de estreia, e Myra (2008), último romance publicado pela escritora. Observamos como a construção do discurso feminino é pautado dentro das obras por meio da linguagem e do papel dos interlocutores do discurso. Além disso, apresentamos a leitura dessas obras como Bildungsroman, alicerçados principalmente, nas contribuições de Cristiana Ferreira Pinto sobre o Bildungsroman feminino. Nesse sentido, utilizamos o conceito de Bildungsroman para ilustrar como o Bildungsroman feminino rompe com a tradição, seja por meio do discurso, seja pela formação interrompida.Maria Velho da Costa, an author of steep writing, presented a legacy of transgression in contemporary Portuguese literature of female authorship. In this paper, we seek to analyze the works Maina Mendes (1969), her debut novel, and Myra (2008), her last published novel. We observe how the construction of the female discourse is guided within the works through language and the role of the discourse\'s interlocutors. Furthermore, we present the reading of these works as Bildungsroman, based mainly on the contributions of Cristiana Ferreira Pinto about the female Bildungsroman. In this sense, we use the concept of Bildungsroman to illustrate how the female Bildungsroman breaks with the traditional Bildungsroman, either through discourse or interrupted formation
Access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: a geocoded inventory and spatial analysis
No full textBackgroundTimely access to emergency care can substantially reduce mortality. International benchmarks for access to emergency hospital care have been established to guide ambitions for universal health care by 2030. However, no Pan-African database of where hospitals are located exists; therefore, we aimed to complete a geocoded inventory of hospital services in Africa in relation to how populations might access these services in 2015, with focus on women of child bearing age.MethodsWe assembled a geocoded inventory of public hospitals across 48 countries and islands of sub-Saharan Africa, including Zanzibar, using data from various sources. We only included public hospitals with emergency services that were managed by governments at national or local levels and faith-based or non-governmental organisations. For hospital listings without geographical coordinates, we geocoded each facility using Microsoft Encarta (version 2009), Google Earth (version 7.3), Geonames, Fallingrain, OpenStreetMap, and other national digital gazetteers. We obtained estimates for total population and women of child bearing age (15–49 years) at a 1 km2 spatial resolution from the WorldPop database for 2015. Additionally, we assembled road network data from Google Map Maker Project and OpenStreetMap using ArcMap (version 10.5). We then combined the road network and the population locations to form a travel impedance surface. Subsequently, we formulated a cost distance algorithm based on the location of public hospitals and the travel impedance surface in AccessMod (version 5) to compute the proportion of populations living within a combined walking and motorised travel time of 2 h to emergency hospital services.FindingsWe consulted 100 databases from 48 sub-Saharan countries and islands, including Zanzibar, and identified 4908 public hospitals. 2701 hospitals had either full or partial information about their geographical coordinates. We estimated that 287 282 013 (29·0%) people and 64 495 526 (28·2%) women of child bearing age are located more than 2-h travel time from the nearest hospital. Marked differences were observed within and between countries, ranging from less than 25% of the population within 2-h travel time of a public hospital in South Sudan to more than 90% in Nigeria, Kenya, Cape Verde, Swaziland, South Africa, Burundi, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zanzibar. Only 16 countries reached the international benchmark of more than 80% of their populations living within a 2-h travel time of the nearest hospital.InterpretationPhysical access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in Africa remains poor and varies substantially within and between countries. Innovative targeting of emergency care services is necessary to reduce these inequities. This study provides the first spatial census of public hospital services in Africa.FundingWellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development
Isolation, propagation and characterization of "Trypanosoma brucei gambiense" from human African trypanosomosis patients in south Sudan
No full textSleeping sickness or Human African trypanosomosis (HAT) is a protozoal disease that is
transmitted by tsetse fly vectors in Africa. Sleeping sickness due to T. b. gambiense is a major
public health problem in countries in central and western Africa including Angola, Uganda,
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan. High rates of relapses (>20%) following
melarsoprol treatment have been reported in many treatment centres including the MSF-F
treatment centre at Ibba in south Sudan. The treatment failures could be due to individual
(patients) variation in the drug pharmacokinetics, the patient’s immune responses, or drug
resistant parasites.
There is a growing interest in the elucidation of the reason(s) for relapses after melarsoprol
treatment. Since the drug levels in blood or CSF do not differ between relapse and
successfully treated patients, drug resistance has been suggested as a likely cause for
melarsoprol treatment failures. There are no recently isolated parasites from high-relapse
areas and hence detailed studies have been hindered. The objective of this PhD study was to
isolate and characterize (phenotypically and genotypically) T. b. gambiense from HAT
patients in the MSF-F treatment centre at Ibba.
In a first step, the protocols for the isolation of bloodstream forms of the parasite needed to be
improved. As such, the suitability of the commercial cryomedium TriladylÒ developed for
bull semen was evaluated. We found that, the cryopreservation of T. b. gambiense in this
medium led to a better survival of the trypanosomes than in the standard 10% glycerol. The
samples (blood (50) and CSF (2)) from HAT patients were therefore cryopreserved using
Triladyl® and stored at -150oC in nitrogen vapour in a dry shipper. In the laboratory, attempts
to propagate the isolated parasites in rodents were carried out. Of the 42 parasite positive
isolates, 18 (43%) could be propagated in laboratory rodents (immunosuppressed Mastomys
natalensis and SCID mice). Stabilates of these T. b. gambiense isolates are stored in two
cryobanks at the Trypanosomiasis Research Centre (TRC) of the Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI), Nairobi and the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI), Basel.
After the initial isolation of these T. b. gambiense isolates in immunosuppressed M. natalensis
or SCID mice, further in vivo propagation could be done in various immunosuppressed rodent
species (Swiss White mice, M. natalensis, C57/bl, C3H, and BALB/C). The highest
parasitaemia were achieved in C57/bl and BALB/C mice. The rodents however had to be
immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide at 300mg/kg prior to infection and repeated once
a week at 200mg/kg. This scheme (cryopreservation and subsequent propagation) allows the
isolation of T. b. gambiense from various endemic areas and therefore enhances monitoring of
drug resistant trypanosomes.
The eighteen T. b. gambiense isolates were found to be sensitive to melarsoprol, melarsen
oxide, and diminazene. The gene that codes for the P2 transporter, TbATI, was amplified by
PCR and sequenced. The sequences were almost identical to the TbAT1sensitive reference,
except for one point mutation, C1384T resulting in the amino acid change proline-462 to
serine. None of the described TbAT1resistant-type mutations were detected. In summary we
found, in a sleeping sickness focus where melarsoprol had to be abandoned due to the high
incidence of treatment failures, no evidence for drug resistant trypanosomes or for
TbAT1resistant-type alleles of the P2 transporter.
In conclusion, our findings cast doubts on the current suggestion that melarsoprol resistant
parasites are the cause of the high rate of treatment failures reported. However, it is important
to note that the number of isolates tested was still small and it is vital that more isolates,
especially from relapse patients be teste
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