6,976 research outputs found
Interview with Azar Nafisi
No full textIranian author Azar Nafisi speaks about her experiences and the themes of women's rights and struggle that motivate her work including her famous memior Reading Lolita in Tehran. She also shares her thoughts and feelings on the 40 year fight for women's rights in Iran
Spatial analysis of Leishmania donovani exposure in humans and domestic animals in a recent kala azar focus in Nepal.
No full textVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a major public health problem in the Indian subcontinent where the Leishmania donovani transmission cycle is described as anthroponotic. However, the role of animals (in particular domestic animals) in the persistence and expansion of VL is still a matter of debate. We combined Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) results in humans and domestic animals with Geographic Information System technology (i.e. extraction maps and scan statistic) to evaluate the exposure to L. donovani on these 2 populations in a recent VL focus in Nepal. A Poisson regression model was used to assess the risk of infection in humans associated with, among other factors, the proportion of DAT-positive animals in the proximities of the household. The serological results showed that both humans and domestic animals were exposed to L. donovani. DAT-positive animals and humans were spatially clustered. The presence of serologically positive goats (IRR=9.71), past VL cases (IRR=2.62) and the proximity to a forest island dividing the study area (IRR=3.67) increased the risk of being DAT-positive in humans. Even if they are not a reservoir, domestic animals, and specially goats, may play a role in the distribution of L. donovani, in particular in this new VL focus
Of cattle, sand flies and men : a systematic review of risk factor analyses for South Asian visceral leishmaniasis and implications for elimination
No full textBackground: Studies performed over the past decade have identified fairly consistent epidemiological patterns of risk
factors for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent.
Methods and Principal Findings: To inform the current regional VL elimination effort and identify key gaps in knowledge,
we performed a systematic review of the literature, with a special emphasis on data regarding the role of cattle because
primary risk factor studies have yielded apparently contradictory results. Because humans form the sole infection reservoir,
clustering of kala-azar cases is a prominent epidemiological feature, both at the household level and on a larger scale.
Subclinical infection also tends to show clustering around kala-azar cases. Within villages, areas become saturated over a
period of several years; kala-azar incidence then decreases while neighboring areas see increases. More recently, post kalaazar
dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) cases have followed kala-azar peaks. Mud walls, palpable dampness in houses, and peridomestic
vegetation may increase infection risk through enhanced density and prolonged survival of the sand fly vector.
Bed net use, sleeping on a cot and indoor residual spraying are generally associated with decreased risk. Poor micronutrient
status increases the risk of progression to kala-azar. The presence of cattle is associated with increased risk in some studies
and decreased risk in others, reflecting the complexity of the effect of bovines on sand fly abundance, aggregation, feeding
behavior and leishmanial infection rates. Poverty is an overarching theme, interacting with individual risk factors on multiple
levels.
Conclusions: Carefully designed demonstration projects, taking into account the complex web of interconnected risk
factors, are needed to provide direct proof of principle for elimination and to identify the most effective maintenance
activities to prevent a rapid resurgence when interventions are scaled back. More effective, short-course treatment
regimens for PKDL are urgently needed to enable the elimination initiative to succeed
Natural infection of Phlebotomus argentipes with Leishmania and other trypanosomatids in a visceral leishmaniasis endemic region of Nepal.
No full textMonitoring Leishmania infection in sand flies is important for understanding the eco-epidemiology of kala-azar and assessing the impact of the recently launched kala-azar control programme in the Indian subcontinent. We applied a PCR technique that targets rRNA genes to estimate the natural incidence of Leishmania infection in sand flies sampled in six villages of the Terai region of Nepal. Amplifications were made on 135 pools of sand flies and confirmed by sequencing. Seven pools were found to be PCR positive: in five of them we identified the rDNA signature found in Leishmania spp., whereas two other pools revealed a sequence compatible with other trypanosomatids. Different methodologies were applied to evaluate the infection rate from pools of unequal size and estimated the infection rate to range from 0.468% to 0.578% for the Leishmania group and from 0.185% to 0.279% for the non-Leishmania group. Our results highlight the diversity of flagellate infections likely to be encountered in Phlebotomus argentipes populations. Our methodology allows clear discrimination of Leishmania from other trypanosomatids and should be applied on larger insect samples or in longitudinal studies
Azar Nafisi, 39th Annual ODU Literary Festival
No full textAzar Nafisi is the author of numerous books including Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, which has been translated in 32 languages; Anti-Terra: A Critical Study of Vladimir Nabokov’s Novels; and The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and New Republic. She has received many literary and humanitarian awards including the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger; an American Immigration Law Foundation achievement award; a Persian Golden Lioness Award for Literature from the World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media; and a Cristóbal Gabarrón Foundation International Thought and Humanities Award. She currently is a visiting fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC
Comparative study of kala-azar vector control measures in eastern Nepal.
No full textThis study was conducted to explore the most effective vector control tool among indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and ecological vector management (EVM) as a part of the regional visceral leishmaniasis elimination initiative. Alpha-cypermethrin as IRS, PermaNet as LLINs and plastering the inner walls of houses with lime as EVM were the interventions. One baseline and three follow-up entomological surveys were carried out in all arms using CDC miniature light traps (LT) and mouth aspirators. Comparisons were made between intervention arms and control arms with pre-intervention and post-intervention vector densities. Light traps were found more efficient in the collection of Phlebotomus argentipes in comparison with aspiration. Vector densities were significantly low in both IRS arm (p=0.009 in LT and p<0.001 in aspirator collections) and LLIN arm (p=0.019 in LT and p=0.023 in aspirator collections) in comparison with control arm. However, in EVM arm, there was no significant difference in P. argentipes sand fly density in comparison with control arm (p=0.785) in LT collections in follow-up surveys. Hence, IRS was found most effective control measure to decrease vector density. LLINs were also found effective and can be considered as a promising alternative vector control tool in VL elimination initiative
Eocenotrichia Garrouste, Azar & Nel, 2016, gen. nov.
No full textGenus Eocenotrichia gen. nov. Type species. Eocenotrichia magnifica sp. nov. Etymology. Named after Eocene and ‘trichia’, frequent termination of the generic names in the Scenopinidae. Gender feminine. Generic diagnosis. Body length 7.6 mm [female]; head higher than long, flagellum relatively elongate with notched apex for stylus; frons not protruding anteriorly; mouthparts well developed and shorter than head length; R 4 emerging in distal third of cell [r 5]; M 1 joining with R 5, cell [r 5] petiolate to wing margin; costal margin ending at R 5 +M 1; female acanthophorite spines well developed in a marginal row; sternite 8 slightly shorter than tergite 8, posteriorly rounded.Published as part of Garrouste, Romain, Azar, Dany & Nel, Andre, 2016, The oldest accurate record of Scenopinidae in the Lowermost Eocene amber of France (Diptera: Brachycera), pp. 444-450 in Zootaxa 4093 (3) on page 445, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4093.3.10, http://zenodo.org/record/25532
Effect of untreated bed nets on blood-fed Phlebotomus argentipes in kala-azar endemic foci in Nepal and India.
No full textObservational studies in the Indian subcontinent have shown that untreated nets may be protective against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). In this study, we evaluated the effect of untreated nets on the blood feeding rates of Phlebotomus argentipes as well as the human blood index (HBI) in VL endemic villages in India and Nepal. The study had a 'before and after intervention' design in 58 households in six clusters. The use of untreated nets reduced the blood feeding rate by 85% (95% CI 76.5-91.1%) and the HBI by 42.2% (95% CI 11.1-62.5%). These results provide circumstantial evidence that untreated nets may provide some degree of personal protection against sand fly bites
Leptoserphites Rasnitsyn & Azar 2022, gen. nov.
No full textGenus Leptoserphites Rasnitsyn & Azar, gen. nov. Type species. Leptoserphites pabloi sp. nov.; by present designation. Other species. Leptoserphites iriae sp. nov. Etymology. The genus name is from Greek λεπτός = leptos means thin + the genus name Serphites. Diagnosis. Antenna 11–12-segmented, with no club defined. Body comparatively narrow, with mesosoma twice as long as high, forewing with only R, 2r-rs and pterostigma tubular, 2r-rs at least half as long as pterostigma high, no R and RS present as nebulous vein distal of pterostigma and 2r-rs, respectively. Remarks. The new genus is attributed to Serphitidae and particularly to Supraserphitinae based on antenna 11–12-segmented (vs. 14-segmented in Archaeoserphitidae and less than 11-segmented in Serphitinae and Microserphitinae). It differs from the type and only supraserphitine genus Supraserphites Rasnitsyn & Öhm-Kühnle, 2019 in having stature narrower, basal flagellomere smallest in 12-segmented antenna (putatively fused with the next one in 11-segmented ones), forewing with RS&M nebulose (vs. tubular) and R and RS lost as colored veins distal of pterostigma and 2r-rs (vs. tubular or nebulous).Published as part of RASNITSYN, ALEXANDR P., MAALOUF, MOUNIR, MAALOUF, RAMY & AZAR, DANY, 2022, New Serphitidae and Gallorommatidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Microprocta) in the Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber, pp. 120-136 in Palaeoentomology 5 (2) on pages 123-124, DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/653041
Rohrthrips Nel, Penalver, Azar, Hodebert & Nel 2010
No full textGenus Rohrthrips Nel, Peñalver, Azar, Hodebert & Nel, 2010. Type species. R. libanicus Nel, Peñalver, Azar, Hodebert & Nel, 2010.Published as part of Ulitzka, Manfred R., 2019, Five new species of Rohrthrips (Thysanoptera: Rohrthripidae) from Burmese amber, and the evolution of Tubulifera wings, pp. 27-40 in Zootaxa 4585 (1) on page 29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4585.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/263618
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