17 research outputs found
Post-Election Violence in Africa: the impact of judicial independence
No full textSimati, Meshack. Post-Election Violence in Africa: The Impact of Judicial Independence. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. African Governance.This book explores the effect of the judiciary on the incidence of post-election violence by political actors across Africa and within African countries. It examines how variation in judicial independence can constrain or incentivize election violence among democratizing states. Using case studies and cross-national analysis, the book shows that variation in levels of judicial independence from a non-independent judiciary to a quasi-independent judiciary or from a fully independent judiciary to quasi-independent judiciary increases the likelihood of strategic use of post-election violence by non-state actors. However, the likelihood of post-election violence is significantly reduced in non-independent judiciaries or once countries' judiciaries become fully independent. The author makes the theoretical argument that, within unconsolidated states, non-state actors that view the judiciary as semi-independent are more likely to engage in post-election violence with the purpose of creating political and professional uncertainty in order to influence assertive behaviour from judges in disputed elections. Consequently, the book argues that semi-independent judiciaries or judiciaries that are neither fully controlled by the incumbent nor fully independent from the incumbent can help explain post-election violence among unconsolidated states, all else being equal. This book will be of interest to scholars of election violence, democratic politics, law and politics and African politics.This title is available to CSUSM faculty, students, and staff after authentication. Please use the below link to access. https://csu-csusm.userservices.exlibrisgroup.com/view/action/uresolver.do?operation=resolveService&package_service_id=9048709830001672&institutionId=1672&customerId=1670PublishedSimati, Meshack. Post-Election Violence in Africa: The Impact of Judicial Independence. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. African Governance.978100003585
A Quality Improvement Project of Music Program to Improve Social Functioning for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
No full textPurpose of the Project: Music programs are proven to work in the population with Alzheimer's and can help improve social function (Zhang et al., 2017). Despite findings, practice gap continues to affect the quality of music programs reducing overall benefits. The music program at the project site is not standardized and is provided to all patients, without clear goals, frequency, and methods to track & assess benefits. As a result, the program is not fully exploited, and benefits not ascertained. The purpose of this project is to review, track, assess, and standardize music program in a defined frequency, and goal to improve social function in three areas including relationship, communication and time spent between patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Methodology:Charts were drawn from Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and sampled using a convenient sampling to identify a sample size of 30 participants, 55 years and older, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A retrospective chart review was conducted to Identify areas of quality improvement in the administration and documentation of music, a plan was made, and music administered over a period of one month, following which a prospective chart review was done to ascertain improvement in social function. Results:pre-implementation social function total mean was 20.40 (SD =7.54) with spending time having a mean of 5.43 (SD =4.26), communication a mean of 10.23 (SD =2.96), and relationship a mean of 4.73 (SD =2.70). The post-implementation social function total mean was 20.59 (SD =7.10) with spending time having a mean of 5.93 (SD =3.80), communication a mean of 9.93 (SD =3.14), and relationship a mean of 4.72 (SD =2.55). The Z-score difference between pre and post implementation for spending time was -2.837, with a p value of .005; for communication was -1.414, with a p value of.157; for relationship was -1.000, with a p value of .317; and total social function Z score was -1.997, with a p value of .046. Implications for Practice: Improvement in spending of time increased social function and was mainly influenced by staff increased activity and participation in bringing out patients to the sessions and the encouragement of patients to attend recreational sessions; Staff activity in bringing patient out to socialize with others can improve overall socialization.D.N.P.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vit
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Post-Election Violence in Africa ::the impact of judicial independence /
No full textThis book explores the effect of the judiciary on the incidence of post-election violence by political actors across Africa and within African countries. It examines how variation in judicial independence can constrain or incentivize election violence among democratizing states. Using case studies and cross-national analysis, the book shows that variation in levels of judicial independence from a non-independent judiciary to a quasi-independent judiciary or from a fully independent judiciary to quasi-independent judiciary increases the likelihood of strategic use of post-election violence by non-state actors. However, the likelihood of post-election violence is significantly reduced in non-independent judiciaries or once countries' judiciaries become fully independent. The author makes the theoretical argument that, within unconsolidated states, non-state actors that view the judiciary as semi-independent are more likely to engage in post-election violence with the purpose of creating political and professional uncertainty in order to influence assertive behaviour from judges in disputed elections. Consequently, the book argues that semi-independent judiciaries or judiciaries that are neither fully controlled by the incumbent nor fully independent from the incumbent can help explain post-election violence among unconsolidated states, all else being equal. This book will be of interest to scholars of election violence, democratic politics, law and politics and African politics
Genotypic Characterization of Resistance to Neuraminidase Inhibitors amongst Influenza A viruses that circulated in Kenya from 2008 to 2011
No full textBackground: Vaccines and antivirals are the mainstay for mitigation and clinical management of influenza infections. However, due to the ever changing antigenic profile, vaccine formulations are revised every year to keep them efficacious. Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors, mainly oseltamivir and zanamivir, function both as prophylactic and treatment agents. In neuraminidase inhibition, inhibitor molecules mimic NA’s natural substrate and bind to the active site, preventing NA from cleaving host cell receptors and releasing new virus. Currently there exists no data on antiviral susceptibility profile of influenza A isolates circulating within the Eastern African region. Here we characterized the antiviral susceptibility of the 2008-2011 influenza A viruses circulating in Kenya. Methodology: Nasopharyngeal swab specimen from consenting outpatients of ages greater than or equal to two months were obtained and transported under the cold chain to the National Influenza Center (NIC) and screened by real-time RT-PCR using primers targeted at the matrix, and hemagglutinin genes of influenza A subtypes. Positive specimens were inoculated onto MDCK monolayers to isolate virus. RNA was extracted from virus isolates followed by PCR amplification of NA gene segments using gene-specific primers. Nucleotide sequencing of the NA amplicons was carried out using the BigDye chemistry prior to analyses using a suite of bioinformatics tools. Results: 836 influenza A viruses were isolated. 108 (13%) isolates were analyzed for susceptibility to NA inhibitors. 64% (7/11) of the 2008 seasonal influenza A/H1N1 isolates depicted oseltamivir resistant marker H275Y while all 33 influenza A/H3N2 isolates had H at position 275 hence were sensitive to oseltamivir. Similarly, genetic analysis of the A(H1N1)pdm09 strains in 2009 showed that all had H275 hence sensitive to oseltamivir. The same pattern was duplicated in 2 of the pandemic influenza A/ H1N1 isolates analyzed in the year 2010. Thus all A(H1N1)pdm09 isolated were sensitive to oseltamivir. In 2011 we isolated 14 isolates belonging to influenza A/H3N2 subtype. All these had H 275 in the NA protein implying sensitivity to oseltamivir. Overall, our genotypic data demonstrate that there was oseltamivir resistance in seasonal influenza A (H1N1) viruses isolated in Kenya in 2008-2009. Conclusion: Our study shows that seasonal influenza A/H1N1 was displaced in 2010 and 2011 after introduction influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 which has since replaced the previous seasonal influenza A/H1N1
Recommended from our members
Post-election violence in Africa ::the impact of judicial independence /
No full textThis book explores the effect of the judiciary on the incidence of post-election violence by political actors across Africa and within African countries. It examines how variation in judicial independence can constrain or incentivize election violence among democratizing states. Using case studies and cross-national analysis, the book shows that variation in levels of judicial independence from a non-independent judiciary to a quasi-independent judiciary or from a fully independent judiciary to quasi-independent judiciary increases the likelihood of strategic use of post-election violence by non-state actors. However, the likelihood of post-election violence is significantly reduced in non-independent judiciaries or once countries' judiciaries become fully independent. The author makes the theoretical argument that, within unconsolidated states, non-state actors that view the judiciary as semi-independent are more likely to engage in post-election violence with the purpose of creating political and professional uncertainty in order to influence assertive behaviour from judges in disputed elections. Consequently, the book argues that semi-independent judiciaries or judiciaries that are neither fully controlled by the incumbent nor fully independent from the incumbent can help explain post-election violence among unconsolidated states, all else being equal. This book will be of interest to scholars of election violence, democratic politics, law and politics and African politics
Diagnostic performance of a colorimetric RT -LAMP for the identification of SARS-CoV-2: A multicenter prospective clinical evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textManagement and control of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is critically dependent on quick and reliable identification of the virus in clinical specimens. Detection of viral RNA by a colorimetric reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) is a simple, reliable and cost-effective assay, deployable in resource-limited settings (RLS). Our objective was to evaluate the intrinsic and extrinsic performances of RT-LAMP in RLS
Surveillance of Human Parainfluenza viruses in Kenya during the 2007-2011 Period
No full textBackground: Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) belong to the paramyxoviridae family and are classified into four types. These viruses account for a large percentage of pediatric respiratory disease, including syndromes such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), laryngotracheobronchitis (croup), bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. HPIV is the major cause of croup in which type 1 is most frequent cause, followed by type 3 and type 2 respectively. In January 2007, through an existing influenza surveillance network, the Kenyan National Influenza center started screening for parainfluenza and other non-influenza respiratory viruses within the designated Influenza surveillance network made up of eight sentinel sites spread throughout the country. Objective: The objective of this study was to monitor and document circulation of Human parainfluenza viruses in Kenya in the period 2007-2011. Methodology: Specimens were collected from the nasopharynx using a flocked swab from consenting patients meeting the WHO influenza-like-illness (ILI) case definition. Specimens were transported to the NIC while observing the cold chain and inoculated into LLCMK2 cell line. After incubation and observation for cytopathic effect, all samples were screened by direct immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using the Respiratory Panel I Viral Screening and Identification kit (Chemicon International, Inc). Results: 14,990 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected between January 2007-October 2011. HPIV were detected in 801 (5.3%) cases. 361 (45%) of the detections were HPIV-3 followed by HPIV-1 in 296 (37%) and 144 (18%) for HPIV-2 respectively. This confirms what has been observed elsewhere that HPIV1 and HPIV3 are the most frequently detected types. Analyses of co-infections involving HPIVs showed that HPIV1/HPIV2 (16cases) were the most frequent followed by HPIV1/HPIV3 (15) cases and HPIV2/HPIV3 (15 cases). There were 30 cases of triple infections of HPIV1/HPIV2/HPIV3. Generally, parainfluenza viruses circulated throughout the period under study. Parainfluenza virus infections were observed throughout the year with no distinct seasonal patterns. Conclusion: This study shows that parainfluenza viruses contributed to a significant level to the respiratory disease burden in Kenya in 2007-2011. Furthermore, our study has shown that parainfluenza viruses circulated in the human population in Kenya throughout the study period and did not show any distinct seasonality
Impact of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus on Circulation Dynamics of Seasonal Influenza Strains in Kenya
No full textMolecular Surveillance of Adamantane Resistance among Human Influenza A Viruses Isolated in Four Epidemic Seasons in Kenya
No full textBackground: Adamantanes impede influenza A virus replication and are important in the treatment and prophylaxis of disease caused by these viruses. Genotypic characterization of influenza A viruses for mutations associated with resistance to adamantanes has not been fully investigated in Kenya. Objective: To characterize susceptibility of influenza A virus subtypes that circulated in Kenya from 2008-2011 to adamantanes. Methods: Archived influenza A virus strains obtained from 2008 to 2011 were propagated in MDCK cells prior to sequencing of the matrix and hemagglutinin gene segments, followed by bioinformatics analyses. Results: Ninety two virus strains consisting of 21 A/H3N2, 18 A/H1N1 and 53 A/H1N1pdm09 were analyzed. All A/H3N2 and A/H1N1pdm09 viruses displayed resistance to adamantanes due to the S31N/S31D amino acid substitution. All A/H1N1pdm09 virus strains belonged to the N-lineage characterized by S203T amino acid substitution in the HA1. All A/H1N1 viruses were sensitive to adamantane and were characterized by K140E amino acid substitution in the HA1. Conclusion: All Kenyan influenza A/H3N2 and A/H1N1pdm09 virus strains were resistant to adamantanes while seasonal A/H1N1 strains were sensitive to these drugs. During the study period, Amantadine and Rimantadine were inappropriate for prophylaxis and treatment of influenza disease caused by A/H3N2 and A/H1N1pdm09 virus subtypes in Kenya. Key words: Kenya, influenza A/H3N2, A/H1N1pdm09, A/H1N1, adamantane
Analyses of selection pressure on the Hemagglutinin gene of influenza A/H3N2 Viruses circulating in Kenya 2007-2011
No full textBackground: The hemagglutinin (HA) gene of Influenza viruses, especially the HA1 portion, exhibits a rapid rate of change, largely in response to human immune surveillance in a partially immune human population. Mutations in influenza viral genes accumulate over time and are under selection pressure during epidemics or pandemics. Objective: To determine whether the Kenyan influenza A/H3N2 viruses are undergoing adaptive evolution to become epidemic threats. Methods: Nasopharyngeal samples from patients meeting the WHO ILI case definition were collected between 2007 and 2010 from across Kenya. The detection of H3N2 virus was carried out using real-time RT-PCR. Positive samples were then cultured in MDCK cells and confirmed using the HAI assay. 156 isolates from this period were selected for amplification of the HA1 portion of the HA gene and the resulting amplicons sequenced. Global estimates, ω, of dN and dS, averaged over the entire alignment, were compared to calculate the overall strength of selection using the HyPhy 2.0 software package implemented in datamonkey. Results: Analysis of neutrality using, Kumar’s method showed that ω varied from 0.50 in 2007, 0.36 in 2008, 0.32 in 2009, 0.61 in 2010 and 0.41 in 2011. Further site by site analysis identified amino acid positions 46, 158 and 173 to be under positive selection. Analysis of differential selection showed 7 sites that harbored two or more amino acid substitutions. Amino acid positions 158, 160 and 189 had the highest number of amino acid polymorphisms. Conclusions: Overall, this study shows that local Influenza A(H3N2) viruses have been evolving via a series of ‘adaptive bursts’ characterized by positive selection occurring largely in immunological epitopes B and D. In between these bursts there is little evidence for positive selection and newly-emergent strains slowly replace the existent strains. Based on this study alone, we propose that these bursts occur after every two years. Since in a single population, dN/dS <1does not follow monotonic function, it is difficult to infer selection pressure in these results. However, by focusing on the antigenic sites we were able to observe an evolutionary pattern in the Kenyan samples. Thus evolution of Kenyan Influenza A(H3N2) is characterized by non synonymous changes followed by a period of stasis that is then followed by another period of non synonymous changes which is followed by purification selection
