Initiated Testing for HIV in Macha

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Esem

In-depth interviews were translated and transcribed into computer ... Results: A total of 809 respondents and 12 (twelve) key .... of persons in the rural areas have no access to media. .... testing outweigh the social implications were more likely.

Once More the Celtic Horse-Goddess

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warmind, Morten

2017-01-01

Et bidrag til diskussionen om sammenhængen mellem den gallo-romerske gudinde Epona og de ø-keltiske litterære skikkelser Macha og Rhiannon. Det fremhæves at gallo-romerske gudeskikkelser må forstås som keltiske og at de middelalderlige kilder faktisk rummer spor af gammelt keltisk materiale, såle...

Der Körper als Forschungsfeld The body as a field of research

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Elke Brüns

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Der Körper bildete im letzten Jahrzehnt ein disziplinenübergreifend analysiertes Forschungsfeld. Mit ihrem Sammelband Körperbilder zwischen Natur und Kultur schließen Hildegard Macha und Claudia Fahrenwald an die interdisziplinäre Gender-Forschung an. Es ist das Ziel des Bandes, den umstrittenen „Grenzverlauf“ des Körpers „zwischen Natur und Kultur“ (S. 7 in den Blick zu nehmen. Die Beiträge stammen aus der Pädagogik, der Soziologie, der Theologie, der Altphilologie sowie aus der Geschichts- resp. Sportwissenschaft. Der Band ist in drei Abteilungen untergliedert, die systematische, historische und lebensweltlich orientierte Zugänge zum Thema bieten.In the last decade the body has been the subject of interdisciplinary research. The collected volume, Images of the Body between Nature and Culture, by Hildegard Macha and Claudia Fahrenwald contributes to interdisciplinary gender research. The volume aims to focus on the controversial positioning of the body ‘between nature and culture’ (p. 7. The articles come from pedagogy, sociology, theology, the classics, as well as from history and sports sciences. The volume comprises three parts, which provide systematic, historical and practical approaches to the topic.

COMPARAÇÃO GRÁFICA ENTRE CURVAS DE ÍNDICE DE SÍTIO PARA Pinus elliottii E Pinus taeda DESENVOLVIDAS NO SUL DO BRASIL

OpenAIRE

Helio Tonini; César Augusto Guimarães Finger; Paulo Renato Schneider; Peter Spathelf

2002-01-01

Este trabalho teve como objetivos estudar o crescimento em altura dominante para Pinus elliottii e Pinus taeda, mediante comparações entre as curvas de índice de sítio construídas para algumas regiões do estado do Rio Grande do Sul e outros Estados da Federação. Essas comparações indicaram que as curvas feitas por Tonini (2000) para as regiões da Serra do Sudeste e Litoral no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, não apresentaram o mesmo desenvolvimento em relação às curvas feitas por Scolforo e Macha...

Comparação gráfica entre curvas de índice de sítio para Pinus elliottii e Pinus taeda desenvolvidas no sul do Brasil.

OpenAIRE

Helio Tonini; César Augusto Guimarães Finger; Paulo Renato Schneider; Peter Spathelf

2010-01-01

Este trabalho teve como objetivos estudar o crescimento em altura dominante para Pinus elliottii e Pinus taeda, mediante comparações entre as curvas de índice de sítio construídas para algumas regiões do estado do Rio Grande do Sul e outros Estados da Federação. Essas comparações indicaram que as curvas feitas por Tonini (2000) para as regiões da Serra do Sudeste e Litoral no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, não apresentaram o mesmo desenvolvimento em relação às curvas feitas por Scolforo e Macha...

Effects of shading time on quality of matcha and matcha cake

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LI Hui

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Effects of shading time on the quality of Matcha and the Matcha cake.It showed that shading could help the systhesis of nitrogen compounds such as amino acids,caffeine chlorophyll and protein,but couldn′t favor accumulation of tea polyphenol and polysaccharides.The more shading time was,the more chlorophyll content would be,and the more green of Matcha color would be.After Matcha cake was baked,the green color reduced.The colors of Macha cake are greener with longer shading time.Thus,the length of Shading time has obvious effect on the green tea and the tea cake quality,We can adjust the Matcha cake taste,flavor and color by adding Matcha from different shading time.

Internet usage and performance analysis of a rural wireless network in Macha, Zambia

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Johnson, DL

2010-06-01

Full Text Available 20000MB/hour Requests M B/ ho u r Re qu e st s/h o u r Monday 8 Feb 2010 Tuesday 9 Feb 2010 Wednesday 10 Feb 2010 Thursday 11 Feb 2010 Friday 12 Feb 2010 Saturday 13 Feb 2010 Sunday 14 Feb 2010 (a) http https ssh pop3... traffic by packet count leaving the mesh networks. These were UDP DNS requests and were most likely caused 0 20 40 60 D e st in a tio n IP s Monday 8 Feb 2010 Tuesday 9 Feb 2010 Wednesday 10 Feb 2010 Thursday 11 Feb 2010 Friday 12...

First report of diarrheic shellfish toxins in mollusks from Buenos Aires province (Argentina associated with dinophysis spp.: evidence of okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1 and their acylderivatives

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Eugenia A Sar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In January 2010, the toxin-producing dinoflagellates Dinophysis acuminata and D. caudata (10³ cells·l-1 were detected in Mar Azul during routine plankton monitoring in Buenos Aires Province coastal waters, Argentina. Wild clams Mesodesma mactroides and Donax hanleyanus from Mar Azul intertidal beach, which are part of the diet for local inhabitants and tourists, tested positive with the offcial lipophilic mouse bioassay. This paper focuses on the detection of Diarrhetic Shellfsh Poison (DSP toxins in these samples using a HPLC-FLD pre column derivatization procedure. The data showed that shellfish were contaminated with complex DSP toxin profiles composed of Okadaic Acid (OA, Dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1, Acyl-Dinophysistoxin-1 (Acyl-DTX-1 and Acyl-Okadaic Acid (Acyl-OA. The DSP toxins found in this study produce diarrhea symptoms consistent with those experienced by patients who had ingested cooked shellfish in January. This is the first report of Acyl-derivatives in South American Atlantic shellfish samples and of OA in Argentinean shellfish samples.Primer reporte de toxinas diarreicas de moluscos en bivalvos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina asociado con Dinophysis spp.: evidencia de Ácido Okadaico, Dinophysistoxina-1 y sus acyl-derivados. En enero de 2010, los dinoflagelados productores de toxinas Dinophysis acuminata y D. caudata (10³ cells·l-1 fueron detectados en Mar Azul durante un monitoreo rutinario de fitoplancton realizado en aguas costeras de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mesodesma mactroides (almeja amarilla y Donax hanleyanus (berberecho del intermareal de Mar Azul, que son parte de la dieta de los habitantes del lugar y de turistas, dieron resultado positivo para toxinas lipofílicas mediante bioensayo ratón. Este trabajo está focalizado en la detección de Toxinas Diarreicas de Moluscos (DSP en muestras colectadas durante el evento de toxicidad usando un HPLC-FLD con procedimiento de derivatizaci

Serialization and persistent objects turning data structures into efficient databases

CERN Document Server

Soukup, Jiri

2014-01-01

Recently, the pressure for fast processing and efficient storage of large data with complex?relations increased beyond the capability of traditional databases. Typical examples include iPhone applications, computer aided design - both electrical and mechanical, biochemistry applications, and incremental compilers. Serialization, which is sometimes used in such situations is notoriously tedious and error prone.In this book, Jiri Soukup and Petr Macha?ek show in detail how to write programs which store their internal data automatically and transparently to disk. Together with special data structure libraries which treat relations among objects as first-class entities, and with a UML class-diagram generator, the core application code is much simplified. The benchmark chapter shows a typical example where persistent data is faster by the order of magnitude than with a traditional database, in both traversing and accessing the data.The authors explore and exploit advanced features of object-oriented languages in a...

Temporal variation of sandy beach macrofauna at two sites with distinct environmental conditions on Cassino Beach, extreme southern Brazil

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Pedro de Sá Rodrigues da Silva

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Temporal variations of the macrofauna of sandy beaches have been related to variations in the beach morphodynamics and also to the population dynamics of dominant species. The aim of this article is to describe the temporal variation of the intertidal macrofauna at two sites with distinct environmental condition on Cassino Beach, extreme southern Brazil. At each site three transect lines 50 m apart were defined perpendicular to the shore line, from which samples were collected monthly in triplicate at 4 intertidal levels (10 m apart from June 2004 to May 2005. During winter a generally low density was observed, due to the absence of recruitments and to the mud deposition, which occurred just before sampling (in April 2004, and to low intensity stranding events. Spring witnessed a population explosion of Scolelepis gaucha, a migration of Mesodesma mactroides adults from the subtidal zone, and a strong stranding event. In the summer, recruitment of M. mactroides, Donax hanleyanus and Emerita brasiliensis was observed. Fall was characterized by low densities, except for D. hanleyanus recruitment. The macrofauna at both sites showed a striking seasonal variation in density and diversity, perhaps attributable to the recruitment of numerically dominant species and physical disturbances (stranding and mud deposition.Variações sazonais da macrofauna bentônica de praias arenosas têm sido relacionadas com variações da morfodinâmica da praia e também aos recrutamentos das espécies dominantes. Este trabalho objetiva avaliar a variabilidade temporal da macrofauna da zona entremarés de dois locais com distintas características ambientais na praia do Cassino, extremo sul do Brasil. Em cada local foram demarcadas três transversais (separadas por 50m perpendiculares à linha de água, nas quais amostras foram coletadas em triplicata em 4 níveis entremarés (separados por 10 m, entre junho/2004 e maio/2005. Durante o inverno ocorreram baixas

Holocene molluscan assemblages in the Magellan region

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Sandra Gordillo

1999-12-01

Full Text Available In the Magellan region, much of the shoreline of the Beagle Channel coast (54°53´S; 67° - 68°W is bordered by Holocene raised beaches, which contain a large number of molluscs and other shelled taxa. The purpose of this work is to document the presence of various molluscan assemblages deposited with little or no postmortem transportation. An epifaunal Chlamys patagonica palaeocommunity (ca. 8,000 - 7,000 BP and three infaunal (Tawera gayi, Ameghinomya antiqua - Hiatella solida and Ameghinomya antiqua - Ensis macha palaeocommunities (ca. 4,400 - 4,000 BP were recognized. All the assemblages studied represent shallow, subtidal, cold-temperate environments. Based on comparisons with modern benthic communities in this region, these associations show that no remarkable ecologic and climatic changes occurred during the period ca. 8,000 - 4,000 BP. Thus, an apparent stability of modern marine communities over a period of several thousand years is suggested.

Histología del ovario y ciclo reproductivo de Columbina picui (Temminck, 1813 (Aves: Columbidae en Córdoba, Argentina

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Elsa Inés Altamirano

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Con la finalidad de caracterizar el ciclo reproductivo anual de Columbina picui se realizó el análisis estructural y cuantitativo de los ovarios de ejemplares adultos recolectados entre los años 2005—2006 en la Sierra de Macha (Totoral, Córdoba, Argentina. Durante la fase de recrudescencia gonadal (junio a marzo, se determinaron tres valores máximos; el primero en junio, resultado de la ovipostura de las hembras subadultas (plumaje de adultos y vestigios de la Bursa de Fabricius; los restantes valores se registraron uno en septiembre y el otro en enero correspondiendo al de las hembras adultas. La regresión ovárica se inició a partir de la incubación de los huevos y el reposo gonadal de la mayoría de las aves entre abril y mayo. Se identificaron dos tipos atresia folicular: a no bursting, la pared folicular se mantiene intacta, comprende a la lipoidal (ovocitos primordiales y a la lipoglandular (folículos previtelogénicos y vitelogénicos pequeños, ambos procesos se visualizaron durante todo el ciclo reproductivo y b bursting las paredes foliculares se rompen, afecta a los folículos vitelo- génicos menores de 800 μm y sólo fue detectada posterior a la ovipostura. El ciclo reproductivo de C. picui se caracterizo por alta frecuencia de hembras con capacidad de reproducirse durante la mayor parte del año y la prolongada fase de recrudescencia gonadal.

Availability of volunteer-led home-based care system and baseline factors as predictors of clinical outcomes in HIV-infected patients in rural Zambia.

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Christopher B Estopinal

Full Text Available We assessed the impact of home-based care (HBC for HIV+ patients, comparing outcomes between two groups of Zambians receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART who lived in villages with and without HBC teams.We conducted a retrospective cohort study using medical charts from Macha Mission Hospital, a hospital providing HIV care in Zambia's rural Southern Province. Date of birth, date of ART initiation, place of residence, sex, body mass index (BMI, CD4+ cell count, and hemoglobin (Hgb were abstracted. Logistic regression was used to test our hypothesis that HBC was associated with treatment outcomes.Of 655 patients, 523 (80% were eligible and included in the study. There were 428 patients (82% with favorable outcomes (alive and on ART and 95 patients (18% with unfavorable outcomes (died, lost to follow-up, or stopped treatment. A minority of the 523 eligible patients (n = 84, 16% lived in villages with HBC available. Living in a village with HBC was not significantly associated with treatment outcomes; 80% of patients in a village with HBC had favorable outcomes, compared to 82% of patients in a village without HBC (P = 0.6 by χ(2. In bivariable analysis, lower BMI (P<0.001, low CD4+ cell count (P = 0.02, low Hgb concentration (P = 0.02, and older age at ART initiation (P = 0.047 were associated with unfavorable outcomes. In multivariable analysis, low BMI remained associated with unfavorable outcomes (P<0.001.We did not find that living in a village with HBC available was associated with improved treatment outcomes. We speculate that the ART clinic's rigorous treatment preparation before ART initiation and continuous adherence counseling during ART create a motivated group of patients whose outcomes did not improve with additional HBC support. An alternative explanation is that the quality of the HBC program is suboptimal.

Weight and height z-scores improve after initiating ART among HIV-infected children in rural Zambia: a cohort study

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Sinywimaanzi Pamela

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Deficits in growth observed in HIV-infected children in resource-poor settings can be reversed with antiretroviral treatment (ART. However, many of the studies have been conducted in urban areas with older pediatric populations. This study was undertaken to evaluate growth patterns after ART initiation in a young pediatric population in rural Zambia with a high prevalence of undernutrition. Methods Between 2007 and 2009, 193 HIV-infected children were enrolled in a cohort study in Macha, Zambia. Children were evaluated every 3 months, at which time a questionnaire was administered, height and weight were measured, and blood specimens were collected. Weight- and height-for-age z-scores were constructed from WHO growth standards. All children receiving ART at enrollment or initiating ART during the study were included in this analysis. Linear mixed effects models were used to model trajectories of weight and height-for-age z-scores. Results A high proportion of study children were underweight (59% and stunted (72% at treatment initiation. Improvements in both weight- and height-for-age z-scores were observed, with weight-for-age z-scores increasing during the first 6 months of treatment and then stabilizing, and height-for-age z-scores increasing consistently over time. Trajectories of weight-for-age z-scores differed by underweight status at treatment initiation, with children who were underweight experiencing greater increases in z-scores in the first 6 months of treatment. Trajectories of height-for-age z-scores differed by age, with children older than 5 years of age experiencing smaller increases over time. Conclusions Some of the effects of HIV on growth were reversed with ART initiation, although a high proportion of children remained underweight and stunted after two years of treatment. Partnerships between treatment and nutrition programs should be explored so that HIV-infected children can receive optimal nutritional

Secular trends in pediatric antiretroviral treatment programs in rural and urban Zambia: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutcliffe, Catherine G; Bolton-Moore, Carolyn; van Dijk, Janneke H; Cotham, Matt; Tambatamba, Bushimbwa; Moss, William J

2010-07-30

Since 2003 pediatric antiretroviral treatment (ART) programs have scaled-up in sub-Saharan Africa and should be evaluated to assess progress and identify areas for improvement. We evaluated secular trends in the characteristics and treatment outcomes of children in three pediatric ART clinics in urban and rural areas in Zambia. Routinely collected data were analyzed from three ART programs in rural (Macha and Mukinge) and urban (Lusaka) Zambia between program implementation and July 2008. Data were obtained from electronic medical record systems and medical record abstraction, and were categorized by year of program implementation. Characteristics of all HIV-infected and exposed children enrolled in the programs and all children initiating treatment were compared by year of implementation. Age decreased and immunologic characteristics improved in all groups over time in both urban and rural clinics, with greater improvement observed in the rural clinics. Among children both eligible and ineligible for ART at clinic enrollment, the majority started treatment within a year. A high proportion of children, particularly those ineligible for ART at clinic enrollment, were lost to follow-up prior to initiating ART. Among children initiating ART, clinical and immunologic outcomes after six months of treatment improved in both urban and rural clinics. In the urban clinics, mortality after six months of treatment declined with program duration, and in the rural clinics, the proportion of children defaulting by six months increased with program duration. Treatment programs are showing signs of progress in the care of HIV-infected children, particularly in the rural clinics where scale-up increased rapidly over the first three years of program implementation. However, continued efforts to optimize care are needed as many children continue to enroll in ART programs at a late stage of disease and thus are not receiving the full benefits of treatment.

Risk factors for pre-treatment mortality among HIV-infected children in rural Zambia: a cohort study.

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Catherine G Sutcliffe

Full Text Available Many HIV-infected children in sub-Saharan Africa enter care at a late stage of disease. As preparation of the child and family for antiretroviral therapy (ART can take several clinic visits, some children die prior to ART initiation. This study was undertaken to determine mortality rates and clinical predictors of mortality during the period prior to ART initiation.A prospective cohort study of HIV-infected treatment-naïve children was conducted between September 2007 and September 2010 at the HIV clinic at Macha Hospital in rural Southern Province, Zambia. HIV-infected children younger than 16 years of age who were treatment-naïve at study enrollment were eligible for analysis. Mortality rates prior to ART initiation were calculated and risk factors for mortality were evaluated.351 children were included in the study, of whom 210 (59.8% were eligible for ART at study enrollment. Among children ineligible for ART at enrollment, 6 children died (mortality rate: 0.33; 95% CI:0.15, 0.74. Among children eligible at enrollment, 21 children died before initiation of ART and their mortality rate (2.73 per 100 person-years; 95% CI:1.78, 4.18 was significantly higher than among children ineligible for ART (incidence rate ratio: 8.20; 95% CI:3.20, 24.83. In both groups, mortality was highest in the first three months of follow-up. Factors associated with mortality included younger age, anemia and lower weight-for-age z-score at study enrollment.These results underscore the need to increase efforts to identify HIV-infected children at an earlier age and stage of disease progression so they can enroll in HIV care and treatment programs prior to becoming eligible for ART and these deaths can be prevented.

Control of brown spot pathogen of rice (Bipolaris oryzae using some phenolic antioxidants Controle da macha-parda do arroz (Bipolaris oryzae pelo emprego de antioxidantes fenólicos

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Y.M. Shabana

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Bipolaris oryzae is the causal agent of rice brown spot disease and is responsible for significant economic losses. In order to control this disease, three phenolic antioxidants were tested (salicylic acid, benzoic acid and hydroquinone. The antifungal activity of the tested substances were investigated against B. oryzae at different concentrations in vitro, as well as the efficacy of their exogenous application in controlling rice brown spot disease under field conditions. In vitro, benzoic acid or salicylic acid at 9 mM completely inhibited the growth of B. oryzae. Under field conditions, spraying of benzoic acid at 20 mM led to a significant reduction in disease severity (DS and disease incidence (DI on the plant leaves, in addition to a significant increase in the grain yield and its components. Some biochemical responses were also detected, where the application of the previous treatment led to a significant increase in the total photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids in rice leaves and in the total carbohydrate and protein contents of the yielded grains.Bipolaris oryzae é o agente causador da doença mancha-parda do arroz e é responsável por significativas perdas econômicas. Três antioxidantes fenólicos (ácido salicílico, ácido benzóico e hidroquinona foram avaliados para o controle dessa doença do arroz. A atividade antifúngica destes compostos foi avaliada in vitro contra B. oryzae em diferentes concentrações e a eficiência de sua aplicação exógena no controle da mancha-parda foi avaliada em condições de campo. Nos ensaios in vitro, os ácidos benzóico e salicílico a 9 mM inibiram completamente a multiplicação de B. oryzae. Em condições de campo, a aspersão de ácido benzóico a 20 mM causou uma redução significativa na gravidade e incidência da doença na folhas da planta, além de aumentar significativamente o rendimento dos grãos e seus componentes. Algumas respostas bioquímicas foram também observadas, verificando-se que a aplicação do tratamento prévio causou um aumento significativo nos pigmentos fotossintéticos totais (clorofila a e b e carotenóides nas folhas e no conteúdo de carboidratos e proteínas nos grãos.

Rural health centres, communities and malaria case detection in Zambia using mobile telephones: a means to detect potential reservoirs of infection in unstable transmission conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamanga, Aniset; Moono, Petros; Stresman, Gillian; Mharakurwa, Sungano; Shiff, Clive

2010-04-15

Effective malaria control depends on timely acquisition of information on new cases, their location and their frequency so as to deploy supplies, plan interventions or focus attention on specific locations appropriately to intervene and prevent an upsurge in transmission. The process is known as active case detection, but because the information is time sensitive, it is difficult to carry out. In Zambia, the rural health services are operating effectively and for the most part are provided with adequate supplies of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) as well as effective drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. The tests are administered to all prior to treatment and appropriate records are kept. Data are obtained in a timely manner and distribution of this information is important for the effective management of malaria control operations. The work reported here involves combining the process of positive diagnoses in rural health centres (passive case detection) to help detect potential outbreaks of malaria and target interventions to foci where parasite reservoirs are likely to occur. Twelve rural health centres in the Choma and Namwala Districts were recruited to send weekly information of rapid malaria tests used and number of positive diagnoses to the Malaria Institute at Macha using mobile telephone SMS. Data were entered in excel, expressed as number of cases per rural health centre and distributed weekly to interested parties. These data from each of the health centres which were mapped using geographical positioning system (GPS) coordinates were used in a time sensitive manner to plot the patterns of malaria case detection in the vicinity of each location. The data were passed on to the appropriate authorities. The seasonal pattern of malaria transmission associated with local ecological conditions can be seen in the distribution of cases diagnosed. Adequate supplies of RDT are essential in health centres and the system can be expanded throughout the

Rural health centres, communities and malaria case detection in Zambia using mobile telephones: a means to detect potential reservoirs of infection in unstable transmission conditions

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Kamanga Aniset

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Effective malaria control depends on timely acquisition of information on new cases, their location and their frequency so as to deploy supplies, plan interventions or focus attention on specific locations appropriately to intervene and prevent an upsurge in transmission. The process is known as active case detection, but because the information is time sensitive, it is difficult to carry out. In Zambia, the rural health services are operating effectively and for the most part are provided with adequate supplies of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT as well as effective drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. The tests are administered to all prior to treatment and appropriate records are kept. Data are obtained in a timely manner and distribution of this information is important for the effective management of malaria control operations. The work reported here involves combining the process of positive diagnoses in rural health centres (passive case detection to help detect potential outbreaks of malaria and target interventions to foci where parasite reservoirs are likely to occur. Methods Twelve rural health centres in the Choma and Namwala Districts were recruited to send weekly information of rapid malaria tests used and number of positive diagnoses to the Malaria Institute at Macha using mobile telephone SMS. Data were entered in excel, expressed as number of cases per rural health centre and distributed weekly to interested parties. Results These data from each of the health centres which were mapped using geographical positioning system (GPS coordinates were used in a time sensitive manner to plot the patterns of malaria case detection in the vicinity of each location. The data were passed on to the appropriate authorities. The seasonal pattern of malaria transmission associated with local ecological conditions can be seen in the distribution of cases diagnosed. Conclusions Adequate supplies of RDT are essential in

Use of mobile phones and text messaging to decrease the turnaround time for early infant HIV diagnosis and notification in rural Zambia: an observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutcliffe, Catherine G; Thuma, Philip E; van Dijk, Janneke H; Sinywimaanzi, Kathy; Mweetwa, Sydney; Hamahuwa, Mutinta; Moss, William J

2017-03-08

Early infant diagnosis of HIV infection is challenging in rural sub-Saharan Africa as blood samples are sent to central laboratories for HIV DNA testing, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation. Simple technologies to rapidly deliver results to clinics and notify mothers of test results would decrease many of these delays. The feasibility of using mobile phones to contact mothers was evaluated. In addition, the first two years of implementation of a national short message service (SMS) reporting system to deliver test results from the laboratory to the clinic were evaluated. The study was conducted in Macha, Zambia from 2013 to 2015 among mothers of HIV-exposed infants. Mothers were interviewed about mobile phone use and willingness to be contacted directly or through their rural health center. Mothers were contacted according to their preferred method of communication when test results were available. Mothers of positive infants were asked to return to the clinic as soon as possible. Dates of sample collection, delivery of test results to the clinic and notification of mothers were documented in addition to test results. Four hundred nineteen mothers and infants were enrolled. Only 30% of mothers had ever used a mobile phone. 96% of mobile phone owners were reached by study staff and 98% of mothers without mobile phones were contacted through their rural health center. Turnaround times for mothers of positive infants were approximately 2 weeks shorter than for mothers of negative infants. Delivery of test results by the national SMS system improved from 2013 to 2014, with increases in the availability of texted results (38 vs. 91%) and arrival of the texted result prior to the hardcopy report (27 vs. 83%). Texted results arriving at the clinic before the hardcopy were received a median of 19 days earlier. Four discrepancies between texted and hardcopy results were identified out of 340 tests. Mobile phone and text messaging technology has the

Agencias estatales, empresarios azucareros e instituciones educativas: la Escuela de Arboricultura y Sacarotecnia de Tucumán y el discurso en torno a la modernización agrícola, 1870-1920

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Hernández, Pablo

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Esta presentación analiza las construcciones discursivas en torno a la modernización agrícola elaboradas por las agencias estatales y por los factores productivos tucumanos. El sentido de esta primera aproximación, es examinar el rol otorgado a la Escuela de Arboricultura y Sacaroctenia en la promoción de una explotación más racional del suelo. La cuestión de la educación agrícola aparece vinculada a dos grandes temas: en primer lugar a las políticas educativas diseñadas por el gobierno central, que precisaba de la concurrencia de los Estados provinciales, y en segundo término a la consolidación de una economía agroexportadora como motor dinámico del crecimiento argentino con centro indiscutido en la región pampeana. De este modo, los proyectos de creación de establecimientos educativos destinados a la formación de “agricultores cultos” constituyó, por lo menos en el campo de la retórica, una de las preocupaciones fundamentales tanto de los poderes públicos, (nacionales y provinciales como de actores sociales relevantes.En este sentido, la cuestión de la creación y funcionamiento de las escuelas experimentales debe abordarse en el marco del proyecto político de la Generación del 80´ y del proceso de construcción del Estado Nacional. El estudio del establecimiento educativo tucumano cobra especial relevancia puesto, que entre la fundación y la puesta en macha efectiva de la Escuela de Arboricultura y Sacarotecnia de Tucumán, transcurrieron treinta años. Este derrotero da cuenta, en gran medida de las políticas en torno a la educación agrícola implementadas desde las agencias estatales, y las dificultades que experimentaron los poderes públicos para delimitar el perfil que buscaba imprimírsele a la institución, que reflejaban los desacuerdos a cerca de las marcas identitarias que debía asumir la Escuela. Estas divergencias se cristalizaron en los debates en la prensa local en torno a la modernización agr

‘¡Y tenemos que ser más unidos!’: Carnaval y Política en una zona rural de la Quebrada de Humahuaca, o cómo mantener las tradiciones que se pierden en el pueblo

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Guillermina Espósito

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Desde hace algunos años, las reflexiones académicas que desde la Antropología se han desarrolladoacerca de diversos eventos de la vida social, vienen enfatizando la dimensión performática de ciertosgéneros dramáticos, como es el caso de los rituales y las fiestas. En el marco de los trabajos de campoetnográficos llevados a cabo durante el verano de 2008, tuvimos la oportunidad de participar en losdistintos eventos que conforman el carnaval que todos los años se festeja en la quebrada de PipintuGrande, Jujuy. Inmersos en el clima festivo del carnaval, intentando tomar el pulso de los rituales dedesentierro y entierro, tan prolíficos en coplas de inusitado ingenio como en ch’allas y machas,comenzamos a reflexionar acerca de los modos de articulación entre los géneros performáticos, lasidentidades puestas en juego y los procesos de resistencia que se modulan en torno a una tensiónentre la percepción de un devenir agonístico que amenaza la unión interfamiliar, amenaza representadaen la política, y la puesta en acto de elementos simbólicos ‘tradicionales’, donde el miedo a la pérdidade las tradiciones y costumbres articulan los discursos que se despliegan durante el carnaval.AbstractSince some years ago, the academic reflections that from the Anthropology have been developedabout diverse events of the social life, emphasize the performatic dimension of certain dramatic genres,as the cases of rituals and parties. In the frame of the ethnographic field works carried out during thesummer of 2008, we had the opportunity to take part in the different events that shape the carnivalthat every year is feasted in the gorge of Pipintu Grande, Jujuy. Immersed in the festive climate of thecarnival, trying to take the pulse of the rituals of the ‘entierro’ and the ‘desentierro’, so prolific ofcouplets of unusual ingenuity as in ‘ch’allas’ and ‘machas’, we began to think about the manners ofarticulation between the

A simple Chelex protocol for DNA extraction from Anopheles spp.

Science.gov (United States)

Musapa, Mulenga; Kumwenda, Taida; Mkulama, Mtawa; Chishimba, Sandra; Norris, Douglas E; Thuma, Philip E; Mharakurwa, Sungano

2013-01-09

Endemic countries are increasingly adopting molecular tools for efficient typing, identification and surveillance against malaria parasites and vector mosquitoes, as an integral part of their control programs. For sustainable establishment of these accurate approaches in operations research to strengthen malaria control and elimination efforts, simple and affordable methods, with parsimonious reagent and equipment requirements are essential. Here we present a simple Chelex-based technique for extracting malaria parasite and vector DNA from field collected mosquito specimens. We morphologically identified 72 Anopheles gambiae sl. from 156 mosquitoes captured by pyrethrum spray catches in sleeping rooms of households within a 2,000 km(2) vicinity of the Malaria Institute at Macha. After dissection to separate the head and thorax from the abdomen for all 72 Anopheles gambiae sl. mosquitoes, the two sections were individually placed in 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tubes and submerged in 20 μl of deionized water. Using a sterile pipette tip, each mosquito section was separately homogenized to a uniform suspension in the deionized water. Of the ensuing homogenate from each mosquito section, 10 μl was retained while the other 10 μl was transferred to a separate autoclaved 1.5 ml tube. The separate aliquots were subjected to DNA extraction by either the simplified Chelex or the standard salting out extraction protocol(9,10). The salting out protocol is so-called and widely used because it employs high salt concentrations in lieu of hazardous organic solvents (such as phenol and chloroform) for the protein precipitation step during DNA extraction(9). Extracts were used as templates for PCR amplification using primers targeting arthropod mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase (NADH) subunit 4 gene (ND4) to check DNA quality, a PCR for identification of Anopheles gambiae sibling species(10) and a nested PCR for typing of Plasmodium falciparum infection