Occurrence ofCryptosporidium hominisin cattle bordering the Lake Mburo National Park in Kiruhura district, Western Uganda

AbstractBackgroundCryptosporidiumis an emerging opportunistic zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal illness in a wide range of hosts including livestock and humans. Globally there is exponential increase in livestock production to meet the worlds’ demand for animal protein as well as for financial reasons. However, there is raised concern of the public health threat due to contamination of the environment by livestock waste carrying zoonotic pathogens such asCryptosporidium. This study set out to establish the prevalence ofCryptosporidiumas well as the circulating genotypes in order to elucidate the potential role of cattle in the spread of human cryptosporidiosis. We collected rectal coprological samples from 363 cattle in 11 households in Kiruhura district, Southwestern Uganda. The samples were screened for presence ofCryptosporidiumoocysts using the phenol auramine staining method followed by fluorescent microscopy. DNA was then extracted from the microscopy positive samples and the COWP gene amplified using PCR. Amplified gene products were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis.ResultsThe overall animal level prevalence ofCryptosporidiumwas 7.7% (95% CI: 5.1-10.9), and herd level prevalence was 33.3% (95% CI: 18.5-52.2). We found a statistically significant difference (p=0.02) between infection in bulls as compared to cows. There was however no significant difference in the prevalence among the different cattle breeds sampled, with the following prevalence’s observed in Crosses 9.2%, Ankole 5.7%, Friesian 7.1%, and Boran 2.8% respectively. The COWP gene was successfully amplified from 20 of the 28 microscopy positive samples. All the sequenced DNA amplicons were confirmed to beC. hominis, with 98%-100% identity to sequences in the GenBank.C. hominiswas the only genotype isolated from this study, further asserting that cattle could be a potential high risk source of human cryptosporidiosis.ConclusionThis study represents the first time naturally occurringC. hominishas been isolated from cattle in Uganda. This further provides evidence of cattle possibly being biological reservoirs forC. hominisand cattle could be a potential high risk source of human cryptosporidiosis.

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Aggressive intravenous hydration with lactated Ringer’s solution for prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis: a prospective randomized multicenter clinical trial

Endoscopy ◽

10.1055/s-0043-122386 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 50 (04) ◽

pp. 378-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Chang-Hwan Park ◽

Woo Paik ◽

Eun Park ◽

Chan Shim ◽

Tae Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Multicenter Trial ◽

High Risk Patients ◽

Intention To Treat ◽

Ringer’S Solution ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Risk Patients ◽

Intravenous Hydration ◽

Lactated Ringer's Solution ◽

First Time

Abstract Background and study aims The present study aimed to determine the type of intravenous hydration that is best suited to reducing the incidence of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis. Patients and methods In a prospective randomized multicenter trial, average-to-high risk patients who underwent first-time ERCP were randomly assigned to three groups (1:1:1) who received: aggressive intravenous hydration (3 mL/kg/h during ERCP, a 20-mL/kg bolus and 3 mL/kg/h for 8 hours after ERCP) with either lactated Ringer’s solution (LRS) or normal saline solution (NSS), or standard intravenous hydration with LRS (1.5 mL/kg/h during and for 8 hours after ERCP). The primary end point was post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). Results 395 patients were enrolled, and 385 completed the protocols. The three groups showed no significant differences in demographic characteristics. There was a significant difference in the intention-to-treat (ITT) PEP rate between the aggressive LRS group (3.0 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.1 % – 5.9 %; 4 /132), the aggressive NSS group (6.7 %, 95 %CI 2.5 % – 10.9 %; 9 /134) and the standard LRS group (11.6 %, 95 %CI 6.1 % – 17.2 %; 15 /129; P = 0.03). In the two-group comparisons, the ITT PEP rate was significantly lower for the aggressive LRS group than for the standard LRS group (relative risk [RR] 0.26, 95 %CI 0.08 – 0.76; P = 0.008). There was no significant difference in the ITT PEP rate between the aggressive NSS group and the standard LRS group (RR 0.57, 95 %CI 0.26 – 1.27; P = 0.17). Conclusion Aggressive hydration with LRS is the best approach to intravenous hydration for the prevention of PEP in average-to-high risk patients.

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The Russian Assembly of the Nobility as a Communication Venue for the Upper Class and the Emperor (1780–1850s)

Russian Foundation for Basic Research Journal Humanities and social sciences ◽

10.22204/2587-8956-2018-093-04-26-37 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 26-37

Author(s):

Александр Куприянов ◽

Aleksandr Kupriyanov

Keyword(s):

Symbolic Capital ◽

Upper Class ◽

State Archive ◽

Central State ◽

Body Contact ◽

The Public ◽

Russian State ◽

Wide Range ◽

Archival Documents ◽

First Time

For the first time in the historiography, the paper views the Russian (Moscow) Assembly of the Nobility as a communication venue for the upper class and the Emperor. Based upon archival documents, periodicals, letters, diaries and records of the contemporaries, the researcher focuses on the emerging reception practices by the public organization of the Emperor, as well as various ways of communication that arose between the monarch and his subjects at a ball. The spatial-hierarchical place of a person at a ball and at the festive table depended on his/her symbolic capital: rank, nobility, age, and personal acquaintance with the emperor and his family. The communication at a ball was secular by nature, and excluded any serious topics. The communication between the monarch and the nobility at a ball was of three types: dancing and body contact, verbal and visual. Imperial balls in the Russian Assembly of the Nobility aimed at strengthening the monarch's ties with the nobility and served as a crucial tool of publicly expressing the pro-monarchical feelings by the Moscow’s upper class. Therefore, the leaders and members of the assembly, who appreciated the symbolic value of these balls, spent huge amounts of money on their organization. The details of the monarch’s receptions in the Russian Assembly of the Nobility were published in newspapers. The research is based on a wide range of archival (Central State Archive of Moscow, Russian State Archive of Literature and Art) and published sources: chamber fourrier journals, memoirs, notes and letters, as well as periodicals (newspapers Severnaya Pchela, Severnaya Pochta, Moskovskie Vedomosti). Many of these materials are first introduced into the academic domain.

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COVID-19 Vaccine and Social Media in the U.S.: Exploring Emotions and Discussions on Twitter

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9101059 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 1059

Author(s):

Amir Karami ◽

Michael Zhu ◽

Bailey Goldschmidt ◽

Hannah R. Boyajieff ◽

Mahdi M. Najafabadi

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Small Scale ◽

Success Factor ◽

Great Opportunity ◽

Public Response ◽

The Public ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Negative Sentiment

The understanding of the public response to COVID-19 vaccines is the key success factor to control the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the public response, there is a need to explore public opinion. Traditional surveys are expensive and time-consuming, address limited health topics, and obtain small-scale data. Twitter can provide a great opportunity to understand public opinion regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The current study proposes an approach using computational and human coding methods to collect and analyze a large number of tweets to provide a wider perspective on the COVID-19 vaccine. This study identifies the sentiment of tweets using a machine learning rule-based approach, discovers major topics, explores temporal trend and compares topics of negative and non-negative tweets using statistical tests, and discloses top topics of tweets having negative and non-negative sentiment. Our findings show that the negative sentiment regarding the COVID-19 vaccine had a decreasing trend between November 2020 and February 2021. We found Twitter users have discussed a wide range of topics from vaccination sites to the 2020 U.S. election between November 2020 and February 2021. The findings show that there was a significant difference between tweets having negative and non-negative sentiment regarding the weight of most topics. Our results also indicate that the negative and non-negative tweets had different topic priorities and focuses. This research illustrates that Twitter data can be used to explore public opinion regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

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I walk, therefore I am: a multidimensional study on the influence of the locomotion method upon presence in virtual reality

Journal of Computational Design and Engineering ◽

10.1093/jcde/qwaa040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 577-590

Author(s):

José L Soler-Domínguez ◽

Carla de Juan ◽

Manuel Contero ◽

Mariano Alcañiz

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Electrodermal Activity ◽

Objective Measure ◽

Sense Of Presence ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Head Bobbing ◽

Controversial Topic ◽

Being There ◽

First Time

Abstract A defining virtual reality (VR) metric is the sense of presence, a complex, multidimensional psychophysical construct that represents how intense is the sensation of actually being there, inside the virtual environment (VE), forgetting how technology mediates the experience. Our paper explores how locomotion influences presence, studying two different ways of artificial movement along the VE: walking-in-place (through head bobbing detection) and indirect walking (through touchpad). To evaluate that influence, a narrative-neutral maze was created, from where 41 participants (N=41) had to escape. Measuring presence is a controversial topic since there is not a single, objective measure but a wide range of metrics depending on the different theoretical basis. For this reason, we have used for the first time, representative metrics from all three traditional dimensions of presence: subjective presence (SP) (self-reported through questionnaires), behavioral presence (BP) (obtained from unconscious reactions while inside the VE), and physiological presence (PP) [usually measured using heart rate or electrodermal activity (EDA)]. SP was measured with the ITC-SOPI questionnaire, BP by collecting the participants’ reactions, and PP by using a bracelet that registered EDA. The results show two main findings: (i) There is no correlation between the different presence metrics. This opens the door to a simpler way of measuring presence in an objective, reliable way. (ii) There is no significant difference between the two locomotion techniques for any of the three metrics, which shows that the authenticity of VR does not rely on how you move within the VE.

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Synchaeta jollyae (Shiel & Koste) (Rotifera, Synchaetidae): an overlooked species or a newcomer in Neotropical freshwaters?

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/s0073-47212012000200007 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 102 (2) ◽

pp. 159-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natalia F. Negreiros ◽

Renata M. dos Santos ◽

Laira Lúcia Damasceno de Oliveira ◽

Maria J. dos Santos-Wisniewski ◽

Odete Rocha

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Water Bodies ◽

Tietê River ◽

Rio Grande Basin ◽

Eutrophic Water ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Lower Temperature ◽

High And Low Temperatures ◽

First Time

Populations of Synchaeta jollyae (Shiel & Koste, 1993) (Rotifera), a species recently recorded for the first time in Brazil and South America, were analyzed in reservoirs in Southeast Brazil. Sampling was carried out monthly from August 2006 to July 2007 at Furnas Reservoir in the Rio Grande basin, state of Minas Gerais, and in four cascade reservoirs in the Tietê River basin (Barra Bonita, Bariri, Ibitinga and Nova Avanhandava) state of São Paulo, in June and September 2008 and in January and May 2009. Synchaeta jollyae occurred in most samples and periods. From the results obtained it is evident that S. jollyae occurs in water bodies of varied trophic status but reaches larger populations in eutrophic water bodies and during lower temperature periods. The greatest densities of S. jollyae were found in the eutrophic Bariri Reservoir, on the Tietê River, during the winter. Mann-Whitney test confirmed the significant difference between the population densities in periods of high and low temperatures, with populations reaching higher densities at lower temperatures. It is not yet possible to tell whether S. jollyae is a widely distributed species that has been overlooked in previous plankton studies in South America. Wherever these populations of S. jollyae might have originated, it appears to be a species well established and adapted to a wide range of conditions in the Neotropics.

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FIRST TIME EXPECTANT FATHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON BREASTFEEDING

Malaysian Journal of Medical Research ◽

10.31674/mjmr.2018.v02i02.012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 80-87

Author(s):

Samia Saud Al Furaikh ◽

Thilagavathy Ganapathy

Keyword(s):

Tertiary Care ◽

Maternity Hospital ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Public Places ◽

The Public ◽

Wide Range ◽

Expectant Fathers ◽

Need For Support ◽

First Time

Background: Mothers who have a supportive and encouraging partner are more likely to plan to breastfeed for a longer duration. Objective: To explore the first-time expectant fathers’ attitudes towards breast feeding practices. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among n=157 purposively selected first-time expectant fathers attending antenatal clinics along with low risk term primigravida at a tertiary care corporate maternity hospital, Cosmopolitan Bangalore city, Karnataka, India from June 2015 to July 2016. In accordance with Declaration of Helsinki, data was collected by The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitudes Scale (IIFAS). SPSS version 20 was used for analysis. Results: In general men had a favorable attitude towards breastfeeding (51.6±6.98) but they did not articulate specific benefits of it. Most expectant fathers reported that breastfeeding is the ideal way to feed a baby, contains the perfect proportion of nutrients and provides babies with a wide range of health benefits. Plus, breastfeeding is a great way for a mother to bond with her baby physically and mentally. However, 57.2% of them preferred formula-feeding for the baby while mother is away and felt it as healthy as breast milk. Although the men were generally supportive of breastfeeding, majority (58%) did not support breastfeeding in the public places. A few knew about the long-term benefits of breastfeeding on mother and infants. Majority (82.4%) expressed a need for support and information from health personnel on how they could practically support their partners in promoting and enabling breastfeeding. A significant association has been found between their attitudes and level of education and occupation at 0.05 levels. Conclusion: Health professionals must provide man-centric prenatal education to promote breastfeeding practices. They should involve, include and support fathers, recognizing their importance in the breastfeeding relationship.

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A Rhetorical Analysis of English and Persian Online Comments on the News Articles Related to Iran’s Nuclear Issue

Observatorio (OBS*) ◽

10.15847/obsobs1102017882 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mohsen Kafi ◽

Fatemeh Irajzad ◽

Hesamoddin Shahriari

Keyword(s):

Rhetorical Analysis ◽

The Political ◽

The Public ◽

News Stories ◽

News Websites ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference ◽

News Agencies ◽

Online Comments ◽

Nuclear Issue

The comments section of news articles is intended for the public to share their views on posted news stories. Accordingly, this section has been subject to numerous analyses from a wide range of perspectives. The current study analyzes the tone and purpose of comments posted on news articles dealing with Iran’s nuclear issue. The data consisted of 150 online comments in English and 150 in Persian. The comments were taken from three news websites in English and three in Persian. These websites were chosen based on their different political leanings in order to take account of the various approaches to Iran’s disputed nuclear talks. The results did not indicate a significant difference between the tone of English and Persian comments, but the purposes intended by English and Persian comments varied extensively. It was also found that the political leaning of news agencies is a major cause of the observed differences.

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Are adult amateur musicians at ‘high risk’ of experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms?

International Journal of Community Music ◽

10.1386/ijcm_00013_1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 103-121

Author(s):

Jessica Stanhope ◽

Angus Cook ◽

Philip Weinstein

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Musculoskeletal Symptoms ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Amateur Musicians ◽

First Time ◽

Musical Activities

Musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) are a common problem for musicians, but the MSS burden of amateur musicians specifically is under-investigated. For the first time we sought to compare the MSS prevalence and profile (e.g. MSS location, impact) of adult amateur musicians with those of non-musicians. Amateur and non-musicians were asked to complete a questionnaire that collected data on their demographics, musical activities and MSS outcomes. A total of 456 participants were included, 30.9% of whom were amateur musicians. MSSs were common for both amateurs and non-musicians (96.4% and 96.1%, respectively, for the last twelve months). The only significant difference between the two groups was for the twelve-month prevalence of head MSSs with amateur musicians having a higher prevalence than non-musicians (49.6% and 39.8%, respectively, p<0.05). We conclude that amateur musicians do not have a substantially different MSS prevalence and profile compared with non-musicians for this university-based population.

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Abnormal function in dentate nuclei precedes the onset of psychosis: a resting-state fMRI study in high-risk individuals

10.1101/2021.02.28.433240 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sheeba Arnold Anteraper ◽

Xavier Guell ◽

Guusje Collin ◽

Zhenghan Qi ◽

Jingwen Ren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

High Risk ◽

Resting State ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Psychotic Episode ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Default Mode ◽

Prediction And Prevention ◽

Wide Range ◽

First Time

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe cerebellum serves a wide range of functions and is suggested to be composed of discrete regions dedicated to unique functions. We recently developed a new parcellation of the dentate nuclei (DN), the major output nuclei of the cerebellum, which optimally divides the structure into three functional territories that contribute uniquely to default-mode, motor-salience, and visual processing networks as indexed by resting-state functional connectivity (RsFc). Here we test for the first time whether RsFc differences in the DN precede the onset of psychosis in individuals at risk of developing schizophrenia.MethodsWe used the MRI dataset from the Shanghai At Risk for Psychosis study that included subjects at high risk to develop schizophrenia (N=144), with longitudinal follow-up to determine which subjects developed a psychotic episode within one year of their fMRI scan (converters N=23). Analysis used the three functional parcels (default-mode, salience-motor, and visual territory) from the DN as seed regions of interest for whole-brain RsFc analysis.ResultsRsFc analysis revealed abnormalities at baseline in high-risk individuals who developed psychosis, compared to high-risk individuals who did not develop psychosis. The nature of the observed abnormalities was found to be anatomically specific such that abnormal RsFc was localized predominantly in cerebral cortical networks that matched the three functional territories of the DN that were evaluated.ConclusionsWe show for the first time that abnormal RsFc of the DN may precede the onset of psychosis. This new evidence highlights the role of the cerebellum as a potential target for psychosis prediction and prevention.

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Assessment of Collaboration-Based and Non-Collaboration-Based Logistics Risks with Plithogenic SWARA Method

Logistics ◽

10.3390/logistics5040082 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 82

Author(s):

Alptekin Ulutaş ◽

Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene ◽

Ayse Topal ◽

Ezgi Demir

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

High Risk ◽

Group Decision ◽

Geographical Location ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Ratio Analysis ◽

Risk Environment ◽

Wide Range ◽

High Level ◽

First Time

Background: Uncertainty is the major source of hazards, and it is present in a wide range of business activities. Due to the high level of unpredictability in logistics operations, the logistics sector has traditionally operated in a high-risk environment. These risks have become considerably more complicated as the corporate environment has changed in recent years, such through globalization, environmental concerns, and changes in demand. As a result, in order for a logistics firm to thrive, it is necessary to evaluate and assess the risks associated with logistics. Methods: The Plithogenic Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) has been used in this study to assess the logistics risks. The logistics risk considered in this study are transportation-related risks, purchasing-related risks, inventory-related risks, information-related risks, packaging-related risks, operational-related risks, geographical location-related risks, natural disaster-related risks, and organization-related risks. Results: The most significant logistics risks are found to be Inventory-Related Risks, while the least significant are Geographical Location-Related Risks. When compared to the standard SWARA approach, the Plithogenic SWARA method may be employed in group decision-making issues without losing information. Conclusions: The proposed technique will help logistics professionals make informed decisions and manage and analyze risks more efficiently. This study will also contribute to the literature as it is the first time that logistical risks have been addressed by utilizing the Plithogenic SWARA technique.

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