scholarly journals Trypanosoma evansiand Surra: A Review and Perspectives on Transmission, Epidemiology and Control, Impact, and Zoonotic Aspects

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Desquesnes ◽  
Alan Dargantes ◽  
De-Hua Lai ◽  
Zhao-Rong Lun ◽  
Philippe Holzmuller ◽  
...  

This paper reviews the transmission modes ofTrypanosoma evansi. Its worldwide distribution is attributed to mechanical transmission. While the role of tabanids is clear, we raise questions on the relative role ofHaematobiasp. and the possible role ofStomoxyssp. in delayed transmission. A review of the available trypanocidal drugs and their efficacy in various host species is useful for understanding how they interact in disease epidemiology, which is complex. Although there are similarities with other mechanically transmitted trypanosomes,T. evansihas a more complex epidemiology due to the diversity of its hosts and vectors. The impact of clinical and subclinical disease is difficult to establish. A model was developed for buffaloes in the Philippines, which could be transferred to other places and livestock systems. SinceTrypanosoma evansiwas reported in humans, further research is required to investigate its zoonotic potential. Surra remains a potentially emerging disease that is a threat to Australia, Spain, and France. A number of questions about the disease have yet to be resolved. This brief review of the basic knowledge ofT. evansisuggests that there is renewed interest in the parasite, which is spreading and has a major economic impact.

PCD Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Erickson D Calata ◽  
Reginald G. Ugaddan

There are frequent calls to enhance citizens' trust in government to pave the way towards a new paradigm of participatory governance and strong citizen support for government. In various realms, citizens may directly or indirectly engage with the government through various available mediums, even though, despite the availability of various policies and services provided by the government, citizens are generally passive and adamant in trusting the public sector. While many studies have explored a set of determinants that influence citizens' trust in government (i.e., central government, local government, parliament, and the legal system), few studies have ascertained the relationship and the role of social trust, happiness, governance, and political systems. These are critical factors that may influence trust in government. To address this gap, this study draws on the theoretical lens of social capital theory, proposing that cognitive social trust and citizen happiness—environment and performance—are the most likely predictors of citizen trust in government. This study assumes that citizens' perceptions of governance and political systems will moderate the effect of social trust and happiness on trust in government. Using data from the Asia Barometer Survey 2007, and focusing on data collected from the Philippines, this study tests a latent model employing the structural equation modelling technique. It finds that happiness negatively predicts trust in the central government and the legal system, while all other predictors do not have a significant effect. The findings also show that the political system moderates the impact of social trust and happiness on trust in government. Finally, this article points out its theoretical, empirical, and practical implications and provides directions for future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2249-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Steiger ◽  
Kerim H. Nisancioglu ◽  
Henning Åkesson ◽  
Basile de Fleurian ◽  
Faezeh M. Nick

Abstract. Rapid retreat of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers coincides with regional warming trends, which have broadly been used to explain these rapid changes. However, outlet glaciers within similar climate regimes experience widely contrasting retreat patterns, suggesting that the local fjord geometry could be an important additional factor. To assess the relative role of climate and fjord geometry, we use the retreat history of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in 1850 as a baseline for the parameterization of a depth- and width-integrated ice flow model. The impact of fjord geometry is isolated by using a linearly increasing climate forcing since the LIA and testing a range of simplified geometries. We find that the total length of retreat is determined by external factors – such as hydrofracturing, submarine melt and buttressing by sea ice – whereas the retreat pattern is governed by the fjord geometry. Narrow and shallow areas provide pinning points and cause delayed but rapid retreat without additional climate warming, after decades of grounding line stability. We suggest that these geometric pinning points may be used to locate potential sites for moraine formation and to predict the long-term response of the glacier. As a consequence, to assess the impact of climate on the retreat history of a glacier, each system has to be analyzed with knowledge of its historic retreat and the local fjord geometry.


2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai M. Dronin ◽  
Andrei P. Kirilenko

Agriculture in Russia has always had to contend with unfavorable climate. At the same time, large-scale socio-economic experiments have also strained the country’s food production potential throughout the 20th century. The relative role of climate and state agricultural policies in affecting production of cereals was studied for the period of 1958–2010. The study used statistical yield modeling to explain the variations in observed yields with slowly changing progress in technology and management and weather variability. The correlation between the actual and weather-explained yields is moderate to high: measured at the level of the entire country, Pearson’s r is 0.74 and Spearman’s rho is 0.68. Further, we suggest that the residual yield variability can be explained partially with the influence of large-scale changes in agricultural policies at the state level. Between these policies, we consider the following key periods in the history of Russian agriculture: “Virgin Lands” campaign (end of 1950s), Kosygin-Liberman initiatives (late 1960s), Brezhnev’s investment programmes in response of stagnation of agriculture (late 1970s – early 1980s), Gorbachev’s “Perestrojka” (1985–1991), and land privatization and price liberalization (1990s).


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nothando Gazi

The number of climate-related disasters is increasing more than ever before and cash is becoming an increasingly important tool to deliver assistance during a disaster response due to its flexibility and ability to cut across sectors, amongst other benefits. This research seeks to explore the role of cash in linking the relief phase to the long-term recovery through the promotion of sustainable livelihoods, by focusing on Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) as a case study. The Philippines has high exposure and vulnerability to climate-related disasters, however, it boasts of one of the most advanced social protection systems in the East Asia Pacific region (Bowen, 2015). In order to reach the research objectives, the research methodology employed involves a review of related literature, a field-based evaluation involving interviewing humanitarian practitioners and the adoption of DFID’s Sustainable Livelihood Framework (1999) as a framework of analysis. The results show that cash-based livelihood programming plays a vital role in leading the transition from relief to recovery due to the Value for Money (VfM) it delivers, role in strengthening local market and supply chains and the positive economic multiplier effects that benefit the wider community. Most interventions focus on asset creation, however, investment should be made into disaster risk reduction to reduce vulnerabilities that worsen the impact of shocks on poor households. Also, to enhance the benefits resulting from cash programming, supporting activities should be used in parallel with cash provision. Cash-for-training and livelihood start-up grants can empower women by increasing their human capital and introducing them to the formal economy. More work is required to transform the structures and policies that disadvantage women through patriarchal power systems.


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Fitch ◽  
Robert Chaplin ◽  
Colin Trend ◽  
Sharon Collard

One in four people with mental health problems in Britain report debt or arrears, which is nearly three times the rate among individuals without similar conditions. Although health professionals commonly encounter debt among patients, some report that they lack basic knowledge to effectively intervene and that patient debt is often not acted on until a crisis emerges. Our aim in this article is to improve psychiatrists' knowledge and confidence in dealing with patient debt. We provide basic definitions of debt and problem debt; outline the impact that debt can have on patients' health, social and financial well-being; identify the stages and signs that a patient may be accruing problem debt; describe how psychiatrists should respond; and review the instruments available to assess patients' mental capacity to make financial decisions. We do not expect psychiatrists to become ‘debt experts’, but provide working knowledge for engaging more effectively with this problem.


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 1994-2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Fromont ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
Dominique Pontier ◽  
Marc Artois

It is thought that parasites may exert selective pressure on the social structure of host populations. We compared the impact of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV), two retroviruses commonly found in domestic cats (Felis catus). Because of low transmissibility and virulence, both infections have a worldwide distribution and low prevalence. Transmission modes differ: FIV is transmitted only through biting, while FeLV transmission occurs by biting, licking, grooming, and sharing food and from mother to fetus. FeLV is also more pathogenic than FIV. We compared FIV and FeLV prevalence and risk factors within five populations of cats. FIV infection occurred almost exclusively among adult male cats fighting to acquire and maintain dominant status. Classes at risk for FeLV infection included sexually intact cats allowed to roam freely. The impact of FeLV on host population growth was greater than that of FIV but varied among populations. Our results show that FIV is favoured by individual aggressiveness and a hierarchical social system, while FeLV is more prevalent among socially active cats. FeLV may constitute a source of selective pressure against numerous amicable contacts, particularly in urban cat populations, where aggression among individuals is reduced.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Goldstein ◽  
Colin J Worby ◽  
Marc Lipsitch

Abstract Background There is limited information on the roles of different age groups in propagating pertussis outbreaks, and on the impact of vaccination on pertussis transmission in the community. Methods The relative roles of different age groups in propagating the 2012 pertussis outbreak in Wisconsin were evaluated using the relative risk (RR) statistic that measures the change in the group’s proportion among all detected cases before vs after the epidemic peak. The impact of vaccination in different age groups against infection (that is potentially different from the protective effect against detectable disease) was evaluated using the odds ratios (ORs), within each age group, for being vaccinated vs undervaccinated before vs after the outbreak’s peak. Results The RR statistic suggests that children aged 13–14 years played the largest relative role during the outbreak’s ascent (with estimates consistent across the 3 regions in Wisconsin that were studied), followed by children aged 7–8, 9–10, and 11–12 years. Young children and older teenagers and adults played more limited relative roles during the outbreak. Results of the vaccination status analysis for the fifth dose of DTaP (for children aged 7–8 years: OR, 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23–0.86; for children aged 9–10 years: OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27–0.95); and for Tdap for children aged 13–14 years (OR, 0.38, 95% CI, 0.16–0.89) are consistent with protective effect against infection. Conclusions While our epidemiological findings for the fifth dose of DTaP and for Tdap are consistent with protective effect against infection, further studies, including those estimating vaccine effectiveness against infection/transmission to others particularly for pertussis vaccines for adolescents, are needed to evaluate the impact of vaccination on the spread of pertussis in the community.


Author(s):  
Dr. Mee Jay A. Domingo ◽  
Harvey John Tolentino Aguillon

In the academe, stakeholders are starting to acknowledge the impact of social media in the teaching and learning process. Aware of this, the researchers conducted this study to determine the role of social media in the language learning experiences of students. Specifically, it identified the social media profile of the students and the platforms’ perceived use and advantages to vocabulary development. In realizing its objectives, the study employed a descriptive research design that involved 83 university students from a state university in the Philippines. Respondents answered an online survey questionnaire, which was tried out first to potential respondents before its actual use. The researchers used descriptive statistics to make sense of the data gathered. Results show that the students have high social media engagement as manifested by the number of social media accounts that they created for themselves (the majority have two or more accounts) and the number of hours that they spend a day online (majority are online for at least three hours a day). All the respondents use Facebook.com, making it the most commonly used social media platform among them. In addition, the study found that students perceive social media as contributory and effective applications for the enhancement of language and vocabulary skills due to the media’s accessibility, universality, ease of use, multimodality, general appeal, and its role in lowering communication anxieties. With these findings, educators are encouraged to explore the possibility of using social media platforms, preferably Facebook, as instructional media, specifically for the teaching of vocabulary. 


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Campforts ◽  
Veerle Vanacker ◽  
Frédéric Herman ◽  
Matthias Vanmaercke ◽  
Wolfgang Schwanghart ◽  
...  

Abstract. Process-based geomorphic transport laws enable to assess the impact of rainfall variability on bedrock river incision over geological timescales. However, isolating the role of rainfall variability on erosion remains difficult in natural environments in part because the variability of rock strength and its resistance to incision are poorly constrained. Here, we explore spatial differences in the rate of bedrock river incision in the Tropical Andes. The Ecuadorian Andes are characterized by strong rainfall gradients due to orographic precipitation sourced in the Amazon basin. In addition, the tectonic configuration has generated a profound lithological heterogeneity. The relative role of either these controls in modulating river incision on millennial time scales, however, remains unclear. Using 10Be catchment-wide erosion rates, meteorological and hydrological data, as well as data on bedrock erodibility, we provide quantitative constraints on the importance of rainfall variability and lithological variations. Explicit incorporation of rock erodibility in river incision models predicated on the stream power equation enables us to identify a first order control of lithology on river incision rates. Rainfall variability based on a spatially and temporally explicit hydrological dataset and a stochastic-threshold river incision model explain regional differences in river incision that cannot be attributed to topographical and/or lithological variability.


Author(s):  
Fiona Bloomer ◽  
Claire Pierson ◽  
Sylvia Estrada Claudio

International organisations play a role in challenging restricted access to abortion in national contexts. This chapter considers the use of human rights treaties and an analysis of how access to reproductive health is impacted in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis. The role of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is considered with reference to the case study of the Philippines. This case study illustrates how access to contraception provided a driver for legal action in a setting where access to abortion was severely restricted and how a post abortion care policy has provided an alternative way to deal with unsafe abortion. The impact of the Global Gag rule, which has restricted funding from the US to those working on reproductive health around the world, is explored. The case study of the IPPF organisation and its work on humanitarian issues provides insight into the challenges faced in providing reproductive health services in settings where resources are extremely limited.


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