scholarly journals Immigrant Children and the Internet in Spain: Uses, Opportunities, and Risks

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Casado ◽  
Carmelo Garitaonandia ◽  
Gorka Moreno ◽  
Estefania Jimenez
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Immigrant Children ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Rate ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Smartphone Use ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Very High

This article describes the use made of the Internet by immigrant children living in Spain and the opportunities and risks it involves. Specifically, it deals with children from the Maghreb, Ecuador, and Sub-Saharan Africa, three regions which account for a quarter of Spain’s foreign-born population. A qualitative methodology was used, based on in-depth interviews with 52 children from these countries and educators from their support centres. Immigrant minors usually access the Internet via their smartphones rather than via computers. They have a very high rate of smartphone use and access the Internet over public Wi-Fi networks. However, they make little use of computers and tablets, the devices most closely associated with education and accessing information. Internet usage is fairly similar among immigrant and Spanish teens, although the former receive more support and mediation from their schools and institutions than from their parents. The Internet helps them to communicate with their families in their countries of origin. As one educator puts it, “they have gone from sending photos in letters to speaking to their families every day on Skype”. Some teens, particularly Maghrebis, sometimes suffer from hate messages on social networks.

scholarly journals Prevalence of dementia in Colombian populations

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efraín Amaya Vargas ◽  
Ángela Magnolia Ríos Gallardo ◽  
Guillermo González Manrrique ◽  
Lina M. Murcia-Paredes ◽  
María Consuelo Angarita Riaño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gradual Increase ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Rate ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The City ◽  
Very High ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Prevalence Of Dementia

With the gradual increase in the life expectancy of the population due to scientific progress and public health at the service of society, the prevalence of dementia has been increasing at different rates worldwide. Currently, the prevalence rates range between 5% and 7% (6.4% in the U.S. and up to 8.5 % in Latin America) in subjects older than 60 years. The lowest prevalence rate (2.1%) has been reported from sub-Saharan Africa, probably due to selective mortality under 60 years of age. By contrast, a very high prevalence of dementia (23.6% dementia in individuals ≥60 years) was observed in the city of Neiva, Southern Colombia. We believe that this high rate could be explained by the presence of several risk factors such as very low schooling, low socio-economic strata, chronic diseases, the inclusion of geriatric homes among others, and additional unknown factors.

scholarly journals Systematic review of hypertension prevalence and awareness in Sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eléazar Ndabarora ◽  
Clemence Nishimwe ◽  
Dariya Mukamusoni
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Rate ◽  
African Countries ◽  
High Increase ◽  
Hypertensive Patients ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Control ◽  
Very High

Several studies have reported high prevalence of hypertension in Africa, but little is known on awareness and determinants of preventive measures uptake. The purpose of the review was to identify and review the studies which reported at the same time on the prevalence of hypertension and awareness among the participants in sub-Saharan Africa, and to recommend needed research studies and interventions to prevent and control hypertension increase. High prevalence of hypertension was found across sub-Saharan African countries. The increasing hypertension rate moved from 19.7% in 1990 to 30.8% in 2010, with very high increase in some sub-regions up to 77%. A low awareness was found, less than 50% and in some place less than 10%. Also a high rate of hypertensive patients who were not on treatment was found. There is a very increasing prevalence of hypertension and unawareness in sub-Saharan Africa. There is also a high rate of hypertensive patients who are not on treatment.  Studies and interventions aiming at understanding determinants of hypertension screening and treatment uptake are much recommended.

scholarly journals Fanconi Bickel syndrome: clinical phenotypes and genetics in a cohort of Sudanese children

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salwa A. Musa ◽  
Areej A. Ibrahim ◽  
Samar S. Hassan ◽  
Matthew B Johnson ◽  
Asmahan T. Basheer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Novel Mutation ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Rare Condition ◽  
Neonatal Diabetes ◽  
Abdominal Ultrasound ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Genetic Characteristics ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Fanconi-Bickel syndrome (FBS) is a rare condition of carbohydrate metabolism, caused by a recessive defect in the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT2 encoded by the SLC2A2 gene and characterized by a wide spectrum of phenotypical features. There is a paucity of reported data on FBS from Sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we describe the clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of our patients with FBS from Sudan, a country with a high consanguinity rate. Patients & methods Eleven patients from ten unrelated Sudanese families were included. Clinical & biochemical data were documented and imaging studies done including bone survey and abdominal ultrasound. Liver biopsy was done to confirm the pathological diagnosis in 45% of cases and molecular genetics was performed through contribution with the Exeter genomics laboratory for ten patients. Results Reported consanguinity was 70% among our patients. Growth was significantly impaired at presentation with mean weights of (-5.3 ± 1.8) SD and heights (-5.4 ± 2.5) SD. Severe chest deformity was present in (27%) and all patients showed features of rickets at presentation. Three patients had neonatal diabetes requiring insulin therapy of which one has been reported before. Six families lost undiagnosed siblings with similar clinical presentations. We identified a total of four homozygous pathogenic SLC2A2 variants in our patients, one of whom had a novel mutation. Conclusions FBS is not uncommon in Sudan where there is a high rate of consanguinity. Many cases are likely missed because of variable presentation and lack of public and professionals’ awareness. This is the first series to describe this condition from Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Production And Use Of A Shelf-Stable Bovine Blood Powder For Food Fortification As A Food-Based Strategy To Combat Iron Deficiency Anaemia In Sub-Saharan Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 01-18
Author(s):  
JK Kikafunda ◽  
◽  
P Sserumaga ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Iron Deficiency ◽  
Iron Deficiency Anaemia ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Bovine Blood ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Deficiency Anaemia ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Shelf Stable ◽  
Very High

Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most widespread micro-nutrient deficiency disease world-wide, particularly in developing countries. Although there are several strategies to combat IDA, food-based strategies are the most sustainable and yet little research has been carried out in this area. The study aimed at developing a technology for processing and preserving bovine blood into a shelf-stable powder, which would easily be utilised in fortifying commonly consumed food items, as a food-based strategy in the fight against iron deficiency anaemia. A shelf-stable powder was processed from fresh bovine blood and the physical, chemical, microbiological and shelf-life characteristics assessed using conventional methods. The results of the chemical analysis showed that bovine blood powder has a very high concentration of haeme iron at 195.46 mg/100g of powder. This is more than ten times the level of iron in bovine liver, one of the most commonly used food source of haeme iron whose iron content is only 17 mg/100gm of liver. Although microbiological tests carried out on the freshly processed blood powder and on the same powder after one and three months of storage at room temperature found a significant rise in yeast, mould and total plate counts, these values were low and within safe limits. The blood powder was used to fortify a bean sauce. Sensory analysis panellists considered the fortified bean sauce moderately acceptable with a mean score of 4.667 (like slightly) compared to a mean score of 2.333 (like very much) for the non-fortified sauce, on a nine point Hedonic scale. These findings show that processed bovine blood powder has very high levels of haeme iron and thus has great potential as a food-based strategy to combat iron-deficiency anaemia in resource-poor developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa. However, more research is needed to improve the microbiological and sensory characteristics of the blood powder.

scholarly journals Purchases of psychotropic drugs among the migrant population in Finland: a nationwide register-based cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1152-1157
Author(s):  
Venla Lehti ◽  
Jaana Suvisaari ◽  
Mika Gissler ◽  
Niina Markkula
Keyword(s):  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Cox Regression Analysis ◽  
Migrant Populations ◽  
Native Populations ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Migrant populations may have different mental health service needs when compared with native populations. One indicator of service use is the use of psychotropic medication. The aim of this study was to compare the purchases of psychotropic drugs among different migrant populations with the native population in Finland. Methods Foreign-born participants (n = 184 805) and their Finnish-born controls (n = 185 183) were identified from the Finnish Central Population Register. Information on their purchases of psychotropic drugs in 2011–15 was collected from the National Prescription Register. A washout period of 2009–10 was used to define incident purchases. Cox regression analysis was the statistical method used. Results At least one incident purchase of a psychotropic drug was identified for 11.1% of migrant women, 11.4% of Finnish-born women, 8.7% of migrant men and 9.8% of Finnish-born men. When controlled for age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status and social assistance, migrants were less likely to purchase psychotropic drugs (adjusted hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93–0.98), but there was variation between different drug categories. Recent migrants and migrants from Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa were least likely to purchase drugs. Migrants from Nordic countries and other Western countries most closely resembled the Finnish-born controls. Conclusions Recent migrants in Finland appear to use fewer psychotropic drugs than native Finns. It is important to analyze the reasons for this pattern, as they may indicate delays in access to care or benefits. The heterogeneity of migrant populations must also be considered when developing services to better address their needs.

scholarly journals Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies: A sword of Damocles in the path toward malaria elimination

Parasite ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manel Ouji ◽  
Jean-Michel Augereau ◽  
Lucie Paloque ◽  
Françoise Benoit-Vical
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Combination Therapies ◽  
Parasite Resistance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Treatment Policies ◽  
Related Mortality

The use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which combine an artemisinin derivative with a partner drug, in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria has largely been responsible for the significant reduction in malaria-related mortality in tropical and subtropical regions. ACTs have also played a significant role in the 18% decline in the incidence of malaria cases from 2010 to 2016. However, this progress is seriously threatened by the reduced clinical efficacy of artemisinins, which is characterised by delayed parasitic clearance and a high rate of recrudescence, as reported in 2008 in Western Cambodia. Resistance to artemisinins has already spread to several countries in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, resistance to partner drugs has been shown in some instances to be facilitated by pre-existing decreased susceptibility to the artemisinin component of the ACT. A major concern is not only the spread of these multidrug-resistant parasites to the rest of Asia but also their possible appearance in Sub-Saharan Africa, the continent most affected by malaria, as has been the case in the past with parasite resistance to other antimalarial treatments. It is therefore essential to understand the acquisition of resistance to artemisinins by Plasmodium falciparum to adapt malaria treatment policies and to propose new therapeutic solutions.

The History of Christian Missions to Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Etherington
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan

Christianity came very early to Africa, as attested by the Gospels. The agencies by which it spread across North Africa and into the Kingdom of Aksum remain largely unknown. Even after the rise of Islam cut communications between sub-Saharan Africa and the churches of Rome and Constantinople, it survived in the eastern Sudan kingdom of Nubia until the 15th century and never died in Ethiopia. The documentary history of organized missions begins with the Roman Catholic monastic orders founded in the 13th century. Their evangelical work in Africa was closely bound up with Portuguese colonialism, which both helped and hindered their operations. Organized European Protestant missions date from the 18th-century evangelical awakening and were much less creatures of states. Africa was a particular object of attention for Evangelicals opposed to slavery and the slave trade. Paradoxically this gave an impetus to colonizing ventures aimed at undercutting the moral and economic foundations of slavery in Africa. Disease proved to be a deadly obstacle to European- and American-born missionaries in tropical Africa, thus spurring projects for enrolling local agents who had acquired childhood immunity. Southern Africa below the Zambezi River attracted missionaries from many parts of Europe and North America because of the absence of the most fearsome diseases. However the turbulent politics of the region complicated their work by restricting their access to organized African kingdoms and chieftaincies. The prevalent mission model until the late 19th century was a station under the direction of a single European family whose religious and educational endeavors were directed at a small number of African residents. Catholic missions acquired new energy following the French Revolution, the old Portuguese system of partnership with the state was displaced by enthusiasm for independent operations under the authority of the Pope in Rome. Several new missionary orders were founded with a particular focus on Africa. Mission publications of the 19th and 20th centuries can convey a misleading impression that the key agents in the spread of African Christianity were foreign-born white males. Not only does this neglect the work of women as wives and teachers, but it diverts attention from the Africans who were everywhere the dominant force in the spread of modern Christianity. By the turn of the 20th century, evangelism had escaped the bounds of mission stations driven by African initiative and the appearance of so-called “faith missions” based on a model of itinerant preaching. African prophets and independent evangelists developed new forms of Christianity. Once dismissed as heretical or syncretic, they gradually came to be recognized as legitimate variants of the sort that have always accompanied the acculturation of religion in new environments. Decolonization caught most foreign mission operations unawares and required major changes, most notably in the recruitment of African clergy to the upper echelons of church hierarchies. By the late 20th century Africans emerged as an independent force in Christian missions, sending agents to other continents.

The contexts of housing stability and change among HIV-positive persons in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality, Ghana

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adobea Y Owusu ◽  
Mabel Teye-kau ◽  
Eric Y Tenkorang
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Hiv Status ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Stability And Change ◽  
Housing Stability ◽  
Persons Living With Hiv ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Depth Interviews

Summary Due to stigma, discrimination and economic insecurity, persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) are highly vulnerable to housing instability. For instance, PLWHAs are more likely to either remain stable in inadequate homes or change residence. Yet, few studies explore the contexts of housing stability and change among PLWHAs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority reside. This study used qualitative in-depth interviews to explore the narratives of 38 PLWHAs on the contexts of housing stability and the circumstances leading to change in residence. On diagnosis with HIV, the majority of PLWHAs (58%) changed housing locations, mostly from bad to worse conditions. Reasons for change include: eviction due to stigma and discrimination, inability to afford rent, quest to hide HIV status and death of a cohabiting partner. Our findings suggest policy makers should pay attention to the deplorable and poor housing conditions of PLWHAs in Ghana.

scholarly journals Use of Crowdfunding for Developing Social Enterprises: An Islamic Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazamul Hoque ◽  
Mohammad Hasmat Ali ◽  
Sirajul Arefeen ◽  
Md. Masrurul Mowla ◽  
Abdullahil Mamun
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
High Rate ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Social Business ◽  
Product Service ◽  
The World ◽  
Very High

Crowd-funding is an open call to mass people through the internet for fund in the form of financial donation, lending, or in any other forms such as in exchange for a future product, service, or reward. The concept is relatively new but growing at a very high rate around the world. Companies are using it mostly for efficiency ground. This study is based on the argument that conventional crowd-funding models cannot be applicable exactly in the Islamic societies due to philosophical ground. In this paper, we have discussed crowd-funding models from Islamic perspectives for funding projects of social enterprise/social business in the Muslim societies with a view to ensure social equity and justice by removing many social problems like unemployment and poverty.

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