scholarly journals What did we learn after the 2020 pandemic? Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a North region of Portugal during 3rd lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2568
Author(s):  
Paula M. Carvalho ◽  
Sandra C. Soares ◽  
Ana R. Castro
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Population Immunity ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Serological Studies ◽  
Positive Contact ◽  
Almost All ◽  
National Surveillance System

Background: Serological studies of antibody prevalence in response to infection with the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are useful to monitor the epidemic progression of the disease and to evaluate infection rates. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM and IgG) in a Portuguese sub-district, during National lockdown - January-March 2021.Methods: In the seroepidemiological survey participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM and IgG), in blood samples. The estimated seroprevalence and results were stratified by age, gender, education, occupational exposure, symptoms and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.Results: Seroprevalence was 41.3%, (15.7% IgG positive, 11.6% IgM positive and 14% positive for both). The majority (74%) of the participants were working presentially and did the serological assay because they had either symptoms / positive contact (90%) or had a previous positive antigen test (36%). From all the seropositive cases only 44% were symptomatic. Our results show that seroprevalence of SARS -CoV-2 is high in the North, in parallel with the National Surveillance System. Seroprevalence was higher in woman than man and in adults older than 21. Almost all the people with symptoms or a positive contact had a positive test and were working at their regular places of work reflecting the danger of occupational exposure. Conclusions: These results suggest that, between January and March 2021, the restriction conditions were effective but unable to stop SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. It is essential to assess SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence to monitor population immunity and if it lasts, specially from new COVID 19 variants.

Country, County and Town: Patterns of Regional Evolution in England

1979 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 79-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Everitt
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Police Force ◽  
The West ◽  
East Anglia ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
Recent Origin ◽  
Almost All

It is a remarkable fact, and one that needs to be pondered, that almost all our current regional terms in this country are of very recent origin. Expressions like Tyneside and Merseyside, the West Midlands and the North-East, have no very lengthy lineage; such phrases as the Home Counties cannot be traced back beyond the early decades of the railway era; the present usage even of a genuine historic name like Wessex is no more than an antiquarian revival; while the current reanimation of Mercia seems to be chiefly attributable to a contemporary police force. Perhaps the only regional name of this kind with a continuous history to the present day is East Anglia. In other words, behind most of our modern expressions, ideas and preconceptions lie implicit that were not necessarily of much significance to the people of earlier centuries. A phrase like the Home Counties, for example, implies a kind of regional unity between the shires surrounding London which until recent centuries—and in many respects until recent generations—is entirely fallacious. There was no connexion between the origins of settlement, for example, in Hertfordshire and in Sussex, and next to none between settlement in Essex and in Kent. Even in the Civil War period there was singularly little contact and no cohesion, as parliament quickly found to its cost, between the counties surrounding the capital.

scholarly journals XXVIII.—Contributions to the Craniology of the People of the Empire of India. Part I. The Hill Tribes of the North-East Frontier and the People of Burma

1900 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wm. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The University ◽  
The Hill ◽  
Craniological Characters

For a number of years I have been collecting specimens and conducting an investigation into the craniological characters of the native inhabitants of our great Indian Empire, and several hundred skulls have now been under examination, and almost all have been measured. The sources to which I have been indebted for material are in part the collection of crania belonging to the Henderson Trustees, long known as the Edinburgh Phrenological Museum, and now deposited by the Trustees in the Anatomical Museum of the University; in part, a few specimens belonging to the University collected by my predecessors in office; in part, the valuable series of Indian crania belonging to the Indian Museum, Calcutta, which through the intercession of Dr John Anderson, F.R.S., the former Director, the Trustees of that Museum, with great liberality, most courteously permitted me to have the loan of for purposes of study; and lastly, a number of crania which have been forwarded to me by friends and former pupils, engaged in the public service in India, to whom I take this opportunity of expressing my indebtedness for the valuable material which I have received from them.

scholarly journals Allium hookeri, Thw. Enum. A lesser known terrestrial perennial herb used as food and its ethnobotanical relevance in Manipur

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (47) ◽  
pp. 5389-5412
Author(s):  
Victor Ayam ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
Allium Hookeri ◽  
Over Exploitation ◽  
Almost All

Manipur, one of the north-eastern states of India, is rich in plant diversity and the natives of Manipur have ethnobotanical and traditional knowledge of plants. The rich traditional knowledge of plants is the outcome of a number of hit and trial selections of plants from the wilderness, for consumption and traditional healing of various ailments. In spite of the risk of selection, the diverse food plants provide the required nutrient supplements; as a result deficiency or malnutrition related diseases were uncommon with the Manipuris. Almost all the world renowned sportspersons of Manipur come from poor families who depend on the traditional and indigenous food plants. Many of the plants act as important nutraceuticals, possessing the medicinal properties. Today, due to over exploitation and under production of indigenous food plants, the lifestyles of the people are changed and they prefer ‘junk foods’. Subsequently, the health of the people is deteriorating as the indigenous/traditional food plants are neglected at large. The plant is used as spice/condiment in dry or in fresh form in every household in almost all the traditional dishes. It acts as a good supplementary food, providing food security at the household level and help at the time of food crisis. The cultivation of this wild plant (now cultivated to a limited extent) not only generates income for the growers but also helps in the conservation of the plants and their germplasm. In spite of the immense use, Allium hookeri cultivation and its preservation has been decreased due to lack of research-based information of the plant, and due to the concept that wild/traditional plants are poor in nutrition and meant only for the poor. Moreover, agriculturalists and farmers take interest in the cultivation of only the high yielding few cash crops and vegetables. From the result of biochemical analyses, the field survey report and the information from literature, it is known that the plant is fit for consumption and has ethnobotanical relevance. The result of the survey in the urban markets and the rural vendors shows that Allium hookeri, Thw. Enum. is of high socio-economical relevance.

scholarly journals Insurgency in the State of North-East

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Begum Nurjahan
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
The State ◽  
Complex Situation ◽  
Industrial Growth ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
Almost All

The North East is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse regions in India. The numerous fairs and festivals celebrated by these communities and their friendly nature are irresistible attractions for the visitors. However, the maximum concentration of the Tibeto-Burman speakers is found in the North East: in comparison to any part of the Country. The problem of insurgency in the Northeast has reached all-time high. Almost all Northeast is under Armed forces under special powers Act. Their presence is due to unrest or ethnic uprising, which is due to unemployment, intolerance, frustration and alienation among the people in general, and youths in particular. There are many reasons behind the problem of insurgency/ terrorism. Some of which is lack of political will and determination to make the people of this region to have feelings of oneness and sense of belongingness to the country. Due to not having any industrial growth, the States have lack of employment opportunity, lack of proper facilities, planning etc. The other reason is the geographical isolation/location of the states of Northeast from rest of the country. Due to this, there is lack of communication, poor transportation, no opportunity for sending agriculture and other produces outside the state etc. All these adversely affect the economic development. A number of studies showed that deprivation, unemployment, racial discrimination, ethnicity, minority status, and so on show altogether different impact on identity development. Ethnic minorities who form sub-segment in the society have low self-esteem and find themselves in a complex situation (Taifel, 1978, and Morris).

The Mutapa Dynasty: A Comparison of Documentary and Traditional Evidence

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.N. Beach
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
The State ◽  
The North ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lines Of Descent ◽  
Secondary Writing ◽  
Almost All ◽  
New Settlements ◽  
Zambezi River

The Mutapa state occupied a triangle of land between the Zambezi river in the north, the Hunyani river and Umvukwe range on the southwest, and the Mazoe and Ruenya rivers on the southeast. It thus consisted of a small segment of the southern Zambezian plateau and an arc of the Zambezi valley lowlands. The state dated back to at least the fifteenth century, and some branches of its ruling dynasty continue to control fragments of the state under the governments of Rhodesia and Mozambique. These descendants of the Mutapa dynasty, like their fellow-members of the Korekore dialect cluster of the Shona-speaking peoples, retain traditions of their past that are passed on from generation to generation by an informal learning process. These traditions are almost all devoted to the ruling dynasties rather than to the mass of the people and are especially concerned with lines of descent and land rights. They range from myths to relatively accurate factual accounts, with a wide variety of traditions between these two extremes. It was at one time thought that the mediums of mhondoro ancestral spirits were equivalent to the professional tradition-keepers of states such as Rwanda, but this theory has not been adequately proven.The Mutapa state is of especial interest because it is the only one of four known major Shona states—Zimbabwe, Torwa, Mutapa, and Changamire—to escape being uprooted entirely by new settlements of people, and the only one that was close to Portuguese centers (in which information was recorded). It has thus been possible to compare traditions and documents in a way that cannot be done for the other states. Because of the reluctance or inability of many researchers to work in Rhodesia and Mozambique in the last fifteen years, the history of the Mutapa state has been heavily dependent upon the work of D.P. Abraham, at least as far as traditions are concerned. Abraham collected traditions from ca. 1950 to 1971; but so far the only works of his that are readily available are eight papers, of which the most important were produced in the period 1959-1963. These have formed the basis of most of the secondary writing on the Shona states; the inter-relationship between them and a developing archaeology has been discussed in an earlier article, and only a few points of this discussion need be brought in here.

MISTISISME TRADISI MAPPADENDANG DI DESA ALLAMUNGENG PATUE, KABUPATEN BONE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Askar Nur
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
The People ◽  
Village People ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Village

This research explains the mysticism of mappadendang tradition in Allamungeng Patue Village, Bone Regency, which is believed by the local community as a form of shielding from danger and can resist reinforcemen such as Covid-19 outbreak. This research is a descriptive study using qualitative method and an ethnographic approach. This research was carried out with the aim of identifying the mystical space in mappadendang tradition which was held in Allamungeng Patue Village. After conducting the tracing process, the researcher found that mappadendang tradition which was held in Allamungeng Patue Village, Bone Regency in July 2020 was not a tradition of harvest celebration as generally in several villages in Bone Regency, especially Bugis tribe, but mappadendang was held as a form of shielding from all distress including Covid-19 outbreak. This trust was obtained after one of the immigrants who now resides in the village dreamed of meeting an invisible figure (tau panrita) who ordered a party to be held that would bring all the village people because remembering that in the village during Covid-19 happened to almost all the existing areas in Indonesia, the people of Allamungeng Patue Village were spared from the outbreak. Spontaneously, the people of Allamungeng Patue Village worked together to immediately carry out the mappadendang tradition as a form of interpretation of the message carried by the figure.

scholarly journals The Effect of Vaccination Rates on the Infection of COVID-19 under the Vaccination Rate below the Herd Immunity Threshold

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7491
Author(s):  
Yi-Tui Chen
Keyword(s):  
Infection Rate ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccination Rate ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

Although vaccination is carried out worldwide, the vaccination rate varies greatly. As of 24 May 2021, in some countries, the proportion of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has exceeded 50%, but in many countries, this proportion is still very low, less than 1%. This article aims to explore the impact of vaccination on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the herd immunity of almost all countries in the world has not been reached, several countries were selected as sample cases by employing the following criteria: more than 60 vaccine doses per 100 people and a population of more than one million people. In the end, a total of eight countries/regions were selected, including Israel, the UAE, Chile, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hungary, and Qatar. The results find that vaccination has a major impact on reducing infection rates in all countries. However, the infection rate after vaccination showed two trends. One is an inverted U-shaped trend, and the other is an L-shaped trend. For those countries with an inverted U-shaped trend, the infection rate begins to decline when the vaccination rate reaches 1.46–50.91 doses per 100 people.

scholarly journals Validation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification for the detection of Loa loa infection in Chrysops spp in experimental and natural field conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glory Ngongeh Amambo ◽  
Raphael Awah Abong ◽  
Fanny Fri Fombad ◽  
Abdel Jelil Njouendou ◽  
Franck Nietcho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lamp Assay ◽  
Isothermal Amplification ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Loa Loa ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
Natural Field ◽  
North West ◽  
Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification ◽  
The North

Abstract Background The mass drug administration of ivermectin for onchocerciasis control has contributed to a significant drop in Loa loa microfilaria loads in humans that has, in turn, led to reduction of infection levels in Chrysops vectors. Accurate parasite detection is essential for assessing loiasis transmission as it provides a potential alternative or indirect strategy for addressing the problem of co-endemic loiasis and lymphatic filariasis through the Onchocerciasis Elimination Programme and it further reflects the true magnitude of the loiasis problem as excess human mortality has been reported to be associated with the disease. Although microscopy is the gold standard for detecting the infection, the sensitivity of this method is compromised when the intensity of infection is low. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay of parasite DNA is an alternative method for detecting infection which offers operational simplicity, rapidity and versatility of visual readout options. The aim of this study was to validate the Loa loa LAMP assay for the detection of infected Chrysops spp. under experimental and natural field conditions. Methods Two sets of 18 flies were fed on volunteers with either a low (< 10 mf/ml) or high (> 30,000mf/ml) microfilarial load. The fed flies were maintained under laboratory conditions for 14 days and then analysed using LAMP for the detection of L. loa infection. In addition, a total of 9270 flies were collected from the north-west, east, and south-west regions (SW 1 and 2) of Cameroon using sweep nets and subjected to microscopy (7841 flies) and LAMP (1291 flies plus 138 nulliparous flies) analyses. Results The LAMP assay successfully detected parasites in Chrysops fed on volunteers with both low and high microfilariaemic loads. Field validation and surveillance studies revealed LAMP-based infection rates ranging from 0.5 to 31.6%, with the lowest levels in SW 2 and the highest infection rates in SW 1. The LAMP assay detected significantly higher infection rates than microscopy in four of the five study sites. Conclusion This study demonstrated the potential of LAMP as a simple surveillance tool. It was found to be more sensitive than microscopy for the detection of experimental and natural L. loa infections in Chrysops vectors.

scholarly journals How ethical challenges of covert observations can be met in practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 174701612110082
Author(s):  
Nicole Podschuweit
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Great Distance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Written Information ◽  
Ethical Debate ◽  
The People ◽  
Almost All

This paper aims to bring into the ethical debate on covert research two aspects that are neglected to date: the perspective of the research subjects and the special responsibility of investigators towards their observers. Both aspects are falling behind, especially in quantitative social research. From a methodological point of view, quantitative forms of covert observation involve a great distance between the researcher and the research subjects. When human observers are involved, the focus is usually on the reliable application of the measuring instrument. Therefore, herein, a quantitative study is used as an example to show how the protection needs of both the observed persons and the observers can be met in practice. The study involved 40 student observers who covertly captured everyday conversations in real-world settings (e.g. in cafés or trains) by a highly standardised observation scheme. The study suggests that the anonymity of the research subjects and their trust in the observers are crucial for their subsequent consent. However, many participants showed only little or even no interest in the written information they were provided. Further, this study strongly emphasises how mentally stressful covert observations are to the observers. Almost all observers were worried in advance that the people they were observing would prematurely blow their cover and confront them. Role-playing and in-depth discussions in teams are good strategies to alleviate such and other fears and to prepare student assistants well for their demanding work in the field.

scholarly journals A Polar Low Pair over the Norwegian Sea

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (8) ◽  
pp. 2559-2575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burghard Brümmer ◽  
Gerd Müller ◽  
Gunnar Noer
Keyword(s):  
Heat Budget ◽  
Cloud Layer ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Polar Lows ◽  
The North ◽  
Polar Low ◽  
Upper Level Jet ◽  
Almost All

Abstract During the Lofotes cyclone experiment (LOFZY 2005), two polar lows developed one behind the other inside a cold-air outbreak from the north in the lee of Spitsbergen on 7 March 2005. Buoys, ship, and aircraft measurements as well as satellite imagery are applied to analyze the polar low bulk properties, the horizontal and vertical structure, and the mass, moisture, and heat budget. The lifetime of the system until landfall at northern Norway was 12 h. The generation occurred under the left exit region of an upper-level jet with 70 m s−1. Both polar lows had a radius of 100–130 km and extended to a height of about 2.5 km. The propagation speeds were within 14–17 m s−1 and correspond to the vertically averaged wind velocity of the lowest 2.5 km. In the polar low centers the pressure was about 2–3 hPa lower and the air was 1–2 K warmer and drier than in the surroundings. Aircraft measurements in the second of the two polar lows show an embedded frontlike precipitation band north of the center. Here, the highest low-level winds with 25 m s−1 and the largest fluxes of sensible and latent heat with 290 and 520 W m−2, respectively, were measured (areal averages amounted to 115 and 190 W m−2). Aircraft data show mass convergence in the subcloud layer (0–900 m) and divergence in the cloud layer (900–2500 m). Moisture supply by evaporation from the sea surface was about twice as large as that by convergence in the subcloud layer. The condensation rate in the cloud layer nearly equaled the rate of evaporation at the sea surface. Almost all condensed cloud water was converted to precipitation water. Only half of the precipitation at the cloud base reached the sea surface.

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