scholarly journals The status of refrigeration techniques for vaccine storage and transportation in low-income settings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magali Cattin ◽  
Sashidhar Jonnalagedda ◽  
Solomzi Makoliso ◽  
Klaus Schönenberger
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
The Status ◽  
Working Principle ◽  
High Degree ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Made In

Vaccines need to be continuously stored between 2°C to 8°C, from their production to administration to beneficiaries. Every year, more than 25% of vaccines are wasted. One of the main reasons for this wastage is the lack of cold chain continuity in low-income settings, where electricity is scarce. Recently, several advances have been made in cooling technologies to store and transport vaccines. The current paper presents a review of refrigeration technologies based on scientific publications, industry white papers and other grey literature. For each refrigeration method, we describe its working principle, the best performing devices available as well as the remaining research challenges in order to obtain a very high degree of performance enhancement. Finally, we comment on their applicability for vaccine transport and storage.

The status regarding publication date and availability of taxonomic works published online without proper Zoobank preregistration

Bionomina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAIN DUBOIS
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Zoological Nomenclature ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
International Code ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Publication Online ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
The Status ◽  
Made In

In 2012, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature decided to change the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and to provide a path to afford nomenclatural availability to new nomina and nomenclatural acts through their publication online, as long as the work containing them is preregistered on the website Zoobank under precise conditions. This 2012 Amendment soon raised a number of problems. First, it allows ‘admissible errors’ in this registration, which serves to encourage zootaxonomists, referees, editors and publishers not to pay close attention to this Amendment and to make inadmissible errors, which results in the unavailability of the new nomina and nomenclatural acts at stake. Another source of errors is the fact that Zoobank, contrary to initial plans, does not currently allow the preregistration of nomenclatural acts other than the establishment of new nomina. Other issues are the fuzzy or controversial distinctions made in this Amendment between ‘facsimiles of unavailable works’ and ‘available paper publications’ on one hand, and between ‘preliminary versions’ and ‘final versions’ of online publications on the other hand. Less than ten years after its promulgation, this Amendment has already contributed to the publication of hundreds of unavailable nomina and, which is perhaps worse, of nomina the nomenclatural status regarding availability of which is unclear, according to different interpretations of some terms or rules. The best solution to these problems would no doubt be the publication, as soon as possible, of a revised version of this Amendment addressing these problems, but in the meanwhile better attention given by authors, referees, editors and publishers to the details of this Amendment could limit the damages. Precise proposals are offered in this respect. A distinction is introduced here between two kinds of scientific publications, according to whether they contain nomenclatural acts or not. Those which do but which have first been published online without complying with the requirements of the 2012 Amendment, then later in a Code-compliant manner, may have to be cited as two distinct works, one (publication sensu lato) containing non-nomenclatural information and one (nomenclatural publication or promulgation) providing availability to some nomenclatural acts, which will be a source of confusion and misunderstanding. Proposals are also provided to cope with this new difficulty.

scholarly journals Engineering Insulin Cold Chain Resilience to Improve Global Access

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin L. Maikawa ◽  
Joseph L. Mann ◽  
Aadithya Kannan ◽  
Catherine M. Meis ◽  
Ben S. Ou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Pharmacokinetics And Pharmacodynamics ◽  
Simple Formulation ◽  
Aging Conditions ◽  
Refrigerated Transport ◽  
Treatment Of Diabetes ◽  
Global Access ◽  
And Storage

ABSTRACTThere are 150 million people with diabetes worldwide who require insulin replacement therapy and the prevalence of diabetes is rising fastest in middle and low-income countries. Current formulations require costly refrigerated transport and storage to prevent loss of insulin integrity. This study shows the development of simple “drop-in” amphiphilic copolymer excipients to maintain formulation integrity, bioactivity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for over 6 months when subjected to severe stressed aging conditions that cause current commercial formulation to fail in under 2 weeks. Further, when these copolymers are added to Humulin R (Eli Lilly) in original commercial packaging they prevent insulin aggregation for up to 4 days at 50 °C compared to less than 1 day for Humulin R alone. These copolymers demonstrate promise as simple formulation additives to increase the cold chain resilience of commercial insulin formulations, thereby expanding global access to these critical drugs for treatment of diabetes.

Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi, Mahmood Hasan Khan and M. Ghaffu Otaudhry (edt.). LaJld Reforms in Pakistan, A Historical Perspective. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics 1987. viii+216 pp.Price: Rs 220 (USS 35) for hardcover; Rs 140.00 (USS 20) for soft-cover.

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-218
Author(s):  
Luther Tweeten
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Land Reforms ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Rural Pakistan ◽  
The Status ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
High Degree

The authors describe how Pakistan has grappled with land reform, surely one of the most intractable and divisive issues facing agriculture anywhere. The land-tenure system at independence in 1947 included a high degree of land ownership concentration, absentee landlordism, insecurity of tenant tenure, and excessive rent. Land reform since 1947 focused on imposition of ceilings on landholding, distribution of land to landless tenants and small owners, and readjustments of contracts to improve the position of the tenant. These reformist measures have removed some but by no means all of the undesirable characteristics of the system. The authors list as well as present a critique of the reports of five official committees and commissions on land reform. The reports highlight the conflicts and ideologies of the reformers. The predominant ideal of the land reformers is a system of peasant proprietorship although some reformers favoured other systems such as communal farming and state ownership of land, and still others favoured cash rents over share rents. More pragmatic reformers recognized that tenancy is likely to be with Pakistan for the foreseeable future and that the batai (sharecropping) arrangement is the most workable system. According to the editors, the batai system can work to the advantage of landlord and tenant if the ceilings on landholding can be sufficiently lowered (and enforced), the security of the tenant is ensured, and the tenant has recourse to the courts for adjudication of disputes with landlords. Many policy-makers in Pakistan have come to accept that position but intervention by the State to realize the ideal has been slow. The editors conclude that" ... the end result of these land reforms is that they have not succeeded in significantly changing the status quo in rural Pakistan" (p. 29).

Innovations in Food Production - Status and Directions of Development

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-193
Author(s):  
Barbara Grzybowska
Keyword(s):  
Functional Food ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
New Products ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Product Manufacturing ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Storage

This paper characterises the directions of innovative activities undertaken by food industry enterprises concerning the manufacturing of food products. Based on the subject literature and secondary statistical data, the status of food industry innovativeness and areas of innovative activities related to implementation of technological and non-technological innovations are presented. The activities of enterprises focus on manufacturing new products in response to the ever-changing needs and expectations of consumers. In particular, the production of so-called functional food (which seeks to promote health, minimise the risk of specific diseases, improve psychophysical fitness, lose weight, etc.) is increasingly extensive. Manufacturers must also improve the technologies and techniques of product manufacturing, packaging and storage. 

Against Permanent Sovereignty

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Status ◽  
Made In

The status quo within international politics is that individual nation-states enjoy extensive and for the most part exclusive rights over the resources falling within their borders. Egalitarians have often assumed that such a situation cannot be defended, but perhaps some sophisticated defences of state or national rights over natural resources which have been made in recent years prove otherwise. This chapter critically assesses these various arguments, and shows that they are not sufficient to justify the institution of ‘permanent sovereignty’ over resources. Even insofar as those arguments have some weight, they are compatible with a significant dispersal of resource rights away from individual nation-states, both downwards towards local communities, and upwards towards transnational and global agencies.

scholarly journals Scoping review protocol: bladder cancer in Nigeria: what are the gaps in clinical care and research?

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e041894
Author(s):  
Joyce Kibaru ◽  
Pinky Kotecha ◽  
Abdulkarim Muhammad Iya ◽  
Beth Russell ◽  
Muzzammil Abdullahi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bladder Cancer ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Local Risk

IntroductionBladder cancer (BC) is the 10th common cancer worldwide and ranks seventh in Nigeria. This scoping review aims to identify the gaps in clinical care and research of BC in Nigeria as part of the development of a larger national research programme aiming to improve outcomes and care of BC.Methods and analysisThis review will be conducted according to Arksey and O’Malley scoping review methodology framework. The following electronic databases will be searched: Medline (using the PubMed interface), Ovid Gateway (Embase and Ovid), Cochrane library and Open Grey literature. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts and subsequently screen full-text studies for inclusion, any lack of consensus will be discussed with a third reviewer. Any study providing insight into the epidemiology or treatment pathway of BC (RCTs, observations, case series, policy paper) will be included. A data chart will be used to extract relevant data from the included studies. Results will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. A consultation process will be carried out with a multidisciplinary team of Nigerian healthcare professionals, patients and scientists.Ethics and disseminationThe results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. By highlighting the key gaps in the literature, this review can provide direction for future research and clinical guidelines in Nigeria (and other low-income and middle-income countries), where BC is more prevalent due to local risk factors and healthcare settings.

Impact of COVID-19 on FDIs, Remittances and Foreign Aids: A Case Study of Nepal

2021 ◽  
pp. 097639962097420
Author(s):  
Gaurav Bhattarai ◽  
Binita Subedi
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Foreign Assistance ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Low Income Country ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The global economy has been severely paralysed, owing to the unprecedented crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and different studies have indicated that the crisis is relatively more maleficent to the lower-income and middle-income economies. Methodologically, this study relied on the review and analysis of the grey literature, media reporting and data published by the Asian Development Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations (UN), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) among others. The article begins by describing the impact of the pandemic on low-income and middle-income countries, and it discusses how they have responded to the crisis. While discussions have surfaced regarding whether COVID-19 will reverse the process of globalization, what will be its impact on the low-income country like Nepal? The study also highlights that with foreign direct investments speculated to shrink and foreign assistance and remittance taking a hit, how is Nepal struggling to keep its economy afloat? Analysing the new budget that the government unveiled in 2020, this study concludes with a note that instead of effectively implementing the plans and policies directed by the budget, Nepal is unnecessarily engaged in political mess and is needlessly being dragged into the geopolitical complications.

GDNF Therapy: Can We Make It Work?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Anders Björklund
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
New Findings ◽  
The Status ◽  
Interesting Discussion ◽  
Postmortem Studies ◽  
Made In

In two recent postmortem studies, Jeffrey Kordower and colleagues report new findings that open up for an interesting discussion on the status of GDNF/NRTN signaling in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), adding an interesting perspective on the, admittedly very limited, signs of restorative effects previously seen in GDNF/NRTN-treated patients. Their new findings show that the level of the GDNF signaling receptor Ret is overall reduced by about 65% relative to non-PD controls, and most severely, up to 80%, in nigral neurons containing α-synuclein inclusions, accompanied by impaired signaling downstream of the Ret receptor. Notably, however, the vast majority of the remaining nigral neurons retained a low level of Ret expression, and hence a threshold level of signaling. Further observations made in two patients who had received AAV-NRTN gene therapy 8–10 years earlier suggest the intriguing possibility that NRTN is able to restore Ret expression and upregulate its own signaling pathway. This “wind-up” mechanism, which is likely to depend on an interaction with dopaminergic transcription factor Nurr1, has therapeutic potential and should encourage renewed efforts to turn GDNF/NRTN therapy into success, once the recurring problem of under-dosing is resolved.

scholarly journals The Rotavirus Vaccine Landscape, an Update

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 520
Author(s):  
Roberto Cárcamo-Calvo ◽  
Carlos Muñoz ◽  
Javier Buesa ◽  
Jesús Rodríguez-Díaz ◽  
Roberto Gozalbo-Rovira
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Low Income ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Rotavirus Vaccine ◽  
Oral Vaccines

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe acute childhood gastroenteritis, responsible for more than 128,500 deaths per year, mainly in low-income countries. Although the mortality rate has dropped significantly since the introduction of the first vaccines around 2006, an estimated 83,158 deaths are still preventable. The two main vaccines currently deployed, Rotarix and RotaTeq, both live oral vaccines, have been shown to be less effective in developing countries. In addition, they have been associated with a slight risk of intussusception, and the need for cold chain maintenance limits the accessibility of these vaccines to certain areas, leaving 65% of children worldwide unvaccinated and therefore unprotected. Against this backdrop, here we review the main vaccines under development and the state of the art on potential alternatives.

scholarly journals Modelling the COVID-19 pandemic in context: an international participatory approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. e003126
Author(s):  
Ricardo Aguas ◽  
Lisa White ◽  
Nathaniel Hupert ◽  
Rima Shretta ◽  
Wirichada Pan-Ngum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Participatory Approach ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Mathematical Model

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on multiple levels of society. Not only has the pandemic completely overwhelmed some health systems but it has also changed how scientific evidence is shared and increased the pace at which such evidence is published and consumed, by scientists, policymakers and the wider public. More significantly, the pandemic has created tremendous challenges for decision-makers, who have had to implement highly disruptive containment measures with very little empirical scientific evidence to support their decision-making process. Given this lack of data, predictive mathematical models have played an increasingly prominent role. In high-income countries, there is a long-standing history of established research groups advising policymakers, whereas a general lack of translational capacity has meant that mathematical models frequently remain inaccessible to policymakers in low-income and middle-income countries. Here, we describe a participatory approach to modelling that aims to circumvent this gap. Our approach involved the creation of an international group of infectious disease modellers and other public health experts, which culminated in the establishment of the COVID-19 Modelling (CoMo) Consortium. Here, we describe how the consortium was formed, the way it functions, the mathematical model used and, crucially, the high degree of engagement fostered between CoMo Consortium members and their respective local policymakers and ministries of health.

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