scholarly journals Cost-Effective Method to Perform SARS-CoV-2 Variant Surveillance: Detection of Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta in Argentina

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Torres ◽  
Laura Mojsiejczuk ◽  
Dolores Acuña ◽  
Sofía Alexay ◽  
Ariel Amadio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Surveillance Strategy ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Spike Coding ◽  
Second Wave

SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning characteristics have emerged since the end of 2020. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 4,851 samples from the capital city and 10 provinces of Argentina, during 51 epidemiological weeks (EWs) that covered the end of the first wave and the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 41/2021). The surveillance strategy was mainly based on Sanger sequencing of a Spike coding region that allows the identification of signature mutations associated with variants. In addition, whole-genome sequences were obtained from 637 samples. The main variants found were Gamma and Lambda, and to a lesser extent, Alpha, Zeta, and Epsilon, and more recently, Delta. Whereas, Gamma dominated in different regions of the country, both Gamma and Lambda prevailed in the most populated area, the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires. The lineages that circulated on the first wave were replaced by emergent variants in a term of a few weeks. At the end of the ongoing second wave, Delta began to be detected, replacing Gamma and Lambda. This scenario is consistent with the Latin American variant landscape, so far characterized by a concurrent increase in Delta circulation and a stabilization in the number of cases. The cost-effective surveillance protocol presented here allowed for a rapid response in a resource-limited setting, added information on the expansion of Lambda in South America, and contributed to the implementation of public health measures to control the disease spread in Argentina.

scholarly journals Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Argentina: detection of Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, Epsilon and Zeta in locally transmitted and imported cases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Torres ◽  
Laura Mojsiejczuk ◽  
Dolores Acuna ◽  
Sofia Alexay ◽  
Ariel Amadio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Surveillance Strategy ◽  
Heterogeneous Distribution ◽  
Imported Cases ◽  
Spike Coding ◽  
Simultaneous Identification

Molecular surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 2,406 samples from the capital city and nine provinces of Argentina, during 30 epidemiological weeks (EW) that covered the end of the first wave and the beginning of the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 20/2021). The surveillance strategy was mainly based on Sanger sequencing of a Spike coding region that allows the simultaneous identification of signature mutations associated with worldwide circulating variants. In addition, whole SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were obtained from 456 samples. The main variants found were Gamma, Lambda and Alpha, and to a lesser extent, Zeta and Epsilon. Whereas Gamma dominated in different regions of the country, both Gamma and Lambda prevailed in the most populated area, the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires (MABA), although showing a heterogeneous distribution along this region. This cost-effective surveillance protocol allowed for a rapid response in a limited access to resources scenario, added information on the expansion of the Lambda variant in South America and contributed to the implementation of public health measures to control the disease spread in Argentina.

scholarly journals Public Transport GPS Probe and Rail Gate Data for Assessing the Pattern of Human Mobility in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2178
Author(s):  
Songkorn Siangsuebchart ◽  
Sarawut Ninsawat ◽  
Apichon Witayangkurn ◽  
Surachet Pravinvongvuth
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Traffic Information ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Transport Planning ◽  
Java Program

Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is one of the most developed and expansive cities. Due to the ongoing development and expansion of Bangkok, urbanization has continued to expand into adjacent provinces, creating the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). Continuous monitoring of human mobility in BMR aids in public transport planning and design, and efficient performance assessment. The purpose of this study is to design and develop a process to derive human mobility patterns from the real movement of people who use both fixed-route and non-fixed-route public transport modes, including taxis, vans, and electric rail. Taxi GPS open data were collected by the Intelligent Traffic Information Center Foundation (iTIC) from all GPS-equipped taxis of one operator in BMR. GPS probe data of all operating GPS-equipped vans were collected by the Ministry of Transport’s Department of Land Transport for daily speed and driving behavior monitoring. Finally, the ridership data of all electric rail lines were collected from smartcards by the Automated Fare Collection (AFC). None of the previous works on human mobility extraction from multi-sourced big data have used van data; therefore, it is a challenge to use this data with other sources in the study of human mobility. Each public transport mode has traveling characteristics unique to its passengers and, therefore, specific analytical tools. Firstly, the taxi trip extraction process was developed using Hadoop Hive to process a large quantity of data spanning a one-month period to derive the origin and destination (OD) of each trip. Secondly, for van data, a Java program was used to construct the ODs of van trips. Thirdly, another Java program was used to create the ODs of the electric rail lines. All OD locations of these three modes were aggregated into transportation analysis zones (TAZ). The major taxi trip destinations were found to be international airports and provincial bus terminals. The significant trip destinations of vans were provincial bus terminals in Bangkok, electric rail stations, and the industrial estates in other provinces of BMR. In contrast, electric rail destinations were electric rail line interchange stations, the central business district (CBD), and commercial office areas. Therefore, these significant destinations of taxis and vans should be considered in electric rail planning to reduce the air pollution from gasoline vehicles (taxis and vans). Using the designed procedures, the up-to-date dataset of public transport can be processed to derive a time series of human mobility as an input into continuous and sustainable public transport planning and performance assessment. Based on the results of the study, the procedures can benefit other cities in Thailand and other countries.

scholarly journals 3D Printed Imaging Platform for Portable Cell Counting

The Analyst ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diwakar M. Awate ◽  
Cicero C. Pola ◽  
Erica Shumaker ◽  
Carmen L Gomes ◽  
Jaime Javier Juarez
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Cost Effective Approach ◽  
3D Printed

Despite having widespread application in the biomedical sciences, flow cytometers have several limitations that prevent their application to point-of-care (POC) diagnostics in resource-limited environments. 3D printing provides a cost-effective approach...

scholarly journals Lessons from the frontlines: a junior doctor’s experience of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource-limited setting

2021 ◽  
pp. medhum-2020-012109
Author(s):  
Brabaharan Subhani ◽  
Dilushi Wijayaratne ◽  
Saroj Jayasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Medical Officer ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Generic Skills ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Second Wave

COVID-19 has stressed healthcare systems across the globe. We present the experience of an intern medical officer working in a tertiary care hospital during the first wave of the pandemic in Sri Lanka. Her narrative describes how the stress of the pandemic brought into sharp focus the strengths and weaknesses in the health system. We suggest some strategies to improve our health services as the world faces the second wave and an uncertain future. These include structural changes in healthcare services at institutional and national levels, focused educational programmes for healthcare professionals to impart generic skills of disaster management, and the development of telehealth services and computerisation of health systems. We believe that we must maintain this focus to ensure that our patients can be guaranteed quality healthcare in the future.

scholarly journals Sheep scab spatial distribution: the roles of transmission pathways

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Joanne Nixon ◽  
Ellen Brooks-Pollock ◽  
Richard Wall
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Infected Sheep ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Psoroptes Ovis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Sheep Scab ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab) is a highly pathogenic contagious infection caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis. Following 21 years in which scab was eradicated in the UK, it was inadvertently reintroduced in 1972 and, despite the implementation of a range of control methods, its prevalence increased steadily thereafter. Recent reports of resistance to macrocyclic lactone treatments may further exacerbate control problems. A better understanding of the factors that facilitate its transmission are required to allow improved management of this disease. Transmission of infection occurs within and between contiguous sheep farms via infected sheep-to-sheep or sheep–environment contact and through long-distance movements of infected sheep, such as through markets. Methods A stochastic metapopulation model was used to investigate the impact of different transmission routes on the spatial pattern of outbreaks. A range of model scenarios were considered following the initial infection of a cluster of highly connected contiguous farms. Results Scab spreads between clusters of neighbouring contiguous farms after introduction but when long-distance movements are excluded, infection then self-limits spatially at boundaries where farm connectivity is low. Inclusion of long-distance movements is required to generate the national patterns of disease spread observed. Conclusions Preventing the movement of scab infested sheep through sales and markets is essential for any national management programme. If effective movement control can be implemented, regional control in geographic areas where farm densities are high would allow more focussed cost-effective scab management. Graphical Abstract

scholarly journals Feasible Surgical Site Infection Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings: A Pilot in Sierra Leone

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s38-s38
Author(s):  
Matthew Westercamp ◽  
Aqueelah Barrie ◽  
Christiana Conteh ◽  
Danica Gomes ◽  
Hassan Benya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Cesarean Delivery ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Case Finding ◽  
Surveillance Strategy ◽  
Case Definitions ◽  
Patient Interviews ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Infection Surveillance

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). SSI surveillance can be challenging and resource-intensive to implement in LMICs. To support feasible LMIC SSI surveillance, we piloted a multisite SSI surveillance protocol using simplified case definitions and methodology in Sierra Leone. Methods: A standardized evaluation tool was used to assess SSI surveillance knowledge, capacity, and attitudes at 5 proposed facilities. We used simplified case definitions restricted to objective, observable criteria (eg, wound purulence or intentional reopening) without considering the depth of infection. Surveillance was limited to post-cesarean delivery patients to control variability of patient-level infection risk and to decrease data collection requirements. Phone-based patient interviews at 30-days facilitated postdischarge case finding. Surveillance activities utilized existing clinical staff without monetary incentives. The Ministry of Health provided training and support for data management and analysis. Results: Three facilities were selected for initial implementation. At all facilities, administration and surgical staff described most, or all, infections as “preventable” and all considered SSIs an “important problem” at their facility. However, capacity assessments revealed limited staff availability to support surveillance activities, limited experience in systematic data collection, nonstandardized patient records as the basis for data collection, lack of unique and consistent patient identifiers to link patient encounters, and no quality-assured microbiology services. To limit system demands and to maximize usefulness, our surveillance data collection elements were built into a newly developed clinical surgical safety checklist that was designed to support surgeons’ clinical decision making. Following implementation and 2 months of SSI surveillance activities, 77% (392 of 509) of post-cesarean delivery patients had a checklist completed within the surveillance system. Only 145 of 392 patients (37%) under surveillance were contacted for final 30-day phone interview. Combined SSI rate for the initial 2-months of data collection in Sierra Leone was 8% (32 of 392) with 31% (10 of 32) identified through postdischarge case finding. Discussion: The surveillance strategy piloted in Sierra Leone represents a departure from established HAI strategies in the use of simplified case definitions and implementation methods that prioritize current feasibility in a resource-limited setting. However, our pilot implementation results suggest that even these simplified SSI surveillance methods may lack sustainability without additional resources, especially in postdischarge case finding. However, even limited phone-based patient interviews identified a substantial number of infections in this population. Although it was not addressed in this pilot study, feasible laboratory capacity building to support HAI surveillance efforts and promote appropriate treatment should be explored.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

scholarly journals Outcome of Acute Peritoneal Dialysis in Northern Tanzania

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kajiru Gad Kilonzo ◽  
Sudakshina Ghosh ◽  
Siya Anaeli Temu ◽  
Venance Maro ◽  
John Callegari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peritoneal Dialysis ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Kidney Injury ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
High Morbidity ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Nephrology Care ◽  
Technical Simplicity

Data on the burden of acute kidney injury (AKI) in resource-poor countries such as Tanzania are minimal because of a lack of nephrology services and an inability to recognize and diagnose AKI with any certainty. In the few published studies, high morbidity and mortality are reported. Improved nephrology care and dialysis may lower the mortality from AKI in these settings. Hemodialysis is expensive and technically challenging in resource-limited settings. The technical simplicity of peritoneal dialysis and the potential to reduce costs if consumables can be made locally, present an opportunity to establish cost-effective programs for managing AKI. Here, we document patient outcomes in a pilot peritoneal dialysis program established in 2009 at a referral hospital in Northern Tanzania.

scholarly journals Democratic Values, Religiosity, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Dion ◽  
Jordi Díez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Democratic Values ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Latin American Countries

AbstractLatin America has been at the forefront of the expansion of rights for same-sex couples. Proponents of same-sex marriage frame the issue as related to human rights and democratic deepening; opponents emphasize morality tied to religious values. Elite framing shapes public opinion when frames resonate with individuals’ values and the frame source is deemed credible. Using surveys in 18 Latin American countries in 2010 and 2012, this article demonstrates that democratic values are associated with support for same-sex marriage while religiosity reduces support, particularly among strong democrats. The tension between democratic and religious values is particularly salient for women, people who live outside the capital city, and people who came of age during or before democratization.

Silver mirror reaction metallized chromatography paper for supercapacitor application

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Hsuan Chen ◽  
Jung-Hsien Chang ◽  
Ren-Jie Xie ◽  
Chia-Hui Tseng ◽  
Sheng-Rong Hsieh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Water Contact ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Supercapacitor Application ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Silver Mirror ◽  
Silver Mirror Reaction

Abstract In this study, the easy-to-operate silver mirror reaction (SMR) was used for metallizing chromatography paper. The SMR-metallized paper was characterized by water contact angle measurements, a surface profiler, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrical resistance measurement. The characterization results show that Ag was successfully synthesized on cellulose fibers and was electrically conductive after cyclic bending. Moreover, this SMR-metallized paper was used as electrodes for fabricating a supercapacitor. This SMR-metallized paper could be used for realizing cost-effective flexible electronics applied in on-site biochemical sensing in resource-limited settings.

Influences of Pharmaceutical Industry on Prescription Practices in Public and Private Hospitals of Islamabad- Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Ahmed Latif ◽  
Muhammad Siddique Ansari ◽  
Muhammad Ibrahim Ansari ◽  
Rabia Malik ◽  
Abdul Ahad Sohoo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Prescription Practices ◽  
Medication Therapy ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Times ◽  
Depth Interviews

Background:  To explore the influences of pharmaceutical companies on prescription practices and to find out types of incentives of pharmaceutical companies on medical doctors in private and public hospitals in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan  Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in 06 months May-Oct: 2017 in Islamabad (Capital City of Pakistan). Data were collected from doctors and pharmaceuticals representatives through snowballing sampling techniques through open ended questionnaire in which In-depth interviews were taken. In depth interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded. Qualitative sub-component was included to triangulate the data, sub themes and themes were generated. Results: Respondent’s prescription is a basically document in which we suggest minimum effective medication therapy to the patient, that is also cost effective and give maximum treatment to the patient.  Few of the respondents are also agreeing on the point that most of the times patient itself influences to prescribe the particular product. Patient itself influences to prescribe the particular product that is redundant in its treatment regimen. Other respondents stated that prescription is varying from patient to patient and our priority is to give the medicine to the patient which shows good efficacy. Conclusion: Most doctors were maintaining protocol of prescription and using brand name of medicine. Pharmacists were visiting them on regular basis conditionally.

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