Estimating the burden of malaria in Senegal : Bayesian zero-inflated binomial geostatistical modeling of the MIS 2008 data

The Research Center for Human Development in Dakar (CRDH) with the technical assistance of ICF Macro and the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) conducted in 2008/2009 the Senegal Malaria Indicator Survey (SMIS), the first nationally representative household survey collecting parasitological data and malaria-related indicators. In this paper, we present spatially explicit parasitaemia risk estimates and number of infected children below 5 years. Geostatistical Zero-Inflated Binomial models (ZIB) were developed to take into account the large number of zero-prevalence survey locations (70%) in the data. Bayesian variable selection methods were incorporated within a geostatistical framework in order to choose the best set of environmental and climatic covariates associated with the parasitaemia risk. Model validation confirmed that the ZIB model had a better predictive ability than the standard Binomial analogue. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods were used for inference. Several insecticide treated nets (ITN) coverage indicators were calculated to assess the effectiveness of interventions. After adjusting for climatic and socio-economic factors, the presence of at least one ITN per every two household members and living in urban areas reduced the odds of parasitaemia by 86% and 81% respectively. Posterior estimates of the ORs related to the wealth index show a decreasing trend with the quintiles. Infection odds appear to be increasing with age. The population-adjusted prevalence ranges from 0.12% in Thille-Boubacar to 13.1% in Dabo. Tambacounda has the highest population-adjusted predicted prevalence (8.08%) whereas the region with the highest estimated number of infected children under the age of 5 years is Kolda (13940). The contemporary map and estimates of malaria burden identify the priority areas for future control interventions and provide baseline information for monitoring and evaluation. Zero-Inflated formulations are more appropriate in modeling sparse geostatistical survey data, expected to arise more frequently as malaria research is focused on eliminatio

Special Issue Editorial: Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in IS Education

This editorial piece introduces a special issue of the Journal of Information Systems Education (JISE) on the topic of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in IS education. A number of contemporary issues are raised, such as inequality and barriers pertaining to gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and socio-economic status. A set of research questions relating to EDI within IS education is set out, thus inviting further work within this important and under-researched area of our field

Ethnic Disparities in Hospitalization for COVID-19: a Community-Based Cohort Study in the UK

Importance: Differentials in COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization and mortality according to ethnicity are being reported but their origin is uncertain. Objective: We aimed to explain any ethnic differentials in COVID-19 hospitalization based on socioeconomic, lifestyle, mental and physical health factors. Design: Prospective cohort study with national registry linkage to hospitalisation for COVID-19. Setting: Community-dwelling. Participants: 340,966 men and women (mean age 56.2 (SD=8.1) years; 54.3% women) residing in England from the UK Biobank study. Exposures: Ethnicity classified as White, Black, Asian, and Others. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s): Cases of COVID-19 serious enough to warrant a hospital admission in England from 16-March-2020 to 26-April-2020. Results: There were 640 COVID-19 cases (571/324,306 White, 31/4,485 Black, 21/5,732 Asian, 17/5,803 Other). Compared to the White study members and after adjusting for age and sex, Black individuals had over a 4-fold increased risk of being hospitalised (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: =4.32; 3.00-6.23), and there was a doubling of risk in the Asian group (2.12; 1.37, 3.28) and the Other non-white group (1.84; 1.13, 2.99). After controlling for 15 confounding factors which included neighbourhood deprivation, education, number in household, smoking, markers of body size, inflammation, and glycated haemoglobin, these effect estimates were attenuated by 33% for Blacks, 52% for Asians and 43% for Other, but remained raised for Blacks (2.66; 1.82, 3.91), Asian (1.43; 0.91, 2.26) and other non-white groups (1.41; 0.87, 2.31). Conclusions and Relevance: Our findings show clear ethnic differences in risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 which do not appear to be fully explained by known explanatory factors. If replicated, our results have implications for health policy, including the targeting of prevention advice and vaccination coverage

ARMC 5 Variants and Risk of Hypertension in Blacks: MH- GRID Study.

Background We recently found that ARMC 5 variants may be associated with primary aldosteronism in blacks. We investigated a cohort from the MH - GRID (Minority Health Genomics and Translational Research Bio-Repository Database) and tested the association between ARMC 5 variants and blood pressure in black s. Methods and Results Whole exome sequencing data of 1377 black s were analyzed. Target single-variant and gene-based association analyses of hypertension were performed for ARMC 5, and replicated in a subset of 3015 individuals of African descent from the UK Biobank cohort. Sixteen rare variants were significantly associated with hypertension ( P=0.0402) in the gene-based (optimized sequenced kernel association test) analysis; the 16 and one other, rs116201073, together, showed a strong association ( P=0.0003) with blood pressure in this data set. The presence of the rs116201073 variant was associated with lower blood pressure. We then used human embryonic kidney 293 and adrenocortical H295R cells transfected with an ARMC 5 construct containing rs116201073 (c.*920T>C). The latter was common in both the discovery ( MH - GRID ) and replication ( UK Biobank) data and reached statistical significance ( P=0.044 [odds ratio, 0.7] and P=0.007 [odds ratio, 0.76], respectively). The allele carrying rs116201073 increased levels of ARMC5 mRNA , consistent with its protective effect in the epidemiological data. Conclusions ARMC 5 shows an association with hypertension in black s when rare variants within the gene are considered. We also identified a protective variant of the ARMC 5 gene with an effect on ARMC 5 expression confirmed in vitro. These results extend our previous report of ARMC 5's possible involvement in the determination of blood pressure in blacks

The Development of a Grazing Rating Index to Identify the Biomass Removed and the Plant Species and Parts Eaten by Grazing Sheep

Determining the diet selection of grazing animals is inherently difficult and a trade-off exists between obtaining accurate information and interfering with the normal grazing behaviour of an animal. The botanical composition of a grazing animal’s diet may be estimated using one or a number of techniques in combination. A six-point grazing rating index was developed to identify the plant species consumed by sheep grazing within a heterogeneous native grassland and the extent to which each species within a quadrat was grazed. The method was developed to remove error from visual estimates that prevents detection of significant reductions in biomass for minor species from grazing between two samplings and to determine animal preference

Thomas Jefferson: image and ideology

This thesis explores the public image of Thomas Jefferson as recorded in his major life portraits. It consults the traditions that surrounded eighteenth-century portraiture and the history of the portrait as a means of expressing authority, power, and personal interest. This study contends that Jefferson worked within these traditions and fashioned and refashioned an image that promoted his vision of American republicanism. Therefore, it places each portrait within the context of the sociopolitical environment in which it was created and considers Jefferson’s political motives and actions against these recorded images. This departs from previous works that stopped with an identification of the life portraits, a discussion of the artist, and an evaluation of the merits of the portrait as a work of art. Rather it builds upon these earlier studies to approach Jefferson’s use of the portrait to manage his image and advance his political and ideological aims for the newly formed nation. The goal of this thesis is to offer an enlarged and diverse assessment of this leading founder of the American republic through the public image he created in his life portraits

Consistency of projected drought over the Sahel with changes in the monsoon circulation and extremes in a regional climate model projections

As a step toward an increased understanding of climate change over West Africa, in this paper we analyze the relationship between rainfall changes and monsoon dynamics in high-resolution regional climate model experiments performed using the Regional Climate Model (RegCM3). Multidecadal simulations are carried out for present-day and future climate conditions under increased greenhouse gas forcing driven by the global climate model European Center/Hamburg 5 (ECHAM5). Compared to the present day, the future scenario simulation produces drier conditions over the Sahel and wetter conditions over orographic areas. The Sahel drying is accompanied by a weaker monsoon flow, a southward migration and strengthening of the African Easterly Jet, a weakening of the Tropical Easterly Jet, a decrease of the deep core of ascent between the jets, and reduced African Easterly Wave activity. These circulation changes are characteristics of dry periods over the Sahel and are similar to the conditions found in the late twentieth century observed drought over the region. Changes in extreme events suggest that the drier conditions over the Sahel are associated with more frequent occurrences of drought periods. The projected drought over the Sahel is thus physically consistent with changes in the monsoon circulation and the extreme indices (maximum dry spell length and 5 day precipitation)

The turbidity maximum zone of the Yenisei River (Siberia) and its impact on organic and inorganic proxies

A general overview of the processes taking place in the summer mixing zone of the fresh Yenisei River water with the marine waters of the Kara Sea is given in this study, with special emphasis on the interaction between bulk (total suspended matter), inorganic (Fe, Mn) and organic (suspended organic carbon, suspended nitrogen) proxies. Within the mixing zone, a zone of enhanced turbidity (maximum turbidity zone) was observed comparable to studies in other rivers. Flocculation of particles due to changes in salinity and hydrography cause this maximum turbidity zone, and resuspension additionally enhances the turbidity in the near-bottom layers. Organic matter behaves conservatively in the mixing zone in terms of its percentage of suspended matter. It, however, undergoes degradation as revealed by amino acid data. Inorganic, redox- and salinity-sensitive, proxies (Mn, Fe) behave non-conservatively. Dissolved iron is removed at low salinities (<2) due to precipitation of iron oxyhydroxides and adsorption of manganese on suspended particles, enhancing the Mn/Al ratio of the suspended matter in the same zone. At higher salinities within the mixing zone, Fe/Al and Mn/Al ratios of the suspended particles are depleted due to resuspension of sediment with lower Fe/Al and Mn/Al ratios. Dissolved manganese concentrations are significantly higher in the near-bottom layers of the mixing zone due to release from the anoxic sediment. All things considered, the Yenisei River mixing zone shows patterns similar to other world's rivers