Epidemiology of Concomitant Infection Due to Loa loa and Mansonella perstans in Gabon

Loa loa and Mansonella perstans are blood filarial parasites, endemic in the central and western African forest block, and transmitted by chrysops and culicoides flies, respectively. Loa loa is pathogenic and represents a major obstacle to the control of co-endemic filariae. Treatment of individuals with >8000 Loa loa microfilariae/ml can result in severe adverse reactions. M. perstans is prevalent in the tropics, with undefined clinical symptoms. We screened 4392 individuals for these infections in 212 Gabonese villages. The overall prevalence rates were 22.4% for Loa loa microfilariae, 10.2% for M. perstans, and 3.2% for mixed infection. These rates varied across the different ecosystems: forest, savannah, Lakeland, river (Ogouée), and equator. A correlation was found between the prevalence and intensity of microfilariae, while a negative relationship was found between clinical symptoms (pruritis, Calabar swelling) and the prevalence of Loa loa microfilaremia. This study confirms the spatial uniformity of the relationship between parasitological indices, and provides a map and baseline data for implementation of mass chemotherapy for these infections

Automated Guided Vehicle at Sandvik do Brasil

At the plant of Sandvik do Brasil in São Paulo there is a need for improving the transport of inserts between the plant building and the stock building. The idea is to install a system with an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) to take care of this transportation. The purpose of this report is to present which demands there are on the system and to find the best solution according to the demands. To conclude this work a study was made of the plant and the AGV technology was examined. Several providers of AGV solutions were contacted to get information about prices and detailed solutions. The conclusion was that the most suitable system for this application is a small unit load vehicle using inductive wire as guiding system.Vid Sandviks fabrik för hårdmetallskär i São Paulo, Brasilien finns ett behov av att förbättra transporten av produkterna mellan fabriken och lagret. Detta ska lösas med någon typ av självgående fordon. För att i en nära framtid ska troligtvis ett sådant system installeras för att transportera skären inne i fabriken, och med detta projekt vill man skaffa sig erfarenhet av tekniken. I den här rapporten ges en presentation av fabriken och av självgående fordon. En kravspecifikation tas fram för systemet och med hjälp av den kan den lämpligaste tekniken väljas. Den slutgiltiga lösningen använder ett fordon av "unit load" typ, som bär lasten på det egna chassiet. Fordonet navigerar genom att följa magnetfältet från en strömförande kabel, nerlagd i marken