The vaccination of 35,000 dogs in 20 working days using combined static point and door-to-door methods in Blantyre, Malawi

An estimated 60,000 people die of rabies annually. The vast majority of cases of human rabies develop following a bite from an infected dog. Rabies can be controlled in both human and canine populations through widespread vaccination of dogs. Rabies is particularly problematic in Malawi, costing the country an estimated 13 million USD and 484 human deaths annually, with an increasing paediatric incidence in Blantyre City. Consequently, the aim of this study was to vaccinate a minimum of 75% of all the dogs within Blantyre city during a one month period. Blantyre's 25 administrative wards were divided into 204 working zones. For initial planning, a mean human:dog ratio from the literature enabled estimation of dog population size and dog surveys were then performed in 29 working zones in order to assess dog distribution by land type. Vaccination was conducted at static point stations at weekends, at a total of 44 sites, with each operating for an average of 1.3 days. On Monday to Wednesday, door-to-door vaccination sessions were undertaken in the areas surrounding the preceding static point stations. 23,442 dogs were vaccinated at static point stations and 11,774 dogs were vaccinated during door-to-door vaccinations. At the end of the 20 day vaccination programme, an assessment of vaccination coverage through door-to-door surveys found that of 10,919 dogs observed, 8,661 were vaccinated resulting in a vaccination coverage of 79.3% (95%CI 78.6-80.1%). The estimated human:dog ratio for Blantyre city was 18.1:1. Mobile technology facilitated the collection of data as well as efficient direction and coordination of vaccination teams in near real time. This study demonstrates the feasibility of vaccinating large numbers of dogs at a high vaccination coverage, over a short time period in a large African city

Expanding the stdpopsim species catalog, and lessons learned for realistic genome simulations

Simulation is a key tool in population genetics for both methods development and empirical research, but producing simulations that recapitulate the main features of genomic datasets remains a major obstacle. Today, more realistic simulations are possible thanks to large increases in the quantity and quality of available genetic data, and the sophistication of inference and simulation software. However, implementing these simulations still requires substantial time and specialized knowledge. These challenges are especially pronounced for simulating genomes for species that are not well-studied, since it is not always clear what information is required to produce simulations with a level of realism sufficient to confidently answer a given question. The community-developed framework stdpopsim seeks to lower this barrier by facilitating the simulation of complex population genetic models using up-to-date information. The initial version of stdpopsim focused on establishing this framework using six well-characterized model species (Adrion et al., 2020). Here, we report on major improvements made in the new release of stdpopsim (version 0.2), which includes a significant expansion of the species catalog and substantial additions to simulation capabilities. Features added to improve the realism of the simulated genomes include non-crossover recombination and provision of species-specific genomic annotations. Through community-driven efforts, we expanded the number of species in the catalog more than threefold and broadened coverage across the tree of life. During the process of expanding the catalog, we have identified common sticking points and developed the best practices for setting up genome-scale simulations. We describe the input data required for generating a realistic simulation, suggest good practices for obtaining the relevant information from the literature, and discuss common pitfalls and major considerations. These improvements to stdpopsim aim to further promote the use of realistic whole-genome population genetic simulations, especially in non-model organisms, making them available, transparent, and accessible to everyone

Vaccinate-assess-move method of mass canine rabies vaccination utilising mobile technology data collection in Ranchi, India

BACKGROUND: Over 20 000 people die from rabies each year in India. At least 95 % of people contract rabies from an infected dog. Annual vaccination of over 70 % of the dog population has eliminated both canine and human rabies in many countries. Despite having the highest burden of rabies in the world, there have been very few studies which have reported the successful, large scale vaccination of dogs in India. Furthermore, many Indian canine rabies vaccination programmes have not achieved high vaccine coverage. METHODS: In this study, we utilised a catch-vaccinate-release approach in a canine rabies vaccination programme in 18 wards in Ranchi, India. Following vaccination, surveys of the number of marked, vaccinated and unmarked, unvaccinated dogs were undertaken. A bespoke smartphone ‘Mission Rabies’ application was developed to facilitate data entry and team management. This enabled GPS capture of the location of all vaccinated dogs and dogs sighted on post vaccination surveys. In areas where coverage was below 70 %, catching teams were re-deployed to vaccinate more dogs followed by repeat survey. RESULTS: During the initial vaccination cycle, 6593 dogs were vaccinated. Vaccination coverage was over 70 % in 14 of the 18 wards. A second cycle of vaccination was performed in the 4 wards where initial vaccination coverage was below 70 %. Following this second round of vaccination, coverage was reassessed and found to be over 70 % in two wards and only just below 70 % in the final two wards (66.7 % and 68.2 %, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that mobile technology enabled efficient team management and rapid data entry and analysis. The vaccination approach outlined in this study has the potential to facilitate the rapid vaccination of large numbers of dogs at a high coverage in free roaming dog populations in India. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1320-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Scoping review of indicators and methods of measurement used to evaluate the impact of dog population management interventions

Background: Dogs are ubiquitous in human society and attempts to manage their populations are common to most countries. Managing dog populations is achieved through a range of interventions to suit the dog population dynamics and dog ownership characteristics of the location, with a number of potential impacts or goals in mind. Impact assessment provides the opportunity for interventions to identify areas of inefficiencies for improvement and build evidence of positive change. Methods: This scoping review collates 26 studies that have assessed the impacts of dog population management interventions. Results: It reports the use of 29 indicators of change under 8 categories of impact and describes variation in the methods used to measure these indicators. Conclusion: The relatively few published examples of impact assessment in dog population management suggest this field is in its infancy; however this review highlights those notable exceptions. By describing those indicators and methods of measurement that have been reported thus far, and apparent barriers to efficient assessment, this review aims to support and direct future impact assessment

A Review on Smart Security Solutions Based on Iot

This paper deals with the Review of design and implementation of Smart surveillance monitoring system using Raspberry pi and fingerprint sensor. It increases the usage of mobile technology to provide essential security to our homes and for other control applications. The proposed The project aims at designing an intelligent access control system based on fingerprint technology. The proposed system makes use of finger print module for authentication process and an electromechanical relay switch to control magnetic door locking system for door accessing. The system also supports with camera based image capturing technique when any wrong finger print was detected and alerts through email from wireless Wi-Fi connectivity

Development and Validation of RP-HPLC for Estimation of Brexpiprazole in Bulk Drugs

A simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive method was developed for quantitative analysis of Brexpiprazole in bulk dosage form using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The chromatography separation was achieved on Kromasil -C18, (250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm particle size), at column temperature 25°C ± 2, in the isocratic mobile phase mode using acetonitrile 5% ortho-phosphoric acid: water (60:40 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The determination was performed using waters HPLC with UV detector set at 216 nm. Samples were prepared with diluent methanol, and the volume injected was 20 μL. The retention time for brexpiprazole was 3.89 min. The analytical curve was linear (r2=0.99994) over a wide concentration range (0.51–7.50 μg/mL). The presence of components of the bulk did not interfere in the results of the analysis. The method showed adequate precision with a relative standard deviation <2%

Golden triangle of minimal intervention dentistry in paediatric dentistry

The Minimal Intervention Dentistry (MID) approach provides a more all-inclusive approach towards caries management, comprising of prevention, control, and treatment of caries. The various minimally invasive techniques employed in the MID are the preferred treatment modalities to treat dental caries in children. They are being increasingly employed by dentists with an aim to increase co-operation of children, with an added advantage of giving them a positive dental experience. The behavior modification of young children for an effective Paediatric Dental Care revolves around the Paediatric Dentistry Treatment Triangle, corners of which are formed primarily by the child, parent and dentist.  To that end, we have tried to look at certain aspects of the MID from the perspective of a paediatric dentist and thereby proposed a modification of the ‘Golden Triangle of MID’ in relation to its application in paediatric dentistry

Synthesis and study of chlorosubstituted 4-aroyl and 4-alkoyl-pyrazolines, pyrazoles and their effect on some flowering plants

505-511Some new chlorosubstituted 4-aroyl/alkoylpyrazolines 5a,b and 4-aroyl/alkoylpyrazoles 7a,b have been synthesized by condensation of 1-(2′-hydroxy-3′-5′-dichlorophenyl)-3-aryl/alkyl-1-3-propanedione 3a,b and valeraldehyde by Baker-Venkatraman transformation of corresponding aroyl/alkoyloxyacetophenones. Aroyl/Alkoyloxyacetophenones 2a,b undergo intramolecular Claisen condensation to form 1-(2′-hydroxy-3′-5′-dichloro­phenyl)-3-aryl/alkyl-1,3-propanediones 3a,b which on treatment with aliphatic aldehyde in ethanol containing little piperidine forms 3-aroyl/alkoylchromanones 4a,b. From these 3-aroyl/alkoylchromanones 4a,b 4-aroyl/alkoylpyrazolines 5a,b are synthesized. 3-Aroyl/Alkoylchromanones 4a,b are converted into 3-aroyl/alkoylchromones 6a,b. The 3-aroyl/alkoylchromones 6a,b on treatment with Ph.NHNH2.HCl in dioxane containing small amount of piperidine furnish 4-aroyl/alkoylpyrazoles 7a,b. The structures of the newly synthesized chlorosubstituted 4-aroyl /alkoylpyrazolines 5a,b and 4-aroyl/alkoylpyrazoles 7a,b have been elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis and their homogeneity has been established by TLC