Parks, people and pixels: evaluating landscape effects of an East African national park on its surroundings

Landscapes surrounding protected areas, while still containing considerable biodiversity, have rapidly growing human populations and associated agricultural development in most of the developing world that tend to isolate them, potentially reducing their conservation value. Using field studies and multi-temporal Landsat imagery, we examine a forest park, Kibale National Park in western Uganda, its changes over time, and related land cover change in the surrounding landscape. We find Kibale has successfully defended its borders and prevents within-park deforestation and other land incursions, and has maintained tree cover throughout the time period of the study. Outside the park there was a significant increase in tea plantations and continued forest fragmentation and wetland loss. The question of whether the park is a conservation success because of the network of forest fragments and wetlands or in spite of them remains unanswered

Shared Decision Making and Decisional Conflict in Women with Postpartum Depression

Despite well documented adverse outcomes related to untreated postpartum depression, many women face difficulty accessing care. A woman’s experience of conflict related to appraising treatment options that align with both her needs and her values can contribute to delays or barriers to seeking and accessing effective treatment. Shared decision making is the cornerstone of a collaborative patient-provider relationship and has been shown to decrease patient’s experience of decisional conflict. This cross-sectional web-based survey examined the relationship between shared decision making and decisional conflict for postpartum women experiencing depressive symptoms at an urban counseling center in Nashville, TN. Data were collected between October and December 2019. Decisional conflict was measured using the Decisional Conflict Scale. Perception of shared decision making was measured using the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDMQ-9). A total of 169 women completed the online survey. Of the 121 women who reported symptoms of postpartum depression, less than half were currently engaged in care for PPD, Of the 48 women who were engaged in care, there was a significant negative correlation between shared decision making and decisional conflict, p\u3c.05, Pearson’s r = -.287. Results of this study confirm finding of existing research that many women who are experiencing symptoms of PPD are not engaging in care. However, when women engage in care that reflects the principles of shared decision-making, they experience less decisional conflict. Providers who practice shared decision making in their care of women with postpartum depression may improve treatment engagement as well as myriad health outcomes for women and children. Keywords: Postpartum Depression, Women, Decisional Conflict, Shared Decision Makin

Imaging Diffractometer with Holographic Encoding Enhancements for Laser Sensing and Characterization

What is believed to be a novel holographic optical encoding scheme has been developed to enhance the performance of laser sensors designed for the measurement of wavelength and angular trajectory. A prototype holographic imaging diffractometer has been created to reconstruct holographic cueing patterns superimposed in the focal plane of wide-angle scene imagery. Based on experimental pattern metric measurements at the focal plane, a theoretical model is used to compute the laser source wavelength and its apparent propagation direction within the sensor\u27s field of view. The benefits of incorporating holographic enhancements within an imager-based sensor architecture are discussed

Fonsecaea pedrosoi cerebral phaeohyphomycosis ("chromoblastomycosis"): first human culture-proven case reported in Brazil Feohifomicose cerebral ("cromoblastomicose") por Fonsecaea pedrosoi: primeiro caso demonstrado por cultura do fungo no Brasil

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis ("chromoblastomycosis") is a rare intracranial lesion. We report the first human culture-proven case of brain abscesses due to Fonsecaea pedrosoi in Brazil. The patient, a 28 year-old immunocompetent white male, had ocular manifestations and a hypertensive intracranial syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a main tumoral mass involving the right temporo-occipital area and another smaller apparently healed lesion at the left occipital lobe. A cerebral biopsy was performed and the pathological report was cerebral chromoblastomycosis. The main lesion was enucleated surgically and culture of the necrotic and suppurative mass grew a fungus identified as Fonsecaea pedrosoi. The patient had received a knife wound sixteen years prior to his hospitalization and, more recently, manifested a pulmonary granulomatous lesion in the right lung with a single non-pigmented form of a fungus present. It was speculated that the fungus might have gained entrance to the host through the skin lesion, although a primary respiratory lesion was not excluded. The patient was discharged from the hospital still with ocular manifestations and on antimycotic therapy and was followed for eight months without disease recurrence. Few months after he had complications of the previous neuro-surgery and died. A complete autopsy was performed and no residual fungal disease was found.<br>A Feohifomicose cerebral ("cromoblastomicose") é uma lesão rara. Apresentamos o primeiro caso desta entidade com cultura do abscesso cerebral, devido a Fonsecaea pedrosoi. O paciente, um homem de 28 anos de idade, imunocompetente, apresentou manifestações oculares e síndrome de hipertensão intracraniana. Imagens de ressonância magnética (MRI) cerebral mostraram massa tumoral envolvendo a área temporo-occipital direita e outra lesão menor, possivelmente cicatricial, no lobo occipital esquerdo. Biopsia cerebral mostrou cromoblastomicose cerebral. A lesão principal foi enucleada cirurgicamente e Fonsecaea pedrosoi foi cultivado da massa necrótica e supurada. O paciente tinha tido um ferimento por faca 16 anos antes de ser visto no nosso hospital e, mais recentemente, uma lesão pulmonar granulomatosa no pulmão direito onde foi identificada uma forma isolada, não pigmentada, de fungo. A possibilidade de que o fungo tenha penetrado no organismo do paciente através da lesão de pele foi considerada, mas não se pode excluir uma eventual lesão primária pulmonar. O paciente teve alta hospitalar e foi seguido durante oito meses sem recorrência da doença. Meses depois, entretanto, desenvolveu complicações relacionadas à neurocirurgia, vindo a óbito. Uma autopsia completa foi feita, não demonstrando doença fúngica remanescente