851 research outputs found

    Pemanfaatan Pmt Kopel sebagai Sarana Pengalihan Beban di Gardu Induk Sayung Kabupaten Demak

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    Binka Aji Wibowo, Saiful Manan, in paper use PMT coupling as load transfer in Sayung District Substation, Demak explain that to meet the reliability of the distribution system , it is necessary to do a continuity in the distribution of electrical energy. There are various causes of outages ranging from maintenance to interference. To resolved these problems, there are several solutions that can be done, such as transfer transformer load through PMT coupling. This can be done by connecting the two busbars by using a PMT. In operation the PMT coupling need to do prior preparation, among others, the daily load calculations. It is intended to carry transformer load does not exceed setting value

    Spatial Effects of the Social Marketing of Insecticide-Treated Nets on Malaria Morbidity.

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    Randomized controlled trials have shown that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) have an impact on both malaria morbidity and mortality. Uniformly high coverage of ITNs characterized these trials and this resulted in some protection of nearby non-users of ITNs. We have now assessed the coverage, distribution pattern and resultant spatial effects in one village in Tanzania where ITNs were distributed in a social marketing programme. The prevalence of parasitaemia, mild anaemia (Hb <11 g/dl) and moderate/severe anaemia (Hb <8 g/dl) in children under five was assessed cross-sectionally. Data on ownership of ITNs were collected and inhabitants' houses were mapped. One year after the start of the social marketing programme, 52% of the children were using a net which had been treated at least once. The ITNs were rather homogeneously distributed throughout the village at an average density of about 118 ITNs per thousand population. There was no evidence of a pattern in the distribution of parasitaemia and anaemia cases, but children living in areas of moderately high ITN coverage were about half as likely to have moderate/severe anaemia (OR 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.9) and had lower prevalence of splenomegaly, irrespective of their net use. No protective effects of coverage were found for prevalence of mild anaemia nor for parasitaemia. The use of untreated nets had neither coverage nor short distance effects. More efforts should be made to ensure high coverage in ITNs programmes to achieve maximum benefit

    Behavioural and insecticidal effects of organophosphate-, carbamate- and pyrethroid-treated mosquito nets against African malaria vectors.

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    Three insecticides - the pyrethroid deltamethrin, the carbamate carbosulfan and the organophosphate chlorpyrifos-methyl - were tested on mosquito nets in experimental huts to determine their potential for introduction as malaria control measures. Their behavioural effects and efficacy were examined in Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles funestus Giles s.s. in Muheza, Tanzania, and in Anopheles arabiensis Patton and Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Moshi, Tanzania. A standardized dosage of 25 mg/m(2) plus high dosages of carbosulfan (50 mg/m(2), 100 mg/m(2) and 200 mg/m(2)) and chlorpyrifos-methyl (100 mg/m(2)) were used to compare the three types of insecticide. At 25 mg/m(2), the rank order of the insecticides for insecticide-induced mortality in wild An. gambiae and An. funestus was, respectively, carbosulfan (88%, 86%) > deltamethrin (79%, 78%) > chlorpyrifos-methyl (35%, 53%). The rank order of the insecticides for blood-feeding inhibition (reduction in the number of blood-fed mosquitoes compared with control) in wild An. gambiae and An. funestus was deltamethrin > chlorpyrifos-methyl > carbosulfan. Carbosulfan was particularly toxic to endophilic anophelines at 200 mg/m(2), killing 100% of An. gambiae and 98% of An. funestus that entered the huts. It was less effective against the more exophilic An. arabiensis (67% mortality) and carbamate-resistant Cx quinquefasciatus (36% mortality). Carbosulfan deterred anophelines from entering huts, but did not deter carbamate-resistant Cx quinquefasciatus. Deltamethrin reduced the proportion of insects engaged in blood-feeding, probably as a consequence of contact irritancy, whereas carbosulfan seemed to provide personal protection through deterred entry or perhaps a spatial repellent action. Any deployment of carbosulfan as an individual treatment on nets should be carried out on a large scale to reduce the risk of diverting mosquitoes to unprotected individuals. Chlorpyrifos-methyl was inferior to deltamethrin in terms of mortality and blood-feeding inhibition and would be better deployed on a net in combination with a pyrethroid to control insecticide-resistant mosquitoes

    Multimorbidity of chronic diseases among adult patients presenting to an inner-city clinic in Ghana.

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    BACKGROUND: Very little is known about multimorbidity and chronic diseases in low and middle income countries, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, and more information is needed to guide the process of adapting the health systems in these countries to respond adequately to the increasing burden of chronic diseases. We conducted a hospital-based survey in an urban setting in Ghana to determine the prevalence of multimorbidity and its associated risk factors among adult patients presenting to an inner city clinic. METHODS: Between May and June 2012, we interviewed adult patients (aged 18 years and above) attending a routine outpatient clinic at an inner-city hospital in Accra using a structured questionnaire. We supplemented the information obtained from the interviews with information obtained from respondents' health records. We used logistic regression analyses to explore the risk factors for multimorbidity. RESULTS: We interviewed 1,527 patients and retrieved matching medical records for 1,399 (91.6%). The median age of participants was 52.1 years (37-64 years). While the prevalence of multimorbidity was 38.8%, around half (48.6%) of the patients with multimorbidity were aged between 18-59 years old. The most common combination of conditions was hypertension and diabetes mellitus (36.6%), hypertension and musculoskeletal conditions (19.9%), and hypertension and other cardiovascular conditions (11.4%). Compared with patients aged 18-39 years, those aged 40-49 years (OR 4.68, 95% CI: 2.98-7.34), 50-59 years (OR 12.48, 95% CI: 8.23-18.92) and 60 years or older (OR 15.80, 95% CI: 10.66-23.42) were increasingly likely to present with multimorbidity. While men were less likely to present with multimorbidity, (OR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.45-0.94, p = 0.015), having a family history of any chronic disease was predictive of multimorbidity (OR 1.43, 95% CI: 1.03-1.68, p = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: Multimorbidity is a significant problem in this population. By identifying the risk factors for multimorbidity, the results of the present study provide further evidence for informing future policies aimed at improving clinical case management, health education and medical training in Ghana

    Patterns of age-specific mortality in children in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

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    Understanding of the age- and season- dependence of malaria mortality is an important prerequisite for epidemiologic models of malaria immunity. However, most studies of malaria mortality have aggregated their results into broad age groups and across seasons, making it hard to predict the likely impact of interventions targeted at specific age groups of children. We present age-specific mortality rates for children aged < 15 years for the period of 2001-2005 in 7 demographic surveillance sites in areas of sub-Saharan Africa with stable endemic Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We use verbal autopsies (VAs) to estimate the proportion of deaths by age group due to malaria, and thus calculate malaria-specific mortality rates for each site, age-group, and month of the year. In all sites a substantial proportion of deaths (ranging from 20.1% in a Mozambican site to 46.2% in a site in Burkina Faso) were attributed to malaria. The overall age patterns of malaria mortality were similar in the different sites. Deaths in the youngest children (< 3 months old) were only rarely attributed to malaria, but in children over 1 year of age the proportion of deaths attributed to malaria was only weakly age-dependent. In most of the sites all-cause mortality rates peaked during the rainy season, but the strong seasonality in malaria transmission in these sites was not reflected in strong seasonality in the proportion of deaths attributed to malaria, except in the two sites in Burkina Faso. Improvement in the specificity of malaria verbal autopsies would make it easier to interpret the age and season patterns in such data

    Mortality in a seven-and-a-half-year follow-up of a trial of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in Ghana

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    A 17% efficacy in preventing all-cause mortality in children aged 6-59 months was previously reported from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) carried out in the Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana from July 1993-June 1995. A follow-up until the end of 2000 found no indication in any age group of increased mortality in the ITN group after the end of the randomized intervention. These results should further encourage the use of ITNs as a malaria control tool in areas of high endemicity of Plasmodium falciparu

    Efficacious, effective, and embedded interventions: Implementation research in infectious disease control

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    Background: Research in infectious disease control is heavily skewed towards high end technology; development of new drugs, vaccines and clinical interventions. Oft ignored, is the evidence to inform the best strategies that ensure the embedding of interventions into health systems and amongst populations. In this paper we undertake an analysis of the challenge in the development of research for the sustainable implementation of disease control interventions. Results: We highlight the fundamental differences between the research paradigms associated with the development of technologies and interventions for disease control on the one hand and the research paradigms required for enhancing the sustainable uptake of those very same interventions within the communities on the other. We provide a definition for implementation research in an attempt to underscore its critical role and explore the multidisciplinary science needed to address the challenges in disease control. Conclusion: The greatest value for money in health research lies in the sustainable and effective implementation of already proven, efficacious solutions. The development of implementation research that can help provide some solutions on how this can be achieved is sorely needed

    Misclassification of Plasmodium infections by conventional microscopy and the impact of remedial training on the proficiency of laboratory technicians in species identification.

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    BACKGROUND: Malaria diagnosis is largely dependent on the demonstration of parasites in stained blood films by conventional microscopy. Accurate identification of the infecting Plasmodium species relies on detailed examination of parasite morphological characteristics, such as size, shape, pigment granules, besides the size and shape of the parasitized red blood cells and presence of cell inclusions. This work explores misclassifications of four Plasmodium species by conventional microscopy relative to the proficiency of microscopists and morphological characteristics of the parasites on Giemsa-stained blood films. CASE DESCRIPTION: Ten-day malaria microscopy remedial courses on parasite detection, species identification and parasite counting were conducted for public health and research laboratory personnel. Proficiency in species identification was assessed at the start (pre) and the end (post) of each course using known blood films of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium vivax infections with densities ranging from 1,000 to 30,000 parasites/μL. Outcomes were categorized as false negative, positive without speciation, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax and mixed infections. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Reported findings are based on 1,878 P. falciparum, 483 P. malariae, 581 P. ovale and 438 P. vivax cumulative results collated from 2008 to 2010 remedial courses. Pre-training false negative and positive misclassifications without speciation were significantly lower on P. falciparum infections compared to non-falciparum infections (p < 0.0001). Post-training misclassifications decreased significantly compared to pre- training misclassifications which in turn led to significant improvements in the identification of the four species. However, P. falciparum infections were highly misclassified as mixed infections, P. ovale misclassified as P. vivax and P. vivax similarly misclassified as P. ovale (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the misclassification of malaria species could be a common occurrence especially where non-falciparum infections are involved due to lack of requisite skills in microscopic diagnosis and variations in morphological characteristics within and between Plasmodium species. Remedial training might improve reliability of conventional light microscopy with respect to differentiation of Plasmodium infections

    Changing patterns of rotavirus genotypes in ghana: emergence of human rotavirus G9 as a major cause of diarrhea in children.

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    Genotyping of human rotaviruses was performed on 312 rotavirus-positive samples collected from 2,205 young children with diarrhea in the Upper East District of Ghana, a rural community. Of the 271 (86.9%) rotavirus strains that could be VP7 (G) or VP4 (P) characterized, 73 (26.9%) were of G9 specificity. The predominant G9 genotype was G9P[8], which constituted 79.5% of all G9 strains detected, followed by G9P[6] (12.3%), G9P[10] (2.7%), and G9P[4] (1.3%). G9 strains with mixed P types constituted 2.7% of all G9 strains found in the study. All the G9P[8] strains had a long RNA electrophoretic pattern with VP6 subgroup II specificity. Four G9 isolates, GH1319, GH1416, GH3550, and GH3574, which were selected based on the abundance of stool material and were representative of the three electropherotypes observed, were cloned and sequenced. The Ghanaian isolates shared more than 98% sequence nucleotide homology with other G9 strains from the United States (US1205), Malawi (MW69), Brazil (R160), Japan (95H115), and Nigeria (Bulumkutu). However, they showed only 95% nucleotide homology with the Thai G9 strain Mc345. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleic acid sequence revealed the existence of at least three clusters, with Ghanaian strains forming one cluster, Nigerian and Brazilian strains forming a second cluster, and U.S., Malawian, and Japanese strains forming a third
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