Monitoring Outdoor Alcohol Advertising in Developing Countries: Findings of a Pilot Study in Five African Countries

This paper aims to describe alcohol advertising in the public arena of Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria and  Uganda. Analyses on the placement, channels, size and content of outdoor alcohol advertising practices (N=807) in relation to existing regulations are given. For example, in Gambia, the country with the most stringent alcohol  marketing regulations of all countries studied, outdoor alcohol advertisements are on average smaller and less  attractive to youth; whereas, in Uganda and Ghana, countries with selfregulation, there is limited protection. Findings illustrate the innovative ways in which the alcohol industry attempts to reach their market despite existing alcohol marketing regulations and cultural boundaries. Legal measures could be a policy instrument to protect against  harmful exposure.Key Words: alcohol marketing, outdoor advertising, Africa, alcohol polic

Anisotropic generalization of Stinchcombe's solution for conductivity of random resistor network on a Bethe lattice

Our study is based on the work of Stinchcombe [1974 \emph{J. Phys. C} \textbf{7} 179] and is devoted to the calculations of average conductivity of random resistor networks placed on an anisotropic Bethe lattice. The structure of the Bethe lattice is assumed to represent the normal directions of the regular lattice. We calculate the anisotropic conductivity as an expansion in powers of inverse coordination number of the Bethe lattice. The expansion terms retained deliver an accurate approximation of the conductivity at resistor concentrations above the percolation threshold. We make a comparison of our analytical results with those of Bernasconi [1974 \emph{Phys. Rev. B} \textbf{9} 4575] for the regular lattice.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

The influence of alcohol industry-sponsored “Gulder Ultimate Search” reality television series on the drinking behaviors of Nigerian youths

Background: Alcohol consumption among youths and its related problems are increasing in Nigeria. Whilst one of the reasons for this is due to the marketing activities of the transnational alcohol corporations, there are no written national alcohol control policies that regulate alcohol marketing in Nigeria. Methods: This article draws on in-depth interviews with 31 Nigerian university students (aged 19–23 years) to explore the extent to which the “Gulder Ultimate Search” (GUS) reality television show influences alcohol consumption amongst GUS contestants, television audiences and those who participate in GUS promotional activities. Results: The results show that GUS was very popular amongst students and their knowledge of the reality show was high, to the extent that they were able to identify the particular alcohol company that sponsors the reality television program, the number of contestants that compete for the prizes in each season, and what can be won by the contestants or television viewers. GUS influences the drinking behaviors of contestants because one of the criteria for participation is to present 10 or more recently used “cans” of “Gulder beer” during the screening exercise. GUS also appears to influence the drinking behaviors of television viewers and those who participate in promotions due to product placement, direct advertisements and promotional activities that accompany the “Fan-Based Edition” aspect of GUS. Conclusion: Overall, GUS is a disguised marketing strategy to promote brand awareness, and to increase sales and consumption. Alcohol control policies that regulate event sponsorship and promote public health should be implemented in Nigeria

Characterization of Leishmania spp. causing cutaneous leishmaniasis in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

In the State of Amazonas, American tegumentary leishmaniasis is endemic and presents a wide spectrum of clinical variability due to the large diversity of circulating species in the region. Isolates from patients in Manaus and its metropolitan region were characterized using monoclonal antibodies and isoenzymes belonging to four species of the parasite: Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis, 73% (153/209); Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, 14% (30/209); Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, 8% (17/209); and Leishmania (Viannia) naiffii, 4% (9/209). The most prevalent species was L. (V.) guyanensis. The principal finding of this study was the important quantity of infections involving more than one parasite species, representing 14% (29/209) of the total. The findings obtained in this work regarding the parasite are further highlighted by the fact that these isolates were obtained from clinical samples collected from single lesions