Associations between school- and household-level water, sanitation and hygiene conditions and soil-transmitted helminth infection among Kenyan school children.

BACKGROUND: Soil-transmitted helminths, a class of parasitic intestinal worms, are pervasive in many low-income settings. Infection among children can lead to poor nutritional outcomes, anaemia, and reduced cognition. Mass treatment, typically administered through schools, with yearly or biannual drugs is inexpensive and can reduce worm burden, but reinfection can occur rapidly. Access to and use of sanitation facilities and proper hygiene can reduce infection, but rigorous data are scarce. Among school-age children, infection can occur at home or at school, but little is known about the relative importance of WASH in transmission in these two settings. METHODS: We explored the relationships between school and household water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions and behaviours during the baseline of a large-scale mass drug administration programme in Kenya. We assessed several WASH measures to quantify the exposure of school children, and developed theory and empirically-based parsimonious models. RESULTS: Results suggest mixed impacts of household and school WASH on prevalence and intensity of infection. WASH risk factors differed across individual worm species, which is expected given the different mechanisms of infection. CONCLUSIONS: No trend of the relative importance of school versus household-level WASH emerged, though some factors, like water supply were more strongly related to lower infection, which suggests it is important in supporting other school practices, such as hand-washing and keeping school toilets clean

Tendinopathy—from basic science to treatment

Chronic tendon pathology (tendinopathy), although common, is difficult to treat. Tendons possess a highly organized fibrillar matrix, consisting of type I collagen and various 'minor' collagens, proteoglycans and glycoproteins. The tendon matrix is maintained by the resident tenocytes, and there is evidence of a continuous process of matrix remodeling, although the rate of turnover varies at different sites. A change in remodeling activity is associated with the onset of tendinopathy. Major molecular changes include increased expression of type III collagen, fibronectin, tenascin C, aggrecan and biglycan. These changes are consistent with repair, but they might also be an adaptive response to changes in mechanical loading. Repeated minor strain is thought to be the major precipitating factor in tendinopathy, although further work is required to determine whether it is mechanical overstimulation or understimulation that leads to the change in tenocyte activity. Metalloproteinase enzymes have an important role in the tendon matrix, being responsible for the degradation of collagen and proteoglycan in both healthy patients and those with disease. Metalloproteinases that show increased expression in painful tendinopathy include ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase)-12 and MMP (matrix metalloproteinase)-23. The role of these enzymes in tendon pathology is unknown, and further work is required to identify novel and specific molecular targets for therapy

The nation and the family: the impact of national identification and perceived importance of family values on homophobic attitudes in Lithuania and Scotland

The meanings attached to the nation can be consequential for group members’ attitudes and beliefs. We examined how national identity definition can influence the extent of individuals’ homophobia with 159 Lithuanian and 176 Scottish university students who completed a questionnaire which measured their national identification, homophobia, and the extent to which they felt traditional family values were central to their nation’s identity. Consistent with nation-wide differences in the significance given to the family, Lithuanian participants perceived family values to be more important for their national identity and expressed higher levels of homophobia than did Scottish participants. Moreover, the relationship between level of national identification and homophobia was stronger in Lithuania than in Scotland. Analyses revealed that the perceived importance of family values helped explain the difference between homophobia levels in Lithuania and Scotland. In both sites we found an indirect effect of national identification on homophobia via the perceived importance of family values, but this effect was significantly stronger for Lithuanian participants. These findings illustrate the ways in which identification with the nation is relevant to attitudes concerning sexuality, and how this varies according to national context. Our work indicates that LGBT rights campaigns should be informed by the knowledge that homophobia may be perpetuated by national valorisation of the family

High field (9.4 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging of cortical grey matter lesions in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory, degenerative disease of the central nervous system. The most obvious pathological change in multiple sclerosis is multifocal demyelination of the white matter, but grey matter demyelination may be of equal or even greater importance for its clinical manifestations. In order to assess the pathogenetic role of lesions in the grey and white matter, and to explore the association between demyelinated and non-lesional brain tissue, tools are needed to depict each of these tissue components accurately in vivo. Due to its sensitivity in detecting white matter lesions, T-2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 T is important in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. However, magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 T largely fails to detect grey matter lesions. In this study, we used T-2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at 9.4 T to detect grey matter lesions in fixed post-mortem multiple sclerosis motor cortex. Furthermore, we produced T-1, T-2 and magnetization transfer ratio maps, and correlated these indices with quantitative histology [neuronal density, intensity of immunostaining for myelin basic protein (reflecting myelin content) and phosphorylated neurofilament (reflecting axonal area)] using t-tests and multivariate regression. In 21 tissue samples, 28 cortical grey matter lesions were visible on both T-2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and sections immunostained for myelin basic protein, 15/28 being mixed white and grey matter and 11/28 subpial cortical grey matter lesions; 2/28 cortical grey matter lesions involved all layers of the cortex. Compared with non-lesional cortex, cortical grey matter lesions showed reduction of neuronal density (98/mm(2), SD = 34/mm(2;) versus 129/mm(2), SD = 44; P < 0.01), phosphorylated neurofilament (1/transmittance = 1.16; SD = 0.09 versus 1.24; SD = 0.1; P < 0.01) and magnetization transfer ratio (31.1 pu; SD = 11.9 versus 37.5 pu; SD = 8.7; P = 0.01), and an increase of T-2 (25.9; SD = 5 versus 22.6 ms; SD = 4.7; P < 0.01). Associations were detected between phosphorylated neurofilament and myelin basic protein (r = 0.58, P < 0.01), myelin basic protein and T-2 (r = -0.59, P < 0.01), and neuronal density and T-1 (r = -0.57, P < 0.01). All indices correlated with duration of tissue fixation, however, including the latter in the analysis did not fundamentally affect the associations described. Our data show that T-2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at 9.4 T enables detection of cortical grey matter lesion in post-mortem multiple sclerosis brain. The quantitative associations suggest that in cortical grey matter T-1 may be a predictor of neuronal density, and T-2 of myelin content (and-secondarily-axons). Successful translation of these results into in vivo studies using high field magnetic resonance imaging (e.g. 3 T and 7 T) will improve the assessment of cortical pathology and thereby have an impact on the diagnosis and natural history studies of patients with multiple sclerosis, as well as clinical trial designs for putative treatments to prevent cortical demyelination and neuronal loss

Improving word reading speed: Individual differences interact with a training focus on successes or failures

Contains fulltext : 101028.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access) Contains fulltext : 101028-erratum.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The effect of two training procedures on the development of reading speed in poor readers is examined. One training concentrates on the words the children read correctly (successes), the other on the words they read incorrectly (failures). Children were either informed or not informed about the training focus. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 79 poor readers. They repeatedly read regularly spelled Dutch consonant–vowel–consonant words, some children their successes, others their failures. The training used a computerized flashcards format. The exposure duration of the words was varied to maintain an accuracy rate at a constant level. Reading speed improved and transferred to untrained, orthographically more complex words. These transfer effects were characterized by an Aptitude-Treatment Interaction. Poor readers with a low initial reading level improved most in the training focused on successes. For poor readers with a high initial reading level, however, it appeared to be more profitable to practice with their failures. Informing students about the focus of the training positively affected training: The exposure duration needed for children informed about the focus of the training decreased more than for children who were not informed. This study suggests that neither of the two interventions is superior to the other in general. Rather, the improvement of general reading speed in a transparent orthography is closely related to both the children’s initial reading level and the type of words they practice with: common and familiar words when training their successes and uncommon and less familiar words with training their failures.29 p

Radiocarbon and the Old World Archaeology: Shaping a Chronological Framework

The inception of the radiocarbon dating method in 1949 was immediately supported by many archaeologists. In the following 2 decades, many important archaeological sites in the Old World were dated, marking the beginning of building a reliable chronological framework for prehistoric and early historic cultural complexes worldwide. The author presents an observation of some of the most important results in establishing a chronology for Old World archaeology, based on 14C dating performed in the last 50 yr. An extensive bibliography should help scholars to get acquainted with early summaries on archaeological chronologies based on 14C data and their evaluation, as well as with some recent examples of the application of 14C dating in Old World archaeology.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202