Factors contributing to the complete recovery of severe acute malnutrition among under five years children at Muhima District Hospital, Rwanda

Background: Globally, the various reports have shown that number of children affected with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is very high. As per WHO reports, SAM is the third most common contributing factor to the deaths of under-5 children, almost 1 million annually, but this ratio is high in developing countries, including Rwanda. More specifically, Rwanda demographic health statistics (RDHS) of 2014-2015 reported that 36.7% of under five years of children were stunted, while 14% had severe malnutrition. Moreover, some studies reported socio-demographic, economic, and health-related factors associated with SAM but still a limited data is available on this issue. Aim of the study: The current study aimed to assess factors contributing to the complete recovery from SAM among under five-years children and to recommend alternatives for prevention and control. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 200 under-5 children with SAM. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the independent predictors of complete recovery among SAM children treated at Muhima District hospital from January 1st, 2017 to September 30th, 2021. Result of the study: As per the results of this study, different factors like; age, maternal education, HIV/AIDS status, cough, and two-way distance from OTP were found to be significant independent predictors of complete recovery. The most prominent factor was the SAM children with Positive HIV status during follow-up because they were less likely to be recovered than those with negative status with (OR: 0.23_CI: 0.062-0.912 _ P-value of 0.036). CONCLUSION: The complete recovery was in the acceptable range of national and international standards. Conversely to age, maternal education, two-way distance from OTP, and cough during follow-up, the HIV- positive status was proven to contribute to complete recovery.open석

High-frequency nanotube mechanical resonators

We report on a simple method to fabricate high-frequency nanotube mechanical resonators reproducibly. We measure resonance frequencies as high as 4.2 GHz for the fundamental eigenmode and 11 GHz for higher order eigenmodes. The high-frequency resonances are achieved using short suspended nanotubes and by introducing tensile stress in the nanotube. These devices allow us to determine the coefficient of the thermal expansion of an individual nanotube, which is negative and is about -0.7E-5 1/K at room temperature. High-frequency resonators made of nanotubes hold promise for mass sensing and experiments in the quantum limit

Thermal shot noise in top-gated single carbon nanotube field effect transistors

The high-frequency transconductance and current noise of top-gated single carbon nanotube transistors have been measured and used to investigate hot electron effects in one-dimensional transistors. Results are in good agreement with a theory of 1-dimensional nano-transistor. In particular the prediction of a large transconductance correction to the Johnson-Nyquist thermal noise formula is confirmed experimentally. Experiment shows that nanotube transistors can be used as fast charge detectors for quantum coherent electronics with a resolution of $13\mathrm{\mu e/\sqrt{Hz}}$ in the 0.2-$0.8 \mathrm{GHz}$ band.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Facile manufacturing of sub-mm thick CNT-based RC filters

CNT-Based RC networks are described with the purpose of showing empirical findings on the influence of the interdigitated electrodes (IDE) spacing, the dispersant compound and the number of deposited layers, on the impedance magnitude and phase of the CNTs. Additionally, we propose use-cases for these networks, applying them to the realization of filters of second order with easily tunable cut-off frequency, and with the inherent advantages of CNTs and printed technologies, rendering them a prime choice for applications where thin and flexible second order filters are necessary

MAP at Home Psychosocial Manual

The MAP at Home Psychosocial Manual delivers five units covering the following themes: 1) Emotion; 2) Sharing Stories; 3) Active Listening & Deep Stories; 4) Family & Community Engagement; 5) Give & Take. The exercises were delivered as part of online digital workshops delivered between March - August 2021 with over 108 research participants working in five Districts of Rwanda. In Kinyarwanda, the proverb ababiri bashyize hamwe baruta umunani barasana means ‘two friends working together are greater than eight person that are in fight’. We use this proverb to show how working together collectively can contribute towards making positive social change and to support community aspirations. Collective and social support offers a space to understand emotions and to establish trust between young people and their community. This manual focuses on understanding self and other, expressing oneself through visual and performance-based methods, and enabling a space to share individual and group reflections based on how to understand emotions and to develop trust. Research has proven that as a result of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, elements of trust and hope have been adversely affected. In Rwanda, it has been found that psychosocial interventions are an important contribution to building individual and community resilience, social cohesion and trust. The lack or absence of trust has been shown to not only effect victims of the genocide but have transgenerational effects with young people encountering issues with developing meaningful relationships. Arts-based approaches and its core conventions of trust building and team building can support psychosocial wellbeing. The exercises aim to combine arts-based approaches with psychosocial interventions for young people to explore emotions and to develop trust. To summarise, the Rwandan proverb ahari abagabo ntihapfa abando means ‘where there are men, others could never die’. The proverb summarises the intention of the unit; collective working can support the resolution of internal psychological conflicts whilst developing positive social outcomes

A Mechanical Mass Sensor with Yoctogram Resolution

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have generated considerable interest as inertial mass sensors. NEMS resonators have been used to weigh cells, biomolecules, and gas molecules, creating many new possibilities for biological and chemical analysis [1-4]. Recently, NEMS-based mass sensors have been employed as a new tool in surface science in order to study e.g. the phase transitions or the diffusion of adsorbed atoms on nanoscale objects [5-7]. A key point in all these experiments is the ability to resolve small masses. Here we report on mass sensing experiments with a resolution of 1.7 yg (1 yg = 10^-24 g), which corresponds to the mass of one proton, or one hydrogen atom. The resonator is made of a ~150 nm long carbon nanotube resonator vibrating at nearly 2 GHz. The unprecedented level of sensitivity allows us to detect adsorption events of naphthalene molecules (C10H8) and to measure the binding energy of a Xe atom on the nanotube surface (131 meV). These ultrasensitive nanotube resonators offer new opportunities for mass spectrometry, magnetometry, and adsorption experiments.Comment: submitted version of the manuscrip

The pyrogeography of eastern boreal Canada from 1901 to 2012 simulated with the LPJ-LMfire model

Wildland fires are the main natural disturbance shaping forest structure and composition in eastern boreal Canada. On average, more than 700 000 ha of forest burns annually and causes as much as CAD 2.9 million worth of damage. Although we know that occurrence of fires depends upon the coincidence of favourable conditions for fire ignition, propagation, and fuel availability, the interplay between these three drivers in shaping spatiotemporal patterns of fires in eastern Canada remains to be evaluated. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the spatiotemporal patterns of fire activity during the last century in eastern Canada's boreal forest as a function of changes in lightning ignition, climate, and vegetation. We addressed this objective using the dynamic global vegetation model LPJ-LMfire, which we parametrized for four plant functional types (PFTs) that correspond to the prevalent tree genera in eastern boreal Canada (Picea, Abies, Pinus, Populus). LPJ-LMfire was run with a monthly time step from 1901 to 2012 on a 10 km2 resolution grid covering the boreal forest from Manitoba to Newfoundland. Outputs of LPJ-LMfire were analyzed in terms of fire frequency, net primary productivity (NPP), and aboveground biomass. The predictive skills of LPJ-LMfire were examined by comparing our simulations of annual burn rates and biomass with independent data sets. The simulation adequately reproduced the latitudinal gradient in fire frequency in Manitoba and the longitudinal gradient from Manitoba towards southern Ontario, as well as the temporal patterns present in independent fire histories. However, the simulation led to the underestimation and overestimation of fire frequency at both the northern and southern limits of the boreal forest in Québec. The general pattern of simulated total tree biomass also agreed well with observations, with the notable exception of overestimated biomass at the northern treeline, mainly for PFT Picea. In these northern areas, the predictive ability of LPJ-LMfire is likely being affected by the low density of weather stations, which leads to underestimation of the strength of fire- weather interactions and, therefore, vegetation consumption during extreme fire years. Agreement between the spatiotemporal patterns of fire frequency and the observed data across a vast portion of the study area confirmed that fire therein is strongly ignition limited. A drier climate coupled with an increase in lightning frequency during the second half of the 20th century notably led to an increase in fire activity. Finally, our simulations highlighted the importance of both climate and fire in vegetation: despite an overarching CO2- induced enhancement of NPP in LPJ-LMfire, forest biomass was relatively stable because of the compensatory effects of increasing fire activity