1,316 research outputs found
Epidemiological data of falciparum malaria in Ado-Odo/Ota, Southwest Ogun State, Nigeria
In this data article, Blood and corresponding saliva samples from subjects presenting with fever and parasetaemia Z2000 were obtained from selected hospitals in Ado-Odo/Ota, Ogun State over a period of two years and analyzed using Polymerase chain reaction-Restriction fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR/Nested PCR-RFLP) to detect genetic mutations of Plasmodium falciparum
chloroquine resistance transporter (Pfcrt), Plasmodium falciparum multidrugs resistance (Pfmdr1) and non-synonymous Pkelch (pk13) mutated genes. The study confirmed the presence of resistance genes in the blood and saliva samples collected from the study sit
Epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum infection and drug resistance markers in Ota Area, Southwestern Nigeria
Purpose: Effective routine monitoring and surveillance of parasite genes is a necessary
strategy in the control of parasites’ resistance to antimalarial drugs, according to the WHO’s
recommendation. This cross-sectional study therefore aimed at carrying out an epidemiological analysis on malaria incidence in Ado-Odo/Ota, Ogun State.
Patients and methods: Blood and corresponding saliva samples were collected from
1,243 subjects of all ages and sex presenting with fever and a parasitemia level ≥2,000
between September 2016 and March 2018. Samples were collected from selected health
facilities in the study area of Ogun state to establish the prevalence of falciparum malaria and
determine resistance genes harbored by the parasites. The overall prevalence of falciparum
malaria in the study site by microscopic examination was 45.86%. The highest incidence of
57.42% was recorded among male subjects. Point mutations of K76T and N86Y in the
Pfcrt and pfmdr-1 genes, as well as non-synonymous mutations in Pfk13 genes, were
screened for and sequenced for further analysis.
Results: Pfcrt was detectable in 57.42% of blood and 51.02% of saliva samples, respectively. About 34.78% of the subjects that were confirmed microscopically harbored the
Pfmdr-1 mutated gene while 26.67% of the saliva samples revealed Pfmdr-1.
Epidemiological studies identified the presence of wild-type Pfk13 genes in 21.84% of
blood and 44.44% of saliva samples correspondingly. For each of the genes evaluated, saliva
portrayed great diagnostic performance when compared with blood.
Conclusion: Findings from this study have established the prevalence of malaria and the
resistance pattern of P. falciparum in the study area. The findings may help in formulating
drug policies and suggest the use of saliva as a noninvasive point-of-care method of
diagnosing malaria potentially deployable to rural endemic areas
Time-dependent appearance of myofibroblasts in granulation tissue of human skin wounds
Human skin wounds (66) inflicted between 20 h and 7 months prior to biopsy were studied. In order to identify the type of cellular differentiation of the fibroblastic cells in the granulation tissue, alpha-smooth muscle actin and desmin were immunohistochemically localized. The value of any presumed time-dependent appearance and/or disappearance of positively stained cells was tested for the estimation of wound age. In skin specimens with a wound age less than 5 days (n =15) no typical granulation tissue had developed and no alpha-actin-positive myofibroblasts could be detected. The first appearance of positively reacting myofibroblasts was noted in a 5-day-old wound. In 57% of the lesions with a wound age between 5 and 31 days (25 out of 44 cases) typical granulation tissue formation was present and myofibroblasts with positive reaction for alpha-smooth muscle actin could be identified. Numerous positively reacting cells could generally be found in wounds aged between 16 and 31 days, but also in wounds less than 16 days old. In 29% of the cases with a wound age of more than 31 days (2 out of 7 cases) alpha-sma-positive myofibroblasts also occured. Fibroblastic cells positive for desmin could not be seen at all in our series. Our results demonstrate the appearance of alpha-sma-positive myofibroblasts with the initial formation of typical granulation tissue in human skin lesions as early as approximately 5 days after wounding. In contrast to recent experimental results these cells remained detectable in wounds aged more than 2 months in some cases. The immunohistochemical detection of actin-positive cells, therefore, demonstrates whether an unknown skin wound is aged approximately 5 days or more. Even though a time-dependent decrease of myofibroblasts in human granulation tissue after 31 days in human wounds seems probable, the extended presence (up to about 2 months) of these cells allows no further exact age determination of older wounds
Substrate orientation dependence on the solid phase epitaxial growth rate of Ge
The solid phase epitaxial growth process has been studied at 330 °C by transmission electron microscopy for Ge wafers polished at 10°–15° increments from the [001] to [011] orientations. The velocity showed a strong dependence on substrate orientation with the [001] direction displaying a velocity 16 times greater than the [111] direction. A lattice kinetic Monte Carlo model was used to simulate solid phase epitaxial growth (SPEG) rates at different orientations, and simulations compared well with experimental results. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy and plan view transmission electron microscopy revealed stacking fault and twin defect formation in the [111] orientation where all other orientations showed only hairpin dislocations. The twin defects formed from Ge SPEG were comparatively less dense than what has previously been reported for Si, which gave rise to higher normalized velocities and a constant [111] SPEG velocity for Ge.The authors acknowledge Intel Corporation for funding
this work. I.M.-B. acknowledges funding from the European
project MASTIC (PCIG09-GA-2011-293783)
In-gas-cell laser ionization spectroscopy in the vicinity of 100Sn: Magnetic moments and mean-square charge radii of N=50-54 Ag
In-gas-cell laser ionization spectroscopy studies on the neutron deficient
97-101Ag isotopes have been performed with the LISOL setup. Magnetic dipole
moments and mean-square charge radii have been determined for the first time
with the exception of 101Ag, which was found in good agreement with previous
experimental values. The reported results allow tentatively assigning the spin
of 97,99Ag to 9/2 and confirming the presence of an isomeric state in these two
isotopes, whose collapsed hyperfine structure suggests a spin of 1/2 . The
effect of the N=50 shell closure is not only manifested in the magnetic moments
but also in the evolution of the mean-square charge radii of the isotopes
investigated, in accordance with the spherical droplet model predictions
Boolean delay equations on networks: An application to economic damage propagation
We introduce economic models based on Boolean Delay Equations: this formalism
makes easier to take into account the complexity of the interactions between
firms and is particularly appropriate for studying the propagation of an
initial damage due to a catastrophe. Here we concentrate on simple cases, which
allow to understand the effects of multiple concurrent production paths as well
as the presence of stochasticity in the path time lengths or in the network
structure.
In absence of flexibility, the shortening of production of a single firm in
an isolated network with multiple connections usually ends up by attaining a
finite fraction of the firms or the whole economy, whereas the interactions
with the outside allow a partial recovering of the activity, giving rise to
periodic solutions with waves of damage which propagate across the structure.
The damage propagation speed is strongly dependent upon the topology. The
existence of multiple concurrent production paths does not necessarily imply a
slowing down of the propagation, which can be as fast as the shortest path.Comment: Latex, 52 pages with 22 eps figure
Nudges and other moral technologies in the context of power: Assigning and accepting responsibility
Strawson argues that we should understand moral responsibility in terms of our practices of holding responsible and taking responsibility. The former covers what is commonly referred to as backward-looking responsibility , while the latter covers what is commonly referred to as forward-looking responsibility . We consider new technologies and interventions that facilitate assignment of responsibility. Assigning responsibility is best understood as the second- or third-personal analogue of taking responsibility. It establishes forward-looking responsibility. But unlike taking responsibility, it establishes forward-looking responsibility in someone else. When such assignments are accepted, they function in such a way that those to whom responsibility has been assigned face the same obligations and are susceptible to the same reactive attitudes as someone who takes responsibility. One family of interventions interests us in particular: nudges. We contend that many instances of nudging tacitly assign responsibility to nudgees for actions, values, and relationships that they might not otherwise have taken responsibility for. To the extent that nudgees tacitly accept such assignments, they become responsible for upholding norms that would otherwise have fallen under the purview of other actors. While this may be empowering in some cases, it can also function in such a way that it burdens people with more responsibility that they can (reasonably be expected to) manage
Early onset of ground-state deformation in the neutron-deficient polonium isotopes
In-source resonant ionization laser spectroscopy of the even- polonium
isotopes Po has been performed using the
to ( nm) transition in the polonium atom
(Po-I) at the CERN ISOLDE facility. The comparison of the measured isotope
shifts in Po with a previous data set allows to test for the first
time recent large-scale atomic calculations that are essential to extract the
changes in the mean-square charge radius of the atomic nucleus. When going to
lighter masses, a surprisingly large and early departure from sphericity is
observed, which is only partly reproduced by Beyond Mean Field calculations.Comment: As submitted to PR
Beta decay of 71,73Co; probing single particle states approaching doubly magic 78Ni
Low-energy excited states in 71,73Ni populated via the {\beta} decay of
71,73Co were investigated in an experiment performed at the National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (MSU).
Detailed analysis led to the construction of level schemes of 71,73Ni, which
are interpreted using systematics and analyzed using shell model calculations.
The 5/2- states attributed to the the f5/2 orbital and positive parity 5/2+ and
7/2+ states from the g9/2 orbital have been identified in both 71,73Ni. In 71Ni
the location of a 1/2- {\beta}-decaying isomer is proposed and limits are
suggested as to the location of the isomer in 73Ni. The location of positive
parity cluster states are also identified in 71,73Ni. Beta-delayed neutron
branching ratios obtained from this data are given for both 71,73Co.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
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