241 research outputs found
Community engagement strategy for increased uptake of routine immunization and select perinatal services in north-west Ethiopia: A descriptive analysis.
BACKGROUND: Routine immunization coverage has stagnated over the past decade and fallen short of WHO targets in Ethiopia. Community engagement strategies that reach beyond traditional health systems may reduce dropout and increase coverage. This evaluation assesses changes in immunization, postpartum family planning, and antenatal care coverage after implementation of an enhanced community engagement and defaulter tracing strategy, entitled "Fifth Child" project, across two districts in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State (BGRS), Ethiopia. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A formative evaluation was conducted to examine the contribution of the strategy on immunization, postpartum family planning and antenatal care utilization in Assosa and Bambasi districts of BGRS. The quantitative findings are presented here. Routine and project-specific data were analyzed to assess changes in uptake of childhood vaccinations, postpartum family planning and antenatal care. Between January 2013 and December 2016, pentavalent-3 coverage increased from 63% to 84% in Assosa, and from 78% to 93% in Bambasi. Similarly, measles vaccine coverage increased from 77% to 81% in Assosa, and from 59% to 86% in Bambasi. Approximately 54% of all eligible infants across both woredas defaulted on scheduled vaccinations at least once during the period. Among defaulting children, 84% were identified and subsequently caught up on the vaccinations missed. Secondary outcomes of postpartum family planning and antenatal care also increased in both woredas. CONCLUSION: The "Fifth Child" project likely contributed to enhanced immunization performance and increased utilization of immunization and select perinatal health services in two woredas of BGRS. Further research is required in order to determine the impact of this community engagement strategy
COVID-19-Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States
Background: Most COVID-19 deaths occur among adults, not children, and attention has
focused on mitigating COVID-19 burden among adults. However, a tragic consequence of adult
deaths is that high numbers of children might lose their parents and caregivers to COVID-19-
associated deaths.
Methods: We quantified COVID-19-associated caregiver loss and orphanhood in the US and for
each state using fertility and excess and COVID-19 mortality data. We assessed burden and rates
of COVID-19-associated orphanhood and deaths of custodial and co-residing grandparents,
overall and by race/ethnicity. We further examined variations in COVID-19-associated
orphanhood by race/ethnicity for each state.
Results: We found that from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, over 140,000 children in the
US experienced the death of a parent or grandparent caregiver. The risk of such loss was 1.1 to
4.5 times higher among children of racial and ethnic minorities, compared to Non-Hispanic
White children. The highest burden of COVID-19-associated death of parents and caregivers
occurred in Southern border states for Hispanic children, Southeastern states for Black children,
and in states with tribal areas for American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
Conclusions: We found substantial disparities in distributions of COVID-19-associated death of
parents and caregivers across racial and ethnic groups. Children losing caregivers to COVID-19
need care and safe, stable, and nurturing families with economic support, quality childcare and
evidence-based parenting support programs. There is an urgent need to mount an evidence-based
comprehensive response focused on those children at greatest risk, in the states most affected
COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death in the United States
Background: Most COVID-19 deaths occur among adults, not children, and attention has focused on mitigating COVID-19 burden among adults. However, a tragic consequence of adult deaths is that high numbers of children might lose their parents and caregivers to COVID-19-associated deaths. Methods: We quantified COVID-19-associated caregiver loss and orphanhood in the US and for each state using fertility and excess and COVID-19 mortality data. We assessed burden and rates of COVID-19-associated orphanhood and deaths of custodial and co-residing grandparents, overall and by race/ethnicity. We further examined variations in COVID-19-associated orphanhood by race/ethnicity for each state. Results: We found that from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, over 140,000 children in the US experienced the death of a parent or grandparent caregiver. The risk of such loss was 1.1 to 4.5 times higher among children of racial and ethnic minorities, compared to Non-Hispanic White children. The highest burden of COVID-19-associated death of parents and caregivers occurred in Southern border states for Hispanic children, Southeastern states for Black children, and in states with tribal areas for American Indian/Alaska Native populations. Conclusions: We found substantial disparities in distributions of COVID-19-associated death of parents and caregivers across racial and ethnic groups. Children losing caregivers to COVID-19 need care and safe, stable, and nurturing families with economic support, quality childcare and evidence-based parenting support programs. There is an urgent need to mount an evidence-based comprehensive response focused on those children at greatest risk, in the states most affected
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The structures underpinning vulnerability: examining landscape-society interactions in a smallholder coffee agroforestry system
Smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture are particularly vulnerable to extreme climate events and, therefore, it is necessary to identify adaptive measures that would increase farmer resilience to these shocks. The management options in a low-input system, like forest coffee (Coffea arabica), are limited and there are several factors out of farmers' control driving their vulnerability to changing climatic conditions. These can relate to social structures and landscape factors, which can interact to reduce farmers' adaptive capacity, creating a state of contextual vulnerability. We explored the potential synergies of this interaction across elevation, patch area and shade management gradients for smallholder coffee farms around the UNESCO Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in Ethiopia before, during and immediately following the 2015/16 El Niño. We documented a dramatic collapse in coffee yields across all farms, resulting in coffee incomes 29.5 ± 18.0 % and 19.5 ± 10.0 % of 2014 incomes in 2015 and 2016, respectively. We identified farms at elevations between 1500-1600 m with canopy openness between 40-45 % as being consistently low yielding over our study period. We found these farmers had the highest rates of income diversification and, therefore, were already exhibiting adaptive capacity. Farmers with the largest income losses were spatially concentrated between 1600-1700 m, located in larger patch areas with lower canopy openness. Farmers at this elevation have access to poor infrastructure, restrictions on shade management and reported higher dependence on income from coffee, indicating an interaction of biotic and social factors exacerbating their vulnerability. Unfortunately, due to a nationally declared state of emergency, we were unable to survey farmers on the adaptive measures they undertook; therefore, we are limited in assessing their resilience. However, we do show the importance of considering both biotically and socially-mediated influences for assessing smallholder vulnerability, particularly barriers to diversifying incomes
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Contribution of non-timber forest products to the livelihood of farmers in coffee growing areas: evidence from Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve
This article examines the role of forest products in the livelihoods of forestdependent households in the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in the South Western part of Ethiopia. Unlike many forest landscapes, households in Yayu district cultivate their primary crop, coffee, in a complex landscape. Sampled households (n¼241) were chosen based on the stratified random sampling method. We employ both descriptive statistics and econometric regression to assess the extent of forest product use and analyse the determinants of forest income, respectively. We find that relatively poor households are more dependent on forest resources as a share of total income than better-off households. We further find that households in the Yayu district use non-timber forest products (NTFPs) mainly for consumption. The current zoning arrangements around the biosphere reserve support the provision of NTFPs, particularly for poorer households and should be considered for replication in other complex landscapes
Electroencephalographic Findings, Antiepileptic Drugs and Risk Factors of 433 Individuals Referred to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Ethiopia
Background: Little is known about the characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) findings in epileptic patients in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to characterize the EEG patterns, indications, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and epilepsy risk factors.Methods: A retrospective observational review of EEG test records of 433 patients referred to our electrophysiology unit between July 01, 2020 and December 31, 2021.Results: The age distribution in the study participants was right skewed unipolar age distribution for both sexes and the mean age of 33.8 (SD=15.7) years. Male accounted for 51.7%. Generalized tonic clonic seizure was the most common seizure type. The commonest indication for EEG was abnormal body movement with loss of consciousness (35.2%). Abnormal EEG findings were observed in 55.2%; more than half of them were Interictal epileptiform discharges, followed by focal/or generalized slowing. Phenobarbitone was the commonest AEDs. A quarter (20.1%) of the patients were getting a combination of two AEDs and 5.2% were on 3 different AEDs. Individuals taking the older AEDs and those on 2 or more AEDs tended to have abnormal EEG findings. A cerebrovascular disorder (27.4%) is the prevalent risk factor identified followed by brain tumor, HIV infection, and traumatic head injury respectively.Conclusion: High burden of abnormal EEG findings among epileptic patients referred to our unit. The proportion of abnormal EEG patterns was higher in patients taking older generation AEDs and in those on 2 or more AEDs. Stroke, brain tumor, HIV infection and traumatic head injury were the commonest identified epilepsy risk factors
A new measurement of the neutron detection efficiency for the NaI Crystal Ball detector
We report on a measurement of the neutron detection efficiency in NaI
crystals in the Crystal Ball detector obtained from a study of single p0
photoproduction on deuterium using the tagged photon beam at the Mainz
Microtron. The results were obtained up to a neutron energy of 400 MeV. They
are compared to previous measurements made more than 15 years ago at the pion
beam at the BNL AGS
Photoproduction of -pairs off protons and off neutrons
Total cross sections, angular distributions, and invariant-mass distributions
have been measured for the photoproduction of pairs off free
protons and off nucleons bound in the deuteron. The experiments were performed
at the MAMI accelerator facility in Mainz using the Glasgow photon tagging
spectrometer and the Crystal Ball/TAPS detector. The accelerator delivered
electron beams of 1508 and 1557~MeV, which produced bremsstrahlung in thin
radiator foils. The tagged photon beam covered energies up to 1400~MeV. The
data from the free proton target are in good agreement with previous
measurements and were only used to test the analysis procedures. The results
for differential cross sections (angular distributions and invariant-mass
distributions) for free and quasi-free protons are almost identical in shape,
but differ in absolute magnitude up to 15\%. Thus, moderate final-state
interaction effects are present. The data for quasi-free neutrons are similar
to the proton data in the second resonance region (final state invariant masses
up to 1550~MeV), where both reactions are dominated by the
decay. At higher energies,
angular and invariant-mass distributions are different. A simple analysis of
the shapes of the invariant-mass distributions in the third resonance region is
consistent with strong contributions of an decay
for the proton, while the reaction is dominated by a sequential decay via a
intermediate state for the neutron. The data are compared to
predictions from the Two-Pion-MAID model and the Bonn-Gatchina coupled channel
analysis.Comment: accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
Immune-Complex Mimics as a Molecular Platform for Adjuvant-Free Vaccine Delivery
Protein-based vaccine development faces the difficult challenge of finding robust yet non-toxic adjuvants suitable for humans. Here, using a molecular engineering approach, we have developed a molecular platform for generating self-adjuvanting immunogens that do not depend on exogenous adjuvants for induction of immune responses. These are based on the concept of Immune Complex Mimics (ICM), structures that are formed between an oligomeric antigen and a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to that antigen. In this way, the roles of antigens and antibodies within the structure of immune complexes are reversed, so that a single monoclonal antibody, rather than polyclonal sera or expensive mAb cocktails can be used. We tested this approach in the context of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection by linking the highly immunogenic and potentially protective Ag85B with the oligomeric Acr (alpha crystallin, HspX) antigen. When combined with an anti-Acr monoclonal antibody, the fusion protein formed ICM which bound to C1q component of the complement system and were readily taken up by antigen-presenting cells in vitro. ICM induced a strong Th1/Th2 mixed type antibody response, which was comparable to cholera toxin adjuvanted antigen, but only moderate levels of T cell proliferation and IFN-γ secretion. Unfortunately, the systemic administration of ICM did not confer statistically significant protection against intranasal MTB challenge, although a small BCG-boosting effect was observed. We conclude that ICM are capable of inducing strong humoral responses to incorporated antigens and may be a suitable vaccination approach for pathogens other than MTB, where antibody-based immunity may play a more protective role
and photoproduction with fine center-of-mass energy resolution
Measurements of and cross-sections have been obtained with the photon
tagging facility and the Crystal Ball calorimeter at MAMI-C. The measurement
uses a novel meson identification technique in which the weak decay
products are characterized using the energy and timing characteristics of the
energy deposit in the calorimeter, a method that has the potential to be
applied at many other facilities. The fine center-of-mass energy ()
resolution and statistical accuracy of the new data results in a significant
impact on partial wave analyses aiming to better establish the excitation
spectrum of the nucleon. The new analyses disfavor a strong role for
quark-diquark dynamics in the nucleon.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
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