Family Art Assessment And Advocating For Children

This study explores how Landgarten’s Family Art Assessment can provide clinicians with valuable information about families that can be used to advocate for the needs of the children in the family. A comprehensive literature review covers family assessments using art developed by Psychologists, family art assessments created by art therapists, and the benefits of using them in clinical treatment. The researcher utilized a qualitative research approach. The data gathering took the form of surveys and semi-structured interviews with clinicians at a community mental health agency following their participation/observation in a Family Art Assessment administered to a family on their caseload by a board certified art therapist. The researcher used textual analysis of the interview transcription to identify emergent themes. The emergent themes included: the impact of domestic violence, power dynamic, disconnection, and the therapist’s efforts to increase connection and communication in the family. Study findings indicate that Family Art Assessments, when used as a consultation service administered by an experienced art therapist, can serve as an invaluable tool to provide clinicians with a more complete understanding of the families they are treating quicker than verbal therapy assessment methods alone. The findings also indicate that the Family Art Assessment helped clinicians conceptualize their cases from a more systemic perspective that considers the children’s environment and relational patterns within the family as contributing to their problem behaviors and symptoms, and allowed clinicians to envision a path in treatment that included advocating for the children’s needs

Uav Photogrammetry: Block Triangulation Comparisons

UAVs systems represent a flexible technology able to collect a big amount of high resolution information, both for metric and interpretation uses. In the frame of experimental tests carried out at Dept. ICA of Politecnico di Milano to validate vector-sensor systems and to assess metric accuracies of images acquired by UAVs, a block of photos taken by a fixed wing system is triangulated with several software. The test field is a rural area included in an Italian Park ("Parco Adda Nord"), useful to study flight and imagery performances on buildings, roads, cultivated and uncultivated vegetation. The UAV SenseFly, equipped with a camera Canon Ixus 220HS, flew autonomously over the area at a height of 130 m yielding a block of 49 images divided in 5 strips. Sixteen pre-signalized Ground Control Points, surveyed in the area through GPS (NRTK survey), allowed the referencing of the block and accuracy analyses. Approximate values for exterior orientation parameters (positions and attitudes) were recorded by the flight control system. The block was processed with several software: Erdas-LPS, EyeDEA (Univ. of Parma), Agisoft Photoscan, Pix4UAV, in assisted or automatic way. Results comparisons are given in terms of differences among digital surface models, differences in orientation parameters and accuracies, when available. Moreover, image and ground point coordinates obtained by the various software were independently used as initial values in a comparative adjustment made by scientific in-house software, which can apply constraints to evaluate the effectiveness of different methods of point extraction and accuracies on ground check points

A " high 4 He/ 3 He " mantle material detected under the East Pacific Rise (15°4′N)

International audienceWe investigate in details helium isotope data reported in Mougel et al. (2014) for 14 basaltic samples collected on the East Pacific Rise by submersible (15°4′N) where the ridge interacts with the Mathematician seamounts. Samples locations are separated by only few hundred meters across a 15 km along-axis profile. The data reveal a strong geochemical variability that has never been observed at such high spatial resolution for helium isotope compositions. Moreover, they reveal an unusually high 4 He/ 3 He mantle component also characterized by unradiogenic lead, atypical in oceanic basalts. He-Pb systematics suggests a mixture between a nonradiogenic lead and radiogenic helium pyroxenitic component, recycled from the deep continental lithosphere and the ambient peridotitic mantle. The He isotope difference between these two end-members can be interpreted as a time evolution of two distinct mantle sources after a slight (U + Th)/ 3 He fractionation, likely due to some ancient degassing during the formation of deep continental pyroxenites

Entomological investigations carried out from 2002 to 2010 into the involvement of water bugs (Heteroptera - Hemiptera) in transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans to humans in Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa)

Ulcer is a disease caused by a mycobacterium present in the environment: Mycobacterium ulcerans.This communicable disease occurs essentially in wet tropical regions, and in particular in west Africa where it is endemic. It is the third most common mycobacterial disease affecting humans after leprosy and tuberculosis, although it is more prevalent than either leprosy or tuberculosis in some rural areas of several countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana). This has led WHO to act, and in 1998 to declare Buruli ulcer an « emerging disease » and to recognize it as a neglected tropical disease. Its development is a source of concern in Côte d’Ivoire, the country most affected in the world, with an aggregate number of 30 000 cases and more than 2000 cases detected each year. It particularly affects children living in isolated rural areas around bodies of stagnant or slowly flowing water.  In order to control the disease, it is essential fully to understand its epidemiology. In this connection, there are several hypotheses on the mode of transmission of M. ulcerans to humans. Since 1999, the involvement of water bugs belonging to the order of the hemiptera has been invoked by Portaels. In 2002, this hypothesis was confirmed by Marsollier et al. for water bugs of the genus Naucoris taken from the region of Daloa in Côte d’Ivoire, where the disease is endemic. In 2008, Portaels also found M. ulcerans in samples taken from the environment (Gerridae) in Ghana. In 2007, studies began in Côte d’Ivoire into the specific diversity, biology, ecology, ethology and role of aquatic heteroptera in the transmission of M. ulcerans to humans. Samples of aquatic heteroptera were collected each month from different aquatic environments in endemic areas of Côte d’Ivoire. The insects were identified by family, genus and occasionally species. Their distribution, population dynamics and ecological distribution in the water points investigated were correlated with human activities. Monospecific batches of water bugs were regularly composed in order to identify the molecular signatures of M. ulcerans using PCR at the bacteriology laboratory of the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire and at the bacteriology laboratory of the Groupe d’Etudes des Interactions Hôtes-Pathogènes (Host-Pathogen Study Group) at the University Teaching hospital in Angers, France. Eighteen (18) species belonging to 8 families were identified. After the aquatic insects collected had been identified, 283 monospecific batches were composed and sent to the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire (IPCI) for PCR. Twenty four (24) of the 283 batches i.e. 8,5% containing the following, 14 Diplonychus sp, 2 Naucoris sp, 3 Micronecta sp, 2 Ranatra fusca, 2 Anisops sp and 1 Laccotrephes ater, respectively belonging to the families Belostomatidae, Naucoridae, Corixidae, Ranatridae and Nepidae tested positive under PCR. Thirty five (35) samples of saliva were collected from specimens of the genus Diplonychus. Six of the samples (i.e. 17%) tested positive under PCR. Out of 109 other monospecific batches sent to the laboratory in Angers, France, 33 (i.e. 30%) tested positive under PCR. They comprised 11 batches of Diplonychus sp (Belostomatidae), 8 batches of Micronecta sp (Corixidae), 2 batches of Laccocoris sp (Naucoridae), 4 batches of Ranatra fusca (Ranatridae), 3 batches of Anisops sp, 1 lot de Anisops sardea et 1 lot de Enithares sp (Notonectidae), 2 batches of Plea pullula (Pleidae) and 1 batch of de Laccotrephes sp (Nepidae). Clearly, not only is Diplonychus sp the genus most commonly found, it is also that most affected by M. ulcerans. This justifies the decision to breed this genus in the laboratory since 2008, in order to improve our understanding of its biology and ethology and to standardize physical and chemical parameters so as to determine the best conditions for breeding the insect which would provide an animal model for experimental infections. We have now bred six successive generations in the laboratory. To conclude, although some aquatic heteroptera that host M. ulcerans are strictly phytophagous, (e.g. the Corixidae), the great majority of water bugs are carnivorous predators that are hosts and vectors of M. ulcerans. The absence of a reliable key for determining the family, genus and species in central and west Africa has led us to draw up an iconographic catalogue to determine the taxonomy of these insects

Recombinant Poliovirus circulation among healthy children immunized with oral polio vaccine in Abidjan

In order to assess the level of polio virus with natural recombinant genome and wild polio virus circulating in the environment of healthy children aged 0 to 5 years in Abidjan, 130 polio viruses made up of 26 polio type 1, 55 type 2 and 49 type 3 were identified by neutralisation test with monoclonal antibodies and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) targeting the VP1 and 3D1 gene. Four wild non Sabin-like (NSL) strains (3.1%): one type 2 and three type 3 were identified in non vaccinated children. One hundred and six (81.5%) isolates were Sabin-like, 20 (15.4%) were recombinant with the following polio virus profiles: 2 Sabin-like type 1/type 2, 3 Sabin-like type 3/type 1, 11 Sabin-like type 3/type 2 and one polio virus type 3 NSL/Sabin-like type 3. Intertypic vaccine/vaccine or vaccine/wild strain recombinant polio virus circulating among healthy children rate was high and suggested the need for a molecular surveillance of vaccine strains. Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) strains are well-known to revert to pathogenicity in vaccines. Therefore, the long term excretion of pathogenic OPV derived strains by some vaccinees needs to be considered quite seriously. It therefore suggested that all polio virus isolated from acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) be analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing of the viral genome. Key words: polio virus, recombinant virus, healthy children, Cote d'Ivoire. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(5) 2004: 289-29

Effect of the Pt–Pd molar ratio in bimetallic catalysts supported on sulfated zirconia on the gas-phase hydrodechlorination of chloromethanes

Bimetallic Pt:Pd catalysts with different molar ratios and 0.5 wt.% overall metal load supported on sulfated zirconia catalysts were synthesized and tested in the gas-phase hydrodechlorination (HDC) of chloromethanes and their mixtures. The catalysts were characterized by adsorption–desorption of N2 at −196 °C, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction, and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The effect of the Pt:Pd molar ratio on the activity, stability, and selectivity was analyzed. The high acidity of the sulfated zirconia results in metal particles of small size (mainly <5 nm), as confirmed by STEM. The bimetallic catalysts showed higher stability than the monometallic ones, as demonstrated in long-term experiments (80 h on stream), confirming the positive effect of combining the two metallic phases. Turnover frequency (TOF) values in the range 0.0007–0.0168 s−1 and apparent activation energies between ≈41 and 44 kJ·mol−1 were obtained. TOF values for dichloromethane HDC increased with increasing mean metal particle size within the range of this work (≈1.2–2.3 nm). The catalysts with Pt:Pd molar ratios of 1:3 and 1:1 showed significantly better performance than the 3:1 one for overall dechlorination due to their higher atomic metal content and TOF at the same total metal weight load (0.5%)The authors are grateful to the Spanish ‘‘Ministerio de Economíay Competitividad (MINECO)” for financial support (ProjectsCTM2011-28352 and CTM2014-53008-

BN-Doped Metal–Organic Frameworks: Tailoring 2D and 3D Porous Architectures through Molecular Editing of Borazines

Building on the MOF approach to prepare porous materials, herein we report the engineering of porous BN-doped materials using tricarboxylic hexaarylborazine ligands, which are laterally decorated with functional groups at the full-carbon ‘inner shell’. Whilst an open porous 3D entangled structure could be obtained from the double interpenetration of two identical metal frameworks derived from the methyl substituted borazine, the chlorine-functionalised linker undergoes formation of a porous layered 2D honeycomb structure, as shown by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In this architecture, the borazine cores are rotated by 60° in alternating layers, thus generating large rhombohedral channels running perpendicular to the planes of the networks. An analogous unsubstituted full-carbon metal framework was synthesised for comparison. The resulting MOF revealed a crystalline 3D entangled porous structure, composed by three mutually interpenetrating networks, hence denser than those obtained from the borazine linkers. Their microporosity and CO2 uptake were investigated, with the porous 3D BN-MOF entangled structure exhibiting a large apparent BET specific surface area (1091 m2 g−1) and significant CO2 reversible adsorption (3.31 mmol g−1) at 1 bar and 273 K

Laboratory study of the biology and behaviour of Diplonychus sp (Belostomatidae) and its vector competence in the transmission to humans of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the pathogen causing Buruli ulcer in Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa).

Buruli ulcer is a skin infection caused by a mycobacterium occurring in the environment, Mycobacterium ulcerans.  Ranked third in terms of number of mycobacterial infections after leprosy and tuberculosis, its epidemiology is the most poorly understood of the three. Humans are infected through the skin while performing daily living activities (e.g. rice cultivation, fish farming, fishing, laundry, fetching water, agricultural work) or leisure activities (e.g. bathing) in endemic areas. The disease is particularly prevalent in West Africa, where the number of cases is increasing annually (2442 cases in 2008). Côte d’Ivoire is the most severely affected country in the world with more than 25 000 cases since 1978. The numerous endemic foci for Buruli ulcer are scattered throughout the country. Over the past four years impressive progress has been made in researching the mode of transmission of M. ulcerans infection. Yet despite this, many questions remain unanswered. In Central and West Africa aquatic insects of the order Hemiptera appear to be involved in the transmission of Buruli ulcer.  It is likely that aquatic Hemiptera play a role.  Studies of the salivary glands of insects that have been experimentally infected and allowed to bite white mice demonstrate the probable role of water bugs as hosts or possible vectors of M. ulcerans. In addition, at least 10% of environmental biological specimens tested positive using PCR in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. These pterygot insects are also able to fly from one body of water to another over varying distances, attracted by lights in houses near marshy areas. This method of displacement could account for the current progression of the disease in West Africa and particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, where it is spreading northwards from the south, west, east and centre of the country.   Buruli ulcer is not a contagious disease.  It is, however, terrifying and severely disabling.  Patients must spend long periods in hospital, treatment is costly and burdensome, and can lead to social marginalization or even total exclusion; above all, the mode of transmission is still poorly understood.  Local people must therefore be familiarized with preventive measures focusing on identification of the probable vectors of the disease in order to break the chain of transmission of M. ulcerans. This presupposes a sound knowledge of the biology, ecology and behaviour of these potential vectors. Accordingly, we have proceeded to laboratory farm the bug most commonly encountered in the environment that shows the highest rates of infection by M. ulcerans (more than 10%), namely Diplonychus sp of the family Belostomatidae. Adult specimens were collected in the vicinity of fishponds at an experimental station situated between Abidjan and Dabou (a non-endemic site) and subsequently farmed in the laboratory at the Côte d’Ivoire National Institute of Public Health. The parameters used to farm this water bug were standardized in the laboratory (water quality, depth, turbidity, pH, temperature, luminosity, suitable vegetable environment). The insects were fed regularly with mosquito larvae. The embryonic lifespan, the hatching time, the larval period and the number of larval stages prior to adulthood were studied. The adult lifespan was also estimated. Five successive generations of Diplonychus sp were obtained. From egg to adulthood, the larval lifespan is 41 days on average, with deviations from the mean of 29 to 54 days.  Hatching generally took place 7 days after egg laying.  Five larval stages are distinguishable, separated by five metamorphoses.  The lifespan of certain adults obtained in the laboratory varied between 16 and 150 days.  The last original parental specimens survived for 11 months.  Proficiency in the laboratory farming of Diplonychus sp could enable us to decode its genome and collect saliva samples, while also allowing us to perform experimental infections using human strains of M. ulcerans in order to confirm or rule out the involvement of this insect in the transmission of Buruli ulcer in Central and West Africa

Biodiversity and implication of waters bugs in transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans, etiological agent of Buruli ulcer in Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa)

Date du colloque&nbsp;: 04/2009</p