A Comparative Analysis of the West African Hemorrhagic Fevers Caused by the Lassa and Ebola Viruses

Lassa fever (LF) and Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF) are viral diseases endemic to West Africa.The etiological agent of Lassa fever is an enveloped virus from the Arenaviridae family and was first discovered in 1969 when two missionary nurses died of a mysterious illness in the town of Lassa in Borno state, Nigeria.1 This virus is animal-borne (zoonotic) and is carried by the animal vector Mastomys natalensis (multimammate rat). The Ebola virus is also zoonotic originating from fruit bats belonging to the Pteropodidae family.2 The first reported case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was a principal who was believed to have visited the Ebola river on his journey through the Democratic Republic of Congo. Annually, there are about 100,000 to 300,000 reported cases of Lassa fever, with about 5,000 deaths.1 Concurrently, the Ebola virus has raked in 11,310 reported deaths from about 28,616 suspected cases, 10% of which were health professionals.3 It is noteworthy, however, that the death toll associated with EVD is more sporadic and widespread than that of LF. Most infections can be attributed to person-person transmission in which healthy individuals get infected by coming in contact with the body fluids (urine, saliva, and semen) of the sick.1 Both the Lassa and Ebola viruses are pertinent in current public health discussions especially for their potential as bioweapons.1 ,2 Consequently, this paper seeks to discuss the structure and pathogenic mechanisms of both viruses, address current treatments and complications, and propose areas for further research and preventive measures

Holistic Approach in Introducing Proper Legal Framework to Regulate Data Protection and Privacy in Sri Lanka

Data protection and privacy law have never been important as they are today. Data protection and privacy ensure that data is safeguarded from unlawful access by unauthorised third parties and misappropriation of the same. A successful data protection strategy will be helpful to prevent data loss, theft, or corruption of data. It is evident that information and communication technology is developing daily and privacy issues or the threats against personal data of the persons also equally increasing. Responsibility of a government to provide effective privacy and data protection laws/policies cannot be disregarded at any point. Until very recent Sri Lanka did not have a separate  legislation to deal with data protection and privacy and it was identified as a major lacuna in our law. At present, in addition to the Personal Data Protection Act No. 09 of 2022  there are several other legislations that may be applied to regulate certain aspects of data protection and privacy. In this research, researcher is aiming to assess whether existing legal framework on data protection and privacy in Sri Lanka is adequate and effective. This will be done by comparing the Sri Lankan legal framework with UK and Singapore, countries that are known as pioneers of data protection and privacy. Ultimate goal of the researcher is to contribute towards assurance of data protection and privacy right of the individuals in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Data protection, Privacy, Information Communications Technology, Personal data &nbsp

Influenza in Asthmatics: For Better or for Worse?

Asthma and influenza are two pathologic conditions of the respiratory tract that affect millions worldwide. Influenza virus of the 2009 pandemic was highly transmissible and caused severe respiratory disease in young and middle-aged individuals. Asthma was discovered to be an underlying co-morbidity that led to hospitalizations during this influenza pandemic albeit with less severe outcomes. However, animal studies that investigated the relationship between allergic inflammation and pandemic (p)H1N1 infection, showed that while characteristics of allergic airways disease were exacerbated by this virus, governing immune responses that cause exacerbations may actually protect the host from severe outcomes associated with influenza. To better understand the relationship between asthma and severe influenza during the last pandemic, we conducted a systematic literature review of reports on hospitalized patients with asthma as a co-morbid condition during the pH1N1 season. Herein, we report that numerous other underlying conditions, such as cardiovascular, neurologic, and metabolic diseases may have been underplayed as major drivers of severe influenza during the 2009 pandemic. This review synopses, (1) asthma and influenza independently, (2) epidemiologic data surrounding asthma during the 2009 influenza pandemic, and (3) recent advances in our understanding of allergic host–pathogen interactions in the context of allergic airways disease and influenza in mouse models. Our goal is to showcase possible immunological benefits of allergic airways inflammation as countermeasures for influenza virus infections as a learning tool to discover novel pathways that can enhance our ability to hinder influenza virus replication and host pathology induced thereof

Gene expression profiling and network analysis of peripheral blood monocytes in a chronic model of allergic asthma

The Aspergillus fumigatus mouse model of asthma mimics the characteristics of human fungal asthma, including local and systemic inflammation. Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells direct innate immune responses and guide adaptive responses. To identify gene expression changes in peripheral blood monocytes in the context of fungal allergy, mice were exposed to systemic and intranasal inoculations of fungal antigen (sensitized), and naïve and sensitized animals were challenged intratracheally with live A. fumigatus conidia. Microarray analysis of blood monocytes from allergic versus non-allergic mice showed ≥ twofold modulation of 45 genes. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed a network of these genes involved in antigen presentation, inflammation, and immune cell trafficking. These data show that allergen sensitization and challenge affects gene expression in peripheral monocytes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79085/1/j.1348-0421.2010.00242.x.pd

Evolutionary patterns and development prospects for e-government: a Delphi-based approach to perceptions of the administrative agent

Information technology is an open door for governments to service citizens in a more timely, cost-efficient and effective manner. Even considering citizen resistance, cultural adversity or changes in the economic agents’ relationship, few would contest that concern over the state of electronic government (e-government) has increased over the years. This concern has been responsible for the emergence of a wide range of new initiatives devoted to development of the information and knowledge society, which occupies a central place in government policies and planning strategies worldwide. In this paper, we aim to analyze the evolutionary patterns of e-government in Portugal and, based on an application of the Delphi technique, provide development prospects considering the perceptions of a panel of administrative agents. Despite the low use of e-government services, our study demonstrates that the administrative agent expresses overall satisfaction with its use. Additionally, the high level of modernization allows us to forecast the increased use of information and communication technologies in terms of e-government services

Sub-percent Photometry: Faint DA White Dwarf Spectophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories

We have established a network of 19 faint (16.5 mag $< V <$19 mag) northern and equatorial DA white dwarfs as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field observatories. Our analysis infers SED models for the stars that are tied to the three CALSPEC primary standards. Our SED models are consistent with panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope ($HST$) photometry to better than 1%. The excellent agreement between observations and models validates the use of non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (NLTE) DA white dwarf atmospheres extinguished by interstellar dust as accurate spectrophotometric references. Our standards are accessible from both hemispheres and suitable for ground and space-based observatories covering the ultraviolet to the near infrared. The high-precision of these faint sources make our network of standards ideally suited for any experiment that has very stringent requirements on flux calibration, such as studies of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope ($WFIRST$).Comment: 46 pages, 23 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

PENDAMPINGAN PENGGUNAAN CANVA DAN MICROSOFT OFFICE DI SMK NEGERI 2 PAGUYAMAN

Real Work Lectures (KKN) are a tangible manifestation of the duties of lecturers and students in implementing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education through community empowerment. This real work class activity aims to introduce Canva applications and strengthen Microsoft Office to students at SMK Negeri 2 Paguyaman. Because, in this information technology era, visual media is very much needed in the business world and even in the world of education for educational value. The use of Microsoft Office is also very necessary even though it is only as a basic student. The method used in this community service is the method of socialization. The end result of this service shows an increase in students using Canva and Microsoft Office applications, so that they are able to make interesting slides and are proficient in using Microsoft Office

High contrast imaging at the LBT: the LEECH exoplanet imaging survey

In Spring 2013, the LEECH (LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt) survey began its $\sim$130-night campaign from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) atop Mt Graham, Arizona. This survey benefits from the many technological achievements of the LBT, including two 8.4-meter mirrors on a single fixed mount, dual adaptive secondary mirrors for high Strehl performance, and a cold beam combiner to dramatically reduce the telescope's overall background emissivity. LEECH neatly complements other high-contrast planet imaging efforts by observing stars at L' (3.8 $\mu$m), as opposed to the shorter wavelength near-infrared bands (1-2.4 $\mu$m) of other surveys. This portion of the spectrum offers deep mass sensitivity, especially around nearby adolescent ($\sim$0.1-1 Gyr) stars. LEECH's contrast is competitive with other extreme adaptive optics systems, while providing an alternative survey strategy. Additionally, LEECH is characterizing known exoplanetary systems with observations from 3-5$\mu$m in preparation for JWST.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Proceedings of the SPIE, 9148-2