Implementing a Basic Package of Health Services in post-conflict Liberia: perceptions of key stakeholders.

Recovery of the health sector in post-conflict countries is increasingly initiated through a Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) approach. The country government and partners, including international donors, typically contract international and local NGOs to deliver the BPHS. Evidence from routine data suggests that a BPHS approach results in rapid increases in service coverage, coordination, equity, and efficiency. However, studies also show progress may then slow down, the cause of which is not immediately obvious from routine data. Qualitative research can provide insight into possible barriers in the implementation process, particularly the role of health workers delivering the BPHS services. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of health service providers and policy makers on the implementation of the BPHS in post-conflict Liberia, using SRH services as a tracer and Lipsky's work on "street-level bureaucrats" as a theoretical framework. In July-October 2010, 63 interviews were conducted with midwives, officers-in-charge, and supervisors in two counties of Liberia, and with policy makers in Monrovia. The findings suggest health workers had a limited understanding of the BPHS and associated it with low salaries, difficult working conditions, and limited support from policy makers. Health workers responded by sub-optimal delivery of certain services (such as facility-based deliveries), parallel private services, and leaving their posts. These responses risk distorting and undermining the BPHS implementation. There were also clear differences in the perspectives of health workers and policy makers on the BPHS implementation. The findings suggest the need for greater dialogue between policy makers and health workers to improve understanding of the BPHS and recognition of the working conditions in order to help achieve the potential benefits of the BPHS in Liberia

The Interaction between Chronotype and Napping on Inhibition in College Students

College is a critical transition period in the lives of young adults with more scheduling freedoms, including naps. While sleep is universally critical for proper functioning, each person’s chronotype varies depending on when they best engage in activities and sleep. Inhibition, our ability to focus on relevant stimuli, also has underlying implications on our ability to perform tasks. In a sample of 738 college-aged students, we sought to better understand the relations between these variables which have practical implications suggesting that napping affects students’ inhibition and health differently based on their chronotype

Breakdown of the mirror image symmetry in the optical absorption/emission spectra of oligo(para-phenylene)s

The absorption and emission spectra of most luminescent, pi-conjugated, organic molecules are the mirror image of each other. In some cases, however, this symmetry is severely broken. In the present work, the asymmetry between the absorption and fluorescence spectra in molecular systems consisting of para-linked phenyl rings is studied. The vibronic structure of the emission and absorption bands is calculated from ab-initio quantum chemical methods and a subsequent, rigorous Franck-Condon treatment. Good agreement with experiment is achieved. A clear relation can be established between the strongly anharmonic double-well potential for the phenylene ring librations around the long molecular axis and the observed deviation from the mirror image symmetry. Consequences for related compounds and temperature dependent optical measurements are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 13 Figure

Angst - Von der Phänomenologie zur Interaktion

Egbert M, Bergmann JR. Angst - Von der Phänomenologie zur Interaktion. ZiF-Mitteilungen. 2004;2004(4)

A Distinct Faecal Microbiota and Metabolite Profile Linked to Bowel Habits in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are suggested to have an altered intestinal microenvironment. We therefore aimed to determine the intestinal microenvironment profile, based on faecal microbiota and metabolites, and the potential link to symptoms in IBS patients. The faecal microbiota was evaluated by the GA-map(TM) dysbiosis test, and tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was used for faecal metabolomic profiling in patients with IBS and healthy subjects. Symptom severity was assessed using the IBS Severity Scoring System and anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A principal component analysis based on faecal microbiota (n = 54) and metabolites (n = 155) showed a clear separation between IBS patients (n = 40) and healthy subjects (n = 18). Metabolites were the main driver of this separation. Additionally, the intestinal microenvironment profile differed between IBS patients with constipation (n = 15) and diarrhoea (n = 11), while no clustering was detected in subgroups of patients according to symptom severity or anxiety. Furthermore, ingenuity pathway analysis predicted amino acid metabolism and several cellular and molecular functions to be altered in IBS patients. Patients with IBS have a distinct faecal microbiota and metabolite profile linked to bowel habits. Intestinal microenvironment profiling, based on faecal microbiota and metabolites, may be considered as a future non-invasive diagnostic tool, alongside providing valuable insights into the pathophysiology of IBS

Evaluation of a duplex real-time PCR in human serum for simultaneous detection and differentiation of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium infections - cross-sectional study

Background: We evaluated a one-tube multiplex real-time PCR targeting DNA of Schistosoma haematobium complex and S. mansoni complex in serum samples obtained at different German diagnostic centers. Methods: Simplex real-time PCR protocols for the detection of the multi-copy DNA-repeats Dra1 of S. haematobium complex and Sm1-7 of S. mansoni complex in serum were combined to a new one-tube multiplex format. The new PCR was subjected to full validation including evaluation in a diagnostic real-life setting with travelers and migrants. PCR results were compared with those of stool and urine microscopy, serology, and circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) rapid diagnostic tests in urine. Sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic approaches were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA). Results: LCA assessment indicated sensitivity and specificity of 94.9% and 98.4%, respectively, for serum PCR if serology was included in the calculation, and 100% and 95.6%, respectively, if serology was not included as a parameter not necessarily associated with active infection. Agreement between the compared diagnostic procedures at genus level was fair (kappa 0.273) if serology was included and moderate (kappa 0.420) if serology was not included. Discussion: The PCR assay proved to be highly reliable for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis in travelers and migrants

D6.2 Workplan for transfer of knowledge and experience

This document represents the ‘Workplan for transfer of knowledge and experience’ (deliverable D.6.2) for the EXCELSIOR project. It focuses on the scope and activities of WP6 ”Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building”. The main objective of WP6 is to coordinate and manage the knowledge transfer and capacity building that will take place during the EXCELSIOR project with Strategic Partners. The document will provide a workplan of how knowledge transfer and capacity building will take place between the Strategic Partners via workshops, seminars and secondments. This plan relies heavily on the extensive work done at the preparation of the project in defining the seminars, workshops and secondments that will take place between the Strategic Partners. This deliverable focuses on the initial workplan developed for Capacity Building Scheme A, which runs from M26 to M44. The deliverable includes the capacity building and knowledge transfer activities that will be conducted by the Strategic Partners DLR, NOA and TROPOS. The course description and program for selected trainings can be found in the appendices. The present document constitutes the ‘Workplan for transfer of knowledge and experience’ for Capacity Building Scheme period ‘A’ in the framework of the EXCELSIOR project, dedicated to Task T6.1 ‘Personnel Mobility Scheme’ under work package WP6 ‘Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building’. D6.2 focuses on the trainings that will take place during the Capacity Building Scheme A of the project. This document provides a guideline of the knowledge transfer activities, but it is not limited to the activities that will take place during Capacity Building Scheme A. The Strategic Partners suggested that a flexible workplan is needed in order to identify the gaps and needs of the researchers of the ECoE, especially during the first Capacity Building Scheme and adjust the workplan as needed in order to facilitate more effective knowledge transfer and capacity building. The secondments will be selected by the Strategic Partners as needed, during the knowledge transfer activities, parallel to the demonstration projects in WP7. Selected descriptions of knowledge transfer activities are featured in Appendix A and Appendix B

From Passive to Active, From Generic to Focussed: How Can an Institutional Data Archive Remain Relevant in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape?

Founded in 2008 as an initiative of the libraries of three of the four technical universities in the Netherlands, the 4TU.Centre for Research Data (4TU.Research Data) has provided a fully operational, cross-institutional, long-term archive since 2010, storing data from all subjects in applied sciences and engineering. Presently, over 90% of the data in the archive is geoscientific data coded in netCDF (Network Common Data Form) – a data format and data model that, although generic, is mostly used in climate, ocean and atmospheric sciences. In this practice paper, we explore the question of how 4TU.Research Data can stay relevant and forward-looking in a rapidly evolving research data management landscape. In particular, we describe the motivation behind this question and how we propose to address it