The Malaria Eradication Programme and population dynamics in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, 1970-1976 (with reference to the malaria eradication pilot project and the malaria pre-eradication programme)

The British Solomon Islands Protectorate lies within the Malarious area of the South-West Pacific Region, In this area, the malaria vectors belong to the Anopheles Punctulatus complex, and, to date, have not shorn any resistance to the residual insecticide. DDT. There is a comprehensive Rural Health infrastructure which provides adequate services to the population widely scattered over many islands. In addition, mass health programmes have been, and are being carried but (e.g. Yaws Eradication Campaign, TB Control and Leprosy Control Programmes); however, the most important health programs in progress is the Malaria Eradication Programme (MBP), which officially started in 1970, and is due to be completed in 1980. The effect on population growth of these Programmes has been discussed in this thesis. It is felt that although the Malaria Eradication Programme may not be the only factor influencing the increased growth rate, it is undoubtedly the major one. The Geopolitical Set-up of the Protectorate is described in the opening chapters, Then, the organisation of the Malaria Eradication Programme is briefly outlined, together with a brief description of the entomological, parasitological and epidemiological factors invol-ved. The decline of the "malaria burden" on the population is emphasized. Using data obtained from all Census sources (1951, 1959, 1970) and from Malaria Eradication on-going census figures, extrapolations have been made about the possible growth rates on Island groups, Districts & Protectorate bases in 1974 and 1976, (1976 is the next Census year). In addition, growth rates for the inter-censal periods have also been determined. The rate of growth, in most cases, in the period 1970-1974, has been quite remarkable. In addition, the impact of the MEP on the general health of the people has been assessed in relation to hospital morbidity and mortality and to -the number of hospital deliveries. Reference has been made to data from the Malaria Eradication Pilot Project and the Malaria Pre-Eradication Programme, as well as to Medical Department Annual Reports, Unfortunately, vital statistics are incomplete in very many instances, similarly, the improved health status of the population has been discussed in relation to education, trade and industry although it is difficult to prove a really close association. That there is "population explosion" is hot questioned, the official growth rate has been estimated at 5.1 per cent per annum for the country as a whole. However, the author believes this to be an underestimate, his estimate being 3.9 per cent per annum, of which the MBP is thought to contribute between 11 and 1.6 per cent annually. Only the official 1976 Census will provide the answer. At an annual growth rate of 3.9 per cent, the population of the Solomon Islands will double every 18.2 years, and will reach 202000 by the time of the 1976 census. The social and economic consequences of this 'explosion' are discussed, and a fully comprehensive family planning service is advocated as a matter of urgency. The people themselves are demanding it

Influenza Epidemics in the United States, France, and Australia, 1972–19971

Influenza epidemics occur once a year during the winter in temperate areas. Little is known about the similarities between epidemics at different locations. We have analyzed pneumonia and influenza deaths from 1972 to 1997 in the United States, France, and Australia to examine the correlation over space and time between the three countries. We found a high correlation in both areas between France and the United States (correlation in impact, Spearman’s ρ = 0.76, p < 0.001, and test for synchrony in timing of epidemics, p < 0.001). We did not find a similar correlation between the United States and Australia or between France and Australia, when considering a systematic half-year lead or delay of influenza epidemics in Australia as compared with those in the United States or France. These results support a high correlation at the hemisphere level and suggest that the global interhemispheric circulation of epidemics follows an irregular pathway with recurrent changes in the leading hemisphere

Adaptation of a Couple-Based HIV Intervention for Methamphetamine-Involved African American Men who have Sex with Men

In the U.S., incidence of HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) has steadily increased since the 1990s. This points to a need for innovation to address both emerging trends as well as longer-standing disparities in HIV risk and transmission among MSM, such as the elevated rates of HIV/STIs among African American MSM and methamphetamine users. While couple-based sexual risk reduction interventions are a promising avenue to reduce HIV/STI transmission, prior research has been almost exclusively with heterosexual couples. We sought to adapt an existing, evidence-based intervention—originally developed and tested with heterosexual couples—for a new target population consisting of African American MSM in a longer-term same-sex relationship where at least one partner uses methamphetamine. The adaptation process primarily drew from data obtained from a series of focus groups with 8 couples from the target population. Attention is given to the methods used to overcome challenges faced in this adaptation process: limited time, a lead investigator who is phenotypically different from the target population, a dearth of descriptive information on the experiences and worldviews among the target population, and a concomitant lack of topical experts. We also describe a visualization tool used to ensure that the adaptation process promotes and maintains adherence to the theory that guides the intervention and behavior change. The process culminated with an intervention adapted for the new target population as well as preliminary indications that a couple-based sexual-risk reduction intervention for African American, methamphetamine-involved male couples is feasible and attractive

Stomatal Function Requires Pectin De-methyl-esterification of the Guard Cell Wall

Stomatal opening and closure depends on changes in turgor pressure acting within guard cells to alter cell shape. The extent of these shape changes is limited by the mechanical properties of the cells, which will be largely dependent on the structure of the cell walls. Although it has long been observed that guard cells are anisotropic due to differential thickening and the orientation of cellulose microfibrils, our understanding of the composition of the cell wall that allows them to undergo repeated swelling and deflation remains surprisingly poor. Here, we show that the walls of guard cells are rich in unesterified pectins. We identify a pectin methylesterase gene, PME6, which is highly expressed in guard cells and required for stomatal function. pme6-1 mutant guard cells have walls enriched in methyl-esterified pectin and show a decreased dynamic range in response to triggers of stomatal opening/closure, including elevated osmoticum, suggesting that abrogation of stomatal function reflects a mechanical change in the guard cell wall. Altered stomatal function leads to increased conductance and evaporative cooling, as well as decreased plant growth. The growth defect of the pme6-1 mutant is rescued by maintaining the plants in elevated CO2, substantiating gas exchange analyses, indicating that the mutant stomata can bestow an improved assimilation rate. Restoration of PME6 rescues guard cell wall pectin methyl-esterification status, stomatal function, and plant growth. Our results establish a link between gene expression in guard cells and their cell wall properties, with a corresponding effect on stomatal function and plant physiology

Reproductive strategies of Tribolium flour beetles

Although, beetles of the genus Tribolium first evolved as saprophylic insects, they have adapted to the stored products environment for several thousand years. In this study reproductive strategies are described for eight species of Tribolium that are known to occur in this environment. Experiments were conducted under the same conditions for every species, and several life history traits, including egg mass, adult mass, developmental time and fecundity were examined and compared among these species. Common reproductive strategies were not found among the different species and univariate analysis highlighted strong differences between the species for most of the traits investigated. Some species showed reproductive traits that are likely to give a fitness advantage in the environment of stored products. Multivariate statistical analysis allowed the detection of different sub-groups with respect to their reproductive strategy. Adult mass and egg-to-adult developmental time discriminated between groups. Intraspecific allometric relationships were further investigated but only a few correlations appeared to be significant

Analysing the opinions of UK veterinarians on practice-based research using corpus linguistic and mathematical methods

The use of corpus linguistic techniques and other related mathematical analyses have rarely, if ever, been applied to qualitative data collected from the veterinary field. The aim of this study was to explore the use of a combination of corpus linguistic analyses and mathematical methods to investigate a free-text questionnaire dataset collected from 3796 UK veterinarians on evidence-based veterinary medicine, specifically, attitudes towards practice-based research (PBR) and improving the veterinary knowledge base. The corpus methods of key word, concordance and collocate analyses were used to identify patterns of meanings within the free text responses. Key words were determined by comparing the questionnaire data with a wordlist from the British National Corpus (representing general English text) using cross-tabs and log-likelihood comparisons to identify words that occur significantly more frequently in the questionnaire data. Concordance and collocation analyses were used to account for the contextual patterns in which such key words occurred, involving qualitative analysis and Mutual Information Analysis (MI3). Additionally, a mathematical topic modelling approach was used as a comparative analysis; words within the free text responses were grouped into topics based on their weight or importance within each response to find starting points for analysis of textual patterns. Results generated from using both qualitative and quantitative techniques identified that the perceived advantages of taking part in PBR centred on the themes of improving knowledge of both individuals and of the veterinary profession as a whole (illustrated by patterns around the words learning, improving, contributing). Time constraints (lack of time, time issues, time commitments) were the main concern of respondents in relation to taking part in PBR. Opinions of what vets could do to improve the veterinary knowledge base focussed on the collecting and sharing of information (record, report), particularly recording and discussing clinical cases (interesting cases), and undertaking relevant continuing professional development activities. The approach employed here demonstrated how corpus linguistics and mathematical methods can help to both identify and contextualise relevant linguistic patterns in the questionnaire responses. The results of the study inform those seeking to coordinate PBR initiatives about the motivators of veterinarians to participate in such initiatives and what concerns need to be addressed. The approach used in this study demonstrates a novel way of analysing textual data in veterinary research

Tolerance analysis — Form defects modeling and simulation by modal decomposition and optimization

Tolerance analysis aims on checking whether specified tolerances enable functional and assembly requirements. The tolerance analysis approaches discussed in literature are generally assumed without the consideration of parts’ form defects. This paper presents a new model to consider the form defects in an assembly simulation. A Metric Modal Decomposition (MMD) method is henceforth, developed to model the form defects of various parts in a mechanism. The assemblies including form defects are further assessed using mathematical optimization. The optimization involves two models of surfaces: real model and difference surface-base method, and introduces the concept of signed distance. The optimization algorithms are then compared in terms of time consumption and accuracy. To illustrate the methods and their respective applications, a simplified over-constrained industrial mechanism in three dimensions is also used as a case study