Guide for assessing the impact of a Total Market Approach to family planning programs

PATH has drawn on its global experience from our total market approach (TMA) work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Vietnam to produce a TMA planning guide to increase access to family planning. The guide (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and toolkit, produced by The Evidence Project, contain practical information and specific tools to help organizations and other planners conduct a landscape assessment, the first phase in developing a TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes an in-depth market analysis and two-volume handbook produced by MEASURE Evaluation, and this joint publication by all three projects

Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market

A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including a planning tool (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market) and a two-volume handbook (in addition to this one, Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market. Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning

A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including a planning tool (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market) and a two-volume handbook (in addition to this one, Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market

A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including this planning tool and a two-volume handbook (Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market. Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning and Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

Toward an Integrated Model of Capsule Regulation in Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes serious human disease in immunocompromised populations. Its polysaccharide capsule is a key virulence factor which is regulated in response to growth conditions, becoming enlarged in the context of infection. We used microarray analysis of cells stimulated to form capsule over a range of growth conditions to identify a transcriptional signature associated with capsule enlargement. The signature contains 880 genes, is enriched for genes encoding known capsule regulators, and includes many uncharacterized sequences. One uncharacterized sequence encodes a novel regulator of capsule and of fungal virulence. This factor is a homolog of the yeast protein Ada2, a member of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex that regulates transcription of stress response genes via histone acetylation. Consistent with this homology, the C. neoformans null mutant exhibits reduced histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation. It is also defective in response to a variety of stress conditions, demonstrating phenotypes that overlap with, but are not identical to, those of other fungi with altered SAGA complexes. The mutant also exhibits significant defects in sexual development and virulence. To establish the role of Ada2 in the broader network of capsule regulation we performed RNA-Seq on strains lacking either Ada2 or one of two other capsule regulators: Cir1 and Nrg1. Analysis of the results suggested that Ada2 functions downstream of both Cir1 and Nrg1 via components of the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway. To identify direct targets of Ada2, we performed ChIP-Seq analysis of histone acetylation in the Ada2 null mutant. These studies supported the role of Ada2 in the direct regulation of capsule and mating responses and suggested that it may also play a direct role in regulating capsule-independent antiphagocytic virulence factors. These results validate our experimental approach to dissecting capsule regulation and provide multiple targets for future investigation

A High-Quality De novo Genome Assembly from a Single Mosquito Using PacBio Sequencing.

A high-quality reference genome is a fundamental resource for functional genetics, comparative genomics, and population genomics, and is increasingly important for conservation biology. PacBio Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing generates long reads with uniform coverage and high consensus accuracy, making it a powerful technology for de novo genome assembly. Improvements in throughput and concomitant reductions in cost have made PacBio an attractive core technology for many large genome initiatives, however, relatively high DNA input requirements (~5 µg for standard library protocol) have placed PacBio out of reach for many projects on small organisms that have lower DNA content, or on projects with limited input DNA for other reasons. Here we present a high-quality de novo genome assembly from a single Anopheles coluzzii mosquito. A modified SMRTbell library construction protocol without DNA shearing and size selection was used to generate a SMRTbell library from just 100 ng of starting genomic DNA. The sample was run on the Sequel System with chemistry 3.0 and software v6.0, generating, on average, 25 Gb of sequence per SMRT Cell with 20 h movies, followed by diploid de novo genome assembly with FALCON-Unzip. The resulting curated assembly had high contiguity (contig N50 3.5 Mb) and completeness (more than 98% of conserved genes were present and full-length). In addition, this single-insect assembly now places 667 (>90%) of formerly unplaced genes into their appropriate chromosomal contexts in the AgamP4 PEST reference. We were also able to resolve maternal and paternal haplotypes for over 1/3 of the genome. By sequencing and assembling material from a single diploid individual, only two haplotypes were present, simplifying the assembly process compared to samples from multiple pooled individuals. The method presented here can be applied to samples with starting DNA amounts as low as 100 ng per 1 Gb genome size. This new low-input approach puts PacBio-based assemblies in reach for small highly heterozygous organisms that comprise much of the diversity of life

A Systematic Review of Mosquito Coils and Passive Emanators: Defining Recommendations for Spatial Repellency Testing Methodologies.

Mosquito coils, vaporizer mats and emanators confer protection against mosquito bites through the spatial action of emanated vapor or airborne pyrethroid particles. These products dominate the pest control market; therefore, it is vital to characterize mosquito responses elicited by the chemical actives and their potential for disease prevention. The aim of this review was to determine effects of mosquito coils and emanators on mosquito responses that reduce human-vector contact and to propose scientific consensus on terminologies and methodologies used for evaluation of product formats that could contain spatial chemical actives, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and insecticide treated materials (ITMs). PubMed, (National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH), MEDLINE, LILAC, Cochrane library, IBECS and Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System search engines were used to identify studies of pyrethroid based coils and emanators with key-words "Mosquito coils" "Mosquito emanators" and "Spatial repellents". It was concluded that there is need to improve statistical reporting of studies, and reach consensus in the methodologies and terminologies used through standardized testing guidelines. Despite differing evaluation methodologies, data showed that coils and emanators induce mortality, deterrence, repellency as well as reduce the ability of mosquitoes to feed on humans. Available data on efficacy outdoors, dose-response relationships and effective distance of coils and emanators is inadequate for developing a target product profile (TPP), which will be required for such chemicals before optimized implementation can occur for maximum benefits in disease control

Essential Surgery at the District Hospital: A Retrospective Descriptive Analysis in Three African Countries

In the first of two papers investigating surgical provision in eight district hospitals in Saharan African countries, Margaret Kruk and colleagues find low levels of surgical care provision suggesting unmet need for surgical services

Parental phonological memory contributes to prediction of outcome of late talkers from 20 months to 4 years: a longitudinal study of precursors of specific language impairment

Background Many children who are late talkers go on to develop normal language, but others go on to have longer-term language difficulties. In this study, we considered which factors were predictive of persistent problems in late talkers. Methods Parental report of expressive vocabulary at 18 months of age was used to select 26 late talkers and 70 average talkers, who were assessed for language and cognitive ability at 20 months of age. Follow-up at 4 years of age was carried out for 24 late and 58 average talkers. A psychometric test battery was used to categorize children in terms of language status (unimpaired or impaired) and nonverbal ability (normal range or more than 1 SD below average). The vocabulary and non-word repetition skills of the accompanying parent were also assessed. Results Among the late talkers, seven (29%) met our criteria for specific language impairment (SLI) at 4 years of age, and a further two (8%) had low nonverbal ability. In the group of average talkers, eight (14%) met the criteria for SLI at 4 years, and five other children (8%) had low nonverbal ability. Family history of language problems was slightly better than late-talker status as a predictor of SLI.. The best predictors of SLI at 20 months of age were score on the receptive language scale of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the parent's performance on a non-word repetition task. Maternal education was not a significant predictor of outcome. Conclusions In this study, around three-quarters of late talkers did not have any language difficulties at 4 years of age, provided there was no family history of language impairment. A family history of language-literacy problems was found to be a significant predictor for persisting problems. Nevertheless, there are children with SLI for whom prediction is difficult because they did not have early language delay

The Sediment Green-Blue Color Ratio as a Proxy for Biogenic Silica Productivity Along the Chilean Margin

Sediment cores recently collected from the Chilean Margin during D/V JOIDES Resolution Expedition 379T (JR100) document variability in shipboard-generated records of the green/blue (G/B) ratio. These changes show a strong coherence with benthic foraminiferal δ18O, Antarctic ice core records, and sediment lithology (e.g., higher diatom abundances in greener sediment intervals), suggesting a climate-related control on the G/B. Here, we test the utility of G/B as a proxy for diatom productivity at Sites J1002 and J1007 by calibrating G/B to measured biogenic opal. Strong exponential correlations between measured opal% and the G/B were found at both sites. We use the empirical regressions to generate high-resolution records of opal contents (opal%) on the Chilean Margin. Higher productivity tends to result in more reducing sedimentary conditions. Redox-sensitive sedimentary U/Th generally co-varies with the reconstructed opal% at both sites, supporting the association between sediment color, sedimentary U/Th, and productivity. Lastly, we calculated opal mass accumulation rate (MAR) at Site J1007 over the last ∼150,000 years. The G/B-derived opal MAR record from Site J1007 largely tracks existing records derived from traditional wet-alkaline digestion from the south and eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) Ocean, with a common opal flux peak at ∼50 ka suggesting that increased diatom productivity in the EEP was likely driven by enhanced nutrient supply from the Southern Ocean rather than dust inputs as previously suggested. Collectively, our results identify the G/B ratio as a useful tool with the potential to generate reliable, high-resolution paleoceanographic records that circumvent the traditionally laborious methodology.publishedVersio