Influence of malaria on the serum levels of vitamin A, zinc and calcium of children in Douala-Cameroon

Malaria is an endemic parasitic disease that prevails particularly in warm tropical regions of the world. Micronutrient malnutrition such as vitamin A and iron deficiencies which is a public health problem inCameroon is usually highly prevalent in malaria endemic areas. Characterizing the relationship between micronutrient status (vitamin A, zinc and calcium) and malaria infection among children in Douala town (Cameroon), serum levels of zinc, calcium and vitamin A, were assayed in a total of 116 Cameroonian children (62 controls and 54 malaria patients infected by Plasmodium falciparum) less than six yearsold by colorimetric and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques respectively showed a significantly lower vitamin A and calcium concentrations (P < 0.01) among malaria patients (0.8 ± 0.4ìmol/l and 81.3 ± 23.7 mg/l) as compared to the controls (1.1 ± 0.6 ìmol/l and 96.3 ± 16.7 mg/ml). Vitamin A, calcium and zinc status were lower in 51.85%, 51.85% and 27.27% of malaria patients respectively. Significant correlations (

JASON SCHNEIDER The Profession of IT The Core of the Third-Wave Professional

have been grappling with four dilemmas. They are: skills, breadth versus depth, design, and licensing. The IT skills dilemma. Employers say that IT graduates lack important skills needed in the workplace, notably knowledge of current IT and various “soft ” skills, including presentation, customer relations, leadership, and team work. At the same time, employers tell university departments they value the general, principles-based education universities offer; and they snap up every graduate. Should we change the curriculum or not? The breadth versus depth dilemma. The market seems to demand graduates with great depth in a technical specialty and at the same time a broad grasp of the IT field. Educators see no clear path to a response. There are so many specialties that any given academic department can cover only a few. There is already too much to cover in the 60 credit hours allocated for major courses within a BS degree. Moreover, depth and breadth appear to be individual choices—in what areas does a person seek depth? Across what spec-trum does a person seek breadth? The design dilemma. Our current software design processes consistently yield systems with a wide range of flaws, making them unreliable and difficult to use. Michael Dertouzos documents these flaws and argues that the complexities of IT cannot be successfully hidden from users without a fundamental change in the design process [3]. Dertouzos is the most recent of a long lineage who for over 20 years have exhorted us to move from technology-centered to humancentered design. Our inability to consistently develop software tha