Birth Weight for Gestational Age Norms for a Large Cohort of Infants Born to HIV-Negative Women in Botswana Compared with Norms for U.S.-Born Black Infants

Background: Standard values for birth weight by gestational age are not available for sub-Saharan Africa, but are needed to evaluate incidence and risk factors for intrauterine growth retardation in settings where HIV, antiretrovirals, and other in utero exposures may impact birth outcomes. Methods: Birth weight data were collected from six hospitals in Botswana. Infants born to HIV-negative women between 26-44 weeks gestation were analyzed to construct birth weight for gestational age charts. These data were compared with published norms for black infants in the United States. Results: During a 29 month period from 2007-2010, birth records were reviewed in real-time from 6 hospitals and clinics in Botswana. Of these, 11,753 live infants born to HIV-negative women were included in the analysis. The median gestational age at birth was 39 weeks (1st quartile 38, 3rd quartile 40 weeks), and the median birth weight was 3100 grams (1st quartile 2800, 3rd quartile 3400 grams). We constructed estimated percentile curves for birth weight by gestational age which demonstrate increasing slope during the third trimester and leveling off beyond 40 weeks. Compared with black infants in the United States, Botswana-born infants had lower median birth weight for gestational age from weeks 37 through 42 (p < .02). Conclusions: We present birth weight for gestational age norms for Botswana, which are lower at term than norms for black infants in the United States. These findings suggest the importance of regional birth weight norms to identify and define risk factors for higher risk births. These data serve as a reference for Botswana, may apply to southern Africa, and may help to identify infants at risk for perinatal complications and inform comparisons among infants exposed to HIV and antiretrovirals in utero

Co-Operative Additive Effects between HLA Alleles in Control of HIV-1

Background: HLA class I genotype is a major determinant of the outcome of HIV infection, and the impact of certain alleles on HIV disease outcome is well studied. Recent studies have demonstrated that certain HLA class I alleles that are in linkage disequilibrium, such as HLA-A*74 and HLA-B*57, appear to function co-operatively to result in greater immune control of HIV than mediated by either single allele alone. We here investigate the extent to which HLA alleles - irrespective of linkage disequilibrium - function co-operatively. Methodology/Principal Findings: We here refined a computational approach to the analysis of >2000 subjects infected with C-clade HIV first to discern the individual effect of each allele on disease control, and second to identify pairs of alleles that mediate ‘co-operative additive’ effects, either to improve disease suppression or to contribute to immunological failure. We identified six pairs of HLA class I alleles that have a co-operative additive effect in mediating HIV disease control and four hazardous pairs of alleles that, occurring together, are predictive of worse disease outcomes (q<0.05 in each case). We developed a novel ‘sharing score’ to quantify the breadth of CD8+ T cell responses made by pairs of HLA alleles across the HIV proteome, and used this to demonstrate that successful viraemic suppression correlates with breadth of unique CD8+ T cell responses (p = 0.03). Conclusions/Significance: These results identify co-operative effects between HLA Class I alleles in the control of HIV-1 in an extended Southern African cohort, and underline complementarity and breadth of the CD8+ T cell targeting as one potential mechanism for this effect

Apes and Agriculture

Non-human great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans – are threatened by agricultural expansion, particularly from rice, cacao, cassava, maize, and oil palm cultivation. Agriculture replaces and fragments great ape habitats, bringing them closer to humans and often resulting in conflict. Though the impact of agriculture on great apes is well-recognized, there is still a need for a more nuanced understanding of specific contexts and associated negative impacts on habitats and populations. Here we review these contexts and their implications for great apes. We estimate that within their African and South-East Asian ranges, there are about 100 people for each great ape. Given that most apes live outside strictly protected areas and the growing human population and increasing demand for resources in these landscapes, it will be challenging to balance the needs of both humans and great apes. Further habitat loss is expected, particularly in Africa, where compromises must be sought to re-direct agricultural expansion driven by subsistence farmers with small fields (generally <0.64 ha) away from remaining great ape habitats. To promote coexistence between humans and great apes, new approaches and financial models need to be implemented at local scales. Overall, optimized land use planning and effective implementation, along with strategic investments in agriculture and wildlife conservation, can improve the synergies between conservation and food production. Effective governance and conservation financing are crucial for optimal outcomes in both conservation and food security. Enforcing forest conservation laws, engaging in trade policy discussions, and integrating policies on trade, food security, improved agricultural techniques, and sustainable food systems are vital to prevent further decline in great ape populations. Saving great apes requires a thorough consideration of specific agricultural contexts

Effects of monosodium-L-glutamate administration on serum levels of reproductive hormones and cholesterol, epididymal sperm reserves and testicular histomorphology of male albino rats

This study investigated the effects of administration of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) on serum gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinising hormone (LH), testosterone and total cholesterol (TC), cauda epididymal sperm reserves (CESR) and testicular histomorphology of adult male albino rats. Eighty-four rats, randomly assigned to 7 groups of 12 rats each, were used for the study. Varying low doses (0.25, 0.50 or 1.00 g/kg body weight) of MSG were administered orally or subcutaneously at 48-h intervals for six weeks. Serum GnRH, LH, testosterone and TC, and CESR were evaluated on days 14, 28 and 42 of MSG administration. Testicular histomorphology was evaluated on day 42. The results showed that the mean serum GnRH, LH and testosterone levels, and the CESR of all the treated groups were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the untreated control on days 14, 28 and 42 of MSG administration. The mean serum TC levels of all the treated groups were also significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the control group on days 14 and 28. No lesions were observed on sections of the testes. It was concluded that MSG administration for 14, 28 and 42 days led to significantly lower serum levels of GnRH, LH, testosterone and TC, and significantly lower CESR

A Proposal for Mitigating Multiple Black-Hole Attack in Wireless Mesh Networks

Copyright © 2013 Om Shree, Francis J. Ogwu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Network Layer in wireless mesh networks is responsible for routing packets making it a prime target for intruders and hackers. Black-hole attack is a type of denial-of-service attack which when carried out can disrupt the services of this layer. This paper takes a look at some important detection and mitigation techniques and presents the drawbacks. After analysis of current mechanisms, the paper proposes RID-AODV, a security solution for multiple black-hole attack in wireless mesh networks. Based on the backbone of AODV, RID-AODV combines the ability of route skipping of IDSAODV and route failure correction using reverse route establishment of RAODV. The enhanced protocol RID-AODV, AODV, IDSAODV, and RAODV are implemented in a simulated environment using ns-2.35 simulator. The networks for each protocol are bombarded with up to ten black-hole nodes starting from zero. The results obtained are then analyzed and compared and a discussion is presented

Compensation Management and Employee Performance of Mortgage Banks in Abuja

We studied how compensation management impact on employee performance, considering mortgage banks that operate in Abuja, Nigeria. Seven of these banks were picked in this cross-sectional study. One hundred and seventy-one (171) staff of these 7 banks were selected randomly to provide opinion of this investigation. We used questionnaire to solicit for these opinions which are crucial for our study. We subjected the perception of all 171 employees to descriptive and inferential analysis, after recoding them. To capture compensation management, we opt for performance-based, seniority-based and skill-based pay, correlating them with our measure of employee performance (employee commitment and creativity). We showed that employees will be inclined to commit to working for the banks when compensation is performance-, seniority-, and skill-based. Compensation on the basis of performance, seniority, and skill will increase the creativity level of employees. Our result speaks to compensation management determining employee performance in the banks. We recommend, therefore, that banks ensure the practice of employee compensation is performance-, skill- and seniority-based and should make the climb up the corporate ladder flexible