Warfare on the Conceptual Battlespace: Third Cinemas Transformation of War on Terror Discourse

American Popular film on the War on Terror plays a powerful role establishing cultural and political discourses surrounding the War on Terror. Furthermore, the attempts of liberal films as a source of critique of American Hollywood conservative War on Terror films are insufficient. I argue that Third Cinema from the Middle East provides a necessary counter-discourse in providing platforms for alternative discussions regarding definitions of terrorism and the production of the Orientalist other

High Efficacy of Praziquantel in Schistosoma haematobium-Infected Children in Taraba State, Northeast Nigeria: A follow-up study

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of praziquantel in reducing urinary schistosomiasis prevalence, parasite burden and morbidity rates among a previously reported sample of Schistosoma haematobium-infected children. In addition, predisposing factors for reinfection one year post-treatment were also determined. Methods: This prospective follow-up study was conducted between March 2014 and February 2015 among 675 previously reported children with urinary schistosomiasis in the Murbai and Surbai communities of Ardo Kola, Taraba State, Nigeria. A single dose of 40 mg/kg of praziquantel was administered to each infected child, with a second dose administered one month later if necessary. The number of S. haematobium eggs in urine samples was calculated at baseline and post-treatment. Results: At four weeks post-treatment, the overall cure rate was 98.1%. Among children with low and heavy parasite burdens at baseline, egg reduction rates (ERRs) were 100% and 96.5%, respectively. The vast majority of children with microhaematuria (98.7%) and proteinuria (98.6%) at baseline were cured at follow-up. Following a second dose, the ERR, overall and morbidity cure rates increased to 100%. At one year post-treatment, 272 infected children (40.3%) were re-assessed; of these, 51 children (18.8%) were reinfected. Close proximity to bodies of water (odds ratio [OR] = 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.998–1.530; P = 0.05) and fishing (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 0.828–6.040; P = 0.01) were significant factors that predisposed children to reinfection. Conclusion: A moderate rate of reinfection was noted. Governmental and nongovernmental organisations in Nigeria should collaborate on mass treatment and health education campaigns to reduce the incidence of urinary schistosomiasis reinfections.Keywords: Urinary Schistosomiasis; Praziquantel; Treatment Outcome; Follow-Up Study; Nigeria

Analysis of tide and offshore storm-induced water table fluctuations for structural characterization of a coastal island aquifer

Analysis of water table fluctuations can provide important insight into the hydraulic properties and structure of a coastal aquifer system including the connectivity between the aquifer and ocean. This study presents an improved approach for characterizing a permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifer system through analysis of the propagation of the tidal signal, as well as offshore storm pulse signals through a coastal aquifer. Offshore storms produce high wave activity, but are not necessarily linked to significant onshore precipitation. In this study, we focused on offshore storm events during which no onshore precipitation occurred. Extensive groundwater level data collected on a sand barrier island (Sable Island, NS, Canada) show nonuniform discontinuous propagation of the tide and offshore storm pulse signals through the aquifer with isolated inland areas showing enhanced response to both oceanic forcing signals. Propagation analysis suggests that isolated inland water table fluctuations may be caused by localized leakage from a confined aquifer that is connected to the ocean offshore but within the wave setup zone. Two-dimensional groundwater flow simulations were conducted to test the leaky confined-unconfined aquifer conceptualization and to identify the effect of key parameters on tidal signal propagation in leaky confined-unconfined coastal aquifers. This study illustrates that analysis of offshore storm signal propagation, in addition to tidal signal propagation, provides a valuable and low resource approach for large-scale characterization of permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifers. Such an approach is needed for the effective management of coastal environments where water resources are threatened by human activities and the changing climate

A widespread outbreak of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis O:3 infection from iceberg lettuce

Background. The vehicles and sources of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection are unknown. In Finland, clinical microbiology laboratories routinely report Y. pseudotuberculosis isolations and submit isolates for serotype analysis. In October 1998, the number of serotype O:3 infections increased markedly. Methods. Case patients with culture-confirmed Y. pseudotuberculosis O:3 infection were identified by use of laboratory-based surveillance. We conducted a population-based case-control study. Healthy community control subjects were matched by age, sex, and postal code. Isolates were subtyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results. Nationwide, 47 case patients were identified (age range, 277 years; median, 19 years). One patient with bacteremia died; 5 underwent appendectomies. We enrolled 38 case patients and 76 control subjects in the case-control study. Seventy-one percent of case patients and 42% of control subjects reported having eaten iceberg lettuce (matched odds ratio, 3.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.39.4); a dose-response relationship was found for increasing frequency of consumption. Of the 27 isolates obtained from case patients and tested in the analysis, all had indistinguishable PFGE patterns. Four lunch cafeterias that had served iceberg lettuce were associated with clusters of case patients. The lettuce was traced back to originating farms. Conclusions. Iceberg lettuce was implicated as the vehicle of a widespread foodborne Y. pseudotuberculosis outbreak. Ongoing laboratory-based surveillance and serotype analysis were essential in the rapid detection of infection. Cases of yersiniosis, which appear to be sporadic, may be part of unrecognized outbreaks caused by contaminated fresh produce

Low prevalence of zoonotic multidrug-resistant bacteria in veterinarians in a country with prudent use of antimicrobials in animals

The occurrence of multidrug-resistant zoonotic bacteria in animals has been increasing worldwide. Working in close contact with livestock increases the risk of carriage of these bacteria. We investigated the occurrence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and plasmidic AmpC beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL/pAmpC-PE) and livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in Finnish veterinarians (n = 320). In addition to microbiological samples, background information was collected. Bacterial whole genome sequencing was performed to deduce sequence types (STs), spa types and resistance genes of the isolates. In total, 3.0% (9/297) of the veterinarians carried ESBL producing Escherichia coli, with one ESBL producing E. coli isolate producing also AmpC. Seven different STs, sequences of several different plasmid groups as well as several different bla(ESBL/pAmpC )genes existed in different combinations. No carbapenemase or colistin resistance genes were detected. MRSA was detected in 0.3% (1/320) of the samples. The strain belonged to LA-MRSA clonal complex (CC) 398 (ST398, spa type 011, lacking Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes). In conclusion, this study shows low carriage of multidrug-resistant zoonotic bacteria in Finnish veterinarians. However, finding LA-MRSA for the first time in a sample from a veterinarian in a country with prudent use of animal antimicrobials and regarding the recent rise of LA-MRSA on Finnish pig farms, a strong recommendation to protect people working in close contact with animals carrying LA-MRSA CC398 is given. Further studies are needed to explain why the prevalence of LA-MRSA in veterinarians is lower in Finland than in other European countries.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of the selfitis behavior scale across two Persian-speaking countries, Iran and Afghanistan: advanced psychometric testing in a large-scale sample

Selfitis—which started off as a hoax but has now been investigated empirically—has been defined as the obsessive–compulsive desire to take photos of oneself and post them on social media. Furthermore, a scale to assess selfitis, the Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS), has been developed. This study applied advanced psychometric testing methods, including confirmatory factor analysis (utilizing classical test theory) and the Rasch model (utilizing modern test theory), to examine the psychometric properties among Persian speakers (in Iran and Afghanistan). The participants (3163 Iranians and 1100 Afghanistani) completed an online survey posted on Instagram pages. The SBS showed promising properties, including satisfactory reliability (e.g., internal consistency and test–retest reliability), excellent construct validity (e.g., good fit in the CFA and Rasch models), and acceptable measurement invariance across Iranian and Afghan samples. Consequently, the SBS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing selfitis among Persian-speaking samples

The Katrina Moment: Rethinking Disaster with Black Geographies

Advisors and Committee Members: Jenna Loyd, Venkat Mani and Matt Turner. Includes References.Prelude: I spent two years working in homeless services in Los Angeles after graduating from college in 2016, matching unhoused individuals to long-term housing opportunities, supporting outreach, case conferencing, and community planning. Working in the field, I quickly became aware of the precarious nature of citizenship. For example, I learned that without proof of a state ID card or driver’s license in the state of California, one is ineligible for social services and public housing opportunities. Never had I considered how critical a small piece of plastic was for one’s survival or the ways it might serve as a barrier to rights and citizenship. With this understanding, I worked to pilot a resource event to address this barrier by helping clients apply for ID cards. Through the event, I met a young woman from New Orleans, whom I will refer to as Céline. As I helped her fill out the application for a new California ID, she shared her journey and experiences of homelessness. I was surprised when I learned she had most recently relocated from Houston, Texas. Céline’s story represented one of many who had experienced multiple bouts of displacement and homelessness. In her case, from New Orleans to Houston after Hurricane Katrina and then from Houston to California following Hurricane Harvey. Seemingly separate local events, Céline’s experience illustrates the long-term and protracted impact of disaster and vulnerability for an individual over time and space.Research was financially supported by the Geography Department’s Trewartha Grant