First record of roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) feeding on the fruits of the sausage tree (Kigelia africana)

No abstract available.National Research Foundation (NRF), Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Wilderness Safaris, Wilderness Wildlife Trust, Komanis Foundation and Elephants Without Borders.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-20282015-12-30hb201

S100B and homocysteine in the acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome

Elevations of serum homocysteine levels are a consistent finding in alcohol addiction. Serum S100B levels are altered in different neuropsychiatric disorders but not well investigated in alcohol withdrawal syndromes. Because of the close connection of S100B to ACTH and glutamate secretion that both are involved in neurodegeneration and symptoms of alcoholism the relationship of S100B and homocysteine to acute withdrawal variables has been examined. A total of 22 male and 9 female inpatients (mean age 46.9 ± 9.7 years) with an ICD-10 diagnosis of alcohol addiction without relevant affective comorbidity were examined on admission and after 24, 48, and 120 h during withdrawal. S100B and homocysteine levels in serum were collected, and severity of withdrawal symptoms (AWS-scale), applied withdrawal medication, initial serum ethanol levels and duration of addiction were recorded. Serum S100B and homocysteine levels declined significantly (P < .05) over time. Both levels declined with withdrawal syndrome severity. Females showed a trend to a more intense decline in serum S100B levels compared to males at day 5 (P = .06). Homocysteine levels displayed a negative relationship to applied amount of clomethiazole (P < .05) and correlated with age of onset of addiction. No withdrawal seizures were recorded during the trial. As it is known for homocysteine, S100B revealed to decline rapidly over withdrawal treatment in alcoholism. This effect is more pronounced in female patients. S100B could be of relevance in the neurobiology of alcohol withdrawal syndromes. It may be indirectly related to the level of stress level or glutamatergic activity during alcohol withdrawal

Participate effectively : who, how and why? : a study of people's participation for health development

Peoples' participation and empowerment are widely considered as key elements if not\ud pre-requisites for successful and sustainable health development outcomes. To date\ud there is no conclusive and widely accepted definition of participation and no standard\ud tools for its assessment.\ud What does people's participation in health development mean to the stakeholders from\ud the community to the national and international level? Can it be assessed? What is the\ud effectiveness in terms of health development? and what are the factors that can\ud influence the outcomes of a participatory process?\ud An answer to these questions is sought in the case study from the Community Based\ud Nutrition Programme in Kenya. Using a mixed methods design and innovative tools\ud developed and tested in a pilot community, this field study tries to answer these\ud questions.\ud There is no conclusive and congruent definition of participation to be drawn either from\ud the literature or from the field research.\ud The health impact and process can be measured in qualitative and quantitative terms.\ud However, firm inferences on the effect of health outcomes could not be drawn due to a\ud "non-fit" in the two tested communities.\ud Social cohesion leading to community homogeneity, and the role of gatekeepers in both,\ud horizontal and vertical structures, are the factors that appear to mostly influencing\ud health development outcomes.\ud Health managers when planning interventions in any given community need to acquire\ud in depth knowledge of all participating stakeholders, including diversities within and\ud between them, and adopt democratic processes at all stages.\ud 11\ud The analytical framework used in this study could stimulate further development of\ud effective tools and methods for assessing participation, thereby contributing to the\ud current policy dialogue on health development and poverty reduction.\ud The results will therefore be disseminated to relevant stakeholders at national and\ud international levels, as well as to the academic and donor community.\u

What works and Why? Evaluation of a Community Nutrition Programme in Kenya

Objective: To investigate the nutritional impact of a community-based programme that focused on social cohesion and action. Design: The change in nutritional status of children aged 12–60 months was examined over a period of 3 years in Makueni District in Eastern Province of Kenya in six communities in which an intervention programme of Participatory Learning and Action was introduced and in ten communities in which only basic preparations were made but no intervention was started. Setting: The intervention was part of the Government of Kenya Community Based Nutrition Programme and was supported by the Government of Denmark. Subjects: Children aged 12–60 months. Results: Among communities without intervention there were similar levels of underweight (mean Z-score: -1·63 v. -1·50 (NS); % with Z-score < –2: 36·6 % v. 34·5 % (NS)) and stunting (mean Z-score: -2·0 v. -1·99 (NS); % with Z-score < –2: 44·3 % and 47·4 % (NS)) at baseline and after 3 years. By contrast, among communities who had received interventions, there were significant improvements after 3 years in the levels of underweight (mean Z-score: -1·66 v. -1·37 (P < 0·02); % with Z-score < –2: 42·9 % v. 31·4 % (P < 0·035)) and stunting (mean Z-score: -2·05 v. -1·59 (P < 0·05); % with Z-score < –2: 52·7 % v. 39·7 % (P < 0·02)). Conclusions: The results indicate considerable potential for using Participatory Learning and Action as a community-based approach to effectively address child undernutrition. It is suggested that these interventions are developed, implemented and evaluated more widely as a mean of tackling childhood undernutrition and improving child survival and development