91 research outputs found
Exemption from Taxation of Residences Owned by Charitable, Religious, and Educational Institutions in Ohio
Conservation et Ă©tude de la valeur nutritive des larves de Rhynchophorus phoenicis (Curculionidae) et Oryctes rhinoceros (Scarabeidae), deux colĂ©optĂšres dâintĂ©rĂȘt alimentaire au Congo-Brazzaville
Des larves appartenant Ă deux espĂšces de colĂ©optĂšres, Rhynchophorus phoenicis (Curculionidae) et Oryctes rhinoceros (Scarabeidae), prĂ©levĂ©es dans les marchĂ©s et dans des palmiers de forĂȘts galeries ont Ă©tĂ©ramenĂ©es au laboratoire puis Ă©levĂ©es sĂ©parĂ©ment dans les conditions ambiantes. Des coeurs de palmiers appartenant Ă Elaeis guinensis et Raphia sp ont Ă©tĂ© placĂ©s tous les cinq jours dans les conditions dâĂ©levage (Ă 26,20 °C et 72,71% HR% en moyenne) afin de stimuler la croissance larvaire. Leur conservation a Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©e jusquâĂ lâĂ©mergence des imagos. Les rĂ©sultats obtenus montrent que les larves de stade II de R.phoenicis atteignent le stade nymphal Ă partir du 40Ăšme jour et restent Ă ce stade pendant 60 jours, Ă lâissu desquels le premier adulte est obtenu. Par contre, les larves de O. rhinoceros conservĂ©es, nâatteignent le stadenymphal quâaprĂšs 50 jours dâĂ©levage. Les premiĂšres Ă©mergences dâimagos sont observĂ©es Ă partir du 94Ăšme jour. Lâextraction des lipides Ă lâhexane avec la mĂ©thode de Soxhlet indique que les larves de R. phoenicis ontdes taux plus Ă©levĂ©s dâacides gras que celles de O. rhinoceros, tandis que les taux de protĂ©ines sont plus Ă©levĂ©s chez O. rhinoceros. Les Ă©lĂ©ments minĂ©raux comme le sodium, le magnĂ©sium, le fer et le calcium montrent des valeurs plus Ă©levĂ©s chez R. phoenicis
Fragmentation dâun Ă©cosystĂšme Littoral : cas de la baie de Loango au Congo-Brazzaville
Lâaction de lâhomme sur la modification profonde et dans certains cas irrĂ©versibles de son milieu est Ă©tudiĂ©e dans une partie de la baie de Loango, Ă Matombi au Nord de Pointe-Noire. Nous avons par des Ă©tudesprĂ©liminaires, recensĂ© diffĂ©rentes perturbations de cet Ă©cosystĂšme littoral et analysĂ© les pressions Ă©cologiques exercĂ©es par la modification des biotopes voisins. Les observations se sont dĂ©roulĂ©es du 07 au 21 septembre en 2007, et en 2008 du 13 juin au 10 aoĂ»t puis du 27 octobre au 09 dĂ©cembre de la mĂȘme annĂ©e, Ă une frĂ©quence dâune visite tous les deux jours, soit quatre visites par semaine et seize visites par mois. Les prĂ©cipitations, lâabattage des arbres et des arbustes, lâĂ©limination abusive de la strate herbacĂ©e Ă des fins touristiques et lâĂ©rosion marine sur le continent sont les principaux facteurs concourant Ă la perturbation du littoral de Matombi. Ce processus se traduit par une modification de la rĂ©partition des espĂšces animales et vĂ©gĂ©tales, des habitats et microhabitats et stimule les possibilitĂ©s adaptatives des espĂšces animales InvertĂ©brĂ©s (comme les crustacĂ©s, certains hymĂ©noptĂšres, des IsoptĂšres) mais aussi des VertĂ©brĂ©s (Oiseaux et certains petits mammifĂšres).Mots clĂ©s: DĂ©gradation, Ă©cosystĂšmes cĂŽtiers, Habitats, BiodiversitĂ©, tropica
What do students know and understand about the Holocaust? Evidence from English secondary schools
This research report has been written under the auspices
of the University College London (UCL) Centre for
Holocaust Education. The Centre is part of the UCL
Institute of Education â currently the worldâs leading
university for education â and is comprised of a team
of researchers and educators from a variety of different
disciplinary fields. The Centre works in partnership with
the Pears Foundation who, together with the Department
for Education, have co-funded its operation since it was
first established in 2008.
A centrally important principle of all activity based at
the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education is that, wherever
possible, classroom practice should be informed by
academic scholarship and relevant empirical research.
In 2009, Centre staff published an extensive national
study of secondary school teachersâ experience of
and attitudes towards teaching about the Holocaust
(Pettigrew et al. 2009). This new report builds on that
earlier work by critically examining English school
studentsâ knowledge and understanding of this history.
In both cases, research findings have been â and will
continue to be â used to develop an innovative and
ground-breaking programme of continuing professional
development (CPD) for teachers and educational
resources that are uniquely responsive to clearly identified
classroom needs. The UCL Centre for Holocaust
Education is the only institution of its kind, both within
the United Kingdom and internationally, where pioneering
empirical research is placed at the heart of work to
support teachers and their students encountering this
profoundly important yet complex and challenging
subject in schools.
The Centre offers a wide-ranging educational
programme appropriate to teachers at all stages of their
careers through a carefully constructed âpathway of
professional developmentâ. This provides opportunities
for individuals to progressively deepen their knowledge
and improve their practice. It offers a national programme
of Initial Teacher Education in Holocaust education and a
variety of in-depth and subject-specific CPD. In addition,
the Centre also offers online distance learning facilities,
including a fully accredited taught Masters-level module
The Holocaust in the Curriculum. Through its Beacon
School programme, Centre staff work intensively
with up to 20 schools across England each year in order
to recognise and further develop exemplary
whole-school approaches and effective pedagogy.
All of the courses and classroom materials developed
by the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education are available
free of charge to teachers working in Englandâs statefunded
secondary schools. Further information can be
found at www.ioe.ac.uk/holocaust
Larval ecology and infestation indices of two major arbovirus vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), in Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of the Congo.
BACKGROUND
Invasive mosquito species, such as Aedes albopictus in Congo can affect the distribution of native species, changing the vector composition and pattern of disease transmission. Here, we comparatively establish the geographical distribution and larval habitat preference of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus and the risk of arbovirus disease outbreaks using Stegomyia indices in the city of Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo.
METHODS
Human dwelling surveys of water-holding containers for immature stages of Aedes was carried out in December 2017 in Brazzaville through a random cluster sampling method. A total of 268 human dwellings distributed in 9 boroughs and 27 neighbourhoods were surveyed across the city.
RESULTS
Overall, 455 potential larval habitats were surveyed. Both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were collected across the city with an overall high prevalence of Ae. aegypti (53.1%) compared to Ae. albopictus (46.9%). Geographical distribution analysis showed that Ae. aegypti was more abundant (mean = 6.6 ± 1.4) in neighbourhoods located in downtown, while the abundance of Ae. albopictus was low (mean = 3.5 ± 0.6) in suburbs. Peridomestic containers, especially discarded tanks, were the most strongly colonized productive larval habitat for both mosquito species with the prevalence of 56.4% and 53.1% for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, respectively. Globally, the house index (HI), Breteau index (BI) and container index (CI) were high for Ae. aegypti (26.6%, 38.4% and 22.6%) and Ae. albopictus (33.3%, 49.6% and 26.6%) compared to the transmission risk threshold (5%, 5% and 20%) established by the WHO/PAHO. Overall, pupae-based indices (the pupae index and the pupae per person index) were not significantly different between Ae. aegypti (273.4% and 23.2%) and Ae. albopictus (228.8% and 19.5%).
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study suggest a high risk for transmission of arbovirus diseases in Brazzaville and call for an urgent need to implement vector control strategies against these vectors in the Republic of the Congo
Geographical distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and genetic diversity of invading population of Ae. albopictus in the Republic of the Congo [version 1; referees: 2 approved]
Background: The arbovirus vector, Aedes albopictus, originating from Asia, has recently invaded African countries, including the Republic of the Congo, where it was associated with a chikungunya outbreak. Up until now, little was known about its distribution in relation to the native Aedes aegypti and how the invasion will modify the epidemiology of arboviral diseases. Here, we assessed the current distribution of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti in the Republic of the Congo and explored the genetic diversity of the invading species, Ae. albopictus. Methods: Immature stages of Aedes were collected in nine locations in the Republic of the Congo in 2017 following a north-south transect and reared to adult stage. Adults were morphologically identified, counted and grouped according to species and location. Genetic diversity of Ae. albopictus was assessed by analyzing the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Results: Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti were found together across the country in all the locations investigated. The invasive species is predominant over the native species in all locations except Brazzaville, suggesting that Ae. albopictus is displacing Ae. aegypti across Congo. When comparing the species distributions across the two largest cities, Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, Ae. albopictus was more prevalent than Ae. aegypti in the suburbs whereas the opposite situation was reported in the city centre. Mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed very low genetic diversity of Ae. albopictus with only three haplotypes recorded across the country supporting the recent introduction of this species in the Republic of the Congo. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that Ae. albopictus from Congo originated from other tropical Asian countries such as China, likely as a result of increasing trade links. Conclusion: These findings are important for the implementation of vector control strategies and can serve as a foundation for further research on these vectors in the country
Value of minimum intensity projections for chest CT in COVID-19 patients
Purpose: To investigate whether minimum intensity projection (MinIP) reconstructions enable more accurate depiction of pulmonary ground-glass opacity (GGO) compared to standard transverse sections and multiplanar reformat (MPR) series in patients with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Method: In this multinational study, chest CT scans of 185 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic confidence, image quality regarding the assessment of GGO, as well as subjective time-efficiency of MinIP and standard MPR series were analyzed based on the assessment of six radiologists. In addition, the suitability for COVID-19 evaluation, image quality regarding GGO and subjective time-efficiency in clinical routine was assessed by five clinicians. Results: The reference standard revealed a total of 149 CT scans with pulmonary GGO. MinIP reconstructions yielded significantly higher sensitivity (99.9 % vs 95.6 %), specificity (95.8 % vs 86.1 %) and accuracy (99.1 % vs 93.8 %) for assessing of GGO compared with standard MPR series. MinIP reconstructions achieved significantly higher ratings by radiologists concerning diagnostic confidence (medians, 5.00 vs 4.00), image quality (medians, 4.00 vs 4.00), contrast between GGO and unaffected lung parenchyma (medians, 5.00 vs 4.00) as well as subjective time-efficiency (medians, 5.00 vs 4.00) compared with MPR-series (all P <.001). Clinicians preferred MinIP reconstructions for COVID-19 assessment (medians, 5.00 vs 3.00), image quality regarding GGO (medians, 5.00 vs 3.00) and subjective time-efficiency in clinical routine (medians, 5.00 vs 3.00). Conclusions: MinIP reconstructions improve the assessment of COVID-19 in chest CT compared to standard images and may be suitable for routine application
Role of aldosterone on lung structural remodelling and right ventricular function in congestive heart failure
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mechanisms of benefit of mineralocorticoid receptors antagonists in congestive heart failure (CHF) are still debated. We hypothesized that aldosterone contributes to pulmonary remodelling and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction associated with CHF by stimulation of lung myofibroblasts (MYFs) proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Rats with moderate to large myocardial infarcts (MI) and CHF were studied. Two weeks after MI, spironolactone 100 mg/kg/day (n = 21) or no treatment (n = 24) were given for 3 weeks and compared to sham (n = 8).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Infarct size was similar by ultrasound and pathologic measures in both MI groups.</p> <p>The MI-untreated group developed important lung remodelling with nearly doubling of dry lung weight (p < 0.01), reduced left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening (16 ± 2% vs. 53 ± 1%; mean ± SEM, p < 0.0001), pulmonary hypertension (RV systolic pressure: 40 ± 3 mmHg vs. 27 ± 1 mmHg, p < 0.01) and RV hypertrophy (RV/(LV + septum): 38 ± 3% vs. 24 ± 1%, p < 0.05). Spironolactone had no effect on these parameters and did not improve LV or RV performance (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and RV myocardial performance index) measured by echocardiography. CHF induced a restrictive respiratory syndrome with histological lung fibrosis: this was also unaffected by spironolactone. Finally, isolated lung MYFs did not proliferate after exposure to aldosterone.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Aldosterone does not significantly contribute to pulmonary remodelling and RV dysfunction associated with CHF. Other mechanisms are responsible for the beneficial effects of spironolactone in CHF.</p
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