Natural spawning of four Epinephelus species in the laboratory

Natural spawnings of four Epinephelus species reared in the laboratory were observed from 1987 to 1992. These species are: E. summana, E. caeruleopunctatus, E. macrospilus and E. fuscoguttatus. Spawning was serial, usually occurring at night, on or 1-6 days after the new moon. Egg characteristics of these four species were compared. Fertilized egg and early larval development of E. summana and E. fuscoguttatus are discussed

Recognizing the Status, Needs, and Challenges of Alternative Learning System Students in a Rural District

The act of dropping out of school has significant implications for students, limiting their opportunities for further education and job prospects, often resulting in low-skilled employment and reduced wages. To address this issue, the Philippine government has established the Philippine Alternative Learning System (ALS), a parallel learning system aimed at providing a second chance for out-of-school youth and adults. However, despite recent progress, the ALS continues to face persistent challenges that are further complicated by the diverse settings of its learners. This study adopts a descriptive qualitative research design to explore the current conditions of ALS students by determining their status, needs, and challenges, with the objective of addressing their unique circumstances. The study includes a voluntary survey questionnaire administered to learner respondents, supplemented by in-depth interview with key informants such as school district supervisors, school principals, and ALS teachers. By objectively describing the participants' experiences, this research provides valuable insights into the prevailing issues and concerns, serving as a foundation for the development of an effective support system to empower ALS learners. Keywords: Philippine Alternative Learning System, Status, Needs, Challenges DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-17-04 Publication date:June 30th 202

Human Infections with Plasmodium knowlesi, the Philippines.

Five human cases of infection with the simian malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi from Palawan, the Philippines, were confirmed by nested PCR. This study suggests that this zoonotic infection is found across a relatively wide area in Palawan and documents autochthonous cases in the country

An assessment of various blood collection and transfer methods used for malaria rapid diagnostic tests

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Four blood collection and transfer devices commonly used for malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were assessed for their consistency, accuracy and ease of use in the hands of laboratory technicians and village health workers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Laboratory technicians and village health workers collected blood from a finger prick using each device in random order, and deposited the blood either on filter paper or into a suitable casette-type RDT. Consistency and accuracy of volume delivered was determined by comparing the measurements of the resulting blood spots/heights with the measurements of laboratory-prepared pipetted standard volumes. The effect of varying blood volumes on RDT sensitivity and ease of use was also observed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was high variability in blood volume collected by the devices, with the straw and the loop, the most preferred devices, usually transferring volumes greater than intended, while the glass capillary tube and the plastic pipette transferring less volume than intended or none at all. Varying the blood volume delivered to RDTs indicated that this variation is critical to RDT sensitivity only when the transferred volume is very low.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>None of the blood transfer devices assessed performed consistently well. Adequate training on their use is clearly necessary, with more development efforts for improved designs to be used by remote health workers, in mind.</p

Orangutans Not Infected with Plasmodium vivax or P. cynomolgi, Indonesia

After orangutans in Indonesia were reported as infected with Plasmodium cynomolgi and P. vivax, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences of Plasmodium spp. We found that these orangutans are not hosts of P. cynomolgi and P. vivax. Analysis of >1 genes is needed to identify Plasmodium spp. infecting orangutans

Use of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test to Identify Plasmodium knowlesi Infection

Reports of human infection with Plasmodium knowlesi, a monkey malaria, suggest that it and other nonhuman malaria species may be an emerging health problem. We report the use of a rapid test to supplement microscopic analysis in distinguishing the 5 malaria species that infect humans

Use of mobile technology-based participatory mapping approaches to geolocate health facility attendees for disease surveillance in low resource settings.

BACKGROUND: Identifying fine-scale spatial patterns of disease is essential for effective disease control and elimination programmes. In low resource areas without formal addresses, novel strategies are needed to locate residences of individuals attending health facilities in order to efficiently map disease patterns. We aimed to assess the use of Android tablet-based applications containing high resolution maps to geolocate individual residences, whilst comparing the functionality, usability and cost of three software packages designed to collect spatial information. RESULTS: Using Open Data Kit GeoODK, we designed and piloted an electronic questionnaire for rolling cross sectional surveys of health facility attendees as part of a malaria elimination campaign in two predominantly rural sites in the Rizal, Palawan, the Philippines and Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The majority of health workers were able to use the tablets effectively, including locating participant households on electronic maps. For all households sampled (n = 603), health facility workers were able to retrospectively find the participant household using the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates and data collected by tablet computers. Median distance between actual house locations and points collected on the tablet was 116 m (IQR 42-368) in Rizal and 493 m (IQR 258-886) in Kulon Progo Regency. Accuracy varied between health facilities and decreased in less populated areas with fewer prominent landmarks. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate the utility of this approach to develop real-time high-resolution maps of disease in resource-poor environments. This method provides an attractive approach for quickly obtaining spatial information on individuals presenting at health facilities in resource poor areas where formal addresses are unavailable and internet connectivity is limited. Further research is needed on how to integrate these with other health data management systems and implement in a wider operational context

Evaluation of 3 rapid diagnostic tests (CareStart) Malaria 3 line pl.DH (Pan, Pf), OptiMAL-IT pl.DH (Pan, Pf) and CareStart 0 2 line.pl.DH (Pan) for the diagnosis of malaria in Myanmar

Presented at the conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 200

Plasmodium knowlesi in Human, Indonesian Borneo

Plasmodium knowlesi is now established as the fifth Plasmodium species to cause malaria in humans. We describe a case of P. knowlesi infection acquired in Indonesian Borneo that was imported into Australia. Clinicians need to consider this diagnosis in a patient who has acquired malaria in forest areas of Southeast Asia