Challenges and opportunities for healthcare workers in a rural district of Chad

Trained healthcare workers are an essential resource for effective health systems. However, healthcare workers' perspective on healthcare, the challenges they face to provide quality health services, and opportunities to improve motivation and providing adequate care are rarely investigated in resource-constrained settings of sub-Saharan Africa.; All reachable nurses of Abou Deia, a primarily rural district in the south-eastern part of Chad, were invited to participate. In-depth interviews were conducted to assess current challenges and opportunities faced in daily work, including factors that influence motivation and social wellbeing. Particular emphasis was placed on paediatric care.; Eight nurses were interviewed. Main work challenges pertained to overall workload, a lack of training and support regarding a serious case mix to be managed on their own, adverse working conditions, issues related to the local communities, and the impact of postings on nurses' private life. Poor working conditions and perceived lack of recognition emerged as the main demotivating factors. Motivation to improve nurses' skills so that they can provide good care, coupled with small, suggested changes in working conditions and health care organisation provide opportunities worth exploring to improve health workers' satisfaction, motivation and the care they can provide.; Health workers in a predominantly rural district in Chad face a wide variety of challenges, and hence their perspectives need to be taken into account to improve health services interventions that aim at enhancing quality of care. Nurses' willingness to further develop skills and knowledge, proactive search of solutions to remedy stock-outs of drugs and other medical devices, and motivational factors to improve the quality of care represent important opportunities for improving health services for all

High photoresponsivity in a GaAs film synthesized on glass using a pseudo-single-crystal Ge seed layer

Research to synthesize a high-quality GaAs film on an inexpensive substrate has been continuing for decades in the quest to develop a solar cell that achieves both high efficiency and low-cost. Here, we applied a large-grained Ge layer on glass, formed by Al-induced layer exchange, to an epitaxial template for a GaAs film. The GaAs film, grown epitaxially from the Ge seed layer at 520 °C, became a pseudosingle crystal (grain size > 100 μm) with high (111) orientation. Reflecting the large grain size, the internal quantum efficiency reached 70% under a bias voltage of 1.0 V. This value approaches that of a simultaneously formed GaAs film on a single-crystal Ge wafer and is the highest for a GaAs film synthesized on glass at a low temperature. The application of a Ge seed layer formed by layer exchange offers excellent potential to develop high-efficiency thin-film solar cells with III–V compound semiconductors based on low-cost glass substrates.This work was supported financially by the JSPS KAKENHI (No. 17H04918). The authors are grateful to Dr. Y. Tominaga (Hiroshima University) for helpful discussions and Professor N. Usami (Nagoya University) for assistance with the microwave photoconductivity decay measurement. Some experiments were conducted at the International Center for Young Scientists at NIMS and the Nanotechnology Platform at the University of Tsukuba

The frequency in Japanese of genetic variants of 22 proteins: IV. Acid phosphatase, NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase, peptidase A, peptidase B and phosphohexose isomerase

This paper presents the results of an electrophoretic survey of approximately 4000 individuals from Hiroshima and Nagasaki for four erythrocyte enzymes: isocitrate dehydrogenase, pepti- dase A, peptidase B, and phosphohexose isomerase. Also reported are the results for erythrocyte acid phosphatase for a subset of these individuals. The frequencies for the ACPf and ACPF alleles of the ACP, locus are in agreement with previously reported results from Japanese populations. Rare variants of ICD, PEPA, PEPB and PHI occur with frequencies varying from 0.25 to 7.2 per 1000 determinations. The relatively high frequency of the PHI 4RIR1 variant and some unusual features involving the effect of reducing agent on the electrophoretic pattern behaviour of some of the rare PHI variants detected during this study are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65914/1/j.1469-1809.1978.tb00912.x.pd

Tanzanite Processing in Tanzania: Challenges and Opportunities

This study sought to evaluate factors that hinder processing  of rough tanzanite in Tanzania with greater emphasis on availability of raw materials, financial resources, skills and market. In addition, the study examined contribution of tanzanite processing activities to employment and revenue. This study used structured interviews to collect information from tanzanite miners, brokers and dealers. Information was also collected from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Tanzania Audit Agency and the State Minerals Company on the opportunities and challenges facing the industry. The findings suggest that contribution of processing activities to employment and revenue in the country is still low. The factors hindering processing of tanzanite locally are diverse and they include unpredictable supply of rough tanzanite, which is constrained by the use of poor mining technology, high competition for the rough tanzanite and small size of recovered stones. Other challenges are related to accessibility to financial resources, tanzanite processing technology and skills, as well as unreliable markets for cut and polished tanzanite. The study recommends that the government could consider the need to establish a tanzanite cutting and polishing export zone at Mirelani area, where tanzanite is mined. This would serve as marketing centre for rough tanzanite. The efforts to establish a special economic zone in the area could be hastened to enable ease access to market information, and promote processing activities locally facilitated by predictable supply of rough tanzanite. In addition, the government might provide tax incentives by reducing multiplicity of taxes payable to central and local governments as well as waive import duties on start-up equipment for both mining and processing activities

Anterior Compartment Syndrome after an Achilles Tendon Repair: A Case Report

Abstract Compartment syndrome may cause irreversible dysfunction if not treated correctly. The occurrence of compartment syndrome is not recognized as a potential complication after Achilles tendon rupture, and only a small number of such cases have been reported. We report the case of a 16-year-old girl with rupture of the right Achilles tendon. On postoperative day 4, she experienced severe anterior ankle pain. A blood test revealed a creatine kinase level of 7976 IU/L; the pressure in the distal anterior compartment was 90 mmHg and proximal compartment was 40 mmHg (needle manometer method). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a signal change in the anterior compartment. Anterior compartment syndrome was diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings, pressure measurements, and MRI findings. Emergency surgery was performed, and the anterior fascia was released. However, the dysfunction in the form of limited range of ankle motion remained. The cause of the compartment syndrome after Achilles tendon rupture was unclear. The patient's involvement in basketball and positioning of the ankle in plantar flexion with a cast might have been contributing factors in our case. We need to consider the possibility that compartment syndrome may occur after Achilles tendon rupture

Male-male marriage in Sinophone and Anglophone Harry Potter danmei and slash

The aim of this study is to compare Sinophone and Anglophone fan fiction consisting of female-oriented male-male romance: danmei and slash, respectively. To increase comparability, we analysed Harry Potter fan fiction in which the characters Harry and Draco are married. Male-male marriage was selected because our online Sinophone and Anglophone BL fandom surveys indicate this to be the most popular story element of the nine options we provided. We analysed five stories originally written in Chinese and five originally written in English which subsequently had been fan-translated into Chinese. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) we found some robust patterns. In contrast to the Anglophone fiction, the Sinophone tended to: stress the importance of family approval for the marriage; incorporate a wedding ceremony; employ clearly gendered roles between partners; utilise extended, as opposed to nuclear, families; and showed the couple to produce children, particularly boys. Hence, the stories mirror the relative social conservatism and social liberalism of their cultures of origin. However, in reading and writing such danmei young Chinese women are still pushing at the boundaries of the traditional family

Identification of Lipases Involved in PBAN Stimulated Pheromone Production in Bombyx mori Using the DGE and RNAi Approaches

BACKGROUND: Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) is a neurohormone that regulates sex pheromone synthesis in female moths. Bombyx mori is a model organism that has been used to explore the signal transduction pattern of PBAN, which is mediated by a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR). Although significant progress has been made in elucidating PBAN-regulated lipolysis that releases the precursor of the sex pheromone, little is known about the molecular components involved in this step. To better elucidate the molecular mechanisms of PBAN-stimulated lipolysis of cytoplasmic lipid droplets (LDs), the associated lipase genes involved in PBAN- regulated sex pheromone biosynthesis were identified using digital gene expression (DGE) and subsequent RNA interference (RNAi). RESULTS: Three DGE libraries were constructed from pheromone glands (PGs) at different developed stages, namely, 72 hours before eclosion (-72 h), new emergence (0 h) and 72 h after eclosion (72 h), to investigate the gene expression profiles during PG development. The DGE evaluated over 5.6 million clean tags in each PG sample and revealed numerous genes that were differentially expressed at these stages. Most importantly, seven lipases were found to be richly expressed during the key stage of sex pheromone synthesis and release (new emergence). RNAi-mediated knockdown confirmed for the first time that four of these seven lipases play important roles in sex pheromone synthesis. CONCLUSION: This study has identified four lipases directly involved in PBAN-stimulated sex pheromone biosynthesis, which improve our understanding of the lipases involved in releasing bombykol precursors from triacylglycerols (TAGs) within the cytoplasmic LDs

Correction: A Seroepidemiological Study of Serogroup A Meningococcal Infection in the African Meningitis Belt.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147928.]