Competing biosecurity and risk rationalities in the Chittagong poultry commodity chain, Bangladesh

This paper anthropologically explores how key actors in the Chittagong live bird trading network perceive biosecurity and risk in relation to avian influenza between production sites, market maker scenes and outlets. They pay attention to the past and the present, rather than the future, downplaying the need for strict risk management, as outbreaks have not been reported frequently for a number of years. This is analysed as ‘temporalities of risk perception regarding biosecurity’, through Black Swan theory, the idea that unexpected events with major effects are often inappropriately rationalized (Taleb in The Black Swan. The impact of the highly improbable, Random House, New York, 2007). This incorporates a sociocultural perspective on risk, emphasizing the contexts in which risk is understood, lived, embodied and experienced. Their risk calculation is explained in terms of social consent, practical intelligibility and convergence of constraints and motivation. The pragmatic and practical orientation towards risk stands in contrast to how risk is calculated in the avian influenza preparedness paradigm. It is argued that disease risk on the ground has become a normalized part of everyday business, as implied in Black Swan theory. Risk which is calculated retrospectively is unlikely to encourage investment in biosecurity and, thereby, points to the danger of unpredictable outlier events

Intimate partner violence and its association with maternal depressive symptoms 6-8 months after childbirth in rural Bangladesh

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is important to be addressed simply because it is a gross violation of human rights. Its prevalence is wide ranging across the world, with higher prevalence reported in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence shows that IPV has both direct and indirect impact on women’s health, mainly related to physical health. Little is known of impact of IPV on mental health of women, particularly after childbirth. Objective: To describe the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by women 6-8 months after childbirth, and the factors associated with IPV. The study also aims to investigate the association between IPV and maternal depressive symptoms after childbirth. Design: The study used cross-sectional data at 6-8months postpartum. The sample included 660 mothers of newborn children. IPV was assessed by physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale assessed maternal depressive symptoms. Results: Majority of the women reported experiencing intimate partner violence categorised as physical (52%), sexual (65%) and emotional (84%) violence by spouse. Husband’s education (OR: 0.41, CI: 0.23-0.73), poor relationship with husband (OR: 2.64, CI: 1.07-6.54) and emotional violence by spouse (OR: 1.58, CI: 1.35-1.83) were significantly associated with physical IPV experienced by women. Having a fussy and difficult child (OR: 1.05, CI: 1.02-1.08), poor relationship with husband (OR: 4.95, CI: 2.55-9.62) and experience of physical IPV (OR: 2.83, CI: 1.72-4.64) were found to be significant predictors of maternal depressive symptoms amongst women 6-8 months after childbirth. Neither forced sex nor emotional violence by intimate partner was found to be significantly associated with maternal depressive symptoms 6-8 months after childbirth. Conclusion: It is important to screen for both IPV and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum. Since IPV and spousal relationships are the most important predictors of maternal depressive symptoms in this study, couple-focused intervention at the community level are suggested

Perturbative expansion for master equation and it applications

We construct generally applicable small-loss rate expansions for the density operator of an open system. Successive terms of those expansions yield characteristic loss rates for dissipation processes. Three applications are presented in order to give further insight into the context of those expansions. The first application, of a two-level atom coupling to a bosonic environment, shows the procedure and the advantage of the expansion, whereas the second application that consists of a single mode field in a cavity with linewidth $\kappa$ due to partial transmission through one mirror illustrates a practical use of those expansions in quantum measurements, and the third one, for an atom coupled to modes of a lossy cavity shows the another use of the perturbative expansion.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Urinary incontinence in competitive women weightlifters

Urinary incontinence has the potential to diminish athletic performance and discourage women from participating in sport and exercise. This study determined the prevalence and possible risk factors for urinary incontinence in competitive women weightlifters. This research was a cross-sectional, survey-based study completed by 191 competitive women weightlifters. The frequency and severity of urinary incontinence was determined using the Incontinence Severity Index. Urinary incontinence was defined as an Incontinence Severity Index score >0. The survey questions focused on risk factors, the context and triggers for urinary incontinence, and self-care strategies. Approximately, 31.9% of subjects experienced urinary incontinence within 3 months of completing the survey. Incontinence Severity Index scores were significantly correlated with parity (r = 0.283, p = 0.01) and age (r = 0.216, p = 0.01). There was no significant correlation between the Incontinence Severity Index score and the number of years participating in any form of resistance training (r = −0.010, p = 0.886) or weightlifting (r = −0.045, p = 0.534), body mass index (r = 0.058, p = 0.422), or competition total (r = −0.114, p = 0.115). The squat was the most likely exercise to provoke urinary incontinence. Although the number of repetitions, weight lifted, body position, and ground impact may increase the likelihood of urinary incontinence occurring during a lift, it is difficult to determine which factor has the greatest influence. Some self-care strategies used by competitive women weightlifters who experience urinary incontinence, such as training while dehydrated, have the potential to diminish athletic performance

Using Drugs to Probe the Variability of Trans-Epithelial Airway Resistance

BACKGROUND:Precision medicine aims to combat the variability of the therapeutic response to a given medicine by delivering the right medicine to the right patient. However, the application of precision medicine is predicated on a prior quantitation of the variance of the reference range of normality. Airway pathophysiology provides a good example due to a very variable first line of defence against airborne assault. Humans differ in their susceptibility to inhaled pollutants and pathogens in part due to the magnitude of trans-epithelial resistance that determines the degree of epithelial penetration to the submucosal space. This initial 'set-point' may drive a sentinel event in airway disease pathogenesis. Epithelia differentiated in vitro from airway biopsies are commonly used to model trans-epithelial resistance but the 'reference range of normality' remains problematic. We investigated the range of electrophysiological characteristics of human airway epithelia grown at air-liquid interface in vitro from healthy volunteers focusing on the inter- and intra-subject variability both at baseline and after sequential exposure to drugs modulating ion transport. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Brushed nasal airway epithelial cells were differentiated at air-liquid interface generating 137 pseudostratified ciliated epithelia from 18 donors. A positively-skewed baseline range exists for trans-epithelial resistance (Min/Max: 309/2963 Ω·cm2), trans-epithelial voltage (-62.3/-1.8 mV) and calculated equivalent current (-125.0/-3.2 μA/cm2; all non-normal, P<0.001). A minority of healthy humans manifest a dramatic amiloride sensitivity to voltage and trans-epithelial resistance that is further discriminated by prior modulation of cAMP-stimulated chloride transport. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Healthy epithelia show log-order differences in their ion transport characteristics, likely reflective of their initial set-points of basal trans-epithelial resistance and sodium transport. Our data may guide the choice of the background set point in subjects with airway diseases and frame the reference range for the future delivery of precision airway medicine

Chest Radiograph Findings in Childhood Pneumonia Cases From the Multisite PERCH Study.

BACKGROUND.: Chest radiographs (CXRs) are frequently used to assess pneumonia cases. Variations in CXR appearances between epidemiological settings and their correlation with clinical signs are not well documented. METHODS.: The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health project enrolled 4232 cases of hospitalized World Health Organization (WHO)-defined severe and very severe pneumonia from 9 sites in 7 countries (Bangladesh, the Gambia, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Thailand, and Zambia). At admission, each case underwent a standardized assessment of clinical signs and pneumonia risk factors by trained health personnel, and a CXR was taken that was interpreted using the standardized WHO methodology. CXRs were categorized as abnormal (consolidation and/or other infiltrate), normal, or uninterpretable. RESULTS.: CXRs were interpretable in 3587 (85%) cases, of which 1935 (54%) were abnormal (site range, 35%-64%). Cases with abnormal CXRs were more likely than those with normal CXRs to have hypoxemia (45% vs 26%), crackles (69% vs 62%), tachypnea (85% vs 80%), or fever (20% vs 16%) and less likely to have wheeze (30% vs 38%; all P < .05). CXR consolidation was associated with a higher case fatality ratio at 30-day follow-up (13.5%) compared to other infiltrate (4.7%) or normal (4.9%) CXRs. CONCLUSIONS.: Clinically diagnosed pneumonia cases with abnormal CXRs were more likely to have signs typically associated with pneumonia. However, CXR-normal cases were common, and clinical signs considered indicative of pneumonia were present in substantial proportions of these cases. CXR-consolidation cases represent a group with an increased likelihood of death at 30 days post-discharge

PULMONARY ADENOMATOSIS IN A NELLORE JODIPI RAM

A three-year-old Nellore Jodipi ram was presented to small ruminant ward, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Science, Tirupati with inappetence, dullness and profuse nasal discharge for one week. Haemato-biochemical examination revealed moderate anemia and leukocytosis. The animal was treated with parenteral and intranasal antimicrobial therapy for 3 days along with respiratory stimulants. Despite the medical management and supportive therapy animal was succumbed after three days. Upon detailed postmortem investigation of the carcass, lesions of ovine pulmonary adenoma were found in the lungs and were confirmed by histopathological examination and Oestrus ovis larvae were found in the lung tissue

Development of thermosensitive hydrogel of Amphotericin-B and Lactoferrin combination-loaded PLGA-PEG-PEI nanoparticles for potential eradication of ocular fungal infections

The most prevalent conditions among ocular surgery and COVID−19 patients are fungal eye infections, which may cause inflammation and dry eye, and may cause ocular morbidity. Amphotericin-B eye drops are commonly used in the treatment of ocular fungal infections. Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and is used for the treatment of dry eye, conjunctivitis, and ocular inflammation. However, poor aqueous stability and excessive nasolacrimal duct draining impede these agens\u27 efficiency. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Amphotericin-B, as an antifungal against Candida albicans, Fusarium, and Aspergillus flavus, and Lactoferrin, as an anti-inflammatory and anti-dry eye, when co-loaded in triblock polymers PLGA-PEG-PEI nanoparticles embedded in P188-P407 ophthalmic thermosensitive gel. The nanoparticles were prepared by a double emulsion solvent evaporation method. The optimized formula showed particle size (177.0 ± 0.3 nm), poly-dispersity index (0.011 ± 0.01), zeta-potential (31.9 ± 0.3 mV), and entrapment% (90.9 ± 0.5) with improved ex-vivo pharmacokinetic parameters and ex-vivo trans-corneal penetrability, compared with drug solution. Confocal laser scanning revealed valuable penetration of fluoro-labeled nanoparticles. Irritation tests (Draize Test), Atomic force microscopy, cell culture and animal tests including histopathological analysis revealed superiority of the nanoparticles in reducing signs of inflammation and eradication of fungal infection in rabbits, without causing any damage to rabbit eyeballs. The nanoparticles exhibited favorable pharmacodynamic features with sustained release profile, and is neither cytotoxic nor irritating in-vitro or in-vivo. The developed formulation might provide a new and safe nanotechnology for treating eye problems, like inflammation and fungal infections

Information and Communication Technology deployment and agricultural value chain nexus in Nigeria

This study examined the point of the agricultural value chain where the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is significant. The study used the data sourced from wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) and applied the Multinomial Logit (MNL) regression. The result showed that ICT deployment is significant for all actors along the agricultural value chain. However, though significant for all actors on the value chain, the estimated coefficients slightly differ. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is helpful for all the actors along the chain from the estimated coefficients but higher at the farmgate collectors. This can be based on the rationale that, unlike other actors in the chain, the farmgate collectors interact directly or more with the farmers, making ICT more crucial for them than other actors in the chain. The study concludes that ICT can provide farmers and value chain actors with information about the market, among others, new production skills and processes that will help them upgrade, leading to entry into higher-value markets