Intravaginal and Menstrual Practices among Women Working in Food and Recreational Facilities in Mwanza, Tanzania: Implications for Microbicide Trials

Intravaginal and menstrual practices may potentially influence results of trials of microbicides for HIV prevention through effects on the vaginal environment and on adherence to microbicide and placebo products. As part of the feasibility study for the Microbicides Development Programme Phase 3 trial of a vaginal microbicide in Mwanza, a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods were used to describe these practices, associations with behaviour and underlying social norms among women working in food and recreational facilities. Intravaginal cleansing by inserting fingers and either water alone or soap and water was thought necessary to remove “uchafu” (dirt), referring to vaginal secretions, including menstrual blood and post-coital discharge. Vaginal cleansing was carried out within 2 hours after 45% of sex acts. Sexual enhancement practices were less common. Intravaginal and menstrual practices and associated behaviours and demographic factors should be measured and monitored throughout microbicide trials to enable analyses of their impacts on microbicide effectiveness

Partner notification for sexually transmitted infections in developing countries: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The feasibility and acceptability of partner notification (PN) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in developing countries was assessed through a comprehensive literature review, to help identify future intervention needs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1995 and December 2007 on STI PN in developing countries. A systematic review of the research extracted information on: (1) willingness of index patients to notify partners; (2) the proportion of partners notified or referred; (3) client-reported barriers in notifying partners; (4) infrastructure barriers in notifying partners; and (5) PN approaches that were evaluated in developing countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 609 screened articles, 39 met our criteria. PN outcome varied widely and was implemented more often for spousal partners than for casual or commercial partners. Reported barriers included sociocultural factors such as stigma, fear of abuse for having an STI, and infrastructural factors related to the limited number of STD clinics, and trained providers and reliable diagnostic methods. Client-oriented counselling was found to be effective in improving partner referral outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>STD clinics can improve PN with client-oriented counselling, which should help clients to overcome perceived barriers. The authors speculate that well-designed PN interventions to evaluate the impact on STI prevalence and incidence along with cost-effectiveness components will motivate policy makers in developing countries to allocate more resources towards STI management.</p

Geneva®11: portinnesto alternativo a M9

Le prove condotte dalla Fondazione Mach in Trentino dal 2010 evidenziano che il portinnesto G11 garantisce produzioni e qualità dei frutti simili se non maggiori a M9; inoltre è resistente al colpo di fuoco e al marciume del collett

The performance of Geneva apple rootstocks in the province of Trento

In spring 2011, six trials of dwarf and semi-dwarf apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) rootstocks to study the performance of yield and fruit quality were established in the province of Trento in two distinct sites: 210 m a.s.l. (S1) and 650 m a.s.l. (S2). ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Fuji’ were chosen as scion cultivars. The M9 T337 clone was compared to two Geneva® genotypes: G11 and G16. Besides these, other genotypes such as the M9 clone Pajam 2, Supporter® 4 Pi80 and CIV-P21 were also compared to M9 T337. The cultivars did not have the same number of genotypes, therefore a comparison of genotypes in each cultivar and each cultivar in the two localities were compared. Trees were trained as spindle. After 5 years, there were significant differences in growth of trees at the two locations. Trees at S1 had higher trunk cross sectional area than trees at S2. Among the genotypes, tree size was largest with P21 and smallest with M9 T337 and Pajam 2. Likewise, G11 and G16 were higher than M9 T337 in ‘Fuji’ and similar to ‘Golden Delicious’. Instead, in ‘Gala’ G16 was significantly higher than M9 T337. Trees on G11 and G16 had similar yield as M9 T337. Yield efficiency was higher at S2 than at S1. G11 and G16 had similar yield efficiency as M9 T337 in ‘Fuji’ and ‘Golden Delicious’, and lower in ‘Gala’. S2 trees had higher number of fruits and lower fruit weight compared to S1. G11 had higher fruit weight than M9 T337 in all the cultivars while G16 in ‘Gala’ and ‘Golden’ only. G16 had better fruit over color than G11 in ‘Fuji’ and no differences were found between the Geneva rootstocks and M9 T337 in ‘Gala’