AIDS-related mycoses: the way forward.

The contribution of fungal infections to the morbidity and mortality of HIV-infected individuals is largely unrecognized. A recent meeting highlighted several priorities that need to be urgently addressed, including improved epidemiological surveillance, increased availability of existing diagnostics and drugs, more training in the field of medical mycology, and better funding for research and provision of treatment, particularly in developing countries

Serological markers and risk factors for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses among students in a Nigerian university

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the seroprevalence rates of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections and to analyze associated risk factors among 400 students in a Nigerian. Methods: Participants were interviewed in a faceto-face sessions through a short structured questionnaire. Qualitative rapid immuno-chromatography test were used to screen for HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies and these were confirmed by using third generation quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISAs).Results: Seroprevalence rates were: HBV. All these individuals were asymptomatic and unaware of their hepatitis status prior to thisstudy. We did not detect any case of HBV/HCV co-infection. The risk of being infected with HBV or HCV was not associated with marital status or having facial/tribal (p>0.05). A significant association was found between HCV (not HBV) infection and blood transfusion {OR=5.0(95%CI=0.91-27.47); ÷2=4.15; p=0.04}.Conclusion: Although the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV is lower among university students when compared to blood donors, HIV/AIDS patients and health workers in Nigeria. We have shown that these viruses circulate among the study population and blood transfusion identified as the factors most associated with HCV infection. Routine donor screening needs to be enforced and it is essential to implement prevention strategies focused on university students and youths in general

Parameter Baserad Prediktionsmodell för Upplevd Talkvalité i Säker VoIP trafik

More and more sensitive information is communicated digitally and with thatcomes the demand for security and privacy on the services being used. An accurateQoS metric for these services are of interest both for the customer and theservice provider. This thesis has investigated the impact of different parameterson the perceived voice quality for encrypted VoIP using a PESQ score as referencevalue. Based on this investigation a parametric prediction model has been developedwhich outputs a R-value, comparable to that of the widely used E-modelfrom ITU. This thesis can further be seen as a template for how to construct modelsof other equipments or codecs than those evaluated here since they effect theresult but are hard to parametrise. The results of the investigation are consistent with previous studies regarding theimpact of packet loss, the impact of jitter is shown to be significant over 40 ms.The results from three different packetizers are presented which illustrates theneed to take such aspects into consideration when constructing a model to predictvoice quality. The model derived from the investigation performs well withno mean error and a standard deviation of the error of a mere 1:45 R-value unitswhen validated in conditions to be expected in GSM networks. When validatedagainst an emulated 3G network the standard deviation is even lower.