The Immunoepidemiology of Hookworm Infection in the Peruvian Amazon

Hookworm infection caused by Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus is a significant global health threat, causing chronic anemia, malnutrition, developmental delay, enteritis, and increased susceptibility to non-parasitic diseases. One of the most prevalent of the neglected tropical diseases, hookworm infection affects almost 1 billion people worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Current methods for diagnosis and treatment of hookworm infection are largely the same as they have been for the past century. However, several recent advances in the molecular characterization of hookworm virulence factors now provide researchers with an improved understanding of disease pathogenesis, potential targets for treatment and novel antigens for vaccine development. In order to better understand hookworm pathophysiology and immunology in human populations, a comprehensive, cross-sectional immunoepidemiologic survey of approximately 200 villagers in a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon was conducted. Hookworm prevalence rates were found to approach 40% by microscopic diagnosis. Additionally, molecular speciation techniques showed that both A. duodenale and N. americanus are endemic to this region. Reagents from a laboratory model of hookworm disease were then utilized to characterize human immune responses to hookworm specific antigens. By studying the immunoepidemiology of an endemic community we have found that a laboratory strain of hookworm, Anyclostoma ceylanicum, is a useful tool for describing species specific immune responses to disease. This work lays the foundation for future development of improved hookworm diagnostic techniques by molecular and immunologic methods

EFFECTIVENESS OF BACK SCHOOL EXERCISES IN NON SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN

Background: Worldwide, 65 - 80% of the population experience low back pain at some stage of their lives. The most common cause of disability is related to the musculoskeletal system; particularly low back pain and spinal disorders. It is convenient to classify low back pain into two groups i.e. specific and nonspecific low back pain. Aim: To study effectiveness of back school exercises in nonspecific low back pain. Methods: A sample size of 50 between age group of 20 - 60 years was selected. Pre intervention VAS and RMDQ score was noted with back school intervention for four weeks followed by post intervention VAS and RMDQ score. Results: After back school intervention the VAS score for pain intensity was reduced at rest and on activity, the RMDQ scores was also reduced significantly, it shows the low back pain disabilities was reduced in all age groups. Conclusion: From the study it is concluded that the back school exercises are effective in nonspecific low back pain. The back school interventions can improve workability of patient

Calculation of Scalar Isosurface Area and Applications

The problem of calculating iso-surface statistics in turbulent flows is interesting for a number of reasons, some of them being combustion modeling, entrainment through turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces, calculating mass flux through iso-scalar surfaces and mapping of scalar fields. A fundamental effect of fuid turbulence is to wrinkle scalar iso-surfaces. A review of the literature shows that iso-surface calculations have primarily been done with geometric methods, which have challenges when used to calculate surfaces that have high complexity, such as in turbulent flows. In this thesis, we propose an alternative integral method and test it against analytical solutions. We present a parallelized algorithm and code to enable in-simulation calculation of isosurface area. We then use this code to calculate area statistics for data obtained from Direct Numerical Simulations and make predictions about the variation of the iso-scalar surface area with Taylor Peclet numbers between 9.8 and 4429 and Taylor Reynolds numbers between 98 and 633

EFFECTIVENESS OF BACK SCHOOL EXERCISES IN NON SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN

Background: Worldwide, 65 - 80% of the population experience low back pain at some stage of their lives. The most common cause of disability is related to the musculoskeletal system; particularly low back pain and spinal disorders. It is convenient to classify low back pain into two groups i.e. specific and nonspecific low back pain. Aim: To study effectiveness of back school exercises in nonspecific low back pain. Methods: A sample size of 50 between age group of 20 - 60 years was selected. Pre intervention VAS and RMDQ score was noted with back school intervention for four weeks followed by post intervention VAS and RMDQ score. Results: After back school intervention the VAS score for pain intensity was reduced at rest and on activity, the RMDQ scores was also reduced significantly, it shows the low back pain disabilities was reduced in all age groups. Conclusion: From the study it is concluded that the back school exercises are effective in nonspecific low back pain. The back school interventions can improve workability of patient

CLINICAL STUDY OF CONTRACEPTIVE ACTIVITY OF TALISPATRA AND GAIRIKA

The world population is increasing much faster. Many socio-economic conditions of people have also been adversely affected. Various side effects have been observed with modern contraceptive methods. In Ayurveda many contraceptive drugs are explained, According to Yoga-Ratnakar Talispatra with Gairika is considered as a potent contraceptive, hence to assess its clinical efficacy, Ovulatory effects, side effects of the formulation and to provide cost effective, safe and effective method of contraception and contribute to national health programme like family planning this study was under taken. Clinical study was conducted on 30 women, 15 in each group. In group I mixture of Talispatra (Taxus baccate) & Gairika (Red oxide) (10gm) a single dose was administered on 4th day of menstrual cycle with cold water. In group II tab Mala - D daily one administered from 5th day of M. C for 21 days, follicular study was done on 11th day of M. C. in each patient observed for 3 cycles. In clinical study test drug in group I had shown In Ist, IInd, IIIrd month Dominant Follicle observed in one woman (6. 66%), eight women (53. 33%), twelve woman (80%) respectively and endometrial thickness observed less than 7mm in ten women (66. 6%), 4 women (26. 66%) 3 women (80%) respectively the study drug shown, significant contraceptive activity in I month than II, III month and group II. But side effects were noted only in group II. Mixture of Talispatra & Gairika had shown significant contraceptive activity. It is effective, safe, acceptable, less expensive enough to obviate frequent administration & without medical supervision.&nbsp

Using the weighted area under the net benefit curve for decision curve analysis

Supplementary Material.docx. Includes the Appendix and two supplementary figures referred in the manuscript. (DOCX 327 kb

A powerful hybrid approach to select top single-nucleotide polymorphisms for genome-wide association study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genome-wide association (GWA) study has recently become a powerful approach for detecting genetic variants for common diseases without prior knowledge of the variant's location or function. Generally, in GWA studies, the most significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with top-ranked p values are selected in stage one, with follow-up in stage two. The value of selecting SNPs based on statistically significant p values is obvious. However, when minor allele frequencies (MAFs) are relatively low, less-significant p values can still correspond to higher odds ratios (ORs), which might be more useful for prediction of disease status. Therefore, if SNPs are selected using an approach based only on significant p values, some important genetic variants might be missed. We proposed a hybrid approach for selecting candidate SNPs from the discovery stage of GWA study, based on both p values and ORs, and conducted a simulation study to demonstrate the performance of our approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The simulation results showed that our hybrid ranking approach was more powerful than the existing ranked p value approach for identifying relatively less-common SNPs. Meanwhile, the type I error probabilities of the hybrid approach is well-controlled at the end of the second stage of the two-stage GWA study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In GWA studies, SNPs should be considered for inclusion based not only on ranked p values but also on ranked ORs.</p

Agricultural credit repayment in Finoteselam town, northwestern Ethiopia

This research was undertaken at Finoteselam town with the objective of estimating the parameters that determine agricultural credit repayment. Primary data from 200 households were collected through a questionnaire survey in 2006. Estimation results of the logit model revealed that variables such as higher family size, incurring unforeseen expenses, and taking loans for the purpose of oxen fattening decreased the probability of individual loan repayment within a group. On the other hand, variables such as participation in off farm employment activities and an increase in loan term increased the probability of individual loan repayment within a group lending scheme. It is therefore important that microfinance institutions focus on supervision of clients so as to avoid diversion of loans to consumption ends. Family planning, creating enabling conditions for insurance markets, and enhancing labour markets are areas of policy concerns that could further improve loan repayment performances. Key words: Agricultural credit, determinants, microfinance, ACSI, northwestern Ethiopia, Finotesela

Genetic imprinting analysis for alcoholism genes using variance components approach

Genomic imprinting, which is also known as the parent-of-origin effect, is a mechanism that only expresses one copy of a gene pair depending upon the parental origin. Although many chromosomal regions in the human genome are likely to be imprinted, imprinting is not accounted for in the usual linkage analysis. In this study, using a variance-components approach with a quantitative phenotype ttth-FP1, we found significant evidence of imprinting at two loci, D7S1790 and D1S1631, on chromosome 1 and chromosome 7, respectively. Our results suggest that allowing for the possibility of imprinting can increase the power to detect linkage for localizing genes for alcoholism