A Qualitative Study on the Feasibility and Benefits of Foot Hygiene Measures Practiced by Patients with Brugian Filariasis

Disability alleviation is an important component of Global Programme for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis'. In Brugia malayi infection the disability is largely due to acute attacks of adenolymphangitis (ADL), which frequently prevent patients from attending their normal activities, causing much suffering and economic loss. The foot care programme has been shown to reduce the frequency and severity of these episodes. In the present study we used semi-structured interviews to evaluate the impact of the foot care in 127 patients with brugian filariasis. They were previously trained in this procedure and were advised to practice it regularly, unsupervised. All except one could recollect the various components of foot hygiene and were practicing it regularly. They were aware of the factors causing ADL attacks and were able to avoid them. Majority (95.2%) expressed their happiness with the relief provided by foot care, which prevented or reduced the ADL episodes. The motivation was such that they transmitted this knowledge to others suffering in the community and even physically helped them to carry out foot care. This study fully endorses the advocacy of foot care programme as an easy to carry out, effective, sustainable and economically feasible ,procedure to prevent acute ADL attacks

Pengelolaan Pendidikan Daerah Tertinggal Se Kecamatan Buko Selatan

Penelitian ini ditulis dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui pengelolaan pendidikan daerah tertingal di Kecamatan Buko Selatan dalam meningkatkan pendidikan yang ada di Kabupaten Banggai Kepulauan . Metodologi dalam penulisan ini menggunakan penelitian kualitatif. dengan Jenis Penelitian Studikasus teknik pengumpulan data dalam penulisan ini adalah observasi, wawancara, dokumentasi, . Hasil yang diperoleh menunjukkan bahwa pengelolaan pendidikan daerah tertinggal sudah berjalan dengan baik pemahaman pendidikan berhubungan erat dengan kegiatan-kegiatan yang dilakukan oleh pelaksana pendidikan. Proses pembelajaran akan mampu meningkatkan kecerdasan dan kreativitas siswa dan akan berhasil meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan daerah tertinggal, apabila terdapat sinergi antara pelaku kegiatan pendidikan dengan pemerintah daerah. Dalam artian para anggota diberikan kesempatan untuk berpendapat, berfikir dan mengambil kesimpulan secara alternatif atas dasar kajian dan pengetahuan yang mereka miliki. Sejauh ini, peningkatan pendidikan di daerah tertinggal yang dilakukan dan diprakarsai oleh pemerintah belum cukup memuaskan. Akibatnya, pemahaman pendidikan di daerah tertinggal belum berkembang secara optimal. Pemerintah serta pihak sekolah sebagai tulang punggung diharapkan untuk selalu berupaya meningkatkan perannya, sehingga mampu mengoptimalkan peningkatan pendidikan bagi anggota dan masyarakat secara umum di masa-masa mendatang

Treatment of the microfilaraemia of asymptomatic brugian filariasis with single doses of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine or albendazole, in various combinations

Several new chemotherapeutic tools are now available for the control of lymphatic filariasis. Combinations of single doses of antifilarial drugs are generally superior to single drugs. The efficacy and safety of albendazole in combination with diethylcarbamazinc (DEC) or ivermectin, for the treatment of Brugia malayi infection, were investigated, for the first time, in an open, hospital-based study. Fifty-one asymptomatic microfilaraemics (with 108-4034 microfilariae/ml; median = 531) of both sexes and aged 14-70 years were randomly allocated to receive single-dose treatments of ivermectin (200 μg/kg) with diethylcarbamazine (DEC; 6 mg/kg), ivermectin (200 μg/kg) with albendazole (400 mg), DEC (6 mg/kg) with albendazole (400 mg), or albendazole (400 mg) alone. Albendazole alone had no effect on the microfilarial levels at the 1-year follow-up but both groups given DEC had significantly lower microfilaraemias ( P < 0.015 and P < 0.02) than that given ivermectin with albendazole. Overall, 47%-64% of those given DEC but only 14% of those given ivermectin with albendazole appeared to be amicrofilaraemic 1 year post-treatment. The adverse reactions seen in the study were mild, transient and qualitatively similar to those seen earlier with ivermectin and DEC. The combination of DEC and albendazole, both well tested drugs, offers a new option for countries such as India where there is no onchocerciasis or loiasis and where ivermectin may not be immediately available. The direct and indirect effects of albendazole on intestinal helminths would be additional benefits

Estimation of ASO titer as an indicator of streptococcal infection precipitating acute adenolymphangitis in brugian lymphatic filariasis

Recurrent episodes of acute adenolymphangitis (ADL) are important clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis which contribute significantly to the progression of lymphedema. It is increasingly being recognized that secondary bacterial infections play an important role in the etiology of ADL. We examined the role of streptococcal infection as a precipitating factor of ADL in brugian filariasis, by determining the anti-streptolysin O (ASO) titers and by isolating the causative organism wherever possible. The study population consisted of 30 patients with filariasis related ADL (Group A), 30 patients with chronic filarial edema (Group B) and 60 age and sex matched healthy adults (Group C). ASO titer was estimated by the latex agglutination method at the time of entry into the study, at the 15th day and at 3,6 and 12 months. ASO titers were persistently elevated in 90% of patients in Group A and a portal of entry for bacterial infection was detected in all of these patients. In Group B only six patients had persistently elevated ASO titers. These patients had grade III lymphedema and three of them had monilial infections in the affected limb. In the control group none had persistently elevated ASO titers. The elevated ASO titers and the detection of a site of entry for bacteria in patients with ADL supports a streptococcal etiology for this condition

Seasonal variation in yield and yield contributing characters of selected cocoa clones

Cocoa, the only source of chocolate, is divided into three groups viz. Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario. This study was taken up to gauge the performance of 12 years old cocoa clones of three types. Among these, Forastero was found to perform well under tropical conditions in all three seasons. The performance of Forastero was unrivaled with pod weight 429.95 g and wet bean weight 117.79 g. All three varieties performed well under post-monsoon season exploiting advantages of monsoon. When correlated with weather, it was observed that number of rainy days, rainfall and relative humidity had a negative correlation with number of pods, whereas mean sunshine hours had a positive correlation with pod weight, wet bean weight, and TSS. In order to comprehend the significance of weather parameters, canonical correlation was estimated. The high value indicated that all the weather parameters influenced the characters to a great extent. Rainfall, temperature and relative humidity were the three climatic factors influencing the yield parameters. High R2 value obtained in prediction model suggested that it could be efficiently used in the prediction of yield and yield contributing characters of cocoa. &nbsp

Clinical profile of post flood fever in a tertiary care hospital in Kerala

Background: Floods are an important source of infection epidemic worldwide. Analysis of different infections presenting during floods can lead us to have a unified approach during such periods.Methods: This study describes the clinical features of fever patients presented to a tertiary care hospital in Kerala after the 2018 flood. Clinical findings of the confirmed leptospirosis cases were also compared with non-leptospirosis cases.Results: A total of 48 patients with fever and myalgia were studied and majority of them were males (77%). 40 patients had contact with contaminated water. But only 10 of them had taken prophylactic doxycycline. Complications were seen less among those who took prophylactic doxycycline. The mean time from the first symptom to first medical care was 4.4 days. Leptospirosis was seen among 15 patients and 2 patients had dengue fever. Hepatic involvement and renal involvement were seen significantly higher among leptospirosis patients.Conclusions: This study emphasized the importance of prophylactic doxycycline and early initiation of antibiotics during flood outbreaks. Awareness among treating doctors and patients is required for the control of outbreaks and prevention of mortality during floods.

Propagation of pure fetal and maternal mesenchymal stromal cells from terminal chorionic villi of human term placenta

Long term propagation of human fetal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) in vitro has proven elusive due to limited availability of fetal tissue sources and lack of appropriate methodologies. Here, we have demonstrated the presence of fetal and maternal cells within the tips of Terminal Chorionic Villi (TCV) of normal human term placenta and we have exploited inherent differences in the adhesive and migratory properties of maternal vs. fetal cells, to establish pure MSC cultures of both cell types. The origin and purity of each culture was confirmed by X-Y chromosome-specific Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Short Tandem Repeat (STR) genotyping. This is the first demonstration of fetal and maternal cells in the TCV of human term placenta and also of deriving pure fetal MSC cultures from them. The concomitant availability of pure cultures of adult and fetal MSC from one tissue provides a good system to compare genetic and epigenetic differences between adult and fetal MSCs and also to generate new models of cell based therapies in regenerative medicine

Synthesis of gas and vapor molecular sieving silica membranes and analysis of pore size and connectivity

Pervaporation and gas permeation properties of microporous silica membranes made by a sol−gel method are discussed. Defect free molecular sieving membranes are prepared by a dip coating process. The molecular sieving performance was measured and controlled based on gas permeation behavior of the membranes. The apparent activation energy for helium permeation and He/N2 perm-selectivity values were used as the parameters for optimization of the membrane performance. The membranes with very high activation energy for He diffusion were used for pervaporation studies with a methanol/MTBE mixture at 323 K. Separation factor values as high as 260 were measured at a total liquid flux of 0.3 kg/m2 hr. Sorption studies performed on corresponding silica gels revealed a separation mechanism based on diffusion of vapor molecules. Permeation of the vapor molecules through the micropores followed an activated diffusion mechanism. The gas permeation data could provide an understanding of the pore size distribution of the membrane, and the vapor sorption and diffusion data on the size and connectivity of the membrane pores

Effect of conservation tillage, residue and nitrogen levels on soil nitrogen fractions and their contributions in nitrogen uptake in castor (Ricinus communis)

This experiment was conducted in rainfed semi-arid tropical Alfisol at Hayathnagar Research Farm of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India, during the period 1995 to 2014 to study the long-term effect of conservation agricultural practices on organic and inorganic N fractions in soil, their contribution to available N pool and N uptake in castor (Ricinus communis L.). The experiment was conducted in a strip split-split plot design with conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) as main factors, surface application of sorghum stover @ 2 tonnes/ha (SS), fresh gliricidia loppings @ 2 tonnes/ha (GL) and ‘no’ residue (NR) as sub-factors and levels of N, viz. 0 (N0), 30 (N30), 60 (N60) and 90 (N90) kg N/ha as sub-sub factors. The results of the study revealed that increasing N levels influenced exchangeable ammonical N and nitrate N. Practice of conservation tillage, application of residues and nitrogen significantly influenced the hydrolysable organic N fractions in the soil. Among these, aminoacid N, hexosamine N, hydrolyzable NH 4 + and unidentified N constituted 52%, 8%, 13% and 27% of total hydrolysable N. Linear regression relationship between castor yield and total soil N and N uptake (R2 = 0.998) was found significant. Further, inter correlations between N fractions indicated free mobility among the N fractions. Hence, the build up of N in these pools can be significantly influenced by adoption of appropriate conservation agricultural practices on long term basis in rainfed Alfisols which are highly deficient in available soil N

Pedestrians moving in dark: Balancing measures and playing games on lattices

We present two conceptually new modeling approaches aimed at describing the motion of pedestrians in obscured corridors: * a Becker-D\"{o}ring-type dynamics * a probabilistic cellular automaton model. In both models the group formation is affected by a threshold. The pedestrians are supposed to have very limited knowledge about their current position and their neighborhood; they can form groups up to a certain size and they can leave them. Their main goal is to find the exit of the corridor. Although being of mathematically different character, the discussion of both models shows that it seems to be a disadvantage for the individual to adhere to larger groups. We illustrate this effect numerically by solving both model systems. Finally we list some of our main open questions and conjectures