A Tri-Project Approach: Expanding Three Different Frontiers of Neuroscience

We identify three routes in which we can advance the field of neuroscience’s ability to model increasingly complex systems. We identified and reviewed the in vitro neuronal model of HT22 cells, while also offering the field a comprehensive and optimized culturing protocol to produce a matured in vitro model. We also identify a novel optogenetic construct and neural circuitry labeling technique that will base their in vitro modeling within the established HT22 differentiation protocol we present. The constructed optogenetic construct can facilitate dual input recording within the Mesolimbic excitatory neurons, advancing the reach of optogenetic evaluation in the context of the Beaudoin Lab as well as the field at large. The proposed neurocircuitry method also advances the Beaudoin Lab’s interest in reward circuitry, as we propose a Notch-Cre and Delta-based mechanism that can ultimately facilitate structural and functional mapping within one experiment without neurotoxicity. Ultimately, we extend the utility of the labeling method to encompass more complex field-wide interests of circuit-specific knock-ins or knock-outs in an immensely efficient and regulated fashion. We detail three novel and distinct models with dual utility for the Beaudoin lab and the field

Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling to Monitor the Prevalence of Abortions and the Quality of Reproductive Health Care in Armenia

Monitoring abortion prevalence is essential to plan control efforts. Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) is an inexpensive, reliable method for monitoring abortion prevalence and access to quality reproductive health (RH) services. This chapter presents survey results from 2000 in three sites of Armenia (Gyumri, Gavar and Goris) using LQAS principles (i.e., 44%, 95% CI: ±6% of women had an induced abortion in their lifetime, a total abortion rate (TAR) of 2.0 abortions per woman). Modern contraceptive use was lowest in Goris (16%. 95% CI: ±7%) and highest in Gyumri (43%, 95% CI: ±11%). Only 37% (95% CI: ±9%) of women with an induced abortion received family planning information and 21% (95% CI: ±4%) of mothers were counselled about family planning after delivery. While limited access to family planning information and contraceptives is still an issue in Armenia, recently new reproductive health priorities—such as infertility, sex-selective abortions and abortions due to socio-economic difficulties—have become more common and can be investigated using LQAS in both community surveys and health facility assessments. This study demonstrates that measuring national abortion prevalence and access to services mask underlying variations; the awareness of which is essential for health program planning

Rapid Assessment of Centers for Displaced Unaccompanied Children in Rwanda during the 1994 Crisis

This paper assesses aIl of the Centers for Unaccompanied Children (CUCs) in four prefectures of Rwanda during November 1994 using quantitative and qualitative methods. The purpose of the survey was to assess the quality of services delivered as weIl as the need for standards to be developed for planning and managing CUCs. This paper reveals that CUCs exhibit a large variability amongst themselves as weIl as numerous deficiencies in the quality ofservices delivered, and suggests the need for clear performance standards, and regular monitoring and supervision.Cet article procède à une évaluation de tous les Centres pour Enfants Non Accompagnés dans quatre préfectures du Rwanda au cours du mois de novembre 1994, grâce à des observations directes et à un questionnaire. Le but de l'enquête est d'évaluer la qualité des services fournis, autant que de se donner une idée des besoins en matière de formulations des normes à développer pour la mise sur pied et la gestion de ces CUC. Cet article révèle que les CUC sont très peu semblables, et manifestent de larges disparités autant que de multiples déficiences dans la qualité des services qu'ils diffusent. On conclut en affirmant qu'il y se manifeste un net besoin de normes de performance autant que d'un suivi et d'une supervision constante de ces services

Multiple Category-Lot Quality Assurance Sampling: A New Classification System with Application to Schistosomiasis Control

Background: Originally a binary classifier, Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) has proven to be a useful tool for classification of the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni into multiple categories (≤10%, >10 and <50%, ≥50%), and semi-curtailed sampling has been shown to effectively reduce the number of observations needed to reach a decision. To date the statistical underpinnings for Multiple Category-LQAS (MC-LQAS) have not received full treatment. We explore the analytical properties of MC-LQAS, and validate its use for the classification of S. mansoni prevalence in multiple settings in East Africa. Methodology We outline MC-LQAS design principles and formulae for operating characteristic curves. In addition, we derive the average sample number for MC-LQAS when utilizing semi-curtailed sampling and introduce curtailed sampling in this setting. We also assess the performance of MC-LQAS designs with maximum sample sizes of n = 15 and n = 25 via a weighted kappa-statistic using S. mansoni data collected in 388 schools from four studies in East Africa. Principle Findings Overall performance of MC-LQAS classification was high (kappa-statistic of 0.87). In three of the studies, the kappa-statistic for a design with n = 15 was greater than 0.75. In the fourth study, where these designs performed poorly (kappa-statistic less than 0.50), the majority of observations fell in regions where potential error is known to be high. Employment of semi-curtailed and curtailed sampling further reduced the sample size by as many as 0.5 and 3.5 observations per school, respectively, without increasing classification error. Conclusion/Significance: This work provides the needed analytics to understand the properties of MC-LQAS for assessing the prevalance of S. mansoni and shows that in most settings a sample size of 15 children provides a reliable classification of schools

“Pulque limpio” / “pulque sucio”: disputas en torno a la legitimidad y la producción social del valor

The aim of this paper is to analyze the social&nbsp;construction of value of pulque in Tlaxcala, Mexico. It analyzes the production of value as an economic, as well as cultural and social process, that articulates power relationships&nbsp;in which subjects, institutions, and material&nbsp;resources are involved. This study focuses on the language and discourse of producers and&nbsp;the public health authorities, about the legitimacy&nbsp;of consuming this traditional beverage, and argues that both are an arena of struggle&nbsp;in which subjects continuously confront each&nbsp;other to create new meanings and values. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X46El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la&nbsp;construcción social del valor del pulque en&nbsp;Tlaxcala, México: cómo tal valor, además de&nbsp;producirse económicamente, es un proceso social y cultural que articula relaciones de&nbsp;poder en las que intervienen sujetos, instituciones y recursos materiales. El estudio se enfoca en el lenguaje y el discurso de los&nbsp;productores y las autoridades de la salubridad&nbsp;pública, en torno de la legitimidad del&nbsp;consumo de esta bebida tradicional, para&nbsp;mostrar que ambos son una arena de lucha&nbsp;en la que los sujetos se enfrentan para crear nuevas significaciones de ese valor. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X4

Study of the influence of the operational parameters on the photoelectro-Fenton performance of an industrial wastewater treatment prototype using Orange II as a model pollutant

AbstractA two-stage photoelectro-Fenton reactor was built and employed to test its ability to remove colour using Orange II as a model dye compound. A set of four critical operational variables was defined for the reactor under study. In order to quantify their significance on colour removal, a 24 experimental factorial design was used. From the resultant data, and from a variable interaction analysis, a model of the reactor's performance as well as a characteristic set of experimental conditions was obtained. From this information, a triple interaction among current density, resin concentration and pH was statistically significant. Hydraulic retention time was not important. The best treatment among those studied was obtained at pH 3, current density 23.9 mA cm−2, and 3.7 g L−1 of resin concentration, with 96% decolorization. The best results with decolorization higher than 86% were obtained at acidic or slightly acidic pH, and higher levels of current density and resin concentration, or lower level of current density and resin concentration

Using Factorial Design Methodology to Assess PLA-g-Ma and Henequen Microfibrillated Cellulose Content on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid) Composites

In this work, a 22 factorial design was used to study the effect of microfibrillated henequen cellulose fibers (HENCEL) and PLA-g-MA coupling agent contents on the tensile, flexural, and impact mechanical properties and the heat deflection temperature (HDT) of biodegradable PLA composites. The results show that the principal effects of HENCEL and MA are statistically significant for the tensile, flexural, HDT, and impact strength properties of PLA composites. Regarding the interactions between the principle effects, MA-HENCEL, there are differences with respect to the mechanical property; for example, for tensile and flexural mechanical properties, there is a synergistic effect between MA and HENCEL, whereas for HDT and impact strength there is not any. The micromechanical analysis shows an excellent agreement between the measured and the estimated values for both the composite tensile strength and the elastic modulus and only slight deviations were noticed for high microfibrillated cellulose fibers content. The morphological analysis via SEM indicated that the addition of PLA-g-MA improved the fiber-matrix adhesion because of the HENCEL unbounding and pull-out decreases from the PLA matrix. The use of appropriate values of matrix strength and stiffness and considering the improved fiber-matrix adhesion of the coupling agent yield a good agreement between experimental and estimated values

Combining national survey with facility-based HIV testing data to obtain more accurate estimate of HIV prevalence in districts in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: National or regional population-based HIV prevalence surveys have small sample sizes at district or sub-district levels; this leads to wide confidence intervals when estimating HIV prevalence at district level for programme monitoring and decision making. Health facility programme data, collected during service delivery is widely available, but since people self-select for HIV testing, HIV prevalence estimates based on it, is subject to selection bias. We present a statistical annealing technique, Hybrid Prevalence Estimation (HPE), that combines a small population-based survey sample with a facility-based sample to generate district level HIV prevalence estimates with associated confidence intervals. METHODS: We apply the HPE methodology to combine the 2011 Uganda AIDS indicator survey with the 2011 health facility HIV testing data to obtain HIV prevalence estimates for districts in Uganda. Multilevel logistic regression was used to obtain the propensity of testing for HIV in a health facility, and the propensity to test was used to combine the population survey and health facility HIV testing data to obtain the HPEs. We assessed comparability of the HPEs and survey-based estimates using Bland Altman analysis. RESULTS: The estimates ranged from 0.012 to 0.178 and had narrower confidence intervals compared to survey-based estimates. The average difference between HPEs and population survey estimates was 0.00 (95% CI: - 0.04, 0.04). The HPE standard errors were 28.9% (95% CI: 23.4-34.4) reduced, compared to survey-based standard errors. Overall reduction in HPE standard errors compared survey-based standard errors ranged from 5.4 to 95%. CONCLUSIONS: Facility data can be combined with population survey data to obtain more accurate HIV prevalence estimates for geographical areas with small population survey sample sizes. We recommend use of the methodology by district level managers to obtain more accurate HIV prevalence estimates to guide decision making without incurring additional data collection costs