World Drug Report 2014

The World Drug Report provides an annual overview of the major developments in drug markets for the various drug categories, ranging from production to trafficking, including development of new routes and modalities, as well as consumption. Chapter 1 of the World Drug Report 2014 provides a global overview of the latest developments with respect to opiates, cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines (including “ecstasy”) and the health impact of drug use. Chapter 2 zeroes in on the control of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of illicit drugs

Beyond clustering: mean-field dynamics on networks with arbitrary subgraph composition

Clustering is the propensity of nodes that share a common neighbour to be connected. It is ubiquitous in many networks but poses many modelling challenges. Clustering typically manifests itself by a higher than expected frequency of triangles, and this has led to the principle of constructing networks from such building blocks. This approach has been generalised to networks being constructed from a set of more exotic subgraphs. As long as these are fully connected, it is then possible to derive mean-field models that approximate epidemic dynamics well. However, there are virtually no results for non-fully connected subgraphs. In this paper, we provide a general and automated approach to deriving a set of ordinary differential equations, or mean-field model, that describes, to a high degree of accuracy, the expected values of system-level quantities, such as the prevalence of infection. Our approach offers a previously unattainable degree of control over the arrangement of subgraphs and network characteristics such as classical node degree, variance and clustering. The combination of these features makes it possible to generate families of networks with different subgraph compositions while keeping classical network metrics constant. Using our approach, we show that higher-order structure realised either through the introduction of loops of different sizes or by generating networks based on different subgraphs but with identical degree distribution and clustering, leads to non-negligible differences in epidemic dynamics

Extremal measures maximizing functionals based on simplicial volumes

We consider functionals measuring the dispersion of a d-dimensional distribution which are based on the volumes of simplices of dimension k ≤ d formed by k + 1 independent copies and raised to some power δ. We study properties of extremal measures that maximize these functionals. In particular, for positive δ we characterize their support and for negative δ we establish connection with potential theory and motivate the application to space-filling design for computer experiments. Several illustrative examples are presented

Feasibility of a cognitive behavioural group intervention to reduce fear of falling and associated avoidance of activity in community-living older people: a process evaluation

BACKGROUND: Fear of falling and associated avoidance of activity are common among older people and may have negative consequences in terms of functional decline, quality of life and institutionalisation. We evaluated the effects of a cognitive behavioural group intervention to reduce fear of falling and associated avoidance of activity among older persons. This intervention showed favourable effects on fear of falling, avoidance of activity, daily activity, and several secondary outcomes. The aim of the present study is to assess the feasibility of this cognitive behavioural group intervention for participants and facilitators. METHODS: The intervention consisted of eight weekly group sessions lasting two hours each and a booster session after six months. Self-administered questionnaires, registration forms and interviews were used to collect data from participants (n = 168) and facilitators (n = 6) on the extent to which the intervention was performed according to protocol, participant attendance, participant adherence, and participants' and facilitators' opinion of the intervention. Quantitative data from the questionnaires and registration forms were analysed by means of descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were categorised based on matching contents of the answers. RESULTS: Facilitators reported no major protocol deviations. Twenty-six percent of the participants withdrew before the start of the programme. Of the persons who started the programme, 84% actually completed it. The participants reported their adherence as good, but facilitators had a less favourable opinion of this. The majority of participants still reported substantial benefits from the programme after six and twelve months of follow-up (71% and 61% respectively). Both participants and facilitators provided suggestions for improvement of the intervention. CONCLUSION: Results of this study show that the current cognitive behavioural group intervention is feasible for both participants and facilitators and fits in well with regular care. Minor refinement of the intervention, however, is warranted to further improve intervention effectiveness and efficiency. Based on these positive findings, we recommend implementing a refined version of this effective and feasible intervention in regular care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN43792817

Energy expenditure during egg laying is equal for early and late breeding free-living female great tits

In many bird populations, variation in the timing of reproduction exists but it is not obvious how this variation is maintained as timing has substantial fitness consequences. Daily energy expenditure (DEE) during the egg laying period increases with decreasing temperatures and thus perhaps only females that can produce eggs at low energetic cost will lay early in the season, at low temperatures. We tested whether late laying females have a higher daily energy expenditure during egg laying than early laying females in 43 great tits (Parus major), by comparing on the same day the DEE of early females late in their laying sequence with DEE of late females early in their egg laying sequence. We also validated the assumption that there are no within female differences in DEE within the egg laying sequence. We found a negative effect of temperature and a positive effect of female body mass on DEE but no evidence for differences in DEE between early and late laying females. However, costs incurred during egg laying may have carry-over effects later in the breeding cycle and if such carry-over effects differ for early and late laying females this could contribute to the maintenance of phenotypic variation in laying dates

Determinants of Health Care Renunciation among Women in Ivory Coast: Case of the District of Abobo Anonkoi-3

Background: Health care renunciation aims to identify unmet care needs that a health con­dition would have justified. This behavior appears to be more common in women than in men. The objective of this work was to analyze the determinants of the health care renuncia­tion among women in the city of Abidjan.Subjects and Method: We carried out a cross-sectional study from March to May 2019 in Anonkoi-3, a peri-urban district of the muni­cipality of Abobo, in the north of the city of Abidjan. Questionnaires served to collect infor­mations. Bivariate analyzes and a multiple logistic regression were used to measure the association between the different types of renunciation and the characteristics of women. Dependant variable was healthcare renuncia­tion. Independent variables were socio-demo­graphic, economic, health status characte­ristics and reasons for renouncing to health care.Results: The population sample consisted of 423 women (with mean age= 32; SD= 12 years). The renunciation on consultations with the general practitioner concerned, 72.34% of women. Regarding consultation with the spe­cialist, the ophthalmologist (25.05%), the dentist (21.99%), and the gynecologist (14.89%) were those mostly renounced by the women. After consultation, 31.2% of them renounced to pursuing other treatment. They most often renounced to buying drugs from conventional medicine (19.62%) and preferred to use street drugs and traditional drugs (87.71%). All things being equal, women aged 28 to 38 (OR= 2.45; 95% CI= 1.31 to 4.68; p= 0.013), artisans and traders (OR= 3.22; 95% CI= 1.48 to 7.38; p= 0.004) and those in trade learning (OR= 2.42; 95% CI= 1.12 to 5.49; p= 0.028) significantly renouncing more on health care.Conclusion: In addition to financial reasons, the renunciation on health care can be explained by individual and social behaviors specific to individuals.Keywords: women, healthcare renunciation, precariousness, social inequalities, ivory coastCorrespondence: Jérôme Kouame, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, Department of Public Health, Hydrology and Toxicology, University Félix Houphouët Boigny, BPV 34 Abidjan 01, Ivory Coast. Email: jerome.kouamejj­@­gmail.­com. Mobile: 0022565237900.Journal of Health Policy and Management (2021), 06(02): 116-129https://doi.org/10.26911/thejhpm.2021.06.02.0

Measurements of intermediate-frequency electric and magnetic fields in households

Historically, assessment of human exposure to electric and magnetic fields has focused on the extremely-low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges. However, research on the typically emitted fields in the intermediate-frequency (IF) range (300 Hz to 1 MHz) as well as potential effects of IF fields on the human body remains limited, although the range of household appliances with electrical components working in the IF range has grown significantly (e.g., induction cookers and compact fluorescent lighting). In this study, an extensive measurement survey was performed on the levels of electric and magnetic fields in the IF range typically present in residences as well as emitted by a wide range of household appliances under real-life circumstances. Using spot measurements, residential IF field levels were found to be generally low, while the use of certain appliances at close distance (20 cm) may result in a relatively high exposure. Overall, appliance emissions contained either harmonic signals, with fundamental frequencies between 6 kHz and 300 kHz, which were sometimes accompanied by regions in the IF spectrum of rather noisy, elevated field strengths, or much more capricious spectra, dominated by 50 Hz harmonics emanating far in the IF domain. The maximum peak field strengths recorded at 20 cm were 41.5 V/m and 2.7 A/m, both from induction cookers. Finally, none of the appliance emissions in the IF range exceeded the exposure summation rules recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC 62233) standard at 20 cm and beyond (maximum exposure quotients EQ(E) 1.0 and (E)Q(H) 0.13)

T Cells from Programmed Death-1 Deficient Mice Respond Poorly to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection

Programmed Death-1 (PD-1; CD279) receptor molecule is widely believed to be a negative regulator predominantly expressed by exhausted/activated mouse T cells. Upon interaction with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, PD-1 inhibits activation of T cells and cytokine production, which has been documented in various viral and fungal infections as well as in vitro studies. Therefore, inhibition of T cell responses by PD-1 resulted in disease resistance in a variety of mouse infection models studied heretofore.Here, we report that PD-1 deficient (PD-1(-/-)) mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) H37Rv by the aerosol route have increased susceptibility as compared with their wild type littermates. Surprisingly, M. tb antigen-specific T cell proliferation was dramatically reduced in PD-1 deficient animals compared with wild-type littermates, and this was due to increased numbers of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and recruitment of mesenchymal stem cells. Furthermore, PD-1(-/-) mice exhibited decreases in the autophagy-induced LC3-B marker protein in macrophages.Our findings suggest that PD-1 does not play an inhibitory role during M. tb infection and instead promotes mycobacterial clearance in mice

Midgut microbiota of the malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae and Interactions with plasmodium falciparum Infection

The susceptibility of Anopheles mosquitoes to Plasmodium infections relies on complex interactions between the insect vector and the malaria parasite. A number of studies have shown that the mosquito innate immune responses play an important role in controlling the malaria infection and that the strength of parasite clearance is under genetic control, but little is known about the influence of environmental factors on the transmission success. We present here evidence that the composition of the vector gut microbiota is one of the major components that determine the outcome of mosquito infections. A. gambiae mosquitoes collected in natural breeding sites from Cameroon were experimentally challenged with a wild P. falciparum isolate, and their gut bacterial content was submitted for pyrosequencing analysis. The meta-taxogenomic approach revealed a broader richness of the midgut bacterial flora than previously described. Unexpectedly, the majority of bacterial species were found in only a small proportion of mosquitoes, and only 20 genera were shared by 80% of individuals. We show that observed differences in gut bacterial flora of adult mosquitoes is a result of breeding in distinct sites, suggesting that the native aquatic source where larvae were grown determines the composition of the midgut microbiota. Importantly, the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the mosquito midgut correlates significantly with the Plasmodium infection status. This striking relationship highlights the role of natural gut environment in parasite transmission. Deciphering microbe-pathogen interactions offers new perspectives to control disease transmission.Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); French Agence Nationale pour la Recherche [ANR-11-BSV7-009-01]; European Community [242095, 223601]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio