Racial and Gender Implications in African Female Literature: an Afrocentric Feminist Reading of Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen

The paper analyzes and explains the racial and gender meanings in African female literature, particularly in Buchi Emecheta\u27s Second Class Citizen. The analysis is made from an Afrocentric -feminist perspective. Thus the research findings have shown how the social and ideological constructions of race and gender could engender networks of racism and sexism for both sexes. Through the experience of Adah, the paper describes the manner in which the colored woman could be double oppressed due to her gender and race. In spite of the obstacles placed before her due to racism and sexism, the findings have indicated that the heroine, Adah, thanks to her determination, and her strong desire to be independent, was able to integrate the English society by obtaining a first class job as librarian at North Finchley Library. She succeeded where many black men failed like her husband, Francis. Although the paper concludes that education and financial independence are efficient means for the empowerment of the African woman, it also reveals the Eurocentric attitude of the novelist. It is therefore found out that Emecheta reproduces some of the same Eurocentrists\u27 stereotypes about Africa by considering the African man and his culture as responsible for the marginalization of the African woman

Mutu Organoleptik dan Mikrobiologis Ikan Tongkol yang Diawetkan dengan Bawang Putih Selama Penyimpanan Suhu Ruang

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan bawang putih (Allium sativum) terhadap mutu organoleptik dan mikrobiologis pada ikan tongkol (Euthynnus affinis) yang di awetkan dengan bawang putih selama penyimpanan suhu ruang. Perlakuan dalam penelitian ini adalah konsentrasi bawang putih dengan taraf 0%, 10%, 15%, dan 20% dengan lama penyimpanan 0 jam, 12 jam, 24 jam, 36 jam, dan 48 jam. Parameter pengujian yang dilakukan meliputi uji organoleptik, TPC, dengan analisis data menggunakan ANOVA dua arah dengan model statistika Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) faktorial 4 x 5 x 2. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan bawang putih dapat memberikan pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap karakteristik mutu organoleptik (mata, insang, tekstur, dan bau), mikrobiologis pada ikan tongkol selama penyimpanan suhu ruang. Penggunaan bawang putih 15% dapat mempertahankan mutu organoleptik mata, tekstur dan bau selama penyimpanan 24 jam, sedangkan insang hingga 36 jam. Penggunaan bawang putih 15% juga dapat menekan jumlah mikroba dengan lama penyimpanan 24 jam. Kata kunci: bawang putih, mutu organoleptik, TPC, ikan tongko

Perbandingan Kinerja Keuangan pada Perusahaan Rokok yang Terdaftar di Bei Khususnya PT. Gudang Garam, Tbk dan PT. Hm. Sampoerna, Tbk.

Situasi perekonomian di Indonesia sekarang ini membawa dampak persaingan yang semakin ketat diberbagai bidang industri.Industri manufaktur merupakan salah satu sektor industri yang turut bersaing dikancah perekonomian global.Salah satu sektor industri manufaktur yang sangat menunjang pembangunan dan pertumbuhan ekonomi di Indonesia adalah industri rokok, penilaian kinerja keuangan dapat di ukur dengan menggunakan analisis rasio keuangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melakukan perbandingan kinerja keuangan pada dua Perusahaan rokok yaitu PT. Gudang Garam Tbk dan PT. HM Sampoerna Tbk. Populasi sebanyak 8 Perusahaan rokok yang go public, dan sampel yang digunakan sebanyak 2 Perusahaan, dengan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling dari metode penelitian komparatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa dengan menggunakan rasio profitabilitas, likuiditas, dan solvabilitas terdapat perbedaan kinerja keuangan yang signifikan antara PT. Gudang Garam Tbk dengan PT. HM. Sampoerna Tbk. Sebaiknya manajemen Perusahaan tetap mempertahankan tingkat profitabilitas, likuiditas, dan solvabilitas walaupun sudah baik namun tetap harus dipertahankan bahkan lebih baik jika ditingkatkan. Kata kunci: kinerja keuangan, profitabilitas, likuiditas, solvabilita

Improved Alere Determine Lipoarabinomannan Antigen Detection Test for the Diagnosis of Human and Bovine Tuberculosis by Manipulating Urine and Milk

Tuberculosis (TB) disease still kills 1-person every 21-seconds. Few TB diagnostic tests are considered truly appropriate for point of care settings. The WHO-endorsed immunodiagnostic Alere Determine Lipoarabinomannan Ag-test (LAM-test) detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex LAM in urine, and its use is recommended for TB diagnosis among HIV co-infected individuals with low CD4 T-cell counts. Here we found that a simple 15-minute enzymatic treatment at room temperature of LAM-spiked urine with \xCE\xB1-mannosidase (for human TB), and LAM-spiked milk with combined lactase and caseinase (for bovine TB), enhanced 10-fold the detection levels of the LAM-test and thus, improved the detection of LAM by the LAM-test in urine and milk that otherwise could be missed in the field. Future separate clinical research studies specifically designed to address the potential of these findings are required

Low-cost diagnostic test for susceptible and drug-resistant tuberculosis in rural Malawi

Background: Rural settings where molecular tuberculosis diagnostics are not currently available need easy-to-use tests that do not require additional processing or equipment. While acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear is the most common and often only tuberculosis diagnosis test performed in rural settings, it is labour intensive, has less-than-ideal sensitivity, and cannot assess tuberculosis drug susceptibility patterns. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of a multidrug-resistant (MDR) or extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-tuberculosis coloured agar-based culture test (tuberculosis CX-test), which can detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth and evaluate for drug susceptibility to isoniazid, rifampicin and a fluoroquinolone (i.e. ciprofloxacin) in approximately 14 days. Method: In this study, 101 participants were enrolled who presented to a rural health clinic in central Malawi. They were suspected of having active pulmonary tuberculosis. Participants provided demographic and clinical data and submitted sputum samples for tuberculosis testing using the AFB smear and tuberculosis CX-test. Results: The results showed a high level of concordance between the AFB smear (12 positive) and tuberculosis CX-test (13 positive); only one sample presented discordant results, with the molecular GeneXpert MTB/RIF® test confirming the tuberculosis CX-test results. The average time to a positive tuberculosis CX-test was 10 days. Of the positive samples, the tuberculosis CX-test detected no cases of drug resistance, which was later confirmed by the GeneXpert MTB/RIF®. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the tuberculosis CX-test could be a reliable low-cost diagnostic method for active pulmonary tuberculosis in high tuberculosis burden rural areas

Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone

Background Limited clinical and laboratory data are available on patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD). The Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone, which had an existing infrastructure for research regarding viral hemorrhagic fever, has received and cared for patients with EVD since the beginning of the outbreak in Sierra Leone in May 2014. Methods We reviewed available epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory records of patients in whom EVD was diagnosed between May 25 and June 18, 2014. We used quantitative reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assays to assess the load of Ebola virus (EBOV, Zaire species) in a subgroup of patients. Results Of 106 patients in whom EVD was diagnosed, 87 had a known outcome, and 44 had detailed clinical information available. The incubation period was estimated to be 6 to 12 days, and the case fatality rate was 74%. Common findings at presentation included fever (in 89% of the patients), headache (in 80%), weakness (in 66%), dizziness (in 60%), diarrhea (in 51%), abdominal pain (in 40%), and vomiting (in 34%). Clinical and laboratory factors at presentation that were associated with a fatal outcome included fever, weakness, dizziness, diarrhea, and elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatinine. Exploratory analyses indicated that patients under the age of 21 years had a lower case fatality rate than those over the age of 45 years (57% vs. 94%, P=0.03), and patients presenting with fewer than 100,000 EBOV copies per milliliter had a lower case fatality rate than those with 10 million EBOV copies per milliliter or more (33% vs. 94%, P=0.003). Bleeding occurred in only 1 patient. Conclusions The incubation period and case fatality rate among patients with EVD in Sierra Leone are similar to those observed elsewhere in the 2014 outbreak and in previous outbreaks. Although bleeding was an infrequent finding, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal manifestations were common. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.

How culturally unique are pandemic effects? Evaluating cultural similarities and differences in effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on COVID impacts

Despite being bio-epidemiological phenomena, the causes and effects of pandemics are culturally influenced in ways that go beyond national boundaries. However, they are often studied in isolated pockets, and this fact makes it difficult to parse the unique influence of specific cultural psychologies. To help fill in this gap, the present study applies existing cultural theories via linear mixed modeling to test the influence of unique cultural factors in a multi-national sample (that moves beyond Western nations) on the effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on pandemic outcomes that include adverse financial impacts, adverse resource impacts, adverse psychological impacts, and the health impacts of COVID. Our study spanned 19 nations (participant N = 14,133) and involved translations into 9 languages. Linear mixed models revealed similarities across cultures, with both young persons and women reporting worse outcomes from COVID across the multi-national sample. However, these effects were generally qualified by culture-specific variance, and overall more evidence emerged for effects unique to each culture than effects similar across cultures. Follow-up analyses suggested this cultural variability was consistent with models of pre-existing inequalities and socioecological stressors exacerbating the effects of the pandemic. Collectively, this evidence highlights the importance of developing culturally flexible models for understanding the cross-cultural nature of pandemic psychology beyond typical WEIRD approaches

Efficacité et tolérance du praziquantel chez l'enfant d'âge scolaire en zone hyper-endémique à Schistosoma haematobium (Niger, 1999)

L'étude a été réalisé dans une zone d'endémie bilharzienne à #S. haematobium$ située sur les périmètres irrigués de la vallée du fleuve Niger. L'enquête s'est déroulée du 5 avril 1999 au 25 mai 1999. Trois cent dix-huit élèves âgés de six à seize ans ont été inclus dans l'étude. Ils ont subi des examens macroscopiques et parasitologiques des urines avant traitement, et à deux et six semaines après traitement. Les effets indésirables liés au praziquantel, administré à la dose de 40 mg/kg de poids, ont été relevés sur les 4 premières heures suivant la prise du produit et 24 heures après. Avant traitement, la prévalence de l'infestation était de 98%. Six semaines après traitement, 32% des élèves excrétaient toujours des oeufs. Les effets indésirables étaient fréquents (53.7%) survenant surtout dans les quatre premières. Leur expression n'était pas liée au sexe ni à l'intensité de l'infestation, mais nous avons noté que les plus âgés ont exprimé plus de plaintes. Les symptômes les plus fréquents étaient les douleurs abdominales, les céphalées et le prurit. Tous ces signes étaient sans gravité et résolutifs en vingt-quatre heures. Dans cette étude, les effets indésirables du traitement sont très fréquents mais bénins. Le praziquantel a permis de guérir totalement 68% des sujets : il peut donc continuer d'être utilisé sans risque dans les campagnes de masse contre la schistosomose urinaire. (Résumé d'auteur