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Otitis media (OM) is a common disease of childhood and available pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), with different compositions, could have different impact on OM reduction. This systematic literature review evaluated available data describing the efficacy, effectiveness, and impact of 10-valent pneumococcalPlain Language Summary

Emerging new materialism scholarship provides an exciting theoretical space not only for challenging traditional conceptions of human agency but also for rethinking the role of the material world i...

Background: No head-to-head studies are currently available comparing pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) with 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13). This study explored the feasibility of using network meta-analysis (NMA) to conduct an indirect comparison of the relative efficacy or effectiveness of the two vaccines. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted for published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCT studies reporting data on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness against invasive pneumococcal disease in children aged

This article assesses the scope for economic recovery following the COVID-19 shock. A theoretical review looks at the interplay between the forces of aggregate demand and income generation, on the ...

Introduction: There is a paucity of information on cancer among Indigenous populations in Latin America.Methods: Guided by tenets of community engaged research and syndemic theory, we conducted eig...

Introduction: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) impact studies have reported substantial reductions in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) after implementation of childhood PCV programs. Heterogeneity in surveillance systems, local epidemiology and PCV programs hampers comparisons between studies. We aimed to better understand the impact of childhood PCV programs on overall IPD and serotype distribution. Areas covered: We analyzed the impact of PCV programs on the incidence of overall IPD, and the distribution of vaccine serotypes (VT) and non-vaccine serotypes (NVT) in children Expert commentary: After introduction of pediatric PCV programs, the residual overall IPD burden in children was low and in a narrow range across countries with high vaccination coverage, irrespective of differences in PCV programs and pneumococcal epidemiology. Effects on overall IPD were more variable in the elderly. Whereas IPD was mainly due to VTs before PCV introduction, NVTs are the major contributor today in children and adults. Read the transcript Watch the video on Vimeo

We read with interest the article titled ‘Emergence of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 19A (Spn19A) in the pediatric population in Bogota, Colombia as the main cause of invasive pneumococcal dise...

Dear Editor,We agree with one of the conclusions of the Editorial titled ‘Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in Latin America: are PCV10 and PCV13 similar in terms of protection against serotype 19A?’...

Joint management of protected areas by indigenous people and government management agencies is being promoted at the international level as a tool to strengthen the protection of biodiversity and the recognition of indigenous peoples' interests in protected areas. Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of joint management is, however, in its infancy. To help managers, we calculated the costs of participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) of joint management in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia relative to other joint management expenses. Costs of the process constituted only 1.3–1.5 per cent of the total joint management budget of over AU$10 million over three years. The preparation and validation/feedback phases of PM&E demanded most time and money, with contractor costs, particularly for external facilitators, representing the largest proportion of expenditure. The relatively low costs of PM&E are in contrast with common perceptions of the process as time-consuming and expensive.

Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, are important determinants in development and disease. There is a need for technologies capable of detecting small variations in methylation levels in an accurate and reproducible manner, even if only limited amounts of DNA are available (which is the case in many studies in humans). Quantitative methylation analysis of minute DNA amounts after whole bisulfitome amplification (qMAMBA) has been proposed as an alternative, but this technique has not been adequately standardized and no comparative study against conventional methods has been performed, that includes a wide range of methylation percentages and different target assays. We designed an experiment to compare the performance of qMAMBA and bisulfite-treated genomic (non-amplified) DNA pyrosequencing. Reactions were performed in duplicate for each technique in eight different target genes, using nine artificially constructed DNA samples with methylation levels ranging between 0% and 100% with intervals of 12.5%. Cubic polynomial curves were plotted from the experimental results and the real methylation values and the resulting equation was used to estimate new corrected data points. The use of the cubic regression-based correction benefits the accuracy and the power of discrimination in methylation studies. Additionally, dispersion of the new estimated data around a y = x line (R ( 2) ) served to fix a cutoff that can discriminate, with a single 9-point curve experiment, whether whole bisulfitome amplification and subsequent qMAMBA can produce accurate methylation results. Finally, even with an optimized reagent kit, DNA samples subjected to whole bisulfitome amplification enhance the preferential amplification of unmethylated alleles, and subtle changes in methylation levels cannot be detected confidently.

Until recent decades, the establishment of protected areas contributed to the dispossession and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples in Australia. Recently, governance and policy frameworks have been developed and refined to recognise protected areas as part of Indigenous land and sea country, and to enable Indigenous people to participate in conservation planning and country management. Australia is an international pioneer in co-management of terrestrial protected areas and the declaration and management of Indigenous protected areas. However, progress has not been uniform across Australia and further policy and protocol development is required in the recognition of Indigenous peoples' rights and interests in marine protected area management; the implications of native title determinations over protected areas; and the achievement of practical, meaningful social and environmental benefits through conservation agreements and activities. This article considers progress in two key areas of Indigenous contribution to protected area management: co-management (joint management) of protected areas, which commenced in the late 1970s; and Indigenous Protected Areas, which commenced in 1997. Our observations concerning the achievements of the last 30 years and the opportunities for future directions within and beyond these initiatives were informed by participant contributions at the 2008 Australian Protected Areas Congress. Conference workshops and deliberations led to recommendations for improvements to enhance the recognition, respect and rights of Traditional Owners as protected area co-managers. Improved partnerships and communications across existing cooperative planning models are needed to enable Indigenous and non- Indigenous collaborators to share ways of enabling Country-based planning and management to assist in species and landscape conservation.

The novels Gizona Bere Bakardadean and Zeru Horiek, by Bernardo Atxaga, and the film Dias contados (1994), by Imanol Uribe, constitute renowned examples of the representation of ETA activists in literature and film. All three also represent performative constructions of melancholic, gendered identity in postmodern life, constructions which supersede their representation of Basque identity. Instead of offering specific insight into the political constitution of national identities, ETA members and ex-members in these works express first and foremost the human condition in modernity. Consequently, this essay, inspired by Judith Butler's theories about the performative construction of identity and the psychological constitutive processes of the psyche in subjection to normativity, focuses on how Atxaga and Uribe construct the modern subject's identity in these three works.

The authors argue that there are serious structural imbalances in the U.S. economy that make a deep recession likely. In fact, they say there is no natural process by which the economy will recover in short order. Rather, it will require serious government spending to restore economic growth.

ResumenEl concepto de Desarrollo Sostenible ha sido manejado en el discurso politico, economico y social de forma recurrente y en numerosas ocasiones de manera retorica, llegando a estar alejado en muchos momentos de la definicion que se establece en el Informe Brundtland en 1987. El posible abuso de este termino ha vaciado de contenido su significado, llegando a ser un recurso literario en el discurso sobre el medio ambiente lejos de su significado original.Con el fin de aproximarse al discurso que sustenta a este concepto, se hizo un primer estudio de analisis de contenido de las paginas del Informe Brundtland en donde se define el Desarrollo Sostenible. En un segundo estudio se analiza cuales son las dimensiones que subyacen a este concepto en una muestra d 213 estudiantes. Para ello se les pregunto que definieran por escrito que entendian por Desarrollo Sostenible. Las respuestas fueron analizadas atendiendo a dos variables criterio: el ano en que se daba la definicion—1998, 1999 y 2000—y la ideologia...

Feeding practices for children under five years of age were identified in three villages in eastern Guatemala. Mothers’ beliefs and attitudes related to feeding children were studied. Sixty‐five children from impoverished socioeconomic circumstances were examined and 48% were found to be malnourished. Feeding practices differed between normal‐weight and malnourished children. Normal‐weight children received thicker food, 3–5 times a day, and mothers visualized feeding a specific amount. Malnourished children received thinner food, 2–3 times a day, and mothers did not visualize an amount needed. These factors varied with the mother's beliefs and attitudes rather than with household availability of foods. Breastfeeding, using thicker food during weaning, providing children with enough food and feeding them more often should be promoted in nutrition education programs in developing countries.

Maternal malnutrition and disease have many negative health, economic, social, and psychosocial consequences for women, their families and communities. The risk for malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality is reported to be high for Ecuadorian women of reproductive age. However, few quantitative data are available, especially regarding rural women migrants who represent a growing segment of the population. This study examined the nutritional and health status of 80 adult women living in isolated agricultural colonies of subtropical rainforest in N.W. Ecuador. The 24‐hour dietary recall data revealed that carbohydrates (∼63%) and fats (∼25%) supplied the majority of dietary energy in the plantain, cassava; and rice‐based diet. Although many subjects had diets that were inadequate in energy, iron, zinc, calcium, folate, and several other B‐complex vitamins, lactating women were at greatest dietary risk. Furthermore, the results of the anthropometric assessments indicated that breastfeeding subjects were at in...

The application of alcohol-soaked cloth on the abdominal area of sick children is in widespread home use within our area. Many acute intoxications a r e due to this practice. Whether methyl or ethyl alcohol has been used determines the clinical and metabolic pictures, each quite different in course and prognosis. In the present article we intend to comment on the clinical experience accumulated in the Hospital Municipal de Niiios de Buenos Aires from 48 children intoxicated with percutaneously applied alcohol, as well as the preventive measures adopted.