Search

BACKGROUND:Mass anthelmintic drug administration is recommended in developing countries to address infection by soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH). We quantified the public health benefit of treatment with mebendazole in eight million Vietnamese children aged 5-14 years from 2006 to 2011. This was compared to the environmental impact of the pharmaceutical supply chain of mebendazole, as the resource use and emissions associated with pharmaceutical production can be associated with a public health burden, e.g. through emissions of fine particulate matter. METHODOLOGY:Through Markov modelling the disability due to STH was quantified for hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. For each worm type, four levels of intensity of infection were included: none, light, medium and heavy. The treatment effect on patients was quantified in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). The public health burden induced by the pharmaceutical supply chain of mebendazole was quantified in DALYs through Life Cycle Assessment. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Compared to 'no treatment', the modelled results of five-year treatment averted 116,587 DALYs (68% reduction) for the three worms combined and largely driven by A. lumbricoides. The main change in DALYs occurred in the first year of treatment, after which the results stabilized. The public health burden associated with the pharmaceutical supply chain was 6 DALYs. CONCLUSIONS:The public health benefit of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) averted substantially more DALYs than those induced by the pharmaceutical supply chain. These results were verified in a sensitivity analysis. The starting prevalence for each worm was the most sensitive model parameter. This methodology is useful for policymakers interested in a holistic approach towards the public health performance of MDA programs, enveloping both the treatment benefit received by the patient and the public health burden associated with the resource consumption and environmental emissions of the pharmaceutical production and supply chain.

Copyright of REGEPE Entrepreneurship & Small Business Journal is the property of Revista de Empreendedorismo e Gestao de Pequenas Empresas (REGEPE) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There appears to be no "one-size-fits-all" strategy for evolving from a car-dependent urban environment towards a well-balanced modal split. The search for a suitable mobility strategy for a particular setting can be framed as seeking a suitable governance strategy. This article explores the opportunities of design-driven participatory action research (DD-PAR) as a governance strategy for improving mobility within a context of weak governance by investigating a single case study conducted in Paramaribo North, Suriname. Despite available plans, designs, and policy proposals, Surinamese public authorities are struggling to improve mobility. Notwithstanding many efforts, clientelism and patronage are weakening the power of the government, resulting in unimplemented public initiatives. Moreover, there are few civil society organisations to advocate for this weak public power. This creates a context in which neither the government nor civil society is sufficiently equipped to realise the modal shift in Paramaribo. Governance strategies depending on strong government or proactive civil society (e.g., actor-based strategies) are thus not suitable. In contrast, DD-PAR appears to have potential as a governance strategy, as it uses research and academics as forces to create societal enthusiasm, establish actor networks, and generate action. The current case study identifies key actors and preconditions for building a network of actors. It also provides tentative insights into urban tactics for increasing pressure on the government to provide adequate infrastructure and policy to accommodate newly developed action that supports a more diverse modal split. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy in pancreatic cancer, yet evidence for an effect of dietary vitamin D on pancreatic cancer is ambiguous, with conflicting data from human epidemiological and intervention studies. Here, we tested the role of dietary vitamin D in the in vivo context of the well-characterized Ela1-TAg transgenic mouse model of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma. Through longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging of mice under conditions of either dietary vitamin D deficiency (

The double-edged nature of modern technology, continuously balancing between risks and opportunities, manifests itself clearly in an emerging societal problem known as cyberbullying. To analyse the extent and nature of the issue in Belgium, 1318 adolescents were questioned explicitly about their involvement in cyberbullying, as well as implicitly about their experience with specific types of cyberbullying-related behaviour. This alternate questioning revealed higher victimisation and perpetration rates. The study also provides better insight into predictors associated with victimisation or perpetration in cyberbullying. Especially past involvement in cyberbullying and engaging in online risk behaviour increase the likelihood of victimisation; non-rejection of cyberbullying and online identity experimentation augment the likelihood of perpetration. Girls are more likely to become victims of cyberbullying, whereas boys are more inclined to engage in electronic bullying. Moreover, the incidence of cyberbullying increases slightly with age. Finally, teens spending much time on the Internet, reporting higher ICT expertise and owning a computer with privileged online access share an increased likelihood of online bullying behaviour. (Contains 4 tables.)

To understand the geomorphological contrast between the northern and southern parts of the Southeast Greenland margin with its marked differences in sedimentary regime, bathymetric and seismic reflection, data have been compiled and analysed. While previous studies focused on selected parts of this margin, the present study provides an intergraded overview of the entire margin from Cap Farewell to Denmark Strait. The prominent north–south contrast shows a wide northern shelf and a narrow southern shelf. The origin of this width disparity can be traced back to the initial formation stage of the Irminger Sea due to regional differences in uplift versus oceanic subsidence. This regional tectonic discrepancy also created a difference in sediment accommodation space that, in combination with a weak ocean circulation regime, favoured formation of Oligocene–Miocene turbidite fan complexes along the lower southern slope. These fan complexes became the core of sediment drift ridges that strike perpendicular to the slope. Strong bottom currents, which gradually increase in strength towards the south, were mainly prevalent during warmer climate stages. During glacial periods, downslope transport of glacigenic sediments and hyperpycnal meltwater flow further shaped the large drift ridges and formed several relatively narrow, V-shaped turbidite channels extending towards the deep Irminger Sea basin. These V-shaped channels are still active today when cascading dense winter water from the shelf flows downwards along the shelf to the Irminger Sea basin.

Against the background of guidelines on non-killing and developing ideas on the release of captured or domesticated animals, this study focuses on how vinaya (disciplinary) texts deal with dangerous and/or annoying animals, such as snakes, mosquitoes, and flies. Are there any circumstances in which they may be killed, captured, or repelled? Or should they be endured and ignored, or even protected and cherished, at all times? This paper discusses the many guidelines relating to avoiding—and, if necessary, chasing away—dangerous and annoying animals. All of these proposals call for meticulous care to reduce the risk of harming the creature. In this sense, animals, such as snakes and mosquitoes, seem to be assured a better life in comparison with domesticated or hunted animals. This distinction reflects the somewhat uncomfortable balance that Buddhist monastics must achieve between respecting the life of individual sentient beings, including all animals, and adhering to social conventions in order to safeguard their position in society.