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Abstract Background Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is intimately connected to poverty and environmental factors. Our research was readily embedded into a multi-country schistosomiasis oversampling study. The aim of the study presented here was to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni and to investigate the role of water body characteristics and water-related human activities in disease transmission. Methods In August and September 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the western part of Côte d’Ivoire. Stool and urine samples were collected from 1602 and 1729 children aged 5–14 years, respectively, in 65 villages in the health districts of Biankouma, Ouaninou and Touba. Additionally, data were collected from direct observation of water-related activities at water bodies and interviews conducted with community leaders and health workers. The prevalence and risk factors for Schistosoma infection were assessed using generalised estimating equation models. Results The prevalence ofS. mansoni and S. haematobium were 27.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 21.5–34.3%) and 0.1% (95% CI 0.03–0.5%), respectively. Low prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths was observed with 2.4%, 0.4% and 0.2% for hookworm, Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides, respectively. At the health district level, we found S. mansoni prevalence of 34.4% (95% CI 25.0–45.3%), 34.3% (95% CI 24.0–46.2%) and 16.3% (95% CI 9.5–26.6%) for Biankouma, Ouaninou and Touba, respectively. Female and male participants were at a similar risk of infection (29.0% vs. 26.0%, odds ratio [OR]: 1.18, 95% CI 0.92–1.50). Children aged 9–14 years showed a higher prevalence than their younger counterparts aged 5–8 years (34.5% vs. 22.7%, OR: 1.80, 95% CI 1.42–2.27). High infection prevalence was observed in villages where children were washing clothes and dishes at open surface water sites and pursued recreational activities (e.g. swimming and playing in the water). The temperature, total dissolved solids and pH of water samples showed no significant association with S. mansoni infection at the village unit. Conclusions Human water-related activities such as washing clothes and playing in the water are risk factors for S. mansoni transmission. Hence, preventive chemotherapy should be combined with information, education and communication to avoid or reduce the frequency of water exposure in children as part of a comprehensive package of interventions towards elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem. Graphical Abstract

The elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2030 is one of the main goals put forth in the World Health Organization’s roadmap for neglected tropical diseases. This study aimed to compare different sampling approaches to guide mapping and preventive chemotherapy. A cross-sectional parasitological survey was conducted from August to September 2022 in the health districts of Biankouma, Ouaninou, and Touba in the western part of Côte d’Ivoire. The prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma mansoni infection were assessed in children aged 5–14 years using three sampling approaches. The first approach involved a random selection of 50% of the villages in the health districts. The second approach involved a random selection of half of the villages selected in approach 1, thus constituting 25% of the villages in the health district. The third approach consisted of randomly selecting 15 villages from villages selected by approach 2 in each health district. The overall prevalence of S. mansoni was 23.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 19.9–27.6%), 21.6% (95% CI: 17.1–26.8%), and 18.3% (95% CI: 11.9–27.1%) with the first, second, and third approach, respectively. The respective geometric mean S. mansoni infection intensity was 117.9 eggs per gram of stool (EPG) (95% CI: 109.3–127.3 EPG), 104.6 EPG (95% CI: 93.8–116.6 EPG), and 94.6 EPG (95% CI 79.5–112.7 EPG). We conclude that, although randomly sampling up to 50% of villages in a health district provides more precise population-based prevalence and intensity measures of S. mansoni, randomly selecting only 15 villages in a district characterized by low heterogeneity provides reasonable estimates and is less costly.

The ALS-U upgrade promises to deliver diffraction limited performance throughout the soft x-ray range by lowering the horizontal emittance to about 50 pm resulting in 2-3 orders of brightness increase for soft x-rays compared to the current ALS. The design utilizes a multi bend achromat lattice with on-axis swap-out injection and an accumulator ring. One central design goal is to install and commission ALS-U within a short dark period. This paper summarizes the status of the conceptual design of the accelerator, as well as some results of the R&D program that has been ongoing for the last 3 years.

The NGLS collaboration is developing design concepts for a multi-beamline soft x-ray FEL array powered by a superconducting linear accelerator, operating with a high bunch repetition rate of approximately 1 MHz. The CW superconducting linear accelerator design is based on developments of TESLA and ILC technology, and is supplied by an injector based on a high-brightness, highrepetition- rate photocathode electron gun. Electron bunches from the linac are distributed by RF deflecting cavities to the array of independently configurable FEL beamlines with nominal bunch rates of ∼100 kHz in each FEL, with uniform pulse spacing, and some FELs capable of operating at the full linac bunch rate. Individual FELs may be configured for different modes of operation, including self-seeded and external-laser-seeded, and each may produce high peak and average brightness x-rays with a flexible pulse format, and with pulse durations ranging from femtoseconds and shorter, to hundreds of femtoseconds. In this paper we describe current design concepts, and progress in RandD activities. Copyright © 2013 CC-BY-3.0 and by the respective authors.

The fabrication and installation at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of a high-brightness high-repetition rate photo-gun, based on a normal conducting 187 MHz (VHF) RF cavity operating in CW mode, is in an advanced phase. The cavity will generate an electric field at the cathode plane of ∼ 20 MV/m to accelerate the electron bunches up to ∼ 750 keV, with peak current, energy spread and transverse emittance suitable for FEL and ERL applications. The gun vacuum system has been designed for achieving pressures compatible with the use of "delicate" high quantum efficiency semiconductor cathodes to generate up to a nC bunches at MHz repetition rate with present laser technology. Several photo-cathode/laser systems are under consideration, and in particular photo-cathodes based on K2CsSb are being developed for the gun and have already achieved a QE of 8% at 532 nm wavelength, or close to 20% including the Schottky barrier lowering. The cathode will be operated by a μJ fiber laser in conjunction with refractive transverse beam shaping to create a flat top transverse profile, as well as a birefringent pulse stacker to create a flat top temporal profile. The present status and the plan for future activities are presented.

The Advanced Light Source is currently being upgraded for top-off operation. This major facility upgrade will provide an improvement in brightness from soft x-ray undulators of about one order of magnitude and keep the ALS competitive with the newest intermediate energy light sources. Major components of the upgrade include making the booster synchrotron capable of full energy operation, radiation safety studies, improvements to interlocks and collimation systems, diagnostics upgrades as well as emittance improvements in the main storage ring. Most hardware necessary as part of the upgrade has been installed and commissioned. The radiation safety studies are making good progress and have passed a first outside peer review succesfully. ©2007 IEEE.

The Advanced Light Source is currently being upgraded for top-off operation. This major facility upgrade will provide an improvement in brightness from soft x-ray undulators of about one order of magnitude and keep the ALS competitive with the newest intermediate energy light sources. Major components of the upgrade include making the booster synchrotron capable of full energy operation, radiation safety studies, improvements to interlocks and collimation systems, diagnostics upgrades as well as emittance improvements in the main storage ring. Most hardware necessary as part of the upgrade has been installed and commissioned. The radiation safety studies are making good progress and have passed a first outside peer review succesfully. ©2007 IEEE.

Several systems rely on the accurate and linear detection of 500 MHz signals, (the fundamental frequency of both the Booster Ring and Storage Ring) over a dynamic range in excess of 25dB. Prior to this upgrade, the detector/monitor was diode based and though this type of detector could handle the dynamic range requirement it could not do so in an accurate and linear manner. In order to meet the requirements (dynamic range greater than or equal to 25dB, accurate and linear to +-0.25dB over the range, and additional circuitry to interface to the legacy control system and interlocks), a new RF Power Detector/Monitor has been developed using two AD8361, Analog Devices Tru RMS Detectors and a fuzzy comparator, which extends the overall detector's range to twice that of the AD8361. Further information is available [www.analogedevices.com/]. Details of the design requirements and the detector/monitor's circuit as well as the performance of the detector will be presented.

The main source of narrowband impedance in the Advanced Light Source (ALS) are higher order modes (HOMs) of the two main RF and three third harmonic cavities. These HOMs drive longitudinal and transverse coupled bunch instabilities, which are controlled using active beam feedback systems. The dominant longitudinal HOMs in both systems are TM011-like modes with the R/Q factor an order of magnitude higher than all other longitudinal modes. To reduce the growth rates within the range of the longitudinal feedback system (LFB), these modes were tuned away from beam resonances by means of cooling water temperature control (main rf system), and the combination of two tuners (third harmonic system). To improve the reliability of the longitudinal dampening system, we have built and installed E-type HOM dampers for the fundamental and harmonic cavities. We present the design, commissioning and performance of the HOM dampers in this paper.

This study investigates business schools' intentions about offering e-commerce education (ECE) using an extended theory of planned behavior (ETPB). The need for an adequate match between future supply and demand of e-commerce skills constitutes the main motivation for the study. The results show that most business schools consider ECE important for an adequate preparation of their students for today's competitive labor market. In addition, the proposed ETPB fits well the empirical data and predicts 65.2% of the variances in the schools' intentions about offering ECE. The results can help business schools in their curriculum decisions in at least two ways: (1) through the likely effect of social contagion and (2) through the constructs in the ETPB. First, institutional theory clearly indicates that organizations tend to adopt a new behavior when there is evidence that other organizations in their population have adopted or are likely to adopt that behavior. Having provided such evidence for ECE, this study is likely to promote the adoption of this educational product innovation. Second, the fact that the postulated ETPB fits well the empirical data suggests that administrators of business schools may pay attention to the key constructs when making curriculum decisions. Overall, the study has both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it contributes to a growing literature on the adoption of innovative educational products like ECE. Practically, it provides valuable insights that administrators of business schools can use in their strategic curriculum decision making.

Summary: Endoscopy, including bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cytology, are invaluable tools for equine lower airway diagnostics. Objectives of the study were to evaluate the reliability of two staining methods, May–Grünwald–Giemsa (MGG) and toluidine blue (TB), for the evaluation of mast cells in cytospin smears from BAL fluid samples and the reliability of a 500‐cell differential cell count using both staining methods. Endoscopies and BAL fluid sampling were performed and BAL cytology was evaluated from cytospin smears. BAL cytology slides from 78 horses were evaluated. Three experienced observers evaluated the BAL cytology cytospin smears for the mast cell comparison study. The intra‐ and interobserver agreements were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). BAL cytology mast cell counts were significantly higher with the TB staining method compared with the MGG staining method. Observer agreements showed below acceptable agreement between observers for mast cell counts for both staining methods, even with fixed coordinates. Based on results from this study recommendation for BAL cytology staining would be to use both the MGG and the TB staining method, relying on the TB for the enumeration of mast cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]