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© 2015 Harding-Esch et al.Background: Mass drug administration (MDA) treatment of active trachoma with antibiotic is recommended to be initiated in any district where the prevalence of trachoma inflammation, follicular (TF) is ≥10% in children aged 1–9 yea

There are strong pedagogical arguments in favor of adopting computer-based assessment. The risks of technical failure can be managed and are offset by improvements in cost-effectiveness and quality assurance capability. Academic, administrative, and technical leads at an appropriately senior level within an institution need to be identified, so that they can act as effective advocates. All stakeholder groups need to be represented in undertaking a detailed appraisal of requirements and shortlisting software based on core functionality, summative assessment life cycle needs, external compatibility, security, and usability. Any software that is a candidate for adoption should be trialed under simulated summative conditions, with all stakeholders having a voice in agreeing the optimum solution. Transfer to a new system should be carefully planned and communicated, with a programme of training established to maximize the success of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant numbers of perch,Perca fluviatilis, raised on a pilot fish farm in Switzerland presented focal skin lesions on the lateral sides and fin rot. Mortality rates reached levels of up to 1% of the total fish on the farm per day. Virtually pure cultures ofAeromonas sobriawere isolated from the liver, kidney, spleen and skin lesions of affected fish.Aeromonas sobriaisolated from the farmed perch had a haemolytic effect on sheep and trout erythrocytes, autoaggregated, was cytotoxic for cultured fish cells and possessed genes involved in type III protein secretion. Experimental infection of naïve perch with a single colony isolate ofA. sobriafrom an affected farm fish resulted in the development of clinical signs identical to those seen on the farm. The results indicate thatA. sobriacan act as a primary pathogen of perch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Although modern medical technology and treatment regimens in well-resourced countries have improved the survival of sick or injured children, most of the world's families do not have access to adequate health care. Many hospitals in poorly resourced countries do not have basic water and sanitation, a reliable electricity supply, or even minimal security. The staff, both clinical and nonclinical, are often underpaid and sometimes undervalued by their communities. In many countries there continues to be minimal, if any, pain control, and the indiscriminate use of powerful antibiotics leads to a proliferation of multiresistant pathogens. Even in well-resourced countries, advances in health care have not always been accompanied by commensurate attention to the child's wider well-being and sufficient concerns about their anxieties, fears, and suffering.In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the proposals set out in this article aim to develop a system of care that will focus on the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of children attending health care facilities, particularly as inpatients.Design of the Program. To develop in consultation with local health care professionals and international organizations, globally applicable standards that will help to ensure that practices in hospitals and health centers everywhere respect children's rights, not only to survival and avoidance of morbidity, but also to their protection from unnecessary suffering and their informed participation in treatment. Child Advocacy International will liase closely with the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the implementation of the pilot scheme in 6 countries. In hospitals providing maternity and newborn infant care, the program will be closely linked with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative of WHO/UNICEF that aims to strengthen support for breastfeeding.United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, child protection, breastfeeding, pain control, palliative care, child abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant decrease in blood pressure is observed after shock-induced fighting in intact rats. In rats treated with intravenous 6-hydroxydopamine, a drug that selectively destroys peripheral sympathetic nerve endings when given by this route, this blood pressure response is reversed to a significant increase. In contrast, adrenalectomy converts a slight increase in blood pressure after intact rats are shocked alone in the cage into a significant decrease. These alterations in blood pressure response suggest that the sympathetic response to a stressful stimulus is not an all or none response, but, rather, consists of a patterned activation depending upon the behavioral response available. The current physiological findings are consistent with neuroendocrine research in which coping behavior is found associated with a predominant norepinephrine release by the sympathetic nervous system, and stress without available coping responses is associated with release also of epinephrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]