The Prevalence and Incidence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection and Its Associated Factors among Village Doctors in China

BackgroundChina is a high tuberculosis (TB) burden country. More than half of acute TB cases first seek medical care in village doctors’ clinics or community health centers. Despite being responsible for patient referral and management, village doctors are not systematically evaluated for TB infection or disease. We assessed prevalence and incidence of latent TB infection (LTBI) among village doctors in China.ConclusionsPrevalence and incidence of LTBI among Chinese village doctors is high. TB infection control measures should be strengthened among village doctors and at village healthcare settings.     

Timber Procurement and Village Location in the Middle Missouri Subarea

Abstract

Foodstuffs have frequently been regarded as one of the foremost variables when considering population distribution and village location across the landscape. However, other variables may be at least as important as the availability of food. Timber has been noted as a material that is important for fuel and construction purposes, and in some cases can be resource that is crucial for population maintenance in an area.

The importance of timber is examined for the Plains Village populations of the Middle Missouri Subarea, timber succession is examined, and village location in relation to timber resources hypothesized     

县乡村三级卫生人力资源的构成与分布特征研究

目的 通过分析县乡村三级人力资源配置的内部构成及各级机构间的分布差异情况,为农村卫生人力资源的纵向整合和三级医疗预防保健网的建设提供依据。 方法 用EXCEL2010分析各级医疗机构的人口学特征及内部构成比,用SPSS20.0进行卡方检验分析不同级别,不同地域类型的医疗机构卫生人员的构成与分布是否存在差异。结果 总体上男性医务人员多于女性医务人员,但由于村卫生室以乡村医生为主,所以医务人员的内部构成比例和性别分布情况与县乡两级机构不同。60岁及以上人员在县级医疗机构为2.69%,在村卫生室的比例达27.51%（P<0.05）。与2014年相比,2015年该市乡镇卫生院人员引进了15人,流失了27人,而县级医院引进了50人,流失了24人。结论 分级诊疗相关政策影响农村卫生人力资源的配置和床日负担水平,县乡村三级医疗机构医务人员的性别年龄分布均有差异,不同地域类型乡镇卫生院均需对高学历医务工作者给予针对性的激励措施。     

The Peterson Site (39Lm215) An Earth Lodge Village In The Big Bend Reservoir,South Dakota

Abstract

One circular earth lodge and an interhouse test trench were excavated at the Peterson Site by the Smithsonian Institution, Missouri Basin Projec;t in 1958 prior to the flooding of the area by the Big Bend Reservoir. Surface features indicated that the site was an unfortified village of about 40 lodges. The artifact inventory suggests that the village, which has been tentatively assigned to the Fort Thompson Focus, was probably occupied during the mid-18th century.     

The Fox Island Site (39DW230), Dewey County,South Dakota

Abstract

An examination of this site on the west bank of the Missouri River in north-central South Dakota has revealed an unfortified settlement of approximately 30 earthlodges. The settlement pattern and artifact inventory indicate that the Fox Island site is an Extended Coalescent village that appears to be a descendant of the complex defined at Mols, tad Village.     

A further note on evolution and Schizophrenia

Abstract

The relationship between inbreeding as measured by isonymy and by pedigrees was investigated in Kippel, a village in southern Switzerland. Inbreeding estimated by isonymy was 3.5 times the estimate obtained from pedigree analysis. Our results indicate a higher prevalence of lines traced through males owing to social causes. This limited pool of potential mates has a high frequency of shared surnames which produces the overestimate of inbreeding by isonymy.     

A Report on the Investigations of the No Heart Creek Site, 39AR2, Dewey County,South Dakota, 1960

Abstract

The report describes in detail the final results of a field project at the No Heart Creek site, 39AR2, Dewey County, South Dakota, co-sponsored in 1960 by the University of South Dakota and the National Park Service. The site consists of a double settlement pattern, a fortified village surrounded by scattered earth lodges, probably occupied during the period A.D. 1550-1575. On the basis of content the cultural complex is assigned to the Le Compte focus (or Le Compte phase, depending upon taxononomic system utilized).     

CystiHuman: A model of human neurocysticercosis

IntroductionThe Taenia solium tapeworm is responsible for cysticercosis, a neglected tropical disease presenting as larvae in the body of a host following taenia egg ingestion. Neurocysticercosis (NCC), the name of the disease when it affects the human central nervous system, is a major cause of epilepsy in developing countries, and can also cause intracranial hypertension, hydrocephalus and death. Simulation models can help identify the most cost-effective interventions before their implementation. Modelling NCC should enable the comparison of a broad range of interventions, from treatment of human taeniasis (presence of an adult taenia worm in the human intestine) to NCC mitigation. It also allows a focus on the actual impact of the disease, rather than using proxies as is the case for other models.MethodsThis agent-based model is the first model that simulates human NCC and associated pathologies. It uses the output of another model, CystiAgent, which simulates the evolution of pig cysticercosis and human taeniasis, adding human and cyst agents, including a model of cyst location and stage, human symptoms, and treatment. CystiHuman also accounts for delays in the appearance of NCC-related symptoms. It comprises three modules detailing cyst development, seizure probability and timing, and intracranial hypertension/hydrocephalus, respectively. It has been implemented in Java MASON and calibrated in three endemic villages in Peru, then applied to another village (Rica Playa) to compare simulation results with field data in that village.Results and discussionDespite limitations in available field data, parameter values found through calibration are plausible and simulated outcomes in Rica Playa are close to actual values for NCC prevalence and the way it increases with age and cases with single lesions. Initial simulations further suggest that short-term interventions followed by a rapid increase in taeniasis prevalence back to original levels may have limited impacts on NCC prevalence.     

The Function of Ceremonial Sexual Intercourse Among the Northern Plains Indians

Abstract

Sexual intimacy as a means of transferring spiritual power appears to have been a Mandan-Hidatsa ceremonial trait borrowed by three Algonkian Plains tribes as part of the graded men’s societies complex. The Algonkian tribes modified the rite, which in the village tribes emphasized the role of father’s clan. The Arapaho emphasized the cosmic symbolism of the rite, the Atsina made it a test of self-discipline, and the Blackfoot stressed the dangerous power commanded by those who performed it. These modifications parallel the differences in kinship structure between village and nomadic Plains tribes discussed by Eggan.     

江苏北部某村农民高血压的危险因素及控制情况分析

目的:研究江苏北部某村农民高血压的危险因素及控制情况,为农村高血压疾病的防控提供更多的参考依据。方法:选择2018年1月~2018年12月江苏北部某村124名农民高血压患者作为观察组,124名非高血压人群作为对照组,通过应用单因素和多因素分析方法分析其高血压发病的主要危险因素,并统计其血压控制情况。结果:单因素分析结果显示超重或肥胖(OR=6.038,P<0.001)、高盐饮食(OR=6.167,P<0.001)、高油饮食(OR=9.626,P=0.002)、家族史(OR=8.008,P<0.001)、缺乏体育锻炼(OR=4.202,P<0.001)、吸烟(OR=3.067,P<0.001)等因素与该村农民高血压发生显著相关。多因素分析结果显示超重或肥胖(Exp(B)=3.931,P<0.001)、家族史(Exp(B)=6.212,P<0.001)、高盐饮食(Exp(B)=2.257,P<0.001)、缺乏体育锻炼(Exp(B)=3.393,P=0.007)、吸烟(Exp(B)=2.513,P=0.018)是该村农民高血压发生的危险因素。124例高血压患者的血压控制率为47.58%(59/124),不同性别和年龄段农民高血压患者的血压控制率比较无统计学差异(P>0.05)。结论:高血压发病是遗传因素和生活习惯共同作用的结果,超重或肥胖、高盐饮食、缺乏体育锻炼、吸烟是农村地区高血压发病的危险因素。农村高血压的控制情况一般,需引起重视。     

Blue Blanket Island (39WW9) an Historic Contact Site in the Oahe Reservoir Near Mobridge,South Dakota

Abstract

The Blue Blanket Island site (39WW9), a small, fortified, proto-historic Indian village on an island in the Missouri River, in Walworth County, South Dakota, was partially excavated by a River Basin Surveys crew in August 1961. One centrally located earthlodge, sections of the fortification, storage pits, and middens were excavated. Artifacts were scanty but architectural details were informative. The lodge was 18 sided with a short entry wayto the south (river side) and leaner posts of split cedar. The palisade was of split posts and the ditch was wide and shallow. The site appears to have been an Arikara village of short duration, probably occupied during the 1780’s and 1790’s. The abandoned remains of this village were noted by Lewis and Clark in 1804.     

Afterword: In Search of Melanesian Order

ABSTRACT

These essays explore three contemporary forms of order in Papua New Guinea: improvised village courts, a nursing school curriculum including village practicums, and student boycotts and strikes. My comments assess these new sorts of order as reflected against earlier ethnographic accounts of Papua New Guinean societies as well as those elsewhere in Melanesia. This often has taken the region’s social groups and lineages, religions and belief systems, and most recently the Melanesian state itself to be weak, messy, and inconstant. I ask how culturally ‘Melanesian’ are these contemporary examples of order and disorder, and find significant continuities in their underlying nostalgia for an imagined, more orderly past, in beliefs about causes of disorder, and in strategies and remedies to order and reorder everyday life.     

Gut Instincts: Knowledge,Attitudes, and Practices regarding Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Rural China

BackgroundSoil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections affect more than two out of every five schoolchildren in the poorest regions of rural China, an alarmingly high prevalence rate given the low cost and wide availability of safe and effective deworming treatment. Understanding of local knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding STH infection in rural China has until now, been sparse, although such information is critical for prevention and control initiatives.Conclusions/SignificanceThe findings from this study reveal reasons for why deworming treatment is not sought, and inform specific recommendations for a deworming intervention that can more effectively address underlying barriers to deworming in areas of persistently high STH infection rates. The main barrier to seeking STH treatment is not availability or cost of the drugs, but rather the lack of impetus to seek the drugs. A comprehensive nationwide deworming program in China should involve annual provision of free deworming treatment in village clinics or schools, distribution of culturally appropriate educational materials to inform children and families about STH infection, and improvement of the quality of health care delivered by village clinicians.     

Demographic and Osteological Evidence for Warfare at the Larson Site,South Dakota

Abstract

A demographic and osteological analysis of skeletons from the Larson Village Site (39WW2), Walworth County, South Dakota, is presented. The site was an Arikara village dating to about A.D. 1750-1785. Within the village, the scattered and commingled bones of 71 individuals were discovered. Sixty-one of the skeletons were on earthlodge floors, an extremely unusual occurrence in the Plains. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether the cause responsible for these unburied remains was Intertribal warfare: the evidence is strong that it was.     

Chemical composition of the essential oil of Centaurea grinensis Reuter and Centaurea apiculata Ledeb: Growing wild in Croatia and Bulgaria,respectively and PCA analysis of subgenus Lopholoma (Cass.) Dobrocz

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of Centaurea grinensis Reuter (K) collected at ?uta Lova, near Senj (Croatia), and aerial parts (L1) and flowers (L2) of C. apiculata Ledeb. collected near Rebro village, near Breznik town, Znepole Region (Bulgaria), both belonging to subgenus Lopholoma (Cass.) Dobrocz, was evaluated by GC and GC-MS. The main components of K were 4-vinyl guaiacol (21.5%), hexadecanoic acid (16.2%), acetophenone (12.5%). Caryophyllene oxide (15.8%) together with sphathulenol (14.5%) and humulene epoxide II (9.4%) were recognized as the main constituent of both the aerial part (L1) and flowers (L2) of C. apiculata. Furthermore, a complete review on the composition of the essential oils of all the Centaurea taxa belonging to subgenus Lopholoma studied so far has been inserted and cluster analysis (PCA) was carried out.     

A Study of Cultural Bias in Field Guide Determinations of Mushroom Edibility Using the Iconic Mushroom, Amanita muscaria, as an Example

A Study of Cultural Bias in Field Guide Determinations of Mushroom Edibility Using the Iconic Mushroom, Amanita muscaria , as an Example. Mushroom field guides teach identification skills as well as provide information on the edible or toxic qualities of each species of wild mushroom. As such they function as modern-day village elders for an increasingly urban, nature-ignorant population. This paper identifies underlying cultural bias in the determination of mushroom edibility in English-language field guides, using the iconic mushroom, Amanita muscaria, as an example. We explore a selection of ethnographic and medical texts that report the use of A. muscaria as a food, and we accept parboiling as a safe method of detoxifying it for the dinner table. Mushroom field guides, however, almost universally label the mushroom as poisonous. We discuss the cultural underpinnings and literary form of mushroom field guides and demonstrate that they work within a mostly closed intellectual system that ironically shares many of the same limitations of cultural bias found in traditional folk cultures, but with the pretense of being modern and scientific. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Comparison of urinary aflatoxin M1 and aflatoxin albumin adducts as biomarkers for assessing aflatoxin exposure in Tanzanian children

Purpose: To determine levels of urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in children and correlate the concentrations with previously reported aflatoxin albumin adduct (AF-alb) levels in these children.

Materials and methods: Matched urine and blood samples were collected from 84 Tanzanian children aged 6–14 months old. From 31 children in one village (Kigwa), samples were collected at three time points six months apart. Samples were collected from 31 and 22 children from two different regions at the second time point only. Urinary AFM1 was measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit with a modified protocol to improve sensitivity. AF-alb was measured using an established ELISA method.

Results: The relative ranking of the three villages for exposure to aflatoxin based on either AFM₁ or AF-alb biomarker measurements was the same. In Kigwa village, both AFM1 and AF-alb levels were higher at six months post-harvest compared to baseline. However, at the next visit, the AFM1 levels dropped from a GM (interquartile range) of 71.0 (44.7, 112.6) at visit two to 49.3 (31.5, 77.3) pg/ml urine, whereas AF-alb levels increased from 47.3 (29.7, 75.2) to 52.7 (35.4, 78.3) pg/mg albumin between these two visits, reflecting the fact that AFM1 measures short-term exposure, whereas AF-alb measures longer term exposure. There was a correlation between AFB1 intake and AFM1 excretion (r=?0.442, p?≤?0.001).

Conclusions: Urinary AFM1 is a good biomarker for AFB1 exposure in Tanzanian children, reflecting geographical and temporal variations in exposure to this foodborne toxin.     

Interpreting the Bucrania of Çatalhöyük: James Mellaart,Dorothy Cameron,and Beyond

ABSTRACT

The bucranium (bull's head and horns) has been recognized as the most prevalent three-dimensional art form found during the excavations of the Neolithic village of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey. James Mellaart interpreted it as the symbol of the son and lover of the Great Mother Goddess, worshipped at Çatalhöyük. Extending this interpretation, Dorothy Cameron, friend and colleague of Mellaart, saw the bucranium as a symbol of life and regeneration—essentially a female symbol, representing the divine power of the human female reproductive system. Using archaeological evidence, and interpretations arising from the current excavations at Çatalhöyük, parallel examples from comparative religion, and supportive data from veterinary images, this paper explicates and challenges these theories, extending them into an alternative interpretation of the symbolism of the bucranium.     

No Difference in the Incidence of Malaria in Human-Landing Mosquito Catch Collectors and Non-Collectors in a Senegalese Village with Endemic Malaria

BackgroundThe human landing catches is the gold standard method used to study the vectors of malaria and to estimate their aggressiveness. However, this method has raised safety concerns due to a possible increased risk of malaria or other mosquito-borne diseases among the mosquito collectors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of malaria attacks among mosquito collectors and to compare these results with those of non-collectors in a Senegalese village.MethodsFrom July 1990 to December 2011, a longitudinal malaria study involving mosquito collectors and non-collectors was performed in Dielmo village, Senegal. During the study period, 4 drugs were successively used to treat clinical malaria, and long-lasting insecticide-treated nets were offered to all villagers in July 2008. No malaria chemoprophylaxis was given to mosquito collectors. Incidence of uncomplicated clinical malaria and asymptomatic malaria infection were analyzed among these two groups while controlling for confounding factors associated with malaria risk in random effects negative binomial and logistic regression models, respectively.ResultsA total of 3,812 person-trimester observations of 199 adults at least 15 years of age were analyzed. Clinical malaria attacks accounted for 6.3% both in collectors and non-collectors, and asymptomatic malaria infections accounted for 21% and 20% in collectors and non-collectors, respectively. A non-significant lower risk of malaria was observed in the collector group in comparison with the non-collector group after adjusting for other risk factors of malaria and endemicity level (Clinical malaria: adjusted incidence rate ratio = 0.89; 95% confidence interval = 0.65-1.22; p= 0.47).ConclusionBeing a mosquito collector in Dielmo was not significantly associated with an increased risk of malaria both under holoendemic, mesoendemic and hypoendemic conditions of malaria epidemiology. This result supports the view that HLC, the most accurate method for evaluating malaria transmission, may be used without health concerns in Dielmo.