D1S80 DNA profiling in five African populations

The highly polymorphic DlS80 locus has no known genetic function. This variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) has been valuable in forensic identification. We have obtained allelic and genotypic frequencies for five African populations (Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya and Rwanda), which could be employed as databases to identify individuals. The polymerase chain reaction, followed by vertical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining was our method of analysis. Allele frequencies were used to infer genetic associations using Phylip 3.5, Principal Component and G-test statistical programs. Tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were employed. Fst estimates and power of discrimination values were also determined for each of our populations. Our analyses of 28 additional populations demonstrated that the D1 S80 locus alone provided for the discrimination of major racial groups. Genetic homogeneity between the African groups was observed. We have generated a database useful for human differentiation and phylogenetic studies.

Hydro-Meteorology and Water Budget of the Mara River Basin Under Land Use Change Scenarios

Mara is a transboundary river located in Kenya and Tanzania and considered to be an important life line to the inhabitants of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. It is also a source of water for domestic water supply, irrigation, livestock and wildlife. The alarming increase of water demand as well as the decline in the river flow in recent years has been a major challenge for water resource managers and stakeholders. This has necessitated the knowledge of the available water resources in the basin at different times of the year. Historical rainfall, minimum and maximum stream flows were analyzed. Inter and intra-annual variability of trends in streamflow are discussed. Landsat imagery was utilized in order to analyze the land use land cover in the upper Mara River basin. The semi-distributed hydrological model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to model the basin water balance and understand the hydrologic effect of the recent land use changes from forest-to-agriculture. The results of this study provided the potential hydrological impacts of three land use change scenarios in the upper Mara River basin. It also adds to the existing literature and knowledge base with a view of promoting better land use management practices in the basin.

The World Heritage vs. Local Comnuty : identifying the sources of conflicts

The presented work is an essay rather than a scientific dissertation. The author wants to put an impact on the source of conflicts regarding the complex subject of heritage management and conservation in comparison with the local needs and the given context. The paper attempts to show the role of local communities and their cooperation with authorities as well as the effects of such cooperation. The area of research comprises the problems arising in the field of implementing external rules on the local field, challenges appearing regarding the needs of local communities and the efforts of official authorities trying to implement the principles of the conventions. The problems arise when local communities display the lack of understanding and do not share the common idea of heritage conservation. This is caused mainly by the decreasing possibilities of comfortable life. The author tries to identify the main and wrongful approaches as ‘Gone with the Wind’, ‘The Prince and The Pauper’, ‘Heart of Darkness’ or ‘Scarlet letter’. The focus will be put to explain what the areas are where a mutual misunderstanding arise and why all parts to the problem present different points of view. What creates a value? Is it a heritage object or maybe the other values need a stronger protection? When the general duty and the need to protect the heritage is regarded as a controversy and when it is considered as a value within a given community? The international public interest in heritage protection is often regarded as an attempt to diminish the sovereign power of the community and provokes severe controversies and tensions. The major problem envisaged today seems to be the massive and increasing urbanisation and the destruction of the vestiges still existing of traditional cultures, when we consider century urban post-industrial districts of Upper Silesia in Poland, the medieval cities in Western Europe, the traditional nomad Masaya villages in Kenya or the remains of vanished cultures in various regions of Asia. The preferred platform of cooperation between the parts of the conflict includes divergent needs, beliefs and practices of communities and the possible fields of reconciling the abovementioned. Chosen examples of the best practices considering mutual cooperation will be underlined.

A randomized trial comparing the diagnostic accuracy of visual inspection with acetic acid to Visual Inspection with Lugol's Iodine for cervical cancer screening in HIV-infected women.

Visual inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) and Visual Inspection with Lugol’s Iodine (VILI) are increasingly recommended in various cervical cancer screening protocols in low-resource settings. Although VIA is more widely used, VILI has been advocated as an easier and more specific screening test. VILI has not been well-validated as a stand-alone screening test, compared to VIA or validated for use in HIV-infected women. We carried out a randomized clinical trial to compare the diagnostic accuracy of VIA and VILI among HIV-infected women. Women attending the Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES) clinic in western Kenya were enrolled and randomized to undergo either VIA or VILI with colposcopy. Lesions suspicious for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater (CIN2+) were biopsied. Between October 2011 and June 2012, 654 were randomized to undergo VIA or VILI. The test positivity rates were 26.2% for VIA and 30.6% for VILI (p = 0.22). The rate of detection of CIN2+ was 7.7% in the VIA arm and 11.5% in the VILI arm (p = 0.10). There was no significant difference in the diagnostic performance of VIA and VILI for the detection of CIN2+. Sensitivity and specificity were 84.0% and 78.6%, respectively, for VIA and 84.2% and 76.4% for VILI. The positive and negative predictive values were 24.7% and 98.3% for VIA, and 31.7% and 97.4% for VILI. Among women with CD4+ count < 350, VILI had a significantly decreased specificity (66.2%) compared to VIA in the same group (83.9%, p = 0.02) and compared to VILI performed among women with CD4+ count ≥ 350 (79.7%, p = 0.02). VIA and VILI had similar diagnostic accuracy and rates of CIN2+ detection among HIV-infected women.

Cervical cancer precursors and hormonal contraceptive use in HIV-positive women: application of a causal model and semi-parametric estimation methods.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the application of causal inference methods to observational data in the obstetrics and gynecology field, particularly causal modeling and semi-parametric estimation. BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women are at increased risk for cervical cancer and its treatable precursors. Determining whether potential risk factors such as hormonal contraception are true causes is critical for informing public health strategies as longevity increases among HIV-positive women in developing countries. METHODS: We developed a causal model of the factors related to combined oral contraceptive (COC) use and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or greater (CIN2+) and modified the model to fit the observed data, drawn from women in a cervical cancer screening program at HIV clinics in Kenya. Assumptions required for substantiation of a causal relationship were assessed. We estimated the population-level association using semi-parametric methods: g-computation, inverse probability of treatment weighting, and targeted maximum likelihood estimation. RESULTS: We identified 2 plausible causal paths from COC use to CIN2+: via HPV infection and via increased disease progression. Study data enabled estimation of the latter only with strong assumptions of no unmeasured confounding. Of 2,519 women under 50 screened per protocol, 219 (8.7%) were diagnosed with CIN2+. Marginal modeling suggested a 2.9% (95% confidence interval 0.1%, 6.9%) increase in prevalence of CIN2+ if all women under 50 were exposed to COC; the significance of this association was sensitive to method of estimation and exposure misclassification. CONCLUSION: Use of causal modeling enabled clear representation of the causal relationship of interest and the assumptions required to estimate that relationship from the observed data. Semi-parametric estimation methods provided flexibility and reduced reliance on correct model form. Although selected results suggest an increased prevalence of CIN2+ associated with COC, evidence is insufficient to conclude causality. Priority areas for future studies to better satisfy causal criteria are identified.

Systematics of African Amphicyonidae, with descriptions of new material from Napak (Uganda) and Grillental (Namibia)

The Early Miocene Napak XV locality (ca 20.5 Ma), Uganda, has yielded an interesting assemblage of fossils, including the very well represented amphicyonid Hecubides euryodon. The remarkable find of a nearly complete mandible, unfortunately with poorly preserved dentition, together with new dental remains allow us to obtain a better idea about the morphology and variability of this species. Additionally, we describe a newly discovered mandible of Hecubides euryodon from the Grillental-VI locality (Sperrgebiet, Namibia), which is the most complete and diagnostic Amphicyonidae material found in this area. Comparisons with Cynelos lemanensis from Saint Gérand le Pouy (France), the type locality, and with an updated sample of the species of amphicyonids described in Africa leads us to validate the genus Hecubides. Hecubides would be phylogenetically related to the medium and large size species of Amphicyonidae from Africa, most of them now grouped into the genera Afrocyon and Myacyon, both endemic to this continent.

La gestión de proyectos en la formación de los profesionales de la información: análisis internacional de la materia en los estudios universitarios de Información y Documentación

Se presentan los resultados de un estudio sobre la formación universitaria que reciben los profesionales de la información sobre la materia gestión de proyectos, tras el análisis de las titulaciones en Información y Documentación a nivel internacional. Para ello, se han utilizado fuentes y directorios sobre la educación internacional en Library and Information Science y se ha creado una base de datos con 106 registros de asignaturas sobre gestión de proyectos incluidas en las titulaciones en Información y Documentación. Como resultado de este proceso, los parámetros de análisis de la investigación han sido la ubicación geográfica, las instituciones de educación superior, las titulaciones académicas y las propias asignaturas sobre gestión de proyectos. Entre las conclusiones más notables, destaca la obligatoriedad de las asignaturas, la enseñanza de las mismas en modo presencial y el caso de las universidades públicas de Estados Unidos, Alemania y Francia.

Fronteras en construcción: Diferenciación social y desterritorialización en el Sur ibérico (siglos IX-VI a.C.)

Durante las tres últimas décadas, numerosos/as arqueólogos/as han discutido extensamente sobre el ritual funerario original de las poblaciones del sur ibérico entre los siglos ix y vi a.c., esto es, cremación o inhumación. Este debate está además conectado con la existencia o no de complejidad social antes de la llegada fenicia, con la aparición de una élite “orientalizada” y con la adopción de nuevos objetos y prácticas por las poblaciones locales. En este artículo hago uso del concepto deleuziano de “desterritorialización” y lo asocio con el de “frontera” desarrollado por anzaldúa para interpretar la sociedad del sur ibérico. Para ello, analizo la evidencia funeraria indígena y cuestiono la división estricta entre cremación e inhumación en la región; así como examino la profundidad y significado de los cambios funerarios en las comunidades locales.

Study of Worker’s Exposure to Tantalum-bearing Particles in a Mining and Metallurgical Plant

The objective of this study was to assess worker exposure to mineral dust particles and a metabolic model, based on the model adopted by ICRP, was applied to assess human exposure to Ta, and predicted values of Ta concentrations in excreta. The occupational exposure to Th, U, Nb, and Ta bearing particles during routine tasks to obtain Fe-Nb alloys was estimated using air samplers and excreta samples. Ta concentrations in food samples and in drinking water were also determined. The results support that workers were occupationally exposed to Ta bearing particles, and also indicate that a source of Ta exposure for both workers and the control group was the ingestion of drinking water containing soluble compounds of Ta. Therefore, some Ta compounds should be considered soluble compounds in gastrointestinal tract. Consequently the metabolic model based on ICRP metabolic model and/or the transfer factor f1 for Ta should be reviewed and the solubility of Ta compounds in gastrointestinal should be determined.

Measuring the geographic distribution of maternal education in Africa

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Implementation science to expand an mHealth intervention for improving retention in care for women living with HIV and their children

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Evaluating the efficiency of community-based HIV testing and counseling strategies in sub-Saharan Africa

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation

In 2014, the Third International Conference on the resilience of social-ecological systems chose the theme “resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation.” The conference aimed specifically at fostering an encounter between the experiences and thinking focused on the issue of resilience through a social and ecological system perspective, and the experiences focused on the issue of resilience through a development perspective. In this perspectives piece, we reflect on the outcomes of the meeting and document the differences and similarities between the two perspectives as discussed during the conference, and identify bridging questions designed to guide future interactions. After the conference, we read the documents (abstracts, PowerPoints) that were prepared and left in the conference database by the participants (about 600 contributions), and searched the web for associated items, such as videos, blogs, and tweets from the conference participants. All of these documents were assessed through one lens: what do they say about resilience and development? Once the perspectives were established, we examined different themes that were significantly addressed during the conference. Our analysis paves the way for new collective developments on a set of issues: (1) Who declares/assign/cares for the resilience of what, of whom? (2) What are the models of transformations and how do they combine the respective role of agency and structure? (3) What are the combinations of measurement and assessment processes? (4) At what scale should resilience be studied? Social transformations and scientific approaches are coconstructed. For the last decades, development has been conceived as a modernization process supported by scientific rationality and technical expertise. The definition of a new perspective on development goes with a negotiation on a new scientific approach. Resilience is presently at the center of this negotiation on a new science for development.