Young caregivers in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa

Against a background of rising adult mortality and morbidity in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper provides both quantitative and qualitative evidence for the existence of a largely neglected group of young people with increased responsibility for caregiving. Using questionnaire surveys, focus groups, storyboards and in-depth interviews in three studies across Southern and Eastern Africa some young people in Lesotho, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are found to devote considerable time and energy to caring for sick members of their households. Examination of the tasks carried out by these youngsters finds them to be burdened beyond usual familial and societal expectations of children's 'normal' contributions to the reproduction of households via domestic chores and suchlike. It is concluded that these young people can be described as 'young carers'. The three studies are presented to illuminate different sociospatial aspects of caregiving by young people. First, using qualitative data from Lesotho the range of caring tasks young caregivers; perform for care recipients - usually a grandmother, parent, or sibling - is identified. Second, the impact caregiving responsibilities have on children's primary school attendance is examined using survey data from Tanzania. Third, the wider negative and positive impacts of caregiving including loss of friends and gaining of emotional maturity for young carers and their households is explored with in-depth individual interviews from Zimbabwe. Finally, suggestions are made for further research to deepen understanding of the geographies of caring within the context of the population geographies of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hydrolysis of N2O5 on sub-micron mineral salt aerosols

The kinetics of reactive uptake of gaseous N2O5 on sub-micron aerosol particles composed of aqueous ammonium sulfate, ammonium hydrogensulfate and sodium nitrate has been investigated. Uptake was measured in a laminar flow reactor, coupled with a differential mobility analyser (DMA) to obtain the aerosol size distribution, with N2O5 detection using NO chemiluminescence. FTIR spectroscopy was used to obtain information about the composition and water content of the aerosol particles under the conditions used in the kinetic measurements. The aerosols were generated by the nebulisation of aqueous salt solutions. The uptake coefficient on the sulfate salts was in the range [gamma]=0.0015 to 0.033 depending on temperature, humidity and phase of the aerosol. On sodium nitrate aerosols the values were much lower, [gamma]<0.001, confirming the inhibition of N2O5 hydrolysis by nitrate ions. At high humidity (>50% r.h.) the uptake coefficient on liquid sulfate aerosols is independent of water content, but at lower humidity, especially below the efflorescence point, the reactivity of the aerosol declines, correlating with the lower water content. The lower uptake rate on solid aerosols may be due to limitations imposed by the liquid volume in the particles. Uptake on sulfate aerosols showed a negative temperature dependence at T>290 K but no significant temperature dependence at lower temperatures. The results are generally consistent with previous models of N2O5 hydrolysis where the reactive intermediate is NO2+ produced by autoionisation of nitrogen pentoxide in the condensed phase.

Small towns as 'sub-poles' in English rural development: Investigating rural-urban linkages using sub-regional social accounting matrices

This paper uses spatial economic data from four small English towns to measure the strength of economic integration between town and hinterland and to estimate the magnitude of town-hinterland spill-over effects. Following estimation of local integration indicators and inter-locale flows, sub-regional social accounting matrices (SAMs) are developed to estimate the strength of local employment and output multipliers for various economic sectors. The potential value of a town as a 'sub-pole' in local economic development is shown to be dependent on structural differences in the local economy, such as the particular mix of firms within towns. Although the multipliers are generally small, indicating a low level of local linkages, some sectors, particularly financial services and banking, show consistently higher multipliers for both output and employment. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Small-scale mining, poverty and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: An overview

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)-low tech, labour intensive mineral processing and excavation activity-is an economic mainstay in rural sub-Saharan Africa, providing direct employment to over two million people. This paper introduces a special issue on 'Small-scale mining, poverty and development in sub-Saharan Africa'. It focuses on the core conceptual issues covered in the literature, and the policy implications of the findings reported in the papers in this special issue. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Good governance and the extractive industries in sub-saharan Africa

This article critically examines the challenges that come with implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)a policy mechanism marketed by donors and Western governments as a key to facilitating economic improvement in resource-rich developing countriesin sub-Saharan Africa. The forces behind the EITI contest that impoverished institutions, the embezzlement of petroleum and/or mineral revenues, and a lack of transparency are the chief reasons why resource-rich sub-Saharan Africa is underperforming economically, and that implementation of the EITI, with its foundation of good governance, will help address these problems. The position here, however, is that the task is by no means straightforward: that the EITI is not necessarily a blueprint for facilitating good governance in the region's resource-rich countries. It is concluded that the EITI is a policy mechanism that could prove to be effective with significant institutional change in host African countries but, on its own, it is incapable of reducing corruption and mobilizing citizens to hold government officials accountable for hoarding profits from extractive industry operations.

A framework for revitalisation of rural education and training systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Strengthening the human resource base for food security and sustainable livelihoods

Recent studies of the current state of rural education and training (RET) systems in sub-Saharan Africa have assessed their ability to provide for the learning needs essential for more knowledgeable and productive small-scale rural households. These are most necessary if the endemic causes of rural poverty (poor nutrition, lack of sustainable livelihoods, etc.) are to be overcome. A brief historical background and analysis of the major current constraints to improvement in the sector are discussed. Paramount among those factors leading to its present 'malaise' is the lack of a whole-systems perspective and the absence of any coherent policy framework in most countries. There is evidence of some recent innovations, both in the public sector and through the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and other private bodies. These provide hope of a new sense of direction that could lead towards meaningful 'revitalisation' of the sector. A suggested framework offers 10 key steps which, it is argued, could largely be achieved with modest internal resources and very little external support, provided that the necessary leadership and managerial capacities are in place. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of hyaluronidase on ocular motility and eyelid function in sub-Tenon's anaesthesia: randomised controlled trial

Purpose: To assess the effect of hyaluronidase on eye and eyelid movements when used as an adjunct in sub-Tenon's anaesthesia. Methods: A total of 60 patients who had sub-Tenon's anaesthesia prior to phacoemulsification surgery were divided into two equal groups in a double-masked randomised controlled fashion. Of these, Group A had 4 ml lignocaine 2%, while Group B had 4ml lignocaine 2% with the addition of sodium hyaluronidase 75 IU/ml. Ocular motility, levator, and orbicularis oculi function were measured in all patients at 5 and 8 min. Levator function was scored from 0 (no function) to 3 (complete function) while orbicularis function was scored from 0 to 2. The score for ocular motility was the sum in four positions of gaze, each position scoring from 0 to 2. Results were compared using a nonparametric test. Results Group B achieved significantly better ocular and lid akinesia than Group A both at 5 and 8 min with P < 0.01. The median scores for levator function at 5 and 8 min were 2 for Group A and 0 for Group B. For orbicularis function, the median scores at both time intervals were 2 for Group A and 1 for Group B. For ocular motility, the median score for Group A at 5 min was 3 and at 8 min was 2.5; for Group B at 5 min was 0.5 and at 8 min was 0. Conclusions: The addition of hyaluronidase in sub-Tenon's anaesthesia has a significant effect in improving ocular and lid (levator and orbicularis) akinesia.

Haem peroxidase activity in Daphnia magna: A biomarker for sub-lethal toxicity assessments of kerosene-contaminated groundwater

A novel biomarker was developed in Daphnia magna to detect organic pollution in groundwater. The haem peroxidase assay, which is an indirect means of measuring oxidase activity, was particularly sensitive to kerosene contamination. Exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of kerosene-contaminated groundwater resulted in a haem peroxidase activity increase by dose with a two-fold activity peak at 25%. Reproduction in D. magna remained unimpaired when exposed to concentrations below 25% for 21 days, and a decline in fecundity was only observed at concentrations above the peak in enzyme activity. The measurement of haem peroxidase activity in D. magna detected sublethal effects of kerosene in just 24 h, whilst offering information on the health status of the organisms. The biomarker may be useful in determining concentrations above which detrimental effects would occur from long-term exposure for fuel hydrocarbons. Moreover, this novel assay detects exposure to chemicals in samples that would normally be classified as non-toxic by acute toxicity tests.

Reach and grasp therapy: effects of the Gentle/G System assessing sub-acute stroke whole-arm rehabilitation

This paper reports preliminary results of a reach and grasp study of robot mediated neurorehabilitation. These results are presented on a case-by-case basis and give a good indication of a positive effect of robot mediated therapy. The study investigated both reach and grasp assistance and although it is not possible to attribute the response to the benefits of providing assistance of both modalities the study is a good indicator that this strategy should be pursued. The paper also reports on the benefits of motivational queues such as exercise scores and on subject attitudes to the robot mediated therapy.

Application of auto regressive models of wavelet sub-bands for classifying Terahertz pulse measurements

This paper presents an approach for automatic classification of pulsed Terahertz (THz), or T-ray, signals highlighting their potential in biomedical, pharmaceutical and security applications. T-ray classification systems supply a wealth of information about test samples and make possible the discrimination of heterogeneous layers within an object. In this paper, a novel technique involving the use of Auto Regressive (AR) and Auto Regressive Moving Average (ARMA) models on the wavelet transforms of measured T-ray pulse data is presented. Two example applications are examined - the classi. cation of normal human bone (NHB) osteoblasts against human osteosarcoma (HOS) cells and the identification of six different powder samples. A variety of model types and orders are used to generate descriptive features for subsequent classification. Wavelet-based de-noising with soft threshold shrinkage is applied to the measured T-ray signals prior to modeling. For classi. cation, a simple Mahalanobis distance classi. er is used. After feature extraction, classi. cation accuracy for cancerous and normal cell types is 93%, whereas for powders, it is 98%.