This study characterizes a measles outbreak which occurred in Ecuador in 2011-2012, analyzing data from 3700 suspected cases of measles reported to Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health. The study population had a large age range and included 333 confirmed cases of measles. The greatest number of cases were found in the <1 year (32.43%, n = 108) and 1-4 year (30.03%, n = 100) age-groups. Compared...

AVRDC The World Vegetable Center, Regional Center for Africa, located in Arusha, Tanzania is the main center for research, development, training and information on indigenous vegetables. It works in close collaboration with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), Regional and International organizations, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and the farm...

Protected areas are essential for conservation of wildlife populations. However, in the tropics there are two important factors that may interact to threaten this objective: 1) road development associated with large-scale resource extraction near or within protected areas; and 2) historical occupancy by traditional or indigenous groups that depend on wildlife for their survival. To manage wildl...

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) is an effective alternative method for oil recovery in reservoirs using microorganisms or their secondary metabolites. This research aimed to evaluate the indigenous bacteria from Mae Soon reservoir by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods investigate potential of biosurfactant-producing a drop-collapsed assay. Indigenous were isolated sands re...

Yarrow (Achillea spp.) belonging to the family of Asteraceae with useful properties, such as anti-diaphoretic, anti-hemorrhagic, anti-inflammation, anti-biotic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, Carminative and anti-oxidant effects. The present investigation assessed the morphological diversity of Achillea aucheri, which is indigenous plant from Damavand mountain of Iran. The samples were collected ...

Oil is a major source of income for Ecuador and since the 1970s has been the " engine " of the nation's economy. Before the 1970s oil price boom, Ecuador was one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Since then, oil production has been the primary cause of Ecuador's economic growth, which has averaged 7% annually. Per capita income rose from US$ 290 in 1972 to US$ 1 200 in 2000. Today, oil...

Oil spills can be disastrous to any ecosystem. Bioremediation through bioaugmentation (addition of oil-degrading bacteria) and biostimulation (addition of nutrients N&P) options can be a promising strategy for combating oil spills following first response actions. However, bioaugmentation is one of the most controversial issues of bioremediation since nutrient addition alone has a greater effec...

Thermococcus species are widely distributed in terrestrial and marine hydrothermal areas, as well as in deep subsurface oil reservoirs. Thermococcus sibiricus is a hyperthermophilic anaerobic archaeon isolated from a well of the never flooded oil-bearing Jurassic horizon of a high-temperature oil reservoir. To obtain insight into the genome of an archaeon inhabiting the oil reservoir, we have d...

Values-based indicators of risks to Indigenous health have the potential to improve the accuracy and quality of a wide range of decisions affecting Native lands and cultures. Current health impact assessment approaches often omit important health priorities rooted in the history, social structures, and cultural context of Indigenous communities. Insights and methods from the decision sciences c...