To assess coverage and quality of essential obstetric care (EOC) and the appropriateness of using processindicators, a 3-month follow-up study was done in Rufiji district, Tanzania, involving 2 hospitals, 4 health centres, 10 large dispensaries and 10 randomly selected small dispensaries. Data collection was done on process indicators as suggested by UNICEF/WHO/UNFPA (UN) and 'unmet obstetric n...

A total of 278 Ixodes ticks, collected from Madeira Island and Setubal District, mainland Portugal, were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Six (4%) of 142 Ixodes ricinus nymphs collected in Madeira Island and 1 nymph and 1 male (2%) of 93 I. ventalloi collected in Setubal District tested positive for A. phagocytophilum msp2 genes or rrs. ...

AIM Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is caused by mutations of FH genes, i.e. LDL-receptor (LDLR), PCSK9 and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) gene. We evaluated the usefulness of DNA analysis for the diagnosis of homozygous FH (homo-FH), and studied the frequency of FH in the Hokuriku district of Japan. METHODS Twenty-five homo-FH patients were recruited. LDLR mutations were identified using the Inv...

Zheng Li 1,*, Jiping Lu 1, Ya Zhu 2 and Wang Jiang 3 1 State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, School of Electrical Engineering of Chongqing University, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400044, China; [email protected] 2 Maintenance Branch of Chongqing Electric Power Company of (State Grid), No. 12 Zhongshan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400...

Hao Zhang 1 ID , Bing Zhang 1,2, Zhengchao Chen 1,* and Zhihua Huang 1,3 1 Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Beijing 100094, China; [email protected] (H.Z.); [email protected] (B.Z.); [email protected] (Z.H.) 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Shiji...

Introduction:Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the major preventable causes of mental retardation (MR) in infants. Before the implementation of screening programs, early diagnosis of CH at birth was impossible, and led to MR during childhood. CH screening not only promotes early diagnosis and rapid treatment, but also prevents the complications associated with CH. It also decreases famil...

OBJECTIVE To determine the rate and predictors of early loss to follow-up (LTFU) for recently diagnosed HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-ineligible adults in rural Kenya. METHODS Prospective cohort study. Clients registering for HIV care between July 2008 and August 2009 were followed up for 6 months. Baseline data were used to assess predictors of pre-ART LTFU (not returning for ca...

Respiratory syncytial virus BA genotype has reportedly replaced other group B genotypes worldwide. We report the observation of three group B viruses, all identical in G sequence but lacking the BA duplication, at a coastal district hospital in Kenya in early 2012. This follows a period of six consecutive respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemics with 100% BA dominance among group B isolates....

Fig 1 is incorrect. The authors have provided a corrected version here. There is an error in the second sentence of the Results section. The correct sentence is: Our analysis is restricted to the 64 facilities offering delivery care: Eleven hospitals (one large public regional hospital, four public district hospitals, two private hospitals and four Christian hospitals), eleven private maternity...

Background: The Ethiopian epidemic is currently on the wane. However, the situation for infected children is in some ways lagging behind due to low treatment coverage and deficient prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Too few studies have examined HIV infected children presenting to care in low-income countries in general. Considering the presence of local variations in the nature of the...