A qualitative study of community perception and acceptance of biological larviciding for malaria mosquito control in rural Burkina Faso

Background: Vector and malaria parasite’s rising resistance against pyrethroid-impregnated bed nets and antimalarial drugs highlight the need for additional control measures. Larviciding against malaria vectors is experiencing a renaissance with the availability of environmentally friendly and target species-specific larvicides. In this study,we analyse the perception and acceptability of spraying surface water collections with the biological larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis in a single health district in Burkina Faso. Methods: A total of 12focus group discussions and 12key informant interviews were performed in 10 rural villages provided with coverage of various larvicide treatments (all breeding sites treated, the most productive breeding sites treated, and untreated control). Results: Respondents’ knowledge about the major risk factors for malaria transmission was generally good. Most interviewees stated they performed personal protective measures against vector mosquitoes including the use of bed nets and sometimes mosquito coils and traditional repellents. The acceptance of larviciding in and around the villages was high and the majority of respondents reported a relief in mosquito nuisance and malarial episodes. There was high interest in the project and demand for future continuation. Conclusion: This study showed that larviciding interventions received positive resonance from the population. People showed a willingness to be involved and financially support the program. The positive environment with high acceptance for larviciding programs would facilitate routine implementation. An essential factor for the future success of such programs would be inclusion in regional or national malaria control guidelines

Impact of free radicals on the electrostatic charging tendency of transformer oils

In this contribution, the influence of free radical concentration on the electrostatic charging tendency (ECT) of aged mineral oils is reported. A free radical reagent, 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, is used to assess the relative concentration of free radicals. Prior to the ECT measurement, the oil samples were subjected to various stresses (corona discharges, multiple arcs or local overheating). Different ASTM standards were considered to assess the physicochemical properties before and after stress applications. It is found that free radicals affect the ECT. The theoretical premises that, free radicals may contribute to the ECT, are experimentally confirmed under laboratory conditions. The reason why this information is important is that ECT can significantly affect partial discharge inception in in-service transformers

Mixed Insulating Liquids with Mineral Oil for High Voltage Transformer Applications: A Review

Due to the growing interest in environmental concerns, synthetic, and natural esters have become the key focus of the picture in the last two decades as insulating fluids for high voltage equipment. This is because, unlike mineral oil, ester liquids are biodegradable, non-toxic, and safe for the environment and human health. These fluids are derived from renewable sources and have high fire resistance. However, synthetic and natural ester fluids are still used in a rather limited number of electrical equipment for several reasons (high cost, high viscosity and density, increased tendency towards electrostatic charge, faster propagation of streamers in an inhomogeneous electric field, etc.). Besides, a huge amount of equipment is filled with mineral oils. The massive replacement of oil-filled equipment with natural or synthetic esters may be extremely expensive to utilities and transformer owners. In addition, in the event of partial or complete retrofilling of mineral oil with an ester fluid, the equipment may evidently contain a mixture of two insulating fluids; therefore, demanding the scope for research on mixed insulating liquids. The intent of this article is to present a comprehensive review of the literature on the blend of mineral oil and other alternative dielectric fluids. The critical research progresses, highlights, and challenges related to mixed liquids along with significant tutorial elements as well as some analyses are discussed. This review should be useful for researchers, utilities, and transformer owners concerned with ester liquids and retro filling aspects

Mineral oil and ester based oil/paper insulation decaying assessment by FTIR measurements

Esters based dielectric fluids have been widely researched since 1990’s for application in high voltage insulation applications. Since then, researchers are affirmative towards usage of ester based insulating fluids as a replicated to mineral insulation oils. The operating properties and aging performance of ester oils proved to be potential candidates for high voltage applications. In view of high temperatures and longevity of insulation systems, there also is a need to understand the chemical perspectives along with aging behaviour of ester oils. Accelerated aging of oil/paper insulation associated with mineral oil and synthetic ester with cellulose insulant has been experimentally simulated as per ASTM D 1934 at 115 ℃. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy analysis of oils and cellulose papers is carried out at different aging factors. The compositional changes in oils and cellulose kraft paper with aging have been enumerated. The changes in the absorbance area for appropriate functional groups have been also reported. It is found that, the chemical stability of synthetic esters is superior to that of the mineral oil

HIV risk and behaviour among part-time versus professional FSW: baseline report of an interventional cohort in Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE: To readjust HIV control programmes in Africa, we assessed the factors associated with high-risk behaviours and HIV infection among young female sex workers (FSW) in Burkina Faso. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study from September 2009 to September 2010 in Ouagadougou, the capital city. FSW were categorised as professionals and part-time sex workers (PTSW). After a face-to-face questionnaire, blood and urine samples were collected for HIV, HSV-2, genital infections and pregnancy. High-risk behaviour was defined as a recent unprotected sex with either casual clients, regular clients or regular partners. RESULTS: We recruited 609 FSW including 188 (30.9%) professionals. Their median age was 21 years (IQR 19-23), and the prevalence of HIV was 10.3% among professionals and 6.5% among PTSW. Only 3 of 46 HIV-infected women were aware of their status. Overall, 277 (45.6%) women reported high-risk behaviours (41.2% among professionals and 47.5% among PTSW), which were driven mainly by non-systematic condom use with regular partners. In multivariable analysis, PTSW (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.89; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.82) and having a primary (AOR=1.75; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.67) or higher education level (AOR=1.80; 95% CI 1.13 to 2.89) remained associated with high-risk behaviours. HIV infection was associated with older age (AOR=1.44; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.71), with being married/cohabiting (AOR=2.70; 95% CI 1.21 to 6.04) and with Trichomonas vaginalis infection (AOR=9.63; 95% CI 2.93 to 31.59), while history of HIV testing was associated with a decreased risk (AOR=0.18; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.40). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for targeted interventions among young FSW focusing particularly on PTSW, sexual behaviours with regular partners and regular HIV testing

Accuracy Assessment of the ESA CCI 20M Land Cover Map: Kenya, Gabon, Ivory Coast and South Africa

This working paper presents the overall and spatial accuracy assessment of the European Space Agency (ESA) 20 m prototype land cover map for Africa for four countries: Kenya, Gabon, Ivory Coast and South Africa. This accuracy assessment was undertaken as part of the ESA-funded CrowdVal project. The results varied from 44% (for South Africa) to 91% (for Gabon). In the case of Kenya (56% overall accuracy) and South Africa, these values are largely caused by the confusion between grassland and shrubland. However, if a weighted confusion matrix is used, which diminishes the importance of the confusion between grassland and shrubs, the overall accuracy for Kenya increases to 79% and for South Africa, 75%. The overall accuracy for Ivory Coast (47%) is a result of a highly fragmented land cover, which makes it a difficult country to map with remote sensing. The exception was Gabon with a high overall accuracy of 91%, but this can be explained by the high amount of tree cover across the country, which is a relatively easy class to map

The cost of providing combined prevention and treatment services, including ART, to female sex workers in Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: Female Sex workers (FSW) are important in driving HIV transmission in West Africa. The Yerelon clinic in Burkina Faso has provided combined preventative and therapeutic services, including anti-retroviral therapy (ART), for FSWs since 1998, with evidence suggesting it has decreased HIV prevalence and incidence in this group. No data exists on the costs of such a combined prevention and treatment intervention for FSW. This study aims to determine the mean cost of service provision per patient year for FSWs attending the Yerelon clinic, and identifies differences in costs between patient groups. METHODS: Field-based retrospective cost analyses were undertaken using top-down and bottom-up costing approaches for 2010. Expenditure and service utilisation data was collated from primary sources. Patients were divided into groups according to full-time or occasional sex-work, HIV status and ART duration. Patient specific service use data was extracted. Costs were converted to 2012 US$. Sensitivity analyses considered removal of all research costs, different discount rates and use of different ART treatment regimens and follow-up schedules. RESULTS: Using the top-down costing approach, the mean annual cost of service provision for FSWs on or off ART was US$1098 and US$882, respectively. The cost for FSWs on ART reduced by 29$781, if all research-related costs were removed and national ART monitoring guidelines were followed. The bottom-up patient-level costing showed the cost of the service varied greatly across patient groups (US$505-US$1117), primarily due to large differences in the costs of different ART regimens. HIV-negative women had the lowest annual cost at US$505. CONCLUSION: Whilst FSWs may require specialised services to optimise their care and hence, the public health benefits, our study shows that the cost of ART provision within a combined prevention and treatment intervention setting is comparable to providing ART to other population groups in Africa