Risk factors for human brucellosis in northern Tanzania

Little is known about the epidemiology of human brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa. This hampers prevention and control efforts at the individual and population levels. To evaluate risk factors for brucellosis in northern Tanzania, we conducted a study of patients presenting with fever to two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania. Serum taken at enrollment and at 4–6 week follow-up was tested by Brucella microagglutination test. Among participants with a clinically compatible illness, confirmed brucellosis cases were defined as having a ≥ 4-fold rise in agglutination titer between paired sera or a blood culture positive for Brucella spp., and probable brucellosis cases were defined as having a single reciprocal titer ≥ 160. Controls had reciprocal titers < 20 in paired sera. We collected demographic and clinical information and administered a risk factor questionnaire. Of 562 participants in the analysis, 50 (8.9%) had confirmed or probable brucellosis. Multivariable analysis showed that risk factors for brucellosis included assisting goat or sheep births (Odds ratio [OR] 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 24.6) and having contact with cattle (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.4). Consuming boiled or pasteurized dairy products was protective against brucellosis (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02, 0.93). No participants received a clinical diagnosis of brucellosis from their healthcare providers. The under-recognition of brucellosis by healthcare workers could be addressed with clinician education and better access to brucellosis diagnostic tests. Interventions focused on protecting livestock keepers, especially those who assist goat or sheep births, are needed

First record of the Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis (Temminck Schlegel, 1844) from the coast off Sur, Sultanate of Oman

A single specimen of the Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis was caught on 11 May 2017 in a long-line operated about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sur atconfluent of Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea coast of Oman. This first record of its occurrence indicates the extension of distributional range of the species to the Arabian Sea coast of Oman

Comparison of the estimated incidence of acute leptospirosis in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania between 2007-08 and 2012-14

Background: The sole report of annual leptospirosis incidence in continental Africa of 75–102 cases per 100,000 population is from a study performed in August 2007 through September 2008 in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. To evaluate the stability of this estimate over time, we estimated the incidence of acute leptospirosis in Kilimanjaro Region, northern Tanzania for the time period 2012–2014. Methodology and Principal Findings: Leptospirosis cases were identified among febrile patients at two sentinel hospitals in the Kilimanjaro Region. Leptospirosis was diagnosed by serum microscopic agglutination testing using a panel of 20 Leptospira serovars belonging to 17 separate serogroups. Serum was taken at enrolment and patients were asked to return 4–6 weeks later to provide convalescent serum. Confirmed cases required a 4-fold rise in titre and probable cases required a single titre of ≥800. Findings from a healthcare utilisation survey were used to estimate multipliers to adjust for cases not seen at sentinel hospitals. We identified 19 (1.7%) confirmed or probable cases among 1,115 patients who presented with a febrile illness. Of cases, the predominant reactive serogroups were Australis 8 (42.1%), Sejroe 3 (15.8%), Grippotyphosa 2 (10.5%), Icterohaemorrhagiae 2 (10.5%), Pyrogenes 2 (10.5%), Djasiman 1 (5.3%), Tarassovi 1 (5.3%). We estimated that the annual incidence of leptospirosis was 11–18 cases per 100,000 population. This was a significantly lower incidence than 2007–08 (p<0.001). Conclusions: We estimated a much lower incidence of acute leptospirosis than previously, with a notable absence of cases due to the previously predominant serogroup Mini. Our findings indicate a dynamic epidemiology of leptospirosis in this area and highlight the value of multi-year surveillance to understand leptospirosis epidemiology

Risk factors for human acute leptospirosis in northern Tanzania

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a major cause of febrile illness in Africa but little is known about risk factors for human infection. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate risk factors for acute leptospirosis and Leptospira seropositivity among patients with fever attending referral hospitals in northern Tanzania. Methods: We enrolled patients with fever from two referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, 2012–2014, and performed Leptospira microscopic agglutination testing on acute and convalescent serum. Cases of acute leptospirosis were participants with a four-fold rise in antibody titers, or a single reciprocal titer ≥800. Seropositive participants required a single titer ≥100, and controls had titers <100 in both acute and convalescent samples. We administered a questionnaire to assess risk behaviors over the preceding 30 days. We created cumulative scales of exposure to livestock urine, rodents, and surface water, and calculated odds ratios (OR) for individual behaviors and for cumulative exposure variables. Results: We identified 24 acute cases, 252 seropositive participants, and 592 controls. Rice farming (OR 14.6), cleaning cattle waste (OR 4.3), feeding cattle (OR 3.9), farm work (OR 3.3), and an increasing cattle urine exposure score (OR 1.2 per point) were associated with acute leptospirosis. Conclusions: In our population, exposure to cattle and rice farming were risk factors for acute leptospirosis. Although further data is needed, these results suggest that cattle may be an important source of human leptospirosis. Further investigation is needed to explore the potential for control of livestock Leptospira infection to reduce human disease

Incidence of human brucellosis in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania in the periods 2007-2008 and 2012-2014

Background: Brucellosis causes substantial morbidity among humans and their livestock. There are few robust estimates of the incidence of brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Using cases identified through sentinel hospital surveillance and health care utilization data, we estimated the incidence of brucellosis in Moshi Urban and Moshi Rural Districts, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, for the periods 2007–2008 and 2012–2014. Methods: Cases were identified among febrile patients at two sentinel hospitals and were defined as having either a 4-fold increase in Brucella microscopic agglutination test titres between acute and convalescent serum or a blood culture positive for Brucella spp. Findings from a health care utilization survey were used to estimate multipliers to account for cases not seen at sentinel hospitals. Results: Of 585 patients enrolled in the period 2007–2008, 13 (2.2%) had brucellosis. Among 1095 patients enrolled in the period 2012–2014, 32 (2.9%) had brucellosis. We estimated an incidence (range based on sensitivity analysis) of brucellosis of 35 (range 32–93) cases per 100 000 persons annually in the period 2007–2008 and 33 (range 30–89) cases per 100 000 persons annually in the period 2012–2014. Conclusions: We found a moderate incidence of brucellosis in northern Tanzania, suggesting that the disease is endemic and an important human health problem in this area

Newly recognized turbidity current structure can explain prolonged flushing of submarine canyons

Seabed-hugging flows called turbidity currents are the volumetrically most important process transporting sediment across our planet and form its largest sediment accumulations. We seek to understand the internal structure and behavior of turbidity currents by reanalyzing the most detailed direct measurements yet of velocities and densities within oceanic turbidity currents, obtained from weeklong flows in the Congo Canyon. We provide a new model for turbidity current structure that can explain why these are far more prolonged than all previously monitored oceanic turbidity currents, which lasted for only hours or minutes at other locations. The observed Congo Canyon flows consist of a short-lived zone of fast and dense fluid at their front, which outruns the slower moving body of the flow. We propose that the sustained duration of these turbidity currents results from flow stretching and that this stretching is characteristic of mud-rich turbidity current systems. The lack of stretching in previously monitored flows is attributed to coarser sediment that settles out from the body more rapidly. These prolonged seafloor flows rival the discharge of the Congo River and carry ~2% of the terrestrial organic carbon buried globally in the oceans each year through a single submarine canyon. Thus, this new structure explains sustained flushing of globally important amounts of sediment, organic carbon, nutrients, and fresh water into the deep ocean

Subtle changes in the flavour and texture of a drink enhance expectations of satiety

Background: The consumption of liquid calories has been implicated in the development of obesity and weight gain. Energy-containing drinks are often reported to have a weak satiety value: one explanation for this is that because of their fluid texture they are not expected to have much nutritional value. It is important to consider what features of these drinks can be manipulated to enhance their expected satiety value. Two studies investigated the perception of subtle changes in a drink’s viscosity, and the extent to which thick texture and creamy flavour contribute to the generation of satiety expectations. Participants in the first study rated the sensory characteristics of 16 fruit yogurt drinks of increasing viscosity. In study two, a new set of participants evaluated eight versions of the fruit yogurt drink, which varied in thick texture, creamy flavour and energy content, for sensory and hedonic characteristics and satiety expectations. Results: In study one, participants were able to perceive small changes in drink viscosity that were strongly related to the actual viscosity of the drinks. In study two, the thick versions of the drink were expected to be more filling and have a greater expected satiety value, independent of the drink’s actual energy content. A creamy flavour enhanced the extent to which the drink was expected to be filling, but did not affect its expected satiety. Conclusions: These results indicate that subtle manipulations of texture and creamy flavour can increase expectations that a fruit yogurt drink will be filling and suppress hunger, irrespective of the drink’s energy content. A thicker texture enhanced expectations of satiety to a greater extent than a creamier flavour, and may be one way to improve the anticipated satiating value of energy-containing beverages

The use of biodosimetry to measure the UV-C dose delivered to a sphere, and implications for the commercial treatment of fruit

Commercialization of UV-C treatment of horticultural produce in order to induce beneficial responses in the produce following treatment requires both accurate dose delivery and a method of treating large quantities of produce efficiently. Furthermore, it has long been assumed that such effects require the entire surface of the horticultural commodities - typically fruit - to be exposed to UV-C. This has invariably been achieved by manually rotating the fruit in a UV-C field whilst reducing the dose delivered at each rotation in direct proportion to the number of rotations. However, the resulting UV-C dose distributions achieved under these circumstances are generally not reported in the literature. In the work described here a polystyrene sphere (Dia., 70 mm) was used to simulate fruits such as tomatoes, apples, peaches etc., that have an approximately spherical form in order to provide a means of measuring the total doses of UV-C accumulated during treatment and comparing such estimates to theoretically-derived ones. This was achieved using dosimetry based on spores of B. subtilis in which spore-impregnated membranes were attached to the surface of the sphere. The fraction of spores surviving exposure was used to estimate dose from a dose-response curve for the spores. Under irradiation conditions leading to a theoretically calculated dose of 10.6 J, spore dosimetry yielded estimates of 9.1, 10.7 and 6.1 J for UV-C delivered in respectively, one, two or four exposures. In the case of exposure of the sphere during continuous mechanical rotation for the same length of time (80 s) a value of only 3.5 J was obtained. Irradiation conditions resulting in the spores being subject to intermittent exposure to UV-C led to dose estimates below the theoretically derived ones. The circumstances under which spore dosimetry can be used to obtain surface dose distributions are discussed

Reliability and Availability Analysis of Arepairable System With Two Types of Failure

This paper investigates reliability and availability of a repairable system with two types of failure. Let failure rate and repair rate of [type1, type2] components are assumed to be exponentially distributed. The expressions of availability and reliability characteristics such as the system reliability and the mean time to failure are derived. We used several cases to analyze graphically the effect of various system parameters on the reliability system and availability system

Numerical Study of Reinforced Concrete Beam by Using ABAQUS Software

Cracks are serious problems in the structural characteristics of a concrete structure due to several failure modes such as, flexural and shear. Reinforced concrete behaviour is complicated, and for a realistic simulation of such behaviour a prober material modelling has to be used.  In this work an attempt has been made to simulate concrete and embedded reinforcement steel to predict the crack propagation in RC beam using a plastic damage behaviour by ABAQUS software. The proposed modelling has been validated against experimental results found in the literature. The results have shown that displacement associated with ultimate load is in a good agreement with experiment, as well as the failure load. The crack pattern indicated that the cracks will start from the tension zone in the bottom of RC beam and extended to top of beam