Country-wide Survey Research Articles

Mapping the geographical distribution of lymphatic filariasis in Zambia.

BackgroundPast case reports have indicated that lymphatic filariasis (LF) occurs in Zambia, but knowledge about its geographical distribution and prevalence pattern, and the underlying potential environmental drivers, has been limited. As a background for planning and implementation of control, a country-wide mapping survey was undertaken between 2003 and 2011. Here the mapping activities are outlined, the findings across the numerous survey sites are presented, and the ecological requirements of the LF distribution are explored.Methodology/Principal findingsApproximately 10,000 adult volunteers from 108 geo-referenced survey sites across Zambia were examined for circulating filarial antigens (CFA) with rapid format ICT cards, and a map indicating the distribution of CFA prevalences in Zambia was prepared. 78% of survey sites had CFA positive cases, with prevalences ranging between 1% and 54%. Most positive survey sites had low prevalence, but six foci with more than 15% prevalence were identified. The observed geographical variation in prevalence pattern was examined in more detail using a species distribution modeling approach to explore environmental requirements for parasite presence, and to predict potential suitable habitats over unsurveyed areas. Of note, areas associated with human modification of the landscape appeared to play an important role for the general presence of LF, whereas temperature (measured as averaged seasonal land surface temperature) seemed to be an important determinant of medium-high prevalence levels.Conclusions/significanceLF was found to be surprisingly widespread in Zambia, although in most places with low prevalence. The produced maps and the identified environmental correlates of LF infection will provide useful guidance for planning and start-up of geographically targeted and cost-effective LF control in Zambia.

The ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae, Ixodidae) of Bolivia

The tick species reported in Bolivia are reviewed here as (1) endemic or established: Ornithodoros echimys, O. guaporensis, O. hasei, O. kohlsi, O. mimon, O. peropteryx, O. rostratus, Otobius megnini, Amblyomma auricularium, A. cajennense, A. calcaratum, A. coelebs, A. dubitatum, A. humerale, A. incisum, A. longirostre, A. naponense, A. nodosum, A. oblongoguttatum, A. ovale, A. parvitarsum, A. parvum, A. pecarium, A. pseudoconcolor, A. rotundatum, A. scalpturatum, A. tigrinum, A. triste, Dermacentor nitens, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, H. leporispalustris, I. boliviensis, I. cooleyi, I. luciae, Rhipicephalus microplus, R. sanguineus, and (2) erroneously reported: Ornithodoros puertoricensis, O. talaje, O. turicata, Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum, A. multipunctum, Ixodes ricinus, I. scapularis, Rhipicephalus annulatus. Many of these records are lacking locality and/or host, and some of them need new findings for confirmation. Some of the species recorded may represent a threat for human and animal health, therefore would be of great value to make a countrywide survey of ticks in order to update the information presented in this work.

Seroprevalence of porcine proliferative enteropathy among wild boars in the Republic of Korea

BackgroundThe importance of the wild boar as a reservoir of Lawsonia intracellularis was assessed by investigating the seroprevalence of this pathogen among wild boars in the Republic of Korea. The extent of exposure to L. intracellularis among wild boars (Sus scrofa coreanus) was monitored by a country-wide serological survey using an immunoperoxidase monolayer assay.ResultsIn this study, antibodies to L. intracellularis were observed in 165 of 716 clinically healthy wild boars tested. The overall apparent prevalence calculated directly from the sample and the true prevalence calculated based on the accuracy of the test method were 23.0% (95% confidence interval: 20.0-26.3%) and 25.6% (95% confidence interval: 23.9-27.2%), respectively. Serologically positive animals were found in all the tested provinces.ConclusionsOur results confirm that L. intracellularis is present in the wild boar population worldwide, even in Far East Asia. Despite the high seroprevalence shown in wild boars, further studies are warranted to evaluate their potential as a reservoir species because seroprevalence does not prove ongoing infection nor shedding of the bacteria in amounts sufficient to infect other animals. It should also be determined whether the wild boar, like the domestic pig, is a natural host of L. intracellularis.

Roe deer used as indicator species for a country wide survey for the occurrence of Tick Borne Encephalitis in Austria

Although 85% of the Austrian citizens are vaccinated against Tick Borne Encephalitis (TBE), still ~100 clinical cases are reported each year. Until now, risk maps are created by using human cases only, albeit this source is biased due to the high level of vaccinated persons, uncertainties about the location of infection and undocumented cases because of inapparent infections. To overcome this problem, several solutions are proposed: Investigations of ticks by PCR seems to be reasonable, when looking on small areas. Another possibility to gain knowledge about TBE occurrence is to investigate the sera of wildlife animals for antibodies against TBE. Due to the fact that roe deer can be found all around the whole Austrian landscape, but its habitat is restricted to a relatively small area, we chose this species as indicators for the monitoring of antibodies against TBE. Together with the hunting organisations blood samples from whole Austria was collected starting in September 2013 and screened for the occurrence of antibodies against TBE using an indirect immunofluorescence assay test. A total of 928 serum samples from roe deer were collected so far. The analysis of ~100 samples showed positivity to TBE in 2 roe deer. The shooting/finding location of each roe deer was georeferenced and a geographical information system was constructed. The findings of this survey on roe deer will be used to update the TBE risk map in Austria.

Documenting Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) Presence at Turneffe Atoll, Belize, Central America and its Conservation Significance

Abstract. Belize in Central America supports one of the largest populations of endangered Antillean manatees in the Caribbean. In 2012, a country—wide survey resulted in the highest count ever recorded (507 manatees). Manatee use of atolls has only been documented at Turneffe Atoll in Belize. Manatees in Belize, including those that use Turneffe, have been shown to be impacted by human activities including habitat degradation, entanglement in fishing gear, poaching, and watercraft. The atoll itself faces threats to its diversity and productivity. In 2002, the Oceanic Society began monitoring manatees on Turneffe to document numbers, distribution, and seasonality of use to facilitate the atoll's designation as a protected area. Since 2002, 52 sightings of manatees have been recorded at Turneffe, including cow/calf pairs, indicating it is an important part of the resource network used by the manatees. Protecting the atoll should be a priority for all working to protect manatees and Belize's natural resources.

Inequality of Asian-type neighborhood environmental quality in communities with different urbanization levels

• Asian-type neighborhood environmental quality (NEQ) has its distinctive features. • We found high prevalence and high disturbance of neighborhood air pollution sources. • Traffic, restaurants, smelly/dusty stores, and temples are common community sources. • The most undesirable neighborhood sources are traffic and smelly/dusty stores. • For the first time, spatial heterogeneity of environmental inequality is identified. Inequality of neighborhood environmental quality (NEQ) is an important pathway through which social inequality results in health disparity. It is critical to assess NEQ which is related to the urbanization level (UL) of the residents’ domiciles and socio-economic status (SES). This study evaluates the major determinants and inequality of Asian-type NEQ, considering both UL and SES. Data from a representative country-wide survey in Taiwan were adopted to assess the chemical, disturbance, and social aspects of NEQ, with 1.906 subjects aged 18 years or above from 88 communities. The results showed that 30% and 24% of subjects living within 15 m from busy roads and smoky/greasy restaurants, respectively, demonstrating widespread traffic pollution and spot pollution sources within communities. ULs of communities, education, age, and SES are statistically significant determinants of various NEQ indicators. More importantly, NEQ inequality does exist and shows opposite patterns across different spatial scales, revealing spatial heterogeneity. Subjects in communities of higher ULs, consisted of larger percentages of residents with better SES, have higher odds of chemical exposure (2.2–21.2), disturbance (3.5–4.3), and social stress (1.9–4.3) than those in rural communities. On the other hand, within communities of the same ULs, subjects of poorer SES have higher odds of pollution exposure (2.6–2.7) and social stress (4.8). Furthermore, this work demonstrates an objective assessment of NEQ with survey methods which can be applied to assess important neighborhood environmental issues in all countries. Spatial heterogeneity of environmental inequality is identified by this study for the first time. It may be a common phenomenon shared by other countries; it has significant implications for environmental health policies and studies.

Prevalence and Distribution of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) in Cattle, African Buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) and their Environments in South Africa

It has been hypothesized that a variety of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species to which livestock and wildlife species are naturally exposed induce broadly cross-reactive anti-mycobacterial immune responses which interfere with current standard diagnostic assays. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria have also been implicated in Mycobacterium bovis-specific immune responsiveness, hence potentially the development of tuberculosis. Cattle and African buffaloes are both maintenance hosts of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in South Africa, yet the effective diagnosis and control in these species may be hampered by adverse effects of NTM. As part of an investigation of the role of NTM in the immune responsiveness of cattle and African buffaloes to NTM, we conducted a countrywide survey to establish the prevalent NTM species and their distribution in the natural environments of these animals. A total of 1123 samples (water, soil, nasal and pharyngeal swabs) were collected for mycobacterium isolation. In addition, NTM isolated from tissue samples between 1991 and 2011 were included in the analysis. Mycobacteria were isolated from 56% of the samples from the countrywide survey. A total of 420 NTM isolates from soil, water, animal tissues and animal-derived swab samples were genotyped with the following results: 302 belonged to 40 known NTM species, 79 were found to be closely related to 23 known NTM species, and 38 isolates were found to be potentially novel species that are not currently listed in the RIDOM and NCBI BLAST databases. The four NTM species or closely related groups most frequently isolated in this survey included Mycobacterium terrae (11.2% of isolates), a group of mycobacteria closely related to Mycobacterium moriokaense (referred to as M. moriokaense-like) (8.1% of isolates), Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum (7.4% of isolates) and Mycobacterium vaccae/M. vanbaalenii (5.2% of isolates). The phylogenetic analysis of the M. moriokaense-like isolates, based on the 16S rRNA sequences, revealed at least eight clusters, possibly associated with eight different NTM species. Our findings provide account of NTM species diversity and associated prevalences in cattle and African buffaloes and their environments in South Africa. The identification of the most prevalent NTM species in this study will allow for a targeted investigation of their effects on host immune responses.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Uzbekistan: results of a nationwide survey, 2010 to 2011

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB; resistance to at least rifampicin and isoniazid) is a global public health concern. In 2010–2011, Uzbekistan, in central Asia, conducted its first countrywide survey to determine the prevalence of MDR-TB among TB patients. The proportion of MDR-TB among new and previously treated TB patients throughout the country was measured and risk factors for MDR-TB explored. A total of 1,037 patients were included. MDR-TB was detected in 165 treatment-naïve (23.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 17.8%–29.5%) and 207 previously treated (62.0%; 95% CI: 52.5%–70.7%) patients. In 5.3% (95% CI: 3.1%–8.4%) of MDR-TB cases, resistance to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs (extensively drug resistant TB; XDR-TB) was detected. MDR-TB was significantly associated with age under 45 years (adjusted odds ratio: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.45–3.45), imprisonment (1.93; 95% CI: 1.01–3.70), previous treatment (4.45; 95% CI: 2.66–7.43), and not owning a home (1.79; 95% CI: 1.01–3.16). MDR-TB estimates for Uzbekistan are among the highest reported in former Soviet Union countries. Efforts to diagnose, treat and prevent spread of MDR-TB need scaling up.

Police Reform in Thailand Post-2006

The study analyses the operation and culture of Thai policing and the intersection between policing and politics framed by the recommendations of the Police Reform Committee (PRC), 2006—2007. The PRC’s priorities were: devolving police administration, especially budgets and personnel management; increasing accountability, especially establishing an Independent Complaints’ Committee; and civilianization. Those priorities were seen as clearing the ground for development of community-oriented policing longer-term. Interviews were conducted with senior members of the PRC. Afterwards non-commissioned officers’ opinions were established through a countrywide survey and follow-up in-depth interviews. Their station chiefs were also interviewed. According to PRC members and serving officers’ accounts the barriers to reform of police administration were political interference and nepotism, especially corruption of appointments, nominations, promotions and transfers. Local policing often involved further interference by informal networks of officials, politicians and business. The PRC’s recommendations were shelved due to an unfavourable political climate. The paradox was the PRC’s strategies for ‘democratic’ police reform were well-informed and well-founded but its establishment had been politically motivated and it was not immune to interference by competing political factions. The study contributes to debates about moving away from authoritarian policing models in the developing world by analysing barriers to the reform of police administration in the Thai context.

A survey on Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae infections in Slovene fresh waters

Slovenia has no history of health problems related to proliferative kidney disease (PKD) either in farmed or in wild fish. However, due to the past molecular evidence for the presence of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae DNA in tissues of some fish from open waters, a survey was conducted on wild salmonids that were primarily sampled for other purposes. In winter 2010-2011, specimens from a total of 244 rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), and brown trout, Salmo trutta L., from 30 bodies of fresh water were examined for T.bryosalmonae using a PCR method. The sampled fish showed no clinical signs or gross pathological lesions characteristic of PKD. Nineteen (7.8%) fish from seven (23.3%) fresh waters were positive for T.bryosalmonae. The identity of PCR amplicons was confirmed by sequencing. With one exception, all the positive fish were found in waters from the regions where the average yearly temperatures and the environmental pollution are higher. This preliminary countrywide survey provided the first insight into the situation regarding T.bryosalmonae infection of wild salmonids in Slovenia.

Genetic diversity and distribution of a distinct strain of Chili leaf curl virus and associated betasatellite infecting tomato and pepper in Oman

Tomato and pepper are widely grown in Oman for local consumption. A countrywide survey was conducted during 2010–2011 to collect samples and assess the diversity of begomoviruses associated with leaf curl disease of tomato and pepper. A virus previously only identified on the Indian subcontinent, chili leaf curl virus (ChLCV), was found associated with tomato and pepper diseases in all vegetable grown areas of Oman. Some of the infected plant samples were also found to contain a betasatellite. A total of 19 potentially full-length begomovirus and eight betasatellite clones were sequenced. The begomovirus clones showed >96% nucleotide sequence identity, showing them to represent a single species. Comparisons to sequences available in the databases showed the highest levels of nucleotide sequence identity (88.0–91.1%) to isolates of the “Pakistan” strain of ChLCV (ChLCV-PK), indicating the virus from Oman to be a distinct strain, for which the name Oman strain (ChLCV-OM) is proposed. An analysis for recombination showed ChLCV-OM likely to have originated by recombination between ChLCV-PK (the major parent), pepper leaf curl Lahore virus and a third strain of ChLCV. The betasatellite sequences obtained were shown to have high levels of identity to isolates of tomato leaf curl betasatellite (ToLCB) previous shown to be present in Oman. For the disease in tomato Koch's postulates were satisfied by Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation of virus and betasatellites clones. This showed the symptoms induced by the virus in the presence of the betasatellite to be enhanced, although viral DNA levels were not affected. ChLCV-OM is the fourth begomovirus identified in tomato in Oman and the first in Capsicum. The significance of these findings is discussed.

The ‘heart’ of Eurasia? Kazakhstan's centrally located capital city

In a world still dominated by a geopolitical system of territorial states, one tool in the state- and nation-building repertoire is the strategy of moving a capital from one city to another, and to an ostensibly more ‘central’ location of a geometrically conceived territory. From Ankara to Brasília, the technique has been used in a variety of places around the world, and Kazakhstan's new capital since 1997, Astana, is one more recent iteration. Taking a Foucauldian approach to analysing political technologies of government, the author examines the strategy of the centrally located city and considers how it has been instrumental to simultaneously producing a ‘state effect’ and a ‘territory effect’ in newly independent Kazakhstan. Part of a larger mixed-methods study, this article draws on a diverse range of methods, including data from interviews, participant observation, textual analysis, focus groups and a country-wide survey.

Epidemic diffusion of KPC carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Italy: results of the first countrywide survey, 15 May to 30 June 2011

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are emerging as a public health problem in various settings. In Italy, a rapid and remarkable increase of carbapenem-non-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae has been reported since 2010. Here we report on the results of a countrywide cross-sectional survey, carried out from 15 May to 30 June 2011 to investigate the diffusion of CRE in Italy and to characterise the most prevalent resistance mechanisms and their dissemination patterns. CRE were reported from most (23 of 25) participating laboratories, with an overall proportion of 3.5% and 0.3% among consecutive non-duplicate clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae from inpatients (n=7,154) and outpatients (n=6,595), respectively. K. pneumoniae was the most frequent species (proportion of carbapenem-non-susceptible isolates: 11.9%), while a minority of CRE of other species were detected. Carbapenemase production was detected in the majority (85%) of CRE. KPC-type enzymes were by far the most common (89.5% of carbapenemase producers), followed by VIM-1 (9.2%) and OXA-48 (1.3%). KPC-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-KP) were detected in most centres and contributed majorly to the epidemic dissemination of CRE recently observed in our country. Dissemination of KPC-KP was mostly sustained by strains of clonal complex 258 (ST-258 producing KPC-2 or KPC-3, and ST-512 producing KPC-3), while a minority belonged to ST-101.

Diabetes care is still failing Aboriginal Australian people

Georgina Kenyon reports that improved diabetes care is needed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as two national diabetes societies celebrate anniversary years. Remote Aboriginal communities are still missing out on diabetic care available to other Australians, say health campaigners. Aboriginal Australian adults—30% of whom have type 2 diabetes—are now more than four times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than other Australians. Additionally, according to statistics from Diabetes Australia, Indigenous Australians are more than twelve times more likely to die from diabetes-related complications than are non-Indigenous Australians. “It is a terrible tragedy. Aboriginal people still suffer much worse from type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes than white Australians. Aboriginal people require the same treatments as non-Indigenous people, but they still do not have the same access to treatment in either the city or in remote areas”, says Diabetes Australia's chief executive, Greg Johnson. Diabetes Australia Victoria (part of Diabetes Australia) celebrated its 60th birthday on March 23, and the Australian Diabetes Society (ADS) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. “We are now realising that there is a very strong need to better support Aboriginal women through pregnancy, as well as newborn children. We now know that this support will help reduce cases of diabetes”, says Johnson. He explains that doctors and health workers need to help women and babies to maintain a healthy weight, eat better, and have access to emotional support. In reaching out to more Aboriginal people, diabetes campaigners stress the need for closer collaboration between the Government, the medical sector, and Aboriginal leaders. On March 12, Aboriginal leaders and health experts gathered in the capital, Canberra, at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Diabetes Policy Forum to debate the key steps needed to improve access to health care for Aboriginal people. Participants at the forum made key recommendations for the next few years: increased screening and risk assessment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, targeted prevention for high-risk people, and better self-management and mentoring arrangements. The forum further identified the need for better education, employment, and housing. Diabetes Australia will be focusing on implementing more such programmes throughout the next few years. “We've found that local initiatives, at a community level, where Aboriginal health-care providers are involved do work”, adds Johnson. He gives the example of how Diabetes Australia is working with Aboriginal groups in Victoria using a feltman—an almost-life-size figurine—to educate Aboriginal people in a culturally sensitive way about what is happening inside their bodies when they have type 2 diabetes. “These soft approaches to health, in the form of preventative health campaigns, are vital for controlling the diabetes epidemic”, he explains. As a result, recent Queensland State Government cuts on social health programmes for Aboriginal people worry Johnson. Campaigners agree that Aboriginal health is as much about poverty and isolation as it is about access to medicines. The Government-backed National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation estimates that more than 13% of Indigenous people's homes don't have functioning water, waste, cooking, or cleaning facilities. Stephen Duckett, director of the Health Program at the Grattan Institute (a Melbourne-based think-tank), agrees that poor Aboriginal health is largely about social factors: “the risk of getting type 2 diabetes is based largely on social factors such as low income, poor diet, and when primary health care is limited, all of which are common among Aboriginal communities”. Duckett also advocates “more Aboriginal people trained in medicine and health care so they can help their own communities to combat health problems such as diabetes”. Recently, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released a report on Aboriginal health. The AIHW's findings show that between July, 2008, and June, 2010, the incidence of end-stage renal disease was higher in the Indigenous Australian population than in the non-Indigenous population, with the greatest (14·4 times) difference in the group aged 45–54 years. Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has begun the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey to date. Many campaigners say that the health of Aboriginal people in urban areas is often better than that of those who live in remote communities, but a comprehensive survey such as this one is imperative to fully understand patterns of disease in these populations. This country-wide survey will have 30% more participants than did the 2004–05 survey into Australian Aboriginal health and will collect new information on exercise, diet (including bush foods), and measures of cholesterol, blood glucose, obesity, blood pressure, and iron. The first results of this survey are due to be released in September, 2013.

Burden of Infectious Diseases, Substance Use Disorders, and Mental Illness among Ukrainian Prisoners Transitioning to the Community

BackgroundThe epidemics of incarceration, substance use disorders (SUDs), and infectious diseases are inextricably intertwined, especially in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Few objective data documenting this relationship regionally are available. We therefore conducted a comprehensive, representative country-wide prison health survey in Ukraine, where one of the world’s most volatile HIV epidemics persists, in order to address HIV prevention and treatment needs.MethodsA nation-wide, multi-site randomly sampled biobehavioral health survey was conducted in four Ukrainian regions in 13 prisons among individuals being released within six months. After consent, participants underwent standardized health assessment surveys and serological testing for HIV, viral hepatitis, and syphilis.ResultsOf the 402 participants (mean age = 31.9 years), 20.1% were female. Prevalence of HIV, HCV, HBV, and syphilis was 19.4% (95% CI = 15.5%–23.3%), 60.2% (95% CI = 55.1%–65.4%), 5.2% (95% CI = 3.3%–7.2%), and 10% (95% CI = 7.4%–13.2%), respectively, with regional differences observed; HIV prevalence in the south was 28.6%. Among the 78 HIV-infected inmates, 50.7% were unaware of their HIV status and 44 (56.4%) had CD4<350 cells/mL, of which only five (11%) antiretroviral-eligible inmates were receiving it. Nearly half of the participants (48.7%) reported pre-incarcertion drug injection, primarily of opioids, yet multiple substance use (31.6%) and alcohol use disorders (56.6%) were common and 40.3% met screening criteria for depression.ConclusionsThis is the only such representative health study of prisoners in the FSU. This study has important implications for regional prevention and treatment because, unlike elsewhere, there is no recent evidence for reduction in HIV incidence and mortality in the region. The prevalence of infectious diseases and SUDs is high among this sample of prisoners transitioning to the community. It is critical to address pre- and post-release prevention and treatment needs with the development of linkage programs for the continuity of care in the community after release.

A functional classification of herbaceous hedgerow vegetation for setting restoration objectives

Hedgerows are valuable habitats for biodiversity in farmed landscapes. The herbaceous vegetation at the hedge base is an important component of this habitat but its condition in Britain has deteriorated due to a combination of nutrient and pesticide contamination, and inappropriate management or neglect. The condition of herbaceous hedgerow vegetation is included in policy targets for biodiversity conservation, so a strategy is required for its restoration. This vegetation can be highly variable, so a classification of the main types is required to set realistic objectives. Vegetation classifications based on species’ functional characteristics can have more general application that those based on species identity. Using existing datasets from a countrywide survey, a functional classification of herbaceous vegetation from hedgerows in Britain was developed. Cluster analysis of vegetation plots, based on attributes of the species present, produced thirteen vegetation types in six broad groups. These were differentiated by the association of the component species with woodland, grassland or arable habitats and by gradients of soil nutrient status and pH, light availability, disturbance and grazing tolerance. By using species’ ecological characteristics as a basis for the classification, the condition of vegetation can be established and the prevailing environment predicted. From this information, a realistic strategy for restoration can then be determined.

Kazakhstan’s changing geopolitics: the resource economy and popular attitudes about China’s growing regional influence

A US geographer examines prevailing geopolitical discourses in Kazakhstan, through a case study of attitudes toward China and its influence in contemporary affairs. As part of a broader research project, the study draws on data from participant observation, textual analysis, interviews, focus groups, and a country-wide survey administered in Kazakhstan between June 2009 and July 2011. The author investigates the divergent findings across these methods, reflecting a profound ambivalence in popular attitudes about China, and explores their implications for the political geographic literature on state-making.

Curriculum Innovation for Fostering Green Building Literacy in General Education

As the building sector accounts for about 30% of Taiwan’s carbon footprint, improving the Green Building Literacy (GBL) of building owners or users through general education is important to the carbon reduction commitment. This study aimed to use Delphi method and action research to innovate undergraduate curriculum of Green Building Introduction in general education to foster GBL. According to the suggestions by the Delphi panel and guidance of GBL model which was constructed from paper review and countrywide survey data by using structural equation modeling, the GBL curriculum not only conveys the knowledge of fact but more emphasizes on the knowledge for action and basic design skill through the involvement in the specific activities, which are also used to improve students’ attitudes and responsibility to promote their behavioral performance. The evaluation of the curriculum showed that there are significant improvements in the cognitive domain and the attitude-behavior domain of students’ GBL.

Prevalence of chronic pain in Libya before and after the uprising of 17 February 2011

Two questionnaires were translated into Arabic and culturally adapted to measure chronic pain and neuropathic pain in the general population in Derna, Libya, and then in a country-wide survey. A point prevalence of chronic pain and neuropathic pain in Libya was determined. The findings of this series of studies suggested that the prevalence of chronic pain in Libya, which was 19.6%, is similar to the average European estimate despite the cultural dissimilarities of the two regions and the environmental differences surrounding the surveyed samples. (Published: 8 February 2013) Citation: Libyan J Med 2013, 8: 20125 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ljm.v8i0.20125

Cassava mosaic disease and associated viruses in Zambia: occurrence and distribution

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is caused by cassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs), which are transmitted by the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) in sub-Saharan Africa. CMD and the pathogenic viruses associated with cassava were assessed in a country-wide survey in seven provinces of Zambia between April and May 2009. CMD incidence was highest in Northwestern (71.2%) and lowest in Western (34.3%) provinces. Disease symptoms were severe in Eastern (3.94) and Lusaka (3.88), moderate in Central (3.54), Luapula (3.48) and Northern (3.31) and mild in Northwestern (3.01) and Western (2.50) provinces. In addition, the numbers of adult whitefly were assessed on cassava fields, and found to be highest in Lusaka (2.12) and lowest in Central (0.02) province. Polymerase chain reaction detected two virus species: African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), that occurred as single and dual infections in 65.4% (ACMV), 25% (EACMV) and 9.6% (ACMV + EACMV) of the positive reactions. None of the samples were positive for EACMV-Ug. This is the first comprehensive report of CMD and the pathogenic viruses infecting cassava in Zambia.