Mud House Research Articles

Machine learning for predicting Chagas disease infection in rural areas of Brazil.

Chagas disease is a severe parasitic illness that is prevalent in Latin America and often goes unaddressed. Early detection and treatment are critical in preventing the progression of the illness and its associated life-threatening complications. In recent years, machine learning algorithms have emerged as powerful tools for disease prediction and diagnosis. In this study, we developed machine learning algorithms to predict the risk of Chagas disease based on five general factors: age, gender, history of living in a mud or wooden house, history of being bitten by a triatomine bug, and family history of Chagas disease. We analyzed data from the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) to train five popular machine learning algorithms. The sample comprised 2,006 patients, divided into 75% for training and 25% for testing algorithm performance. We evaluated the model performance using precision, recall, and AUC-ROC metrics. The Adaboost algorithm yielded an AUC-ROC of 0.772, a precision of 0.199, and a recall of 0.612. We simulated the decision boundary using various thresholds and observed that in this dataset a threshold of 0.45 resulted in a 100% recall. This finding suggests that employing such a threshold could potentially save 22.5% of the cost associated with mass testing of Chagas disease. Our findings highlight the potential of applying machine learning to improve the sensitivity and effectiveness of Chagas disease diagnosis and prevention. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of integrating socio-demographic and environmental factors into neglected disease prediction models to enhance their performance.

Indoor Thermal Comfort Condition Analyzing In Naturally Ventilated Rural Houses of Dhaka Region, Bangladesh

Thermal comfort has become one of the most pressing problems for people all around the world as global warming worsens. Bangladesh is an economically prosperous country with a large rural population living in substandard housing. Because these dwellings are in a tropical climate, they are frequently built from locally accessible materials such as mud, wood, bamboo, straw, jute stalk, grass, and so on. These materials are being replaced by brick, corrugated galvanized iron sheets, cement, concrete, and other materials as a result of increasing industrialization, technical improvement, and the improving economic status of rural people. The purpose of this article is to show the current thermal state of three types of naturally ventilated rural dwellings made of two different materials in the Dhaka region. As part of the study approach, a field investigation and a questionnaire survey were carried out. For the comparative examination of three types of dwellings, the existing values of the thermal comfort variables (temperature, humidity, and air velocity) were used. The analysis demonstrates that the double-heightened mud home is more pleasant in terms of thermal comfort factors and psychological reactions of the residents than the single-heightened mud house and C. I sheet constructed houses in a specific climatic location. This study intends to indicate that thermal comfort varies with different building materials and construction techniques in the same climatic situation, and so further research and material-based studies should be conducted to ensure the thermal comfort of rural residents.

Analysis of Energy Efficient Features in Traditional Hill Architecture of Himachal Pradesh, India for its Indoor Performance in Sub-Tropical Climate

Vernacular architecture of any region highlights the architecture and construction methods developed by the locals, in need to provide indoor thermal comfort amidst outdoor climatic conditions which is done using the locally available materials and construction techniques in response to the climatic conditions and geographic location. At present in India, standardized building materials and construction methods are adopted for modern buildings due to the easy availability of materials and also serving well economically. This paper presents the results of a field study and simulations to investigate the thermal and energy performance of selected case study, two traditional houses using adobe blocks, rammed earth and stone construction are compared to a modern house using a masonry envelope, the construction material is altered by adding insulation to the building envelope to study the differences in the performance of original construction. The case study is located in Dharamshala town in the upper reaches of Kangra valley, Himachal Pradesh, India having a sub-tropical humid climatic condition. Hourly indoor temperatures of the houses were monitored and a field survey was done to collect the data, and simulations were carried using dynamic thermal simulation software DesignBuilder, the monitored data was then used to match the parameters in simulation models. The results show that indoor temperatures of traditional mud house provide better thermal comfort when compared to modern house, however, slightly high energy demand in traditional house is observed due to increase in discomfort hours.

Fish diversity and Socio-economic Condition of Fishermen at the Halti Beel in Natore District, Bangladesh

This study was conducted to investigate the fish diversity and livelihood condition of fishermen community at Dangapara village of Halti beel, Singra, Natore. The socio-economic data were collected from 50 randomly selected fishermen using questionnaire survey between July and October 2019. In this study, a total of 43 fish species were recorded under seven orders, 20 families and 32 genera. Majority of fishermen were illiterate (44%), about 28% fishermen could sign only, 24% and 4% fishermen were completed primary and secondary education, respectively. Among them 79% were Muslims and 21% were Hindus. The majority of fishermen had mud house with straw and tin roof while 56% household used tin roof, 34% household used tin shed with tin roof, only 10% household used straw. Fishermen annual income was between 30001 to 40000 BDT. About 66% household had kacha toilets, 30% household had semi paka toilets, only 4% household had no sanitary facilities. The most of the households (78%) were used electricity as their energy source. The majority of fishermen (64%) were received health service from village doctors. About 44% fishermen was directly engaged in fishing as their main occupation while 26% and 24% fishermen were engaged in labor and agriculture activities, only 8% fishermen was engaged in other professions. Bangladesh J. Zool. 50 (1): 37-49, 2022

Prevalence and associated risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Kandahar, Afghanistan

BackgroundSoil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are still a major health problem, especially in resource-limited countries. The community-based prevalence of STH is unknown in Afghanistan. Main objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of STH among children in Daman district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan.MethodsThis was a community-based cross-sectional study, with data collected during five months (June–October, 2020) from children living in five villages of Daman district in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All the stool samples were examined by saline wet mount method. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Chi square test, and multivariate logistic regression.ResultsA total of 1426 children were studied, with majority (61.8%) of males and the mean age of 6.3 years. The overall prevalence of any intestinal parasitic infection was 39.8%. The overall prevalence of STH infection was 22.7%, with Ascaris lumbricoides (18.7%) as the most prevalent STH species, followed by hookworm (7.5%) and Trichuris trichiura (1.4%). Single, double, and triple STH infections were present in 14.9%, 7.2%, and 0.6% of the children, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that not washing hands after defecating/before eating (AOR 7.0, 95% CI 3.4–14.0), living in mud house (AOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.6–7.4), walking barefoot (AOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.1), living in overcrowded house (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.3), and practicing open defecation (AOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–2.0) as the risk factors associated with the predisposition of rural children for getting STH in Daman district of Afghanistan.ConclusionsPrevalence of STH is high among children of Daman district in Afghanistan. Most of the risk factors are related to poverty, decreased sanitation, and improper hygiene. Improvement of socioeconomic status, sanitation, and health education to promote public awareness about health and hygiene together with periodic mass deworming programs are better strategies for the control of STH infections in Afghanistan. Also, government and international donor agencies in Afghanistan should help in improving socio-economic status of the rural areas through provision of basic facilities such as piped water, electricity, good housing, and proper toilets.

Toward Decolonizing Development Education: Study Tours as Embodied, Reflexive, and Mud-up

The relevance of development studies has come under intense scrutiny with increasing calls for development education to decolonize its materials, pedagogies, and discursive practices. This article draws on a short-term study tour to India, where co-building a mud house with a tribal community and local university became a creative, intercultural site, encouraging reflexivity and learning through embodied insights. Such learnings “from” and “with” knowledges negated by Western modernity involve in essence decolonial pedagogies, enabling students to critically examine their own preconceived ideas of development, while building skills to meaningfully navigate the contested contemporary field. Study tours, we argue, have immense potential toward decolonizing development education.

I Am Here: It Took a Global Village.

The saying "It takes a village to raise a child" has never been truer than in my case. This autobiographical article documents my growing up and working on three different continents and my influencers along the way. Born in a village in Nigeria, West Africa, I spent the first 12 years of life with my grandmother living in a mud house and attending a village primary school. I walked barefoot to school every day, learned to read, and wrote on a chalk slate. At the age of 13, I moved to my second "village," London, England. In secondary school my love of science began to blossom. I attained a double major in chemistry and human biology from the University of Hertfordshire and a PhD in biophysics from the University of London, with a research project aimed at designing anticancer agents. I was mentored by Terence Jenkins and Stephen Neidle. For my postdoctoral training, I crossed the ocean again, to the United States, my third "village." In Michael Rossmann's group at Purdue University, my love for viruses was ignited. My independent career in structural virology began at Warwick University, England, working on pathogenic single-stranded DNA packaging viruses. In 2020, I am a full professor at the University of Florida. Most of my research is focused on the adeno-associated viruses, gene delivery vectors. My list of mentors has grown and includes Nick Muzyczka. Here, the mentee has become the mentor, and along the way, we attained a number of firsts in the field of structural virology and contributed to the field at the national and international stages.

Prototype development for composite mud house for Apis cerana using local ingredients to conserve indigenous beekeeping

Apis cerana indica, an indigenous bee of Himalayan region used to inhabit mud houses since time immemorial. These traditional wall hives are commonly known as Khadra, Jaala or Jalota. But, since last two decades, the population of Apis cerana is drastically declining due to increasing modern cement houses. This is the main reason of demolition of habitat of Apis cerana. Decreasing population of Apis cerana tends toward the loss of our social and cultural heritage. During current study efforts were made to design low cost, eco-friendly movable mud houses for Apis cerana to conserve the traditional beekeeping.

Common Mental Disorder and early interruption of exclusive maternal breastfeeding in Quilombola women: a population-based study

Abstract Objectives: to investigate the prevalence of exclusive maternal breastfeeding (EMBF) and evaluate whether common mental disorder (CMD) and other predictors promote its early interruption (EI-EMBF4). Methods: a cross-sectional study involving all children <24 months (n=252) residing in 50% (n=34) of the Quilombola communities in Alagoas. The EI-EMBF4 was established when EMBF was ≤4 months. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire was used to identify the occurrence of CMD. Other predictors were obtained through interviews. The measure of association was the prevalence ratio calculated by the Poisson regression, following a hierarchical theoretical model. The prevalence of EMBF for 4 and 6 months, and its median duration (survival analysis) were calculated. Results: the prevalence of EI-EMBF4 and CMD was 57.6% and 42.9%, respectively. The risk factors independently associated with EI-EMBF4 were: living in a mud house, maternal age ≤18 years, low birth weight and the use of a pacifier or baby bottle. There was no association with CMD. The prevalence of EMBF for four and six months was 42.4% and 25.4%, respectively, and the median duration was 106 days. Conclusion: EMBF indicators are below the established recommendations, justifying the implementation of measures that prioritize women subjected to risk factors identified here. CMD is not configured among these.

Radioactive Thoron 220Rn Exhalation From Unfired Mud Building Material Into Room Air of Earthen Dwellings

Thoron (220Rn), an isotope of radon with a strong α-decay energy, and its short-lived metallic progeny can pose an elevated lung cancer hazard in room air when unfired-soil derived building materials are used in earthen dwellings. Changes in moisture content and density influencing the thoron exhalation rate from earthen materials into room air were studied in the laboratory with terra rossa from a village on the Ðồng Văn Karst Plateau Geopark, Việt Nam, where ethnic minorities construct traditional dwellings with unfired terra rossa walls and floors. Our results show that the thoron exhalation rate from mud surfaces depends on (i) the content of radioactive parental nuclides in mineral components; (ii) the moisture content of mud where ∼5–10 weight % water maximizes the 220Rn exhalation rate; and (iii) the density of dry mud as primarily controlled by internal macroscopic voids, fractures, and porosity. Additional time-series of 220Rn exhalation data from an interior mud wall of a terra rossa-built house under different seasonal and weather conditions show that the temperature is influencing thoron exhalation via the water vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in air and the associated amount of atmospheric moisture adsorbed onto indoor mud surfaces. Our data suggest that occupants of “mud house” earthen dwellings in northern Việt Nam are exposed to an increased thoron geohazard during cooler weather, low VPD, and high relative humidity in air. Detailed studies are needed to evaluate the thoron geohazard for inhabitants of mud-built dwellings in other climates and geological terrains.

Potential for Energy Saving in Mud Wall Construction

Energy saving refers to method used to reduce energy consumption. By using proper insulation material and efficient utilisation of energy resources, energy saving can be achieved. A considerable amount of energy may be obtained by minimizing the loss of heat across the outer surface of building walls. The finding of this study is energy saving is maximum at optimal insulation thickness. The heat loss is mainly depending upon the thickness of walls and thermal conductivity of insulation for building construction. In building wall, the thickness of insulation material has important role in saving of energy. Due to lower thermal conductivity and higher thermal mass of mud wall, it is better to constructed mud house as compared to brick construction according to energy saving point of view. During the analysis of energy saving, dimension of demonstrative room is considered as 6 m x 5 m x 3 m. The result shows that 576 kWh of energy in year 2019 has been saved when slurry of mud dung insulation is considered for mud wall construction.

AN ANALYSIS ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF SCHEDULED CASTES POPULATION IN TIROL VILLAGE, ARAMBAGH, HOOGHLY

The present paper is concerned with Socio-Economic background of Scheduled Castes (SCs) population in Tirol village, Arambagh and its major focus is to analyze the main obstacles on the way to socio-economic development. The basic information has been collected through the well-prepared questionnaire and supplemented by relevant secondary data. An intensive study was run over 287 sample household and the result was shown in the tabulated form. The outcome of the study reveals that 88.88 percentage sample population belong to SCs community and the percentage of men and women is 49.64 and 50.36 respectively. The educational level of the study area is not so good among the people of SCs community except the present generation and in terms of higher education the level is very poor. The rate of literacy among women is far behind than men although the number of women is more than men. The monthly income of SCs is not up to the mark. A large number of people of the SCs community are unemployed and the main economic activities are based on agriculture. They usually live in mud house, although there are several concrete houses built with the help of Indira Awas Yojana. So as a whole it is observed from the present study that, the socio-economic condition of SC community is poor and Government should pay attention to socio-economic backwardness and find requisite steps for sustainable development.

Impact of Sociodemographic Factors and Nutrition on the Duration of Induction Phase of Chemotherapy in children with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A Tertiary Center Experience from North India

Abstract Background: Immunocompromised patients are at increased risk of infections, especially those living in poor hygienic conditions. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the effect of weight, immunization status of the child at the start of treatment along with the socioeconomic status (SES), and demographic parameters, i.e., type of house, sanitary facility (SF), and source of drinking water on the duration of induction phase of chemotherapy (delayed if the patient received chemotherapy for >29 days). Materials and Methods: 110 pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients aged 1.5–14 years who underwent induction of remission from June 2015 to February 2018 were included. The immunization status and weight of the child were recorded at the start of treatment. SES was assessed using modified Kuppuswami scale and a questionnaire was used to determine various sociodemographic parameters. Results: The patients not immunized as per age (P = 0.000) and having poor demographic parameters, i.e., mud house (P = 0.000), absence of SF (P = 0.013), and nonfiltered drinking water (P = 0.005), had significant delay. The duration of induction phase of chemotherapy was not delayed with poor SES (P = 0.832). Although the duration was delayed in patients with weight ≥10 percentile, it was not statistically significant (P = 0.079). On analyzing the three demographic parameters together as Water-Sanitary Facility-Housing (WaSH) Score (0–4), the duration was also significantly delayed if the patients had WaSH score <2. Conclusion: The duration of induction phase of chemotherapy is delayed with inadequate immunization status and poor hygiene of the child.

First Writing to a New Center

First Writing to a New Center Linda Yohannes (bio) As soon as they felt the hard bang of rubber tires colliding with tarmac, after nine hours of flight from Addis Ababa to Rome, Mahder and the other Ethiopian passengers, as the Ethiopians almost always do, applauded the pilot. Mahder got up from her seat and gathered her reading materials: Chinua Achebe's essays, Sol Stein's book on writing, and articles by African writers debating African literature in American and British media. Mahder applauded not just the landing but also the successful completion of a trip that was messy at first. Addis Ababa airport was overcrowded. It was projected that millions of passengers would be passing through the city, and when the goal materialized, then followed the afterthought to expand the airport. Mahder had stood for hours in a swarm of passengers with many who were on the same delayed flight as hers when she looked up at the information screen outside the boarding gate and, to her amusement, saw her flight to Rome marked 'Departed.' The airport in Rome was massive. Full of people, but orderly. Mahder focused on finding her way around. There was a button for everything, a scanner for every document, lines that sorted everyone. When it was her turn at the immigration counter, the officer, who wore a uniform that looked too military for the paperwork he was doing, looked through her red Ethiopian passport and asked, "What is the purpose of your visit in Italia?" The word polizia was embroidered on the chest and sleeve of his uniform. "I'm here for a two-week writers' workshop," Mahder said, standing tall to speak through the glass cut out. [End Page 95] The polizia stared at her passport and seemed to consider it for some time before he said, "So you are a writer?" "Yes." "Do you have an invitation letter?" Even though she had already secured a visa, it was as if she was applying again. "No. I submitted that at the embassy." She'd also submitted her marriage certificate, her son Senai's birth certificate, bank statements showing a year's history, education certificates. "But I am not the embassy. You should have brought a copy," he said. He seemed annoyed and Mahder felt like she had to come up with something to appease him. "Are you carrying any money?" "Yes." "How much?" "About eight hundred euros." "Let me see it." Mahder took out her wallet and held it wide open. There was the eight hundred Euros in one compartment and some Ethiopian Birr in another. She exited the airport and took a taxi to the hotel. As the taxi wound through impressive highways and well-built tunnels, her thoughts turned to the short story she sent in weeks ago to be workshopped. She knew that in story writing, details are engaging, but not any or every detail, and she wondered if she had the right details. 1998. Freweyni was washing her long mahogany hair outside her house, her head suspended between her legs towards a plastic basin, Melkamu, her boyfriend, pouring water for her, when Mimi's mother who lived in the one-room, windowless mud house on the other side of the compound said with a shrill voice, "In the name of the Trinity!" Freweyni quickly wrung her hair into a twist and sat up. Melkamu tossed the jug into the pail. Inside Mimi's mother's house, it was dark and the floor sunken, but it was extremely tidy and every piece of their belongings were in order. Mimi's mother was holding her head with her hands. "What is it?" Melkamu urged. She pointed to the small radio sitting in the middle of the sagging bed covered with a blanket she knitted herself. "They're saying we're at war!" [End Page 96] "… the rebellious Sha'bia government yesterday defied international and continental laws to enter and capture territories in the northernmost parts of our sovereign Ethiopia, in Badme, Zalambesa, Tsorona, and Bure. While Ethiopia will continue to look for peaceful means of addressing this aggression, it will also respond militarily to teach the rebellious government in Asmara...

220Rn (Thoron) Geohazard in Room Air of Earthen Dwellings in Vietnam

Thoron’s (220Rn) contribution to α-radiation exposure is usually considered negligible compared to that of 222Rn (radon). Despite its short half-life of 55.6 seconds, thoron can be exhaled from porous surface layers of building materials into indoor air where people subsequently inhale radioisotopes, including metallic radioactive progeny. Bare surfaces of dry porous soil with relatively high 232Th content can pose a thoron radiation hazard in indoor air. On northern Vietnam’s Đồng Văn karst plateau, the spatial distribution of thoron was determined in indoor air of traditional earthen and other types of dwellings using portable RAD7 and SARAD® RTM 2200 detectors. “Mud houses” are constructed with local compacted soil and typically do not have any floor or wall coverings (i.e., no plaster, wallpaper, or paint). Detailed measurements in a mud house revealed levels of thoron in room air averaging >500 Bq m-3. The spatial distribution of α-radiation from thoron in indoor air at a distance of about 1 m from interior walls was fairly homogeneous and averaged ~200 Bq m-3. Most concerning, from a human health perspective, were the high thoron concentrations of up to 884 Bq m-3 in sleeping areas near mud walls. The average annual thoron radiation dose to inhabitants of mud houses was estimated based on 13 hours of daily occupancy, including daily activities and sleeping. The estimated average thoron inhalation dose of 27.1 mSv a-1 during sleeping hours near mud surfaces accounts for nearly 75% of the total estimated radon and thoron inhalation dose of 37.4 mSv a-1 from indoor mud house air. Our conservative annual radiation dose estimates do not include subsequent radiation from inhaled metallic progeny of thoron. Our data demonstrate a significant human health risk from radiation exposure and a critical need for remediation in traditional northern Vietnamese mud house dwellings.

Investigation of Chagas disease within the same family: case study

ABSTRACT Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected endemic disease. Its classic form of transmission occurs through hematophagous triatomine insects. Its classic form of transmission occurs through hematophagous triatomine insects. There are cases of the disease in non-endemic regions that occur through alternative transmissions, as this possibility also exists. The aim of this study was to report a case among members of a same family (born and resident in Taquarituba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) diagnosed with CD. The family matriarch lived in a mud house in the countryside and reported contact with the triatomine during childhood. Two grown-up children are also seroreactive; both reported not having contact with the insect as children. Medical record analyzes and new laboratory tests were performed. Clinical history and recent tests have confirmed positivity for CD in the matriarch and her grown-up children. Parasitological techniques have shown negative results, evidencing that they are in the chronic form of the disease. Congenital transmission may have occurred between them, as well as the possibility of vector transmission by secondary species cannot be ruled out, since the patients come from a municipality considered endemic for CD in the past.

RE-THINKING MUD HOUSE: COUNTERING THE GRADUAL SHIFT IN TRADITIONAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE IN NORTHERN BANGLADESH

The diversified vernacular architecture in rural Bangladesh is the result of a constant and gradual attempt to maintain sustainability and cultural identity by using knowledge of the local environment. However, factors like natural resource scarcity and economic viability of modern construction techniques is evidently causing a rapid change in the rural landscape. A physical and questionnaire survey carried out in the area under study, namely the village Kaligram in Manda upazilla, Naogaon, revealed that, nearly sixty-percent of houses built within the last decade is concrete and brick made with little or no regards to any traditional vernacular features. Investigation of various parameters such as, mud house construction techniques, availability and preference of building materials, socio- economic changes, has revealed that the loss of precious fertile top soil, high maintenance of mud structures added with the availability and affordability of more durable materials, are some of the prime reasoning behind revising the options to brick construction. This research aims to assess the factors causing this gradual shift in the indigenous practices of mud house in the area under study and further extends onto a discussion of an alternate design approach that will exemplify a more durable, low maintenance, energy efficient yet economic building technology while acknowledging the strengths of the contextual indigenous architectural practices under debate.

Maternal, prenatal and traditional practice factors associated with perinatal mortality in Yemen

BackgroundPerinatal mortality remains a major international problem responsible for nearly six million stillbirths and neonatal deaths. ObjectivesTo estimate the perinatal mortality rate in Sana’a, Yemen and to identify risk factors for perinatal deaths. MethodsA community-based prospective cohort study was carried out between 2015 and 2016. Nine-hundred and eighty pregnant women were identified and followed up to 7 days following birth. A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select participants from community households’, residing in the five districts of the Sana’a City, Yemen. ResultsTotal of 952 pregnant women were tracked up to 7 days after giving birth. The perinatal mortality rate, the stillbirth rate and the early neonatal mortality rate, were 89.3 per 1000, 46.2 per 1000 and 45.2 per 1000, respectively. In multivariable analysis older age (35+ years) of mothers at birth (Relative Risk=2.83), teenage mothers’ age at first pregnancy (<18 years) (Relative Risk=1.57), primipara mothers (Relative Risk=1.90), multi-nuclear family (Relative Risk=1.74), mud house (Relative Risk=2.02), mothers who underwent female genital mutilation (Relative Risk=2.92) and mothers who chewed khat (Relative Risk=1.60) were factors associated with increased risk of perinatal death, whereas a positive mother’s tetanus vaccination status (Relative Risk=0.49) were significant protective factors against perinatal deaths. ConclusionRates of perinatal mortality were higher in Sana’a City compared to perinatal mortality at the national level estimated by World Health Organization. It is imperative there be sustainable interventions in order to improve the country’s maternal and newborn health.

Serological evaluation for Chagas disease in migrants from Latin American countries resident in Rome, Italy

BackgroundChagas disease (CD) is a systemic parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, whose chronic phase may lead to cardiac and intestinal disorders. Endemic in Latin America where it is transmitted mainly by vectors, large-scale migrations to other countries have turned CD into a global health problem because of its alternative transmission routes through blood transfusion, tissue transplantation, or congenital. Aim of this study was to compare the performance of two commercially available tests for serological diagnosis of CD in a group of Latin American migrants living in a non-endemic setting (Rome, Italy). The study was based on a cross-sectional analysis of seroprevalence in this group. Epidemiological risk factors associated to CD were also evaluated in this study population.MethodsThe present study was conducted on 368 subjects from the Latin American community resident in Rome. Following WHO guidelines, we employed a diagnostic strategy based on two tests to detect IgG antibodies against T. cruzi in the blood (a lysate antigen-based ELISA and a chemiluminescent microparticle CMIA composed of multiple recombinant antigens), followed by a third test (an immunochromatographic assay) on discordant samples.ResultsOur diagnostic approach produced 319/368 (86.7%) concordant negative and 30/368 (8.1%) concordant positive results after the first screening. Discrepancies were obtained for 19/368 (5.2%) samples that were tested using the third assay, obtaining 2 more positive and 17 negative results. The final count of positive samples was 32/368 (8.7% of the tested population). Increasing age, birth in Bolivia, and previous residence in a mud house were independent factors associated with T. cruzi positive serology.ConclusionsSerological diagnosis of CD is still challenging, because of the lack of a reference standard serological assay for diagnosis. Our results reaffirm the importance of performing CD screening in non-endemic countries; employing a fully automated and highly sensitive CMIA assay first could be a cost- and resource-effective strategy for mass screening of low-risk patients. However, our results also suggest that the WHO strategy of using two different serological assays, combined with epidemiological information, remains the best approach for patients coming from endemic countries.

WHAT REMAINS OF OLD HARRAN AND REDEFINING IN VERNACULAR URBANISM

Old Harran house, or what remains of it, is a beehive houses existing on the Harran/Shanlıurfa. Its old vernacular houses were designed and constructed in order to be sustainable and to subsist through hundreds of years. Each family constructed mud house to its name and call it beehive house. The beehive houses are an evidence of vernacular architecture and rural urbanization. But in the near time, the indigenous inhabitants of Old Harran were relocated to Halfeti region. In the new Harran settlements, the houses did not meet the expectations of indigenous people about the sustainable architecture and social sustainability. This paper aims to demonstrate the particularity of Old Harran, especially when it comes to vernacular architectural sustainability. The hypothesis of this paper is that a vernacularly conceived urban space, like Old Harran, it can take lessons from in a way the principles of sustainable architecture/urbanism. It also conducts a comprehensive survey concerning the architectural /urban advantages of each one of houses.