ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1904-4682
Current Organisations
University of New South Wales Science
,
Telethon Kids Institute
,
Australian National University
,
Curtin University
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Software Engineering | Computer Software | Deep learning | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | Programming Languages | Software and application security | Software engineering | Software testing verification and validation
Application Tools and System Utilities | National Security |
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-07-2013
DOI: 10.1002/SPE.2214
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-06-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12879-022-07547-4
Abstract: The Bacille-Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccination remains the primary strategy to prevent severe disseminated TB in young children, particularly in high TB-burden countries such as Ethiopia. Accurate knowledge of vaccination coverage in small geographical areas is critically important to developing targeted immunization c aigns. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal distributions and ecological level determinants of BCG vaccination coverage in Ethiopia. Bacille-Calmette–Guerin immunization coverage and geographical information data were obtained from five different Demographic and Health Surveys, conducted in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2019. Data for independent variables were obtained from publicly available sources. Bayesian geostatistical models were used to predict the spatial distribution of BCG vaccination coverage in Ethiopia. The overall national BCG vaccination coverage between 2000 and 2019 was 65.5%. The BCG vaccine coverage was 53.5% in 2000, 56.9% in 2005, 64.4% in 2011, 79.6% in 2016, and 79.0% in 2019. BCG vaccination coverage increased by 47.6% in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2019, but substantial geographical inequalities in BCG coverage remained at sub-national and local levels. High vaccination coverage was observed in northern, western, and central parts of Ethiopia. Climatic and demographic factors such as temperature, altitude, and population density were positively associated with BCG vaccination coverage. Whereas, healthcare access factors such as distance to health facilities and travel time to the nearest cities were negatively associated with BCG vaccine coverage in Ethiopia. Despite substantial progress in national BCG vaccination coverage, marked spatial variation in BCG coverage persists throughout the country at sub-national and local levels. Healthcare access and climatic and demographic factors determined the spatial distribution of BCG vaccination coverage. Maintaining a high level of vaccination coverage across geographical areas is important to prevent TB in Ethiopia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Publisher: ACM
Date: 29-02-2016
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 06-06-2023
DOI: 10.1145/3591233
Abstract: Context-free language reachability (CFL-reachability) is a fundamental framework for program analysis. A large variety of static analyses can be formulated as CFL-reachability problems, which determines whether specific source-sink pairs in an edge-labeled graph are connected by a reachable path, i.e., a path whose edge labels form a string accepted by the given CFL. Computing CFL-reachability is expensive. The fastest algorithm exhibits a slightly subcubic time complexity with respect to the input graph size. Improving the scalability of CFL-reachability is of practical interest, but reducing the time complexity is inherently difficult. In this paper, we focus on improving the scalability of CFL-reachability from a more practical perspective---reducing the input graph size. Our idea arises from the existence of trivial edges, i.e., edges that do not affect any reachable path in CFL-reachability. We observe that two nodes joined by trivial edges can be folded---by merging the two nodes with all the edges joining them removed---without affecting the CFL-reachability result. By studying the characteristic of the recursive state machines (RSMs), an alternative form of CFLs, we propose an approach to identify foldable node pairs without the need to verify the underlying reachable paths (which is equivalent to solving the CFL-reachability problem). In particular, given a CFL-reachability problem instance with an input graph G and an RSM, based on the correspondence between paths in G and state transitions in RSM, we propose a graph folding principle, which can determine whether two adjacent nodes are foldable by examining only their incoming and outgoing edges. On top of the graph folding principle, we propose an efficient graph folding algorithm GF. The time complexity of GF is linear with respect to the number of nodes in the input graph. Our evaluations on two clients (alias analysis and value-flow analysis) show that GF significantly accelerates RSM/CFL-reachability by reducing the input graph size. On average, for value-flow analysis, GF reduces 60.96% of nodes and 42.67% of edges of the input graphs, obtaining a speedup of 4.65× and a memory usage reduction of 57.35%. For alias analysis, GF reduces 38.93% of nodes and 35.61% of edges of the input graphs, obtaining a speedup of 3.21× and a memory usage reduction of 65.19%.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-08-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-022-16706-1
Abstract: Malaria is a serious threat to global health, with over $$95\\%$$ 95 % of the cases reported in 2020 by the World Health Organization in African countries, including Sudan. Sudan is a low-income country with a limited healthcare system and a substantial burden of malaria. The epidemiology of malaria in Sudan is rapidly changing due to factors including the rapidly developing resistance to drugs and insecticides among the parasites and vectors, respectively the growing population living in humanitarian settings due to political instability and the recent emergence of Anopheles stephensi in the country. These factors contribute to changes in the distribution of the parasites species as well as malaria vectors in Sudan, and the shifting patterns of malaria epidemiology underscore the need for investment in improved situational awareness, early preparedness, and a national prevention and control strategy that is updated, evidence based, and proactive. A key component of this strategy is accurate, high-resolution endemicity maps of species-specific malaria. Here, we present a spatiotemporal Bayesian model, developed in collaboration with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, that predicts a fine-scale (1 km $$\\times $$ × 1 km) clinical incidence and seasonality profiles for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax across the country. We use monthly malaria case counts for both species collected via routine surveillance between January 2017 and December 2019, as well as a suite of high-resolution environmental covariates to inform our predictions. These epidemiological maps provide a useful resource for strategic planning and cost-effective implementation of malaria interventions, thus informing policymakers in Sudan to achieve success in malaria control and elimination.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1155/2014/561567
Abstract: This research work presents the magnitude of anemia and its determinant factors among pregnant women. As far as this research is done in the eastern part of Ethiopia, where there is a different cultural issue related to pregnancy and dietary habit, it will help the researchers to know the problem in different parts of the country.
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 02-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-05-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 11-2019
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Date: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-09-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12916-021-02063-9
Abstract: The sustainable development goals aim to improve health for all by 2030. They incorporate ambitious goals regarding tuberculosis (TB), which may be a significant cause of disability, yet to be quantified. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the prevalence and types of TB-related disabilities. We performed a systematic review of TB-related disabilities. The pooled prevalence of disabilities was calculated using the inverse variance heterogeneity model. The maps of the proportions of common types of disabilities by country income level were created. We included a total of 131 studies (217,475 patients) that were conducted in 49 countries. The most common type of disabilities were mental health disorders (23.1%), respiratory impairment (20.7%), musculoskeletal impairment (17.1%), hearing impairment (14.5%), visual impairment (9.8%), renal impairment (5.7%), and neurological impairment (1.6%). The prevalence of respiratory impairment (61.2%) and mental health disorders (42.0%) was highest in low-income countries while neurological impairment was highest in lower middle-income countries (25.6%). Drug-resistant TB was associated with respiratory (58.7%), neurological (37.2%), and hearing impairments (25.0%) and mental health disorders (26.0%), respectively. TB-related disabilities were frequently reported. More uniform reporting tools for TB-related disability and further research to better quantify and mitigate it are urgently needed. CRD42019147488
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-07-2017
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 12-2015
Publisher: ACM
Date: 15-07-2012
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 10-06-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S12879-020-05184-3
Abstract: Globally, tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious disease. TB treatment outcome is an important indicator for the effectiveness of a national TB control program. This study aimed to assess treatment outcomes of TB patients and its determinants in Batkhela, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A retrospective cohort study was designed using all TB patients who were enrolled at District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital Batkhela, Pakistan, from January 2011 to December 2014. A binary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with successful TB treatment outcomes defined as the sum of cure and completed treatment. A total of 515 TB patients were registered, of which 237 (46%) were males and 278 (53.98%) females. Of all patients, 234 (45.44%) were cured and 210 (40.77%) completed treatment. The overall treatment success rate was 444 (86.21%). Age 0–20 years (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 3.47 95% confidence interval, CI) = 1.54–7.81 P = 0.003), smear-positive pulmonary TB (AOR) = 3.58 95% CI = 1.89–6.78 P = 0.001), treatment category (AOR = 4.71 95% CI = 1.17–18.97 P = 0.029), and year of enrollment 2012 (AOR = 6.26 95% CI = 2.52–15.59 P = 0.001) were significantly associated with successful treatment outcome. The overall treatment success rate is satisfactory but still need to be improved to achieve the international targeted treatment outcome. Type of TB, age, treatment category, and year of enrollment were significantly associated with successful treatment outcomes.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1136/BMJGH-2022-008625
Abstract: Undernutrition is a major risk factor for tuberculosis (TB), which is estimated to be responsible for 1.9 million TB cases per year globally. The effectiveness of micronutrient supplementation on TB treatment outcomes and its prognostic markers (sputum conversion, serum zinc, retinol and haemoglobin levels) has been poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the effect of zinc and vitamin A supplementation on prognostic markers and TB treatment outcomes among adults with sputum-positive pulmonary TB. A systematic literature search for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was performed in PubMed, Embase and Scopus databases. Meta-analysis with a random effect model was performed to estimate risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD), with a 95% CI, for dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. Our search identified 2195 records. Of these, nine RCTs consisting of 1375 participants were included in the final analyses. Among adults with pulmonary TB, zinc (RR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.03), vitamin A (RR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.80 to 1.01) and combined zinc and vitamin A (RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.89 to 1.08) supplementation were not significantly associated with TB treatment success. Combined zinc and vitamin A supplementation was significantly associated with increased sputum smear conversion at 2 months (RR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.32), serum zinc levels at 2 months (MD: 0.86 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.14 to 1.57), serum retinol levels at 2 months (MD: 0.06 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.08) and 6 months (MD: 0.12 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.14) and serum haemoglobin level at 6 months (MD: 0.29 μg/dL, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.51), among adults with pulmonary TB. Providing zinc and vitamin A supplementation to adults with sputum-positive pulmonary TB during treatment may increase early sputum smear conversion, serum zinc, retinol and haemoglobin levels. However, the use of zinc, vitamin A or both was not associated with TB treatment success. CRD42021248548.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-11-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12879-022-07825-1
Abstract: Rotavirus causes substantial morbidity and mortality every year, particularly among under-five children. Despite Rotavirus immunization preventing severe diarrheal disease in children, the vaccination coverage remains inadequate in many African countries including Ethiopia. Measuring rotavirus immunization coverage in a lower geographic area can provide information for designing and implementing a targeted immunization c aign. This study aimed to investigate the spatial distributions of rotavirus immunization coverage in Ethiopia. Rotavirus immunization coverage data were obtained from the recent Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS 2019). Covariate data were assembled from different publicly available sources. A Bayesian geostatistics model was used to estimate the national rotavirus immunization coverage at a pixel level and to identify factors associated with the spatial clustering of immunization coverages. The national rotavirus immunization coverage in Ethiopia was 52.3% (95% CI: 50.3, 54.3). The immunization coverage varied substantially at the sub-national level with spatial clustering of low immunization coverage observed in the Eastern, Southeastern, and Northeastern parts of Ethiopia. The spatial clustering of the rotavirus immunization coverage was positively associated with altitude of the area [mean regression coefficient (β): 0.38 95% credible interval (95% CrI): 0.18, 0.58] and negatively associated with travel time to the nearest cities in minutes [mean regression coefficient (β): − 0.45 95% credible interval (95% CrI): (− 0.73, − 0.18)] and distance to the nearest health facilities [mean regression coefficient (β): − 0.71908 95% credible interval (95% CrI): (− 1.07, − 0.37)]. This study found that the rotavirus immunization coverage varied substantially at sub-national and local levels in Ethiopia. The spatial clustering of rotavirus immunization coverage was associated with geographic and healthcare access factors such as altitude, distance to health facilities, and travel time to the nearest cities. The immunization program should be strengthened in Ethiopia, especially in the Eastern, Southeastern, and Northeastern parts of the Country. Outreach immunization services should be also implemented in areas with low coverage.
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Date: 03-2021
Abstract: Children with medical comorbidities are at greater risk for severe influenza and poorer clinical outcomes. Despite recommendations and funding, influenza vaccine coverage remains inadequate in these children. We aimed to systematically review literature assessing interventions targeting influenza vaccine coverage in children with comorbidities and assess the impact on influenza vaccine coverage. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and Web of Science databases were searched. Interventions targeting influenza vaccine coverage in children with medical comorbidities. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracting studies’ methods, interventions, settings, populations, and results. Four reviewers independently assessed risk of bias. From 961 screened articles, 35 met inclusion criteria. Published studies revealed that influenza vaccine coverage was significantly improved through vaccination reminders and education directed at either patients’ parents or providers, as well as by vaccination-related clinic process changes. Interventions improved influenza vaccine coverage by an average 60%, but no significant differences between intervention types were detected. Significant bias and study heterogeneity were also identified, limiting confidence in this effect estimate. A high risk of bias and overall low quality of evidence limited our capacity to assess intervention types and methods. Interventions were shown to consistently improve influenza vaccine coverage however, no significant differences in coverage between different intervention types were observed. Future well-designed studies evaluating the effectiveness of different intervention are required to inform future optimal interventions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2015
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 10-2019
Publisher: ACM
Date: 12-03-2016
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 15-04-2019
DOI: 10.1111/TBED.13188
Abstract: Ethiopia is one of 30-high burden multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) countries globally. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients with MDR-TB and to investigate risk factors for MDR-TB relative to having drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB), in northwest Ethiopia. A hospital-based, unmatched case-control study was conducted. Cases were all MDR-TB patients (i.e., resistant to at least rif icin and isoniazid) who were confirmed by culture and drug-susceptibility testing whilst enrolled on treatment at Gondar University Hospital. Controls were all drug-susceptible tuberculosis (DS-TB) patients who were confirmed by Gene Xpert MTB/RIF at Gondar University Hospital. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used for comparisons, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed to measure the strength of association between the dependent and independent variables. A total of 452 patients (242 MDR-TB and 210 DS-TB) were included in this study. The mean age of the study participants was 33 years (SD ± 14 years). Approximately one-fifth (78, 17%) of all study participants were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive 21% (51) of cases and 13% (27) of controls. Risk factors associated with MDR-TB were a history of previous TB treatment (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 83.8 95% CI: 40.7, 172.5), low educational status (AOR: 5.32 95% CI: 1.43, 19.81) and ages less than 20 years (AOR: 9.01 95% CI: 2.30, 35.25) and 21-30 years (AOR: 2.61 95% CI: 1.02, 6.64). HIV infection was also significantly associated with MDR-TB among new TB patients (AOR: 5.55 95% CI: 1.17, 26.20). This study shows that clinical and demographic features can be used to indicate higher risks of drug resistance in this setting.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-06-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-040161
Abstract: While access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for children with HIV has expanded and the use of HAART has substantially reduced the morbidity and mortality of children due to HIV, poor treatment outcomes among children with HIV are still a major public health problem globally. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to quantify treatment outcomes among children with HIV. Systematic searches will be conducted in three electronic databases (PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science) for recent studies published from 01 Jan 2000 up to 28 October 2020, without geographical restriction. The primary outcomes of the study will be poor treatment outcomes, which include death, treatment failure and loss to follow-up. We will include quantitative studies that report treatment outcomes among children under the age of 18 years with HIV. Studies will be excluded if they are case report, case series, conducted among adults only or do not provide data on treatment outcomes for children. Two researchers will screen the titles and abstracts of all citations identified in our search, then review the full text of the remaining papers to identify those that meet the inclusion criteria. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale will be used for quality assessment. A random-effects meta-analysis will be used to obtain pooled estimates of the proportion of poor treatment outcomes. The heterogeneity between studies will be checked visually by using forest plots and quantitatively measured by the index of heterogeneity (I 2 ). Pooled estimates of poor treatment outcomes will be calculated with a random-effects model. Subgroup analysis will be conducted by study settings, treatment regimen, comorbidity (such as tuberculosis), study period and HIV type (HIV-1 and HIV-2). Ethical approval will not be required for this study as it will be based on published papers. The final report of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-10-2018
Publisher: ACM
Date: 13-06-2016
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 04-2019
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2019
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 03-11-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182021001724
Abstract: Schistosomiasis has been subjected to extensive control efforts in the People's Republic of China (China) which aims to eliminate the disease by 2030. We describe baseline results of a longitudinal cohort study undertaken in the Dongting and Poyang lakes areas of central China designed to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum in humans, animals (goats and bovines) and Oncomelania snails utilizing molecular diagnostics procedures. Data from the Chinese National Schistosomiasis Control Programme (CNSCP) were compared with the molecular results obtained. Sixteen villages from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces were surveyed animals were only found in Hunan. The prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans was 1.8% in Jiangxi and 8.0% in Hunan determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while 18.3% of animals were positive by digital droplet PCR. The CNSCP data indicated that all villages harboured S. japonicum -infected in iduals, detected serologically by indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA), but very few, if any, of these were subsequently positive by Kato-Katz (KK). Based on the outcome of the IHA and KK results, the CNSCP incorporates targeted human praziquantel chemotherapy but this approach can miss some infections as evidenced by the results reported here. Sensitive molecular diagnostics can play a key role in the elimination of schistosomiasis in China and inform control measures allowing for a more systematic approach to treatment.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-12-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12916-022-02639-Z
Abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is still among the leading causes of disease burden and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and the world is not on track to meet targets set for ending the epidemic by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Precise HIV burden information is critical for effective geographic and epidemiological targeting of prevention and treatment interventions. Age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence estimates are widely available at the national level, and region-wide local estimates were recently published for adults overall. We add further dimensionality to previous analyses by estimating HIV prevalence at local scales, stratified into sex-specific 5-year age groups for adults ages 15–59 years across SSA. We analyzed data from 91 seroprevalence surveys and sentinel surveillance among antenatal care clinic (ANC) attendees using model-based geostatistical methods to produce estimates of HIV prevalence across 43 countries in SSA, from years 2000 to 2018, at a 5 × 5-km resolution and presented among second administrative level (typically districts or counties) units. We found substantial variation in HIV prevalence across localities, ages, and sexes that have been masked in earlier analyses. Within-country variation in prevalence in 2018 was a median 3.5 times greater across ages and sexes, compared to for all adults combined. We note large within-district prevalence differences between age groups: for men, 50% of districts displayed at least a 14-fold difference between age groups with the highest and lowest prevalence, and at least a 9-fold difference for women. Prevalence trends also varied over time between 2000 and 2018, 70% of all districts saw a reduction in prevalence greater than five percentage points in at least one sex and age group. Meanwhile, over 30% of all districts saw at least a five percentage point prevalence increase in one or more sex and age group. As the HIV epidemic persists and evolves in SSA, geographic and demographic shifts in prevention and treatment efforts are necessary. These estimates offer epidemiologically informative detail to better guide more targeted interventions, vital for combating HIV in SSA.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-01-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-2020
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 2022
Publisher: ACM
Date: 10-07-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-06-2018
Publisher: ACM
Date: 18-08-2021
Publisher: ACM
Date: 04-12-2017
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2011
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1155/2015/960830
Abstract: Knowledge of pregnant women on the three periods of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV has implication for child HIV acquisition. This study aims to assess the knowledge of pregnant women on mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to identify associated factors in Meket district, northeast Ethiopia. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify associated factors. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to determine the presence and strength of association. About one-fifth (19%) of women were knowledgeable on mother-to-child transmission of HIV (95% CI: 15.5%, 22.4%). Being urban resident (AOR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.48, 4.87), having primary education (AOR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.03, 5.60), reporting receiving information on HIV from health care providers (AOR: 3.24, 95% CI: 1.53, 6.83), having discussion with partner about mother-to-child transmission of HIV (AOR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.59, 4.39), and attending antenatal care (AOR: 5.80, 95% CI: 2.63, 12.77) were positively associated with increased maternal knowledge of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Knowledge of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among pregnant women was low. Providing information, especially for rural women and their partners, is highly recommended.
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2019
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2019
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2012
DOI: 10.1109/ICPP.2012.19
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/TMI.13720
Abstract: Globally, China has the third highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases despite high rates (85.6%) of effective treatment coverage. Identifying risk factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes is an important component of maximising the efficacy of TB control programmes. Retrospective cohort study to evaluate the outcomes of 306,860 drug‐susceptible TB patients who underwent treatment in Hunan Province, China between 2013 and 2018. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes. A successful treatment outcome was recorded for 98.6% of patients, defined as the sum of patients who were cured (36.2%) and completed treatment (62.4%). An unsuccessful treatment outcome was recorded for 1.8% of patients, defined as the sum of treatment failure (1.1%), deaths (0.5%) and lost to follow up (0.2%). The odds of an unsuccessful treatment outcome showed an increasing trend in more recent years of registration (2018 adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.43 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.31, 1.57 relative to 2013). Other significant risk factors were male sex (AOR: 1.17 95% CI 1.10, 1.25) increasing age (AOR:1.02 per year increase 95% CI 1.02,1.02) being severely ill (AOR: 1.50 95% CI 1.33, 1.70) having a history of TB treatment (AOR: 2.93 95% CI 2.69, 3.20) not being under systematic management (AOR: 16.10 (14.49, 17.88) and treatment regimens that differed from full course management. The increasing likelihood of an unsuccessful treatment outcome over time necessitates the need for further research.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2019
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 31-10-2022
DOI: 10.1145/3563343
Abstract: Given an edge-labeled graph, context-free language reachability (CFL-reachability) computes reachable node pairs by deriving new edges and adding them to the graph. The redundancy that limits the scalability of CFL-reachability manifests as redundant derivations, i.e., identical edges can be derived multiple times due to the many paths between two reachable nodes. We observe that most redundancy arises from the derivations involving transitive relations of reachable node pairs. Unfortunately, existing techniques for reducing redundancy in transitive-closure-based problems are either ineffective or inapplicable to identifying and eliminating redundant derivations during on-the-fly CFL-reachability solving. This paper proposes a scalable yet precision-preserving approach to all-pairs CFL-reachability analysis by taming its transitive redundancy. Our key insight is that transitive relations are intrinsically ordered, and utilizing the order for edge derivation can avoid most redundancy. To address the challenges in determining the derivation order from the dynamically changed graph during CFL-reachability solving, we introduce a hybrid graph representation by combining spanning trees and adjacency lists, together with a dynamic construction algorithm. Based on this representation, we propose a fast and effective partially ordered algorithm POCR to boost the performance of CFL-reachability analysis by reducing its transitive redundancy during on-the-fly solving. Our experiments on context-sensitive value-flow analysis and field-sensitive alias analysis for C/C++ demonstrate the promising performance of POCR. On average, POCR eliminates 98.50% and 97.26% redundant derivations respectively for the value-flow and alias analysis, achieving speedups of 21.48× and 19.57× over the standard CFL-reachability algorithm. We also compare POCR with two recent open-source tools, Graspan (a CFL-reachability solver) and Soufflé (a Datalog engine). The results demonstrate that POCR is over 3.67× faster than Graspan and Soufflé on average for both value-flow analysis and alias analysis.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-08-2014
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-11-2013
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2015
DOI: 10.1109/ICPP.2015.98
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-12-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-09-2018
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 12-2016
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 17-03-2020
Abstract: Background: Globally, tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious disease. TB treatment outcome is an indicator for the effectiveness of a national TB control program. This study aimed to assess treatment outcomes of TB patients and its determinants in Batkhela, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed using all TB patients who were enrolled at District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital Batkhela, Pakistan, from January 2011 to December 2014. A binary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with successful TB treatment outcomes defined as the sum of cure and completed treatment. Results: A total of 515 TB patients were registered, of which 237 (46%) were males and 278 (53.98%) females. Of all patients, 234 (45.44%) were cured and 210 (40.77%) completed treatment. The overall treatment success rate was 444 (86.21%). Age 0-20 years (adjusted odds ratio, AOR= 3.47 95% confidence interval, CI)= 1.54-7.81 P= 0.003), smear-positive pulmonary TB (AOR)= 3.58 95% CI= 1.89-6.78 P= .001), treatment category (AOR= 4.71 95% CI= 1.17-18.97 P= 0.029), and year of enrollment 2012 (AOR= 6.26 95% CI= 2.52-15.59 P= .001) were significantly associated with successful treatment outcome. Conclusions: The overall treatment success rate is satisfactory but still need to be improved to achieve the international targeted treatment outcome. Type of TB, age, treatment category, and year of enrollment were significantly associated with successful treatment outcomes.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2017
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1136/BMJGH-2021-007599
Abstract: HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are the three most important infectious diseases in Ethiopia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the spatial codistribution of these diseases is critical for designing geographically targeted and integrated disease control programmes. This study investigated the spatial overlap and drivers of HIV, TB and malaria prevalence in Ethiopia. HIV, TB and malaria data were obtained from different nationwide prevalence surveys, and geospatial covariates were obtained from publicly available sources. A Bayesian model-based geostatistical framework was applied to each survey leveraging the strength of high-resolution spatial covariates to predict continuous disease-specific prevalence surfaces and their codistribution. The national prevalence was 1.54% (95% CI 1.40 to 1.70) for HIV, 0.39% (95% CI 0.34 to 0.45) for TB and 1.1% (95%CI 0.95 to 1.32) for malaria. Substantial subnational variation was predicted with the highest HIV prevalence estimated in Gambela (4.52%), Addis Ababa (3.52%) and Dire Dawa (2.67%) regions. TB prevalence was highest in Dire Dawa (0.96%) and Gambela (0.88%), while malaria was highest in Gambela (6.1%) and Benishangul-Gumuz (3.8%). Spatial overlap of their prevalence was observed in some parts of the country, mainly Gambela region. Spatial distribution of the diseases was significantly associated with healthcare access, demographic, and climatic factors. The national distribution of HIV, TB and malaria was highly focal in Ethiopia, with substantial variation at subnational and local levels. Spatial distribution of the diseases was significantly associated with healthcare access, demographic and climatic factors. Spatial overlap of HIV, TB and malaria prevalence was observed in some parts of the country. Integrated control programmes for these diseases should be targeted to these areas with high levels of co-endemicity.
Publisher: ACM
Date: 04-04-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-05-2018
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 13-11-2020
DOI: 10.1145/3428301
Abstract: Code embedding, as an emerging paradigm for source code analysis, has attracted much attention over the past few years. It aims to represent code semantics through distributed vector representations, which can be used to support a variety of program analysis tasks (e.g., code summarization and semantic labeling). However, existing code embedding approaches are intraprocedural, alias-unaware and ignoring the asymmetric transitivity of directed graphs abstracted from source code, thus they are still ineffective in preserving the structural information of code. This paper presents Flow2Vec, a new code embedding approach that precisely preserves interprocedural program dependence (a.k.a value-flows). By approximating the high-order proximity, i.e., the asymmetric transitivity of value-flows, Flow2Vec embeds control-flows and alias-aware data-flows of a program in a low-dimensional vector space. Our value-flow embedding is formulated as matrix multiplication to preserve context-sensitive transitivity through CFL reachability by filtering out infeasible value-flow paths. We have evaluated Flow2Vec using 32 popular open-source projects. Results from our experiments show that Flow2Vec successfully boosts the performance of two recent code embedding approaches codevec and codeseq for two client applications, i.e., code classification and code summarization. For code classification, Flow2Vec improves codevec with an average increase of 21.2%, 20.1% and 20.7% in precision, recall and F1, respectively. For code summarization, Flow2Vec outperforms codeseq by an average of 13.2%, 18.8% and 16.0% in precision, recall and F1, respectively.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-05-2023
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202305.1793.V1
Abstract: Abstract. Background: COVID-19's first victim was announced by Chinese health authorities on the 11th of January 2020. On January 13, the first official case was reported outside China, in Thailand. On January 25, the same occurred in S& atilde o Paulo and on March 8, the first case was recorded in Minas Gerais. From that point onwards until the 3rd of October 2020, a total of 370,911 cases and 9,204 deaths were recorded in the state. This study aims to investigate spatiotemporal patterns of COVID-19 with incidence from March 22 to October 3 of 2020. Methods: The database itself was obtained from Health Division of Minas Gerais state. The vulnerability index was calculated using a principal component analysis. Moran's I autocorrelation was tested, z-score and P-value & 0.05. Results: From March 22 to October 3 of 2020 the incidence level varied from 45.680/100,000 to 312.130/100,000. The most influential variables were: illiteracy, gross domestic product and breath apparel per municipality. The clusters were concentrated in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, Zona da Mata and Triangulo Mineiro. Conclusion: The spatial distribution of COVID-19 from week 13 until week 40 showed that different levels of endemicity and mesoregional vulnerabilities were represented in these maps.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 05-2020
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2019-034704
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB), a major public health concern in Ethiopia, is distributed heterogeneously across the country. Mapping TB prevalence at national and subnational levels can provide information for designing and implementing control strategies. Data for spatial analysis can be obtained through systematic review of the literature, and spatial prediction can be done by meta-analysis of published data (geospatial meta-analysis). Geospatial meta-analysis can increase the power of spatial analytic models by making use of all available data. It can also provide a means for spatial prediction where new survey data in a given area are sparse or not available. In this report, we present a protocol for a geospatial meta-analysis to investigate the spatial patterns of TB prevalence in Ethiopia. To conduct this study, a national TB prevalence survey, supplemented with data from a systematic review of published reports, will be used as the source of TB prevalence data. Systematic searching will be conducted in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for studies published up to 15 April 2020 to identify all potential publications reporting TB prevalence in Ethiopia. Data for covariates for multivariable analysis will be obtained from different, readily available sources. Extracted TB survey and covariate data will be georeferenced to specific locations or the centroids of small administrative areas. A binomial logistic regression model will be fitted to TB prevalence data using both fixed covariate effects and random geostatistical effects based on the approach of model-based geostatistics. Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation will be conducted to obtained posterior parameter estimations, including spatially predicted prevalence. Ethical approval will not be required for this study as it will be based on deidentified, aggregate published data. The final report of this review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and will also be presented at relevant conferences.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-11-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PNTD.0009890
Abstract: Soil transmitted helminth (STH) infections cause one of the most prevalent diseases in man. STHs disproportionately impact socio-economically disadvantaged communities including minority indigenous populations. This systematic review aimed to quantify the prevalence of STH infection within minority indigenous populations of the South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines following a published protocol. A random effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of STH infection, and meta-regression analysis was used to quantify associations with study characteristics. Where comparative data were available, sub-group analysis was conducted to evaluate the risk of STH infection in minority indigenous people relative to other population groups. The heterogeneity between studies was evaluated visually using Forest plots and was assessed quantitatively by the index of heterogeneity (I 2 ) and Cochran Q-statistics. From 1,366 unique studies that were identified, 81 were included in the final analysis. The pooled prevalence of infection within minority indigenous populations was 61.4% (95% CI 50.8, 71.4) for overall STH infection 32.3% (95% CI 25.7, 39.3) for Ascaris . lumbricoides 43.6% (95% CI 32.6, 54.8) for Trichuris . trichiura 19.9% (95% CI 15.7, 24.5) for hookworm and 6.3% (95% CI 3.2, 10.2) for Strongyloides . stercoralis . A significant increase in T . trichiura prevalence was observed over time. The stratified analysis showed that the prevalence of infection for STH overall and for each STH species were not significantly different in minority indigenous participants compared to other populations groups. The prevalence of STH infection is high within minority indigenous populations across countries at very different levels of socio-economic development. The increasing prevalence of T . trichiura calls for the implementation of more effective therapies and control strategies.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 13-12-2012
DOI: 10.5402/2012/485720
Abstract: Introduction . Clinical reports have indicated positive outcomes associated with disclosure of HIV-positive status in children. This study assessed the level and associated factors of HIV-positive status disclosure to HIV-infected children in northwest Ethiopia. Methods . Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-positive children from March to April 2012. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire by face-to-face interview technique. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results . Of the 428 children, 169 (39.5%) were disclosed their HIV-positive status. The mean age of HIV-positive status disclosure was at 10.7 (±2.3) years. Having a nonbiological parent (, 95% CI: 1.22, 14.04), child’s age older than 10 years (, 95% CI: 4.5, 15.53), and death of a family member (, 95% CI: 1.16, 3.6) were significantly and independently associated with disclosure of HIV-positive status to infected children. Conclusions . The rate of disclosure of HIV-positive status to infected children still remains low in North Gondar. Hence, it is important to target children living with their biological parents and having young parents and children younger than 10 years. The guideline for disclosure of children with HIV/AIDS should be established in an Ethiopian context.
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 11-2014
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 30-01-2018
DOI: 10.1145/3168364
Abstract: Compiler-based vectorization represents a promising solution to automatically generate code that makes efficient use of modern CPUs with SIMD extensions. Two main auto-vectorization techniques, superword-level parallelism vectorization (SLP) and loop-level vectorization (LLV), require precise dependence analysis on arrays and structs to vectorize isomorphic scalar instructions (in the case of SLP) and reduce dynamic dependence checks at runtime (in the case of LLV). The alias analyses used in modern vectorizing compilers are either intra-procedural (without tracking inter-procedural data-flows) or inter-procedural (by using field-sensitive models, which are too imprecise in handling arrays and structs). This article proposes an inter-procedural L oop-oriented P ointer A nalysis for C, called L pa , for analyzing arrays and structs to support aggressive SLP and LLV optimizations effectively. Unlike field-insensitive solutions that pre-allocate objects for each memory allocation site, our approach uses a lazy memory model to generate access-based location sets based on how structs and arrays are accessed. L pa can precisely analyze arrays and nested aggregate structures to enable SIMD optimizations for large programs. By separating the location set generation as an independent concern from the rest of the pointer analysis, L pa is designed so that existing points-to resolution algorithms (e.g., flow-insensitive and flow-sensitive pointer analysis) can be reused easily. We have implemented L pa fully in the LLVM compiler infrastructure (version 3.8.0). We evaluate L pa by considering SLP and LLV, the two classic vectorization techniques, on a set of 20 C and Fortran CPU2000/2006 benchmarks. For SLP, L pa outperforms LLVM’s BasicAA and ScevAA by discovering 139 and 273 more vectorizable basic blocks, respectively, resulting in the best speedup of 2.95% for 173.applu. For LLV, LLVM introduces totally 551 and 652 static bound checks under BasicAA and ScevAA, respectively. In contrast, L pa has reduced these static checks to 220, with an average of 15.7 checks per benchmark, resulting in the best speedup of 7.23% for 177.mesa.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-01-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-06-2013
Abstract: Street youth are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and all kinds of health risks. This study assessed HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and its predictors among street youth in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional study was conducted on 467 street youth living in Gondar town. A pre tested and structured questionnaire via interview was used to collect data. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors. Odds ratio with 95% CI was computed to assess the strength of associations. A total of 288 (61.7%) respondents had sexual intercourse in their life time. Among these 264 (91.7%) had more than one lifetime sexual partners. In addition, 80.5% of them used condom inconsistently in the last 12 months. Khat chewing was found to be predictor of having multiple sexual partners. Rural former residence and longer duration of stay on the street are also identified as predictors of inconsistent condom use. High prevalence of HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors were observed among street youth in Gondar town. Interventions aimed at reducing sexual risky behaviors among street youth should focus on reducing the duration of stay on the street and chat chewing.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2014
DOI: 10.2147/OAJC.S72683
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-10-2014
Publisher: ACM
Date: 17-03-2016
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2019-034821
Abstract: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a common public health problem affecting pregnant women. However, the impact of MDR-TB and its medication on pregnancy and perinatal outcomes has been poorly understood and inconsistently reported. Therefore, using the available literature, we aim to determine whether MDR-TB and its medications during pregnancy impact maternal and perinatal outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Systematic searches will be conducted in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science on 10 February 2020 for studies that reported adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes due to MDR-TB and/or its medication. The search will be performed without language and time restrictions. Adverse birth outcomes include miscarriage or abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, small and large for gestational age, and neonatal death. Two independent reviewers will screen search records, extract data and assess the quality of the studies. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale will be used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. In addition to a narrative synthesis, a random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted when sufficient data are available. I 2 statistics will be used to assess the heterogeneity between studies. As it will be a systematic review and meta-analysis based on previously published evidence, there will be no requirement for ethical approval. Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will be presented at various conferences.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 04-2021
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-043685
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Hunan province, China. An ecological study was conducted using DR-TB data collected from the Tuberculosis Control Institute of Hunan Province between 2012 and 2018. Spatial clustering of DR-TB was explored using the Getis-Ord statistic. A Poisson regression model was fitted with a conditional autoregressive prior structure, and with posterior parameters estimated using a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation, to quantify associations with possible risk factors and identify clusters of high DR-TB risk. A total of 2649 DR-TB patients were reported to Hunan TB Control Institute between 2012 and 2018. The majority of the patients were male (74.8%, n=1983) and had a history of TB treatment (88.53%, n=2345). The proportion of extensively DR-TB among all DR-TB was 3.3% (95% CI 2.7% to 4.1%), which increased from 2.8% in 2012 to 4.4% in 2018. Of 1287 DR-TB patients with registered treatment outcomes, 434 (33.8%) were cured, 198 (15.3%) completed treatment, 92 (7.1%) died, 108 (8.3%) had treatment failure and 455 (35.3%) were lost to follow-up. Half (50.9%, n=655) had poor treatment outcomes. The annual cumulative incidence rate of notified DR-TB increased over time from 0.25 per 100 000 people in 2012 to 0.83 per 100 000 people in 2018. Substantial spatial heterogeneity was observed, and hotspots were detected in counties located in the North and East parts of Hunan province. The cumulative incidence of notified DR-TB was significantly associated with urban communities. The annual incidence of notified DR-TB increased over time in Hunan province. Spatial clustering of DR-TB was detected and significantly associated with urbanisation. This finding suggests that targeting interventions to the highest risk areas and population groups would be effective in reducing the burden and ongoing transmission of DR-TB.
Publisher: ACM
Date: 22-02-2022
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 11-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-10-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-019-1545-0
Abstract: Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations.
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 08-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-01-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12879-022-07072-4
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major public health challenge in China. Understanding TB management delays within the context of China’s unique ethnic ersity may be of value in tackling the disease. This study sought to evaluate the impact of ethnic minority status on TB diagnosis and treatment delays. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients diagnosed with TB in Hunan Province, China between 2013 and 2018. Diagnosis delay was defined as the time interval between the onset of symptoms and the date of diagnosis. Treatment delay was defined as the time interval between diagnosis and treatment commencement. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with TB diagnosis and treatment delay, including ethnic minority status. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the strength of association between the dependant and independent variables. A total of 318,792 TB patients were included in the study with a mean age of 51.7 years (SD 17.7). The majority of patients were male (72.6%) and Han ethnicity (90.6%). The odds of experiencing diagnosis delay ( 21 days) were significantly higher for Tujia (AOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.41, 1.51), Miao (AOR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.37), Dong (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.85, 2.11), Yao (AOR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.37), and Bai (AOR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.74) ethnic minorities compared to the Han majority. The odds of experiencing treatment delay ( 15 days) were significantly lower for five of the seven ethnic minority groups relative to the Han majority: Tujia (AOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88, 0.96), Miao (AOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.70, 0.79), Dong (AOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81, 0.95), Yao (AOR 0.20, 95% CI 0.17, 0.24) and ‘other’ (ethnic minorities that in idually represented 0.1% of the patient population) (AOR 0.70, 955 CI 0.51, 0.97). This study shows ethnic minority status to be a significant risk factor in diagnosis delay, but for it to reduce the odds of treatment delay. Further research is required to determine the underlying causes of diagnosis delay within ethnic minority populations.
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2018-022948
Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of health workers about multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) prevention and control. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Gondar University Referral Hospital and Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital. Randomly selected health workers (ie, medical doctor, nurse, health officer, pharmacy, medical laboratory and midwifery) were the study participants. The main outcomes were knowledge and self-reported practice of health workers about MDR-TB. A total of 377 health workers (with a response rate of 93.7%) participated in the study. The majority of respondents were nurses (52.5%, n=198) and medical doctors (15.6%, n=59). The mean knowledge score was seven out of 10 149 (39.5%) of respondents scored seven or more which was considered as good knowledge. MDR-TB knowledge of health workers was significantly associated with having a postgraduate degree (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=5.78 95% CI 2.33 to 14.33), taking infection prevention training (AOR=1.79 95% CI 1.00, to 3.17) and having a history of tuberculosis (TB) (AOR=1.85 95% CI 1.12, to 3.03). The mean self-reported practice score was four out of seven one-fifth (19.6%) of respondents scored four or more which was considered as good practice. Self-reported practice of health workers was significantly associated with working at internal medicine (AOR=4.64 95% CI 1.99, to 10.81) and paediatrics (AOR=3.85 95% CI 1.11, to 13.34) wards, being in the age groups of 26–30 years (AOR=2.70 95% CI 1.27, to 5.76), and 30 years and above (AOR=4.42 95% CI 1.77, to 11.00). This study found low knowledge and self-reported practice score among health workers. MDR-TB knowledge of health workers was significantly associated with educational status, infection prevention training and previous history of TB. This finding highlights the potential of providing MDR-TB training for health workers to increase their knowledge about MDR-TB.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
Publisher: Korean Society of Epidemiology
Date: 28-12-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 15-10-2021
DOI: 10.1145/3485547
Abstract: Inclusion-based set constraint solving is the most popular technique for whole-program points-to analysis whereby an analysis is typically formulated as repeatedly resolving constraints between points-to sets of program variables. The set union operation is central to this process. The number of points-to sets can grow as analyses become more precise and input programs become larger, resulting in more time spent performing unions and more space used storing these points-to sets. Most existing approaches focus on improving scalability of precise points-to analyses from an algorithmic perspective and there has been less research into improving the data structures behind the analyses. Bit-vectors as one of the more popular data structures have been used in several mainstream analysis frameworks to represent points-to sets. To store memory objects in bit-vectors, objects need to mapped to integral identifiers. We observe that this object-to-identifier mapping is critical for a compact points-to set representation and the set union operation. If objects in the same points-to sets (co-pointees) are not given numerically close identifiers, points-to resolution can cost significantly more space and time. Without data on the unpredictable points-to relations which would be discovered by the analysis, an ideal mapping is extremely challenging. In this paper, we present a new approach to inclusion-based analysis by compacting points-to sets through object clustering. Inspired by recent staged analysis where an auxiliary analysis produces results approximating a more precise main analysis, we formulate points-to set compaction as an optimisation problem solved by integer programming using constraints generated from the auxiliary analysis’s results in order to produce an effective mapping. We then develop a more approximate mapping, yet much more efficiently, using hierarchical clustering to compact bit-vectors. We also develop an improved representation of bit-vectors (called core bit-vectors) to fully take advantage of the newly produced mapping. Our approach requires no algorithmic change to the points-to analysis. We evaluate our object clustering on flow sensitive points-to analysis using 8 open-source programs ( .1 million lines of LLVM instructions) and our results show that our approach can successfully improve the analysis with an up to 1.83× speed up and an up to 4.05× reduction in memory usage.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-07-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S13643-021-01753-Y
Abstract: Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria and soil-transmitted helminthiasis continue to impose a significant global health burden and socio-economic impact. Globally, minority indigenous people are disproportionately affected by poverty and are shown to experience a disparate burden of disease and poorer health outcomes than the comparative majority population. Despite these inequalities, countries rarely systematically compile epidemiological data disaggregated by ethnicity to enable the extent of the differential to be quantified. The systematic review will be reported in accordance with The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta- Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Systematic searches will be conducted in EMBASE, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science for studies reporting data which enable the prevalence of TB, malaria, and/or soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections amongst minority indigenous populations within the Southeast Asia Region (SEAR) and Western Pacific Region (WPR) to be calculated. Where studies provide data on disease prevalence for both minority indigenous and other populations within the same study, a comparative analysis will be undertaken. In addition to a narrative synthesis, where sufficient data are available, a random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted to obtain a pooled estimate value for each disease/infection by country and mortality stratum. Heterogeneity between studies will be examined using the Cochran’s Q test and quantitatively measured by the index of heterogeneity squared (I 2 ) statistics. The methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. This systematic review aims to analyse the available data on the prevalence of TB, malaria and STH infections within minority indigenous populations of the SEAR and WPR. Open Science Framework registration: osf.io/m6sqc
Publisher: ACM
Date: 10-10-2022
Publisher: ACM
Date: 27-05-2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-09-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-09-2021
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2022-064573
Abstract: The carcinogenic liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini is a major public health problem in the Mekong basin region. The liver flukes can induce cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer that causes a significant burden of mortality and economic loss. Various public health interventions have been conducted to reduce opisthorchiasis but the prevalence of O. viverrini remains high in endemic regions. The aim is to quantify the effectiveness of public health interventions in reducing the prevalence of O. viverrini infection. Seven databases (including PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Thai thesis database and TCI (Thai journals online)) will be searched from initiation through to 2022 to identify studies of interventions to reduce the prevalence of O. viverrini infection. The prevalence, incidence or number of O. viverrini -infected people will be used as the source of O. viverrini prevalence data. A conventional meta-analysis and a Bayesian network meta-analysis will be conducted to undertake direct and indirect comparisons of different interventions. Meta-regression will be used to determine the effect of each intervention. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool. Heterogeneity between studies will be determined by forest plots and I 2 and publication bias investigated with funnel plots and the Egger’s test. Ethical approval will not be required because this study will only use published data. The final report of this review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and will also be presented at relevant conferences. CRD42022323066.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-12-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-08-2017
Publisher: ACM
Date: 11-2016
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2014
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 07-06-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1452352/V2
Abstract: Malaria is a serious threat to global health, with over 95% of the cases reported in 2020 by the World Health Organization in African countries, including Sudan. Sudan is a low-income country with a limited healthcare system and a substantial burden of malaria. The epidemiology of malaria in Sudan is rapidly changing due to factors including the rapidly developing resistance to drugs and insecticides among the parasites and vectors, respectively the growing population living in humanitarian settings due to political instability and the recent emergence of Anopheles stephensi in the country. These factors contribute to changes in the distribution of the parasites species as well as malaria vectors in Sudan, and the shifting patterns of malaria epidemiology underscore the need for investment in improved situational awareness, early preparedness, and a national prevention and control strategy that is updated, evidence based, and proactive. A key component of this strategy is accurate, high-resolution endemicity maps of species-specific malaria. Here, we present a spatiotemporal Bayesian model, developed in collaboration with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, that predicts a fine-scale (1 km × 1 km) clinical incidence and seasonality profiles for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax across the country. We use monthly malaria case counts for both species collected via routine surveillance between January 2017 and December 2019, as well as a suite of high-resolution environmental covariates to inform our predictions. These epidemiological maps provide a useful resource for strategic planning and cost-effective implementation of malaria interventions, thus informing policymakers in Sudan to achieve success in malaria control and elimination.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1136/BMJGH-2021-007179
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic. We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search peer-reviewed articles and Google, Google Scholar and preprint sites for grey literature. The scoping review captured studies on either preparedness or impacts or responses associated with COVID-19 or covering one or more of the three topics and guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework. The extracted information was documented following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension checklist for scoping reviews. Finally, the resulting data were thematically analysed. Twenty-two eligible studies, of which 6 reported on health system preparedness, 19 described the impacts of COVID-19 on access to general and essential health services and 7 focused on responses taken by the healthcare systems were included. The main setbacks in health system preparation included lack of available health services needed for the pandemic, inadequate resources and equipment, and limited testing ability and surge capacity for COVID-19. Reduced flow of patients and missing scheduled appointments were among the most common impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health system responses identified in this review included the availability of telephone consultations, re-purposing of available services and establishment of isolation centres, and provisions of COVID-19 guidelines in some settings. The health systems in Africa were inadequately prepared for the pandemic, and its impact was substantial. Responses were slow and did not match the magnitude of the problem. Interventions that will improve and strengthen health system resilience and financing through local, national and global engagement should be prioritised.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-044606
Abstract: COVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis affecting most countries, including Ethiopia, in various ways. This study maps the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Thirty-eight potential indicators of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, case severity and likelihood of death, identified based on a literature review and the availability of nationally representative data at a low geographic scale, were assembled from multiple sources for geospatial analysis. Geospatial analysis techniques were applied to produce maps showing the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death in Ethiopia at a spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km. This study showed that vulnerability to COVID-19 infection is likely to be high across most parts of Ethiopia, particularly in the Somali, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and Tigray regions. The number of severe cases of COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalisation and intensive care unit admission is likely to be high across Amhara, most parts of Oromia and some parts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region. The risk of COVID-19-related death is high in the country’s border regions, where public health preparedness for responding to COVID-19 is limited. This study revealed geographical differences in vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia. The study offers maps that can guide the targeted interventions necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia.
Publisher: ACM
Date: 12-08-2019
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2018
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2017-019593
Abstract: The sequelae of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are poorly understood and inconsistently reported. We will aim to assess the existing evidence for the clinical, psychological, social and economic sequelae of MDR-TB and to assess the health-related quality of life in patients with MDR-TB. We will perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies reporting sequelae of MDR-TB. We will search PubMed, SCOPUS, ProQuest, Web of Science and PsychINFO databases up to 5 September 2017. MDR-TB sequelae will include any clinical, psychological, social and economic effects as well as health-related quality of life that occur after MDR-TB treatment or illness. Two researchers will screen the titles and abstracts of all citations identified in our search, extract data, and assess the scientific quality using standardised formats. Providing there is appropriate comparability in the studies, we will use a random-effects meta-analysis model to produce pooled estimates of MDR-TB sequelae from the included studies. We will stratify the analyses based on treatment regimen, comorbidities (such as HIV status and diabetes mellitus), previous TB treatment history and study setting. As this study will be based on published data, ethical approval is not required. The final report will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and will also be presented at relevant conferences. CRD42017073182 .
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINF.2018.07.007
Abstract: Mental health disorders, social stress, and poor health-related quality of life are commonly reported among people with tuberculosis (TB). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify mental health disorders, social stressors, and health-related quality of life in patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, ProQuest, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases for studies that reported data on mental health disorders, social stressors, and health-related quality of life among MDR-TB patients. Hand-searching the reference lists of included studies was also performed. Studies were selected according to pre-defined selection criteria and data were extracted by two authors. Pooled prevalence and weighted mean difference estimates were performed using random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was explored using meta-regression, and subgroup analyses were performed. We included a total of 40 studies that were conducted in 20 countries. Depression, anxiety, and psychosis were the most common mental health disorders reported in the studies. The overall pooled prevalence was 25% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14, 39) for depression, 24% (95% CI: 2, 57) for anxiety, and 10% (95% CI: 7, 14) for psychosis. There was substantial heterogeneity in the estimates. The stratified analysis showed that the prevalence of psychosis was 4% (95% CI: 0, 22) before MDR-TB treatment commencement, and 9% (95% CI: 5, 13) after MDR-TB treatment commencement. The most common social stressors reported were stigma, discrimination, isolation, and a lack of social support. Health-related quality of life was significantly lower among MDR-TB patients when compared to drug-susceptible TB patients (Q = 9.88, p = 0.01, I This review found that mental health and social functioning are compromised in a significant proportion of MDR-TB patients, a finding confirmed by the poor health-related quality of life reported. Thus, there is a substantial need for integrating mental health services, social protection and social support into the clinical and programmatic management of MDR-TB.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2016
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-08-2019
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Date: 2014
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2022-065318
Abstract: This study aimed to map the national, regional and local prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in Ethiopia. Nationwide cross-sectional survey in Ethiopia combined with georeferenced ecological level data from publicly available sources. 9801 participants aged between 15 and 69 years. Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes were collected using the WHO’s STEPS survey approach. Bayesian model-based geostatistical techniques were used to estimate hypertension and diabetes prevalence at national, regional and pixel levels (1×1 km 2 ) with corresponding 95% credible intervals (95% CrIs). The national prevalence was 19.2% (95% CI: 18.4 to 20.0) for hypertension and 2.8% (95% CI: 2.4 to 3.1) for diabetes. Substantial variation was observed in the prevalence of these diseases at subnational levels, with the highest prevalence of hypertension observed in Addis Ababa (30.6%) and diabetes in Somali region (8.7%). Spatial overlap of high hypertension and diabetes prevalence was observed in some regions such as the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s region and Addis Ababa. Population density (number of people/km 2 ) was positively associated with the prevalence of hypertension (β: 0.015 95% CrI: 0.003–0.027) and diabetes (β: 0.046 95% CrI: 0.020–0.069) whereas altitude in kilometres was negatively associated with the prevalence of diabetes (β: –0.374 95% CrI: –0.711 to –0.044). Spatial clustering of hypertension and diabetes was observed at subnational and local levels in Ethiopia, which was significantly associated with population density and altitude. The variation at the subnational level illustrates the need to include environmental drivers in future NCDs burden estimation. Thus, targeted and integrated interventions in high-risk areas might reduce the burden of hypertension and diabetes in Ethiopia.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-07-2017
Abstract: To measure patient‐perceived upper limb and neck function following neck dissection and to investigate potential associations between clinical factors, symptoms, and function. Cross‐sectional. Two tertiary hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. Inclusion criteria: patients treated with neck dissection (2009‐2014). Exclusion criteria: aged years, accessory nerve or sternocleidomastoid sacrifice, previous neck dissection, preexisting shoulder/neck injury, and inability to provide informed consent (cognition, insufficient English). Primary outcomes were self‐reported function of the upper limb (Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand) and neck (Neck Disability Index). Secondary outcomes included demographics, oncological management, self‐efficacy, and pain. Generalized linear models were prepared to examine relationships between explanatory variables and self‐reported function. Eighty‐nine participants (male n = 63, 71% median age, 62 years median 3 years since surgery) reported mild upper limb and neck dysfunction (median [quartile 1, quartile 3] scores of 11 [3, 32] and 12 [4, 28], respectively). Significant associations were found between worse upper limb function and longer time since surgery (coefficient, 1.76 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01‐3.51), having disease within the thyroid (17.40 2.37‐32.44), postoperative radiation therapy (vs surgery only) (13.90 6.67‐21.14), and shoulder pain (0.65 0.44‐0.85). Worse neck function was associated with metastatic cervical lymph nodes (coefficient, 6.61 95% CI, 1.14‐12.08), shoulder pain (0.19 0.04‐0.34), neck pain (0.34 0.21‐0.47), and symptoms of neuropathic pain (0.61 0.25‐0.98). Patients can experience upper limb and neck dysfunction following nerve‐preserving neck dissection. The upper quadrant as a whole should be considered when assessing rehabilitation priorities after neck dissection.
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2018
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 02-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 26-05-2015
DOI: 10.1155/2015/307810
Abstract: Background. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of tuberculosis and its predictors among HIV positive children. Methods. A six-year retrospective follow-up study was conducted among HIV infected children aged less than 15 years. Life table was used to estimate the cumulative probability of tuberculosis free survival. Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify predictors of tuberculosis. Results. A total of 271 HIV positive children were followed for six years and produced 1100.50 person-years of observation. During the follow-up period 52 new TB cases occurred. The overall incidence density of TB was 4.9 per 100 PY. Inappropriate vaccination [AHR: 8.03 (95% CI 4.61–13.97)], ambulatory functional status [AHR: 1.99 (95% CI 1.04–3.81)], and having baseline anemia [AHR: 2.23 (95% CI 1.19–4.15)] were important predictors of time to TB occurrence. Conclusion. TB incidence rate was high. Early diagnosis and treatment of anemia and strengthening immunization program would reduce the risk of TB occurrence.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-10-2022
Abstract: Understanding the spatial distribution of schistosome infection is critical for tailoring preventive measures to control and eliminate schistosomiasis. This study used spatial analysis to determine risk factors that may impact Schistosoma japonicum infection and predict risk in Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces in the People’s Republic of China. The study employed survey data collected in Hunan and Jiangxi in 2016. Independent variable data were obtained from publicly available sources. Bayesian-based geostatistics was used to build models with covariate fixed effects and spatial random effects to identify factors associated with the spatial distribution of infection. Prevalence of schistosomiasis was higher in Hunan (12.8%) than Jiangxi (2.6%). Spatial distribution of schistosomiasis varied at pixel level (0.1 × 0.1 km), and was significantly associated with distance to nearest waterbody (km, β = −1.158 95% credible interval [CrI]: −2.104, −0.116) in Hunan and temperature (°C, β = −4.359 95% CrI: −9.641, −0.055) in Jiangxi. The spatial distribution of schistosomiasis in Hunan and Jiangxi varied substantially and was significantly associated with distance to nearest waterbody. Prevalence of schistosomiasis decreased with increasing distance to nearest waterbody in Hunan, indicating that schistosomiasis control should target in iduals in close proximity to open water sources as they are at highest risk of infection.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-11-2021
Abstract: Multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) is a major global public health concern. However, there is a dearth of literature on whether MDR‐TB and its medications impact maternal and perinatal outcomes, and when such evidence exists the findings are conflicting. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to examine the impact of MDR‐TB and its medications during pregnancy on maternal and perinatal outcomes. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched from earliest to February 2020. Records were screened based on pre‐defined selection criteria and assessed for quality by two independent reviewers. A meta‐analysis was performed using the random effects model to calculate pooled prevalence for each outcome. Of the 72 records identified, 12 were included in the systematic review and meta‐analysis, consisting of 174 pregnant women with MDR‐TB and 110 adverse outcomes. Maternal death, pregnancy loss, preterm birth and low birthweight were the most common maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes reported in the studies. The overall pooled prevalence was 7.5% (95% CI 3.2–12.8) for maternal death, 10.6% (95% CI 6.0–16.3) for pregnancy loss, 12.9% (95% CI 0.0–38.0) for preterm birth and 23.7% (95% CI 17.0–31.0) for low birthweight. The findings suggest that MDR‐TB is associated with a high risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, but these should be interpreted cautiously because the evidence is largely preliminary. Adequately powered prospective cohort studies are urgently required to corroborate these findings. Multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis may increase the risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-02-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: ACM
Date: 27-05-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-07-2015
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-2023
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202308.0004.V1
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal distribution and identify TB risk factors in Ethiopia& #039 s Oromia region. Descriptive and spatiotemporal analyses were conducted. Bayesian spatiotemporal modeling was employed to identify covariates that accounted for variability and spatiotemporal distribution of TB. A total of 206,278 new pulmonary TB cases were reported in the Oromia region between 2018 and 2022, with the lowest annual TB case notification (96.93 per 100,000 population) reported in 2020 (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic) and the highest TB case notification (106.19 per 100,000 population) reported in 2019. Substantial spatiotemporal variations in the distribution of notified TB case notifications were observed at zonal and district levels with most of the hotspot areas detected in the northern and southern parts of the region. The spatiotemporal distribution of notified TB incidence was positively associated with different ecological variables. The findings of this study indicated that preventive measures considering socio-demographic and health system factors can be targeted to high-risk areas for effective control of TB in the Oromia region. Further studies are needed to develop effective strategies for reducing the burden of TB in hotspot areas.
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 05-2019
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-07-2020
DOI: 10.3390/TROPICALMED5030123
Abstract: Throughout history, pandemics of viral infections such as HIV, Ebola and Influenza have disrupted health care systems, including the prevention and control of endemic diseases. Such disruption has resulted in an increased burden of endemic diseases in post-pandemic periods. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could cause severe dysfunction in the prevention and control of tuberculosis (TB), the infectious disease that causes more deaths than any other, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of TB is high. The economic and health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the public health measures currently taken to stop the spread of the virus may have an impact on household TB transmission, treatment and diagnostic services, and TB prevention and control programs. Here, we provide an overview of the potential impact of COVID-19 on TB programs and disease burden, as well as possible strategies that could help to mitigate the impact.
Publisher: OMICS Publishing Group
Date: 2014
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Date: 16-10-2023
DOI: 10.1145/3622832
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-01-2017
DOI: 10.1111/TMI.12826
Abstract: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an emerging public health problem in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess MDR-TB treatment outcomes and determine predictors of poor treatment outcomes in north-west Ethiopia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using all MDR-TB patients who were enrolled at Gondar University Hospital since the establishment of the MDR-TB programme in 2010. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the predictors of time to poor treatment outcomes, which were defined as death or treatment failure. Of the 242 patients who had complete records, 131 (54%) were cured, 23 (9%) completed treatment, 31 (13%) died, four (2%) experienced treatment failure, 27 (11%) were lost to follow-up, six (2%) transferred out, and 20 (8%) were still on treatment at the time of analysis. The overall cumulative probability survival of the patients at the end of treatment (which was 24 months in duration) was 80% (95% CI: 70%, 87%). The proportion of patients with poor treatment outcomes increased over time from 6% per person-year (PY) during 2010-2012, to 12% per PY during 2013-2015. The independent predictors of time to poor treatment outcome were being anaemic [AHR = 4.2 95% CI: 1.1, 15.9] and being a farmer [AHR = 2.2 95% CI: 1.0, 4.9]. Overall, in north-west Ethiopia, the MDR-TB treatment success rate was high. However, poor treatment outcomes have gradually increased since 2012. Being a farmer and being anaemic were associated with poor treatment outcomes. It would be beneficial to assess other risk factors that might affect treatment outcomes such as co-infection with malaria, poverty and other socio-economic and biological risk factors.
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-01-2014
Publisher: ACM
Date: 27-05-2018
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 22-01-2020
Abstract: The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has examined the limitation of the principle of mutual trust in European arrest warrant (EAW) cases in a number of recent decisions. The court has found that when the executing judicial authority possesses information demonstrating that the requested person is at a real risk of violation of the right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment guaranteed in art 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, then the in idual should not be automatically surrendered. Instead, the proceedings should be postponed to obtain supplementary information or discontinued if the risk cannot be discounted. The ‘real risk’ test has also been extended to non-absolute rights, such as the right to a fair trial. However, the CJEU’s reasoning about the limitation of mutual trust is not yet fully formed in relation to certain aspects concerning the nature of fundamental rights and the EAW procedure. This article explores these gaps of understanding about the scope of the limitation on mutual trust in surrender cases and, in doing so, assesses the consistency of similar developments in the area of transfers of asylum seekers under the Dublin Regulation III.
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2017
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-06-2021
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a bacterial pathogen worldwide. China has the third highest TB burden in the world, with a high reported burden in Hunan Province (amongst others). This study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of TB and identify socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental drivers in Hunan Province, China. Numbers of reported cases of TB were obtained from the Tuberculosis Control Institute of Hunan Province, China. A wide range of covariates were collected from different sources, including from the Worldclim database, and the Hunan Bureau of Statistics. These variables were summarized at the county level and linked with TB notification data. Spatial clustering of TB was explored using Moran’s I statistic and the Getis–Ord statistic. Poisson regression models were developed with a conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior structure, and with posterior parameters estimated using a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation. A total of 323,340 TB cases were reported to the Hunan TB Control Institute from 2013 to 2018. The mean age of patients was 51.7 years (SD + 17.6 years). The majority of the patients were male (72.6%, n = 234,682) and had pulmonary TB (97.5%, n = 315,350). Of 319,825 TB patients with registered treatment outcomes, 306,107 (95.7%) patients had a successful treatment outcome. The annual incidence of TB decreased over time from 85.5 per 100,000 population in 2013 to 76.9 per 100,000 population in 2018. TB case numbers have shown seasonal variation, with the highest number of cases reported during the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Spatial clustering of TB incidence was observed at the county level, with hotspot areas detected in the west part of Hunan Province. The spatial clustering of TB incidence was significantly associated with low sunshine exposure (RR: 0.86 95% CrI: 0.74, 0.96) and a low prevalence of contraceptive use (RR: 0.88 95% CrI: 0.79, 0.98). Substantial spatial clustering and seasonality of TB incidence were observed in Hunan Province, with spatial patterns associated with environmental and health care factors. This research suggests that interventions could be more efficiently targeted at locations and times of the year with the highest transmission risk.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-044618
Abstract: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive evidence on risk factors for transmission, disease severity and COVID-19 related deaths in Africa. A systematic review has been conducted to synthesise existing evidence on risk factors affecting COVID-19 outcomes across Africa. Data were systematically searched from MEDLINE, Scopus, MedRxiv and BioRxiv. Studies for review were included if they were published in English and reported at least one risk factor and/or one health outcome. We included all relevant literature published up until 11 August 2020. We performed a systematic narrative synthesis to describe the available studies for each outcome. Data were extracted using a standardised Joanna Briggs Institute data extraction form. Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria of which four were exclusively on Africa and the remaining 11 papers had a global focus with some data from Africa. Higher rates of infection in Africa are associated with high population density, urbanisation, transport connectivity, high volume of tourism and international trade, and high level of economic and political openness. Limited or poor access to healthcare are also associated with higher COVID-19 infection rates. Older people and in iduals with chronic conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis and anaemia experience severe forms COVID-19 leading to hospitalisation and death. Similarly, high burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high prevalence of tobacco consumption and low levels of expenditure on health and low levels of global health security score contribute to COVID-19 related deaths. Demographic, institutional, ecological, health system and politico-economic factors influenced the spectrum of COVID-19 infection, severity and death. We recommend multidisciplinary and integrated approaches to mitigate the identified factors and strengthen effective prevention strategies.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-11-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-022-24024-9
Abstract: Climatic conditions play a key role in the transmission and pathophysiology of respiratory tract infections, either directly or indirectly. However, their impact on the COVID-19 pandemic propagation is yet to be studied. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of climatic factors such as temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, sunshine duration, and wind speed on the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data on confirmed COVID-19 cases were obtained from the National Data Management Center at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute for the period 10th March 2020 to 31st October 2021. Data for climatic factors were obtained from the Ethiopia National Meteorology Agency. The correlation between daily confirmed COVID-19 cases and climatic factors was measured using the Spearman rank correlation test. The log-link negative binomial regression model was used to fit the effect of climatic factors on COVID-19 transmission, from lag 0 to lag 14 days. During the study period, a total of 245,101 COVID-19 cases were recorded in Addis Ababa, with a median of 337 new cases per day and a maximum of 1903 instances per day. A significant correlation between COVID-19 cases and humidity was observed with a 1% increase in relative humidity associated with a 1.1% [IRRs (95%CI) 0.989, 95% (0.97–0.99)] and 1.2% [IRRs (95%CI) 0.988, (0.97–0.99)] decrease in COVID-19 cases for 4 and 5 lag days prior to detection, respectively. The highest increase in the effect of wind speed and rainfall on COVID-19 was observed at 14 lag days prior to detection with IRRs of 1.85 (95%CI 1.26–2.74) and 1.078 (95%CI 1.04–1.12), respectively. The lowest IRR was 1.109 (95%CI 0.93–1.31) and 1.007 (95%CI 0.99–1.02) both in lag 0, respectively. The findings revealed that none of the climatic variables influenced the number of COVID-19 cases on the day of case detection (lag 0), and that daily average temperature and sunshine duration were not significantly linked with COVID-19 risk across the full lag period ( p 0.05). Climatic factors such as humidity, rainfall, and wind speed influence the transmission of COVID-19 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. COVID-19 cases have shown seasonal variations with the highest number of cases reported during the rainy season and the lowest number of cases reported during the dry season. These findings suggest the need to design strategies for the prevention and control of COVID-19 before the rainy seasons.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 13-02-2020
DOI: 10.1136/OEMED-2019-106013
Abstract: This paper presents detailed analysis of the global and regional burden of chronic respiratory disease arising from occupational airborne exposures, as estimated in the Global Burden of Disease 2016 study. The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to occupational exposure to particulate matter, gases and fumes, and secondhand smoke, and the burden of asthma resulting from occupational exposure to asthmagens, was estimated using the population attributable fraction (PAF), calculated using exposure prevalence and relative risks from the literature. PAFs were applied to the number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for COPD and asthma. Pneumoconioses were estimated directly from cause of death data. Age-standardised rates were based only on persons aged 15 years and above. The estimated PAFs (based on DALYs) were 17% (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 14%–20%) for COPD and 10% (95% UI 9%–11%) for asthma. There were estimated to be 519 000 (95% UI 441,000–609,000) deaths from chronic respiratory disease in 2016 due to occupational airborne risk factors (COPD: 460,100 [95% UI 382,000–551,000] asthma: 37,600 [95% UI 28,400–47,900] pneumoconioses: 21,500 [95% UI 17,900–25,400]. The equivalent overall burden estimate was 13.6 million (95% UI 11.9–15.5 million) DALYs (COPD: 10.7 [95% UI 9.0–12.5] million asthma: 2.3 [95% UI 1.9–2.9] million pneumoconioses: 0.58 [95% UI 0.46–0.67] million). Rates were highest in males older persons and mainly in Oceania, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and decreased from 1990 to 2016. Workplace exposures resulting in COPD, asthma and pneumoconiosis continue to be important contributors to the burden of disease in all regions of the world. This should be reducible through improved prevention and control of relevant exposures.
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 07-03-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1401928/V1
Abstract: This study aimed to assess socio-demographic correlates of unhealthy lifestyles among adolescents and adults in Ethiopia. A population-based national cross-sectional survey using the WHO NCD STEPS instruments was conducted. Data were collected in 2015, from a total of 9,800 participants aged between 15 and 69 years. Unhealthy lifestyle scores (0 [most healthy] to 5 [most unhealthy]) were determined based on diet (daily fruit and vegetable consumption), smoking status, overweight/obesity, alcohol intake, and physical activity. A co-occurrence of 3 or more unhealthy lifestyles was considered as an unhealthy lifestyle. The study found that 98.2% of participants had low consumptions of fruit and vegetables, 5.4% smoked tobacco, 15.0% consumed excessive alcohol, 66.0% had inadequate physical activity and 2.3% were obese. One in eight (13%) participants were having three or more unhealthy lifestyles. We found that male sex, urban residence, older age, being married or living in common-law, and higher income were associated with unhealthy lifestyles. Participants with higher educational status had lower odds of unhealthy lifestyles. Socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, age, marital status, residence, income, and educational status were correlated with in iduals’ lifestyles. Tailored interventions that target specific socio-demographic groups are required to address the increasing burden of unhealthy lifestyles in Ethiopia.
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 08-2020
Start Date: 2017
End Date: 02-2020
Amount: $360,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2023
End Date: 06-2027
Amount: $892,310.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2021
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $300,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity