In 1991 a computerized, comprehensive epidemiological surveillance system was developed to monitor health trends in approximately 25,000 acutely displaced Kurds in Nowsood and Saryas refugee camps, ...Bakhtaran region, Northwestern Iran. In addition, community-based surveys offered information unobtainable from health facilities. Weekly population movements, attack rates, point-prevalence estimates, and case fatality ratios were calculated, and the data were analysed and compared. The overall crude mortality rate (CMR) in the camps under study was still 9 times higher than the reported CMR for Iraq. Health problems with very low rates (less than 1.0/1,000 population/week) included the triad of measles, meningitis and tetanus. However, morbidity for the most common conditions (acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, skin infections, eye diseases and, finally, typhoid fever) was shown to increase at the end of the intervention, highlighting that the pressure of repatriation on refugees made them progressively worse. This article concludes that epidemiological surveillance systems should be implemented during mass-migrations in developing countries also in post-emergency settings. Furthermore, surveillance appears to be indispensable in order for the international agencies to keep abreast of events and to safeguard human rights when international attention subsides.
Many parts of Europe face increasing challenges managing wildfires. Although wildfire is an integral part of certain ecosystems, fires in many places are becoming larger and more intense, driven ...largely by climate change, land abandonment, and changes in fuel management with important socioeconomic, environmental, and ecosystem services consequences for Europe. In order to envision a comprehensive fire risk mitigation strategy for Europe, a spatial assessment of opportunities to manage fuels at the landscape-scale is needed. Our study explored the suitability of three land management strategies (LMS)—herbivory, mechanical fuel removal, and prescribed burn—which can create more heterogenous fuelscapes, thereby reducing an element of fire risk. We created suitability maps for each of the LMS using adoption factors identified in a systematic literature review (n = 123). We compared these maps with areas of historical fire occurrence as a proxy for fire risk to prioritize key areas for intervention. We found that over a quarter of Europe was suitable for multiple LMS within areas of greater fire risk, creating opportunities for concurrent and synergistic use of the strategies. Options were more limited in areas of southern Europe, where prescribed burn was found to be uniquely viable amongst the LMS evaluated. Opportunities were also restricted in some areas of high fire risk in northern Europe, where herbivory was found to be the only suitable LMS. Our findings take a wide-view of fuel management to target landscape-scale decision making focused on reducing fire risk. However, many other factors must be taken into account to successfully manage fuels at local scales, including the socio-cultural appropriateness of the LMS, the viability of incentive schemes, and possible trade-offs with other management goals, such as carbon storage and biodiversity.
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•We mapped the suitability of three Land Management Strategies (LMS) which can affect fire risk in Europe•Over a quarter of Europe was found to be suitable for multiple LMS in areas of historical fire occurrence•Parts of southern Europe were found to be uniquely suitable for prescribed burn•Local context, incentive structures, and ecosystem service trade-offs must also be considered•The results serve as a basis for policy envisioning and resource prioritization for fire risk in Europe
According to data sent to Bamako in March 1998 for the annual review of National Programs for the Eradication of the Guinea Worm (NPEGV), dracunculiasis was observed in 211 villages in Burkina Faso ...in 1997. Of this total, 110 (52 p. 100) were new villages not previously reporting dracunculiasis. A study focusing on these new villages was carried out in June 1998. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of the disease monitoring system and determine if endemicity was spreading to new villages. A twofold method was used first to analyze the data used in the geographic information section of the disease monitoring system and second to test the validity of this data in field surveys. Findings showed the actual number of new villages showing endemicity could be reduced from 46 p. 100 to 12 p. 100 since 67 p. 100 of the new villages had in fact previously reported endemicity but had been wrongly eliminated from monitoring records. This probably long-standing problem has been uncovered with a decrease in the number of villages showing endemicity and an increase in prevention activities. In addition this study identified several confounding factors and defects in disease monitoring and data reporting techniques. Based on this study, several recommendations were made to improve the quality of the disease monitoring system.
Tandis que la soi-disant « crise des réfugiés » touchait l’Europe à partir de l’été 2015, des journalistes, des chercheurs, des réalisateurs, des photographes et des militants en majorité européens ...ont convergé vers la ville côtière tunisienne de Zarzis. Tous souhaitaient témoigner de l’existence d’un lieu de sépulture mis en place pour les victimes des frontières de l’Union. Tous ont été accueillis par des acteurs locaux, et en particulier par un ancien pêcheur du nom de Chamseddine, qui s’occupe de ces enterrements depuis des années. Présenté à travers l’engagement charitable d’un homme cherchant à offrir un peu de dignité aux personnes mortes à la frontière liquide de l’Union, ces récits construisent le cimetière comme un lieu incarnant à la fois les effets mortels des politiques migratoires européennes et la compassion des citoyens ordinaires face à l’horreur. Différents groupes et individus se sont également organisés pour apporter une aide matérielle au cimetière. Dans cette étude fondée sur un travail ethnographique mené à Zarzis entre 2015 et 2017, je m’intéresse aux actes conceptuels et pratiques de fabrique du cimetière qui l’ont transformé en symbole, suscitant des discours moraux et politiques d’empathie et d’espoir, mais également de culpabilité et de responsabilité, qui mettent en lumière les héritages coloniaux et néocoloniaux de la « crise des réfugiés ».
A crucial role of segmental duplications (SDs) of the human genome has been shown in chromosomal rearrangements associated with several genomic disorders. Limited knowledge is yet available on the ...molecular processes resulting in chromosomal rearrangements in tumors. The t(9;22)(q34;q11) rearrangement causing the 5'BCR/3'ABL gene formation has been detected in more than 90% of cases with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In 10-18% of patients with CML, genomic deletions were detected on der(9) chromosome next to translocation breakpoints. The molecular mechanism triggering the t(9;22) and deletions on der(9) is still speculative. Here we report a molecular cytogenetic analysis of a large series of patients with CML with der(9) deletions, revealing an evident breakpoint clustering in two regions located proximally to ABL and distally to BCR, containing an interchromosomal duplication block (SD_9/22). The deletions breakpoints distribution appeared to be strictly related to the distance from the SD_9/22. Moreover, bioinformatic analyses of the regions surrounding the SD_9/22 revealed a high Alu frequency and a poor gene density, reflecting genomic instability and susceptibility to rearrangements. On the basis of our results, we propose a three-step model for t(9;22) formation consisting of alignment of chromosomes 9 and 22 mediated by SD_9/22, spontaneous chromosome breakages and misjoining of DNA broken ends.
Abstract Recently it has been demonstrated that ten-eleven-translocation-2 ( TET2 ) gene alterations may represent a crucial event in the pathogenesis of various myeloid malignancies. To date, the ...loss of TET2 function has been solely ascribed to mutations in the gene coding region. In this study, we report a chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) case showing a TET2 single copy partial deletion associated to a t(4;6;11) rearrangement, appearing during the progression of the disease and responsible for a decreased TET2 gene expression. A putative role for TET2 haploinsufficiency in this patient's CML progression is discussed.
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