Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2007. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1943.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1943.

Um estudo transversal foi conduzido no perÃodo de janeiro de 1996 a janeiro de 1998 para investigar os conhecimentos e atitudes das mÃes e pediatras em relaÃÃo à febre e as formas de tratamento que os mesmos adotam. O estudo foi realizado junto: A) 212 mÃes de crianÃas menores de seis anos com episÃdios de febre levadas a duas emergÃncias pediÃtricas de Fortaleza, uma pÃblica e outra privada; B) 317 mÃes em seus domicÃlios; C) 96 pediatras em seus locais de trabalho. Das mÃes entrevistadas no domicilio 34,0% delas consideram a febre um sintoma e 20,2% uma doenÃa. No entanto, para 34% dos pediatras a febre à um sinal de alerta e para 302% deles a febre à sà uma elevaÃÃo da temperatura do corpo. A grande maioria das mÃes do domicilio e dos pediatras acreditam que a febre pode causar algum problema na crianÃa, principalmente convulsÃo (60,5% e 82,4%, respectivamente. As principais razÃes que os levam a tratar a febre à a temperatura superior a 38,0ÂC (38,5%) e o risco de convulsÃo febril (19,2%). O metamizol e o paracetamol foram os antitÃrmicos mais usados pelas mÃes das emergÃncias (51,0% e 29,5%, respectivamente) e pelas mÃes no domicilio (62,9% e 21 ,4%, respectivamente). Estes antitÃrmicos, tambÃm foram os mais recomendados pelos pediatras, sendo o metamizol mais prescrito no serviÃo pÃblico (58,8%) e enquanto o preferido no serviÃo privado foi o paracetamol (52,4%). A prevalÃncia de antitÃrmicos (57%) nas prescriÃÃes pediÃtricas nas duas emergÃncias pediÃtricas foi considerada elevada. O estudo mostra o uso indiscriminado de antitÃrmicos pelas mÃes à reforÃado pela orientaÃÃo dos pediatras e ainda, indica um conflito entre conhecimentos e percepÃÃes das mÃes e dos pediatras sobre a febre e seu manejo. Isto indica a necessidade de uma intervenÃÃo educacional para as mÃes que inclua os aspectos culturais para contribuir para a reduÃÃo do uso de antitÃrmicos. AlÃm disso hà a necessidade de atualizaÃÃo dos pediatras para que se atinja entre os mesmos um consenso no manejo da febre baseado no conhecimento cientÃfico atual sobre o assunto no momento. / A cross-sectional study was carried out from January 1996 to January 1998 to investigate the perception, attitude and knowledge of mothers and paediatrics about fever, their harmful and their treatment. Data were collected for the study by interviewing: A) 212 mothers who brought their children under 6 years of age to two emergencies services (private and public); B) 317 mothers in their households: C) 96 paediatricians who work in Fortaleza. Out of the 212 mothers interviewed in domicile some 34.0% defined fever as a symptom and some 20.2% of them considered fever a disease. However, to be some 34.0% of the paediatricians define fever as a sign whilst some 30.2% of them stated that fever is a increase of the body temperature Most of the mothers interviewed in domicile (97.8%) and paediatricians (83.0%) believe that fever may cause some health problem, mainly convulsion (60.5% and 82.4%, respectively). The mothers in domicile (26.7%) start some kind of treatment to reduce the body temperature when it reached 38.5ÂC. The paediatricians opinion differ from the mothers opinions. The main reasons to treat the fever is the temperatures above 38.0ÂC (38.5%) and risk of febrile convulsion. Metamizole and paracetamol are the antithermics more commonly used by mothers in domicile (51.0% and 29.5%, respectively) and by the mothers who came to emergencies (62.9% and 21.4%.respectively). In the two emergencies the metamizole and paracetamol were more prescribed (52.0%). Metamizole is more often prescribed in public service and paracetamol in private. The study indicates that there is a need to define an educational intervention for mothers in order to reduce the indiscriminate use of antithermics. it also points out need of up dating paediatricians knowledge so that a consensus can be achieved on the fever treatment, based on current scientific knowledge.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc Agric (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Rift Valley fever (RVF) belongs to the group of viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), most of which are zoonotic diseases causing outbreaks in animals and humans all over Africa. In the absence of haemorrhagic or specific organ manifestations, these diseases are clinically difficult to diagnose. Rapid laboratory confirmation of cases is therefore essential for timely execution of supportive treatment, appropriate case management, infection control, and tracing of contacts. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a mosquito-borne pathogen, is responsible for high mortality rates and abortion in domestic ruminants, resulting in significant socio-economic losses. Furthermore, the virus is potentially infectious by aerosol, can replicate in a wide range of mosquito species and poses a bioweapon threat. The recent spread of the virus outside of the African continent, demonstrates its ability to move northwards to RVF free regions, e.g. to Europe and Northern America. Such fears fuel the international demand for reliable and validated diagnostic tools for rapid diagnosis of RVF. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and accurate molecular tool for the detection of RVFV. A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (LAMP) targeting the L segment of RVFV, was developed and evaluated. The assay proved to be highly specific and able to detect RVFV strains representing the genetic spectrum of the virus. Furthermore, the assay did not amplify the RNA of other genetically and antigenically related phleboviruses. The sensitivity of the assay was compared to that of a previously published TaqMan RTD-PCR protocol and found to be equal. Similarly, the assay demonstrated very high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in various clinical human and animal specimens, collected during natural outbreaks of the disease in Africa. The detection of specific viral genome targets in positive clinical specimens was achieved in less than 30 minutes. As a highly accurate, rapid and very simple nucleic acid detection format, the RT-LAMP assay has the potential to be used in less well equipped laboratories in Africa. The assay format can be adapted to a portable device that can be utilized during RVF outbreaks in remote areas, and can be a valuable tool for differential diagnosis of VHFs. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

The goal of this thesis is to develop an algorithm to process infrared images and achieve automatic identification of moving subjects with fever. The identification is based on two main features: the distinction between the geometry of a human face and other objects in the field of view of the camera, and the temperature of the radiating object. Infrared thermography is a remote sensing technique used to measure temperatures based on emitted infrared radiation. Applications include fever screening in major public places such as airports and hospitals. Current accepted practice of screening requires people to stay in a line and temperature measurements are carried out for one person at a time. However in the case of mass screening of moving people the accuracy of the measurements is still under investigation. An algorithm constituting of image processing to threshold objects based on the temperature, template matching and hypothesis testing is proposed to achieve automatic identification of fever subjects. The algorithm was first tested on training data to obtain a threshold value (used to discriminate between face and non face shapes) corresponding to a false detection rate of 5%, which in turn corresponds to 85% probability of detection using Neyman-Pearson criterion. By testing the algorithm on several simulated and experimental images (which reflect relevant scenarios characterizing crowded places) it is observed that it can be beneficially implemented to introduce automation in the process of detecting moving subjects with fever.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Georgia State University, 2007. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 319-350). Original electric version created as PDF file.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus which has the ability to infect a large variety of animals including humans in Africa and Arabian Peninsula. The abortion rate among these animals are close to 100%, and young animals develop severe disease which often are lethal. In humans, Rift Valley fever (RVF) presents in most cases as a mild illness with influenza-like symptoms. However, in about 8% of the cases it progresses into a more severe disease with a high case fatality rate. Since there is such a high abortion rate among infected animals, a link between human miscarriage and RVFV has been suggested, but never proven. We could in paper I for the first time show an association between acute RVFV infection and miscarriage in humans. We observed an increase in pregnant women arriving at the Port Sudan Hospital with fever of unknown origin, and several of the patients experienced miscarriage. When we analysed their blood samples for several viral diseases we found that many had an acute RVFV infection and of these, 54% experienced a miscarriage. The odds of having a miscarriage was 7 times higher for RVFV patients compared to the RVFV negative women of which only 12% miscarried. These results indicated that RVFV infection could be a contributing factor to miscarriage. RVFV is an enveloped virus containing the viral glycoproteins n and c (Gn and Gc respectively), where Gn most likely is responsible for the initial cellular contact. The protein DC-SIGN on dendritic cells and the glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate has been suggested as cellular receptors for RVFV, however other mechanisms are probably also involved in binding and entry. Charge is a driving force for molecular interaction and has been shown to be important for cellular attachment of several viruses, and in paper II we could show that when the charge around the cells was altered, the infection was affected. We also showed that Gn most likely has a positive charge at a physiological pH. When we added negatively charged molecules to the viral particles before infection, we observed a decreased infection efficiency, which we also observed after removal of carbohydrate structures from the cell surface. Our results suggested that the cellular interaction partner for initial attachment is a negatively charged carbohydrate. Further investigations into the mechanisms of RVFV cellular interactions has to be undertaken in order to understand, and ultimately prevent, infection and disease. There is currently no vaccine approved for human use and no specific treatments for RVF, so there is a great need for developing safe effective drugs targeting this virus. We designed a whole-cell based high-throughput screen (HTS) assay which we used to screen libraries of small molecular compounds for anti-RVFV properties. After dose-response and toxicity analysis of the initial hits, we identified six safe and effective inhibitors of RVFV infection that with further testing could become drug candidates for treatment of RVF. This study demonstrated the application of HTS using a whole-cell virus replication reporter gene assay as an effective method to identify novel compounds with potential antiviral activity against RVFV.