The last two decades progresses have led Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) to be a competitive p... more The last two decades progresses have led Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) to be a competitive practical approach to solve a wide range of industrial and academic problems. Thanks to these advances, the size and difficulty of the SAT instances have grown significantly. The demand for more computational power led to the creation of new computer architectures and paradigms composed by multiple machines connected by a network to act as one machine, like clusters and grids. However, extra computing power is not coming anymore from higher processor frequencies, but rather from a growing number of computing cores and processors. It becomes clear that exploiting this new architecture is essential for the evolution of SAT solvers. Search space splitting is probably the most commonly used strategy to explore the parallelism provided by the search space. However, it is not clear how to find the relevant set of variables to divide the search space. This paper extends a method based on the VSIDS heuristic to find the initial set of partition variables. A drawback of search space splitting is load balancing. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of a hybrid approach between search space splitting and portfolio. Preliminary results show that both these techniques improve the performance of the solver and reveal that combining search space splitting and portfolio approaches can lead to better results.
With the rapidly growing importance of multicast in the Internet there have been recent proposal,... more With the rapidly growing importance of multicast in the Internet there have been recent proposal, such as RFC 2627, for scalable key distribution such that when the nth user joins or leaves a group, broadcasting Θ(log n) encrypted messages is sufficient to redistribute keys. In this paper, we show that this bound is also necessary for a general class of key distribution schemes and under different assumptions on user capabilities. While key distribution schemes can trade addition cost for deletion cost, for any scheme there is a sequence of 2n insertion and deletions whose total cost is Ω(n log n). Thus, any key distribution scheme has a worst-case cost of Ω(log n) either for adding or for deleting a user.
The spatial and temporal dynamics of diploid chromosome organization, microtubule arrangement, an... more The spatial and temporal dynamics of diploid chromosome organization, microtubule arrangement, and the state of the nuclear envelope have been analyzed in syncytial blastoderm embryos of
& Setting perceptual expectations can be based on different sources of information that determine... more & Setting perceptual expectations can be based on different sources of information that determine which functional networks will be involved in implementing preparatory topdown influences and dealing with situations in which expectations are violated. The goal of the present study was to investigate and directly compare brain activations triggered by violating expectations within two different task contexts. In the serial prediction task, participants monitored ordered perceptual sequences for predefined sequential deviants. In contrast, the target detection task entailed a presentation of stimuli which had to be monitored for predefined nonsequential deviants. Detection of sequential deviants triggered an increase of activity in premotor and cerebellar components of the ''standard'' sequencing network and activations in additional frontal areas initially not involved in sequencing. This pattern of activity reflects the detection of a mismatch between the expected and presented stimuli, updating of the underlying sequence representation (i.e., forward model), and elaboration of the violation. In contrast, target detection elicited activations in posterior temporal and parietal areas, reflecting an increase in perceptual processing evoked by the nonsequential deviant. The obtained results suggest that distinct functional networks involved in detecting deviants in different contexts reflect the origin and the nature of expectations being violated. &
Identification of children who need antimalarial treatment is difficult in settings where confirm... more Identification of children who need antimalarial treatment is difficult in settings where confirmatory laboratory testing is not available, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa. The current national policy in Malawi is to treat all children with fever, usually defined as the mother's report of fever in the child, for presumed malaria. To assess this policy and to find out whether a better clinical case definition could be devised, we studied acutely ill children presenting to two hospital outpatient departments in Malawi. The parent or guardian of each enrolled child (n = 1124) was asked a standard series of questions about the symptoms and duration of the child's illness. Each child was examined, axillary and rectal temperatures and blood haemoglobin concentrations were measured, and a giemsastained thick smear was examined for malaria parasites. Logistic regression procedures were used to identify clinical predictors of parasitaemia. High temperature (37.7 degrees C or above), nailbed pallor, enlarged spleen, and being seen at one of the clinics rather than the other were associated with an increased risk of malaria parasitaemia in univariate analyses. A revised malaria case definition of rectal temperature of 37.7 degrees C or higher, splenomegaly, or nailbed pallor was 85% sensitive in identifying parasitaemic children and 41% specific; the corresponding sensitivity and specificity for the nationally recommended definition that equates mother's history of fever with malaria were 93% and 21%. The revised case definition had 89% sensitivity in identifying parasitaemic children with haemoglobin concentration below 80 g/L and 89% sensitivity in identifying children with parasite density greater than 10,000/microL, characteristics that indicate a clear need for antimalarial treatment. These results suggest that better clinical definitions are feasible, that splenomegaly and pallor are helpful in identifying children with malaria, and that much overtreatment of children without parasitaemia could be avoided.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses within the herpes group have recently been shown to induc... more Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses within the herpes group have recently been shown to induce Fc receptors in infected monolayers. We have examined the possibility that such receptors might facilitate the adherence of antibody-coated bacteria to CMV-infected cells. To do this, we infected confluent human embryonic lung (HEL) cell monolayers with CMV (strain AD 169) and then used a double radiolabel assay to measure adherence of Escherichia coli 06 to both infected and control monolayers. We examined infected monolayers 48 h after viral seeding, at which time 30-60% of the cells exhibited characteristic cytopathic changes. We compared the adherence of untreated E. coli 06 with the adherence of E. coli 06 that had been preincubated for 1 h at 37 degrees C with either nonimmune or anti-E. coli 06 antiserum. Pretreatment of the E. coli 06 with specific antiserum significantly enhanced its adherence to CMV-infected, but not to control, monolayers (P less than 0.01 by the Mann-Whitney U test). We did not see such enhancement when we used anti-E. coli 06 antiserum to treat a nontypable E. coli. The augmented adherence of antibody-coated E. coli 06 to CMV-infected monolayers was abrogated by pretreating the monolayers with nonimmune serum or purified Fc fragments, but not by pretreating with IgA, IgM, or 1 mM trypan blue. Preincubating HEL cell monolayers with 100 U/ml human leukocyte interferon for 72 h at 37 degrees C did not affect the adherence of antibody-coated E. coli 06 to the monolayers. To determine if antibody-coated bacteria that adhered to the surface of CMV-infected monolayers might themselves act as receptors for microorganisms with Fc binding potential, we compared the adherence of Cowan strain Staphylococcus aureus to CMV-infected and control monolayers that had been preincubated with antibody-coated E. coli 06. The S. aureus adhered significantly better to the former monolayers (P less than 0.001). These results illustrate a previously unrecognized mechanism by which certain herpesviruses might enhance the adherence of secondary pathogens to nonphagocytic cell populations. Such a mechanism, if active in vivo, might facilitate the colonization of mucosal surfaces by these pathogenic microorganisms, and in this way might contribute to both the reported predisposition of CMV-infected patients to secondary infections and to the high prevalence of S. aureus in the vaginal flora of women with histories of genital herpes.
Acknowledgments This study was prepared by the Demographic Institute, Faculty of Economics, Unive... more Acknowledgments This study was prepared by the Demographic Institute, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, and was made possible through the Women’s Studies Project at Family Health International with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, contract number 4407 (revised January 26, 1996). The authors would like to thank Dr. N. Haidy A. Pasay, the Director of the Demographic Institute, for his support to conduct this study. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Prof. Aris Ananta, and Prof. I.G.N. Agung for their statistical advice, Dr. Jack Molyneaux and Mr. Sugiharso for their assistance in the IFLS data management, and Ms. Sutji Rochani for her inputs in developing the proposal and interview guidelines for the qualitative study. Thanks to friends at Yayasan Kusuma Buana, especially Dr. Firman Lubis and Ms. Shita Mumpuningdyah,who provided support and training facilities to strengthen analysis of the in- depth interview. We would also like to thank Dr. Anke Niehof fromWageningen,Agricultural University in the
Background More than 3·5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute low... more Background More than 3·5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory-tract infection every year. We undertook a randomised controlled trial to assess the effect of handwashing promotion with soap on the incidence of acute respiratory infection, impetigo, and diarrhoea.
Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of point of use water treatment with flocculent-disinfe... more Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of point of use water treatment with flocculent-disinfectant on reducing diarrhoea and the additional benefit of promoting hand washing with soap.Methods The study was conducted in squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan, where diarrhoea is a leading cause of childhood death. Interventions were randomly assigned to 47 neighbourhoods. Households in 10 neighbourhoods received diluted bleach and a water vessel; nine neighbourhoods received soap and were encouraged to wash hands; nine neighbourhoods received flocculent-disinfectant water treatment and a water vessel; 10 neighbourhoods received disinfectant-disinfectant water treatment and soap and were encouraged to wash hands; and nine neighbourhoods were followed as controls. Field workers visited households at least once a week from April to December 2003 to promote use of the interventions and to collect data on diarrhoea.Results Study participants in control neighbourhoods had diarrhoea on 5.2% of days. Compared to controls, participants living in intervention neighbourhoods had a lower prevalence of diarrhoea: 55% (95% CI 17%, 80%) lower in bleach and water vessel neighbourhoods, 51% (95% CI 12%, 76%) lower in hand washing promotion with soap neighbourhoods, 64% lower (95% CI 29%, 90%) in disinfectant-disinfectant neighbourhoods, and 55% (95% CI 18%, 80%) lower in disinfectant-disinfectant plus hand washing with soap neighbourhoods.Conclusions With an intense community-based intervention and supplies provided free of cost, each of the home-based interventions significantly reduced diarrhoea. There was no benefit by combining hand washing promotion with water treatment.Objectifs Evaluer l'efficacité du traitement de l'eau au point d'utilisation avec un désinfectant floculant sur la réduction des diarrhées et le bénéfice additionnel de la promotion du lavage des mains.Méthodes l’étude a été conduite dans les installations d'habitations de fortune de Karachi au Pakistan où la diarrhée est la cause principale de mortalité infantile. Les interventions ont été assignées de façon randomisée à 47 quartiers. Dans 10 quartiers, les familles ont reçu de l'eau de javel diluée et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant pour le traitement de l'eau et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 10 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant et du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. 9 quartiers ont été suivis comme contrôles. Les agents de terrain ont visité chaque famille au moins une fois par semaine, d'avril à décembre 2003 pour promouvoir l'utilisation des interventions et pour collecter des données sur la diarrhée.Résultats Les participants dans les quartiers contrôles avaient la diarrhée sur 5,2% des jours. Comparés au contrôles, les participants des quartiers recevant l'intervention avaient une prévalence de diarrhée plus faible repartie comme suit: 55% (IC95%: 17–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu l'eau de javel et des centenaires, 51% (IC95%: 12–76) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu la promotion du lavage des mains, 64% (IC95%: 29–90) dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant et 55% (IC95%: 18–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant en plus de savon pour le lavage des mains.Conclusion Avec une forte intervention basée sur la communauté et des moyens procurés sans charge, chacune des interventions a entraîné une réduction significative de la diarrhée. Il n'y avait pas de bénéfice supplément en combinant la promotion du lavage des mains et le traitement de l'eau.Objectifs Evaluer l'efficacité du traitement de l'eau au point d'utilisation avec un désinfectant floculant sur la réduction des diarrhées et le bénéfice additionnel de la promotion du lavage des mains.Méthodes l’étude a été conduite dans les installations d'habitations de fortune de Karachi au Pakistan où la diarrhée est la cause principale de mortalité infantile. Les interventions ont été assignées de façon randomisée à 47 quartiers. Dans 10 quartiers, les familles ont reçu de l'eau de javel diluée et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant pour le traitement de l'eau et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 10 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant et du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. 9 quartiers ont été suivis comme contrôles. Les agents de terrain ont visité chaque famille au moins une fois par semaine, d'avril à décembre 2003 pour promouvoir l'utilisation des interventions et pour collecter des données sur la diarrhée.Résultats Les participants dans les quartiers contrôles avaient la diarrhée sur 5,2% des jours. Comparés au contrôles, les participants des quartiers recevant l'intervention avaient une prévalence de diarrhée plus faible repartie comme suit: 55% (IC95%: 17–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu l'eau de javel et des centenaires, 51% (IC95%: 12–76) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu la promotion du lavage des mains, 64% (IC95%: 29–90) dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant et 55% (IC95%: 18–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant en plus de savon pour le lavage des mains.Conclusion Avec une forte intervention basée sur la communauté et des moyens procurés sans charge, chacune des interventions a entraîné une réduction significative de la diarrhée. Il n'y avait pas de bénéfice supplément en combinant la promotion du lavage des mains et le traitement de l'eau.Objetivos Evaluar la efectividad del tratar el agua con desinfectante floculado en la reducción de la diarrea, así como los beneficios adicionales en la promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Métodos El estudio fue conducido en asentamientos ilegales de Karachi, Pakistán, en los que la diarrea es la principal causa de mortalidad infantil. Las intervenciones fueron asignadas aleatoriamente en 47 barrios. Las casas de 10 barrios recibieron lejía diluida y un recipiente para agua; en 9 barrios se entregó jabón y se les animó a que se lavasen las manos; en otros 9 barrios se entregó desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y un recipiente para agua; 10 barrios recibieron desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y jabón, y se les animó a que se lavaran las manos; y 9 barrios fueron seguidos como controles. Los trabajadores de campo visitaron las casas al menos una vez por semana, entre Abril y Diciembre del 2003, para promover el uso de la intervención y para recolectar datos sobre diarreas.Resultados Los participantes de los barrios controles tuvieron diarrea en un 5.2% de los días. Comparado con los controles, los participantes que vivían en uno de los barrios en los que se intervino tuvieron una menor prevalencia de diarrea: 55% (95% IC 17%, 80%) menos en los barrios en los que se entregó lejía y un recipiente para el agua, 51% (95% IC 12%, 76%) menos en los barrios en los que se promovió el lavado de manos con jabón, 64% menos (95% IC 29%, 90%) en los barrios con desinfectante floculado, y 55% (95% IC 18%, 80%) menos en los barrios con desinfectante floculado más promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Conclusiones Con una intervención comunitaria intensiva y suministros gratuitos, cada una de las Intervenciones redujo la diarrea de forma significativa. No se halló beneficio en combinar la promoción del lavado de manos con el tratamiento del agua.Objetivos Evaluar la efectividad del tratar el agua con desinfectante floculado en la reducción de la diarrea, así como los beneficios adicionales en la promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Métodos El estudio fue conducido en asentamientos ilegales de Karachi, Pakistán, en los que la diarrea es la principal causa de mortalidad infantil. Las intervenciones fueron asignadas aleatoriamente en 47 barrios. Las casas de 10 barrios recibieron lejía diluida y un recipiente para agua; en 9 barrios se entregó jabón y se les animó a que se lavasen las manos; en otros 9 barrios se entregó desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y un recipiente para agua; 10 barrios recibieron desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y jabón, y se les animó a que se lavaran las manos; y 9 barrios fueron seguidos como controles. Los trabajadores de campo visitaron las casas al menos una vez por semana, entre Abril y Diciembre del 2003, para promover el uso de la intervención y para recolectar datos sobre diarreas.Resultados Los participantes de los barrios controles tuvieron diarrea en un 5.2% de los días. Comparado con los controles, los participantes que vivían en uno de los barrios en los que se intervino tuvieron una menor prevalencia de diarrea: 55% (95% IC 17%, 80%) menos en los barrios en los que se entregó lejía y un recipiente para el agua, 51% (95% IC 12%, 76%) menos en los barrios en los que se promovió el lavado de manos con jabón, 64% menos (95% IC 29%, 90%) en los barrios con desinfectante floculado, y 55% (95% IC 18%, 80%) menos en los barrios con desinfectante floculado más promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Conclusiones Con una intervención comunitaria intensiva y suministros gratuitos, cada una de las Intervenciones redujo la diarrea de forma significativa. No se halló beneficio en combinar la promoción del lavado de manos con el tratamiento del agua.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2007
The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and hi... more The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) was evaluated. Parents of six groups of adolescents (n = 46, 61% male, mean age 14.6) completed questionnaires immediately before and after the 12-week group. Parents and adolescents were surveyed regarding their experience with the group. Significant pre- to post-treatment gains were found on measures of both social competence and problem behaviors associated with AS/HFA. Effect sizes ranged from .34 to .72. Adolescents reported more perceived skill improvements than did parents. Parent-reported improvement suggests that social skills learned in group sessions generalize to settings outside the treatment group. Larger, controlled studies of social skills training groups would be valuable.
The last two decades progresses have led Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) to be a competitive p... more The last two decades progresses have led Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) to be a competitive practical approach to solve a wide range of industrial and academic problems. Thanks to these advances, the size and difficulty of the SAT instances have grown significantly. The demand for more computational power led to the creation of new computer architectures and paradigms composed by multiple machines connected by a network to act as one machine, like clusters and grids. However, extra computing power is not coming anymore from higher processor frequencies, but rather from a growing number of computing cores and processors. It becomes clear that exploiting this new architecture is essential for the evolution of SAT solvers. Search space splitting is probably the most commonly used strategy to explore the parallelism provided by the search space. However, it is not clear how to find the relevant set of variables to divide the search space. This paper extends a method based on the VSIDS heuristic to find the initial set of partition variables. A drawback of search space splitting is load balancing. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of a hybrid approach between search space splitting and portfolio. Preliminary results show that both these techniques improve the performance of the solver and reveal that combining search space splitting and portfolio approaches can lead to better results.
With the rapidly growing importance of multicast in the Internet there have been recent proposal,... more With the rapidly growing importance of multicast in the Internet there have been recent proposal, such as RFC 2627, for scalable key distribution such that when the nth user joins or leaves a group, broadcasting Θ(log n) encrypted messages is sufficient to redistribute keys. In this paper, we show that this bound is also necessary for a general class of key distribution schemes and under different assumptions on user capabilities. While key distribution schemes can trade addition cost for deletion cost, for any scheme there is a sequence of 2n insertion and deletions whose total cost is Ω(n log n). Thus, any key distribution scheme has a worst-case cost of Ω(log n) either for adding or for deleting a user.
The spatial and temporal dynamics of diploid chromosome organization, microtubule arrangement, an... more The spatial and temporal dynamics of diploid chromosome organization, microtubule arrangement, and the state of the nuclear envelope have been analyzed in syncytial blastoderm embryos of
& Setting perceptual expectations can be based on different sources of information that determine... more & Setting perceptual expectations can be based on different sources of information that determine which functional networks will be involved in implementing preparatory topdown influences and dealing with situations in which expectations are violated. The goal of the present study was to investigate and directly compare brain activations triggered by violating expectations within two different task contexts. In the serial prediction task, participants monitored ordered perceptual sequences for predefined sequential deviants. In contrast, the target detection task entailed a presentation of stimuli which had to be monitored for predefined nonsequential deviants. Detection of sequential deviants triggered an increase of activity in premotor and cerebellar components of the ''standard'' sequencing network and activations in additional frontal areas initially not involved in sequencing. This pattern of activity reflects the detection of a mismatch between the expected and presented stimuli, updating of the underlying sequence representation (i.e., forward model), and elaboration of the violation. In contrast, target detection elicited activations in posterior temporal and parietal areas, reflecting an increase in perceptual processing evoked by the nonsequential deviant. The obtained results suggest that distinct functional networks involved in detecting deviants in different contexts reflect the origin and the nature of expectations being violated. &
Identification of children who need antimalarial treatment is difficult in settings where confirm... more Identification of children who need antimalarial treatment is difficult in settings where confirmatory laboratory testing is not available, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa. The current national policy in Malawi is to treat all children with fever, usually defined as the mother's report of fever in the child, for presumed malaria. To assess this policy and to find out whether a better clinical case definition could be devised, we studied acutely ill children presenting to two hospital outpatient departments in Malawi. The parent or guardian of each enrolled child (n = 1124) was asked a standard series of questions about the symptoms and duration of the child's illness. Each child was examined, axillary and rectal temperatures and blood haemoglobin concentrations were measured, and a giemsastained thick smear was examined for malaria parasites. Logistic regression procedures were used to identify clinical predictors of parasitaemia. High temperature (37.7 degrees C or above), nailbed pallor, enlarged spleen, and being seen at one of the clinics rather than the other were associated with an increased risk of malaria parasitaemia in univariate analyses. A revised malaria case definition of rectal temperature of 37.7 degrees C or higher, splenomegaly, or nailbed pallor was 85% sensitive in identifying parasitaemic children and 41% specific; the corresponding sensitivity and specificity for the nationally recommended definition that equates mother's history of fever with malaria were 93% and 21%. The revised case definition had 89% sensitivity in identifying parasitaemic children with haemoglobin concentration below 80 g/L and 89% sensitivity in identifying children with parasite density greater than 10,000/microL, characteristics that indicate a clear need for antimalarial treatment. These results suggest that better clinical definitions are feasible, that splenomegaly and pallor are helpful in identifying children with malaria, and that much overtreatment of children without parasitaemia could be avoided.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses within the herpes group have recently been shown to induc... more Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses within the herpes group have recently been shown to induce Fc receptors in infected monolayers. We have examined the possibility that such receptors might facilitate the adherence of antibody-coated bacteria to CMV-infected cells. To do this, we infected confluent human embryonic lung (HEL) cell monolayers with CMV (strain AD 169) and then used a double radiolabel assay to measure adherence of Escherichia coli 06 to both infected and control monolayers. We examined infected monolayers 48 h after viral seeding, at which time 30-60% of the cells exhibited characteristic cytopathic changes. We compared the adherence of untreated E. coli 06 with the adherence of E. coli 06 that had been preincubated for 1 h at 37 degrees C with either nonimmune or anti-E. coli 06 antiserum. Pretreatment of the E. coli 06 with specific antiserum significantly enhanced its adherence to CMV-infected, but not to control, monolayers (P less than 0.01 by the Mann-Whitney U test). We did not see such enhancement when we used anti-E. coli 06 antiserum to treat a nontypable E. coli. The augmented adherence of antibody-coated E. coli 06 to CMV-infected monolayers was abrogated by pretreating the monolayers with nonimmune serum or purified Fc fragments, but not by pretreating with IgA, IgM, or 1 mM trypan blue. Preincubating HEL cell monolayers with 100 U/ml human leukocyte interferon for 72 h at 37 degrees C did not affect the adherence of antibody-coated E. coli 06 to the monolayers. To determine if antibody-coated bacteria that adhered to the surface of CMV-infected monolayers might themselves act as receptors for microorganisms with Fc binding potential, we compared the adherence of Cowan strain Staphylococcus aureus to CMV-infected and control monolayers that had been preincubated with antibody-coated E. coli 06. The S. aureus adhered significantly better to the former monolayers (P less than 0.001). These results illustrate a previously unrecognized mechanism by which certain herpesviruses might enhance the adherence of secondary pathogens to nonphagocytic cell populations. Such a mechanism, if active in vivo, might facilitate the colonization of mucosal surfaces by these pathogenic microorganisms, and in this way might contribute to both the reported predisposition of CMV-infected patients to secondary infections and to the high prevalence of S. aureus in the vaginal flora of women with histories of genital herpes.
Acknowledgments This study was prepared by the Demographic Institute, Faculty of Economics, Unive... more Acknowledgments This study was prepared by the Demographic Institute, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, and was made possible through the Women’s Studies Project at Family Health International with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, contract number 4407 (revised January 26, 1996). The authors would like to thank Dr. N. Haidy A. Pasay, the Director of the Demographic Institute, for his support to conduct this study. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Prof. Aris Ananta, and Prof. I.G.N. Agung for their statistical advice, Dr. Jack Molyneaux and Mr. Sugiharso for their assistance in the IFLS data management, and Ms. Sutji Rochani for her inputs in developing the proposal and interview guidelines for the qualitative study. Thanks to friends at Yayasan Kusuma Buana, especially Dr. Firman Lubis and Ms. Shita Mumpuningdyah,who provided support and training facilities to strengthen analysis of the in- depth interview. We would also like to thank Dr. Anke Niehof fromWageningen,Agricultural University in the
Background More than 3·5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute low... more Background More than 3·5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory-tract infection every year. We undertook a randomised controlled trial to assess the effect of handwashing promotion with soap on the incidence of acute respiratory infection, impetigo, and diarrhoea.
Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of point of use water treatment with flocculent-disinfe... more Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of point of use water treatment with flocculent-disinfectant on reducing diarrhoea and the additional benefit of promoting hand washing with soap.Methods The study was conducted in squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan, where diarrhoea is a leading cause of childhood death. Interventions were randomly assigned to 47 neighbourhoods. Households in 10 neighbourhoods received diluted bleach and a water vessel; nine neighbourhoods received soap and were encouraged to wash hands; nine neighbourhoods received flocculent-disinfectant water treatment and a water vessel; 10 neighbourhoods received disinfectant-disinfectant water treatment and soap and were encouraged to wash hands; and nine neighbourhoods were followed as controls. Field workers visited households at least once a week from April to December 2003 to promote use of the interventions and to collect data on diarrhoea.Results Study participants in control neighbourhoods had diarrhoea on 5.2% of days. Compared to controls, participants living in intervention neighbourhoods had a lower prevalence of diarrhoea: 55% (95% CI 17%, 80%) lower in bleach and water vessel neighbourhoods, 51% (95% CI 12%, 76%) lower in hand washing promotion with soap neighbourhoods, 64% lower (95% CI 29%, 90%) in disinfectant-disinfectant neighbourhoods, and 55% (95% CI 18%, 80%) lower in disinfectant-disinfectant plus hand washing with soap neighbourhoods.Conclusions With an intense community-based intervention and supplies provided free of cost, each of the home-based interventions significantly reduced diarrhoea. There was no benefit by combining hand washing promotion with water treatment.Objectifs Evaluer l'efficacité du traitement de l'eau au point d'utilisation avec un désinfectant floculant sur la réduction des diarrhées et le bénéfice additionnel de la promotion du lavage des mains.Méthodes l’étude a été conduite dans les installations d'habitations de fortune de Karachi au Pakistan où la diarrhée est la cause principale de mortalité infantile. Les interventions ont été assignées de façon randomisée à 47 quartiers. Dans 10 quartiers, les familles ont reçu de l'eau de javel diluée et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant pour le traitement de l'eau et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 10 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant et du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. 9 quartiers ont été suivis comme contrôles. Les agents de terrain ont visité chaque famille au moins une fois par semaine, d'avril à décembre 2003 pour promouvoir l'utilisation des interventions et pour collecter des données sur la diarrhée.Résultats Les participants dans les quartiers contrôles avaient la diarrhée sur 5,2% des jours. Comparés au contrôles, les participants des quartiers recevant l'intervention avaient une prévalence de diarrhée plus faible repartie comme suit: 55% (IC95%: 17–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu l'eau de javel et des centenaires, 51% (IC95%: 12–76) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu la promotion du lavage des mains, 64% (IC95%: 29–90) dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant et 55% (IC95%: 18–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant en plus de savon pour le lavage des mains.Conclusion Avec une forte intervention basée sur la communauté et des moyens procurés sans charge, chacune des interventions a entraîné une réduction significative de la diarrhée. Il n'y avait pas de bénéfice supplément en combinant la promotion du lavage des mains et le traitement de l'eau.Objectifs Evaluer l'efficacité du traitement de l'eau au point d'utilisation avec un désinfectant floculant sur la réduction des diarrhées et le bénéfice additionnel de la promotion du lavage des mains.Méthodes l’étude a été conduite dans les installations d'habitations de fortune de Karachi au Pakistan où la diarrhée est la cause principale de mortalité infantile. Les interventions ont été assignées de façon randomisée à 47 quartiers. Dans 10 quartiers, les familles ont reçu de l'eau de javel diluée et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. Dans 9 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant pour le traitement de l'eau et des contenaires pour l'eau. Dans 10 quartiers, elles ont reçu le désinfectant floculant et du savon et ont été motivées pour le lavage des mains. 9 quartiers ont été suivis comme contrôles. Les agents de terrain ont visité chaque famille au moins une fois par semaine, d'avril à décembre 2003 pour promouvoir l'utilisation des interventions et pour collecter des données sur la diarrhée.Résultats Les participants dans les quartiers contrôles avaient la diarrhée sur 5,2% des jours. Comparés au contrôles, les participants des quartiers recevant l'intervention avaient une prévalence de diarrhée plus faible repartie comme suit: 55% (IC95%: 17–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu l'eau de javel et des centenaires, 51% (IC95%: 12–76) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu la promotion du lavage des mains, 64% (IC95%: 29–90) dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant et 55% (IC95%: 18–80) plus faible dans les quartiers ayant reçu le désinfectant floculant en plus de savon pour le lavage des mains.Conclusion Avec une forte intervention basée sur la communauté et des moyens procurés sans charge, chacune des interventions a entraîné une réduction significative de la diarrhée. Il n'y avait pas de bénéfice supplément en combinant la promotion du lavage des mains et le traitement de l'eau.Objetivos Evaluar la efectividad del tratar el agua con desinfectante floculado en la reducción de la diarrea, así como los beneficios adicionales en la promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Métodos El estudio fue conducido en asentamientos ilegales de Karachi, Pakistán, en los que la diarrea es la principal causa de mortalidad infantil. Las intervenciones fueron asignadas aleatoriamente en 47 barrios. Las casas de 10 barrios recibieron lejía diluida y un recipiente para agua; en 9 barrios se entregó jabón y se les animó a que se lavasen las manos; en otros 9 barrios se entregó desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y un recipiente para agua; 10 barrios recibieron desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y jabón, y se les animó a que se lavaran las manos; y 9 barrios fueron seguidos como controles. Los trabajadores de campo visitaron las casas al menos una vez por semana, entre Abril y Diciembre del 2003, para promover el uso de la intervención y para recolectar datos sobre diarreas.Resultados Los participantes de los barrios controles tuvieron diarrea en un 5.2% de los días. Comparado con los controles, los participantes que vivían en uno de los barrios en los que se intervino tuvieron una menor prevalencia de diarrea: 55% (95% IC 17%, 80%) menos en los barrios en los que se entregó lejía y un recipiente para el agua, 51% (95% IC 12%, 76%) menos en los barrios en los que se promovió el lavado de manos con jabón, 64% menos (95% IC 29%, 90%) en los barrios con desinfectante floculado, y 55% (95% IC 18%, 80%) menos en los barrios con desinfectante floculado más promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Conclusiones Con una intervención comunitaria intensiva y suministros gratuitos, cada una de las Intervenciones redujo la diarrea de forma significativa. No se halló beneficio en combinar la promoción del lavado de manos con el tratamiento del agua.Objetivos Evaluar la efectividad del tratar el agua con desinfectante floculado en la reducción de la diarrea, así como los beneficios adicionales en la promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Métodos El estudio fue conducido en asentamientos ilegales de Karachi, Pakistán, en los que la diarrea es la principal causa de mortalidad infantil. Las intervenciones fueron asignadas aleatoriamente en 47 barrios. Las casas de 10 barrios recibieron lejía diluida y un recipiente para agua; en 9 barrios se entregó jabón y se les animó a que se lavasen las manos; en otros 9 barrios se entregó desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y un recipiente para agua; 10 barrios recibieron desinfectante floculado para tratamiento del agua y jabón, y se les animó a que se lavaran las manos; y 9 barrios fueron seguidos como controles. Los trabajadores de campo visitaron las casas al menos una vez por semana, entre Abril y Diciembre del 2003, para promover el uso de la intervención y para recolectar datos sobre diarreas.Resultados Los participantes de los barrios controles tuvieron diarrea en un 5.2% de los días. Comparado con los controles, los participantes que vivían en uno de los barrios en los que se intervino tuvieron una menor prevalencia de diarrea: 55% (95% IC 17%, 80%) menos en los barrios en los que se entregó lejía y un recipiente para el agua, 51% (95% IC 12%, 76%) menos en los barrios en los que se promovió el lavado de manos con jabón, 64% menos (95% IC 29%, 90%) en los barrios con desinfectante floculado, y 55% (95% IC 18%, 80%) menos en los barrios con desinfectante floculado más promoción del lavado de manos con jabón.Conclusiones Con una intervención comunitaria intensiva y suministros gratuitos, cada una de las Intervenciones redujo la diarrea de forma significativa. No se halló beneficio en combinar la promoción del lavado de manos con el tratamiento del agua.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2007
The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and hi... more The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) was evaluated. Parents of six groups of adolescents (n = 46, 61% male, mean age 14.6) completed questionnaires immediately before and after the 12-week group. Parents and adolescents were surveyed regarding their experience with the group. Significant pre- to post-treatment gains were found on measures of both social competence and problem behaviors associated with AS/HFA. Effect sizes ranged from .34 to .72. Adolescents reported more perceived skill improvements than did parents. Parent-reported improvement suggests that social skills learned in group sessions generalize to settings outside the treatment group. Larger, controlled studies of social skills training groups would be valuable.
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