| 21. |
- Lebbad, Marianne, et al.
(författare)
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Dominance of Giardia assemblage B in León, Nicaragua.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Acta Tropica. - : Elsevier BV. - 0001-706X .- 1873-6254. ; 106:1, s. 44-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Giardiasis is a major problem in León, Nicaragua, yet despite this no data are available regarding the prevalence of different Giardia genotypes in this area. To address this question, a molecular analysis of Giardia isolates from humans and dogs living in the same area in León, Nicaragua was performed. Giardia isolates from 119 Nicaraguan patients and 8 dogs were successfully genotyped using single and/or nested beta-giardin PCR with subsequent restriction length fragment polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The analyses of human samples yielded 94 (79%) assemblage B isolates and 25 (21%) assemblage A isolates. Only the non-human-associated assemblages C and D were found in the dog samples. Sixteen isolates with assemblage A pattern, 26 isolates with assemblage B pattern and all dog isolates were further characterized by sequencing the nested beta-giardin PCR product and by molecular analyses of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene. Within the study area the assemblage A isolates were highly genetically homogenous, showing only sub-genotypes A2 (n=3) or A3 (n=13) at the beta-giardin locus and AII only at the gdh locus while assemblage B showed a high genetic polymorphism at both loci. Seven different sub-genotypes were identified within 13 of the sequenced assemblage B beta-giardin isolates. The remaining 13 sequenced assemblage B-isolates appeared to contain several different variants of the beta-giardin gene since the chromatograms displayed one to seven double peaks. The gdh sequences showed an even higher polymorphism since only 2 of 26 assemblage B isolates were without double peaks. Two mixed infections between assemblage A and B were found when the gdh gene was analyzed. Polymorphisms were also observed in the dog-associated assemblages C and D, but to a lesser extent than in assemblage B.
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| 22. |
- Zelaya Blandon, Elmer
(författare)
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Adolescent pregnancies in Nicaragua. The importance of education
- 1999
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Early adolescent pregnancy implies increased social and medical risks. There is lack of understanding of the mechanisms behind early sexual debut and pregnancy. This contributes to the difficulties to meet the educational and health care needs of adolescents. In Nicaragua, few reproductive health interventions target adolescents and even fewer studies focus on sexual and reproductive health in this age group. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to analyze the background of adolescent pregnancy in Nicaragua, for future interventions.Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were carried out with young and adult women and men from different social backgrounds in the city of León. Results were used in the planning of a cross-sectional household study carried out in 1993, covering a population of 43,765 in 50 randomly selected clusters in rural and urban León. Reproductive histories were obtained from all women aged 15 to 49 years (n= 10,867), corresponding to 176281 person years of reproductive life. Random sub-samples of men (n=388) and women (n=413) were interviewed in privacy about their age at sexual debut, contraceptive use and reproductive history. The background to early adolescent pregnancy was further analyzed in a matched case-referent study of girls who got their first pregnancy before 17 years of age (146 cases, 242 randomly selected age-matched referents).Economic deprivation and disturbed family relations with an unsatisfied craving for parental affection influence adolescent sexual behavior. Girls' romanticism, belief in virginity until marriage and the contrasting male machismo culture contribute to a lack of empowerment of adolescents.At 15 years of age, 25% of boys and girls had had their sexual debut, and at 18 years this was the case for 85% of boys and 53% of girls. Among girls, the latency period from sexual debut to the end of first pregnancy was only 22 months, indicating very limited access to contraceptive counseling and services. At 17 years of age, one fourth had become pregnant. Contraceptive use was 54% among sexually active adolescents, aged 15-19 years, pills being the most common method. Among adults, female sterilization was the most common method, followed by Intra Uterine Device (IUD) and pilL Condom use was low as well as the use of traditional methods. Low educational attainment was a strong determinant for lack of contraception.Age at sexual debut and age at first pregnancy had been increasing, and fertility rate had declined in Nicaragua from the 1970s to the 1990s. The increase in women’s education was found to be the strongest explanatory factor behind this transition in fertility. Girls who had successfully completed at least 5 years of schooling had lower risk for early pregnancy. This protective effect of education was found for groups with high as well as low socioeconomic status.The background of adolescent pregnancy consists of a complex interaction of socioeconomic, familial and cultural factors. Lack of political will to challenge current values, religious influence in sexual and educational issues, romanticism and lack of empowerment, especially among adolescent women, are also influencing elements. Contraceptive use is still low among sexually active teenagers in Nicaragua, and pregnancy follows soon after first intercourse. There is a strong need for family life education at schools and health services geared to adolescents. Non-use of contraception is associated with poverty and lack of education. The association between education and fertility decline, and the protective effect of education in preventing early pregnancies, even among poor families, indicates that education is a powerful tool in breaking the vicious cycles of poverty and early pregnancy.
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| 23. |
- Corriols, Marvin, et al.
(författare)
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Geophysical characterization of the Leon-Chinandega aquifer, Nicaragua
- 2008
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Ingår i: Hydrogeology Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1431-2174 .- 1435-0157. ; 16:2, s. 349-362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrical geophysical surveys in the mode of vertical electrical soundings (VES) and continuous vertical electrical soundings (CVES) were conducted in the Leon-Chinandega plains, northwestern Nicaragua, in order to obtain detailed information about the geometry of the different hydrogeological layers in the aquifer and depth to the basement. A total of 51 VES were carried out within the plains. The results show a complex structure towards the north east of the area, and the southwestern part of the plains presents a smoother stratification. The geoelectrical measurements and borehole information indicate that the basement topography is characterized by hills and deep valleys with highly variable basement depths. Fifty CVES where done in a smaller area in the center of the plain. The resistivity data yielded considerable information revealing the existence of two main geo-electrical units. The combined interpretation of geological and geophysical data shows an environment typical of sedimentary volcanic coastal plains. The information collected during this investigation provides valuable data for estimating the fresh-water resources of the Leon-Chinandega aquifer system and for development of a groundwater management plan.
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| 24. |
- Karlén, Niklas
(författare)
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Changing Commitments : US Support to Rebels in Syria and Nicaragua
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The provision of external state support to non-state actors in civil wars is a dynamic process. The calculus of state sponsors varies over time, which means that assistance provided to the armed opposition fluctuates. This is rarely recognized in existing research, which has focused more on the initiation of support and its subsequent effects on conflict dynamics. While we know many of the motives behind decisions to provide support, we know less about why state sponsorship of rebels changes over time. To address this, I propose a theoretical argument that is able to account for policy adjustments over time. The theory builds on the notion that leaders change their support commitment when there is adverse feedback and that support increases as long as the causes of policy failure can be attributed to external actors, while cutbacks occur when failure is attributed to the state sponsor’s own actions. The latter prompts domestic audiences to act in order to force leaders to back down. Process tracing is used to explore the value of this framework in within-case analyses of the United States’ support commitments to insurgent groups in Nicaragua during the 1980s and in Syria during the 2010s. The study demonstrates the utility of focusing on shifts in leaders’ perceptions rather than structural features of the international system or rebel behavior to understand temporal variation in external support.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Segnestam, Lisa
(författare)
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Interactions in Hazard Management Policies : the Case of Drought in Nicaragua, 1976-2010
- 2015
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Ingår i: Disasters. The Journal of Disaster Studies, Policy and Management. - : Wiley. - 0361-3666 .- 1467-7717. ; 39:4, s. 715-737
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The literature on adaptive and multi-level governance calls for interactive hazard management to increase societies’ resilience. This paper maps the hazard management policies in a poor and hazard-prone country—Nicaragua—and examines what role the government gives to interactions among different actors at different societal levels. A new analytical framework is developed that includes scope and direction to capture unidirectional or mutual interactions that are either horizontal or vertical. This enables a more complex analysis of interactions than that found in previous research. The review shows that the historical change in the role given to interactions, as a result of a focus on short-term emergency response being complemented by long-term risk management, mainly lies in how they are characterised—with more participants and other types of content categories—and the awareness that interactions other than mutual ones can be positive. This illustrates the complexity of the issue of interactions.
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| 29. |
- Mendoza, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Hydrogeological and hydrochemical features of an area polluted by heavy metals in central Nicaragua
- 2006
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Ingår i: Hydrogeology Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1431-2174 .- 1435-0157. ; 14:5, s. 777-784
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Geophysical and hydrochemical surveys were used to investigate the hydrogeological conditions in one of the Rio Sucio microbasins, in central Nicaragua. Zones of vertical structures (i.e. fractures and quartz veins) and weathering were mapped using Continuous Vertical Electrical Soundings (CVES), as such zones are of major importance for groundwater transport. Water from the springs was analysed to determine concentrations of major ions and heavy metals. Low ion concentrations and 180 analyses indicate that the springs occur close to their recharge areas and there is a relatively rapid groundwater circulation. Mercury (Hg) content in the springs was low, while comparatively high amounts of lead (Pb) were found. The results presented here demonstrate the important function of weathering and tectonics in the occurrence of groundwater systems in the basin. Hg and Pb found in the springs' water reveal the existence of an increase in pollution sources disseminating in the area. More than 100 years of using mercury in the gold-mining industry and releasing wastes into rivers has affected water quality and ecosystems. Further investigations are needed in this area to determine the groundwater vulnerability to this pollution as this resource may be needed in the future.
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| 30. |
- Valladares, Eliette, et al.
(författare)
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HIV community prevalence and testing practices in León, Nicaragua
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Our objective was to determine the HIV prevalence, testing practices, and HIV-related behaviors in a general population sample in the municipality of Leon, Nicaragua. We performed a cross-sectional community-based study of 2,204 males and females ages 18 to 69, from a health and demographic surveillance system. A behavior survey and blood sampling for HIV were also carried out. Seven of 1,960 individuals who provided biological samples (0.35%; CI 0.18–0.67) were HIV positive. The predicted prevalence of HIV among non-participants was about 11% higher than the observed prevalence but it was not significantly different. The major obstacle to HIV testing seemed to be the fear of being diagnosed HIV positive. This is the first study to determine HIV prevalence among the general population in Nicaragua. Our findings confirmed that this population has a low prevalence but high risk for HIV infection. Prevention strategies are essential to maintain this figure.
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