| 311. |
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| 312. |
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| 313. |
- Bucardo, Filemon, et al.
(author)
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Low Prevalence of Rotavirus and High Prevalence of Norovirus in Hospital and Community Wastewater after Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine in Nicaragua
- 2011
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 6:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rotavirus (RV) and norovirus (NoV) are major causes of pediatric diarrhea and are altogether associated with approximately 800,000 deaths in young children every year. In Nicaragua, national RV vaccination program using the pentavalent RV5 vaccine from Merck was implemented in October 2006. To determine whether RV vaccination decreased the overall number of RV infections, we investigated the occurrence of RV and NoV in wastewater in the city of Leon from July 2007 to July 2008 and compared these data with pre-vaccination data. The major finding was the low prevalence of RV compared to NoV in all sampling points (11% vs 44%, pandlt;0.05), and that RV concentration was lower as compared to NoV. RV was observed mainly during the rainy season (July-September), and the majority of all RV detected (6/9) belonged to subgroup (SG) I. The partial VP7-gene obtained from one RV positive sample was similar (99% nt identity) to a G6 VP7-gene of bovine origin and similar to the corresponding gene of the vaccine strain (98%). Furthermore RV G-types 2 and 4 were found in the incoming wastewater. NoV strains were detected throughout the year, of which a majority (20/21) were of genotype GII.4. We conclude that the introduction of RV vaccination reduced the transmission of RV in the community in Nicaragua. However, the burden of diarrhea in the country remains high, and the high prevalence of NoVs in hospital and municipal wastewater is noteworthy. This study highlights the need for further assessment of NoV following RV vaccine introduction.
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| 314. |
- González-Rivas, Benigno, et al.
(author)
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Regeneration of dry forest species Population dynamics and spatial distribution of seedlings and saplings of four dry forest species in Nicaragua
- 2009
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In: Bois Et Forets Des Tropiques. - 0006-579X. ; 63, s. 21-31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The temporal variation in seedling and sapling densities of four dry forest species, Calycophyllum candidissimum, Cedrela odorata, Haematoxylon brasiletto and Gyroscarpus americanus, and the spatial heterogeneity of regeneration in relationship to terrain slope and crown exposure to direct sunlight were examined in the Chacocente National Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua. Data on all individuals above 10 cm in height and below 5 cm in diameter at breast height were recorded for three consecutive years from 2001 to 2003. The density of seedlings and saplings varied significantly among species, as well as over time. The mean density of seedlings across the census year was thirty-seven, twenty and four individuals per 2 ha for G. americanus, C candidissimum and H. brasiletto, respectively. C. odorata did not regenerate at all. Similarly, the mean density of saplings in a 2-ha plot was fifty-five, twenty and two for G. americanus, C. candidissimum and H. brasiletto, respectively. The change in population density of seedlings and saplings was positive for C candidissimum, indicating continuous and advanced regeneration of this species. For G. americanus and H. brasiletto the seedling population declined while the sapling population increased. For G. americanus and C. candidissimum, seedling and sapling population densities varied with respect to the slope of the terrain and crown exposure to direct sunlight, resulting in a clumped pattern of regeneration. We concluded that natural regeneration alone may not be sufficient to maintain desired stocks of these species, and immediate restoration measures should be taken to assist the natural regeneration process.
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| 315. |
- Zapata, Patrik, 1967, et al.
(author)
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When visions for better urban futures development are turned into practice. The case of the Acahualinca Development Programme in Managua, Nicaragua
- 2013
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In: 14th N-AERUS Conference 2013, Enschede, The Netherlands September 12-14 URBAN FUTURES. Multiple visions, paths and constructions?.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ‘knowing-doing’ gaps between policy goals and their outcome when implemented is of increasing concern both in practice and in research. This paper explores how the visions of a sustainable development and the corresponding planning are translated into practice; what aspects of visions and plans are translated, what is lost in and what is added in the translation. The paper is based on the case-study of La Chureca, the rubbish dump and slum of Managua, Nicaragua, and its regeneration program that ran from 2009 to 2013 and included the construction of a new landfill, a recycling station where part of the waste-pickers now are formally employed, and new housing for the informal settlement’s residents. The analysis is based on interviews, observations, workshop participations and document analysis; gathered from 2009 until 2012. It combines action net theory with the sociology of translation as theoretical framework. Despite the initial compliance to the program (funded and initially led by international aid organizations), local actors enacted a myriad of small acts of defiance and resistance that, without abruptly contesting the project, shaped it to better fit local needs; a) first by municipal politicians and officers, and b) later by beneficiaries that felt that they were not fairly benefited by the program (women, eldery). We conclude that the implementation of visions cannot be seen as scripted translations of plans into reality, but as uncontrollable and uncertain processes in which myriads of translations twist policies and plans from below. The question is therefore not whether plans work (or succeed) but how they work.
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| 316. |
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| 317. |
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| 318. |
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| 319. |
- Sjöstedt, Britta
(author)
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Costa Rica and Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice – Trying to work out the complicated relationship between law and the environment
- 2013
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In: Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL). - 2050-0386. ; 22:3, s. 366-370
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nicaragua and Costa Rica have twice turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to resolve disputes related to environmental damage occurring in a transboundary context. In these two cases the Court has to consider at least two issues. The first issue concerns the territorial status of a disputed border area. The disagreement is triggered by natural variations of the San Juan River at the border between the two countries, which causes confusion as to where the State line lies. The second issue concerns environmental damage; more specifically, it involves adversely affected wetlands protected under the Ramsar Convention. The obligations stemming from the Ramsar Convention are of an open-ended character, rendering them difficult to apply. Both issues are connected with the fact that law and the environment have a complicated relationship – that is, legal obligations may be difficult to reconcile with a constantly changing environment. Here, the ICJ has the opportunity to clarify this uneasy relationship.
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| 320. |
- Caldera, Trinidad, et al.
(author)
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Is treatment in groups a useful alternative for psychiatry in low-income countries? An evaluation of a psychiatric outpatient unit in Nicaragua.
- 1995
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In: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. - 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 92:5, s. 386-91
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Centro de Atención Psicosocial in León, Nicaragua is a psychiatric outpatient unit that has developed a group-oriented model of working, in which 80% of all visits are in groups: first-admission groups, insight-oriented group psychotherapy, psycho-educative, family groups and relatives groups. The aim of the present study was to analyze patient characteristics and make a preliminary study of improvement, compliance and patient satisfaction in a 1-year perspective. One hundred consecutive visits were assessed, 44 of them first admissions. They were assessed according to all axes of DSM-III-R plus the Structural Clinical Interview for DSM-III Disorders. A 1-year follow up was conducted on 39 of 41 selected patients within the major diagnostic groups. One of 4 patients had a psychotic disorder where schizophrenia dominated. Among nonpsychotics major depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders were most frequent. Personality disorders were common (80%) among nonpsychotic patients, paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, passive-aggressive and masochistic personality disorders dominating. The illiteracy rate was 10%, but 50% had high school or university background. Severity of mental disorders and functional level did not differ between educational levels. There was a strong male dominance in all diagnostic, socioeconomic and educational level strata and few old patients. Improvement in functional level was clinically and statistically significant in all groups, and more than two thirds were very satisfied with the group treatment offered.
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