Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life of Tuberculosis Patients in Fako Division, South-West Region of Cameroon

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Despite the global impact of TB and treatment received, a gap persists between treatment and quality of life of the patients especially in resource limited countries. This study therefore evaluated the health related quality of life of TB patients and the different factors influencing their quality of life at the post intensive phase of their treatment in the Fako division of the South-West Region of Cameroon. Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out in 4 tuberculosis treatment centers, namely two regional (Buea and Limbe) and two district (Tiko and Muyuka) hospitals in Fako Division between June and July 2017. One hundred and sixty-seven TB patients were enrolled in the study and relevant information from them was gathered using the SF-36 questionnaire. Various aspects such as their perception of the disease, their socio-demographics and socio-economics conditions were evaluated. Results: Of the 167 participants enrolled in the study, 95 (56.9%) were male and 72 (43.1%) were female. One hundred and thirty-three (79.6%) of the 167 participants were affected by pulmonary tuberculosis and 34 (20.4%) by extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. Fifty-five (32.9%) were HIV positive and 90 (53.9%) had been receiving treatment for 4 - 6 months, 73 (43.7%) for 1 - 3 months and 4 (2.4%) for 7 - 9 months. The lowest and highest scores were recorded on the role limitation due to emotional problems scale (30.54 ± 35.36), and on the social functioning scale (47.68 ± 16.33) respectively. There was a significant difference (p = 0.021), between pulmonary and extra pulmonary tuberculosis (49.15 ± 16.08 vs. 41.91 ± 16.25) on the social functioning. Financial difficulty restraining drug collection affected the general health perception (p = 0.003), vitality (p = 0.007), emotional well-being (p < 0.001) and social functioning (p = 0.05) of the patients. Low income affected the vitality (p = 0.039), emotional well-being (p = 0.015), role limitations due to physical (p = 0.046) and emotional (p = 0.003) problems of the patients. Equally, the HIV status affected their vitality (p < 0.001) and emotional well-being (p = 0.011). Conclusion: The quality of life of the TB patients in the study area was generally poor. Counselling of diagnosed TB patients and provision of financial assistance through a social package can improve the acceptance of the disease during their treatment period to avoid default and relapse.

Vegetation Coverage Changes in the West Qinling Region from 2000 to 2010:A Case Study of Longnan City

As the main content of terrestrial ecosystem study,vegetation coverage change has gained extensive attention in the process of global climate change and sustainable development recently.Based on MODIS NDVI data from June to October during 2000-2010,taking Longnan City as a case area,this paper develops the calculation method of vegetation coverage(VC) by using Pixel Dichotomy model and analyzes the spatial-temporal variation of vegetation coverage in the West Qinling region by using simple linear regression and standard deviation method.The results show that vegetation coverage remains stable and is significantly correlated with temperature and precipitation during the decade.The vegetation coverage of 90% of study area shows stability with small annual variation and also is consistent with the spatial distribution of forest land;the vegetation coverage in the remaining study areas shows a growing trend with significant variation and also is consistent with the spatial distribution of farmland and grassland,especially in Huicheng Basin,Xili Basin and adret slope of Bailongjiang River Valley,indicating that Project about the Conversion of Degraded Farmland into Forest has made a great contribution to vegetation coverage increase.This paper proves the effect of ecology construction in the West Qinling region since the late 20 th century.All the findings also provide references for local ecological environment construction and sustainable development.

Influence of government subsidies on western enterprise technology innovation

With the deepening of the western development,supports of the country for the western region of China continued to increase.It also includes the support for enterprise innovation activities,by reducing the tax,exemption,subsidies and other means.Due to the effect of government subsidies on enterprise innovation activities is different in different regions,industries and so on,there is a big controversy.Therefore,we use the panel data of listed companies in manufacturing industry of western region as samples for empirical research,to research the effect of government subsidies on enterprise innovation activities in the western of China,the study found that overall,the current government subsidies has a positive effect on Enterprise R&D investment,whereas the last year's government subsidy has a negative effect on R&D investment,but it's incentive effect is greater than the crowding out effect.The study also found there are different effects between the state-owned enterprises and private enterprises,the crowding out effect of private enterprises is very small and not significant.

Cumulative Coulomb Failure Stress Change in the Basin- range Region of West Beijing and Its Effect on Strong Earthquakes

Since 231 B. C.,a total of 15 M6.0 - 7.5 earthquakes have been recorded in the west Beijing basin-range tectonic region( 38.3°- 41.5° E,112°- 116.2° N),a region mainly under the action of tensional normal faulting. In this paper,we calculate the Coulomb stress change of each earthquake and the cumulative Coulomb stress change,and on this basis we analyze the stress triggering of strong earthquakes. The research shows that there are 10 of 14 earthquakes that occurred in the trigger zones,in which the Coulomb stress change is positive,and the trigger rate is 71%. The positive areas of cumulative Coulomb stress change caused by these 15 earthquakes are: middle of northern Liulengshan fault,Northern Huaizhuo basin fault,Xinbaoan-Shacheng fault,Sangganhe fault and Southern Yuxian basin fault. This necessarily increases the seismic risk of these faults and can be used as a reference for future seismic risk analysis in this area.

Competencies of Obstetric Caregivers Regarding Hepatitis B in the West Region of Cameroon

There are many zones of high prevalence of hepatitis B like Cameroon(10%).Mother to child transmission of hepatitis B is the most common mode of transmission in high prevalence area.Its prevention is assured by the health care staff in charge of pregnant women.We therefore used to assess the level of competence(skills levels)of obstetricians regarding hepatitis B in West region of Cameroon.This was a cross-sectional analytical KAP study.The recruitment took place in 11 hospitals in 5 major departments of West region of Cameroon.The sampling was consecutive and comprehensive.The population was constituted of 148 participants with a sex ratio of 0.51.The mean age was 34 years.The population consisted of 50 physicians(33.78%),61 nurses(41.22%),and 37 auxiliary staff(25%).Only 4%had a good skills level,55%had an average skills level,and 41%had an insufficient level.The Skills level was influenced by gender,occupation,seniority in the occupation.The skills level of health care workers was average and insufficient for most.This does not allow them to effectively fight against the mother to child transmission of hepatitis B virus in Cameroon.

Apennine–Pyrenees disjunct distribution: an unusual biogeographic pattern revealed in fea beetles of the Longitarsus candidulus species-group (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

European mountain systems have played a crucial role in shaping the distribution of species and of their genetic diversity during the Quaternary climatic changes,with the establishment of allopatric patterns across main mountain ranges.Here we investigated the evolutionary history of fea beetles of the Longitarsus candidulus species-group showing an uncommon disjunct biogeographic pattern across the Apennine and the Pyrenees.We applied a multilocus molecular approach and multispecies coalescent models to establish a phylogenetic and systematic framework for this morphologically homogeneous species-group and to estimate the time of main cladogenetic events underlying the origin of the Apennine-Pyrenees pattern.We found strong support for the monophyly of the candidulus group with a sister relationship between Longitarsus laureolae and L.leonardii endemic to the Apennine and the Pyrenees mountains respectively.The timing of speciation events in the candidulus species-group coincides with 2 major climatic transitions during the Early and Middle Pleistocene which resulted in signifcant environmental changes in Europe and suggest a scenario of allopatric isolation and divergence on distinct mountain ranges.The split between the thermophilic species L.candidulus and the ancestor of the temperate species L.laureolae and L.leonardii is estimated at~3 Ma during the transition from Pliocene to Pleistocene and was probably triggered by their segregation in xerophilous and temperate habitats.The speciation between L.laureolae and L.leonardii,estimated at~1 Ma during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition,can be explained by the establishment of unfavorable conditions in West Alps and Central Massif underlying the onset of the Apennine-Pyrenees disjunct pattern.Finally,the strict association between members of the candidulus group and distinct Thymelaeaceae plants suggests further studies to address the hypothesis that speciation in these fea beetles might have been also associated with Pleistocene range changes of their host plants.

Early millet use in West Liaohe area during early-middle Holocene

It is generally recognized that millet agriculture originated in northern China. However, the domestication process of foxtail millet(Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet(Panicum miliaceum) is still poorly understood. Based on statistical and morphological analyses of ancient millet starch grains, a tangible hypothesis has been proposed for the long-term domestication of green foxtail millet(S. viridis). However, the hypothesis requires validation by evidence from more regions and more archaeological finds. The West Liaohe region is one of the earliest regions of millet cultivation. Here, we report ancient starch grains recovered from 12 stone grinding tools from eight sites of the Xiaohexi culture(before 8.5 ka BP), Xinglongwa culture(8.2–7.4 ka BP), Zhaobaogou culture(7.0–6.4 ka BP), and Hongshan culture(6.5–5.0 ka BP) in the West Liaohe region of China. Our results indicate that the proportion of millet starch grains with wrinkled surfaces and rough edges, which are diagnostic of wild millet grasses, decreased from 13.0% to 3.4% from the Xiaohexi culture to the Hongshan culture. Millet starch grains measuring >16.8 ?m, a size class recorded only in domesticated foxtail millet, increased from 55.0% to 62.1%. These millet data imply that the process of millet domestication in the West Liaohe region began in the Xiaohexi period and continued up to the Hongshan period.