Vector control in Artemisa

The Municipal Health Department in San Antonio de los Baños will develop actions to increase vector control from February 13 to 18, as part of the fight against diseases transmitted by the mosquito Aedes Aegypti, including Chikungunya, Dengue, Yellow Fever and Zika. The strategy includes the student mobilization for the completion of the intensive focal, says María Eugenia Pérez Pérez, Integral Postgraduate Methodologist at the Municipal Public Health Department in Ariguanabo. The specialist adds that the Universities of Medical Sciences throughout the country join these actions in favor of health. She points out the necessary cooperation of the Ariguanabenses to help with the strategy. The students will be organized in duos, visit homes and exchange with the residents about preventive measures, such as destroying artificial deposits and the application of bactivec, among other indications. Maria Eugenia explains that health promotion and prevention actions include research on family members who have fever, rash or conjunctivitis, joint or muscle pain. Before these manifestations we should immediately go to the family doctor office. source

Scientists build new ultrasound device using 3-D printing technology .

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new ultrasound device that produces sharper images through 3-D printed lenses.With clearer images, doctors and surgeons can have greater control and precision when performing non-invasive diagnostic procedures and medical surgeries. The new device will allow for more accurate medical procedures that involve the use of ultrasound to kill tumours, loosen blood clots and deliver drugs into targeted cells. This innovative ultrasound device is equipped with superior resin lenses that have been 3-D printed. In current ultrasound machines, the lens which focuses the ultrasound waves are limited to cylindrical or spherical shapes, restricting the clarity of the imaging. With 3-D printing, complex lens shapes can be made which results in sharper images. The 3-D printed lenses allow ultrasound waves to be focused at multiple sites or shape the focus specially to a target, which current ultrasound machines are unable to do. more

How to Use 3D Medical Models as Teaching and Communication Tools.

When you work in the medical industry, much of your job involves education. This is obviously the case with those in the medical education field, but it’s also true for medical professionals. In today’s digital world, 3D medical model technology is an integral part of that educational process. Research is also an integral part of the medical world, especially for those in the fast-paced world of biotechnology. For firms large and small, 3D medical models help communicate research concepts, helping those firms acquire funding so that new treatments can be developed and approved in order to save lives. Here are just a few of the places you’ll find 3D medical model technology hard at work. 3D medical models bring the world of visual creativity and science together in order to help researchers actually see their theories in action. Sometimes, a device or treatment doesn’t work the same way on paper as it does in reality. 3D medical models help biotech firms understand how certain treatments could work in the real world. A 3D medical model can help demonstrate how a new medication could work systemically or even at the cellular level. So, when the biotech firm brings the drug to the market, the 3D medical model is a key tool in their advertising arsenal. more

New 3-D model could improve treatment of TB, other diseases.

A team of researchers and engineers has created a 3-D model that they say can improve the study and treatment of tuberculosis and other infections. The team at the University of Southampton and University College London, United Kingdom, has conducted studies on how the new model can be used to observe human cellular response to TB infection. Researchers say it will also compensate for shortcomings in traditional 2-D models. This model will help speed up the process of finding treatments and vaccines for human tuberculosis, an infection that kills 1.8 million people per year. The team used a 3-D model to integrate engineering and biological approaches with clinical specimens to create an entirely new system of studying infection. By way of electrostatic encapsulation, the team created microspheres containing human cells, which were then infected with TB bacteria. The 3-D approach creates conditions — including the presence of an extracellular matrix — that are more like those existing in the human lung compared with the 2-D cultures on plastic, researchers said. The new model also allows up to 3 weeks of experimentation, which is more than four times the window provided by the old method.

Agribusiness : Gender-smart agriculture by involving more women.

The global population is projected to rise more than 9 billion by 2050 and the demand for food expected to jump sharply, the need for addressing the challenges of food security assumes greater urgency now. 

 There is also a growing need to adopt stronger measures to reduce the gender gap and more women should be included to bridge the gulf. 

 Investing in Women in various Agribusiness Value Chains, will increase productivity and efficiency in the agriculture sector by closing economic and social gaps between women and men throughout the value chain, from farm to retail and beyond. 

The solution to address two of the most pressing challenges of food security and gender disparity—isn’t difficult as it only involves women inclusion. 

 Women comprise over 40 percent of the agricultural labor force worldwide and play a major role in agriculture but they face a variety of constraints, such as limited access to agricultural inputs, technologies, finance, and networks. 

 There is an increasing number of companies now that recognizes that investing in women can help increase companies’ bottom lines—while helping improve the lives of people in rural areas. 

 Agribusiness companies need support in identifying where and how they can close gender gaps in their value chain. 

 In West African cocoa farms, for instance, women are responsible for drying cocoa beans, a crucial step in the processing of cocoa that determines the quality of the final product. 

To stabilize supply and formalize women’s contributions, chocolate producer Nestlé mapped the roles of women farmers in their supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire. 

 Women are a strong consumer base as they are involved in buying and selling ,thus recognizing women as a customer base can result in market opportunities for agribusiness companies. 

  Food-processing companies have already taken the lead in targeting the women’s market and building on consumers’ interest in gender-smart solutions. 

 Successful gender programs, can be aimed at closing the gap between women and men, so both can benefit. 

Companies such as chocolate producer Mondelēz International partnered with IFC to identify the roles that women and men play in the cocoa sector and evaluate their contribution at various stages of the cocoa production process.

 Gender diagnostics can allow companies to evaluate gaps and define opportunities for women and men engaged in the agricultural production process and adjust companies’ gender programs accordingly. 

 Gender-smart investments are part of the solution to address global challenges, as they can strengthen value chains, support global food supply, and improve livelihoods—with benefits accruing to both farmers and companies

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Nigeria removes 20% import tax for Dutch greenhouse technology.

Nigerian officials have announced that the country will remove its 20 percent import tax on Dutch greenhouse equipment to boost the domestic tomato production and attract more investment into the Nigerian tomato and horticultural industries. Nigeria wants to boost the use of greenhouse equipment to establish year round production schemes and provide a structural solution against the devastating tuta absoluta outbreaks. continue

The use of high-resolution satellites to measure African farm yields.

Stanford researchers have developed a new way to estimate crop yields from space, using high-res photos snapped by a new wave of compact satellites. This approach is detailed in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could be used to estimate agricultural productivity and test intervention strategies in poor regions of the world where data are currently extremely scarce. Improved agricultural productivity is one of the main ways to reduce hunger and improve livelihoods in poor parts of the world and to improve agricultural productivity, measurement is important. The team focused on an area in Western Kenya where there are a lot of smallholder farmers that grow maize, or corn, on small, half-acre or one-acre lots. They combined the imagery with computer-based crop models to make accurate predictions, just based on the imagery alone they deduced the actual productivity on the field.