El Salvador.

PubMed

1993-02-01

Background notes on El Salvador capsulizes specific statistical and descriptive information on geography, demography, government. and economic conditions. The man text describes the people, their history and the nature of the peace process, principal government officials, political conditions, human rights, the state of the economy, foreign relations, and relations with the US. In 1992, the estimated population was about 5 million of which 89% are mestizo (Spanish-Indian), 10% Indian, and 1% Caucasian. 58% live in rural areas. It is largely Roman Catholic. Literacy is about 65% among adults. 6 years of education are compulsory. 40% are engaged in agriculture, 27% in services, and 16% in industry. The gross domestic product was $5.1 billion; per capita income was $1160. El Salvador's history has been marked by frequent revolutions. Almost every present since 1932 has been a military officer. In the more recent past (1969-80), Honduras and El Salvador fought over borders; a peace treaty was signed in 1980, but it was not until 1992 that the land in dispute was awarded by the International Court of Justice to Honduras. During the 1970, efforts by Duarte were made toward democratic reform, but fraud and corruption contributed to the rise of armed guerrilla warfare as a means to bring about change. There were rightist and leftists groups accelerating violence; event he Salvadoran armed forces engaged in lawlessness. The judicial system failed. Nicaragua after 1979 supplied arms and munitions to 5 guerrilla groups. Duarte returned to power and his junta initiated land reform and nationalized banks and marketing of coffee and sugar. The elections in 1982 led to the transfer of power to Alvaro Magana. The new constitution in 1983 appeased some, but land reforms still did not satisfy guerrillas. Duarte was elected again in 1984 and Alfredo Christiani in 1989 in a peaceful transfer of power. In 1991 and 1992 peace accords were signed with the guerrillas. During this 12-year

Women's Theologies, Women's Pedagogies: Liberating Praxes of Latin American Women Educators in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Argentina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Lauren Ila

2009-01-01

In this dissertation, through semi-structured interviews with 36 female social movement participants and 3 male participants in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Argentina, I ask, "How do women in Latin American social movements perceive the influence of theology on these movements' pedagogies?" I argue that through this work, the…

77 FR 37804 - Rules for Investigations Relating to Global and Bilateral Safeguard Actions, Market Disruption...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-25

..., Bahrain, Business and industry, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador..., Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru, and Singapore...

75 FR 38689 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2009-040, Trade Agreements Thresholds

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

..., El 70,079 70,079 7,804,000 Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua)..... Chile FTA 70,079 70,079...,079 7,804,000 Bahrain FTA 203,000 203,000 9,110,318 CAFTA-DR (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican 70...

Combatting the Terrorist Threat.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-05-22

tomorrow. Today terrorist actions carried out against US interests occur primarily in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru , and Chile...provided arms, financial support, and safehavens for revolutionary groups from El Salvador and Honduras. 9 In Peru the Maoist guerrilla group Sendero...I DTIC TAB U --anoinced El Justificatio By Distributi-,n/ WtI3ATIN THE TERRORIST THREAT Availability CodesAvail and/or A GRUP SIJDY PPOEC Dist Special

USSR Report, International Affairs

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-27

Nicaragua, the "death squads" in El Salvador or the so-called militarized contra support groups in Honduras and Costa Rica—will yield a great strategic...the late 40’s and early 50’s, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras took similar steps. By the end of the 60’s nearly all of the Latin American...countries." [1] The development of subregional cooperation in the area of exploiting the 200-mile zone was interrupted by the war between El Salvador and

Risk and the neoliberal state: why post-Mitch lessons didn't reduce El Salvador's earthquake losses.

PubMed

Wisner, B

2001-09-01

Although El Salvador suffered light losses from Hurricane Mitch in 1998, it benefited from the increased international aid and encouragement for advance planning, especially mitigation and prevention interventions. Thus, one would have supposed, El Salvador would have been in a very advantageous position, able more easily than its economically crippled neighbours, Honduras and Nicaragua, to implement the 'lessons of Mitch'. A review of the recovery plan tabled by the El Salvador government following the earthquakes of early 2001 shows that despite the rhetoric in favour of 'learning the lessons of Mitch', very little mitigation and prevention had actually been put in place between the hurricane (1998) and the earthquakes (2001). The recovery plan is analysed in terms of the degree to which it deals with root causes of disaster vulnerability, namely, the economic and political marginality of much of the population and environmental degradation. An explanation for the failure to implement mitigation and preventive actions is traced to the adherence by the government of El Salvador to an extreme form of neoliberal, free market ideology, and the deep fissures and mistrust in a country that follow a long and bloody civil war.

15 CFR 742.17 - Exports of firearms to OAS member countries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru...

2 CFR 176.160 - Award term-Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Trade Agreement (FTA) country (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, or Singapore); or (3) A...

2 CFR 176.90 - Acquisitions covered under international agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia... Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua); (ii) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA...

2 CFR 176.90 - Acquisitions covered under international agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia... Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua); (ii) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA...

2 CFR 176.90 - Acquisitions covered under international agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia... Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua); (ii) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA...

2 CFR 176.90 - Acquisitions covered under international agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia... Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua); (ii) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA...

76 FR 75893 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-05

... Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (also known as CAFTA-DR). The Agreement was approved by...

Integration of foreign and local medical staff in a disaster area: the Honduras and El Salvador experiences.

PubMed

Waisman, Yehezkel

2003-06-01

International medical aid after natural disasters may take various forms, ranging from self-sufficient military forces to single experts or specialists who function primarily as advisers. A model integrating foreign and local medical staff has not previously been reported. In response to the call for international aid by the Honduran and El Salvadorian governments in the wake of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998 and the San Salvador earthquake in January 2001, Israel sent medical supplies and 10 member teams of medical professionals to each country. The aim of the present paper is to describe the unique Israeli approach to providing healthcare in disaster areas by integrating foreign and local medical staff, and to discuss its advantages and disadvantages. The paper focuses on the experience of the two emergency medicine physicians on the team who were assigned to the Atlantida General Hospital in La Ceiba, Honduras. The same team in San Salvador subsequently applied the same approach.

Gulf of Fonseca, Pacifica coast of Central America as seen from Apollo 9

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-03-12

AS09-19-3019 (3-13 March 1969) --- Gulf of Fonseca, on the Pacific coast of Central America, as photographed from the Apollo 9 spacecraft during its Earth-orbital mission. The gulf is shared by the nations of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The prominent volcano on the peninsula in Nicaragua is Volcan Cosiguina.

Co-seismic deformation of the August 27, 2012 Mw 7.3 El Salvador and September 5, 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, H.; La Femina, P. C.; DeMets, C.; Mattioli, G. S.; Hernández, D.

2013-05-01

We investigate the co-seismic deformation of two significant earthquakes that occurred along the Middle America trench in 2012. The August 27 Mw 7.3 El Salvador and September 5 Mw 7.6 Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica earthquakes, were examined using a combination of episodic and continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) data. USGS finite fault models based on seismic data predict fundamentally different characteristics for the two ruptures. The El Salvador event occurred in a historical seismic gap and on the shallow segment of the Middle America Trench main thrust, rupturing a large area, but with a low magnitude of slip. A small tsunami was observed along the coast in Nicaragua and El Salvador, additionally indicating near-trench rupture. Conversely, the Nicoya, Costa Rica earthquake was predicted to have an order of magnitude higher slip on a spatially smaller patch deeper on the main thrust. We present results from episodic and continuous geodetic GPS measurements made in conjunction with the two earthquakes, including data from newly installed COCONet (Continuously Operating Caribbean GPS Observational Network) sites. Episodic GPS measurements made in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua following the earthquakes, allow us to estimate the co-seismic deformation field from both earthquakes. Because of the small magnitude of the El Salvador earthquake and its shallow rupture the observed co-seismic deformation is small (<2 cm). Conversely, the Costa Rica earthquake occurred directly beneath a seismic and geodetic network specifically designed to capture such events. The observed displacements exceeded 0.5 m and there is a significant post-seismic transient following the earthquake. We use our estimated co-seismic offsets for both earthquakes to model the magnitude and spatial variability of slip for these two events.

Chagas Disease

MedlinePlus

... if they: ■ Have lived in rural areas of Mexico, Central America or South America, in countries such ... El Salvador, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay or Venezuela ■ ...

Capacity-Building Programs Under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in August 2004 with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic.

Leprosy Associated with Atypical Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Nicaragua and Honduras.

PubMed

Soto, Lucrecia Acosta; Caballero, Nelson; Fuentes, Lesny Ruth; Muñoz, Pedro Torres; Gómez Echevarría, Jose Ramón; López, Montserrat Pérez; Bornay Llinares, Fernando Jorge; Stanford, John L; Stanford, Cynthia A; Donoghue, Helen D

2017-10-01

In Central America, few cases of leprosy have been reported, but the disease may be unrecognized. Diagnosis is based on clinical criteria and histology. Preliminary field work in Nicaragua and Honduras found patients, including many children, with skin lesions clinically suggestive of atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis or indeterminate leprosy. Histology could not distinguish these diseases although acid-fast organisms were visible in a few biopsies. Lesions healed after standard antimicrobial therapy for leprosy. In the present study, patients, family members, and other community members were skin-tested and provided nasal swabs and blood samples. Biopsies were taken from a subgroup of patients with clinical signs of infection. Two laboratories analyzed samples, using local in-house techniques. Mycobacterium leprae , Leishmania spp. and Leishmania infantum were detected using polymerase chain reactions. Mycobacterium leprae DNA was detected in blood samples and nasal swabs, including some cases where leprosy was not clinically suspected. Leishmania spp. were also detected in blood and nasal swabs. Most biopsies contained Leishmania DNA and coinfection of Leishmania spp. with M. leprae occurred in 33% of cases. Mycobacterium leprae DNA was also detected and sequenced from Nicaraguan and Honduran environmental samples. In conclusion, leprosy and leishmaniasis are present in both regions, and leprosy appears to be widespread. The nature of any relationship between these two pathogens and the epidemiology of these infections need to be elucidated.

78 FR 79620 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Trade Agreements Thresholds (DFARS Case 2013...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-31

... GPA 204,000 7,864,000 FTAs: Australia FTA 79,507 7,864,000 Bahrain FTA 204,000 10,335,931 CAFTA-DR (Costa Rica, 79,507 7,864,000 Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua...

500 years after Columbus.

PubMed

Imbach, A

1992-01-01

The astonishing range of plants and animals of Central America's 7 countries (Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) is disappearing, as 60% of its forests have been cut for lumber and firewood as well as for cotton, cattle, or subsistence crops. Up to 5 million Mayans lived sustainably for thousands of years in an area now being destroyed by a few hundred thousand inhabitants. The Spanish colonization that started 500 years ago was concentrated in Panama, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. The majority of the English-speaking country of Belize are descended from the black slave population whose culture spread down the coast to Central America. Panama's service economy is based on the Panama Canal and trade and finance. Costa Rica benefits from a tourist industry based on its natural beauty, however, it also has the highest rate of deforestation and its fast population growth could jeopardize earlier social and economic progress. In El Salvador and Guatemala long periods of civil conflict have taken their toll on the economy and the environment. El Salvador has a mountainous territory and limited natural resources and industrialization, while the best land is in the hands of a few families. Honduras and Nicaragua retain the highest proportion of forest cover of the countries in the region, despite Nicaragua's years of tyranny, then revolution and the Contra war, and Honduras's own turmoils. Belize has achieved some stability, and is now strengthening its Central American links. Its coral reefs and coastal areas offer potential for sustainable development through fishing and tourism. Central American countries face the challenges of their fragile environments and major social problems.

Profiles of Central America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Interracial Books for Children Bulletin, 1982

1982-01-01

In order to provide information missing from elementary and secondary educational materials, briefly reviews the history, geography, and current political, economic, demographic, and social characteristics of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Some information is also given about Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize.

Leadership in nonprofit organizations of Nicaragua and El Salvador: a study from the social identity theory.

PubMed

Moriano León, Juan Antonio; Topa Cantisano, Gabriela; Lévy Mangin, Jean-Pierre

2009-11-01

This study follows the social identity model of leadership proposed by van Knippenberg and Hogg (2003), in order to examine empirically the mediator effect of leadership prototypicality between social identity, extra effort, and perceived effectiveness of group members. The sample consisted of 109 participants who worked in 22 different work-teams of non-profit organizations (NPO) from Nicaragua and El Salvador. The data analysis was performed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that NPO membership is related to a high level of social identity. In addition, the results confirmed that leadership prototypicality has a significant and positive mediator effect in the relationship between the group identification and the group members' extra effort and the perceived effectiveness of leadership.

Adolescent sexual behavior and reproductive outcomes in Central America: trends over the past two decades.

PubMed

Samandari, Ghazaleh; Speizer, Ilene S

2010-03-01

Compared with the Latin American average, adolescent fertility is high in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, countries that also have high poverty levels and poor access to reproductive health care. For each country, data were drawn from four national health surveys conducted between 1987 and 2007, and analysis focused on trends in sexual and reproductive behavior among adolescent females aged 15-19. Event history analysis examined transitions to first sexual intercourse, first union and first live birth across survey years; Cox hazard and logistic regression analyses assessed associations between selected demographic characteristics and these outcomes, as well as ever-use of a modern contraceptive method. The likelihood that adolescent females have initiated sexual intercourse has increased over time in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and has remained stable in Guatemala. Meanwhile, the odds of having entered their first union have declined in Nicaragua and risen in El Salvador, but have not changed in Honduras or Guatemala. Notably, the likelihood that adolescents have ever used a modern contraceptive method has increased in all four countries over the survey years. Nicaraguan adolescents became significantly less likely to have had their first live birth over the study period. Finally, urban residence, education level and socioeconomic status were important predictors of adolescents' sexual and reproductive outcomes. Programmatic and policy initiatives should focus on improving adolescents' education and socio- economic prospects, and efforts are especially needed to help adolescents delay the age at which they become sexually active and enter their first union.

Honduras.

PubMed

1992-05-01

Honduras has an area of 112,088 square km or 43,277 square miles with a population of 4.8 million in 1991 of whom 90% are mestizos. Literacy is 68%, the infant mortality rate is 60/1000, and life expectancy is 63 years. After independence from Spain in 1821 the Central American Federation collapsed in 1938. There have been 300 internal rebellions since independence. With an inadequate economic infrastructure, sociopolitical integration has been fragile. In 1982 the Suazo government relied on US support to face the economic recession, the threat posed by the Marxist government in Nicaragua, and civil war in El Salvador. USAID sponsored ambitious social and economic projects. A peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents occurred in 1986 despite an electoral quirk. In 1990 President Callejas introduced reforms to reduce the deficit, and to stimulate investments and exports. After initial higher inflation and low growth in 1990 and 1991, modest progress is forecast for 1992 and 1993. The powerful military has been kept in check, and human rights have been better protected. The country is among the poorest in Latin America with underemployment of 30-40% and a mostly agricultural economy. The 1990 reforms of deregulation of prices, liberalization of trade, less protectionism, and export orientation is expected to produce longterm benefits not only in agriculture but also in manufacturing. The US is the primary trading partner, and the main direct foreign investor (fruits, refining, and mining). The slash-and-burn agricultural cultivation has created environmental destruction, and as a sign of public awareness the armed forces have engaged in reforestation and fighting forest fires.

19 CFR 10.844 - Value-content requirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... preference program. The producer ships to the United States four shipments during the initial applicable one... this subpart. (5) Inclusion of the cost of fabrics or yarns not available in commercial quantities in..., Singapore, Chile, Australia, Morocco, Bahrain, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican...

Education in Latin America: A Selected Bibliography (1986-1995).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aedo-Richmond, Ruth

1996-01-01

Presents a selected bibliography of books, theses, articles, and dissertations concerning education in Latin America. Includes separate sections on Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. All selections are in…

Honduras: Will the Revolution Come?

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-03

specifically, El Salvador and Nicar- 10 agua . Honduras’ status as the only country in the region with a freely convertible currency during most of...PACIFIC PANAMA OCEAN CQL0O74IA ECUADOR. ~--~ .. . ~ ~ ..... PERU ------- -~ PACIFIC OCEAN ( ~ AUY CHILE -~ ~~UR GUAY DEMOCRACIES ý’-’ AR G E N I’lA

OAS :: Member States : Permanent Representatives

Science.gov Websites

General Assembly Governance H Human Development Human Rights I Indigenous Peoples Integral Development Scholarships School of Governance Science and Technology Social Development Summits of the Americas Sustainable Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama

48 CFR 52.225-11 - Buy American Act-Construction Materials under Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, or Singapore..., product, or manufacture of Bahrain, Mexico, or Oman ; or (2) In the case of a construction material that... Bahrain, Mexico, or Oman into a new and different construction material distinct from the materials from...

Determinants of Health Service Responsiveness in Community-Based Vector Surveillance for Chagas Disease in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Ken; Zúniga, Concepción; Romero, Eduardo; Morales, Zoraida; Maguire, James H

2015-01-01

Central American countries face a major challenge in the control of Triatoma dimidiata, a widespread vector of Chagas disease that cannot be eliminated. The key to maintaining the risk of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi at lowest levels is to sustain surveillance throughout endemic areas. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras integrated community-based vector surveillance into local health systems. Community participation was effective in detection of the vector, but some health services had difficulty sustaining their response to reports of vectors from the population. To date, no research has investigated how best to maintain and reinforce health service responsiveness, especially in resource-limited settings. We reviewed surveillance and response records of 12 health centers in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras from 2008 to 2012 and analyzed the data in relation to the volume of reports of vector infestation, local geography, demography, human resources, managerial approach, and results of interviews with health workers. Health service responsiveness was defined as the percentage of households that reported vector infestation for which the local health service provided indoor residual spraying of insecticide or educational advice. Eight potential determinants of responsiveness were evaluated by linear and mixed-effects multi-linear regression. Health service responsiveness (overall 77.4%) was significantly associated with quarterly monitoring by departmental health offices. Other potential determinants of responsiveness were not found to be significant, partly because of short- and long-term strategies, such as temporary adjustments in manpower and redistribution of tasks among local participants in the effort. Consistent monitoring within the local health system contributes to sustainability of health service responsiveness in community-based vector surveillance of Chagas disease. Even with limited resources, countries can improve health service

Determinants of Health Service Responsiveness in Community-Based Vector Surveillance for Chagas Disease in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras

PubMed Central

Hashimoto, Ken; Zúniga, Concepción; Romero, Eduardo; Morales, Zoraida; Maguire, James H.

2015-01-01

Background Central American countries face a major challenge in the control of Triatoma dimidiata, a widespread vector of Chagas disease that cannot be eliminated. The key to maintaining the risk of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi at lowest levels is to sustain surveillance throughout endemic areas. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras integrated community-based vector surveillance into local health systems. Community participation was effective in detection of the vector, but some health services had difficulty sustaining their response to reports of vectors from the population. To date, no research has investigated how best to maintain and reinforce health service responsiveness, especially in resource-limited settings. Methodology/Principal Findings We reviewed surveillance and response records of 12 health centers in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras from 2008 to 2012 and analyzed the data in relation to the volume of reports of vector infestation, local geography, demography, human resources, managerial approach, and results of interviews with health workers. Health service responsiveness was defined as the percentage of households that reported vector infestation for which the local health service provided indoor residual spraying of insecticide or educational advice. Eight potential determinants of responsiveness were evaluated by linear and mixed-effects multi-linear regression. Health service responsiveness (overall 77.4%) was significantly associated with quarterly monitoring by departmental health offices. Other potential determinants of responsiveness were not found to be significant, partly because of short- and long-term strategies, such as temporary adjustments in manpower and redistribution of tasks among local participants in the effort. Conclusions/Significance Consistent monitoring within the local health system contributes to sustainability of health service responsiveness in community-based vector surveillance of Chagas disease. Even with

The CERCA School Report Card: Communities Creating Education Quality. Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florez Guio, Ana; Chesterfield, Ray; Siri, Carmen

2006-01-01

The CERCA (Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America) school report card (SRC) model was developed with schools in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in 2004 and 2005. This document summarizes the major findings, successful procedures, and implications of the experience for the region. The SRC…

Incorporating human rights into reproductive health care provider education programs in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

PubMed

Reyes, H Luz McNaughton; Zuniga, Karen Padilla; Billings, Deborah L; Blandon, Marta Maria

2013-07-01

Health care providers play a central role in the promotion and protection of human rights in patient care. Consequently, the World Medical Association, among others, has called on medical and nursing schools to incorporate human rights education into their training programs. This report describes the efforts of one Central American nongovernmental organization to include human rights - related content into reproductive health care provider training programs in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Baseline findings suggest that health care providers are not being adequately prepared to fulfill their duty to protect and promote human rights in patient care. Medical and nursing school administrators, faculty, and students recognize the need to strengthen training in this area and are enthusiastic about incorporating human rights content into their education programs. Evaluation findings suggest that exposure to educational materials and methodologies that emphasize the relationship between human rights and reproductive health may lead to changes in health care provider attitudes and behaviors that help promote and safeguard human rights in patient care.

OAS :: Coordinating Office for the Offices of the General Secretariat in

Science.gov Websites

General Assembly Governance H Human Development Human Rights I Indigenous Peoples Integral Development Scholarships School of Governance Science and Technology Social Development Summits of the Americas Sustainable (Commonwealth of) Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haïti Honduras Jamaica México Nicaragua PanamÃ

AIDS in El Salvador.

PubMed

Martinez De Quintanilla, A B

1992-01-01

The 1st case of AIDS in El Salvador was diagnosed at Rosales Hospital in San Salvador in October 1985, in a bisexual man who had recently returned from the US. Since that time there have been 110 cases at Rosales Hospital, 81% in men. Of these patients, 54% report exclusively heterosexual histories; 42% report no travel outside El Salvador, 33% report travel to the US, 12% to Honduras, and 7% to Mexico. Risk factors include multiple sexual partners in 61%, prostitution in 7%, and injected drug use in 5%. To date, 52% are known to have died, 18% are alive, and the fate of the remainder is unknown. 5 children with symptomatic HIV infection have been seen at the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital. As of September 1991, 504 persons nationwide were known to be HIV-seropositive, 63% of whom lived in San Salvador. Seropositivity among blood donors at Rosales Hospital has increased from 0% in 1988, when screening began, to 0.265 in 1991. full text

Fire management in central America

Treesearch

Andrea L. Koonce; Armando González-Cabán

1992-01-01

Information on fire management operations in Central America is scant. To evaluate the known level of fire occurrence in seven countries in that area, fire management officers were asked to provide information on their fire control organizations and on any available fire statistics. The seven countries surveyed were Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua,...

Adolescent Literacies in Latin America and the Caribbean

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartlett, Lesley; Lopez, Dina; Mein, Erika; Valdiviezo, Laura A.

2011-01-01

In 2000, approximately 36 million youth and adults living in Latin America and the Caribbean were reported to be unable to read or write basic texts. Of these, 20 million were women. According to official statistics, some countries in Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras) have a youth and adult literacy rate of 80% or…

Country Reports on Terrorism 2009

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

by stronger government responses. Ecuador and Panama have responded with a mix of containment and non-confrontation with Colombian narco-terrorist...Spanish government officials, security and military forces, politicians, and judicial figures, but the group also targeted journalists and tourist areas...Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Suriname Trinidad and

Phylogenetics of Ogyges Kaup and the biogeography of Nuclear Central America (Coleoptera, Passalidae)

PubMed Central

Cano, Enio B.; Schuster, Jack C.; Morrone, Juan J.

2018-01-01

Abstract A phylogenetic morphological analysis of the genus Ogyges Kaup, distributed in Nuclear Central America, from Chiapas, Mexico, to northwestern Nicaragua was undertaken. Five species of Proculejus Kaup, distributed north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, were selected as outgroup. Ogyges was recovered as monophyletic with three species groups: championi, laevissimus, and crassulus. Each species group shows a distinct, generally allopatric distribution. The O. championi species group, with ten species, is distributed in the Maya block, more specifically in the mountainous system north of the Motozintla-Comaltitlán fault in Chiapas, and north of the dry valleys of the Cuilco and Motagua rivers in Guatemala. The two remaining species groups are distributed in the Chortis block. The O. laevissimus species group, including seven species, ranges mostly along the Pacific Volcanic Chain from Guatemala to El Salvador, and from southeastern Honduras to the northwestern area of Nicaragua. The O. crassulus species group, with ten species, is distributed from northeastern Guatemala (Merendón) to northern Honduras. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, the Motagua-Cuilco and Motozintla-Comaltitlán sutures zones in Chiapas and Guatemala, the lowland valleys of Colón and Comalí rivers between Nicaragua and Honduras (or, perhaps, the northern suture of the Siuna Terrane in Nicaragua), the Guayape fault system in Honduras, and the intricate dry valleys of Ulúa-Chamelecón-Olancho in Honduras, are hypothesized to have acted as barriers that affected the geographical distribution of Ogyges, as well as probably other montane organisms. PMID:29674874

75 FR 32637 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Trade Agreements Thresholds (DFARS Case 2009...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-08

... exceeding) exceeding) WTO GPA $203,000 $7,804,000 FTAs: Australia FTA 70,079 7,804,000 Bahrain FTA 203,000 9,110,318 CAFTA-DR (Costa Rica, Dominican 70,079 7,804,000 Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) Chile FTA 70,079 7,804,000 Morocco FTA 203,000 7,804,000 NAFTA: --Canada 25,000 9,110...

Associations between seasonal influenza and meteorological parameters in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.

PubMed

Soebiyanto, Radina P; Clara, Wilfrido A; Jara, Jorge; Balmaseda, Angel; Lara, Jenny; Lopez Moya, Mariel; Palekar, Rakhee; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Kiang, Richard K

2015-11-04

Seasonal influenza affects a considerable proportion of the global population each year. We assessed the association between subnational influenza activity and temperature, specific humidity and rainfall in three Central America countries, i.e. Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. Using virologic data from each country's national influenza centre, rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and air temperature and specific humidity data from the Global Land Data Assimilation System, we applied logistic regression methods for each of the five sub-national locations studied. Influenza activity was represented by the weekly proportion of respiratory specimens that tested positive for influenza. The models were adjusted for the potentially confounding co-circulating respiratory viruses, seasonality and previous weeks' influenza activity. We found that influenza activity was proportionally associated (P<0.05) with specific humidity in all locations [odds ratio (OR) 1.21-1.56 per g/kg], while associations with temperature (OR 0.69-0.81 per °C) and rainfall (OR 1.01-1.06 per mm/day) were location-dependent. Among the meteorological parameters, specific humidity had the highest contribution (~3-15%) to the model in all but one location. As model validation, we estimated influenza activity for periods, in which the data was not used in training the models. The correlation coefficients between the estimates and the observed were ≤0.1 in 2 locations and between 0.6-0.86 in three others. In conclusion, our study revealed a proportional association between influenza activity and specific humidity in selected areas from the three Central America countries.

AIDS in Nicaragua: epidemiological, political, and sociocultural perspectives.

PubMed

Low, N; Egger, M; Gorter, A; Sandiford, P; González, A; Pauw, J; Ferrie, J; Smith, G D

1993-01-01

The AIDS epidemic in Nicaragua is several years behind that in the United States and neighboring countries of Central and South America. A combination of events, including the isolation caused by the war of the U.S.-backed Contra army against the Sandinista government, the complete economic embargo imposed on Nicaragua by the United States in 1985, self-sufficiency for blood products, and a low rate of recreational injectable-drug use, have contributed to this situation. Since the Sandinistas were defeated in the general election of 1990, people have returned to Nicaragua from areas where HIV is more prevalent, such as Honduras and the United States. It is probable that many HIV-infected persons have now entered the country. Because of the high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and cultural factors such as "machismo," HIV is likely to spread rapidly by heterosexual transmission, unless effective, culturally appropriate education and sexually transmitted disease prevention programs are implemented now.

A new method for monitoring global volcanic activity. [Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Iceland, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, P. L.; Endo, E.; Harlow, D. H.; Allen, R.; Eaton, J. P.

1974-01-01

The ERTS Data Collection System makes it feasible for the first time to monitor the level of activity at widely separated volcanoes and to relay these data rapidly to one central office for analysis. While prediction of specific eruptions is still an evasive goal, early warning of a reawakening of quiescent volcanoes is now a distinct possibility. A prototypical global volcano surveillance system was established under the ERTS program. Instruments were installed in cooperation with local scientists on 15 volcanoes in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Iceland, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The sensors include 19 seismic event counters that count four different sizes of earthquakes and six biaxial borehole tiltmeters that measure ground tilt with a resolution of 1 microradian. Only seismic and tilt data are collected because these have been shown in the past to indicate most reliably the level of volcano activity at many different volcanoes. Furthermore, these parameters can be measured relatively easily with new instrumentation.

Caribbean Regional Security: The Challenges to creating Formal Military Relationships in the English-Speaking Caribbean

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-05-31

Central America such as Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian and more pointedly, through the expansion of the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC...Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua attended as observers. At the conference Major General Soligan, the SOUTHCOM J5, put...United States, Britain, and Canada are deporting undocumented aliens and legal aliens that have been convicted of criminal offences. Between 1993 and

DTNSRDC Library Subject Thesaurus.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-01

COLLISIONS BISTATIC SONAR BT SONAR BIRDS BT VERTEBRATES BITES AND STINGS NT CHICKENS BT WOUNDS AND INJURIES DUCKS GEESE BITUMENS GULLS ST ORGANIC...NT DECAPODA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA CEPSTRUM TECHNIQUE HONDURAS MEXICO CERAMIC BODIES NICARAGUA RT BODIES PANAMA CERAMIC BONDING CENTRAL EUROPE BT...EJECTORS E EJECTORS(ORDNANCE) EGG ALBUMIN BT ALBUMINS EJECTORS(DRONANCE) BT EJECTORS EGG FO0 YOUNG NT BOMB EJECTORS USE EGGS( CHICKEN ) AND COO

El Salvador.

PubMed

1987-11-01

The Central American republic of El Salvador lies on the Pacific with a south coast between Guatemala and Honduras. The climate rises from tropical maritime along the coast to subtropical hill and valley strip to a mountainous interior. The population consists of 98% Mestizo and 10% Indian, totaling 5.1 million, growing at 2.4 annually. Literacy varies from 40-60%; the infant mortality rate is 71/1000, and the life expectancy is 63-66 years. The economy is based on agricultural products as coffee, sugar and cotton and light industry such as textiles and petroleum refining, but due to political unrest, the 1986 earthquake, and fluctuating commodity prices, inflation runs about 36% and the per capita income is $700. El Salvador takes pride in its independence since 1821, but its history is marked by revolutions and control of government, military and ecclesiastical power by "the fourteen families." The current democratic government, considered to be the result of a fair election, is undertaking land reform and participates in the Central American peace process.

Age and extent of the Ilopango TBJ Tephra inferred from a Holocene chronostratigraphic reference section, Lago De Yojoa, Honduras

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mehringer, P.J.; Sarna-Wojcicki, A. M.; Wollwage, L.K.; Sheets, P.

2005-01-01

Eruption of central El Salvador's Ilopango Volcano early in the first millennium A.D. caused death, cultural devastation, and exodus of southern Mesoamericans. It also left a time-stratigraphic marker in western El Salvador and adjacent Guatemala - the Ilopango Tierra Blanca Joven, or TBJ tephra. Mineral suites and major element abundances identify a silicic volcanic ash in cores from Lago de Yojoa, Honduras, as Ilopango TBJ. This extends its reported range more than 150 km to the northeast. Analyses of glass from the TBJ tephra from the Chalchuapa archaeological site, El Salvador, and from Lago de Yojoa, Honduras, establish the first major element reference fingerprint for the TBJ tephra. The Lago de Yojoa cores also hold two previously undated trachyandesitic tephra layers originating from the nearby Lake Yojoa Volcanic Field. One fell shortly before 11,000 14C yr B.P. and the other about 8600 14C yr B.P. ?? 2004 University of Washington. All rights reserved.

The Previously Undetected Presence of Culex restuans (Diptera: Culicidae) in Central America, with Notes on Identification

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

geografica actualizada. Rev. Inv. Salud Publica (Mexico) 33: 11 I - 125. Heinemann, S.J. and J.N. Belkin. 1977. Collection records of the project...Mosquitoes of Middle America” 8. Central America: Belize (BH), Guatemala (GUA), El Salvador ( SAL ), Honduras (HON), Nicaragua (NI, NIC). Mosq. Syst...Culicidae). Ill. Nat. Hist. Surv. Biol. Notes 52, 50 pp. Vargas, L. 1956. Especies y distribucidn de mosquitos mexicanos no anofelinos. Rev. Instit. de

Gangs in Honduras: A Threat to National Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

police, judiciary and political elites. In some parts of the country, “drug cartels act as de facto authority and there is evidence of a training camp...practical to politicians…to expect the military to solve the problem by force, nor is it practical for the military to plan and execute a purely military...Honduras: Tegucigalpa, National Defense College and El Salvador University, October 30, 2007), http://cdn.U.S.alnet.org/ tesis /files/osorio.pdf

Nicaragua: an example of commitments and strengths despite problems of poverty.

PubMed

Ross, Carl A

2007-01-01

Nicaragua is located in the middle of the Central American isthmus between the countries of Honduras and Costa Rica. It is the largest Central American country and is equivalent in size to the state of Georgia. Nicaragua is cited by Pan American Health Organization as one of the poorest third-world countries. One factor that continues to contribute to Nicaragua's chronic poverty state is the demographics of the country. Nearly half of all Nicaraguans are under 15 years of age, and more than a quarter are between the ages of 15 and 29 years. Only a quarter of the population is over 30 years of age. Beyond the hardship and poverty, there is a country rich in beauty. Nicaragua has a beautiful countryside with lush green mountains, black sand beaches of the Pacific Ocean, and the natural wonder of active volcanoes. It is easy to become engulfed by the tranquility of these surroundings and to steer away from the harsh conditions of the country. It is, however, a temporary escape from reality, for it was the hardships and unfavorable circumstances of this country that are never forgotten and which persist until today. This article focuses on a variety of interventions used to assist Nicaragua with their health care and state of well-being.

The 2001 January 13th M {W}7.7 and February 13th M {W}6.6 El Salvador Earthquakes: Deformation and Stress Triggering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hreinsdóttir, S.; Freymueller, J. T.

2001-12-01

On the 13th of January 2001, an M {W} 7.7 normal fault earthquake occurred offshore El Salvador. The earthquake occurred in the subducting Cocos plate and was followed by high seismic activity and several earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5. On the 13th of February, an M {W} 6.6 strike slip earthquake occurred in the overriding Caribbean plate, about 75 km NNW from the epicenter of the large January earthquake. Deformation due to these earthquakes was observed at six continuous CORS GPS stations in Central America. In the M {W} 7.7 earthquake about 10 mm displacement was measured at GPS stations in El Salvador and Honduras. A smaller but significant dispacement was also observed at GPS stations in Nicaragua, more then 200 km from the earthquake's epicenter. In the M {W} 6.6 earthquake 41+/- 1 mm displacement in direction N111oE was measured at the GPS station in San Salvador, El Salvador. Other CORS GPS stations were not affected by that earthquake. A postsesmic signal is detectable at the San Salvador GPS station, strongest right after the earthquake and then decays. On average we see 0.3 +/- 0.1 mm/day of SSW motion of the station in the first twenty days following the earthquake. Using seismic and geodetic data, we calculated Coulomb stress changes following the January 13th, M {W} 7.7 earthquake. Of special interest were six 5.4 <= {M} {W}<=5.8 thrust events that presumably occurred on the interface between the Caribean and Cocos plate, and the M {W} 6.6 strike slip earthquake that occurred in the overriding Caribean plate. The location and focal mechanism of these earthquakes correlate with areas of calculated increase in static stress thus indicating stress triggering. The thrust events occurred 2 to 20 days after the M {W} 7.7 earthquake, in increasing distance from the M {W} 7.7 event with time.

Volcano hazards in the San Salvador region, El Salvador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Major, J.J.; Schilling, S.P.; Sofield, D.J.; Escobar, C.D.; Pullinger, C.R.

2001-01-01

communities. Another concern is a landslide and an associated debris flow (a watery flow of mud, rock, and debris--also known as a lahar) that could occur during periods of no volcanic activity. An event of this type occurred in 1998 at Casita volcano in Nicaragua when extremely heavy rainfall from Hurricane Mitch triggered a landslide that moved down slope and transformed into a rapidly moving debris flow that destroyed two villages and killed more than 2000 people. Historical landslides up to a few hundred thousand cubic meters in volume have been triggered on San Salvador volcano by torrential rainstorms and earthquakes, and some have transformed into debris flows that have inundated populated areas down stream. Destructive rainfall- and earthquake-triggered landslides and debris flows on or near San Salvador volcano in September 1982 and January 2001 demonstrate that such mass movements in El Salvador have also been lethal. This report describes the kinds of hazardous events that occur at volcanoes in general and the kinds of hazardous geologic events that have occurred at San Salvador volcano in the past. The accompanying volcano-hazards-zonation maps show areas that are likely to be at risk when hazardous events occur again.

Geodetically resolved slip distribution of the 27 August 2012 Mw=7.3 El Salvador earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, H.; La Femina, P. C.; DeMets, C.; Hernandez, D. A.; Mattioli, G. S.; Rogers, R.; Rodriguez, M.

2013-12-01

On 27 August 2012 a Mw=7.3 earthquake occurred offshore of Central America causing a small tsunami in El Salvador and Nicaragua but little damage otherwise. This is the largest magnitude earthquake in this area since 2001. We use co-seismic displacements estimated from episodic and continuous GPS station time series to model the magnitude and spatial variability of slip for this event. The estimated surface displacements are small (<2 cm) due to the distance and low magnitude of the earthquake. We use TDEFNODE to model the displacements using two different modeling approaches. In the first model, we solve for homogeneous slip on free rectangular fault(s), and in the second model we solve for distributed slip on the main thrust, realized using different slab models. The results indicate that we can match the seismic moment release, with models indicating rupture of a large area, with a low magnitude of slip. The slip is at shallow-to-intermediate depths on the main thrust off the coast of El Salvador. Additionally, we observe a deeper region of slip to the east, that reaches towards the Gulf of Fonseca between El Salvador and Nicaragua. The observed tsunami additionally indicates near-trench rupture off the coast of El Salvador. The duration of the rupturing is estimated from seismic data to be 70 s, which indicates a slow rupture process. Since the geodetic moment we obtain agrees with the seismic moment, this indicates that the earthquake was not associated with aseismic slip.

Forearc kinematics in obliquely convergent margins: Examples from Nicaragua and the northern Lesser Antilles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Henry L., III

In this study, I use surface velocities derived from GPS geodesy, elastic half-space dislocation models, and modeled Coulomb stress changes to investigate deformation in the over-riding plate at obliquely convergent margins at the leading and trailing edges of the Caribbean plate. The two principal study areas are western Nicaragua, where the Cocos plate subducts beneath the Caribbean plate, and the northern Lesser Antilles, where the North American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean plate. In Nicaragua, plate convergence is rapid at 84 mm yr1 with a small angle of obliquity of 10° along a slightly concave portion of the Middle America Trench. GPS velocities for the period from 2000 to 2004 from sites located in the Nicaraguan forearc confirmed forearc sliver motion on the order of ˜14 mm yr1 in close agreement with the value predicted by DeMets (2001). These results are presented here in Chapter 3 and were reported in Geophysical Research Letters (Turner et al., 2007). GPS observations made on sites located in the interior and on the eastern coast of Nicaragua during the same time period were combined with new data from eastern Honduras to help better constrain estimates of rigid Caribbean plate motion (DeMets et al., 2007). Slip approaching the plate convergence rate along the Nicaraguan and El Salvadoran sections of the Middle America Trench was quantitatively demonstrated by finite element modeling of this section of the plate interface using GPS velocities from our Nicaraguan network together with velocities from El Salvador and Honduras as model constraints (Correa-Mora, 2009). The MW 6.9 earthquake that ruptured the seismogenic zone offshore Nicaragua on October 9, 2004 resulted in coseismic displacements and post-seismic motion at GPS sites in the central part of the Nicaraguan forearc that currently prevent extension of interseismic time-series in this region. An elastic half-space dislocation model was used to estimate coseismic displacements at these

Leaf litter copepods from a cloud forest mountain top in Honduras (Copepoda: Cyclopidae, Canthocamptidae).

PubMed

Fiers, Frank; Jocque, Merlijn

2013-01-01

Five different species of Copepoda were extracted from a leaf litter sample collected on the top (at 2000 m a.s.l.) of a cloud forested mountain in El Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Three of them, one Cyclopidae and two Canthocamptidae are new to science, and are described herein. Olmeccyclops hondo sp. nov. is the second representative thus far known of this New World genus. Moraria catracha sp. nov. and Moraria cusuca sp. nov. are the first formally described members of the genus occurring in Central America. The concept of a "Moraria-group" is considered to be an artificial grouping and is limited here to the genera Moraria and Morariopsis only. The distributional range of this group is essentially Holarctic, with the mountainous regions in Honduras, and probably in west Nicaragua, as the southernmost limits in the New World.

Missed Opportunities for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Immunization in Mesoamerica: Potential Impact on Coverage and Days at Risk.

PubMed

Mokdad, Ali H; Gagnier, Marielle C; Colson, K Ellicott; Dansereau, Emily; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Haakenstad, Annie; Johanns, Casey K; Palmisano, Erin B; Hernandez, Bernardo; Iriarte, Emma

2015-01-01

Recent outbreaks of measles in the Americas have received news and popular attention, noting the importance of vaccination to population health. To estimate the potential increase in immunization coverage and reduction in days at risk if every opportunity to vaccinate a child was used, we analyzed vaccination histories of children 11-59 months of age from large household surveys in Mesoamerica. Our study included 22,234 children aged less than 59 months in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Child vaccination cards were used to calculate coverage of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and to compute the number of days lived at risk. A child had a missed opportunity for vaccination if their card indicated a visit for vaccinations at which the child was not caught up to schedule for MMR. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to compute the hazard ratio associated with the reduction in days at risk, accounting for missed opportunities. El Salvador had the highest proportion of children with a vaccine card (91.2%) while Nicaragua had the lowest (76.5%). Card MMR coverage ranged from 44.6% in Mexico to 79.6% in Honduras while potential coverage accounting for missed opportunities ranged from 70.8% in Nicaragua to 96.4% in El Salvador. Younger children were less likely to have a missed opportunity. In Panama, children from households with higher expenditure were more likely to have a missed opportunity for MMR vaccination compared to the poorest (OR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.06-2.47). In Nicaragua, compared to children of mothers with no education, children of mothers with primary education and secondary education were less likely to have a missed opportunity (OR 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88 and OR 0.25, 95% CI: 0.096-0.65, respectively). Mean days at risk for MMR ranged from 158 in Panama to 483 in Mexico while potential days at risk ranged from 92 in Panama to 239 in El Salvador. Our study found high levels of missed opportunities for immunizing

Detection of the Tawahka reserve colonization front: Sub-pixel TM analysis using linear mixing models La Mosquitia, Honduras

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Portigal, F.P.; Harrill, R.W.

1996-08-01

Disregard for environmental issues, rising population and the ravages of war have left Honduras with an environmental catastrophe. Vast regions of southern Honduras have been denuded of vegetation causing rapid desertification. This has resulted in decreasing rainfall, falling agricultural yields and food shortages. Deforestation is accelerating in La Mosquitia, a vast region virtually without roads in the northeast extending into Nicaragua. This is the home of the indigenous Garifuna, Miskito, Pech and Tawahkan people and is the largest unbroken tropical forest in Central America. Increasing demand for resources, incursion by Ladino peasant settlers, poverty and the cattle industry are pushingmore » the colonization fronts deeper into La Mosquitia. Linear mixing models are used to identify subtle evidence of the forward fringes of the Tawahka Reserve colonization front.« less

Cost-effectiveness analysis of the introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccine in Honduras.

PubMed

Aguilar, Ida Berenice Molina; Mendoza, Lourdes Otilia; García, Odalys; Díaz, Iris; Figueroa, Jacqueline; Duarte, Rosa María; Perdomo, Gabriel; Garcia, Ana Gabriela Felix; Janusz, Cara Bess

2015-05-07

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Honduras. With the availability of a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the causative agent for cervical cancer, the Honduran Secretary of Health undertook a cost-effectiveness analysis of introducing the HPV vaccine to support their national decision-making process. A national multidisciplinary team conducted this analysis with the CERVIVAC model, developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative. The cumulative costs and health benefits of introducing the HPV vaccine were assessed over the lifetime of one single cohort of 11-year-old girls. We assumed a three-dose series with 95% vaccination coverage of the cohort using a mixture of school-based and facility-based delivery. To estimate national cervical cancer cases and deaths, we used United Nations demographic projections and GLOBOCAN estimates based on registry data from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Based on estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Division of Intensified Cooperation with Countries (ICO), we assumed that 70% of cervical cancer would be due to vaccine types HPV16 and HPV18. We used a vaccine dose price of US$ 13.45 and evidence from the scientific literature to estimate vaccine effectiveness. National information was used to estimate health service utilization and costs of cervical cancer treatment. All costs and health benefits were discounted at 3%. Upon fully vaccinating 86,906 11-year old girls, 2250 (undiscounted) cervical cancer cases and 1336 (undiscounted) deaths would be prevented over the lifetime of the cohort. After discounting future health benefits at 3% per year, the equivalent cases and deaths prevented were 421 and 170. HPV vaccination is estimated to cost around US$ 5 million per vaccinated cohort, but this would be offset by around US$ 1 million in avoided costs borne by the government to

77 FR 31536 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Technical Amendments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-29

... adding ``Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador..., Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea..., Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea (Republic of...

Working conditions and health in Central America: a survey of 12,024 workers in six countries.

PubMed

Benavides, Fernando G; Wesseling, Catharina; Delclos, George L; Felknor, Sarah; Pinilla, Javier; Rodrigo, Fernando

2014-07-01

To describe the survey methodology and initial general findings of the first Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health. A representative sample of 12,024 workers was interviewed at home in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Questionnaire items addressed worker demographics, employment conditions, occupational risk factors and self-perceived health. Overall, self-employment (37%) is the most frequent type of employment, 8% of employees lack a work contract and 74% of the workforce is not covered by social security. These percentages are higher in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and lower in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. A third of the workforce works more than 48 h per week, regardless of gender; this is similar across countries. Women and men report frequent or usual exposures to high ambient temperature (16% and 25%, respectively), dangerous tools and machinery (10%, 24%), work on slippery surfaces (10%, 23%), breathing chemicals (12.1%, 18%), handling toxic substances (5%, 12.1%), heavy loads (6%, 20%) and repetitive movements (43%, 49%). Two-thirds of the workforce perceive their health as being good or very good, and slightly more than half reports having good mental health. The survey offers, for the first time, comparable data on the work and health status of workers in the formal and informal economy in the six Spanish-speaking Central American countries, based on representative national samples. This provides a benchmark for future monitoring of employment and working conditions across countries. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

[Trends in the urbanization process in Central America in the 1980's].

PubMed

Lungo Ucles, M

1990-01-01

In the 1980s, urbanization in Central America was increasing compared to the three previous decades. By 1990, the urban population reached 42% in Guatemala, 44% in El Salvador, 43% in Honduras, 59% in Nicaragua, 53% in Costa Rica, and 54% in Panama. The urban population increased mostly in the largest cities, in contrast to Latin America, where secondary cities grew fastest. This trend was particularly true in Managua and San Salvador because of the military conflicts. The only exception was Honduras, where the second city underwent stronger growth. The urban population comprised 51.7% women and 48.3% men in Central America. The segregation and polarization of social classes was also increasing because of increased poverty and unemployment during the 1980s. This was partly caused by the increasing privatization of public services, decentralization, and the reinforcement of local governments, which all ensued from the structural readjustment programs of the International Monetary Fund. This neoliberal model of economic development in the short run resulted in increased poverty and unemployment for the urban populations. In 1982, the informal sector represented 29% of the total employment in Central America, and its share reached 40% in Managua and San Salvador. Urban unemployment increased from 2.2% in 1980 to 12% in 1988 in Guatemala; from 8.8% to 13.1% in Honduras; and from 10.4% to 20.8% in Panama. In the political arena, the process of democratization was underway, with civil presidents taking power and promoting privatization and deregulation of the economy. There was a close relationship between the urban social structure, the economy, and politics in the region. In Costa Rica, during the Arias administration between 1986 and 1990, a program was implemented creating 80,000 new homes, and in El Salvador there was an increasing demand to find a negotiated solution to the military conflict. These new political and economic perspectives could lead to genuine

77 FR 13618 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-07

... States Free Trade Agreement with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras... president proclaimed the implementation dates as follows: El Salvador (3/1/06), Honduras (4/1/ 06...

Prevalence of Anemia in Latin America and the Caribbean.

PubMed

Mujica-Coopman, María F; Brito, Alex; López de Romaña, Daniel; Ríos-Castillo, Israel; Coris, Héctor; Olivares, Manuel

2015-06-01

In Latin America and the Caribbean, anemia has been a public health problem that affects mainly women of childbearing age and children under 6 years of age. However, the current prevalence of anemia in this region is unknown. To examine the latest available prevalence data on anemia in Latin America and the Caribbean. A systematic review was conducted in 2011 and updated in 2014. Studies determining the prevalence of anemia conducted in apparently healthy populations with national or regional representativeness were included in the review. The lowest prevalence rates of anemia among children under 6 years of age were found in Chile (4.0%), Costa Rica (4.0%), Argentina (7.6%), and Mexico (19.9%). In Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador, El Panama, and Honduras, anemia was a moderate public health problem, with prevalence ranging Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, from 20.1% to 37.3%. Anemia was a severe public health problem in Guatemala, Haiti, and Bolivia. The prevalence of anemia among women of childbearing age was lowest in Chile (5.1%). In Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Honduras, and Argentina, anemia was a mild public health problem, with prevalence ranging from 7.6% to 18.7%. In Guatemala, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Bolivia, anemia was a moderate public health problem, with prevalence ranging from 21.4% to 38.3%. Panama and Haiti had the highest reported prevalence rates (40.0% and 45.5%, respectively), and anemia was considered a severe public health problem in those countries. Anemia remains a public health problem in children under 6 years of age and women of childbearing age in most Latin America and Caribbean countries for which data are available.

Method to Determine Appropriate Source Models of Large Earthquakes Including Tsunami Earthquakes for Tsunami Early Warning in Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanioka, Yuichiro; Miranda, Greyving Jose Arguello; Gusman, Aditya Riadi; Fujii, Yushiro

2017-08-01

Large earthquakes, such as the Mw 7.7 1992 Nicaragua earthquake, have occurred off the Pacific coasts of El Salvador and Nicaragua in Central America and have generated distractive tsunamis along these coasts. It is necessary to determine appropriate fault models before large tsunamis hit the coast. In this study, first, fault parameters were estimated from the W-phase inversion, and then an appropriate fault model was determined from the fault parameters and scaling relationships with a depth dependent rigidity. The method was tested for four large earthquakes, the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake (Mw7.7), the 2001 El Salvador earthquake (Mw7.7), the 2004 El Astillero earthquake (Mw7.0), and the 2012 El Salvador-Nicaragua earthquake (Mw7.3), which occurred off El Salvador and Nicaragua in Central America. The tsunami numerical simulations were carried out from the determined fault models. We found that the observed tsunami heights, run-up heights, and inundation areas were reasonably well explained by the computed ones. Therefore, our method for tsunami early warning purpose should work to estimate a fault model which reproduces tsunami heights near the coast of El Salvador and Nicaragua due to large earthquakes in the subduction zone.

Security Assistance to Central America: Assessment of U.S. Involvement in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

Latin America, including such powers as Mexico, Brazil , and Venezuala (17:4-6). 4. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Construction Sales...coastline where it is characterized by swamps and mangrove thickets. Like its counterpart in Nicaragua, the Honduran Mosquitia and adjoining portion of the... Brazil , Columbia, Argentina, and Chile. Other Central American countries have never been strong enough to exert any real influence, although

Magmas with slab fluid and decompression melting signatures coexisting in the Gulf of Fonseca: Evidence from Isla El Tigre volcano (Honduras, Central America)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattioli, Michele; Renzulli, Alberto; Agostini, Samuele; Lucidi, Roberto

2016-01-01

Isla El Tigre volcano is located in the Gulf of Fonseca (Honduras) along the Central America volcanic front, where a significant change in the strike of the volcanic chain is observed. The studied samples of this poorly investigated volcano are mainly subalkaline basic to intermediate lavas (basalts and basaltic andesites) and subordinate subalkaline/alkaline transitional basalts, both having the typical mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of arc volcanic rocks. On the basis of petrographic and geochemical features, two groups of rocks have been distinguished. Lavas from the main volcanic edifice are highly porphyritic and hy-qz normative, and have lower MgO contents (< 5 wt.%). They show significant LILE and LREE enrichments and Nb-Ta depletions, and have a strong slab signature as well as incompatible element contents similar to those of the main front of the adjacent volcanoes in El Salvador and Nicaragua (e.g., Ba/La up to 80). In contrast, lavas from the parasitic cones have higher MgO contents (> 5 wt.%), are ol-hy normative and show lower HFSE depletions relative to LILE and LREE, with lower Ba/La, Ba/Nb and Zr/Nb ratios. This suggests that mantle-derived magmas were not produced by the same process throughout the activity of the volcano. The bulk rock geochemistry and 87Sr/86Sr (0.70373-0.70382), 143Nd/144Nd (0.51298-0.51301), 206Pb/204Pb (18.55-18.58), 207Pb/204Pb (15.54-15.56) and 208Pb/204Pb (38.23-38.26) isotopic data of Isla El Tigre compared with the other volcanoes of the Gulf of Fonseca and all available literature data for Central America suggests that this stratovolcano was mainly built by mantle-derived melts driven by slab-derived fluid-flux melting, while magmas erupted through its parasitic cones have a clear signature of decompression melting with minor slab contribution. The coexistence of these two different mantle melting generation processes is likely related to the complex geodynamic setting of the Gulf of Fonseca, where the

America - Las Americas. Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toro, Leonor; And Others

These publications were written for teachers to use with migrant children in elementary grades to highlight individual differences between the countries that make up the Americas by providing historical, geographical, and cultural information about them on a quarterly basis. The three issues presented here focus on nations of Central America with…

Emerging deforestation trends in tropical dry forests ecoregions of Mexico and Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portillo, C. A.; Cao, G.; Smith, V.

2015-12-01

Neotropical dry forests (TDF) have experienced an unprecedented deforestation that is leading to the loss of tropical biodiversity at a rapid pace, but information on deforestation dynamics in TDF is scarce. In this study, we present a sub-continental and national level assessment of TDF loss patterns in Mexico and Central America at high spatial and temporal resolution using remote sensing and GIS technologies. We used the Global Forest Change (GFC) dataset published by Hansen et al. (2013) which shows results from time-series analysis of Landsat images in characterizing global forest extent and change from 2000 through 2013. We analyzed forest loss within and around mapped TDF cover mapped by Portillo-Quintero et al. 2010. In order to minimize errors in source data, we overlaid a 25 x 25 km grid on top of the regional dataset and conducted a cell by cell and country by country inspection at multiple scales using high resolution ancillary data. We identified trends in the clustering of space-time TDF deforestation data using ArcGIS, categorizing trends in: new, consecutive, intensifying, persistent, diminishing, sporadic, oscillating and historical hotspots (high frequency of deforestation events) and cold spots (low frequency of deforestation). In general, the region is experiencing less frequent deforestation events with a higher number of intensifying and new cold spots across TDF landscapes. However, an important number of intensifying and persistent hotspots exist so no general trend in forest loss was detected for the period 2001-2013, except for El Salvador which shows a significant decreasing trend in forest loss. Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala are the major sources of intensifying, persistent and new deforestation hot spots. These were identified in the southern pacific coast and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, northwestern Guatemala, both western and eastern Honduras and around Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua.

Emerging deforestation trends in tropical dry forests ecoregions of Mexico and Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Rodriguez, I. M.; Sievert, S. M.; Fogel, M. L.; Foustoukos, D.

2014-12-01

Neotropical dry forests (TDF) have experienced an unprecedented deforestation that is leading to the loss of tropical biodiversity at a rapid pace, but information on deforestation dynamics in TDF is scarce. In this study, we present a sub-continental and national level assessment of TDF loss patterns in Mexico and Central America at high spatial and temporal resolution using remote sensing and GIS technologies. We used the Global Forest Change (GFC) dataset published by Hansen et al. (2013) which shows results from time-series analysis of Landsat images in characterizing global forest extent and change from 2000 through 2013. We analyzed forest loss within and around mapped TDF cover mapped by Portillo-Quintero et al. 2010. In order to minimize errors in source data, we overlaid a 25 x 25 km grid on top of the regional dataset and conducted a cell by cell and country by country inspection at multiple scales using high resolution ancillary data. We identified trends in the clustering of space-time TDF deforestation data using ArcGIS, categorizing trends in: new, consecutive, intensifying, persistent, diminishing, sporadic, oscillating and historical hotspots (high frequency of deforestation events) and cold spots (low frequency of deforestation). In general, the region is experiencing less frequent deforestation events with a higher number of intensifying and new cold spots across TDF landscapes. However, an important number of intensifying and persistent hotspots exist so no general trend in forest loss was detected for the period 2001-2013, except for El Salvador which shows a significant decreasing trend in forest loss. Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala are the major sources of intensifying, persistent and new deforestation hot spots. These were identified in the southern pacific coast and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, northwestern Guatemala, both western and eastern Honduras and around Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua.

Honduras.

PubMed

1985-08-01

This discussion of Honduras covers the following: the history of the country's demographic situation; the government's overall approach to population problems; population data systems and development planning; institutional arrangements for the integration of population within development planning; the goverment's view of the importance of population policy in realizing development objectives; population size, growth, and natural increase; morbidity and mortality; fertility; international migration; and spatial distribution. Between the censuses of 1910-40, Honduras grew at an average annual rate of more than 1.5% per annum. The rate of population growth reached 2% per annum after 1940 and 3% after about 1955. By 1970-75 the rate of natural increase was estimated to be about 3.5% per annum, due to the net effect of a crude birthrate of 49/1000 and a crude death rate of about 14/1000. The rate of natural increase has remained around 3.5% in recent years, although the crude death rate has declined to 44/1000 and the crude death rate to about 10/1000. The government wants to substantially reduce the rate of population growth, primarily by means of modifying fertility and averting large-scale immigration of refugees in the future. It desires to reduce the country's high levels of mortality and to adjust patterns of spatial distribution, primarily to improve agricultural productivity and promote national economic intergration. The government also seeks to decrease the emigration of qualified personnel. In the past several years, the government of Honduras has increased its commitment to formulating and implementing explicit population policies as a means of attaining overall development objcetives. With a population of around 4.1 million inhabitants as of 1983, Honduras has been growing at an average annual rate of 3.4% in recent years. According to UN projections, the population is expected to grow to about 7 million by 2000. The average life expectancy at birth for

77 FR 68699 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: New Free Trade Agreement-Panama (DFARS Case...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-16

... (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala... Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea (Republic of), Mexico, Morocco...

[The PAHO Strategic Fund: a mechanism to facilitate access to medicines].

PubMed

de L Horst, Myrza M L; Soler, Orenzio

2010-01-01

To describe the medicine procurement activities of the PAHO Strategic Fund. This is a retrospective study covering the period from 2004 to 2007, based on a bibliographic and document survey of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) archives in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Brazil. The volume of resources and the types of drugs procured by the fund were determined for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 and for the period of January to September 2007. The survey revealed a well-structured fund handling increasing resources, from US$ 3,475,043.00 in 2004 to US$ 19,646,634.00 in 2007 (January to September). The participation of antiretroviral drugs in this expenditure has grown from less than 8% of the total in 2004 to 57.89% in 2007. Still, in 2007, 66.63% of the financial resources managed by the Strategic Fund were allocated to the purchase of antiretroviral drugs for nine countries (Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, Belize, Nicaragua, and Bolivia) out of a total of 17 participating countries. Brazil was the country using the most resources through the Strategic Fund, accounting for 63% of the expenditure for the purchase of strategic supplies between January and September 2007. The proposal to unify the purchase of medications for all participating countries to improve pricing and purchasing management will result in large-scale savings. The Strategic Fund can contribute to increasing access to medicines and improving the management of the public health care system in Latin America.

76 FR 78858 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Utilization of Domestic Photovoltaic Devices...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-20

... (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico... means Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala...

Social protection networks in Central America and the Dominican Republic: Do they have a nutritional dimension?

PubMed

Cespedes, Angela; Lechtig, Aaron; Francischi, Rachel

2011-06-01

It is not known whether the social protection networks in the Central American subregion and the Dominican Republic have a nutritional dimension. To explore whether the social protection networks in Central America and the Dominican Republic have a nutritional dimension. A survey was conducted during 2009 of 110 social protection programs and 10 national plans in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Most of the social protection programs did not have a nutritional dimension. With few exceptions, the social protection programs were not prepared to prevent undernutrition. There may be a similar situation in other regions. It is recommended to incorporate the nutritional dimension into all social protection programs and social safety nets in Central America and the Dominican Republic as well as in all other countries with low-income populations, worldwide.

Honduras geothermal development: Regulations and opportunities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goff, S.J.; Winchester, W.W.

1994-09-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) through the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation funded a project to review and evaluate existing power sector laws and regulations in Honduras. Also included in the scope of the project was a review of regulations pertaining to the privatization of state-run companies. We paid particular attention to regulations which might influence opportunities to develop and commercialize Honduras` geothermal resources. We believe that Honduras is well on the road to attracting foreign investment and has planned or has already in place much of the infrastructure and legal guarantees which encourage the influx ofmore » private funds from abroad. In addition, in light of current power rationing and Honduras` new and increasing awareness of the negative effects of power sector development on the environment, geothermal energy development is even more attractive. Combined, these factors create a variety of opportunities. The potential for private sector development of geothermal positive.« less

Influenza and other respiratory viruses in three Central American countries.

PubMed

Laguna-Torres, Victor A; Sánchez-Largaespada, José F; Lorenzana, Ivette; Forshey, Brett; Aguilar, Patricia; Jimenez, Mirna; Parrales, Eduardo; Rodriguez, Francisco; García, Josefina; Jimenez, Ileana; Rivera, Maribel; Perez, Juan; Sovero, Merly; Rios, Jane; Gamero, María E; Halsey, Eric S; Kochel, Tadeusz J

2011-03-01

Despite the disease burden imposed by respiratory diseases on children in Central America, there is a paucity of data describing the etiologic agents of the disease. To analyze viral etiologic agents associated with influenza-like illness (ILI) in participants reporting to one outpatient health center, one pediatric hospital, and three general hospitals in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua Material & Between August 2006 and April 2009, pharyngeal swabs were collected from outpatients and inpatients. Patient specimens were inoculated onto cultured cell monolayers, and viral antigens were detected by indirect and direct immunofluorescence staining. A total of 1,756 patients were enrolled, of whom 1,195 (68.3%) were under the age of 5; and 183 (10.4%) required hospitalization. One or more viral agents were identified in 434 (24.7%) cases, of which 17 (3.9%) were dual infections. The most common viruses isolated were influenza A virus (130; 7.4% of cases), respiratory syncytial virus (122; 6.9%), adenoviruses (63; 3.6%), parainfluenza viruses (57; 3.2%), influenza B virus (47; 2.7% of cases), and herpes simplex virus 1 (22; 1.3%). In addition, human metapneumovirus and enteroviruses (coxsackie and echovirus) were isolated from patient specimens. When compared to the rest of the population, viruses were isolated from a significantly higher percentage of patients age 5 or younger. The prevalence of influenza A virus or influenza B virus infections was similar between the younger and older age groups. RSV was the most commonly detected pathogen in infants age 5 and younger and was significantly associated with pneumonia (p < 0.0001) and hospitalization (p < 0.0001). Genetic analysis of influenza isolates identified A (H3N2), A (H1N1), and B viruses. It also showed that the mutation H274Y conferring resistance to oseltamivir was first detected in Honduran influenza A/H1N1 strains at the beginning of 2008. These data demonstrate that a diverse range of respiratory

The 2012 August 27 Mw7.3 El Salvador earthquake: expression of weak coupling on the Middle America subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, Halldor; LaFemina, Peter C.; DeMets, Charles; Hernandez, Douglas Antonio; Mattioli, Glen S.; Rogers, Robert; Rodriguez, Manuel; Marroquin, Griselda; Tenorio, Virginia

2015-09-01

Subduction zones exhibit variable degrees of interseismic coupling as resolved by inversions of geodetic data and analyses of seismic energy release. The degree to which a plate boundary fault is coupled can have profound effects on its seismogenic behaviour. Here we use GPS measurements to estimate co- and post-seismic deformation from the 2012 August 27, Mw7.3 megathrust earthquake offshore El Salvador, which was a tsunami earthquake. Inversions of estimated coseismic displacements are in agreement with published seismically derived source models, which indicate shallow (<20 km depth) rupture of the plate interface. Measured post-seismic deformation in the first year following the earthquake exceeds the coseismic deformation. Our analysis indicates that the post-seismic deformation is dominated by afterslip, as opposed to viscous relaxation, and we estimate a post-seismic moment release one to eight times greater than the coseismic moment during the first 500 d, depending on the relative location of coseismic versus post-seismic slip on the plate interface. We suggest that the excessive post-seismic motion is characteristic for the El Salvador-Nicaragua segment of the Central American margin and may be a characteristic of margins hosting tsunami earthquakes.

Health care in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Britten, S

1989-01-01

A two-week health study tour in Nicaragua in 1987 organized by the Health Network of the (British) Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign afforded the author of this report access to health service planning, first-hand observation of the immunization programme, and visits to centres for rehabilitation of the disabled, both from the war and civil causes. The efficacy of the low technology immunization and oral rehydration programmes is contrasted with the struggle to rehabilitate the war disabled with grossly inadequate resources.

El Salvador: The Prospects for a Successful Revolution

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-12-01

sources including an uneven impact of technology, modernization, or growth of a new religion or ideology. 12 5,m € .’ 2I...salvadoreho en el presente siglo (San Salvador, El Salvador: Impreso en El Salvador, Centroamerica, 1984). Things did not improve from 1944-61, as there were...World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1966. Moran, Mariano Castro. Funci6n polftica del ej~cito salvadoreio en el presete siglo . San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador: Conflict and Change: A Secondary Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkens, Craig, Ed.

This curriculum emphasizes El Salvador's physical and human geography and involves students in active learning situations using critical and creative thinking skills. The seven lessons include: (1) "Why Study El Salvador?"; (2) "Where in the World Is El Salvador?"; (3) "Picturing El Salvador: Looking Beyond the…

The politics of disaster - Nicaragua.

PubMed

Bommer, J

1985-12-01

The occurrence of natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, are, in themselves, beyond oar control. However, careful preparation before such events, and the correct management of the problem once it occurs, can both lead to major redaction of the suffering involved. Disaster preparation and emergency planning are both inextricably linked to politics and economics, both on a national and an international scale. Disasters themselves raise a number of issues of a political or economic nature, and die response to a natural disaster both in the short and the long term is largely determined by the political relations within a country, and between that country and the international community. This paper examines these issues by taking the examples of the earthquake of Managua, Nicaragua in 1972 and the flooding that occurred in Nicaragua in 1982. These two natural disasters occurred under different administrations in Nicaragua, and tills allows some interesting comparisons.

Are there trends towards drier hydrological conditions in Central America?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidalgo, H. G.

2013-12-01

A summary of hydrological projections at the end of the century from 30 General Circulation Models (GCMs) is presented; and several hydrometeorological parameters are analyzed to validate if there are hydroclimatological trends during the observational period (1982-2005) consistent with the GCMs results. At the end of the century the median of 30 GCM simulations projects a drier future for Tegucigalpa and San Jose, with a marked increment in evapotranspiration in the first half of the rainy season along with reductions of soil moisture. With respect to the observations (1982-2005): 1) the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index showed negative trends in the North Pacific coast of Costa Rica, the border of Honduras and Nicaragua, and especially in southern Mexico (except the Yucatan Peninsula). Positive trends were found in the several parts of Central America, 2) the Palmer Drought Severity Index showed strong and consistent trends from Nicaragua to the North of Central America and southern Mexico (not including Yucatan), consistent with the direction of GCM projections; 3) negative precipitation trends in satellite data were found in Nicaragua, with strong trends in its Caribbean coast; 4) NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis precipitation showed strong negative trends in northern Central America, the Central Valley, the Dry Pacific of Costa Rica and the South-Pacific coast of Nicaragua, all consistent with the direction of GCM projections; and 5) station data showed no significant trends however, and 6) Reanalysis' temperature showed positive trends in southern Mexico (not including Yucatan) and negative trends in El Salvador. It can be concluded that several trends in drought indexes and precipitation are consistent with the future projected by the GCMs; that is, with some exceptions some of the trends were validated towards a drier future for the region, especially in the northern part.

Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses in Three Central American Countries

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

de Seguridad Social, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Correspondence: V. A. Laguna-Torres, US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment, 3230 Lima Pl, Washington...percentage of adult participants, we iden- tified viruses in 42% of ILI episodes.16 In two studies of children in Mexico , greater than 47% of ILI was...The University of Honduras, The Instituto Hondu- reño de Seguridad Social, Tegucigalpa, Honduras the Hospital de Santa Ana, El Salvador, and all

Women and Science in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Maria Mendez Martınez, Luz; Portillo, Mercy; Elías, José Héctor

2009-04-01

Physics is rarely pursued by El Salvadoran students. As in most Latin-American countries, there exists the false idea in El Salvador that some careers should be exclusively for men, such as engineering and hard sciences like physics. Because El Salvador is a natural laboratory for geophysical phenomena, due to the existence of more than 20 volcanoes, prevalent seismic activity, and large production of geothermic energy, geophysics is the most common branch of physics studied in El Salvador. The numbers and gender breakdown of physics and geophysics students at the University of El Salvador in the years since the last IUPAP Women in Physics Conference in 2005 are presented, and the numbers are encouraging.

Influenza and other respiratory viruses in three Central American countries

PubMed Central

Laguna‐Torres, Victor A.; Sánchez‐Largaespada, José F.; Lorenzana, Ivette; Forshey, Brett; Aguilar, Patricia; Jimenez, Mirna; Parrales, Eduardo; Rodriguez, Francisco; García, Josefina; Jimenez, Ileana; Rivera, Maribel; Perez, Juan; Sovero, Merly; Rios, Jane; Gamero, María E.; Halsey, Eric S.; Kochel, Tadeusz J.

2010-01-01

Please cite this paper as: Laguna‐Torres et al. (2011) Influenza and other respiratory viruses in three Central American countries. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(2), 123–134. Background  Despite the disease burden imposed by respiratory diseases on children in Central America, there is a paucity of data describing the etiologic agents of the disease. Aims  To analyze viral etiologic agents associated with influenza‐like illness (ILI) in participants reporting to one outpatient health center, one pediatric hospital, and three general hospitals in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua Material & Methods  Between August 2006 and April 2009, pharyngeal swabs were collected from outpatients and inpatients. Patient specimens were inoculated onto cultured cell monolayers, and viral antigens were detected by indirect and direct immunofluorescence staining. Results  A total of 1,756 patients were enrolled, of whom 1,195 (68.3%) were under the age of 5; and 183 (10.4%) required hospitalization. One or more viral agents were identified in 434 (24.7%) cases, of which 17 (3.9%) were dual infections. The most common viruses isolated were influenza A virus (130; 7.4% of cases), respiratory syncytial virus (122; 6.9%), adenoviruses (63; 3.6%), parainfluenza viruses (57; 3.2%), influenza B virus (47; 2.7% of cases), and herpes simplex virus 1 (22; 1.3%). In addition, human metapneumovirus and enteroviruses (coxsackie and echovirus) were isolated from patient specimens. Discussion  When compared to the rest of the population, viruses were isolated from a significantly higher percentage of patients age 5 or younger. The prevalence of influenza A virus or influenza B virus infections was similar between the younger and older age groups. RSV was the most commonly detected pathogen in infants age 5 and younger and was significantly associated with pneumonia (p < 0.0001) and hospitalization (p < 0.0001). Conclusion  Genetic analysis of influenza

76 FR 48202 - Trade Policy Staff Committee; Public Comments on the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-08

... Grenadines currently receive benefits only under CBERA. The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala... country. The CAFTA-DR entered into force for El Salvador on March 1, 2006; for Honduras on April 1, 2006... & Upload File'' field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the...

Salmonella in beef and produce from honduras.

PubMed

Maradiaga, Martha; Miller, Mark F; Thompson, Leslie; Pond, Ansen; Gragg, Sara E; Echeverry, Alejandro; Garcia, Lyda G; Loneragan, Guy H; Brashears, Mindy M

2015-03-01

Salmonella continues to cause a considerable number of foodborne illnesses worldwide. The sources of outbreaks include contaminated meat and produce. The purpose of this study was to establish an initial investigation of the burden of Salmonella in produce and beef from Honduras by sampling retail markets and abattoirs. Retail produce samples (cantaloupes, cilantro, cucumbers, leafy greens, peppers, and tomatoes; n = 573) were purchased in three major cities of Honduras, and retail whole-muscle beef (n = 555) samples were also purchased in four major cities. Additionally, both hide and beef carcass (n = 141) samples were collected from two Honduran abattoirs. Whole-muscle beef samples were obtained using a sponge hydrated with buffered peptone water, and 10 ml of the buffered peptone water rinsate of each produce sample was collected with a dry sponge and placed in a bag to be transported back to the United States. Salmonella was detected using a commercially available, closeplatform PCR system, and positive samples were subjected to culture on selective media to obtain isolates. Overall, the prevalence of Salmonella-positive samples, based on PCR detection in Honduras (n = 555) retail beef was 10.1% (95% confidence interval = 7.8, 12.9), whereas 7.8% (n = 141) of beef carcass and hides samples were positive in both beef plants. The overall Salmonella prevalence for all produce samples (n = 573) collected was 2.1% (95% confidence interval = 1.2, 3.6). The most common serotypes identified in Honduras were Salmonella Typhimurium followed by Derby. These results provide an indication of Salmonella contamination of beef and produce in Honduras. Developing a Salmonella baseline for Latin America through an initial investigation like the one presented here contributes to a broader global understanding of the potential exposure through food, thus providing insight into the needs for control strategies.

Honduras.

PubMed

1989-09-01

Honduras is a country with an area of 68,000 square miles, with considerable mountainous terrain, and a subtropical but variable climate. It has a population of 4.4 million people and an annual growth rate of 3.1%. The ethnic make up is 90% mestizo, a mixture of Indian and European, with others consisting of Arab, African, oriental, and Indians. The main religion is Catholic with a fast growing Protestant minority, and the language is Spanish. Infant mortality is 60/1000 and life expectancy is 63 years. The work force is mainly agricultural 63%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, and construction 3%. The government is a democratic constitutional republic established in 1821. The budget is $1,334 million with 7% used for defense, and the gross national product is $4.4 billion with an annual growth rate of 4.5%. Despite being poor and underdeveloped, natural resources include arable land, hydro- electric power, and considerable forest, marine, and mineral resources. Agriculture products include coffee, bananas, citrus fruit, corn, beans, and livestock. The major industries are textiles, cement, wood products, cigars and foodstuffs. Unemployment is over 15% and underemployment is estimated over 40% with the literacy rate at only 60%. In the last few years with US aid the economy has grown 3.8% a year assisted by mining, construction and the service sectors. Honduras must undertake major economic reforms to gain longterm growth and stability since it has large fiscal and trade deficits, a large public bureaucracy, poorly run state enterprises and overvalued exchange rate.

Honduras: Caribbean Coast.

PubMed

Harborne, A R; Afzal, D C; Andrews, M J

2001-12-01

The coast of Honduras, Central America, represents the southern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, although its marine resources are less extensive and studied than nearby Belize and Mexico. However, the coastal zone contains mainland reef formations, mangroves, wetlands, seagrass beds and extensive fringing reefs around its offshore islands, and has a key role in the economy of the country. Like most tropical areas, this complex of benthic habitats experiences limited annual variation in climatic and oceanographic conditions but seasonal and occasional conditions, particularly coral bleaching and hurricanes, are important influences. The effects of stochastic factors on the country's coral reefs were clearly demonstrated during 1998 when Honduras experienced a major hurricane and bleaching event. Any natural or anthropogenic impacts on reef health will inevitably affect other countries in Latin America, and vice versa, since the marine resources are linked via currents and the functioning of the system transcends political boundaries. Much further work on, for example, movement of larvae and transfer of pollutants is required to delineate the full extent of these links. Anthropogenic impacts, largely driven by the increasing population and proportion of people living in coastal areas, are numerous and include key factors such as agricultural run-off, over-fishing, urban and industrial pollution (particularly sewage) and infrastructure development. Many of these threats act synergistically and, for example, poor watershed management via shifting cultivation, increases sedimentation and pesticide run-off onto coral reefs, which increases stress to corals already affected by decreasing water quality and coral bleaching. Threats from agriculture and fishing are particularly significant because of the size of both industries. The desire to generate urgently required revenue within Honduras has also led to increased tourism which provides an overarching stress

Alternative Education Programmes and Middle School Dropout in Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jeffery H.; Aguilar, Claudia R.; Alas, Mario; Castellanos, Renán Rápalo; Castro, Levi; Enamorado, Ramón; Fonseca, Esther

2014-01-01

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article…

Evaluating a Special Education Training Programme in Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delkamiller, Julie; Swain, Kristine D.; Ritzman, Mitzi J.; Leader-Janssen, Elizabeth M.

2016-01-01

This study examined a two-year special education and inclusive practices in-service training programme with a university in Nicaragua. Participants included 14 teachers from nine schools in Nicaragua. Participants' knowledge of special education concepts were evaluated as part of assessing the training modules. In addition, programme evaluation…

Gangs in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

job.6 3 In cities the familiarity with the handling of arms and armed combat were the only tools. Some of them were incorporated into...April 17, 2012. 40 Douglas Moreno, “Buscan apoyo para prevención de violencia en El Salvador,” June 22, 2012, http://hoylosangeles.com/news/2012/jun/22...buscan-apoyo-para-prevencion-de- violencia - en-el-sa/, (accessed December 10, 2012). 41 Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador “Propuesta

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 16 Crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-11-17

ISS016-E-010894 (17 Nov. 2007) --- Cosiguina Volcano, Nicaragua is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. Three Central American countries (El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua) include coastline along the Gulf of Fonseca that opens into the Pacific Ocean. The southern boundary of the Gulf is a peninsula formed by the Cosiguina volcano illustrated in this view. Cosiguina is a stratovolcano, typically tall cone-shaped structures formed by alternating layers of solidified lava and volcanic rocks (ash, pyroclastic flows, breccias) produced by explosive eruptions. The summit crater is filled with a lake (Laguna Cosiguina). The volcano last erupted in 1859, but its most famous activity occurred in 1835 when it produced the largest historical eruption in Nicaragua. Ash from the 1835 eruption has been found in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. The volcano has been quiet since 1859, only an instant in terms of geological time. An earthquake swarm was measured near Cosiguina in 2002, indicating that tectonic forces are still active in the region although the volcano is somewhat isolated from the line of more recently active Central American volcanoes to the northwest and southeast. Intermittently observed gas bubbles in Laguna Cosiguina, and a hot spring along the eastern flank of the volcano are the only indicators of hydrothermal activity at the volcano. The fairly uniform vegetation cover (green) on the volcano's sides also attest to a general lack of gas emissions or "hot spots" on the 872 meter high cone, according to NASA scientists who study the photos downlinked from the orbital outpost.

Landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harp, Edwin L.; Castaneda, Mario; Held, Matthew D.

2002-01-01

The arrival of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in the latter part of the 1998 hurricane season produced effects that were unprecedented in their widespread nature throughout Central America. After winds from the storm had blown down more than 70 percent of the conifer forest on the Bay Island of Guanaja, the hurricane turned inland and stalled over the mainland of Honduras for 3 days. The resulting deluge of rainfall produced devastating flooding and landslides that resulted in more than 9,000 fatalities and 3 million people displaced. Although the eye of Hurricane Mitch passed through the northern part of Honduras, the greatest rainfall totals and intensities occurred in the southern part of the country near Choluteca. For the three days October 29-31, 1998, total rainfall at Choluteca exceeded 900 mm. Not surprisingly, it was in this area that the highest landslide concentrations occurred.

Triggering of destructive earthquakes in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez-Díaz, José J.; Álvarez-Gómez, José A.; Benito, Belén; Hernández, Douglas

2004-01-01

We investigate the existence of a mechanism of static stress triggering driven by the interaction of normal faults in the Middle American subduction zone and strike-slip faults in the El Salvador volcanic arc. The local geology points to a large strike-slip fault zone, the El Salvador fault zone, as the source of several destructive earthquakes in El Salvador along the volcanic arc. We modeled the Coulomb failure stress (CFS) change produced by the June 1982 and January 2001 subduction events on planes parallel to the El Salvador fault zone. The results have broad implications for future risk management in the region, as they suggest a causative relationship between the position of the normal-slip events in the subduction zone and the strike-slip events in the volcanic arc. After the February 2001 event, an important area of the El Salvador fault zone was loaded with a positive change in Coulomb failure stress (>0.15 MPa). This scenario must be considered in the seismic hazard assessment studies that will be carried out in this area.

The Physics Laboratory in Honduras.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuniga, M. A.

1979-01-01

This paper, presented at the conference on the role of the laboratory in physics education, which was held in Oxford, England in July 1978, describes the role of the laboratory in school and university physics in Honduras. (HM)

A Multiorganization Approach to Improving Palliative Care in Honduras.

PubMed

Kennedy Sheldon, Lisa; Dahlin, Constance; Maingi, Shail; Sanchez, Jose

2017-01-01

Since 2011, oncology nurses and physicians in the United States have been volunteering in Honduras with the International Cancer Corps (ICC), organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in partnership with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). In this article, the authors will summarize the work of the ASCO/HVO ICC teams that developed educational programs with local partners to improve cancer and palliative care in Honduras.

Honduras: Political and Economic Situation and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-13

2006.6 Amid the country’s hurricane reconstruction efforts, Honduras signed a poverty reduction and growth facility ( PRGF ) agreement with the International...macroeconomic discipline and to develop a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy. In February 2004, Honduras signed a three-year PRGF agreement...IMF Executive Board Completes Third Program and Financing Assurances Reviews under Honduras’ PRGF Arrangement,” Press Release No. 05/280, Dec. 16, 2005

Audiology in Latin America: hearing impairment, resources and services.

PubMed

Madriz, J J

2001-01-01

Evidence is presented about the limitation of information available on prevalence/incidence of deafness and hearing impairment in the developing world; particularly in Latin America. Two questionnaires on audiological resources and services were mailed to Latin American and Caribbean countries in general and to Central American nations in particular. The information returned by Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Belize, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and Uruguay was analysed. Data was gathered about epidemiological studies on hearing impairment, about specific programmes, such as early identification of hearing impairment, national registers on deafness and programmes on hearing screening. Training programmes and availability of professionals in the field of hearing and deafness is also shown. Hearing services, hearing aids provision, hearing testing equipment, professional organization and legislation in audiology is also documented. It is our conclusion that hearing impairment is a low priority for health systems in the developing world, technology continues to be excessively costly and material and human resources are limited, and services are poor and restricted.

Transmission Reinforcements in the Central American Regional Power System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elizondo, Marcelo A.; Vallem, Mallikarjuna R.; Samaan, Nader A.

The Central American regional interconnected power system (SER) connects the countries members of the Central American regional electricity market (MER): Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The SER was a result of a long term regional effort, and was initially conceived to transfer 300 MW between countries. However, the current transfer limits between countries range from 70 MW to 300 MW. Regional entities, like CRIE (Regional Commission of Electrical Interconnection), EOR (Central American Regional System Operator), and CDMER (Board of Directors of the Central American Market) are working on coordinating the national transmission expansion plans with regionalmore » transmission planning efforts. This paper presents experience in Central America region to recommend transmission reinforcements to achieve 300 MW transfer capacity between any pair of member countries of the Central American regional electricity market (MER). This paper also provides a methodology for technical analysis and for coordination among the regional and national entities. This methodology is unique for transmission systems of these characteristics.« less

Has El Salvador Fault Zone produced M ≥ 7.0 earthquakes? The 1719 El Salvador earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canora, C.; Martínez-Díaz, J.; Álvarez-Gómez, J.; Villamor, P.; Ínsua-Arévalo, J.; Alonso-Henar, J.; Capote, R.

2013-05-01

Historically, large earthquakes, Mw ≥ 7.0, in the Εl Salvador area have been attributed to activity in the Cocos-Caribbean subduction zone. Τhis is correct for most of the earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6.5. However, recent paleoseismic evidence points to the existence of large earthquakes associated with rupture of the Εl Salvador Fault Ζone, an Ε-W oriented strike slip fault system that extends for 150 km through central Εl Salvador. Τo calibrate our results from paleoseismic studies, we have analyzed the historical seismicity of the area. In particular, we suggest that the 1719 earthquake can be associated with paleoseismic activity evidenced in the Εl Salvador Fault Ζone. Α reinterpreted isoseismal map for this event suggests that the damage reported could have been a consequence of the rupture of Εl Salvador Fault Ζone, rather than rupture of the subduction zone. Τhe isoseismal is not different to other upper crustal earthquakes in similar tectonovolcanic environments. We thus challenge the traditional assumption that only the subduction zone is capable of generating earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7.0 in this region. Τhis result has broad implications for future risk management in the region. Τhe potential occurrence of strong ground motion, significantly higher and closer to the Salvadorian populations that those assumed to date, must be considered in seismic hazard assessment studies in this area.

Tracking financial flows for immunization in Honduras.

PubMed

Valdés, Werner; Janusz, Cara Bess; Molina Aguilera, Ida Berenice; Mendoza, Lourdes; Díaz, Iris Yolanda; Resch, Stephen

2015-05-07

In Honduras, until 2008, vaccine and injection supplies were financed with domestic resources. With the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in 2009 and pneumococcal conjugate in 2011, the country's Expanded Program on Immunization required an influx of resources to support not only vaccine procurement but also investments in cold chain infrastructure and programmatic strategies. This paper examines the origin, allocation, and use of resources for immunization in 2011 in Honduras, with the aim of identifying gaps in financing. An adaptation of the System of Health Accounts (2011) codes was used to specifically track resources for immunization services in Honduras for 2011. All financial flows were entered into an Excel database, and each transfer of resources was coded with a financing source and a financing agent. These coded financing sources were then distributed by provider, health care function (activity), health care provision (line item or resource input), and beneficiary (geographic, population, and antigen). All costs were calculated in 2011 United States dollars. In 2011, financing for routine immunization in Honduras amounted to US$ 49.1 million, which is equal to 3.3% of the total health spending of US$ 1.49 billion and 0.29% of the GDP. Of the total financing, 64% originate from domestic sources. The other 36% is external financing, most importantly Gavi support for introducing new vaccines. This analysis identified potential financing gaps for many immunization-related activities besides procuring vaccines, such as expanding the cold chain, training, social mobilization, information systems, and research. The funding for Honduras' immunization program is a small share of total public spending on health. However, new vaccines recently added to the schedule with financial support from Gavi have increased the financing requirements by more than 30% in comparison to 2008. The Honduran government and its partners are developing sustainability plans to cover a

Geothermal resources assessed in Honduras

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1986-01-01

The investigation of the Platanares geothermal site is part of a joint Honduras (Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica)/US (Los Alamos National Laboratory and US Geological Survey) assessment of the nationwide geothermal resource potential of Honduras. Platanares was selected as one of the initial sites for detailed study on the basis of previous geothermal reconnaissance work. The results of the geologic studies indicate that Platarnares' potential for development as an electrical power source is extremely good. This preliminary conclusion must be substantiated and refined through additional studies. Geophysical investigations are needed to further define the subsurface geology and fracture system. Severalmore » wells should be drilled to a depth of several hundred meters to measure thermal gradients. This will allow the calculation of the geothermal potential of the Platanares site and will indicate whether further development of the site is warranted.« less

A Transforming Process in Honduras: Implementing Service Learning with Privileged Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgenson, Olaf

2001-01-01

Poverty-stricken Honduras offers unlimited service-learning opportunities. In one international school, service learning has become part of school culture. Innovative hospital and shelter projects have transformative potential for the school's aristocratic students, who are likely to become Honduras's future leaders and shape the country's future.…

15 CFR 2013.1 - Designations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Bahrain Barbados Belize Botswana Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Fiji Gabon Grenada Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Malaysia Malta Mauritius Morocco Namibia Panama...

15 CFR 2013.1 - Designations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Bahrain Barbados Belize Botswana Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Fiji Gabon Grenada Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Malaysia Malta Mauritius Morocco Namibia Panama...

Implications for stress changes along the Motagua fault and other nearby faults using GPS and seismic constraints on the M=7.3 2009 Swan Islands earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, S. E.; Rodriguez, M.; Rogers, R. D.; Strauch, W.; Hernandez, D.; Demets, C.

2010-12-01

The May 28, 2009 M=7.3 Swan Islands earthquake off the north coast of Honduras caused significant damage in the northern part of the country, including seven deaths. This event, the largest in the region for several decades, ruptured the offshore continuation of the Motagua-Polochic fault system, whose 1976 earthquake (located several hundred kilometers to the southwest of the 2009 epicenter) caused more than 23,000 deaths in Central America and left homeless 20% of Guatemala’s population. We use elastic half-space modeling of coseismic offsets measured at 39 GPS stations in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to better understand the slip source of the recent Swan Islands earthquake. Measured offsets range from .32 meters at a campaign site near the Motagua fault in northern Honduras to 4 millimeters at five continuous sites in El Salvador. Coulomb stress calculations based on the estimated distribution of coseismic slip will be presented and compared to earthquake focal mechanisms and aftershock locations determined from a portable seismic network that was installed in northern Honduras after the main shock. Implications of the Swan Islands rupture for the seismically hazardous Motagua-Polochic fault system will be described.

Catalog of known hot springs and thermal place names for Honduras

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finch, R.C.

Thermal place names were compiled from all 1:50,000 topographic quadrangle maps for the Republic of Honduras as of July 1986, from other published maps, and from several sources of unpublished data. Known hot spring sites include those visited by Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica (Honduras) geologists, sites visited by Los Alamos geologists in 1985, and other sites known to R.C. Finch. The number of known hot spring sites in Honduras with temperatures >30/sup 0/C is 125. In addition, 56 thermal sites are suspected on the basis of thermal place names. The total number of geothermal sites, known and suspected, ismore » 181.« less

The Coreidae of Honduras (Hemiptera: Coreidae)

PubMed Central

Linares, Carlos A

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Coreidae bugs are mostly sap-sucking insects feeding on a variety of plants. Despite their abundance and economic importance in Honduras there is little information on the species, their distribution and affected crops. Since knowledge of pest species allows for better management of crops, we aimed to document the diversity of this economically important group. Specimens from four entomological collections in Honduras were studied and an exhaustive search of all available literature was conducted. New information A total of 2,036 insects were examined. The fauna of Honduran coreids is now composed of 68 species. Nineteen species are recorded for the country for the first time and 17 species were found only in literature. Little is known about the biology and economic importance of most of the species. PMID:28781567

Predictors of outcome and methodological issues in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in El Salvador.

PubMed

Bonilla, Miguel; Gupta, Sumit; Vasquez, Roberto; Fuentes, Soad L; deReyes, Gladis; Ribeiro, Raul; Sung, Lillian

2010-12-01

Most children with cancer live in low-income countries (LICs) where risk factors in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) developed in high-income countries may not apply. We describe predictors of survival for children in El Salvador with ALL. We included patients <16 years diagnosed with ALL between January 2001 and July 2007 treated with the El Salvador-Guatemala-Honduras II protocol. Demographic, disease-related, socioeconomic and nutritional variables were examined as potential predictors of event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). 260/443 patients (58.7%) were classified as standard risk. Standard- and high-risk 5-year EFS were 56.3 ± 4.5% and 48.6 ± 5.5%; 5-year OS were 77.7 ± 3.8% and 61.9 ± 5.8%, respectively. Among standard-risk children, socioeconomic variables such as higher monthly income (hazard ratio [HR] per $100 = 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70-0.99; P=0.04]) and parental secondary education (HR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.29-0.84; P = 0.01) were associated with better EFS. Among high-risk children, higher initial white blood cell (HR per 10×10(9)/L = 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.05; P<0.001) predicted worse EFS; socioeconomic variables were not predictive. The difference in EFS and OS appeared related to overestimating OS secondary to poor follow-up after abandonment/relapse. Socioeconomic variables predicted worse EFS in standard-risk children while disease-related variables were predictive in high-risk patients. Further studies should delineate pathways through which socioeconomic status affects EFS in order to design effective interventions. EFS should be the primary outcome in LIC studies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone

PubMed Central

Torres‐Dowdall, Julián; Meyer, Axel

2016-01-01

Abstract Large‐scale infrastructure projects commonly have large effects on the environment. The planned construction of the Nicaragua Canal will irreversibly alter the aquatic environment of Nicaragua in many ways. Two distinct drainage basins (San Juan and Punta Gorda) will be connected and numerous ecosystems will be altered. Considering the project's far‐reaching environmental effects, too few studies on biodiversity have been performed to date. This limits provision of robust environmental impact assessments. We explored the geographic distribution of taxonomic and genetic diversity of freshwater fish species (Poecilia spp., Amatitlania siquia, Hypsophrys nematopus, Brycon guatemalensis, and Roeboides bouchellei) across the Nicaragua Canal zone. We collected population samples in affected areas (San Juan, Punta Gorda, and Escondido drainage basins), investigated species composition of 2 drainage basins and performed genetic analyses (genetic diversity, analysis of molecular variance) based on mitochondrial cytb. Freshwater fish faunas differed substantially between drainage basins (Jaccard similarity = 0.33). Most populations from distinct drainage basins were genetically differentiated. Removing the geographic barrier between these basins will promote biotic homogenization and the loss of unique genetic diversity. We found species in areas where they were not known to exist, including an undescribed, highly distinct clade of live bearing fish (Poecilia). Our results indicate that the Nicaragua Canal likely will have strong impacts on Nicaragua's freshwater biodiversity. However, knowledge about the extent of these impacts is lacking, which highlights the need for more thorough investigations before the environment is altered irreversibly. PMID:27253906

[Earthquakes in El Salvador].

PubMed

de Ville de Goyet, C

2001-02-01

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has 25 years of experience dealing with major natural disasters. This piece provides a preliminary review of the events taking place in the weeks following the major earthquakes in El Salvador on 13 January and 13 February 2001. It also describes the lessons that have been learned over the last 25 years and the impact that the El Salvador earthquakes and other disasters have had on the health of the affected populations. Topics covered include mass-casualties management, communicable diseases, water supply, managing donations and international assistance, damages to the health-facilities infrastructure, mental health, and PAHO's role in disasters.

Honduras Defense Policy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-22

political, military, economic and social sectors. DO I JAN73 1473 EDITION OF I NOV GS IS OBSOLETE SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (Wlen Data Entered...political military, economic and social sectors. NTIS CRA&I D -1 srl ooocB d Ju t l, atuo .. . By VI. lbut,.or / Availdbility Codes Dibt ,-.•or 0LIJ A...Pacific Ocean in the north and south, Honduras is the link that divides the Central American Isthmus in half. Any political, social or military event

Religious Coping, Spirituality, and Substance Use and Abuse Among Youth in High-Risk Communities in San Salvador, El Salvador

PubMed Central

Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; Olate, Rene; Vaughn, Michael G.

2014-01-01

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11–17 years) and young adults (18–25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth. PMID:23647129

Religious coping, spirituality, and substance use and abuse among youth in high-risk communities in San Salvador, El Salvador.

PubMed

Salas-Wright, Christopher P; Olate, Rene; Vaughn, Michael G

2013-06-01

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Vulnerability to Climate Change in Rural Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, T. R.; Townshend, I.; Byrne, J. M.; McDaniel, S. A.

2013-12-01

While there is a growing recognition of the impact that climate change may have on human development, there has been a shift in focus from an impacts-led assessment approach towards a vulnerability-led assessment approach. This research operationalizes the IPCC's definition of vulnerability in a sub-national assessment to understand how different factors that shape vulnerability to climate change vary spatially across rural Nicaragua. The research utilizes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO UN) CropWat model to evaluate how the annual yield of two of Nicaragua's staple crops may change under projected changes in temperature and precipitation. This analysis of agricultural sensitivity under exposure to climate change is then overlain with an indicator-based assessment of adaptive capacity in rural Nicaraguan farming households. Adaptive capacity was evaluated using household survey data from the 2001 National Household Survey on Living Standards Measurement, which was provided to us by the FAO UN. The result is a map representing current vulnerability to future climate change, and can serve as a basis for targeting policy interventions in rural Nicaragua.

Salvador has an extended SARAH domain that mediates binding to Hippo kinase.

PubMed

Cairns, Leah; Tran, Thao; Fowl, Brendan H; Patterson, Angela; Kim, Yoo Jin; Bothner, Brian; Kavran, Jennifer M

2018-04-13

The Hippo pathway controls cell proliferation and differentiation through the precisely tuned activity of a core kinase cassette. The activity of Hippo kinase is modulated by interactions between its C-terminal coiled-coil, termed the SARAH domain, and the SARAH domains of either dRassF or Salvador. Here, we wanted to understand the molecular basis of SARAH domain-mediated interactions and their influence on Hippo kinase activity. We focused on Salvador, a positive effector of Hippo activity and the least well-characterized SARAH domain-containing protein. We determined the crystal structure of a complex between Salvador and Hippo SARAH domains from Drosophila This structure provided insight into the organization of the Salvador SARAH domain including a folded N-terminal extension that expands the binding interface with Hippo SARAH domain. We also found that this extension improves the solubility of the Salvador SARAH domain, enhances binding to Hippo, and is unique to Salvador. We therefore suggest expanding the definition of the Salvador SARAH domain to include this extended region. The heterodimeric assembly observed in the crystal was confirmed by cross-linked MS and provided a structural basis for the mutually exclusive interactions of Hippo with either dRassF or Salvador. Of note, Salvador influenced the kinase activity of Mst2, the mammalian Hippo homolog. In co-transfected HEK293T cells, human Salvador increased the levels of Mst2 autophosphorylation and Mst2-mediated phosphorylation of select substrates, whereas Salvador SARAH domain inhibited Mst2 autophosphorylation in vitro These results suggest Salvador enhances the effects of Hippo kinase activity at multiple points in the Hippo pathway. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Global mental health: transformative capacity building in Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Sapag, Jaime C.; Herrera, Andrés; Trainor, Ruth; Caldera, Trinidad; Khenti, Akwatu

2013-01-01

Background Mental health is increasingly recognised as integral to good public health, but this area continues to lack sufficient planning, resources, and global strategy. It is a pressing concern in Latin America, where social determinants of health aggravate existing inequities in access to health services. Nicaragua faces serious mental health needs and challenges. One key strategy for addressing gaps in mental health services is building capacity at the primary healthcare and system levels. Objective Using the framework of best practice literature, this article analyses the four-year collaborative process between the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in León (UNAN-León) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Canada, which is aimed at improving mental healthcare in Nicaragua. Design Based on a critical analysis of evaluation reports, key documents, and discussion among partners, the central steps of the collaboration are analysed and main successes and challenges identified. Results A participatory needs assessment identified local strengths and weaknesses, expected outcomes regarding competencies, and possible methodologies and recommendations for the development of a comprehensive capacity-building programme. The partners delivered two international workshops on mental health and addiction with an emphasis on primary healthcare. More recently, an innovative Diploma and Master programme was launched to foster interprofessional leadership and effective action to address mental health and addiction needs. Collaborative activities have taken place in Nicaragua and Canada. Discussion To date, international collaboration between Nicaragua and CAMH has been successful in achieving the jointly defined goals. The process has led to mutual knowledge sharing, strong networking, and extensive educational opportunities. Evidence of effective and respectful global health capacity building is provided. Lessons learned and implications for global

78 FR 20123 - Extension of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... deforestation and erosion, and Honduras's largest source of fresh water (the Lago de Yojoa) is heavily polluted... the potable water distribution systems and sewage treatment facilities in urban and rural Honduras... situation with funds designated for [[Page 20125

El Salvador.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solberg, Mary

1982-01-01

Many El Salvador refugees who have sought asylum in the United States have been sent back, only to succumb to violence. Justice demands that the United States deal with the unfortunate consequences of violence by exercising such policy options as providing extended voluntary departure status to refugees or suspending military aid to the junta.…

The imperiled fish fauna in the Nicaragua Canal zone.

PubMed

Härer, Andreas; Torres-Dowdall, Julián; Meyer, Axel

2017-02-01

Large-scale infrastructure projects commonly have large effects on the environment. The planned construction of the Nicaragua Canal will irreversibly alter the aquatic environment of Nicaragua in many ways. Two distinct drainage basins (San Juan and Punta Gorda) will be connected and numerous ecosystems will be altered. Considering the project's far-reaching environmental effects, too few studies on biodiversity have been performed to date. This limits provision of robust environmental impact assessments. We explored the geographic distribution of taxonomic and genetic diversity of freshwater fish species (Poecilia spp., Amatitlania siquia, Hypsophrys nematopus, Brycon guatemalensis, and Roeboides bouchellei) across the Nicaragua Canal zone. We collected population samples in affected areas (San Juan, Punta Gorda, and Escondido drainage basins), investigated species composition of 2 drainage basins and performed genetic analyses (genetic diversity, analysis of molecular variance) based on mitochondrial cytb. Freshwater fish faunas differed substantially between drainage basins (Jaccard similarity = 0.33). Most populations from distinct drainage basins were genetically differentiated. Removing the geographic barrier between these basins will promote biotic homogenization and the loss of unique genetic diversity. We found species in areas where they were not known to exist, including an undescribed, highly distinct clade of live bearing fish (Poecilia). Our results indicate that the Nicaragua Canal likely will have strong impacts on Nicaragua's freshwater biodiversity. However, knowledge about the extent of these impacts is lacking, which highlights the need for more thorough investigations before the environment is altered irreversibly. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Mortality trends among refugees in Honduras, 1984-1987.

PubMed

Desenclos, J C; Michel, D; Tholly, F; Magdi, I; Pecoul, B; Desve, G

1990-06-01

Mortality data collected from 1984 to 1987 through a routine standardized health information system in the five main refugee populations of Honduras were reviewed. The direct standardized mean annual death rate for all refugees was 5.5 per 1000 population (Honduras population as reference; Honduras mortality rate: 10.1 per 1000). Mortality decreased or remained stable among Salvadoran refugees from 1984 to 1987, but increased among Nicaraguan refugees after 1985. The highest neonatal (56.1 per 1000 livebirths), infant (126.1 per 1000 livebirths) and under-five-year-olds (35.7 per 1000 child less than five years of age) mortality rates were observed in the two Nicaraguan camps. These two camps had the highest rate of newly arriving refugees. Deaths in infants and under-five-year-olds accounted for 42 and 54.1% of all deaths respectively. Of all deaths under five years of age, respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and measles accounted for 21.4%, 22.1% and 4.7%, respectively. Mortality rates, particularly among under-five-year-olds and infants increased when the rate of newly arriving refugees was higher. The importance of adapted health surveillance in refugee settlements is discussed.

San Cristobal Volcano, Nicaragua

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A white plume of smoke, from San Cristobal Volcano (13.0N, 87.5W) on the western coast of Nicaragua, blows westward along the Nicaraguan coast just south of the Gulf of Fonseca and the Honduran border. San Csistobal is a strato volcano some 1,745 meters high and is frequently active.

Integrating health promotion and disease prevention interventions with vaccination in Honduras.

PubMed

Molina-Aguilera, Ida Berenice; Mendoza-Rodríguez, Lourdes Otilia; Palma-Ríos, María Aparicia; Danovaro-Holliday, M Carolina

2012-03-01

We sought to review and describe health interventions integrated with immunization delivery, both routine and during national vaccination weeks, in Honduras between 1991 and 2009. We compiled and examined all annual evaluation reports from the national Expanded Program on Immunization and reports from the national vaccination weeks (NVWs) between 1988 and 2009. We held discussions with the persons responsible for immunization and other programs in the Health Secretary of Honduras for the same time period. Since 1991, several health promotion and disease prevention interventions have been integrated with immunization delivery, including vitamin A supplementation (since 1994), folic acid supplementation (2003), early detection of retinoblastoma (since 2003), breastfeeding promotion (2007-2008), and disease control activities during public health emergencies, such as cholera control (1991-1992) and dengue control activities (since 1991, when a dengue emergency coincides with the NVW). Success factors included sufficient funds and supplies to ensure sustainability and joint planning, delivery, and monitoring. Several health interventions have been integrated with vaccination delivery in Honduras for nearly 20 years. The immunization program in Honduras has sufficient structure, organization, acceptance, coverage, and experience to achieve successful integration with health interventions if carefully planned and suitably implemented.

Health Education Intervention. An Annotated Bibliography. Nutrition Education Series Issue 13.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France).

This annotated bibliography contains 73 citations describing health education programs around the world. Countries represented include: Bangladesh, Egypt, Gambia, Gilbert Islands, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Swaziland, Thailand, Tunisia, Australia, Colombia, India, United Kingdom, Canada,…

Clinical Features and Neurologic Complications of Children Hospitalized With Chikungunya Virus in Honduras.

PubMed

Samra, José A; Hagood, Nancy L; Summer, Andrea; Medina, Marco T; Holden, Kenton R

2017-07-01

The first case of Chikungunya virus in Honduras was identified in 2014. The virus has spread widely across Honduras via the Aedes aegypti mosquito, leading to an outbreak of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in 2015 that significantly impacted children. A retrospective chart review of 235 children diagnosed with CHIKV and admitted to the National Autonomous University of Honduras Hospital Escuela (Hospital Escuela) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was accomplished with patients who were assessed for clinical features and neurologic complications. Of 235 children admitted to Hospital Escuela with CHIKV, the majority had symptoms of fever, generalized erythematous rash, and irritability. Fourteen percent had clinical arthritis. Ten percent of patients had seizures. Six percent had meningoencephalitis. There were 2 childhood deaths during the course of this study, one from meningoencephalitis and another from myocarditis. Chikungunya virus can cause severe complications in children, the majority of which impact the central nervous system.

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in Honduras.

PubMed

Lopez, Ana Cecilia; Ortiz, Andres; Coello, Jorge; Sosa-Ochoa, Wilfredo; Torres, Rosa E Mejia; Banegas, Engels I; Jovel, Irina; Fontecha, Gustavo A

2012-11-26

Understanding the population structure of Plasmodium species through genetic diversity studies can assist in the design of more effective malaria control strategies, particularly in vaccine development. Central America is an area where malaria is a public health problem, but little is known about the genetic diversity of the parasite's circulating species. This study aimed to investigate the allelic frequency and molecular diversity of five surface antigens in field isolates from Honduras. Five molecular markers were analysed to determine the genotypes of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum from endemic areas in Honduras. Genetic diversity of ama-1, msp-1 and csp was investigated for P. vivax, and msp-1 and msp-2 for P. falciparum. Allelic frequencies were calculated and sequence analysis performed. A high genetic diversity was observed within Plasmodium isolates from Honduras. A different number of genotypes were elucidated: 41 (n = 77) for pvama-1; 23 (n = 84) for pvcsp; and 23 (n = 35) for pfmsp-1. Pvcsp sequences showed VK210 as the only subtype present in Honduran isolates. Pvmsp-1 (F2) was the most polymorphic marker for P. vivax isolates while pvama-1 was least variable. All three allelic families described for pfmsp-1 (n = 30) block 2 (K1, MAD20, and RO33), and both allelic families described for the central domain of pfmsp-2 (n = 11) (3D7 and FC27) were detected. However, K1 and 3D7 allelic families were predominant. All markers were randomly distributed across the country and no geographic correlation was found. To date, this is the most complete report on molecular characterization of P. vivax and P. falciparum field isolates in Honduras with regards to genetic diversity. These results indicate that P. vivax and P. falciparum parasite populations are highly diverse in Honduras despite the low level of transmission.

Mapa de Vulnerabilidad en Honduras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez, A. A.

2013-05-01

Dado que Honduras geográficamente se encuentra en una zona que esta expuesta a diferentes fenómenos sísmicos y climatológicos. Investigamos cuales son las zonas mas propensas a desastres naturales, la vulnerabilidad y el factor de resiliencia de la población de acuerdo a diferentes parámetros de estudio.

Educational Reform with Television: The El Salvador Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, John K.; And Others

A detailed report describes the planning, development, operation, results, and problems of an experiment in instructional television in El Salvador. Unlike other developing countries, El Salvador conceived of educational television as an integral component of national educational reform, embracing curriculum revision, teacher training, and new…

BIOÉTICA EN NICARAGUA

PubMed Central

Gonzálezy, Armando Ulloa; Monge, Melba de la Cruz Barrantes

2009-01-01

Este trabajo describe la situación de la bioética en Nicaragua, caracterizando las circunstancias y el contexto de las actividades de educación médica y las unidades prestadoras de servicios de salud. El desarrollo de un nuevo modelo de atención integral en salud, la implementación de políticas de salud que garanticen a la población el mayor acceso y gratuidad a los servicios, y los cambios acontecidos en los cuidados médicos, debidos en parte al reconocimiento creciente de una mayor autonomía de los pacientes y al uso creciente de nuevas tecnologías médicas, hace que se presenten algunas limitantes y dilemas en las unidades asistenciales y entre el personal de salud. La bioética en Nicaragua tiene un desarrollo incipiente: no está institucionalizada ni se han previsto los mecanismos formales que permitan resolver los problemas éticamente complejos, por lo tanto, constituye un gran reto por parte de las instituciones educativas y rectoras de la salud. PMID:20352016

First record of the invasive Asian fish tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi in Honduras, Central America

PubMed Central

Salgado-Maldonado, Guillermo; Matamoros, Wilfredo A.; Kreiser, Brian R.; Caspeta-Mandujano, Juan Manuel; Mendoza-Franco, Edgar F.

2015-01-01

This paper provides the first report of the invasive Asian fish tapeworm, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934, in Honduras. The cestode was found in Profundulus portillorum (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae), which represents a new host record, and which is a member of a genus faced with a variety of conservation challenges, now potentially complicated by the presence of this pathogenic cestode. Nearly complete sequence data from the ITS-1 5.8S and ITS-2 regions corroborate the determination based on morphological characteristics. Several species of carp were introduced to Honduras for aquaculture purposes in the early 1980s and the presence of the Asian fish tapeworm in Honduras may be related to these introductions. In addition, this report documents the currently known geographical distribution of this parasite in Central America, first recorded from Panamá and now from Honduras. PMID:25654444

Women in physics in El Salvador: Historical perspectives and current challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez, Telma; Jiménez, Diana; Larios, Gloria

2015-12-01

Physics as a discipline in El Salvador's higher education system has struggled historically; however, since 1991, it has enjoyed a growth-friendly environment. While there are few female physicists in El Salvador, they are employed in various organizations and educational institutions, demonstrating that physics is a viable career path. El Salvador currently offers a range of opportunities for women in physics. With the support of the 5th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics, we will both meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that face female physicists in El Salvador.

Schools for the World's Poor: Honduras.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeJong, William S.

1999-01-01

Presents the author's observations in Honduras, their need for better educational facilities, and the involvement of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International's efforts in building a new school in one rural village. Each phase from planning to dedication is discussed. Concluding comments address the future of continued facility…

Coverage and timing of antenatal care among poor women in 6 Mesoamerican countries.

PubMed

Dansereau, Emily; McNellan, Claire R; Gagnier, Marielle C; Desai, Sima S; Haakenstad, Annie; Johanns, Casey K; Palmisano, Erin B; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Schaefer, Alexandra; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Hernandez, Bernardo; Iriarte, Emma; Mokdad, Ali H

2016-08-19

Poor women in the developing world have a heightened need for antenatal care (ANC) but are often the least likely to attend it. This study examines factors associated with the number and timing of ANC visits for poor women in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador. We surveyed 8366 women regarding the ANC they attended for their most recent birth in the past two years. We conducted logistic regressions to examine demographic, household, and health characteristics associated with attending at least one skilled ANC visit, four skilled visits, and a skilled visit in the first trimester. Across countries, 78 % of women attended at least one skilled ANC visit, 62 % attended at least four skilled visits, and 56 % attended a skilled visit in the first trimester. The proportion of women attending four skilled visits was highest in Nicaragua (81 %) and lowest in Guatemala (18 %) and Panama (38 %). In multiple countries, women who were unmarried, less-educated, adolescent, indigenous, had not wanted to conceive, and lacked media exposure were less likely to meet international ANC guidelines. In countries with health insurance programs, coverage was associated with attending skilled ANC, but not the timeliness. Despite significant policy reforms and initiatives targeting the poor, many women living in the poorest regions of Mesoamérica are not meeting ANC guidelines. Both supply and demand interventions are needed to prioritize vulnerable groups, reduce unplanned pregnancies, and reach populations not exposed to common forms of media. Top performing municipalities can inform effective practices across the region.

Lake Ilopango, El Salvador

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-03-10

Lake Ilopango is a crater lake which fills a volcanic caldera in central El Salvador, immediately east of the capital city San Salvador. The caldera collapsed most recently in about 500 AD, producing 20 times as much ash as the Mount St. Helens eruption, and blanketing an area of at least 10,000 square kilometers waist-deep in ash. The only historical eruption occurred in 1879, forming lava domes, now islets in the lake. Quetzaltepec is the stratovolcano just west of the city. Its last eruption in 1917 produced lavas flowing down the northwest flank, and evaporated the crater lake. The image was acquired March 5, 2006, covers an area of 27 by 42 km, and is located at 13.7 degrees north, 89.1 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19237

Central America in Transition: From Maize to Wheat. Challenges and Opportunities

PubMed Central

Peña, Amado Salvador; Crusius, Jakob Bart Arie

2015-01-01

The Central American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama are in transition from a dietary culture based mainly on maize to a wheat-containing diet. Several other changes are occurring, such as a decrease of parasitic and infectious diseases. The environmental changes permit a prediction of an increase of celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases such as type I diabetes and thyroid disease in these genetically heterogeneous countries. At present, celiac disease and gluten-related disorders are considered to be of no relevance at the level of public health in these nations. This review documents the presence of celiac disease in Central America. It draws attention to some of the challenges in planning systematic studies in the region since up until recently celiac disease was unknown. The aim of this review is to disseminate knowledge obtained with preliminary data, to stimulate clinical and basic scientists to study these diseases in Central America and to alert authorities responsible for the planning of education and health, to find possibilities to avoid a rise in these disorders before the epidemics start, as has occurred in the Mediterranean countries. PMID:26343711

Mexico and Central America.

PubMed

Bronfman, M

1998-01-01

This article reviews the literature on migration and HIV/AIDS in Mexico and Central America, including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Most migrants travel to the US through Mexico. US-Mexico trade agreements created opportunities for increased risk of HIV transmission. The research literature focuses on Mexico. Most countries, with the exception of Belize and Costa Rica, are sending countries. Human rights of migrants are violated in transit and at destination. Migration policies determine migration processes. The Mexican-born population in the US is about 3% of US population and 8% of Mexico's population. About 22% arrived during 1992-97, and about 500,000 are naturalized US citizens. An additional 11 million have a Mexican ethnic background. Mexican migrants are usually economically active men who had jobs before leaving and were urban people who settled in California, Texas, Illinois, and Arizona. Most Mexican migrants enter illegally. Many return to Mexico. The main paths of HIV transmission are homosexual, heterosexual, and IV-drug-injecting persons. Latino migrants frequently use prostitutes, adopt new sexual practices including anal penetration among men, greater diversity of sexual partners, and use of injectable drugs.

OAS :: 46 Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2016

Science.gov Websites

, D.C., 2015 Paraguay 2014 Guatemala 2013 Bolivia 2012 El Salvador 2011 Peru 2010 Honduras 2009 Colombia 2008 Panama 2007 Dominican Republic 2006 United States 2005 Ecuador 2004 Chile 2003 Barbados 2002

First record of the invasive Asian fish tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi in Honduras, Central America.

PubMed

Salgado-Maldonado, Guillermo; Matamoros, Wilfredo A; Kreiser, Brian R; Caspeta-Mandujano, Juan Manuel; Mendoza-Franco, Edgar F

2015-01-01

This paper provides the first report of the invasive Asian fish tapeworm, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934, in Honduras. The cestode was found in Profundulus portillorum (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae), which represents a new host record, and which is a member of a genus faced with a variety of conservation challenges, now potentially complicated by the presence of this pathogenic cestode. Nearly complete sequence data from the ITS-1 5.8S and ITS-2 regions corroborate the determination based on morphological characteristics. Several species of carp were introduced to Honduras for aquaculture purposes in the early 1980s and the presence of the Asian fish tapeworm in Honduras may be related to these introductions. In addition, this report documents the currently known geographical distribution of this parasite in Central America, first recorded from Panamá and now from Honduras. © G. Salgado-Maldonado et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2015.

Alternative education programmes and middle school dropout in Honduras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Jeffery H.; Aguilar, Claudia R.; Alas, Mario; Castellanos, Renán Rápalo; Castro, Levi; Enamorado, Ramón; Fonseca, Esther

2014-05-01

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article analyses dropout in three of the four main alternative lower secondary school programmes in Honduras over a three-year period for a cohort of roughly 5,500 students. The results show that these programmes are indeed reaching a vulnerable population in the country, but dropout rates are generally very high - upwards of 50 per cent in some cases - between Grades 7 and 9. Furthermore, even in the control school comparison samples made up of formal lower secondary schools, about 25 per cent of children leave school between Grades 7 and 9. The authors' analysis includes propensity score matching (PSM) methods that make more focused comparisons between students in alternative programmes and control samples. These results show that dropout rates in alternative programmes are not much different than in control schools, and only significant in one programme comparison, when taking into account family background characteristics like socioeconomic status (SES). Multivariate analysis within alternative programme samples finds that attrition is lower in those learning centres which have adopted key features of formal schools, such as university-educated teachers. The results highlight the tremendous variation in the alternative middle school sector in terms of programme features, school quality and student outcomes, as well as the challenges of expanding this sector to meet the growing demand for lower secondary schooling in Honduras.

Children's Voices from El Salvador: War and Peace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski; And Others

1994-01-01

Provides an overview of the decade-long civil war in El Salvador and discusses its historical and cultural roots. Presents 14 letters, 2 poems, and 3 drawings by fourth-grade students in El Salvador that relate to the impact of war on their lives. Provides suggestions for using these letters in social studies classes. (CFR)

Checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador.

PubMed

McMahan, Caleb D; Matamoros, Wilfredo A; Álvarez Calderón, Francisco S; Henríquez, Wendy Yamileth; Recinos, H Michelle; Chakrabarty, Prosanta; Barraza, Enrique; Herrera, Néstor

2013-01-23

The inland fish fauna of El Salvador and its distribution was originally described in 1925 by Samuel Hildebrand. That work has been the main source of information for freshwater fishes of El Salvador up to today. Based on the combination of an intensive literature review, electronic database searches, re-identification of museum specimens, and fieldwork, we hereby provide an updated checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador. This checklist provides distributional data at the Salvadoran hydrographical and political (by department) levels. The checklist is systematically arranged at the ordinal and familial level and then alphabetically therein. The freshwater fish fauna of El Salvador includes 101 species divided into 64 genera, 29 families, and 14 orders. According to their supposed tolerance to salinity, 73% of these species are peripheral, 23% secondary, and only 4% are primary freshwater fishes. One species is endemic to the country, Amatitlania coatepeque. The low number of primary freshwater fishes and endemics is comparable to the Central American Pacific slope in particular, as well as northern Central America in general.

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in Honduras

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Understanding the population structure of Plasmodium species through genetic diversity studies can assist in the design of more effective malaria control strategies, particularly in vaccine development. Central America is an area where malaria is a public health problem, but little is known about the genetic diversity of the parasite’s circulating species. This study aimed to investigate the allelic frequency and molecular diversity of five surface antigens in field isolates from Honduras. Methods Five molecular markers were analysed to determine the genotypes of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum from endemic areas in Honduras. Genetic diversity of ama-1, msp-1 and csp was investigated for P. vivax, and msp-1 and msp-2 for P. falciparum. Allelic frequencies were calculated and sequence analysis performed. Results and conclusion A high genetic diversity was observed within Plasmodium isolates from Honduras. A different number of genotypes were elucidated: 41 (n = 77) for pvama-1; 23 (n = 84) for pvcsp; and 23 (n = 35) for pfmsp-1. Pvcsp sequences showed VK210 as the only subtype present in Honduran isolates. Pvmsp-1 (F2) was the most polymorphic marker for P. vivax isolates while pvama-1 was least variable. All three allelic families described for pfmsp-1 (n = 30) block 2 (K1, MAD20, and RO33), and both allelic families described for the central domain of pfmsp-2 (n = 11) (3D7 and FC27) were detected. However, K1 and 3D7 allelic families were predominant. All markers were randomly distributed across the country and no geographic correlation was found. To date, this is the most complete report on molecular characterization of P. vivax and P. falciparum field isolates in Honduras with regards to genetic diversity. These results indicate that P. vivax and P. falciparum parasite populations are highly diverse in Honduras despite the low level of transmission. PMID:23181845

Civil-Military Relations and Militarization in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

6  C.  DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................7  II.  HISTORY OF THE...explains the metrics by which militarization in El Salvador is to be assessed. Chapter II presents the history of civil-military relations and...militarization in El Salvador up to 2009. Salvadoran history , not unlike other histories , is a clash of perspectives of the peasantry, military, guerrillas

Payment deferred: strychnine poisoning in Nicaragua 65 years ago.

PubMed

Ferguson, M B; Vance, M A

2000-01-01

In 1933 in Leon, Nicaragua, a 22-year-old woman died after an acute convulsive illness in which she experienced trismus, opisthotonos, and hyperpyrexia. Three years later her husband, Oliverio Castaneda, was convicted of her murder and that of 2 other people in the same city. We went to Nicaragua to investigate documents involved with that case and evaluate whether the verdict of murder by strychnine was substantiated by the data. We present the results of the investigation and provide information about the practice of medicine, pharmacy, and toxicology early in this century. The clinical picture in all 3 cases suggests strychnine poisoning. The clinical, toxicological, and circumstantial evidence is strong and implicates Castaneda as a murderer and strychnine as the weapon. We conclude that Oliverio Castaneda was the probable perpetrator of three 1933 strychnine murders in Leon and that he may have previously used strychnine to kill others in Nicaragua and neighboring countries.

Russia Foreign Policy In Latin America - Case Study Of Nicaragua

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-23

RUSSIA FOREIGN POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA — CASE STUDY OF NICARAGUA A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and...General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE General Studies ...MAY 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Russia Foreign Policy In Latin America — Case Study Of Nicaragua 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c

Teaching Business Communication in Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sapp, David Alan

2007-01-01

Global partnerships between educational institutions are one mechanism for building a capacity to educate students and prepare them for the global economy. In this article, the author describes a seminar on business communication he taught to the faculty members of Universidad Centroamerica de Managua (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua. The purpose of…

[Intake of dietary fiber in the Central American isthmus: nutritional implications].

PubMed

Acevedo, E; Bressani, R

1989-09-01

Mean intakes of dietary fiber (DF) were estimated in the population of Central America and Panama, using the results of dietary surveys conducted in 1969 and 1986 both in rural and urban areas, as well as data on the DF content of foods as consumed in the region. Data on preschool children were also estimated. The results indicated that DF intake in urban areas is lower than that of rural areas, particularly in Costa Rica and Panama. In 1969, intake varied from 32g in El Salvador to 15g in Panama in urban areas, while in rural areas intake was from 45g in El Salvador to 13g in Panama. The foods which contributed most to the total intake in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras were tortillas and beans, while in Costa Rica and Panama, beans provided the largest intake. In preeschool children, intake was 12.5g in El Salvador and 5.4g in Costa Rica in 1969, which is the same tendency as that found for adults. From more recent data on food intake, it was found that DF intake had decreased in the rural areas of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, being between 4 and 9% in the first two countries and 12% in Costa Rica. In the urban area of the latter, from 1969 to 1986 a decrease in DF intake of around 20% has taken place.

Analisis de las Condiciones de Salud del Nino de 0-6 anos en Honduras.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matamoros, Douglas Alberto

1987-01-01

Examines the National Pediatric Service and the research program of the Maternity-Infant-Hospital-School in Honduras. Reports that health conditions of young children (birth to six years) in Honduras are appalling and that available funds for health services are inadequate, reflecting the country's economic and social crisis. (NH)

Congenital rubella syndrome surveillance in Honduras.

PubMed

Molina, Ida Berenice; Mendoza, Lourdes Otilia; Palma, María Aparicia

2011-09-01

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) surveillance was established in Honduras to determine the scope of the problem and assess the impact of vaccination. Implementation of the surveillance system required the drafting of national CRS epidemiological surveillance guidelines, the development of a laboratory diagnostic method, and training of physicians, nurses, and microbiologists in the Honduran hospital network and social security system on CRS surveillance guidelines. Honduras' experience with the surveillance of other vaccine-preventable diseases facilitated the implementation of hospital-based CRS surveillance. The surveillance system operates in 23 of the 25 public hospitals that offer services to children and at 2 social security hospitals; the private sector has not been integrated into this system. Clinical and technical staff, including representatives from various disciplines such as pediatrics, neonatology, general medicine, epidemiology, nursing, and microbiology, participate in the hospital network, as well as follow up on cases in accordance with the standardized guidelines, depending on their areas of expertise. Implementation of the CRS surveillance system requires technical guidelines, laboratory diagnostic capacity, and trained multidisciplinary human resources for its systematization and operation.

76 FR 59495 - Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-26

..., Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. A... provinces, are through Iran to Turkey and Western Europe; through Pakistan to Africa, Asia, and the Middle... of opium poppy cultivated in Pakistan is much less than Afghanistan, the country continues to qualify...

Repertorio de Servicios Iberoamericanos de Documentacion e Informacion Educativas = Repertorio de Servicos Ibero-Americanos de Documentacao e Informacao Educativas (Directory of Ibero-American Services for Educational Documentation and Information).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organizacion de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educacion, la Ciencia y la Cultura, Madrid (Spain).

This directory provides information on the location and functioning of educational documentation and information services in Spain and Portugal in Europe, and in the 18 Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvader, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto…

Latin America and the Caribbean: A Survey of Distance Education 1991. New Papers on Higher Education: Studies and Research 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carty, Joan

Country profiles compiled through a survey of distance education in Latin America and the Caribbean form the contents of this document. Seventeen countries were surveyed in Latin America: Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Peru; Uruguay; and…

76 FR 20558 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 44 Marine and Anadromous Taxa: Adding 10 Taxa...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-13

... Environmental Policy Act We have determined that an environmental assessment, as defined under the authority of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, need not be prepared in connection with regulations..., Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, and all the islands of the West...

Diversidad de aves en agropaisajes en la region norte de Nicaragua

Treesearch

Wayne J. Arendt; Marvin Tórrez; Sergio Vílchez

2012-01-01

Avian diversity in agroscapes in Nicaragua’s north highlands. – Nicaragua’s highland forests are threatened by continual wood extraction and encroaching agriculture. Still, the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on avian communities remain little known. We used fixed-width point counts (distance sampling: 4843 detections during 86 h of observation) to...

A bird's eye survey of Central American planorbid molluscs.

PubMed

Paraense, W Lobato

2003-01-01

In the course of two trips to Central America (June 1967 and JulyAugust 1976) I had the opportunity of collecting topotypic specimens of Planorbis nicaraguanus Morelet, 1849, anatomically defined in this paper, and of P. yzabalensis Crosse & Fischer, 1879, the identity of the latter with Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835) is confirmed. The following planorbid species were also found: Helisoma trivolvis (Say, 1817) in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Belize; H. duryi (Wetherby, 1879) in Costa Rica; Biomphalaria helophila (Orbigny, 1835) in Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador; B. kuhniana (Clessin, 1883) in Panama; B. obstructa (Morelet,1849) in Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador; B. straminea (Dunker, 1848) in Costa Rica; B. subprona (Martens, 1899) in Guatemala; D. anatinum (Orbigny,1835) in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica; D. depressissimum (Moricand,1839) in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; D. lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839) in Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua; D. surinamense (Clessin, 1884) in Costa Rica and Panama; and Gyraulus percarinatus sp. n. in Panama. The occurrence of B. kuhniana and D. surinamense is first recorded in Central America, and Gyraulus percarinatus is the first representative of the genus provenly occurring in the American continent south of the United States. The following synonymy is proposed: Planorbis declivis Tate, 1870 = Biomphalaria helophila (Orbigny, 1835); Planorbis isthmicus Pilsbry, 1920 = Biomphalaria kuhniana (Clessin, 1883); Planorbis cannarum Morelet, 1849 and Segmentina donbilli Tristram, 1861 = Biomphalaria obstructa (Morelet, 1849); and Planorbis yzabalensis Crosse & Fischer, 1879 = Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835), confirming Aguayo (1933).

Assessing the Applicability of Earthquake Early Warning in Nicaragua.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massin, F.; Clinton, J. F.; Behr, Y.; Strauch, W.; Cauzzi, C.; Boese, M.; Talavera, E.; Tenorio, V.; Ramirez, J.

2016-12-01

Nicaragua, like much of Central America, suffers from frequent damaging earthquakes (6 M7+ earthquakes occurred in the last 100 years). Thrust events occur at the Middle America Trench where the Cocos plate subducts by 72-81 mm/yr eastward beneath the Caribbean plate. Shallow crustal events occur on-shore, with potential extensive damage as demonstrated in 1972 by a M6.2 earthquake, 5 km beneath Managua. This seismotectonic setting is challenging for Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) because the target events derive from both the offshore seismicity, with potentially large lead times but uncertain locations, and shallow seismicity in close proximity to densely urbanized areas, where an early warning would be short if available at all. Nevertheless, EEW could reduce Nicaragua's earthquake exposure. The Swiss Development and Cooperation Fund and the Nicaraguan Government have funded a collaboration between the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich and the Nicaraguan Geosciences Institute (INETER) in Managua to investigate and build a prototype EEW system for Nicaragua and the wider region. In this contribution, we present the potential of EEW to effectively alert Nicaragua and the neighbouring regions. We model alert time delays using all available seismic stations (existing and planned) in the region, as well as communication and processing delays (observed and optimal) to estimate current and potential performances of EEW alerts. Theoretical results are verified with the output from the Virtual Seismologist in SeisComP3 (VS(SC3)). VS(SC3) is implemented in the INETER SeisComP3 system for real-time operation and as an offline instance, that simulates real-time operation, to record processing delays of playback events. We compare our results with similar studies for Europe, California and New Zealand. We further highlight current capabilities and challenges for providing EEW alerts in Nicaragua. We also discuss how combining different algorithms, like e.g. VS

CEFPI's Heart to Honduras Educational Facilities Team.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jennings, James E.

1997-01-01

Describes efforts by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International to evaluate and modernize poor, rural schools in Honduras. A positive reaction to the visitation by government officials and teachers is revealed leading to the planned use of a model school program to guide school transformation. (GR)

Area Handbook Series: El Salvador: A Country Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

military attache, Carlos Ibiiez de Campo, who later became president of Chile , personally led a legendary charge of the Salvadoran cavalry in one of...Instituto Salvadorefio de Administraci6n Municipal. Primer Seminario de Coordinacidn Interinstitucional del Saneamiento Ambiental en El Salvador...Latina y Ei Caribe. La Participa- cidn Comunal en el Proceso de Construcciones Educativas. San Salvador: 1975. __ . Ministerio de Planificaci6n y

78 FR 20128 - Extension of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... Nicaragua's roads are paved. Hurricane Mitch damaged potable water, sewage treatment systems, water uptake systems, wells, water pump stations, and pipes in Nicaragua. The storm floods and runoff polluted water... education facilities, water supply and sanitation facilities, and the agricultural sector. Living conditions...

Hurricane Mitch: Peak Discharge for Selected River Reachesin Honduras

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Mark E.; Phillips, Jeffrey V.; Spahr, Norman E.

2002-01-01

Hurricane Mitch began as a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea on 22 October 1998. By 26 October, Mitch had strengthened to a Category 5 storm as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (National Climate Data Center, 1999a), and on 27 October was threatening the northern coast of Honduras (fig. 1). After making landfall 2 days later (29 October), the storm drifted south and west across Honduras, wreaking destruction throughout the country before reaching the Guatemalan border on 31 October. According to the National Climate Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Climate Data Center, 1999b), Hurricane Mitch ranks among the five strongest storms on record in the Atlantic Basin in terms of its sustained winds, barometric pressure, and duration. Hurricane Mitch also was one of the worst Atlantic storms in terms of loss of life and property. The regionwide death toll was estimated to be more than 9,000; thousands of people were reported missing. Economic losses in the region were more than $7.5 billion (U.S. Agency for International Development, 1999). Honduras suffered the most widespread devastation during the storm. More than 5,000 deaths, and economic losses of more than $4 billion, were reported by the Government of Honduras. Honduran officials estimated that Hurricane Mitch destroyed 50 years of economic development. In addition to the human and economic losses, intense flooding and landslides scarred the Honduran landscape - hydrologic and geomorphologic processes throughout the country likely will be affected for many years. As part of the U.S. Government's response to the disaster, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted post-flood measurements of peak discharge at 16 river sites throughout Honduras (fig. 2). Such measurements, termed 'indirect' measurements, are used to determine peak flows when direct measurements (using current meters or dye studies, for example) cannot be made. Indirect measurements of

Post-introduction economic evaluation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Ecuador, Honduras, and Paraguay.

PubMed

Constenla, Dagna O

2015-11-01

A decision-analytic model was constructed to evaluate the economic impact of post-introduction pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) programs in Ecuador, Honduras, and Paraguay from the societal perspective. Hypothetical birth cohorts were followed for a 20-year period in each country. Estimates of disease burden, vaccine effectiveness, and health care costs were derived from primary and secondary data sources. Costs were expressed in 2014 US$. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of model input uncertainties. Over the 20 years of vaccine program implementation, the health care costs per case ranged from US$ 764 854 to more than US$ 1 million. Vaccination prevented more than 50% of pneumococcal cases and deaths per country. At a cost of US$ 16 per dose, the cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted for the 10-valent PCV (PCV10) and the 13-valet PCV (PCV13) ranged from US$ 796 (Honduras) to US$ 1 340 (Ecuador) and from US$ 691 (Honduras) to US$ 1 166 (Ecuador) respectively. At a reduced price (US$ 7 per dose), the cost per DALY averted ranged from US$ 327 (Honduras) to US$ 528 (Ecuador) and from US$ 281 (Honduras) to US$ 456 (Ecuador) for PCV10 and PCV13 respectively. Several model parameters influenced the results of the analysis, including vaccine price, vaccine efficacy, disease incidence, and costs. The economic impact of post-introduction PCV needs to be assessed in a context of uncertainty regarding changing antibiotic resistance, herd and serotype replacement effects, differential vaccine prices, and government budget constraints.

Making Aid More Effective by 2010: 2008 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration Indicators in Selected FTI Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Online Submission, 2009

2009-01-01

This report presents the results of a pilot survey on aid effectiveness indicators in the education sector carried out by the Education for All--Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI) Secretariat. The covers 10 FTI-endorsed countries: Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Rwanda. All…

DoD Global Emerging Infections System Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2002

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

France Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras India Indonesia Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Japan Laos Malaysia Maldives Mexico Myanmar Nepal Nicaragua...illness from adenovirus types 7 and 3 in healthy young adults. Clin Infect Dis. 2002;34(3):577-82. 37 55. Ryan MAK, Smith TC, Honner WK, Gray GC. Varicella

Educational Facility Evaluations of Primary Schools in Rural Honduras: Departments of Cortes and Meambar.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council of Educational Facility Planners, International, Scottsdale, AZ.

A team of 11 educational facility planners and architects from the United States and Canada conducted a facility evaluation of schools in the rural areas of Meambar and Cortes, Honduras. Team members were all part of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International and traveled to Honduras under the auspices of a Christian mission…

Extension Learning Exchange: Lessons from Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treadwell, Paul; Lachapelle, Paul; Howe, Rod

2013-01-01

There is a clear need to support global professional development, international education, and collaborative learning opportunities in Extension. The program described here established an international learning exchange in Nicaragua to lead to global professional development and future international collaboration. The primary lessons and outcomes…

A new scorpion species of genus Diplocentrus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae) endemic to Islas de la Bahia, Honduras.

PubMed

Sagastume-Espinoza, Kevin O; Longhorn, Stuart J; Santibáñez-López, Carlos E

2015-07-01

Three species of genus Diplocentrus are found in north-northwestern Honduras. These species represent the southern east limits of Diplocentrus' distribution. In recent years, a broad survey of arachnids in Honduras has yielded a collection of several specimens of an undescribed species from two islands in northern Honduras. This new species represents the second species of the genus inhabiting an island. The present contribution describes this new species, and compares it against its most similar relatives. A dichotomous key for the identification of the species of Diplocentrus in Honduras is also included. Copyright © 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Exploration geothermal gradient drilling, Platanares, Honduras, Central America

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goff, S.J.; Laughlin, A.W.; Ruefenacht, H.D.

1988-01-01

This paper is a review and summary of the core drilling operations component of the Honduras Geothermal Resource Development Project at the Platanares geothermal prospect in Honduras, Central America. Three intermediate depth (428 to 679 m) coreholes are the first continuously cored geothermal exploration boreholes in Honduras. These coring operations are part of the Central America Energy Resource Project (CAERP) effort funded by the Agency for International Development (AID) and implemented by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos) in cooperation with the Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica (ENEE) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This report emphasizes coringmore » operations with reference to the stratigraphy, thermal gradient, and flow test data of the boreholes. The primary objectives of this coring effort were (1) to obtain quantitative information on the temperature distribution as a function of depth, (2) to recover fluids associated with the geothermal reservoir, (3) to recover 75% or better core from the subsurface rock units, and (4) to drill into the subsurface rock as deeply as possible in order to get information on potential reservoir rocks, fracture density, permeabilities, and alteration histories of the rock units beneath the site. The three exploration coreholes drilled to depths of 650, 428 and 679 m, respectively, encountered several hot water entries. Coring operations and associated testing began in mid-October 1986 and were completed at the end of June 1987.« less

A paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation training project in Honduras.

PubMed

Urbano, Javier; Matamoros, Martha M; López-Herce, Jesús; Carrillo, Angel P; Ordóñez, Flora; Moral, Ramón; Mencía, Santiago

2010-04-01

It is possible that the exportation of North American and European models has hindered the creation of a structured cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training programme in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to describe the design and present the results of a European paediatric and neonatal CPR training programme adapted to Honduras. A paediatric CPR training project was set up in Honduras with the instructional and scientific support of the Spanish Group for Paediatric and Neonatal CPR. The programme was divided into four phases: CPR training and preparation of instructors; training for instructors; supervised teaching; and independent teaching. During the first phase, 24 Honduran doctors from paediatric intensive care, paediatric emergency and anaesthesiology departments attended the paediatric CPR course and 16 of them the course for preparation as instructors. The Honduran Paediatric and Neonatal CPR Group was formed. In the second phase, workshops were given by Honduran instructors and four of them attended a CPR course in Spain as trainee instructors. In the third phase, a CPR course was given in Honduras by the Honduran instructors, supervised by the Spanish team. In the final phase of independent teaching, eight courses were given, providing 177 students with training in CPR. The training of independent paediatric CPR groups with the collaboration and scientific assessment of an expert group could be a suitable model on which to base paediatric CPR training in Latin American developing countries. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health beliefs and practices in rural El Salvador: an ethnographic study.

PubMed

Rutherford, Mary S; Roux, Gayle M

2002-01-01

To investigate the health practices and lifeways of rural villagers in a remote area of El Salvador who had been displaced by the recent civil war. The purpose of the study was to explore their view on health and experiences of loss during the war. Ethnography (Spradley, 1980, 1999; Agar, 1996). The participants included any resident of three rural Salvadoran villages who were 18 years of age and over. Participants included nine families, with a total of twelve participants. Data collection included participant observation, audiotaped interviews, demographic information, and field notes. One of the Spanish-speaking key informants acted as the interpreter. The content of all data was analyzed for recurrent themes. All nine families were displaced to refugee camps in Honduras during the civil war. Two cultural themes that emerged from the data were: 1) War: "We lost everything; we had to leave running," and 2) Health: "It's in God's hands." It is a challenge to encourage culture-specific care that acknowledges Salvadoran herbal remedies, strength of spirit, and a belief that a Supreme Being controls their lives. The health practices of the participants were shaped by their experiences of suffering from loss of family members during the war, displacement from their homes, and lack of potable water and environmental sanitation. To make a positive impact and effect change on health services in these rural areas, efforts should be directed toward democratic and community-based social and economic development within the context of the cultural system. Recent earthquakes (2001) have intensified the need for improvement in environmental factors including potable water.

77 FR 40589 - Amendment to the 2012 Tariff Preference Level (TPL) for Nicaragua Under the Central America...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-10

... 2012 TPL for Nicaragua to 96,529,059 square meters equivalent to account for the shortfall in meeting... CAFTA-DR establishes a TPL for non- originating apparel goods of Nicaragua. Section 1634(a)(2) of the... exchange of letters dated March 24 and 27, 2006, Nicaragua agreed that for each square meter equivalent...

78 FR 39259 - Amendment to the 2013 Tariff Preference Level (TPL) for Nicaragua Under the Central America...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-01

... TPL for Nicaragua to 98,447,866 square meters equivalent to account for the shortfall in meeting the... establishes a TPL for non- originating apparel goods of Nicaragua. Section 1634(a)(2) of the Pension... letters dated March 24 and 27, 2006, Nicaragua agreed that for each square meter equivalent (SME) of...

Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative: design, implementation, and baseline findings.

PubMed

Mokdad, Ali H; Colson, Katherine Ellicott; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Palmisano, Erin B; Alfaro-Porras, Eyleen; Anderson, Brent W; Borgo, Marco; Desai, Sima; Gagnier, Marielle C; Gillespie, Catherine W; Giron, Sandra L; Haakenstad, Annie; Romero, Sonia López; Mateus, Julio; McKay, Abigail; Mokdad, Ali A; Murphy, Tasha; Naghavi, Paria; Nelson, Jennifer; Orozco, Miguel; Ranganathan, Dharani; Salvatierra, Benito; Schaefer, Alexandra; Usmanova, Gulnoza; Varela, Alejandro; Wilson, Shelley; Wulf, Sarah; Hernandez, Bernardo; Lozano, Rafael; Iriarte, Emma; Regalia, Ferdinando

2015-01-01

Health has improved markedly in Mesoamerica, the region consisting of southern Mexico and Central America, over the past decade. Despite this progress, there remain substantial inequalities in health outcomes, access, and quality of medical care between and within countries. Poor, indigenous, and rural populations have considerably worse health indicators than national or regional averages. In an effort to address these health inequalities, the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative (SM2015), a results-based financing initiative, was established. For each of the eight participating countries, health targets were set to measure the progress of improvements in maternal and child health produced by the Initiative. To establish a baseline, we conducted censuses of 90,000 households, completed 20,225 household interviews, and surveyed 479 health facilities in the poorest areas of Mesoamerica. Pairing health facility and household surveys allows us to link barriers to care and health outcomes with health system infrastructure components and quality of health services. Indicators varied significantly within and between countries. Anemia was most prevalent in Panama and least prevalent in Honduras. Anemia varied by age, with the highest levels observed among children aged 0 to 11 months in all settings. Belize had the highest proportion of institutional deliveries (99%), while Guatemala had the lowest (24%). The proportion of women with four antenatal care visits with a skilled attendant was highest in El Salvador (90%) and the lowest in Guatemala (20%). Availability of contraceptives also varied. The availability of condoms ranged from 83% in Nicaragua to 97% in Honduras. Oral contraceptive pills and injectable contraceptives were available in just 75% of facilities in Panama. IUDs were observed in only 21.5% of facilities surveyed in El Salvador. These data provide a baseline of much-needed information for evidence-based action on health throughout Mesoamerica. Our baseline

Targeting U. S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Cleared Industry Reporting

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

conducted a scientic analysis that traced a particular disease outbreak to one specic London well, and demonstrated that cholera befell only those...Islands Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Curacao Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico

Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

El Salvador , Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay have contributed to or led multi-national security operations and United Nations (UN...critical support during the initial stages of the Haiti earthquake relief effort. As military forces often have a unique capability to respond

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-08

Mauricio Funes, “Discurso Toma de Posesión,” June 1, 2009. 7 Presidente electo El Salvador propone pacto social ante crisis,” Reuters, March 16...April 2, 2009. 33 “ Presidente de El Salvador anuncia retiro de tropas de Irak,” Reuters, December 23, 2008. 34 “200 Soldiers of last El Salvador...CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues, by Clare Ribando Seelke and June S. Beittel; and CRS

Education in Honduras. Bulletin, 1955, No. 7

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, M. Weldon

1955-01-01

With the publication of "Education in Honduras," the Office of Education is continuing the series of basic studies on education in the American republics which was initiated in 1943. The Office of Education is indebted to Professor M. Weldon Thompson of Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia, for the original study which led to the…

Anthracnose disease evaluation of sorghum germplasm from Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Germplasm collections are important resources for sorghum improvement and 17 accessions from Honduras were inoculated with Colletotrichum sublineolum and evaluated at the Tropical Agriculture Research Station in Isabela, Puerto Rico during the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons to identify sources of ant...

Nicaragua's Libraries: A Struggle for Survival.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chepesiuk, Ron

1989-01-01

Description of the effects of the revolution, U.S. government policy, and natural disasters on the economic climate in Nicaragua focuses on problems faced by the country's libraries and library school. Support and funding provided to Nicaraguan libraries by American library groups are reviewed, and attitudes of Nicaraguan librarians toward the…

Challenges for implementing Earthquake Early Warning: A Case Study in Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massin, F.; Clinton, J. F.; Boese, M.; Cauzzi, C.; Strauch, W.

2017-12-01

Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems aim at providing fast and accurate estimates of event parameters or local ground shaking over wide ranges of source dimensions and epicentral distances. The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) has integrated EEW solutions into the SeisComP3 (SC3) professional earthquake monitoring software. VS(SC3) provides fast magnitude estimates for network-based point-sources using conventional triggering and phases association techniques, while FinDer(SC3) matches the evolving patterns of ground motion to track on-going rupture extent, and can provide accurate ground motion predictions for finite fault ruptures. SC3 is widely used, including in Central America, and at INETER in Nicaragua. In 2016, SED and INETER started a joint project to assess the feasibility of EEW in Nicaragua and Central America and to set up a prototype EEW system. We test VS(SC3) and FinDer(SC3) softwares at INETER since 2016. Excellent relations between regional seismic networks mean broadband and strong motion seismic data are exchanged across Central America in real time, which means the network is sufficient to warrant investigation into its potential for EEW. We report on the successes and challenges of operating an EEW system where seismicity is high, but infrastructure is fragile and the design and operation of a seismic network is challenging (in Nicaragua, on average 50% of all stations do not work effectively for EEW). The current best EEW delays for on-shore earthquakes in Nicaragua is in the order of 20s and 40s offshore. However, the current network should be able to provide EEW in 10 to 15s on-shore and 20 to 25s off-shore which correspond to potential EEW intensities over or equal to VII. We compare the performances of EEW in Nicaragua with an ideal setting, featuring optimized data availability. We evaluate improvements strategies of the Nicaraguan and the Joint Central American Seismic Networks for EEW. And we discuss how to combine real-time EEW

Stakeholder perceptions of a total market approach to family planning in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Drake, Jennifer Kidwell; Espinoza, Henry; Suraratdecha, Chutima; Lacayo, Yann; Keith, Bonnie M; Vail, Janet G

2011-05-01

To assess private-sector stakeholders' and donors' perceptions of a total market approach (TMA) to family planning in Nicaragua in the context of decreased funding; to build evidence for potential strategies and mechanisms for TMA implementation (including public-private partnerships (PPPs)); and to identify information gaps and future priorities for related research and advocacy. A descriptive exploratory study was conducted in various locations in Nicaragua from March to April 2010. A total of 24 key private-sector stakeholders and donors were interviewed and their responses analyzed using two questionnaires and a stakeholder analysis tool (PolicyMakerTM software). All survey participants supported a TMA, and public-private collaboration, in family planning in Nicaragua. Based on the survey responses, opportunities for further developing PPPs for family planning include building on and expanding existing governmental frameworks, such as Nicaragua's current coordination mechanism for contraceptive security. Obstacles include the lack of ongoing government engagement with the commercial (for-profit) sector and confusion about regulations for its involvement in family planning. Strategies for strengthening existing PPPs include establishing a coordination mechanism specifically for the commercial sector and collecting and disseminating evidence supporting public-private collaboration in family planning. There was no formal or absolute opposition to a TMA or PPPs in family planning in Nicaragua among a group of diverse nongovernmental stakeholders and donors. This type of study can help identify strategies to mobilize existing and potential advocates in achieving articulated policy goals, including diversification of funding sources for family planning to achieve contraceptive security.

The Response of Honduras Pine to Various Photoperiods

Treesearch

J. A. Vozzo; C. B. Briscoe

1963-01-01

Height growth of Honduras pine (P. caribaea. v. hondurensis) seedllng'S 18 shown to be significantly influenced by photoperiod. Maximum initial effect was obtained by the longest period tested, 16 hours; but by 7 weeks, greatest growth was obtained by an interrupted 11 (8+3) hours.

75 FR 39556 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-09

... Docket No. USCIS 2010-0032] RIN 1615-ZA95 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date... nationals of El Salvador (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) with...

A scoping review and prevalence analysis of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Honduras.

PubMed

Sanchez, Ana Lourdes; Gabrie, José Antonio; Rueda, María Mercedes; Mejia, Rosa Elena; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Canales, Maritza

2014-01-01

Honduras is endemic for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, but critical information gaps still remain on the prevalence and intensity of these infections as well as on their spatial distribution at subnational levels. Firstly, to review the research activity on STH infections in Honduras and secondly, to carry out a national prevalence analysis and map the geographical distribution of these infections in children. A systematic search was conducted of the published and grey literature to identify scientific work on the impact and prevalence of STH infections done between May 1930 and June 30, 2012. International databases and Honduran journals were searched. Grey literature was gleaned from local libraries and key informants. Select studies conducted between 2001 and 2012 were used to produce prevalence maps and to investigate association between STH prevalence and socio-economic and environmental factors. Of 257 identified studies, 211 (21.4% peer-reviewed) were retained for analysis and categorized as clinical research (10.9%), treatment efficacy studies (8.1%) or epidemiological studies (81%). Prevalence analysis and geographical mapping included 36 epidemiological studies from Honduras's 18 departments and 23% of its municipalities. Overall STH prevalence was >50% in 40.6% of municipalities. Prevalences above 20% for each trichuriasis, ascariasis, and hookworm infection were found in 68%, 47.8%, and 7.2% of studied municipalities, respectively. Municipalities with lower human development index, less access to of potable water, and with higher annual precipitation showed higher STH prevalences. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive historic review of STH research activity and prevalence in Honduras, revealing important knowledge gaps related to infection risk factors, disease burden, and anti-parasitic drug efficacy, among others. Our decade-long prevalence analysis reveals geographical differences in STH prevalence and these findings

Nesting Ecology of Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) on Utila, Honduras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damazo, Lindsey Renee Eggers

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) has a circumtropical distribution and plays an important role in maintaining the health of coral reefs. Unfortunately, hawksbill populations have been decimated, and estimated numbers in the Caribbean are less than 10% of populations a century ago. The hawksbill is considered Critically Endangered, and researchers are coordinating worldwide efforts to protect this species. One country where we lack knowledge regarding hawksbills is Honduras. This study aimed to increase our understanding of hawksbill nesting ecology in Caribbean Honduras. Characteristics of hawksbill nesting activity and a nesting beach on the island of Utila were elucidated using satellite telemetry, beach profiling, vegetation surveys, beach monitoring, and nest temperature profiles. We affixed satellite transmitters to two nesting hawksbills, and found the turtles migrated to different countries. One turtle traveled 403 km to a bay in Mexico, and the other traveled 181 km to a Marine Protected Area off Belize. This study presents the first description of hawksbill migration routes from Honduras, facilitating protection efforts for turtles that traverse international waters. To investigate nesting beach and turtle characteristics, we conducted beach monitoring during the 2012 nesting season. Nesting turtle carapace sizes were similar to worldwide values, but hatchlings were heavier. To measure nest temperatures, we placed thermocouple data loggers in four nests and four pseudo-nests. Data suggested metabolic heating may be maintaining nest temperatures above the pivotal temperature. However, large temperature fluctuations corresponding to rainfall from Hurricane Ernesto (as determined using a time series cross-correlation analysis) make it difficult to predict sex ratios, and underscore the impact stochastic events can have on nest temperatures. We created topographic and substrate profiles of the beach, and found it was 475 m long, yet hawksbills

77 FR 2990 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-20

... Docket No. USCIS 2007-0028] RIN 1615-ZB06 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... the TPS designation of El Salvador is effective March 10, 2012 and will remain in effect through... Salvador by selecting ``TPS Designated Country--El Salvador'' from the menu on the left of the TPS Web page...

Jesuit Education for Justice: The Colegio in El Salvador, 1968-1984.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beirne, Charles J.

1985-01-01

Describes the transformation of a Jesuit colegio in El Salvador from a school for sons of wealthy landowners into a school open to all people. Also examines the history of the Jesuit order in El Salvador from 1914 to the present. (Author/CT)

The herpetofauna of the cloud forests of Honduras

PubMed Central

2003-01-01

The cloud forest amphibians and reptiles constitute the most important herpetofaunal segment in Honduras, due to the prevalence of endemic and Nuclear Middle American-restricted species. This segment, however, is subject to severe environmental threats due to the actions of humans. Of the 334 species of amphibians and reptiles currently known from Honduras, 122 are known to be distributed in cloud forest habitats. Cloud forest habitats are found throughout the mountainous interior of Honduras. They are subject to a Highland Wet climate, which features annual precipitation of >1500 mm and a mean annual temperature of <18°C. Cloud forest vegetation falls into two Holdridge formations, the Lower Montane Wet Forest and Lower Montane Moist Forest. The Lower Montane Wet Forest formation generally occurs at elevations in excess of 1500 m, although it may occur as low as 1300+ m at some localities. The Lower Montane Moist Forest formation generally occurs at 1700+ m elevation. Of the 122 cloud forest species, 18 are salamanders, 38 are anurans, 27 are lizards, and 39 are snakes. Ninety-eight of these 122 species are distributed in the Lower Montane Wet Forest formation and 45 in the Lower Montane Moist Forest formation. Twenty species are distributed in both formations. The cloud forest species are distributed among restricted, widespread, and peripheral distributional categories. The restricted species range as a group in elevation from 1340 to 2700 m, the species that are widespread in at least one of the two cloud forest formations range as a group from sea level to 2744 m, and the peripheral species range as a group from sea level to 1980 m. The 122 cloud forest species exemplify ten broad distributional patterns ranging from species whose northern and southern range termini are in the United States (or Canada) and South America, respectively, to those species that are endemic to Honduras. The largest segment of the herpetofauna falls into the endemic category, with

Women's strategic responses to violence in Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Ellsberg, M; Winkvist, A; Pena, R; Stenlund, H

2001-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE—To describe the responses of women in León, Nicaragua to partner abuse and identify contextual factors associated with the use of certain coping mechanisms and the likelihood of permanent separation.
DESIGN—Cross sectional population-based survey.
SETTING—León, Nicaragua.
PARTICIPANTS—188 women 15-49 years of age who had experienced physical partner abuse, out of 488 women interviewed.
MAIN RESULTS—66% of women defended themselves effectively from abuse either physically or verbally. Forty one per cent of women had left home temporarily because of violence and 20% had sought help outside the home. Women experiencing severe abuse were more likely to leave or seek help, whereas women with less severe abuse were more able to defend themselves effectively. Seventy per cent of women eventually left abusive relationships. Help seeking and temporary separations increased the likelihood of a permanent separation, whereas women who defended themselves and were able to stop the violence, at least temporarily, were more likely to remain in abusive relationships.
CONCLUSIONS—Women in Nicaragua use a variety of methods in order to overcome physical partner abuse. Temporary leaving and help seeking are critical steps in the process of leaving a violent relationship. However, many women indicated that they did not receive support for their situation. More interventions are needed to help women recognise and deal with violence, as well as strengthening the community support networks available to abused women.


Keywords: partner abuse; violence; women PMID:11449011

Bacterial leaf spot

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bacterial leaf spot has been reported in Australia (Queensland), Egypt, El Salvador, India, Japan, Nicaragua, Sudan, and the United States (Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and Wisconsin). It occasionally causes locally severe defoliation and post-emergence damping-off and stunting. The disease is...

Evaluacion de Programas de Alfabetizacion. Consulta Tecnica Regional (Maracaibo, Venezuela, 30 Noviembre-6 Diciembre 1987) Informe Final. (Evaluation of Literacy Programs. Regional Technical Meeting (Maracaibo, Venezuela, November 30-December 6, 1987).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Santiago (Chile). Regional Office for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The objectives of this seminar were to identify problems in evaluating literacy programs and to design a working strategy to confront them. Four presentations included national case studies from Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Central questions asked concerned who and what were evaluated and how were the results to be used. In Brazil,…

50 CFR 223.102 - Enumeration of threatened marine and anadromous species.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., Panama, Venezuela and all the islands of the West Indies. 71 FR 26852, May 9, 2006 73 FR 72210, Nov. 26..., Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela and all the islands of the West Indies. 71 FR 26852, May 9... segments (DPSs) (for a policy statement, see 61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996), and evolutionarily significant...

Efficacy of chloroquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Honduras.

PubMed

Mejia Torres, Rosa Elena; Banegas, Engels Ilich; Mendoza, Meisy; Diaz, Cesar; Bucheli, Sandra Tamara Mancero; Fontecha, Gustavo A; Alam, Md Tauqeer; Goldman, Ira; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Zambrano, Jose Orlinder Nicolas

2013-05-01

Chloroquine (CQ) is officially used for the primary treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Honduras. In this study, the therapeutic efficacy of CQ for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the municipality of Puerto Lempira, Gracias a Dios, Honduras was evaluated using the Pan American Health Organization-World Health Organization protocol with a follow-up of 28 days. Sixty-eight patients from 6 months to 60 years of age microscopically diagnosed with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were included in the final analysis. All patients who were treated with CQ (25 mg/kg over 3 days) cleared parasitemia by day 3 and acquired no new P. falciparum infection within 28 days of follow-up. All the parasite samples sequenced for CQ resistance mutations (pfcrt) showed only the CQ-sensitive genotype (CVMNK). This finding shows that CQ remains highly efficacious for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Gracias a Dios, Honduras.

Efficacy of Chloroquine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Honduras

PubMed Central

Torres, Rosa Elena Mejia; Banegas, Engels Ilich; Mendoza, Meisy; Diaz, Cesar; Bucheli, Sandra Tamara Mancero; Fontecha, Gustavo A.; Alam, Md Tauqeer; Goldman, Ira; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Zambrano, Jose Orlinder Nicolas

2013-01-01

Chloroquine (CQ) is officially used for the primary treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Honduras. In this study, the therapeutic efficacy of CQ for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the municipality of Puerto Lempira, Gracias a Dios, Honduras was evaluated using the Pan American Health Organization—World Health Organization protocol with a follow-up of 28 days. Sixty-eight patients from 6 months to 60 years of age microscopically diagnosed with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were included in the final analysis. All patients who were treated with CQ (25 mg/kg over 3 days) cleared parasitemia by day 3 and acquired no new P. falciparum infection within 28 days of follow-up. All the parasite samples sequenced for CQ resistance mutations (pfcrt) showed only the CQ-sensitive genotype (CVMNK). This finding shows that CQ remains highly efficacious for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Gracias a Dios, Honduras. PMID:23458957

Wife abuse among women of childbearing age in Nicaragua.

PubMed Central

Ellsberg, M C; Peña, R; Herrera, A; Liljestrand, J; Winkvist, A

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This study measured the prevalence, frequency, and severity of physical wife abuse and its risk factors in León, Nicaragua. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a representative sample of 488 women 15 to 49 years of age. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of spousal violence was 52% among ever-married women (n = 360). Spousal violence was significantly positively associated with poverty, parity, urban residence, and history of violence in the husband's family. No significant associations were found between spousal violence and women's age, education, marital dependency, or occupation. CONCLUSIONS: Wife abuse constitutes a major public health problem in Nicaragua, requiring urgent measures for prevention and treatment for victims. PMID:9949757

Interrelationship of Atmospheric Parameters in Honduras.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

in the summer is associated with systems known as " temporales " (Portig, 1965; Hastenrath, 1967). These atmospheric disturbances originate over the...Geophys. Biokl., Serie B, 13, 1963a. pp 98-107. Hastenrath, S., "Der Tagesgang von Temperatur und Luftfeuchtigkeit in San Salvador," Geofis. Pura Appl., 56

The Pan-American Federation of Neurological Societies (PAFNS): A New Regional Organization.

PubMed

Medina, Marco T; Román, Gustavo C

2016-07-15

The Pan-American Federation of Neurological Societies (PAFNS) was created on 15 November 2011 during the 20th World Congress of Neurology in Marrakech by virtue of the "Declaration of Morocco" signed by the WFN Latin American delegates and ratified on 5 March 2012 by delegates attending the 13th Pan-American Congress of Neurology in La Paz, Bolivia. On 20 March 2013 delegates attending the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego, California, USA, gave formal approval to the PAFNS Constitution. The neurological societies from the following countries have approved and signed the constitution as founding members and active ordinary members: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Ibero-American Stroke Society (SIECV), the Commission on Latin American Affairs of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the World Sleep Society have requested the status of Associate Members. The WFN and the American Academy of Neurology provided seed grants for the creation of the Pan-American Federation of Neurological Societies. PAFNS represents a major step for the improvement of regional neurological care, education and research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in Central America

PubMed Central

Medlin, Elizabeth; Aquino, Gonzalo; Gelting, Richard J.

2015-01-01

The American Red Cross and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated on a sustainability evaluation of post-hurricane water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Central America. In 2006 and 2009, we revisited six study areas in rural El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to assess sustainability of WASH interventions finalized in 2002, after 1998’s Hurricane Mitch. We used surveys to collect data, calculate indicators and identify factors that influence sustainability. Regional sustainability indicator results showed there was a statistically significant decline in access to water. The presence of sanitation facilities had not changed since the beginning of the project; however, maintenance and use of latrines declined but continued to meet the goal of 75% use after 7 years. The hygiene indicator, hand washing, initially declined and then increased. Declines in water access were due to operational problems related to storm events and population changes. Sanitation facilities were still present and sometimes used even though they reached or surpassed their original design life. Changes in hygiene practices appeared related to ongoing hygiene promotion from outside organizations. These results provide useful input for making WASH programs more sustainable and informing future, more in-depth research into factors influencing sustainability. PMID:26413262

Assessment of DDT levels in selected environmental media and biological samples from Mexico and Central America.

PubMed

Pérez-Maldonado, Iván N; Trejo, Antonio; Ruepert, Clemens; Jovel, Reyna del Carmen; Méndez, Mónica Patricia; Ferrari, Mirtha; Saballos-Sobalvarro, Emilio; Alexander, Carlos; Yáñez-Estrada, Leticia; Lopez, Dania; Henao, Samuel; Pinto, Emilio R; Díaz-Barriga, Fernando

2010-03-01

Taking into account the environmental persistence and the toxicity of DDT, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) organized a surveillance program in Mesoamerica which included the detection of residual DDT in environmental (soil) and biological samples (fish tissue and children's blood). This program was carried out in communities from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. This paper presents the first report of that program. As expected, the results show that the levels for [summation operator] DDT in soil (outdoor or indoor) and fish samples in the majority of the locations studied are below guidelines. However, in some locations, we found children with high concentrations of DDT as in Mexico (mean level 50.2 ng/mL). Furthermore, in some communities and for some matrices, the DDT/DDE quotient is higher than one and this may reflect a recent DDT exposure. Therefore, more efforts are needed to avoid exposure and to prevent the reintroduction of DDT into the region. In this regard it is important to know that under the surveillance of PAHO and with the support of UNEP, a regional program in Mesoamerica for the collection and disposal of DDT and other POPs stockpiles is in progress. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in Central America.

PubMed

Sabogal, Raquel I; Medlin, Elizabeth; Aquino, Gonzalo; Gelting, Richard J

The American Red Cross and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated on a sustainability evaluation of post-hurricane water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Central America. In 2006 and 2009, we revisited six study areas in rural El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to assess sustainability of WASH interventions finalized in 2002, after 1998's Hurricane Mitch. We used surveys to collect data, calculate indicators and identify factors that influence sustainability. Regional sustainability indicator results showed there was a statistically significant decline in access to water. The presence of sanitation facilities had not changed since the beginning of the project; however, maintenance and use of latrines declined but continued to meet the goal of 75% use after 7 years. The hygiene indicator, hand washing, initially declined and then increased. Declines in water access were due to operational problems related to storm events and population changes. Sanitation facilities were still present and sometimes used even though they reached or surpassed their original design life. Changes in hygiene practices appeared related to ongoing hygiene promotion from outside organizations. These results provide useful input for making WASH programs more sustainable and informing future, more in-depth research into factors influencing sustainability.

Human rights and the right to abortion in Latin America.

PubMed

Zúñiga-Fajuri, Alejandra

2014-03-01

The scope of this study is to question the fact that in some countries in Latin America (Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic) abortion is still forbidden in all situations. Even after all the debate on this thorny issue, the theory of human rights is not often used in the defense of abortion. This is clearly related to the pervasive, albeit unspoken belief that, due to their condition, pregnant women inherently lose their full human rights and should surrender and even give up their lives in favor of the unborn child. This article seeks to show that an adequate reading of the theory of human rights should include abortion rights through the first two trimesters of pregnancy, based on the fact that basic liberties can only be limited for the sake of liberty itself. It also seeks to respond to those who maintain that the abortion issue cannot be resolved since the exact point in the development of the embryo that distinguishes legitimate from illegitimate abortion cannot be determined. There are strong moral and scientific arguments for an approach capable of reducing uncertainty and establishing the basis for criminal law reforms that focus on the moral importance of trimester laws.

Note on the Honduras Radio Schools (ACPH--Accion Cultural Popular Hondureno). IEC Discussion Paper. Appendix 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Michael

This report on the radio schools in Honduras, Central America, includes (1) an account of an afternoon session of the radio school's Primary Equivalence Programme (PEPA), including a testimonial of a student and a statement regarding the importance of the monitors; (2) information on the social background of Honduras; (3) an historical account of…

Men's Educational Group Appointments in Rural Nicaragua.

PubMed

Campbell, Bruce B; Gonzalez, Hugo; Campbell, McKenzie; Campbell, Kent

2017-03-01

Men's preventive health and wellness is largely neglected in rural Nicaragua, where a machismo culture prevents men from seeking health care. To address this issue, a men's educational group appointment model was initiated at a rural health post to increase awareness about hypertension, and to train community health leaders to measure blood pressure. Men's hypertension workshops were conducted with patient knowledge pretesting, didactic teaching, and posttesting. Pretesting and posttesting performances were recorded, blood pressures were screened, and community leaders were trained to perform sphygmomanometry. An increase in hypertension-related knowledge was observed after every workshop and community health leaders demonstrated proficiency in sphygmomanometry. In addition, several at-risk patients were identified and follow-up care arranged. Men's educational group appointments, shown to be effective in the United States in increasing patient knowledge and satisfaction, appear to function similarly in a resource-constrained environment and may be an effective mechanism for reaching underserved men in Nicaragua.

Geo hazard studies and their policy implications in Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauch, W.

2007-05-01

Nicaragua, situated at the Central American Subduction zone and placed in the trajectory of tropical storms and hurricanes, is a frequent showplace of natural disasters which have multiplied the negative effects of a long term socioeconomic crisis leaving Nicaragua currently as the second poorest country of the Americas. In the last years, multiple efforts were undertaken to prevent or mitigate the affectation of the natural phenomena to the country. National and local authorities have become more involved in disaster prevention policy and international cooperation boosted funding for disaster prevention and mitigation measures in the country. The National Geosciences Institution (INETER) in cooperation with foreign partners developed a national monitoring and early warning system on geological and hydro-meteorological phenomena. Geological and risk mapping projects were conducted by INETER and international partners. Universities, NGO´s, International Technical Assistance, and foreign scientific groups cooperated to capacitate Nicaraguan geoscientists and to improve higher education on disaster prevention up to the master degree. Funded by a World Bank loan, coordinated by the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention (SINAPRED) and scientifically supervised by INETER, multidisciplinary hazard and vulnerability studies were carried out between 2003 and 2005 with emphasis on seismic hazard. These GIS based works provided proposals for land use policies on a local level in 30 municipalities and seismic vulnerability and risk information for each single building in Managua, Capital of Nicaragua. Another large multidisciplinary project produced high resolution air photos, elaborated 1:50,000 vectorized topographic maps, and a digital elevation model for Western Nicaragua. These data, integrated in GIS, were used to assess: 1) Seismic Hazard for Metropolitan Managua; 2) Tsunami hazard for the Pacific coast; 3) Volcano hazard for Telica

8 CFR 1245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 1245.13 Section 1245.13 Aliens and Nationality... nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. (a) Aliens eligible to apply for adjustment. An... Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (o) of this section, has been physically present in...

8 CFR 1245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 1245.13 Section 1245.13 Aliens and Nationality... nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. (a) Aliens eligible to apply for adjustment. An... Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (o) of this section, has been physically present in...

8 CFR 1245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 1245.13 Section 1245.13 Aliens and Nationality... nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. (a) Aliens eligible to apply for adjustment. An... Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (o) of this section, has been physically present in...

8 CFR 1245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 1245.13 Section 1245.13 Aliens and Nationality... nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. (a) Aliens eligible to apply for adjustment. An... Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (o) of this section, has been physically present in...

8 CFR 1245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 1245.13 Section 1245.13 Aliens and Nationality... nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. (a) Aliens eligible to apply for adjustment. An... Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided in paragraph (o) of this section, has been physically present in...

Child Marriage, Agency, and Schooling in Rural Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy-Graham, Erin; Leal, Graciela

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationships between child marriage, agency, and schooling in rural Honduras. Through an in-depth qualitative case study, we address the following questions: (1) In what ways, if any, do girls exercise agency in their decision to marry? (2) How might education enhance girls' agency, expanding their choice sets and…

Rickettsial infections in ticks from reptiles, birds and humans in Honduras.

PubMed

Novakova, Marketa; Literak, Ivan; Chevez, Luis; Martins, Thiago F; Ogrzewalska, Maria; Labruna, Marcelo B

2015-09-01

Ticks were collected from captive reptiles, wild birds, and incidentally from humans at two locations in Honduras and part of these were tested for the presence of Rickettsia using polymerase chain reaction. The following species of ticks were found: Amblyomma dissimile on Iguanidae reptiles, Amblyomma longirostre and Amblyomma nodosum on birds, and Amblyomma mixtum (Amblyomma cajennense complex) on humans. A. dissimile was infected with Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. Both A. longirostre and A. mixtum were infected with Candidatus 'Rickettsia amblyommii'. This study provides the first report of rickettsial infections in ticks from reptiles, birds and humans in Honduras. New host - Amblyomma tick associations are documented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Synergy between medicinal chemistry and biological research.

PubMed

Moncada, Salvador; Coaker, Hannah

2014-09-01

Salvador Moncada studied medicine at the University of El Salvador (El Salvador) before coming to the UK in 1971 to work on a PhD with Professor John Vane at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons (UK). After a short period of research at the University of Honduras (Honduras), he joined the Wellcome Research Laboratories (UK) where he became Head of the Department of Prostaglandin Research and later, Director of Research. He returned to academic life in 1996 as founder and director of the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research at University College London (UK). Moncada played a role in the discovery of the mechanism of action of aspirin-like drugs and later led the teams which discover prostacyclin and identified nitric oxide as a biological mediator. In his role as a Director of Research of the Wellcome Laboratories, he oversaw the discovery and development of medicines for epilepsy, migraine, malaria and cancer. Currently, he is working on the regulation of cell proliferation as Director of the Institute of Cancer Sciences at the University of Manchester (UK). Moncada has won numerous awards from the international scientific community and in 2010, he received a knighthood from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to science.

U.S. experts warn of Honduras AIDS risk to women. International.

PubMed

1996-02-26

Honduras, the Central American country hardest hit by AIDS, may suffer from a particularly aggressive strain of HIV that is especially dangerous to women, US experts said. "We are investigating the presence in Honduras of (HIV) sub-type B, which is more aggressive than others and could be the reason why it is worse in this country," Winslow Klaslala, professor at the University of Miami, Florida, said. According to the Health Ministry, 7664 Hondurans have been infected with HIV since 1985, and 995 have died. That is 60% of the total number of HIV sufferers in the six countries of Central America and the incidence in women is unusually high at 36%. A team of experts, including members from Harvard University and the WHO, have been taking blood samples, primarily from HIV infected women, Klaslala said. They will analyze the blood to look for sub-type B, described by Klaslala as highly "aggressive and adaptable." "If it is present," he said, "women are particularly at risk." Honduran health authorities were paying close attention to the investigations. "If they show that the sub-type that attacks in Honduras is more aggressive, we will have to redesign our campaign for combatting the disease," said Enrique Zelaya, a top Health Ministry official. full text

8 CFR 245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 245.13 Section 245.13 Aliens and Nationality... PERMANENT RESIDENCE § 245.13 Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public... section 241(a)(5) of the Act, if the alien: (1) Is a national of Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided...

8 CFR 245.13 - Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public Law 105-100. 245.13 Section 245.13 Aliens and Nationality... PERMANENT RESIDENCE § 245.13 Adjustment of status of certain nationals of Nicaragua and Cuba under Public... section 241(a)(5) of the Act, if the alien: (1) Is a national of Nicaragua or Cuba; (2) Except as provided...

A Scoping Review and Prevalence Analysis of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in Honduras

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Ana Lourdes; Gabrie, José Antonio; Rueda, María Mercedes; Mejia, Rosa Elena; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Canales, Maritza

2014-01-01

Background Honduras is endemic for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, but critical information gaps still remain on the prevalence and intensity of these infections as well as on their spatial distribution at subnational levels. Objectives Firstly, to review the research activity on STH infections in Honduras and secondly, to carry out a national prevalence analysis and map the geographical distribution of these infections in children. Methods A systematic search was conducted of the published and grey literature to identify scientific work on the impact and prevalence of STH infections done between May 1930 and June 30, 2012. International databases and Honduran journals were searched. Grey literature was gleaned from local libraries and key informants. Select studies conducted between 2001 and 2012 were used to produce prevalence maps and to investigate association between STH prevalence and socio-economic and environmental factors. Results Of 257 identified studies, 211 (21.4% peer-reviewed) were retained for analysis and categorized as clinical research (10.9%), treatment efficacy studies (8.1%) or epidemiological studies (81%). Prevalence analysis and geographical mapping included 36 epidemiological studies from Honduras's 18 departments and 23% of its municipalities. Overall STH prevalence was >50% in 40.6% of municipalities. Prevalences above 20% for each trichuriasis, ascariasis, and hookworm infection were found in 68%, 47.8%, and 7.2% of studied municipalities, respectively. Municipalities with lower human development index, less access to of potable water, and with higher annual precipitation showed higher STH prevalences. Conclusions This is the first study to provide a comprehensive historic review of STH research activity and prevalence in Honduras, revealing important knowledge gaps related to infection risk factors, disease burden, and anti-parasitic drug efficacy, among others. Our decade-long prevalence analysis reveals geographical

Establishment of a Comprehensive Military Medical System during Wartime in El Salvador: A Retrospective View

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

U.S. Agency for International Development (ADSS AID/DSPE-C-0053), (April- May 1983). Books Didion , Joan . Salvador. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983...54 Ibid, p.81. 55Joan Didion , Salvador (New York, Simon and Schuster, 1983), p.82. 56 NBC, "Whatever Happened to El Salvador?" (Circa August 1982

Extracting Environmental Benefits from a New Canal in Nicaragua: Lessons from Panama

PubMed Central

Condit, Richard

2015-01-01

Biologists have raised objections to a new canal in Nicaragua, but in this Essay I argue that dire predictions of environmental catastrophe are exaggerated. I present an alternative view based on my research experience in Panama, where Canal operations foster forest conservation. Currently in Nicaragua, the rate of forest loss is so rapid that the canal cannot make it worse. Rather, I contend, adoption of international standards in canal construction could lead to net environmental and social benefits for the country. PMID:26214182

Occupational injuries identified by an emergency department based injury surveillance system in Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Noe, R; Rocha, J; Clavel-Arcas, C; Aleman, C; Gonzales, M; Mock, C

2004-01-01

Objectives: To identify and describe the work related injuries in both the formal and informal work sectors captured in an emergency department based injury surveillance system in Managua, Nicaragua. Setting: Urban emergency department in Managua, Nicaragua serving 200–300 patients per day. Methods: Secondary analysis from the surveillance system data. All cases indicating an injury while working and seen for treatment at the emergency department between 1 August 2001 and 31 July 2002 were included. There was no exclusion based on place of occurrence (home, work, school), age, or gender. Results: There were 3801 work related injuries identified which accounted for 18.6% of the total 20 425 injures captured by the surveillance system. Twenty seven work related fatalities were recorded, compared with the 1998 International Labor Organization statistic of 25 occupational fatalities for all of Nicaragua. Injuries occurring outside of a formal work location accounted for more than 60% of the work related injuries. Almost half of these occurred at home, while 19% occurred on the street. The leading mechanisms for work related injuries were falls (30%), blunt objects (28%), and stabs/cuts (23%). Falls were by far the most severe mechanism in the study, causing 37% of the work related deaths and more than half of the fractures. Conclusions: Occupational injuries are grossly underreported in Nicaragua. This study demonstrated that an emergency department can be a data source for work related injuries in developing countries because it captures both the formal and informal workforce injuries. Fall prevention initiatives could significantly reduce the magnitude and severity of occupational injuries in Managua, Nicaragua. PMID:15314050

Total Economic Cost and Burden of Dengue in Nicaragua: 1996–2010

PubMed Central

Wettstein, Zachary S.; Fleming, Michael; Chang, Aileen Y.; Copenhaver, David J.; Wateska, Angela R.; Bartsch, Sarah M.; Lee, Bruce Y.; Kulkarni, Rajan P.

2012-01-01

The burden of dengue in Nicaragua has been steadily rising during the last three decades; however, there have been few efforts to quantify the burden (measured in disability-adjusted life years [DALYs]) and cost to society. Using primary data from the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA), the total cost and burden of dengue were calculated from 1996 to 2010. Total costs included both direct costs from medical expenditures and prevention activities and indirect costs from lost productivity. The annual disease burden ranged from 99 to 805 DALYs per million, with a majority associated with classic dengue fever. The total cost was estimated to be US$13.5 million/year (range: US$5.1–27.6 million). This analysis can help improve allocation of dengue control resources in Nicaragua and the region. As one of the most comprehensive analyses of its type to date in Nicaragua and Latin America, this study can serve as a model to determine the burden and cost of dengue. PMID:22890033

A provisional annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A biodiversity inventory of the Lepidoptera of Pico Bonito National Park and vicinity, in the Department of Atlantida of northern Honduras, has been initiated and will be conducted to obtain baseline data. We present a revised checklist of Honduran butterfly species (updated from the initial 1967 l...

Potentially Novel Ehrlichia Species in Horses, Nicaragua

PubMed Central

O’Nion, Victoria L.; Montilla, Hernan J.; Qurollo, Barbara A.; Maggi, Ricardo G.; Hegarty, Barbara C.; Tornquist, Susan J.

2015-01-01

Ehrlichia sp. DNA was amplified from 4 Ehrlichia-seroreactive horses from Mérida, Nicaragua. Sequencing of 16S rDNA, sodB, and groEL genes indicated that the bacterium is most likely a novel Ehrlichia species. The tick vector and the potential for canine and human infection remain unknown. PMID:25625228

Educational Provision for Ethnic Minority Groups in Nicaragua.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Docherty, F. J.

1988-01-01

Examines effect of Nicaragua's 1979 revolution on education, especially for minority Miskito Indians. Summarizes history of Indian culture in region. Suggests Sandinista government began emphasizing bilingual, bicultural education in 1982-83, sparked by deteriorating economic situation. Concludes multicultural education program, while hindered by…

Un champ semantique: les noms d'appartenance raciale au Honduras britannique (A Semantic Field: Names of Racial Identity in the British Honduras)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabouret-Keller, Andree

1975-01-01

This article studies the problem of social identity among six different racial groups in the British Honduras, focusing on what the groups call themselves and what others call them, and on the semantic field of these terms, i.e. the socio-cultural values they represent. (Text is in French.) (AM)

A Lesson Plan on El Salvador.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Interracial Books for Children Bulletin, 1982

1982-01-01

Presents background information on Salvadoran history, politics, and religion. Provides a model lesson plan designed to help high school students to understand events leading to the current conflict in El Salvador and the rest of Central America. (Author/GC)

Mitochondrial Echoes of First Settlement and Genetic Continuity in El Salvador

PubMed Central

Salas, Antonio; Lovo-Gómez, José; Álvarez-Iglesias, Vanesa; Cerezo, María; Lareu, María Victoria; Macaulay, Vincent; Richards, Martin B.; Carracedo, Ángel

2009-01-01

Background From Paleo-Indian times to recent historical episodes, the Mesoamerican isthmus played an important role in the distribution and patterns of variability all around the double American continent. However, the amount of genetic information currently available on Central American continental populations is very scarce. In order to shed light on the role of Mesoamerica in the peopling of the New World, the present study focuses on the analysis of the mtDNA variation in a population sample from El Salvador. Methodology/Principal Findings We have carried out DNA sequencing of the entire control region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome in 90 individuals from El Salvador. We have also compiled more than 3,985 control region profiles from the public domain and the literature in order to carry out inter-population comparisons. The results reveal a predominant Native American component in this region: by far, the most prevalent mtDNA haplogroup in this country (at ∼90%) is A2, in contrast with other North, Meso- and South American populations. Haplogroup A2 shows a star-like phylogeny and is very diverse with a substantial proportion of mtDNAs (45%; sequence range 16090–16365) still unobserved in other American populations. Two different Bayesian approaches used to estimate admixture proportions in El Salvador shows that the majority of the mtDNAs observed come from North America. A preliminary founder analysis indicates that the settlement of El Salvador occurred about 13,400±5,200 Y.B.P.. The founder age of A2 in El Salvador is close to the overall age of A2 in America, which suggests that the colonization of this region occurred within a few thousand years of the initial expansion into the Americas. Conclusions/Significance As a whole, the results are compatible with the hypothesis that today's A2 variability in El Salvador represents to a large extent the indigenous component of the region. Concordant with this hypothesis is also the observation of a

USE OF RADIOPHONIC TEACHING IN FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

RHOADS, WILLIAM G.; AND OTHERS

A PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN EL SALVADOR AND HONDURAS TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF MULTINATIONAL EVALUATION OF THE RADIOPHONIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN LATIN AMERICA. RADIO SCHOOL PROGRAMS WERE EXAMINED IN TERMS OF THEIR EFFECT ON PARTICIPANT ACHIEVEMENT, SATISFACTION, AND APPLICATION OF ACQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE. ATTITUDINAL, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL…

Health and health services in Central America.

PubMed

Garfield, R M; Rodriguez, P F

1985-08-16

Despite rapid economic growth since World War II, health conditions improved only slowly in most of Central America. This is a result of poor medical, social, and economic infrastructure, income maldistribution, and the poor utilization of health investments. The economic crisis of the 1980s and civil strife have further endangered health in the region. Life expectancy has fallen among men in El Salvador and civil strife has become the most common cause of death in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Large-scale US assistance has done little to improve conditions, and refugees continue to pour into North America. It is estimated that there are more than a million refugees within Central America, while a million have fled to the United States. Costa Rica and Nicaragua are partial exceptions to this dismal health picture. An effective approach to the many health problems in Central America will require joint planning and cooperation among all countries in the region.

Employment-generating projects for the energy and minerals sectors of Honduras. Proyectos generadores de empleos para los sectores energetico y minero de Honduras (in EN;SP)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frank, J.A.

A mission to Honduras invited by the Government of Honduras and sponsored by the Organization of American States addressed the generation of employment in various areas of interest to the country. The mission was made up of experts from numerous countries and international agencies. In the energy sector, the mission recommended consolidating the sector under a coordinating body; carrying out projects to promote reforestation, tree farms, and rational forest utilization; encouraging industrial energy conservation; developing alternative energy sources; and promoting rural electrification and expansion of the electrical grid. In the mining sector, the mission supported promotion and technical assistance formore » small gold-leaching and placer operations, the national mineral inventory, detailed exploration of promising sites, and the development of a mining school. 13 refs., 7 tabs.« less

The Global Fund and tuberculosis in Nicaragua: building sustainable capacity?

PubMed

Plamondon, Katrina M; Hanson, Lori; Labonté, Ronald; Abonyi, Sylvia

2008-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore and provide feedback on local stakeholders' experiences with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) as it related to capacity building for tuberculosis (TB) services in Nicaragua. An ethnomethodological approach was used to capture the experiences of three different groups: service providers, service recipients, and decision-makers. Data collection involved reviewing secondary texts and records, participant observation, and in-depth interviews and focus groups in both rural and urban municipalities. Stakeholders felt that Nicaragua's Global Fund project improved TB control, built human resource capacity and strengthened community involvement in TB programming; however, they noted several contextual and structural threats to sustainable capacity development. The nature of the GFATM's performance-based evaluation de-emphasized qualitative assessment and, at times, created pressure to meet numeric targets at the risk of decreasing quality. Contextual challenges often determined or limited the potential sustainability of activities. Two examples (training volunteer health workers and establishing TB Clubs) from the broader study are offered here to highlight these challenges from health systems and community perspectives. Current approaches to GFATM evaluation and accountability may compromise its positive impacts on capacity building in Nicaragua. Greater consideration needs to be given to ensuring more comprehensive evaluation of project implementation.

Correlates and family aggregation of vitamin D concentrations in school-aged children and their parents in nine Mesoamerican countries.

PubMed

Robinson, Sonia L; Ramirez-Zea, Manuel; Roman, Ana Victoria; Villamor, Eduardo

2017-10-01

To determine the associations of sociodemographic characteristics, diet and outdoor activity as an indicator of sun exposure with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in children and their parents from Mesoamerica. We also quantified family aggregation of serum 25(OH)D. Cross-sectional study. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were quantified using immunoassay. We compared the distribution of 25(OH)D concentrations in adults and children by levels of each correlate with the use of linear regression. Family aggregation was estimated using Pearson and intraclass correlation coefficients. Capital cities of Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize, and Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Mexico. Children (n 223) aged 7-12 years and 492 parents. Mean (sd) 25(OH)D concentrations in adults and children were 81·3 (21·1) and 79·5 (18·1) nmol/l, respectively. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD; 25(OH)D <50 nmol/l) was 3·9 % among adults and 3·6 % among children. In adults, adjusted mean 25(OH)D concentrations were highest in Nicaragua (P<0·0001). Serum 25(OH)D was positively related to time spent gardening (P=0·03). Among children, 25(OH)D concentrations were positively associated with male sex (P=0·005), dairy intake (P=0·03) and mother's serum 25(OH)D concentrations (P<0·0001); and inversely associated with mother's BMI (P=0·02) and number of home assets (P=0·04). Family membership explained 31 % of the variability in 25(OH)D concentrations; aggregation was highest between mothers and children. VDD prevalence was low in this study. Sociodemographic characteristics, diet and outdoor activity predict serum 25(OH)D. Family aggregation of serum 25(OH)D is high between mothers and children.

The Battle Era and Labor in Uruguay and U.S. Low-Intensity in Conflict Policy in Latin America

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

administration’s problems in developing a policy toward Nicaragua were deficient due to "an emphasis on covert, rather than overt action; tardiness in...not the extermination of a popular movement with legitimate grievances. This is one clear lesson emerging from Vietnam, El Salvador, and the Philippines

JPRS Report Latin America Reference Aid Abbreviations and Acronyms in the Latin American Press.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-04-26

Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Montserrat Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru St. Kitts-Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent Suriname...de Mexico Autonomous Associations of Academic Personnel of the National University of Mexico (Me) AAPC Asociaciön de Amistad Portugal-Cuba...organization] (Ch) ADN Acciön Democrätica Nacionalista Nationalist Democratic Action (Bo) ADO Autodefensa Obrera Workers Self-Defense (Co) (Formerly MAO

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors from Central America: Understanding Their Journey and Implications for Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tello, Angelica M.; Castellon, Nancy E.; Aguilar, Alejandra; Sawyer, Cheryl B.

2017-01-01

The United States has recently seen a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle of Central America (i.e., El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala). These children and youth are refugees fleeing extreme poverty and gang violence. This study examined the narratives of 16 refugees from the Northern Triangle…

Defense Management: U.S. Southern Command Demonstrates Interagency Collaboration, but Its Haiti Disaster Response Revealed Challenges Conducting a Large Military Operation

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile , Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica...19The international liaisons at SOUTHCOM include representatives from eight countries— Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile ...Nongovernmental Participants Agua Viva Alliance for Rabies Control FACE Food for the Poor Haiti Resource Development Foundation Hugs Across America

77 FR 1710 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-11

... Docket No. USCIS 2007-0028] RIN 1615-ZB06 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date... warranted because the conditions in El Salvador that prompted the TPS designation continue to be met. There...

The Camino Verde intervention in Nicaragua, 2004-2012.

PubMed

Arosteguí, Jorge; Ledogar, Robert J; Coloma, Josefina; Hernández-Alvarez, Carlos; Suazo-Laguna, Harold; Cárcamo, Alvaro; Reyes, Rosa María; Belli, Alejandro; Andersson, Neil; Harris, Eva

2017-05-30

Camino Verde (the Green Way) is an evidence-based community mobilisation tool for prevention of dengue and other mosquito-borne viral diseases. Its effectiveness was demonstrated in a cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted in 2010-2013 in Nicaragua and Mexico. The Nicaraguan arm of the trial was preceded, from 2004 to 2008, by a feasibility study that provided valuable lessons and trained facilitators for the trial itself. Here, guided by the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR), we describe the Camino Verde intervention in Nicaragua, presenting its rationale, its time and location, activities, materials used, the main actors, modes of delivery, how it was tailored to encourage community engagement, modifications made from the feasibility study to the trial itself, and how fidelity to the process originally designed was maintained. We also present information on costs and discuss the place of this study within the literature on implementation science. ISRCTN27581154 .

Men’s Educational Group Appointments in Rural Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Campbell, Bruce B.; Gonzalez, Hugo; Campbell, McKenzie; Campbell, Kent

2016-01-01

Men’s preventive health and wellness is largely neglected in rural Nicaragua, where a machismo culture prevents men from seeking health care. To address this issue, a men’s educational group appointment model was initiated at a rural health post to increase awareness about hypertension, and to train community health leaders to measure blood pressure. Men’s hypertension workshops were conducted with patient knowledge pretesting, didactic teaching, and posttesting. Pretesting and posttesting performances were recorded, blood pressures were screened, and community leaders were trained to perform sphygmomanometry. An increase in hypertension-related knowledge was observed after every workshop and community health leaders demonstrated proficiency in sphygmomanometry. In addition, several at-risk patients were identified and follow-up care arranged. Men’s educational group appointments, shown to be effective in the United States in increasing patient knowledge and satisfaction, appear to function similarly in a resource-constrained environment and may be an effective mechanism for reaching underserved men in Nicaragua. PMID:27885146

First report of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' on tomato in Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In April of 2012, tomato plants grown in several departments of Honduras, were observed with symptoms resembling those of “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” (Lso) infection. The symptoms include overall chlorosis, severe stunting, leaf cupping, excessive branching of axillary shoots, and leaf pu...

The relationship between community structural characteristics, the context of crack use and HIV risk behaviors in San Salvador, El Salvador1

PubMed Central

Dickson-Gomez, Julia; McAuliffe, Timothy; de Mendoza, Lorena Rivas; Glasman, Laura; Gaborit, Mauricio

2012-01-01

This paper explores community structural factors in different low-income communities in the San Salvador, El Salvador that account for differences in the social context in which crack is used and in the HIV risk behaviors among crack users. Results suggest that both more distal (type of low-income community, level of violent crime and poverty) and proximate structural factors (type of site where drugs are used, and whether drugs are used within or outside of community of residence) influence HIV risk behaviors among drug users. Additionally, our results suggest that community structural factors influence the historical and geographic variation in drug use sites. PMID:22217125

Unsuspected Leptospirosis Is a Cause of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Reller, Megan E.; Wunder, Elsio A.; Miles, Jeremy J.; Flom, Judith E.; Mayorga, Orlando; Woods, Christopher W.; Ko, Albert I.; Dumler, J. Stephen; Matute, Armando J.

2014-01-01

Background Epidemic severe leptospirosis was recognized in Nicaragua in 1995, but unrecognized epidemic and endemic disease remains unstudied. Methodology/Principal Findings To determine the burden of and risk factors associated with symptomatic leptospirosis in Nicaragua, we prospectively studied patients presenting with fever at a large teaching hospital. Epidemiologic and clinical features were systematically recorded, and paired sera tested by IgM-ELISA to identify patients with probable and possible acute leptospirosis. Microscopic Agglutination Test and PCR were used to confirm acute leptospirosis. Among 704 patients with paired sera tested by MAT, 44 had acute leptospirosis. Patients with acute leptospirosis were more likely to present during rainy months and to report rural residence and fresh water exposure. The sensitivity of clinical impression and acute-phase IgM detected by ELISA were poor. Conclusions/Significance Leptospirosis is a common (6.3%) but unrecognized cause of acute febrile illness in Nicaragua. Rapid point-of-care tests to support early diagnosis and treatment as well as tests to support population-based studies to delineate the epidemiology, incidence, and clinical spectrum of leptospirosis, both ideally pathogen-based, are needed. PMID:25058149

Gender, inequality and Depo-Provera: Constraints on reproductive choice in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Yarris, Kristin Elizabeth; Dent, Nicolette Jeannette

2017-04-01

This article examines the sociocultural determinants of Nicaraguan women's use of Depo-Provera as a means of contraception. The prevalence of Depo-Provera in Nicaragua is high and increasing compared to other Central American countries. Drawing on data from structured interviews with 87 women and from focus groups with 32 women, we show how women's preference for Depo is shaped by both gendered inequalities and socioeconomic constraints. We employ basic statistical tests to analyse correlations between women's marital status and socioeconomic status (SES) with contraceptive use. Our statistical findings show significant associations between use of Depo and both marital status and SES, such that women who are married or in conjugal unions and women with lower SES are more likely to use Depo. To help explain women's use of Depo-Provera in Nicaragua, we situate our findings within the context of gender, culture, and power, reviewing the contested history of Depo-Provera in the developing world and dynamics of gender inequality, which constrain women's contraceptive choices. We conclude with suggestions for reproductive health programming in Nicaragua and beyond, arguing that gender equity and addressing socioeconomic barriers to family planning remain priorities for the achievement of global reproductive health.

Teaching Democratic Theories of Education in El Salvador: Is the Laboratory Open?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Jeffrey

A philosophy of education course focused on concepts of democratic education was taught to primary and secondary school teachers working in a private bilingual school in San Salvador (El Salvador). The teachers' school was an "International School" serving children of the wealthy and the educated who lived nearby. The course was designed…

Perceptions of stakeholders about nontraditional cookstoves in Honduras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, Sebastian; Dwivedi, Puneet; Bailis, Robert; Ghilardi, Adrian

2012-12-01

We used SWOT-AHP (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats-analytical hierarchy process) technique to measure perceptions of four stakeholder groups: employees, local promoters, community leaders and end-users, about a nontraditional cookstove (NTCS) in Honduras. These stakeholder groups are part of an ongoing NTCS dissemination project led by Proyecto Mirador. We found that all stakeholder groups have a positive perception about the existing NTCS. Employees and local promoters stakeholder groups share similar perceptions. Smokeless cooking was selected as a prime strength, closely followed by reduction in forest logging and greenhouse gas emissions by all stakeholder groups. Availability of financial resources and responsible management were identified as crucial opportunities. Time spent in wood preparation and NTCS maintenance were identified as principal weaknesses. A long waiting time between a request and installation of NTCS and the risk of losing existing financial resources were acknowledged as major threats. Design improvements that can reduce maintenance and wood preparation time, a secure long-term source of funding through a market mechanism or direct/indirect government involvement, and early execution of pending orders will help in increasing adoption of NTCSs in rural Honduras.

Feasibility of developing a pediatric telehealth network in Honduras with international consultation support.

PubMed

Brooks, Mary; Holden, Kenton R; Durón, Reyna M; McElligott, James T; Summer, Andrea

2017-01-01

Honduras is the second poorest country in Central America, and roughly 50% of the population lives in rural areas. A telehealth network linking these areas to larger health centers may improve patient access to care, and physician access to educational opportunities. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of establishing a pediatric telehealth network between underserved clinics in Honduras and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Two underserved Honduran clinics were identified and invited to participate in the telehealth network. Providers from these clinics connected remotely to educational conferences at MUSC, and received teleconsults from MUSC physicians and physicians from the other Honduran site. Honduran providers completed five-point Likert scale satisfaction surveys following participation in the conferences and teleconsults. Survey feedback was positive, with 100% of respondents stating they would utilize telemedicine in the future. Dissatisfaction was expressed subjectively in the survey comments with regards to poor Internet connectivity and unreliable electrical power. The establishment of a telehealth network between Honduras and MUSC is feasible, and rural providers were receptive to the clinical and educational opportunities this network provides. Future projects will expand telehealth capabilities to other Honduran sites and focus on intra-country collaboration to ensure sustainability.

International collaboration for pediatric oncology nursing leadership: Nicaragua and Canada.

PubMed

Orozco, A; Marin, V; Reyes, S; Challinor, J; Carpio, B

2009-01-01

In 2005, with financial support from the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, a pilot nursing leadership project linked pediatric oncology nurses from Canada with nurses at the La Mascota Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua. Following consultation with the pediatric oncology team in Nicaragua, a program was developed to strengthen clinical nursing leadership in a clinical setting through continuing education. The nurses believed that care of the patient and family improved due to the increased leadership skills of nurses in the unit and as the profile and credibility of nurses as peers in the health care team became evident. Providing nurses with the autonomy and financing for a project related directly to nursing care represented an important development for leadership in the profession.

First report of "Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum" on pepper in Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In 2012, bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants exhibiting symptoms that resembled those of the bacterium “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” infection were observed in commercial pepper fields in several departments in Honduras, including Francisco Morazán, Ocotepeque, El Paraíso, and Olancho. Man...

Congenital Malformations of the Central Nervous System in Rural Western Honduras: A 6-Year Report on Trends.

PubMed

Estevez-Ordonez, Dagoberto; Dewan, Michael C; Feldman, Michael J; Montalvan-Sanchez, Eleazar E; Montalvan-Sanchez, Daniela M; Rodriguez-Murillo, Aida A; Urrutia-Argueta, Samuel A; Cherry, Charlotte B; Morgan, Douglas R; Alvarez-Rodriguez, Roberto; Bonfield, Christopher M

2017-11-01

Central nervous system (CNS) malformations, including neural tube defects (NTDs), are the second most common type of birth defects worldwide and are major causes of childhood disability and mortality. We report the first analysis of birth prevalence in Western Honduras of CNS malformations including NTDs over 6 consecutive years. Data from all patients with congenital CNS malformations and total live births for the period 2010-2015 were obtained through institution and regional registries from all 3 public referral hospitals in Western Honduras, representing 67 municipalities. Cases were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision CNS malformation codes. Birth prevalence was calculated as cases per 10,000 live births. From 123,903 live births, 275 cases of CNS malformations were identified (54% females, 58% NTDs). Six-year birth prevalence of CNS malformations was 13.9-31.1. Spina bifida variants and anencephaly represented 80% and 19% of reported NTDs, respectively. Total 6-year prevalence of NTDs in Western Honduras was 7.0-17.4 over years studied. In 6 municipalities, average prevalence was >30 (maximum 49.0). This is the first study reporting disease burden of CNS malformations in Western Honduras. The nationwide birth prevalence of NTDs in rural Honduras may have decreased since the implementation of prenatal health policies in 2005. However, we identified regions with unexpectedly elevated prevalence, indicating high regional prevalence that could be targeted for improved preventive efforts, ultimately decreasing the burden of these conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distributional records of shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) from Northern Central America with the first record of Sorex from Honduras

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodman, Neal; Matson, John O.; McCarthy, Timothy J.; Eckerlin, Ralph P.; Bulmer, Walter; Ordonez-Garza, Nicte

2012-01-01

Short term surveys for small mammals in Guatemala and Honduras during 1992–2009 provided important new records for 12 taxa of shrews from 24 localities. These locality records expand the known geographic distributions for five species and for the genus Sorex Linnaeus, 1758: the geographic range of Cryptotis goodwini Jackson, 1933, now includes the Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala, and several isolated highlands in western Honduras; the known distribution of Cryptotis mayensis (Merriam, 1901) is increased with the first definite modern record for this shrew from Guatemala; Cryptotis merriami Choate, 1970, is now known to occur in the Sierra de las Minas and the Sierra del Merendon, Guatemala, as well as the isolated Sierra de Omoa and Montana de La Muralla in Honduras, and its documented elevational range (600–1720 m) is expanded; records of Sorex veraepacis Alston, 1877, expand the known distribution of this species to include the Sierra de Yalijux, Guatemala; and discovery of Sorex salvini Merriam, 1897, at Celaque, Honduras (1825–3110 m), represents a considerable extension of the geographic range of the species, and it is the first record of the genus Sorex from Honduras. In addition, the first record of potential syntopy among C. goodwini, C merriami, and Cryptotis orophilus (J.A. Allen, 1895), is reported at an elevation of 1430 m in the Sierra de Celaque, Honduras. Information associated with these records contributes substantially to knowledge of habitat use, elevational distributions, reproductive patterns, diet, and parasites of the species encountered. General patterns include the first evidence that Neotropical species of soricids have smaller litters than their temperate congeners.

Active strike-slip faulting in El Salvador, Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corti, Giacomo; Carminati, Eugenio; Mazzarini, Francesco; Oziel Garcia, Marvyn

2005-12-01

Several major earthquakes have affected El Salvador, Central America, during the Past 100 yr as a consequence of oblique subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate, which is partitioned between trench-orthogonal compression and strike-slip deformation parallel to the volcanic arc. Focal mechanisms and the distribution of the most destructive earthquakes, together with geomorphologic evidence, suggest that this transcurrent component of motion may be accommodated by a major strike-slip fault (El Salvador fault zone). We present field geological, structural, and geomorphological data collected in central El Salvador that allow the constraint of the kinematics and the Quaternary activity of this major seismogenic strike-slip fault system. Data suggest that the El Salvador fault zone consists of at least two main ˜E-W fault segments (San Vicente and Berlin segments), with associated secondary synthetic (WNW-ESE) and antithetic (NNW-SSE) Riedel shears and NW-SE tensional structures. The two main fault segments overlap in a dextral en echelon style with the formation of an intervening pull-apart basin. Our original geological and geomorphologic data suggest a late Pleistocene Holocene slip rate of ˜11 mm/yr along the Berlin segment, in contrast with low historical seismicity. The kinematics and rates of deformation suggested by our new data are consistent with models involving slip partitioning during oblique subduction, and support the notion that a trench-parallel component of motion between the Caribbean and Cocos plates is concentrated along E-W dextral strike-slip faults parallel to the volcanic arc.

Frank from El Salvador: A Teacher's Story.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasquier, Binnie

1994-01-01

Describes the experiences of a young man from El Salvador and his eighth-grade second-language teacher as they watched other young El Salvadorans either drop out of school or accumulate insufficient credits to graduate. (RS)

[A school program for dengue control in Honduras: from knowledge to action].

PubMed

Avila Montes, Gustavo Adolfo; Araujo, Roxana; Leontsini, Elli; Orellana Herrera, Gabriel; Fernández Cerna, Eduardo

2012-06-01

The Environmental School Program (PEA, for its Spanish acronym), a dengue control initiative focused on primary schools that took place during 2005-2010 in several cities in Honduras, is described. The environmental health program was designed to increase knowledge and develop skills in the identification and control of Aedes aegypti breeding sites, as well as in water and solid waste management. The results, as measured by behavioral change and reduced larval indices, were satisfactory in the majority of the participating schools. The initiative involved not only children, but also their parents and teachers. In addition to reducing larval indices, PEA was successful in promoting community participation in environmental issues, particularly Aedes control. The inclusion of this educational content in the primary school curriculum in Honduras remains pending.

El Salvador and Guatemala: Security Sector Reform and Political Party System Effects on Organized Crime

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

violence_injury_prevention/violence/national_activities/gtm/ en /index.html (accessed December 03, 2008). 2 Overseas Security Advisory Council, "San Salvador, El Salvador... deportation as key causes of crime in both countries. 11 It is commonly noted that, “Guatemala and El Salvador are internationally among the most...activity in both countries provide evidence that U.S. deportation policy may indeed be a major contributor to the increase in gang activity in both El

First report of "Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum" infecting eggplant in Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In May of 2012, eggplant (Solanum melongena) plants in an experimental research plot located at Zamorano in the Department of Francisco Morazán, Honduras, were observed with symptoms that included leaf chlorosis and cupping, overall stunting, and production of small and malformed fruits. The researc...

Curie point depth in the SW Caribbean using the radially averaged spectra of magnetic anomalies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, Juan M.; Vargas, Carlos A.; Leon, Hermann

2017-01-01

We have estimated the Curie Point Depth (CPD) using the average radial power spectrum in a tectonically complex area located in the SW Caribbean basin. Data analyzed came from the World Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map, and three methods have been used to compare results and evaluate uncertainties: Centroid, Spectral Peak, and Forward Modeling. Results show a match along the three methods, suggesting that the CPD values in the area ranging between 6 km and 50 km. The results share the following characteristics: A) High values (> 30 km) are in continental regions; B) There is a trend of maximum CPD values along the SW-NE direction, starting from the Central Cordillera in Colombia to the Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela; C) There is a maximum CPD at the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia) as well as between Costa Rica - Nicaragua and Nicaragua - Honduras borders. The lowest CPD values (< 20 km) are associated with the coastal regions and offshore. We also tested results by estimating the geothermal gradient and comparing measured observations of the study area. Our results suggest at least five thermal terrains in the SW Caribbean Basin: A) The area that is comprising the Venezuela Basin, the Beata Ridge and the Colombia Basin up to longitude parallel to the Providencia Throat. B) The area that includes zones to the north of the Cocos Ridge and Panam Basin up to the trench. C) The orogenic region of the northern Andes and including areas of the Santa Marta Massif. D) The continental sector that encompasses Nicaragua, northern Costa Rica and eastern of Honduras. E) Corresponds to areas of the northern Venezuela and Colombia, NW of Colombia, the Panamanian territory and the transition zones between the Upper and Lower Nicaragua Rise.

Drug resistance associated genetic polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax collected in Honduras, Central America.

PubMed

Jovel, Irina T; Mejía, Rosa E; Banegas, Engels; Piedade, Rita; Alger, Jackeline; Fontecha, Gustavo; Ferreira, Pedro E; Veiga, Maria I; Enamorado, Irma G; Bjorkman, Anders; Ursing, Johan

2011-12-19

In Honduras, chloroquine and primaquine are recommended and still appear to be effective for treatment of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of resistance associated genetic polymorphisms in P. falciparum and P. vivax collected in Honduras. Blood samples were collected from patients seeking medical attention at the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa from 2004 to 2006 as well as three regional hospitals, two health centres and one regional laboratory during 2009. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt), multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1), dihydrofolate reductase (pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (pfdhps) genes and in P. vivax multidrug resistance 1 (pvmdr1) and dihydrofolate reductase (pvdhfr) genes were detected using PCR based methods. Thirty seven P. falciparum and 64 P. vivax samples were collected. All P. falciparum infections acquired in Honduras carried pfcrt, pfmdr1, pfdhps and pfdhfr alleles associated with chloroquine, amodiaquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine sensitivity only. One patient with parasites acquired on a Pacific Island had pfcrt 76 T and pfmdr1 86Y alleles. That patient and a patient infected in West Africa had pfdhfr 51I, 59 R and 108 N alleles. Pvmdr1 976 F was found in 7/37 and two copies of pvmdr1 were found in 1/37 samples. Pvdhfr 57 L + 58 R was observed in 2/57 samples. The results indicate that P. falciparum from Honduras remain sensitive to chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. This suggests that chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine should be efficacious for treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, supporting current national treatment guidelines. However, genetic polymorphisms associated with chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine tolerance were detected in local P. vivax and imported P. falciparum infections. Continuous monitoring of the prevalence of drug resistant/tolerant P

Home Alone: Children as Caretakers in Leon, Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahlblom, Kjerstin; Herrara, Andres Rodriguez; Pena, Rodolfo; Dahlgren, Lars

2009-01-01

This article seeks to explore and understand the life situations of sibling caretakers in poor areas in Leon, Nicaragua. The every day lives for caretakers were studied through observations and interviews with children, informants and parents. The children themselves were satisfied and proud to be trusted as caretakers and felt useful in…

Environmental pollution and shipping feasibility of the Nicaragua Canal.

PubMed

Chen, Jihong; Zeng, Xin; Deng, Yibing

2016-12-15

In recent years, the Nicaraguan government's renewed interest in constructing this interoceanic canal has once again aroused widespread concern, particularly in the global shipping industry. The project's immense ecological risks, coupled with the recent expansions of both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal, have raised questions among scientists and experts about its viability. Whether the Nicaragua Canal is really feasible for international shipping, given its high marine pollution risks, requires the further study. This paper discusses and analyses the feasibility of the Nicaragua Canal in the context of its environmental impact and value as a shipping service. This paper aims to provide an important information reference to inform strategic decision-making among policymakers and stakeholders. Our research results indicate that the environmental complexity, economic costs and safety risks of building a new transoceanic canal are simply too high to justify the project. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Building Armies for Democracy: U.S. Attempts to Reform the Armed Forces of Cuba (1906-1909) and Nicaragua (1927-1933).

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-06-05

the Corps to subdue Sandino and build the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua. L Taft, William H., and Bacon, Robert. "Cuban Pacification: Report of William...in Nicaragua, the Marines set out to build a professional apolitical force. The new Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua was to subdue the recalcitrant...Guardians of the Dynasty: A History of the U.S. Created Guardia Nacional de Nicaraoua and the Somoza Family. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, Inc., 1977

Jewel scarabs (Chrysina sp.) in Honduras: key species for cloud forest conservation monitoring?

PubMed

Jocque, M; Vanhove, M P M; Creedy, T J; Burdekin, O; Nuñez-Miño, J M; Casteels, J

2013-01-01

Jewel scarabs, beetles in the genus Chrysina Kirby (Coleoptera: Rutelinae: Scarabaeidae), receive their name from the bright, often gold, green elytra that reflect light like a precious stone. Jewel scarabs are commonly observed at light traps in Mesoamerican cloud forests, and their association with mountain forests makes them potentially interesting candidates for cloud forest conservation monitoring. The absence of survey protocols and identification tools, and the little ecological information available are barriers. In the present study, collection of Chrysina species assembled during biodiversity surveys by Operation Wallacea in Cusuco National Park (CNP), Honduras, were studied. The aim of this overview is to provide an easy to use identification tool for in the field, hopefully stimulating data collection on these beetles. Based on the data associated with the collection localities, elevation distribution of the species in the park was analyzed. The limited data points available were complemented with potential distribution areas generated with distribution models based on climate and elevation data. This study is aimed at initializing the development of a survey protocol for Chrysina species that can be used in cloud forest conservation monitoring throughout Central America. A list of Chrysina species recorded from Honduras so far is provided. The six identified and one unidentified species recorded from CNP are easy to identify in the field based on color and straightforward morphological characteristics. Literature research revealed ten species currently recorded from Honduras. This low species richness in comparison with surrounding Central American countries indicates the poor knowledge of this genus in Honduras. Chrysina species richness in CNP increases with elevation, thereby making the genus one of a few groups of organisms where this correlation is observed, and rendering it a suitable invertebrate representative for cloud forest habitats in

75 FR 38772 - Amendment to the 2010 Tariff Preference Level (TPL) for Nicaragua Under the Central America...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-06

... one-to-one commitment for cotton and man-made fiber woven trousers exported from Nicaragua to the... one-to-one commitment for cotton and man-made fiber trousers. Section 1634(c)(2) of the Pension... exports of cotton and man-made fiber woven trousers entered under the TPL, Nicaragua would export to the...

Comparison of molecular tests for the diagnosis of malaria in Honduras

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Honduras is a tropical country with more than 70% of its population living at risk of being infected with either Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium falciparum. Laboratory diagnosis is a very important factor for adequate treatment and management of malaria. In Honduras, malaria is diagnosed by both, microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests and to date, no molecular methods have been implemented for routine diagnosis. However, since mixed infections, and asymptomatic and low-parasitaemic cases are difficult to detect by light microscopy alone, identifying appropriate molecular tools for diagnostic applications in Honduras deserves further study. The present study investigated the utility of different molecular tests for the diagnosis of malaria in Honduras. Methods A total of 138 blood samples collected as part of a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of chloroquine were used: 69 microscopically confirmed P. falciparum positive samples obtained on the day of enrolment and 69 follow-up samples obtained 28 days after chloroquine treatment and shown to be malaria negative by microscopy. Sensitivity and specificity of microscopy was compared to an 18 s ribosomal RNA gene-based nested PCR, two single-PCR reactions designed to detect Plasmodium falciparum infections, one single-PCR to detect Plasmodium vivax infections, and one multiplex one-step PCR reaction to detect both parasite species. Results Of the 69 microscopically positive P. falciparum samples, 68 were confirmed to be P. falciparum-positive by two of the molecular tests used. The one sample not detected as P. falciparum by any of the molecular tests was shown to be P. vivax-positive by a reference molecular test indicating a misdiagnosis by microscopy. The reference molecular test detected five cases of P. vivax/P. falciparum mixed infections, which were not recognized by microscopy as mixed infections. Only two of these mixed infections were recognized by a multiplex test while a P. vivax

Comparison of molecular tests for the diagnosis of malaria in Honduras.

PubMed

Fontecha, Gustavo A; Mendoza, Meisy; Banegas, Engels; Poorak, Mitra; De Oliveira, Alexandre M; Mancero, Tamara; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Lucchi, Naomi W; Mejia, Rosa E

2012-04-18

Honduras is a tropical country with more than 70% of its population living at risk of being infected with either Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium falciparum. Laboratory diagnosis is a very important factor for adequate treatment and management of malaria. In Honduras, malaria is diagnosed by both, microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests and to date, no molecular methods have been implemented for routine diagnosis. However, since mixed infections, and asymptomatic and low-parasitaemic cases are difficult to detect by light microscopy alone, identifying appropriate molecular tools for diagnostic applications in Honduras deserves further study. The present study investigated the utility of different molecular tests for the diagnosis of malaria in Honduras. A total of 138 blood samples collected as part of a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of chloroquine were used: 69 microscopically confirmed P. falciparum positive samples obtained on the day of enrollment and 69 follow-up samples obtained 28 days after chloroquine treatment and shown to be malaria negative by microscopy. Sensitivity and specificity of microscopy was compared to an 18 s ribosomal RNA gene-based nested PCR, two single-PCR reactions designed to detect Plasmodium falciparum infections, one single-PCR to detect Plasmodium vivax infections, and one multiplex one-step PCR reaction to detect both parasite species. Of the 69 microscopically positive P. falciparum samples, 68 were confirmed to be P. falciparum-positive by two of the molecular tests used. The one sample not detected as P. falciparum by any of the molecular tests was shown to be P. vivax-positive by a reference molecular test indicating a misdiagnosis by microscopy. The reference molecular test detected five cases of P. vivax/P. falciparum mixed infections, which were not recognized by microscopy as mixed infections. Only two of these mixed infections were recognized by a multiplex test while a P. vivax-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR

El Salvador: Aid Compensates for Economic Losses but Achieves Little Growth

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-02-15

earthquake. Aid Helped Achieve Almost half of U.S. economic assistance to El Salvador has supported its Economic Stability but economy by providing cash to the...Economic Growth 15 Economic Stability but Conclusions 21 Little Growth Chapter 3 22 Maintaining Social Funds for Health and Education Are Limited 22...comments as appropriate. Page I I GAO/NSIAD-91-97 El Salvador Chapter 2 U.S. and Salvadoran Efforts Bring Economic Stability but Little Growth AID’S

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-18

Ever,” Latin American Weekly Report, February 7, 2008; United Nations Development Program (UNDP), “Maras y Pandillas: Comunidad y Policia en ...to 60% of homicides, but CRS-4 6 “2,576 Homicidios en el 2004 en El Salvador,” Agence France Presse, January 5, 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs...El Salvador, along with Ecuador , Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles, serves as a Forward Operating Location (FOL) for U.S. anti- drug forces. In 2007

A Single Early Introduction of HIV-1 Subtype B into Central America Accounts for Most Current Cases

PubMed Central

Murillo, Wendy; Veras, Nazle; Prosperi, Mattia; de Rivera, Ivette Lorenzana; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela; Morales-Miranda, Sonia; Juarez, Sandra I.; Yang, Chunfu; DeVos, Joshua; Marín, José Pablo; Mild, Mattias; Albert, Jan

2013-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants show considerable geographical separation across the world, but there is limited information from Central America. We provide the first detailed investigation of the genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in six Central American countries. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on 625 HIV-1 pol gene sequences collected between 2002 and 2010 in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize. Published sequences from neighboring countries (n = 57) and the rest of the world (n = 740) were included as controls. Maximum likelihood methods were used to explore phylogenetic relationships. Bayesian coalescence-based methods were used to time HIV-1 introductions. Nearly all (98.9%) Central American sequences were of subtype B. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 437 (70%) sequences clustered within five significantly supported monophyletic clades formed essentially by Central American sequences. One clade contained 386 (62%) sequences from all six countries; the other four clades were smaller and more country specific, suggesting discrete subepidemics. The existence of one large well-supported Central American clade provides evidence that a single introduction of HIV-1 subtype B in Central America accounts for most current cases. An introduction during the early phase of the HIV-1 pandemic may explain its epidemiological success. Moreover, the smaller clades suggest a subsequent regional spread related to specific transmission networks within each country. PMID:23616665

Final report on SIM.T-S5: comparison of the calibration of 100 Ω platinum resistance thermometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

del Campo, D.; García, S.; Velasquez, A.; Medrano, J. A.; Solano, A.; Torres, H. E.

2015-01-01

An International Comparison on industrial Platinum Resistance Thermometers (PRTs) among the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) of Spain, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua began in 2013 and was successfully completed in 2014. Two PRTs were circulated (hand carried) and compared in the range from -38.8 °C up to 250 °C. The Centro Español de Metrología (Spanish NMI), CEM, acted as the pilot laboratory providing the reference value of the comparison. The thermometers have shown an acceptable behavior throughout the comparison, therefore the results can be considered valid for comparing the measurement capabilities of the participant laboratories. The equivalence between the participant laboratories in the calibration of platinum resistance thermometers by comparison in the range from -38,8 °C up to 250 °C has been demonstrated in almost all cases. This report presents the results of this comparison and provides detailed information of the measurements performed by the participating laboratories. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCT, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Country watch: Nicaragua.

PubMed

Pauw, J

1999-01-01

The Association of Workers for Education, Health and Social Integration (TESIS) works with commercial sex workers to control HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in Nicaragua through free condom distribution and education. Education includes group work, individual counseling, and demonstrations of correct condom use. Condoms are also distributed to the motels frequented by commercial sex workers. When the Condom Social Marketing (CSM) project in Central America started, it sold condoms of the same quality as the ones offered by TESIS; thus the condom donors reduced their donations, and in turn, TESIS lost its normal quota for free condom distribution. Because of this situation, TESIS dealt with a condom promotion scheme at a lower cost for the poorest women. Condom quality did not deteriorate as products only came with simpler packaging. TESIS fills the gap which CSM missed.

Malaria control in Nicaragua: social and political influences on disease transmission and control activities.

PubMed

Garfield, R

1999-07-31

Throughout Central America, a traditional malaria control strategy (depending on heavy use of organic pesticides) became less effective during the 1970s. In Nicaragua, an alternative strategy, based on frequent local epidemiological assessments and community participation, was developed in the 1980s. Despite war-related social instability, and continuing vector resistance, this approach was highly successful. By the end of the contra war, there finally existed organisational and ecological conditions that favoured improved malaria control. Yet the expected improvements did not occur. In the 1990s, Nicaragua experienced its worst recorded malaria epidemics. This situation was partly caused by the country's macroeconomic structural adjustment programme. Volunteers now take fewer slides and provide less treatment, malaria control workers are less motivated by the spirit of public service, and some malaria control stations charge for diagnosis or treatment. To "roll back malaria", in Nicaragua at least, will require the roll-back of some erroneous aspects of structural adjustment.

Obituary -- Salvador González Bedolla

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña, H. José

1997-04-01

It is with great sadness that I must communicate the passing of our colleague Salvador Félix González Bedolla. The observational astronomers of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional owe much to his pioneering effort at San Pedro Mártir, work that formed him as an astronomer, and helped him become one of the best photometric observers in México and, at the Instituto de Astronomóa of the UNAM, the academic technician with the highest productivity of articles derived from observations at the OAN. Salvador was an excellent student. He obtained the highest achievement award (Gabino Barreda) in high school, studied physics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and also finished the credits for his Master's degree in Physics with only his thesis separating him from his degree, an act which was constantly put off until his death. He began his career in Astronomy in 1973 under Dr. Eugenio Mendoza. Later he worked with Josef Warman in the observation of short period stars in the Observatorio `José Arbol y Bonilla'' in Zacatecas, México. I then began working continuously with him in this field of research which, thanks to his great work capacity, produced very good results. He continued in these fields of research not only within the Institute of Astronomy, but also in other research facilities, especially two: With the variable group from the Observatory at Nice, France, beginning in 1985, specializing in the pulsation of early stars. His main interest was in the β Cep stars and in the possibility of relating these stars to the new types of variables (such as the OB stars, the `53 Per' variables, the `ultrashort' period and the ``slow'' and Be variables) discovered near this zone. Hence, in view of this, his efforts were aimed at monitoring the stars that belong to these new groups in order to discover if they are really different from the classical β Cep stars. Moreover, beginning in 1984, Salvador began working with a group of astronomers from

[The health system of Nicaragua].

PubMed

Muiser, Jorine; Sáenz, María del Rocío; Bermúdez, Juan Luis

2011-01-01

This paper describes the health conditions in Nicaragua and discusses the characteristics of its national health system including its structure and coverage, its financial sources its physical, material and human resources the stewardship functions developed by the Ministry of Health the participation of citizens in the operation and evaluation of the system and the level of satisfaction of health care users. It also discusses the most recent policy innovations, including the new General Health Law, the decentralization of the regulation of health facilities and the design and implementation of a new health care model known as Family and Community Health Model.

"Siempre me critican": barriers to reproductive health in Ocotal, Nicaragua.

PubMed

Luffy, Samantha M; Evans, Dabney P; Rochat, Roger W

2015-05-01

To identify perceived barriers to accessing reproductive health care according to the women of Ocotal, Nicaragua; describe their understanding of their reproductive rights; and document their opinions about Nicaragua's total ban on abortion. From May to June 2014, three focus group discussions were held in Spanish with 17 women from two different neighborhoods (barrios) in the city of Ocotal, Nicaragua. A semi-structured discussion guide with open-ended questions was employed to elucidate local perspectives regarding the focus group discussions themes. Serious obstacles including 1) violence against women, 2) machismo, 3) criticism from others, and 4) lack of communication and education limit women's ability to make their own reproductive health decisions. Women had a pervasive lack of knowledge about reproductive rights and the international human rights documents that define them. In addition, due to religious and cultural ideologies, most women supported the country's total ban on abortion in most circumstances, with the possible exception of rape. Both men and women in Ocotal should be encouraged to participate in community-level programs designed to reduce the impact of the following obstacles to receiving reproductive health care: 1) violence against women and machismo; 2) insufficient, non-standardized sexual education and information about reproductive rights; and 3) poor communication within families and the community at large. Any future public health campaigns to address women's reproductive health needs in Ocotal should implement these types of programs, at the neighborhood level, to reduce stigma surrounding sexual health and activity.

Dialysis enrollment patterns in Guatemala: evidence of the chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes epidemic in Mesoamerica.

PubMed

Laux, Timothy S; Barnoya, Joaquin; Guerrero, Douglas R; Rothstein, Marcos

2015-04-14

In western Nicaragua and El Salvador, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent and generally affects young, male, agricultural (usually sugar cane) workers without the established CKD risk factors. It is yet unknown if the prevalence of this CKD of Non-Traditional causes (CKDnT) extends to the northernmost Central American country, Guatemala. Therefore, we sought to compare dialysis enrollment rates by region, municipality, sex, daily temperature, and agricultural production in Guatemala and assess if there is a similar CKDnT distribution pattern as in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The National Center for Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment (Unidad Nacional de Atención al Enfermo Renal Crónico) is the largest provider of dialysis in Guatemala. We used population, Human Development Index, literacy, and agricultural databases to assess the geographic, economic, and educational correlations with the National Center for Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment's hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis enrollment database. Enrollment rates (per 100 000) inhabitants were compared by region and mapped for comparison to regional agricultural and daytime temperature data. The distribution of men and women enrolled in dialysis were compared by region using Fisher's exact tests. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated. Dialysis enrollment is higher in the Southwest compared to the rest of the country where enrollees are more likely (p < 0.01) to be male (57.8%) compared to the rest of the country (49.3%). Dialysis enrollment positively correlates with Human Development Index and literacy rates. These correlations are weaker in the agricultural regions (predominantly sugar cane) of Southwest Guatemala. In Guatemala, CKDnT incidence may have a similar geographic distribution as Nicaragua and El Salvador (higher in the high temperature and sugar cane growing regions). Therefore, it is likely that the CKNnT epidemic extends throughout the Mesoamerican region.

Perspective View with Landsat Overlay, Lakes Managua and Nicaragua

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This perspective view shows Lakes Managua and Nicaragua near the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Lake Managua is the 65-kilometer (40-mile)-long fresh water lake in the foreground of this south-looking view, emptying via the Tipitapa River into the much larger Lake Nicaragua in the distance. The capital city of Managua, with a population of more than 500,000, is located along the southern shore of Lake Managua, the area with the highest population density in Nicaragua.

The physical setting of Lake Managua is dominated by the numerous volcanic features aligned in a northwest-southeast axis. The cone-like feature in the foreground is Momotombo, a 1,280-meter (4,199-foot)-high stratovolcano located on the northwest end of the lake. Two water-filled volcanic craters (Apoyegue and Jiloa volcanoes) reside on the Chiltepe Peninsula protruding into the lake from the west. Two volcanoes can also be seen on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua: El Maderas rising to 1,394 meters (4,573 feet) and the active El Conception at 1,610 meters (5,282 feet).

This three-dimensional perspective view was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and an enhanced false-color Landsat 7 satellite image. Colors are from Landsat bands 5, 4, and 2 as red, green and blue, respectively. Topographic expression is exaggerated two times.

Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyses of the large and growing Landsat image archive. The Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper image used here was provided to the SRTM by the United States Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne

Social Integration and Health Behavioral Change in San Luis, Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McQuestion, Michael J.; Calle, Ana Quijano; Drasbek, Christopher; Harkins, Thomas; Sagastume, Lourdes J.

2010-01-01

This study explores the effects of social integration on behavioral change in the course of an intensive, community-based public health intervention. The intervention trained volunteers and mobilized local organizations to promote 16 key family health practices in rural San Luis, Honduras, during 2004 to 2006. A mixed methods approach is used.…

IMPROVED BIOSAND METHODOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE CLEAN WATER SOLUTIONS IN NORTHERN HONDURAS

EPA Science Inventory

Both aspects of the project will lead to improved construction and operation of biosand filters in Honduras.  The Hondurans who have taken on the challenge of constructing and distributing biosand filters appreciate the support and expertise that can be provided in imp...

Developing a longitudinal cancer nursing education program in Honduras.

PubMed

Sheldon, Lisa Kennedy; Wise, Barbara; Carlson, Julie R; Dowds, Cynthia; Sarchet, Vanessa; Sanchez, Jose Angel

2013-12-01

The present paper is a longitudinal study which aims to develop and deliver cancer nursing education conferences in Honduras using volunteer nurse educators. This program intends to (1) perform site assessments of work environments and resources for cancer care in Honduras, (2) develop cancer nursing education programs, (3) survey conference participants continuing education needs, (4) deliver cancer nursing education conferences, and (5) share data with local and global partners for future cancer programs. The study draws on a longitudinal program development with site assessments, data collection, and educational conferences at two time points. Assessments and surveys were used for conference development and delivery by volunteer nurse educators. Site assessments and conferences were delivered twice. Data were collected regarding assessments and surveys to inform program development. Survey data revealed that <4 % had formal training in cancer care and >65 % had internet access. Participants desired more information about handling of chemotherapy, symptom management, and palliative care. Volunteer nurse educators perform site assessments and develop educational programming for cancer nurses. Local and global partners should explore internet-based programs between site visits to create sustainable education programs.

Health-related outcomes of war in Nicaragua.

PubMed Central

Garfield, R M; Frieden, T; Vermund, S H

1987-01-01

Since 1983, war in Nicaragua has slowed improvements in health which had developed rapidly from 1979-82. The rate of war-related deaths among Nicaraguans now exceeds that of the United States citizens in either the Vietnam War or World War II. Forty-two of the 84 documented war-related casualties among Nicaraguan health workers have been deaths. This high case fatality rate reflects the targeting of health workers by contra troops. The number of staff and services of the public medical system decreased by approximately 10 per cent from 1983 to 1985. Population movements, the establishment of new settlements, and war-related destruction of the primary health infrastructure are associated with recent epidemics of malaria, dengue, measles, and leishmaniasis. The estimated rate of infant mortality in Nicaragua, which had declined from 120 per 1,000 in 1978 to 76/1,000 live births in 1983, has since shown no further decline. Internationally mandated protections enjoyed by civilians and health workers during times of war do not appear to operate in this so-called "low intensity" conflict. Further declines in infant mortality, prevention of epidemics, and improvement in other health indicators will likely await the cessation of military hostilities. PMID:3565659

By and for women. Nicaragua's Si Mujer.

PubMed

1993-01-01

In Nicaragua, a group of women physicians and health professionals created an alternative health service for women. "Si Mujer" (Yes Woman), which stands for Integrated Services for Women, provides: 1) gynecologic services (comprehensive check-up, early cancer detection, sterility counseling, and AIDS and sexually transmitted disease [STD] prevention); 2) obstetric services (prenatal care, normal and high-risk pregnancy care, and family planning); 3) counseling (for women, couples, and families, and for victims of sexual violence); and 4) sex education and training (in reproductive health, gynecology, and sexuality). The non-profit organization collects fees according to ability to pay (11% pay nothing) and serves approximately 800 clients per month. Special programs provide services to teenagers and to men. While the training program began as a secondary effort, it is now as important as the direct service provision, with training activities reaching more than 1600 people in the first year through courses on such topics as sexuality, gender and power, AIDS and STD prevention, and cancer prevention. Si Mujer is one of more than 52 women's health centers in Nicaragua that have arisen to fill the gap left by the deterioration of public health services and which apply a gender perspective to the manner in which they approach their clients.

Short communication: HIV incidence among vulnerable populations in Honduras: results from an integrated behavioral and biological survey among female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and Garifuna in Honduras, 2006.

PubMed

Kim, Andrea A; Morales, Sonia; Lorenzana de Rivera, Ivette; Paredes, Mayte; Juarez, Sandra; Alvarez, Berta; Liu, Xin; Parekh, Bharat; Monterroso, Edgar; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2013-03-01

Honduras has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Central America. Data on HIV incidence are needed to identify groups at greatest need of prevention interventions to inform the national HIV response. We applied a test for recent infection to HIV-positive specimens from a biological and behavioral survey to estimate assay-derived incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), and the Garifuna population in Honduras. Assay-derived estimates were compared to the mathematically modeled estimates in the same populations to assess plausibility of the assay-based estimates. Assay-derived incidence was 1.1% (95% CI 0.2-2.0) among MSM, 0.4% (95% CI 0.1-0.8) among the Garifuna, and 0% (95% CI 0-0.01) among FSWs. The modeled incidence estimates were similar at 1.03% among MSM, 0.30% among the Garifuna, and 0.23% among FSWs. HIV incidence based on the assay was highest among MSM in Honduras, lowest among FSWs, and similar to modeled incidence in these groups. Targeted programs on HIV prevention, care, and treatment are urgently needed for the MSM population. Continued support for existing prevention programs for FSWs and Garifuna are recommended.

Frequency of human bocavirus (HBoV) infection among children with febrile respiratory symptoms in Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru

PubMed Central

Salmón‐Mulanovich, Gabriela; Sovero, Merly; Laguna‐Torres, V. Alberto; Kochel, Tadeusz J.; Lescano, Andres G.; Chauca, Gloria; Sanchez, J. Felix; Rodriguez, Francisco; Parrales, Eduardo; Ocaña, Victor; Barrantes, Melvin; Blazes, David L.; Montgomery, Joel M.

2010-01-01

Please cite this paper as: Salmón‐Mulanovich et al. (2010) Frequency of human bocavirus (HBoV) infection among children with febrile respiratory symptoms in Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(1), 1–5. Background  Globally, respiratory infections are the primary cause of illness in developing countries, specifically among children; however, an etiological agent for many of these illnesses is rarely identified. Objectives  Our study aimed to estimate the frequency of human bocavirus (HBoV) infection among pediatric populations in Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru. Methods  We conducted a cross‐sectional study using stored samples of an influenza‐like illness surveillance program. Irrespective of previous diagnosis, nasopharyngeal or nasal swab specimens were randomly selected and tested using real‐time PCR from three sites during 2007 from patients younger than 6 years old. Results  A total of 568 specimens from Argentina (185), Nicaragua (192) and Peru (191) were tested. The prevalence of HBoV was 10·8% (95% CI: 6·3; 15·3) in Argentina, 33·3% in Nicaragua (95% CI: 26·6; 40·1) and 25·1% in Peru (95% CI: 18·9; 31·3). Conclusions  These findings demonstrate circulation of HBoV in Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru among children with influenza‐like symptoms enrolled in a sentinel surveillance program. PMID:21138534

Scarcity and Surplus: Shifting Regimes of Childhood in Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tully, Sheila R.

2007-01-01

This article explores the multiple meanings of children and childhood in Nicaragua during periods of dramatic sociopolitical and economic transitions. The article compares the state's responsibilities to Nicaraguan children and their families during the decade of revolution and first year of the post-revolutionary period. It argues that each state…

A research capacity strengthening project for infectious diseases in Honduras: experience and lessons learned.

PubMed

Sanchez, Ana Lourdes; Canales, Maritza; Enriquez, Lourdes; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Zelaya, Ada Argentina; Espinoza, Vilma Esther; Fontecha, Gustavo Adolfo

2013-08-07

In Honduras, research capacity strengthening (RCS) has not received sufficient attention, but an increase in research competencies would enable local scientists to advance knowledge and contribute to national priorities, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This project aimed at strengthening research capacity in infectious diseases in Honduras, focusing on the School of Microbiology of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). The primary objective was the creation of a research-based graduate program for the continued training of researchers. Parallel objectives included institutional strengthening and the facilitation of partnerships and networks. Based on a multi-stakeholder consultation, an RCS workplan was designed and undertaken from 2007 to 2012. Due to unexpected adverse circumstances, the first 2 years were heavily dedicated to implementing the project's flagship, an MSc program in infectious and zoonotic diseases (MEIZ). In addition, infrastructure improvements and demand-driven continuing education opportunities were facilitated; biosafety and research ethics knowledge and practices were enhanced, and networks fostering collaborative work were created or expanded. The project coincided with the peak of UNAH's radical administrative reform and an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Challenges notwithstanding, in September 2009, MEIZ admitted the first cohort of students, all of whom undertook MDG-related projects graduating successfully by 2012. Importantly, MEIZ has been helpful in expanding the School of Microbiology's traditional etiology-based, disciplinary model to infectious disease teaching and research. By fulfilling its objectives, the project contributed to a stronger research culture upholding safety and ethical values at the university. The resources and strategic vision afforded by the project enhanced UNAH's overall research capacity and its potential contribution to the MDGs. Furthermore, increased research

A research capacity strengthening project for infectious diseases in Honduras: experience and lessons learned

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Ana Lourdes; Canales, Maritza; Enriquez, Lourdes; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Zelaya, Ada Argentina; Espinoza, Vilma Esther; Fontecha, Gustavo Adolfo

2013-01-01

Background In Honduras, research capacity strengthening (RCS) has not received sufficient attention, but an increase in research competencies would enable local scientists to advance knowledge and contribute to national priorities, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Objective This project aimed at strengthening research capacity in infectious diseases in Honduras, focusing on the School of Microbiology of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). The primary objective was the creation of a research-based graduate program for the continued training of researchers. Parallel objectives included institutional strengthening and the facilitation of partnerships and networks. Methods Based on a multi-stakeholder consultation, an RCS workplan was designed and undertaken from 2007 to 2012. Due to unexpected adverse circumstances, the first 2 years were heavily dedicated to implementing the project's flagship, an MSc program in infectious and zoonotic diseases (MEIZ). In addition, infrastructure improvements and demand-driven continuing education opportunities were facilitated; biosafety and research ethics knowledge and practices were enhanced, and networks fostering collaborative work were created or expanded. Results The project coincided with the peak of UNAH's radical administrative reform and an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Challenges notwithstanding, in September 2009, MEIZ admitted the first cohort of students, all of whom undertook MDG-related projects graduating successfully by 2012. Importantly, MEIZ has been helpful in expanding the School of Microbiology's traditional etiology-based, disciplinary model to infectious disease teaching and research. By fulfilling its objectives, the project contributed to a stronger research culture upholding safety and ethical values at the university. Conclusions The resources and strategic vision afforded by the project enhanced UNAH's overall research capacity and its potential contribution

Validation of a Type 2 Diabetes Screening Tool in Rural Honduras

PubMed Central

Milton, Evan C.; Herman, William H.; Aiello, Allison E.; Danielson, Kris R.; Mendoza-Avelarez, Milton O.; Piette, John D.

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE To validate a low-cost tool for identifying diabetic patients in rural areas of Latin America. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A regression equation incorporating postprandial time and a random plasma glucose was used to screen 800 adults in Honduras. Patients with a probability of diabetes of ≥20% were asked to return for a fasting plasma glucose (FPG). A random fifth of those with a screener-based probability of diabetes <20% were also asked to return for follow-up. The gold standard was an FPG ≥126 mg/dl. RESULTS The screener had very good test characteristics (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.89). Using the screening criterion of ≥0.42, the equation had a sensitivity of 74.1% and specificity of 97.2%. CONCLUSIONS This screener is a valid measure of diabetes risk in Honduras and could be used to identify diabetic patients in poor clinics in Latin America. PMID:19918008

Drug resistance associated genetic polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax collected in Honduras, Central America

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In Honduras, chloroquine and primaquine are recommended and still appear to be effective for treatment of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of resistance associated genetic polymorphisms in P. falciparum and P. vivax collected in Honduras. Methods Blood samples were collected from patients seeking medical attention at the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa from 2004 to 2006 as well as three regional hospitals, two health centres and one regional laboratory during 2009. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt), multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1), dihydrofolate reductase (pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (pfdhps) genes and in P. vivax multidrug resistance 1 (pvmdr1) and dihydrofolate reductase (pvdhfr) genes were detected using PCR based methods. Results Thirty seven P. falciparum and 64 P. vivax samples were collected. All P. falciparum infections acquired in Honduras carried pfcrt, pfmdr1, pfdhps and pfdhfr alleles associated with chloroquine, amodiaquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine sensitivity only. One patient with parasites acquired on a Pacific Island had pfcrt 76 T and pfmdr1 86Y alleles. That patient and a patient infected in West Africa had pfdhfr 51I, 59 R and 108 N alleles. Pvmdr1 976 F was found in 7/37 and two copies of pvmdr1 were found in 1/37 samples. Pvdhfr 57 L + 58 R was observed in 2/57 samples. Conclusion The results indicate that P. falciparum from Honduras remain sensitive to chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. This suggests that chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine should be efficacious for treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, supporting current national treatment guidelines. However, genetic polymorphisms associated with chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine tolerance were detected in local P. vivax and imported P. falciparum infections. Continuous monitoring of the prevalence

Amnesty Programs and the Labor Market Outcomes of Undocumented Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaushal, Neeraj

2006-01-01

I investigate the effect of the 1997 Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) on employment and earnings of undocumented foreign-born men from Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala, and El Salvador who were eligible for amnesty under the Act. I find that NACARA had a modest effect on the employment of these men; raised their real wage…

Central America: Current Crisis and Future Prospects. Foreign Policy Association Headline Series, No. 271.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dominguez, Jorge I.; Lindenberg, Marc

One of a series of booklets on world issues, this document summarizes some of the salient aspects of Central America with special attention given to Nicaragua and El Salvador. The booklet identifies the interests, policies, and choices of the major actors in the drama that engulfs the region and, increasingly, much of the world. Chapter one…

Youth Violence in Central America: Discourses and Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peetz, Peter

2011-01-01

The article analyzes the social construction of youth violence in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador on the one hand, and the related security policies of the three states, on the other. In each country, there is an idiosyncratic way of constructing youth violence and juvenile delinquency. Also, each country has its own manner of reaction to…

75 FR 38589 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Salvador Dali: The Late...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7073] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Salvador Dali: The Late Work'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following determinations... exhibition ``Salvador Dali: The Late Work,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United...

Singapore’s Defense Policy: Essential or Excessive?

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-11

defense. At the other end of the spectrum, the bleak conditions endured by the average North Korean or Myanmar citizen remind us that military...344-347. Besides Singapore, the other countries in the study were Argentina, Brazil, Burma , Ceylon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican...Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran , Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco

Providing sanctuary for battered women: Nicaragua's casas de la mujer.

PubMed

Wessel, L; Campbell, J C

1997-01-01

A combination of participant observation and in-depth interviews (10 with key informants; 21 with battered women) was used to investigate wife battering in Nicaragua and the casas de la mujer, or women's centers, that have been established to help abused women. The results are presented within the context of the historical and structural realities of women's lives in Nicaragua and the sanctions and sanctuary framework of cultural analysis of wife battering. Nicaraguan wife battering is exacerbated in the context of cultural traditions of acceptance of wife beating, machismo, and the recent history of warfare. Findings about the relationship context and intervention outcomes were similar to those found in studies of battered women and shelters in the United States. The results were generally supportive of the framework, demonstrating the importance of women's solidarity groups, community sanctions against domestic violence, and sanctuary for battered women.

Using "EC-Assess" to Assess a Small Biofuels Project in Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngassa, Franklin Chamda

2010-01-01

Biofuels may contribute to both rural economic development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Gota Verde Project in Yoro, Honduras, attempts to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of small-scale biofuel production for local use by implementing a distinctive approach to feedstock production that encourages small farm…

Pediatric norovirus GII.4 infections in Nicaragua, 1999–2015

PubMed Central

Bucardo, Filemón; Reyes, Yaoska; Becker-Dreps, Sylvia; Bowman, Natalie; Gruber, Joann F.; Vinjé, Jan; Espinoza, Felix; Paniagua, Margarita; Balmaseda, Angel; Svensson, Lennart; Nordgren, Johan

2018-01-01

Objectives Investigate clinical and epidemiological factors of pediatric GII.4 norovirus infections in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Nicaragua between 1999 and 2015. Methods We retrospectively analyzed laboratory and epidemiologic data from 1,790 children ≤ 7 years with AGE from 6 hospitals in Nicaragua (n = 538), and 3 community clinics (n = 919) and households (n = 333) in León, between 1999 and 2015. Moreover, asymptomatic children from community clinics (n = 162) and households (n = 105) were enrolled. Norovirus was detected by real-time PCR and genotyped by sequencing the N-terminal and shell region of the capsid gene. Results Norovirus was found in 19% (n = 338) and 12% (n = 32) of children with and without AGE, respectively. In total, 20 genotypes including a tentatively new genotype were detected. Among children with AGE, the most common genotypes were GII.4 (53%), GII.14 (7%), GII.3 (6%) and GI.3 (6%). In contrast, only one (1.4%) GII.4 was found in asymptomatic children. The prevalence of GII.4 infections was significantly higher in children between 7 and 12 months of age. The prevalence of GII.4 was lowest in households (38%), followed by community clinics (50%) and hospitals (75%). Several different GII.4 variants were detected and their emergence followed the global temporal trend. Conclusions Overall our study found the predominance of pediatric GII.4 norovirus infections in Nicaragua mostly occurring in children between 7 and 12 months of age, implicating GII.4 as the main norovirus vaccine target. PMID:28982545

Rapid ongoing decline of Baird's tapir in Cusuco National Park, Honduras.

PubMed

McCANN, Niall P; Wheeler, Phil M; Coles, Tim; Bruford, Michael W

2012-12-01

During the International Tapir Symposium 16-21 Oct 2011, the conservation of Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) in Honduras received a boost with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Minister Director of the Honduran Institute of Conservation and Forestry (ICF) and the Tapir Specialist Group (TSG). Despite this agreement, accelerating levels of hunting and habitat loss continue to pose a threat to Baird's tapir in Honduras. An ongoing study in Cusuco National Park in northwestern Honduras has been monitoring changes in population dynamics of Baird's tapir since 2006 through the collection of occupancy data. The study has identified an increase in hunting pressure, coinciding with a drastic decline in the encounter rate with Baird's tapir spoor. Here, we examine the significance of a range of demographic variables on Baird's tapir occupancy in Cusuco National Park using the software PRESENCE, and simulate the effects of different management strategies on the future dynamics of the population using the stochastic simulation software VORTEX. The predictions of the theoretical population models are compared to observed changes in occupancy levels. We found that non-intervention resulted in the local extinction of Baird's tapir within a very short time frame, but that various intervention models enabled the population to recover to near carrying capacity. Occupancy and extinction probability were shown to respond markedly to the increase in hunting pressure; and occupancy models supported the future population predictions generated by VORTEX. Our study suggests that immediate intervention is required to reduce hunting pressure to near historical levels to prevent the imminent local extinction of the species. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, ISZS and IOZ/CAS.

La situación económica: social determinants of contraceptive use in rural Honduras.

PubMed

Hall, Marissa G; Garrett, Jenna J; Barrington, Clare

2014-01-01

Contraceptive use is an important determinant of unintended pregnancy, but little is known about the social and structural factors that determine women's contraceptive use in rural Honduras. In this study, we aim to characterise the individual and social determinants of contraceptive use among women in rural Honduras. In 2011 and 2012, we conducted 14 interviews and 2 focus groups with women 18 years and older. In our analysis, we created a family-planning narrative for each participant and coded transcripts around key emergent themes related to these determinants. We found that social determinants--including poverty, gender dynamics and availability of family-planning methods--had a strong influence on contraceptive use among women in our sample. Study participants stated that they were faced with a difficult economic situation compounded by rising prices of basic goods and diminishing job opportunities. Paradoxically, at the same time that the economic situation led women to seek contraception, it also contributed to the structural barriers that limited their ability to obtain their method of choice and maintain continuous contraceptive use. Our findings suggest the need for multi-level efforts to create an enabling and sustainable environment for family planning among women in rural Honduras.

Tectonic Structure of the Middle America Pacific Margin and Incoming Cocos Plate From Costa Rica to Guatemala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranero, C. R.; Weinrebe, W.; Grevemeyer, I.; Phipps Morgan, J.; Vannucchi, P.; von Huene, R.

2003-12-01

A new multibeam bathymetry and magnetic survey with R/V SONNE in summer 2003 has mapped the continental margin and incoming plate of NW Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, extending existing coverage from offshore Costa Rica and part of Nicaragua to a full coverage map of about 1200 km long by 100 km wide area along the plate boundary. The incoming plate along Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala is of similar age and was formed at superfast spreading rates; however, its morphology changes drastically along strike. The seafloor-spreading inherited morphology is very smooth along Nicaragua, but with ridges up to 800 m high in Guatemala, with a transition across El Salvador. The development and dimensions of the dominant inherited fabric seems to be related to discontinuities at the paleospreading center. A series of troughs oblique to the main fabric may indicate the location of pseudofaults and correspond to areas where the seafloor fabric is most prominent. Bending of the oceanic plate into the trench reactivates the inherited fabric forming a well pervasive faulting system along the oceanic trench slope. The continental slope displays three morphotectonic units that roughly correspond to the upper, middle and lower slope, although the across slope width of each unit is fairly variable. Small canyons and gullies that form at the sudden dip change across the shelf break carve the upper slope. The canyons coalesce and become shallower as the dip decreases downslope. Locally some large canyons continue into the slope toe. The middle slope is a rough terrain variable in width and dip sculptured by pervasive normal faulting and locally by mass wasting processes. The lower slope is formed by en echelon terraces striking similar to the rough terrain of the incoming plate and mimicking the half graben morphology of the underthusting plate. The three morphotectonic slope domains represent differences in tectonic activity, with more stable upper slope, a middle slope

Stable isotopes evidence of recycled subduction fluids in the hydrothermal/volcanic activity across Nicaragua and Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramírez-Leiva, A.; Sánchez-Murillo, R.; Martínez-Cruz, M.; Calderón, H.; Esquivel-Hernández, G.; Delgado, V.; Birkel, C.; Gazel, E.; Alvarado, G. E.; Soulsby, C.

2017-10-01

The Central America volcanic front provides a unique opportunity to study hydrothermal inputs and their interaction and mixing with modern meteoric waters. The objectives of this study were to: a) characterize the isotopic composition (δ18O, δ2H, d-excess, and lc-excess) of hydrothermal/volcanic systems, b) analyze the influence of kinetic fractionation and meteoric water inputs in the isotopic composition of hydrothermal waters, and c) estimate the 'andesitic water' contribution (recycled subduction fluids) within the volcanic front of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Hydrothermal evaporation lines are described as: δ2H = 4.7·δ18O - 13.0 (Costa Rica) and δ2H = 2.7·δ18O - 31.6 (Nicaragua). These regressions are significantly (p < 0.001) deviated from their respective meteoric water lines: δ2H = 7.6·δ18O + 7.4 (Costa Rica) and δ2H = 7.4·δ18O + 5.2 (Nicaragua). The greater rainfall inputs in Costa Rica with respect to Nicaragua, resulted in the attenuation of the evaporative effect as observed in the strong bimodal distribution of the hydrothermal waters, which can be divided in fluids: a) isotopically-close to meteoric conditions and b) isotopically-altered by the interaction with recycled subduction fluids and kinetic fractionation. The latter is clearly depicted in the significantly (p < 0.001) low d-excess and lc-excess median values between Costa Rica (+ 5.10‰, - 5.25‰) and Nicaragua (- 2.42‰, - 10.65‰), respectively. Poor correlations between δ18O/δ2H and the elevation gradient emphasize that the contribution of recycled subduction fluids and subsequent surface kinetic fractionation are the main drivers of the isotopic departure from the orographic distillation trend captured in the rainfall isoscapes. End-member mixing calculations resulted in a significant difference (p < 0.001) between the mean 'andesitic water' contribution to the hydrothermal systems of 15.3 ± 10.8 (%, ± 1σ) (Nicaragua) and 19.7 ± 10.3 (%, ± 1σ) (Costa Rica). The

[The health system of Honduras].

PubMed

Bermúdez-Madriz, Juan Luis; Sáenz, María del Rocío; Muiser, Jorine; Acosta, Mónica

2011-01-01

This paper describes the health system of Honduras, including its challenges, structure coverage, sources of financing, resources and stewardship activities. This system counts with a public and a private sector. The public sector includes the Ministry of Health (MH) and the Honduran Social Security Institute (HSSI). The private sector is dominated by a set of providers offering services payed mostly out-of-pocket. The National Health Plan 2010-2014 includes a set of reforms oriented towards the creation of an integrated and plural system headed by the MH in its stewardship role. It also anticipates the creation of a public health insurance for the poor population and the transformation of the HSSI into a public insurance agency which contracts services for its affiliates with public and private providers under a family medicine model.

Water sanitation, access, use and self-reported diarrheal disease in rural Honduras.

PubMed

Halder, Gabriela E; Bearman, Gonzalo; Sanogo, Kakotan; Stevens, Michael P

2013-01-01

Only 79% of individuals living in rural Honduras use improved water sources. Inadequate drinking water quality is related to diarrheal illness, which in Honduras contributes to 18.6 episodes of diarrhea per child year in children under five years of age. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as self-reported diarrheal disease incidence among three proximal communities in the Department of Yoro area of Honduras. An 11-item language-specific, interviewer-administered, anonymous questionnaire was administered to 263 randomly selected adults attending a June 2011 medical brigade held in the communities of Coyoles, La Hicaca, and Lomitas. Chi-square with Fisher exact tests were utilized to compare water access, sanitation, and self-reported diarrheal incidence among these communities. Coyoles and La Hicaca used private faucets as their primary water sources. Coyoles had the greatest use of bottled water. Lomitas used rivers as their primary water source, and did not use bottled water. Mostly, females were responsible for acquiring water. Usage of multiple water sanitation methods was most common in Coyoles, while no sanitation method was most common in Lomitas. In Lomitas and La Hicaca, water filters were mostly provided via donation by non-governmental organizations. Lomitas had the highest reported incidence of diarrhea among self and other household members. Critical differences in water access, sanitation, and self-reported diarrheal incidence among three geographically distinct, yet proximal, communities highlights the need for targeted interventions even in geographically proximal rural areas.

From Nicaragua to the 21st Century: Marine Corps Aviation’s Role in Counterinsurgency Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

his weapons and made his way to the vastness of the Nuevo Segovia region in northern Nicaragua. "[Sandino] was determined to crush the Marines, rally...34 occurred at the town of Ocotal, the provincial capital of Nuevo Segovia. This first engagement displayed the ingenuity of the ground force commander...Knopf, 1968), Ch. 28. Much of Nicaragua’s politics since independence has been characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of Leon and the

[The echinoderms (Echinodermata) from El Salvador].

PubMed

Enrique Barraza, José; Roberto Hasbún, Carlos

2005-12-01

A list of echinoderms from El Salvador (tropical eastern Pacific) is presented. The results were obtained from field surveys (between the years 2000 and 2004), the scarce literature sources, and Internet information. A total of 37 species and six genera are reported. The most abundant echinoderms in rocky shores were: Phataria unifascialis, Echinometra vanbrunti, Holothuria kefersteini, as well as Astropecten armatus in soft bottoms.

Artisanal Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, fishery of Caribbean Nicaragua: I. Catch rates and trends, 1991-2011.

PubMed

Lagueux, Cynthia J; Campbell, Cathi L; Strindberg, Samantha

2014-01-01

This is the first assessment of catch rates for the legal, artisanal green turtle, Chelonia mydas, fishery in Caribbean Nicaragua. Data were collected by community members, monitoring up to 14 landing sites from 1991 to 2011. We examined take levels, and temporal and spatial variability in catch rates for the overall fishery, by region, and community using General Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs). More than 171,556 green turtles were killed during the period, with a mean estimated minimum 8,169±2,182 annually. There was a statistically significant decline in catch rates overall. Catch rates peaked in 1997 and 2002, followed by a downward trend, particularly from mid-2008 to the end of the study period. Similar downward trends were evident in both study regions. Community specific catch rate trends also indicated declines with decreases ranging from 21% to 90%. Decrease in catch rates in Nicaragua is cause for concern even though the principal source rookery at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, shows an increase in nesting activity. Explanations for the apparent discrepancy between the increasing trend at Tortuguero and decreasing catch rate trends in Nicaragua include: i) an increase in reproductive output, ii) insufficient time has passed to observe the impact of the fishery on the rookery due to a time lag, iii) changes in other segments of the population have not been detected since only nesting activity is monitored, iv) the expansive northern Nicaragua foraging ground may provide a refuge for a sufficient portion of the Tortuguero rookery, and/or v) a larger than expected contribution of non-Tortuguero rookeries occurring in Nicaragua turtle fishing areas. Our results highlight the need for close monitoring of rookeries and in-water aggregations in the Caribbean. Where consumptive use still occurs, nations sharing this resource should implement scientifically based limits on exploitation to ensure sustainability and mitigate impacts to regional population diversity.

Short communication: high prevalence of drug resistance in HIV type 1-infected children born in Honduras and Belize 2001 to 2004.

PubMed

Parham, Leda; de Rivera, Ivette Lorenzana; Murillo, Wendy; Naver, Lars; Largaespada, Natalia; Albert, Jan; Karlsson, Annika C

2011-10-01

Antiretroviral therapy has had a great impact on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1. However, development of drug resistance, which could be subsequently transmitted to the child, is a major concern. In Honduras and Belize the prevalence of drug resistance among HIV-1-infected children remains unknown. A total of 95 dried blood spot samples was obtained from HIV-1-infected, untreated children in Honduras and Belize born during 2001 to 2004, when preventive antiretroviral therapy was often suboptimal and consisted of monotherapy with nevirapine or zidovudine. Partial HIV-1 pol gene sequences were successfully obtained from 66 children (Honduras n=55; Belize n=11). Mutations associated with drug resistance were detected in 13% of the Honduran and 27% of the Belizean children. Most of the mutations detected in Honduras (43%) and all mutations detected in Belize were associated with resistance to nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which was expected from the wide use of nevirapine to prevent MTCT during the study period. In addition, although several mothers reported that they had not received antiretroviral therapy, mutations associated with resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors were found in Honduras. This suggests prior and unreported use of these drugs, or that these women had been infected with resistant virus. The present study demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of drug resistance-associated mutations in HIV-1-infected Honduran and Belizean children.

[Demand for cigarettes and tax increases in El Salvador].

PubMed

Ramos-Carbajales, Alejandro; González-Rozada, Martín; Vallarino, Hugo

2016-10-01

Analyze short- and long-term elasticities of demand for cigarettes in El Salvador as a tool for supporting recommendations on tax increases to reduce prevalence and consumption through price increases. Demand for cigarettes in El Salvador was analyzed through an econometric time-series model using a database from El Salvador's General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) and the General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DIGESTYC). The analysis period was quarterly: 2000Q1-2012Q4. The usual tests were done to prevent a spurious econometric estimation. It was found that the variables volume sales, actual sale prices, and actual per capita income exhibited first-order cointegration; this result makes it possible to use an error correction model with short- and long-term elasticity estimates. Only long-term elasticities were found to be statistically significant to 5%. Results show long-term price elasticity (5 quarters) of -0.9287 and income price elasticity of 0.9978. Absolute price elasticity is somewhat high, although it is within the levels estimated in other studies in low per-capita income countries. A tax increase from a base amount of US$1.04 per pack of 20 cigarettes to US$1.66 within three years would reduce demand by 20% to 31% and would increase tax revenues by 9% to 22%.

The Armed Forces and the Fight against Drug-Trafficking in Honduras (Las FUERZAS ARMADAS EN EL COMBATE AL NARCOTR FICO EN HONDURAS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-13

Estado Mayor del Ejército de EE. UU. En cumplimiento parcial de los requisitos para la obtención del grado de MAESTRÍA EN CIENCIAS Y ARTES MILITARES...Estudios Generales Por WALTER D. HERNANDEZ CARVAJAL, MAYOR DEL EJÉRCITO DE HONDURAS Licenciado en Ciencias Militares...Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 ii MAESTRÍA EN ARTES Y CIENCIAS MILITARES PÁGINA DE APROBACIÓN DE LA TESIS Nombre del

Nicaragua: The Values, Attitudes and Beliefs of its Educated Youth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraft, Richard J.

The study examines the attitudes of young people in the secondary schools and universities of Nicaragua toward politics, government, religion, education, and work. The report also looks at teacher's attitudes towards education. Over 50 instruments which provide information concerning attitudes, values, and beliefs were sent to random samples of…

Epidemiological situation of leprosy in Salvador from 2001 to 2009*

PubMed Central

Moreira, Shirlei Cristina; Batos, Claudilson José de Carvalho; Tawil, Lara

2014-01-01

Mycobacterium leprae was first described as the bacillus that causes leprosy, a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, in 1873 by Amauer Hansen. Leprosy is part of a group of 10 neglected diseases and Bahia has endemic levels of this illness, varying between high and very high. The detection of 52 new cases of leprosy in children under 15 years old in Salvador in 2006 is alarming, and suggests an early contact with the disease. The aim of this review is to analyze the epidemiological situation, the detection rate and evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of leprosy in Salvador, in the period 2001-2009. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using secondary data collected at Notifiable Diseases Information System Database (SINAN) through the notification of patients with leprosy. Over these nine years 3,226 patients were reported, with a predominance of: females (51.5%), and clinical multibacillary forms in the general population (51.7%), but when we analyze those under 15 years old, paucibacillary forms (tuberculoid + indeterminate) prevailed. The tuberculoid form was the most diagnosed type of presentation. The annual detection rate in Salvador remained at a very high level of endemicity during the studied period and for those under 15 years old it ranged between high and very high. Grade 2 disabilities both at the time of diagnosis and at discharge after cure, varied between low and medium. Based on these data we conclude that the high levels of leprosy detection rates in the general population, plus the variation between high and very high levels in those under 15 years old, associated with the medium level of grade 2 disabilities at the time of diagnosis and discharge, demonstrate the need for improvement on the existing services, investment in active case finding and training of the healthcare professionals in Salvador. PMID:24626655

[Is female sterilization voluntary in El Salvador]?].

PubMed

Bertrand, J T; Landry, E G; Araya Zelaya, J D

1986-01-01

Sexual sterilization has become an increasingly important family planning method in developing countries, and notably so in Latin America, but some controversy has surrounded the practice because of the suggestion that individuals are coerced into undergoing sterilization. With the goal of examining allegations that low-income women in El Salvador are sterilized without their full knowledge or consent in family planning programs financed by the US, researchers interviewed 648 women who had received the operation in one of 7 facilities in El Salvador. In general, women were interviewed 1 month after their operation, by 6 trained female interviewers, with the assurance that the follow-up effort was not in any way connected with the facility performing the operation. An effort to sample approximately the same number of women from each facility was not entirely successful because of access difficulties. Most interviewees had been sterilized at below 30 years of age (average age at sterilization was 28 years), had begun having children in adolescence, and had not received more than a primary education. They had an average of 3.4 children and 1/3 had experienced the death of at least 1 child. The response to the survey indicated that female sterilization in El Salvador is voluntary. Women were shown to be aware of other contraception options. They had found out about sterilization and had become further informed about the method through providers and through communications with other women who had known about the operation at least 3 years before making a decision to submit to it, and many had waited between 1 month and 1 year before/between the decision and the actual operation. Only 1 women claimed to have felt pressured to be sterilized, identifying her mother as the source of the pressure.

The cost-savings of implementing kangaroo mother care in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Broughton, Edward I; Gomez, Ivonne; Sanchez, Nieves; Vindell, Concepción

2013-09-01

To examine the costs of implementing kangaroo mother care (KMC) in a referral hospital in Nicaragua, including training, implementation, and ongoing operating costs, and to estimate the economic impact on the Nicaraguan health system if KMC were implemented in other maternity hospitals in the country. After receiving clinical training in KMC, the implementation team trained their colleagues, wrote guidelines for clinicians and education material for parents, and ensured adherence to the new guidelines. The intervention began September 2010 The study compared data on infant weight, medication use, formula consumption, incubator use, and hospitalization for six months before and after implementation. Cost data were collected from accounting records of the implementers and health ministry formularies. A total of 46 randomly selected infants before implementation were compared to 52 after implementation. Controlling for confounders, neonates after implementation had lower lengths of hospitalization by 4.64 days (P = 0.017) and 71% were exclusively breastfed (P < 0.001). The intervention cost US$ 23 113 but the money saved with shorter hospitalization, elimination of incubator use, and lower antibiotic and infant formula costs made up for this expense in 1 - 2 months. Extending KMC to 12 other facilities in Nicaragua is projected to save approximately US$ 166 000 (based on the referral hospital incubator use estimate) or US$ 233 000 after one year (based on the more conservative incubator use estimate). Treating premature and low-birth-weight infants in Nicaragua with KMC implemented as a quality improvement program saves money within a short period even without considering the beneficial health effects of KMC. Implementation in more facilities is strongly recommended.

Factors Associated with the Rapid and Durable Decline in Malaria Incidence in El Salvador, 1980-2017.

PubMed

Burton, Robert A; Chévez, José Eduardo Romero; Sauerbrey, Mauricio; Guinovart, Caterina; Hartley, Angela; Kirkwood, Geoffrey; Boslego, Matthew; Gavidia, Mirna Elizabeth; Alemán Escobar, Jaime Enrique; Turkel, Rachel; Steketee, Richard W; Slutsker, Laurence; Schneider, Kammerle; Kent Campbell, Carlos C

2018-05-14

A decade after the Global Malaria Eradication Program, El Salvador had the highest burden of malaria in Mesoamerica, with approximately 20% due to Plasmodium falciparum . A resurgence of malaria in the 1970s led El Salvador to alter its national malaria control strategy. By 1995, El Salvador recorded its last autochthonous P. falciparum case with fewer than 20 Plasmodium vivax cases annually since 2011. By contrast, its immediate neighbors continue to have the highest incidences of malaria in the region. We reviewed and evaluated the policies and interventions implemented by the Salvadoran National Malaria Program that likely contributed to this progress toward malaria elimination. Decentralization of the malaria program, early regional stratification by risk, and data-driven stratum-specific actions resulted in the timely and targeted allocation of resources for vector control, surveillance, case detection, and treatment. Weekly reporting by health workers and volunteer collaborators-distributed throughout the country by strata and informed via the national surveillance system-enabled local malaria teams to provide rapid, adaptive, and focalized program actions. Sustained investments in surveillance and response have led to a dramatic reduction in local transmission, with most current malaria cases in El Salvador due to importation from neighboring countries. Additional support for systematic elimination efforts in neighboring countries would benefit the region and may be needed for El Salvador to achieve and maintain malaria elimination. El Salvador's experience provides a relevant case study that can guide the application of similar strategies in other countries committed to malaria elimination.

Development of a point-of-use fortification technology for delivery of micronutrients in Honduras.

PubMed

Andrade, Juan E; Rosales, Eliana; Lopez, Julio R; Carrillo, E Paola; Engeseth, Nicki J; Helferich, William G

2015-01-01

Micronutrient deficiencies continue to afflict children rural populations around the world. A micronutrient delivery vehicle (MDV) was developed as a point-of-use technology for fortification of meals for school-age children beneficiaries of the Healthy Schools Program (HSP) in Honduras. MDV combines micronutrient powder through a traditional dough-making process, using staple flours (wheat and nixtamalized corn), oil and water as ingredients. After mixing the ingredients and kneading, dough is extruded through a specially designed hand press into noodles. After drying (overnight, 23°C), noodles are broken into small pieces, mixed (1:100 w/w) with rice and cooked as customary. Dispersion studies with NaFeEDTA showed adequate distribution (<10% RSD) and recovery (>90%) in white rice. Color changes in MDV due to addition of vitamin A and iron (NaFeEDTA) carried forward into cooked rice. In Honduras, children from two rural schools (N = 47, 6-12 years) were not able to differentiate (triangle test) between control and unfortified MDV mixed (1:100 w/w) with white rice. Children from four schools (N = 83, 7-12 years) accepted control and iron fortified rice (3 mg Fe per serving) based on color and flavor similarly. This is a feasible point-of-use fortification technology for improvement of meals provided by the HSP in Honduras. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

The effects of Hurricane Mitch on a community in northern Honduras.

PubMed

Guill, C K; Shandera, W X

2001-01-01

Hurricane Mitch was an event described as one of the most damaging recent natural disasters in our hemisphere. This study examined its effects on a community of 5,000 residents in northern Honduras. Survey responses of 110 attendants at an ambulatory clinic 4 months after the event were analyzed. Correlates were established between demographic and housing characteristics and morbidity and mortality. The availability of food, water, and medical care decreased significantly immediately after the hurricane, but by four months afterward returned to baseline values. Residents reported emotional distress correlated with the loss of a house or intrafamilial illness or mortality. Diarrheal illnesses more commonly were found in households with poor chronic access to medical care. The use of cement block housing correlated with availability of food or running water, with access to medical care and vaccinations, and with a reduced frequency of diarrhea or headaches in the immediate post-hurricane phase. Improvements in housing construction appear to be the most effective preventive measure for withstanding the effects of future hurricanes in tropical regions similar to northern Honduras.

Volcanic hazard map for Telica, Cerro Negro and El Hoyo volcanoes, Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asahina, T.; Navarro, M.; Strauch, W.

2007-05-01

A volcano hazard study was conducted for Telica, Cerro Negro and El Hoyo volcanoes, Nicaragua, based on geological and volcanological field investigations, air photo analyses, and numerical eruption simulation. These volcanoes are among the most active volcanoes of the country. This study was realized 2004-2006 through technical cooperation of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with INETER, upon the request of the Government of Nicaragua. The resulting volcanic hazard map on 1:50,000 scale displays the hazards of lava flow, pyroclastic flows, lahars, tephra fall, volcanic bombs for an area of 1,300 square kilometers. The map and corresponding GIS coverage was handed out to Central, Departmental and Municipal authorities for their use and is included in a National GIS on Georisks developed and maintained by INETER.

The influence of traditional and complementary and alternative medicine on medication adherence in Honduras.

PubMed

Catalino, Michael Paul; Durón, Reyna Maria; Bailey, Julia Nancy; Holden, Kenton Roy

2015-01-01

Adherence to medication is a worldwide problem and deserves country-specific attention. Honduras, like many other countries, has allopathic providers, traditional medicine (TM), and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Understanding a population's health behaviors is essential to satisfactory integration of these systems and successful patient care. The objective was to identify factors that influence medication adherence in Honduras. The research team administered a cross-sectional, 25-item questionnaire to various neighborhoods based on national demographic statistics in order to obtain a quota sample. Setting • The survey took place in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Central America. The research team surveyed 614 Hondurans, aged ≥ 18 y, within the general population of Tegucigalpa, the largest and capital city of Honduras, in neighborhoods representing areas where primarily the lower and middle classes lived. The primary outcome measure was a modified Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS). Results • The research team collected 610 surveys that had complete answers to questions about adherence (610/614, 99.3%) total complete responses to other items varied. The prevalence of use of TM was 62.8% (381/607). Nearly one-half, 47.3% (287/607), of all the respondents had used herbs or teas for health in the prior year, and 26.1% (159/607) of all respondents had received a sobada (therapeutic rubbing). Respondents with daily private spiritual devotions (OR = 0.610, P = .018) and diabetes (OR = 0.154, P = .004) were less likely to report low adherence. Receiving a sobada and a history of fever were independently associated with low adherence (OR = 1.718, P = .017 and OR = 2.226, P < .001, respectively). Hondurans use both allopathic and TM. Although private spiritual devotion may help improve adherence to medication, only use of traditional massage therapy, the sobada, was associated with decreased adherence. Effective integration of alternative therapies in

People's Participation and Action Research in Community Development: Experiences from Nicaragua.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lammerink, Marc P.

1994-01-01

Describes projects of the School of Social Work at Central America University, Nicaragua: (1) development of a postgraduate course for professionals; (2) discovery learning and participatory action research in a fishing village; and (3) application of participatory approaches to rural development. (SK)

A new Nototriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from Parque Nacional Montaña de Botaderos in northeastern Honduras.

PubMed

Townsend, Josiah H; Medina-flores, Melissa; Reyes-Calderón, Onán; Austin, James D

2013-01-01

The highlands of northeastern Honduras remain under-characterized in terms of biological diversity, as exemplified by the regularity of new amphibian and reptile taxa discoveries. Following the recent description of a new species of Nototriton from the Sierra de Agalta in northeastern Honduras, we report the discovery of a second new species of Nototriton from the nearby Parque Nacional Montaña de Botaderos. This new taxon, Nototriton mime sp. nov., is distinguished from other Nototriton by its distinctive pale brown dorsal coloration in adult males, relatively large nares, a relatively broad head, mitochondrial sequence divergence, and phylogenetic relationships, and is geographically isolated from other populations of Nototriton.

Incidence of leukemias in children from El Salvador and Mexico City between 1996 and 2000: Population-based data

PubMed Central

Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Bonilla, Miguel; Lorenzana, Rodolpho; Juárez-Ocaña, Servando; de Reyes, Gladys; Pérez-Saldivar, María Luisa; González-Miranda, Guadalupe; Bernáldez-Ríos, Roberto; Ortiz-Fernández, Antonio; Ortega-Alvarez, Manuel; Martínez-García, María del Carmen; Fajardo-Gutiérrez, Arturo

2005-01-01

Background There are very few studies that report the incidence of acute leukemias in children in Latin America. This work assesses the incidence of acute leukemias, between 1996 and 2000, in children from 0–14 years old who were attended at the Mexican Social Security Institute in Mexico City and in children from 0–11 years old in El Salvador. Methods Design: Population-based data. Hospitals: In San Salvador, El Salvador, Hospital Nacional de Niños "Benjamín Bloom", the only center in El Salvador which attends all children, younger than 12 years, with oncologic disease. The Pediatric Hospital and the General Hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute in Mexico City, the only centers in Mexico City which attend all those children with acute leukemia who have a right to this service. Diagnosis: All patients were diagnosed by bone marrow smear and were divided into acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and unspecified leukemias (UL). The annual incidence rate (AIR) and average annual incidence rate (AAIR) were calculated per million children. Cases were stratified by age and assigned to one of four age strata: 1) <1 year; 2) 1–4 years; 3) 5–9 years, or 4) 10–14 or 10–11 years, for Mexico City and El Salvador, respectively. Results The number of cases was 375 and 238 in El Salvador and Mexico City, respectively. AAIRs in Mexico City were 44.9, 10.6, 2.5, 0.5, and 58.4 per million children for ALL, AML, CML, UL, and total leukemias, respectively. The AAIRs in El Salvador could not be calculated because the fourth age stratum in El Salvador included children only from 0–11 years old. The incidence rates for the Salvadoran group of 0–11 year olds were 34.2, 7.1, 0.6, 0.2, and 43.2 per million children for ALL, AML, CML, UL, and total leukemias, respectively. Conclusion Reported AIRs for each age group in El Salvador were similar to those from other American countries. The AAIR of ALL in

Molecular diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from patients with tuberculosis in Honduras

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Tuberculosis persists as a public health problem in Honduras. A better knowledge of the molecular characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains will contribute to understand the transmission dynamics of the disease within the country. The aim of this study was to provide an insight of the genetic biodiversity of M. tuberculosis clinical isolates collected in Honduras between 1994 and 2002. Genotyping was performed using spoligotyping and RFLP. The spoligotypes obtained were compared with the SITVIT2 proprietary database of the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Results Spoligotyping grouped 84% of the isolates into 27 clusters (2 to 43 strains per cluster). Of the 44 shared international types (SITs) identified among the Honduran stains, 8 SITs were newly identified either within the present study or after match with an orphan type previously identified in the SITVIT2 database. In addition, 16 patterns corresponded to orphan, previously unreported isolates. The Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) lineage was the most common in this study; 55% of the strains belonged to this family. Other genotypes found were Haarlem (16%), T (16%), X-clade (6%), Unknown signature (5%) and S (1%). Only one Beijing strain was identified (0.5%). We observed a high degree of diversity after characterizing the 43 isolates belonging to the main spoligotyping cluster (SIT 33, LAM3) with IS6110-RFLP. A total of 35 different RFLP-fingerprints were detected, of which 6 patterns corresponded to the same number of clusters comprising 14 strains. Conclusions The findings obtained in this study show that tuberculosis transmission in Honduras is due to modern M. tuberculosis lineages with high level of biodiversity. PMID:20678242

Channeling Remittances to Education: A Field Experiment Among Migrants from El Salvador*

PubMed Central

Ambler, Kate; Aycinena, Diego

2014-01-01

We implement a randomized experiment offering Salvadoran migrants matching funds for educational remittances, which are channeled directly to a beneficiary student in El Salvador chosen by the migrant. The matches lead to increased educational expenditures, higher private school attendance, and lower labor supply of youths in El Salvador households connected to migrant study participants. We find substantial “crowd-in” of educational investments: for each $1 received by beneficiaries, educational expenditures increase by $3.72. We find no shifting of expenditures away from other students, and no effect on remittances. PMID:26000091

Channeling Remittances to Education: A Field Experiment Among Migrants from El Salvador.

PubMed

Ambler, Kate; Aycinena, Diego; Yang, Dean

2015-04-01

We implement a randomized experiment offering Salvadoran migrants matching funds for educational remittances, which are channeled directly to a beneficiary student in El Salvador chosen by the migrant. The matches lead to increased educational expenditures, higher private school attendance, and lower labor supply of youths in El Salvador households connected to migrant study participants. We find substantial "crowd-in" of educational investments: for each $1 received by beneficiaries, educational expenditures increase by $3.72. We find no shifting of expenditures away from other students, and no effect on remittances.

Evaluation of family planning communications in El Salvador.

PubMed

Bertrand, J T; Zelaya, J D; Cisneros, R J; Morris, L

1982-01-01

During the 1970s, El Salvador had one of the most active communication programmes for family planning (FP) of any Latin American country. The current study, carried out nationwide among women of reproductive age in El Salvador, indicates that over 90% of women have been reached FP messages via mass or interpersonal channels. Levels of exposure were found to be relatively lower among women who live in rural areas, who work at home or not at all, who have little education, who are not married or live in union, and who are under 19 or over 40. The study was completed at a time of political stability in the country, and these data were to be used as a guideline for designing future communication programmes with respect to content, target population, and channels. With regard to communication research, this study yielded findings which usefully supplement those already recorded through a number of investigations of the subject.

The Perceived Consequences of Gold Mining in Postwar El Salvador: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Zakrison, Tanya L; Cabezas, Pedro; Valle, Evan; Kornfeld, Julie; Muntaner, Carles; Soklaridis, Sophie

2015-11-01

We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador. Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants. Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies. Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly.

Descriptions and synonymies in American Desmiphorini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae).

PubMed

Santos-Silva, Antonio; Wappes, James E; Galileo, Maria Helena M

2018-01-25

Estoloides (Parestoloides) Breuning, 1940, and Mimestoloides Breuning, 1974 are synonymized with Estoloides Breuning, 1940. Mimestoloides Breuning, 1980 is synonymized with Spinestoloides Breuning, 1954. Estoloides aurantius Martins Galileo, 2010 is synonymized with E. scabracaulis Chemsak Noguera, 1993. Estoloides modica Chemsak Noguera, 1993 is synonymized with E. chamelae Chemsak Noguera, 1993. Estoloides (Spinestoloides) spinipennis Breuning, 1974, is synonymized with Esthlogena monticola (Fisher, 1942). Estoloides (Spinestoloides) Breuning, 1954 is considered a genus different from Estoloides. Notes on Pseudestoloides Breuning and Heyrovsky, 1961, Pseudestoloides costaricensis Breuning and Heyrovsky, 1961, Pseudestoloides affinis Martins and Galileo, 2009, and on the type of Estoloides (Parestoloides) costaricensis Breuning, 1940, are provided. Pseudestoloides hiekei Breuning, 1974, is transferred to Estoloides. The following new combinations are established: Spinestoloides monticola; Spinestoloides fasciatus (Martins Galileo, 2010); Spinestoloides benardi (Breuning, 1980); Estoloides andresi (Breuning, 1974); and Estoloides hiekei (Breuning, 1974). With the synonymy of Estoloides (Parestoloides), the following species have the subgenus removed from their names: Estoloides basigranulata Breuning, 1943: E. costaricensis Breuning, 1940; E. esthlogenoides Breuning, 1943; and E. parva Breuning, 1940. The following new species are described: Estoloides vandenberghei, from Nicaragua; E. maesi, from Nicaragua; E. nayeliae, from Mexico; E. noguerai, from Mexico and Nicaragua; E. chiapensis, from Mexico; E. pubescens, from Mexico; E. schusteri, from Guatemala; E. dthomasi, from Mexico; E. morrisi, from Mexico; E. giesberti, from Honduras; E. uyucana, from Honduras; Spinestoloides hefferni from Panama; and Pseudestoloides bingkirki from Nicaragua. The male of Spinestoloides spinipennis (Breuning, 1954), and the female of Estoloides prolongata are described for the first

El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-08

money laundering ; and drug, auto, and weapons smuggling. Gangs earn millions of dollars by extorting residents, bus drivers, and business owners...allegedly laundered the gang’s money through motels, brothels, and other businesses.20 Drug-trafficking organizations, including Mexican groups such as...the Sinaloa criminal organization, have increased their illicit activities in El Salvador, including money laundering , albeit to a lesser extent than

First report of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' associated with psylllid-affected tobacco in Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tobacco plants with symptoms resembling those associated with the psyllid Bactericera cockerelli and the bacterium “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” (Lso) were observed in April of 2012 in heavily B. cockerelli-infested commercial fields in the Department of El-Paraíso, Honduras; all cultivars ...

The Perceived Consequences of Gold Mining in Postwar El Salvador: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Cabezas, Pedro; Valle, Evan; Kornfeld, Julie; Muntaner, Carles; Soklaridis, Sophie

2015-01-01

Objectives. We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador. Methods. Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants. Results. Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies. Conclusions. Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly. PMID:26378845

Opening the Black Box: Women's Empowerment and Innovative Secondary Education in Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy-Graham, Erin

2008-01-01

This article aims to clarify the relationship between education and women's empowerment. Drawing from qualitative data collected in a study of four Garifuna villages on the north coast of Honduras, it argues that education can trigger the empowerment process if it expands women's knowledge and understanding, self-confidence and awareness of gender…

Recent Research on the Impact of Alternative Education Delivery Systems in Honduras.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaulding, Seth

In Honduras, 88 percent of the rural population has 6 years or less of formal education. Several distance education schemes have been undertaken to address both low rural educational levels and the destruction of schools by Hurricane Mitch. This paper reports on recent studies of two distance education efforts with substantial international…

WATER RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS FROM TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE WESTERN COAST OF NICARAGUA

EPA Science Inventory

This project contributes to debates over the socio-environmental influences of tourism development on local populations in Central America. In the case of Nicaragua, the potential for conflict over freshwater availability appertains to tourism development and predicted dec...

New geochemical investigations in Platanares and Azacualpa geothermal sites (Honduras)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barberi, Franco; Carapezza, Maria Luisa; Cioni, Roberto; Lelli, Matteo; Menichini, Matia; Ranaldi, Massimo; Ricci, Tullio; Tarchini, Luca

2013-05-01

Platanares and Azacualpa geothermal sites of Honduras are located in an inner part of the Caribbean Plate far from the active volcanic front of Central America. Here geology indicates that there are not the conditions for the occurrence of shallow magmatic heat sources for high-enthalpy geothermal resources. Geothermal perspectives are related to the possibility of a deep circulation of meteoric water along faults and the storage of the heated fluid in fractured permeable reservoirs. Geochemical geothermometers indicate a temperature for the deeper part of the geothermal reservoir close to 200 °C for Platanares and of 150-170 °C for Azacualpa. Calcite scaling, with subordinate silica deposition has to be expected in both sites. CO2 soil flux investigations have been carried out in both areas and reveal the presence of positive anomalies likely corresponding to the presence at depth of fractured degassing geothermal reservoirs. Compared with the geothermal areas of Central Italy whose reservoirs are hosted in carbonate rocks, e.g. Latera (Chiodini et al., 2007), the CO2 soil flux measured in Honduras is significantly lower (mean of 17 g/m2day at Platanares and of 163 g/m2day at Azacualpa) probably because of the dominant silicate nature of the deep reservoirs.

Health care in Nicaragua: a social and historical perspective.

PubMed

Petrack, E M

1984-10-01

To facilitate understanding of the advances in health care in Nicaragua since 1979, this discussion examines them within a historical framework. Nicaragua was occupied by US marines almost continuously from 1909-33. In 1933, their withdrawal left in power the US backed National Guard and the 1st dictator, Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Health conditions under the Somoza regime are difficult to evaluate because lack of data and underreporting were the norm. The health care system under Somoza was administered by 23 separate agencies, including the National Social Security Institute (INSS), a national Ministry of Health, independent local health ministries, and autonomous public hospital governing boards. On July 19, 1979, the dictatorship was overthrown in a popular uprising. Somoza left behind a foreign debt of 1.6 billion dollars, which the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) needed to honor to qualify for needed loans. Following Somoza's defeat, the new government faced the problem of how to care for the tens of thousands of persons wounded and how to distribute the aid and medical supplies coming in from other countries. The key to achieving these tasks was popular participation and organization. By the early part of 1980, the new government was addressing more directly the organization of the health care system. Unlike the fragmented services under Somoza, health care in the new Nicaragua fell under the control of a unified Ministry of Health (MINSA). In 1980, the FSLN initiated an intensive campaign against illiteracy, 100,000 young Nicaraguans, called "brigadistas," were trained and sent around the country to teach basic reading and writing. In addition, 1 out of 10 was trained in elementary health principles. They were responsible for educating others about hygiene and basic sanitation as well as distributing antimalarial medication. 5 popular Health Campaigns were waged during 1981 against polio; measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus; rabies

Supply-side interventions to improve health: Findings from the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative.

PubMed

Mokdad, Ali H; Palmisano, Erin B; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Johanns, Casey K; Schaefer, Alexandra; Desai, Sima S; Haakenstad, Annie; Gagnier, Marielle C; McNellan, Claire R; Colombara, Danny V; López Romero, Sonia; Castillo, Leolin; Salvatierra, Benito; Hernandez, Bernardo; Betancourt-Cravioto, Miguel; Mujica-Rosales, Ricardo; Regalia, Ferdinando; Tapia-Conyer, Roberto; Iriarte, Emma

2018-01-01

Results-based aid (RBA) is increasingly used to incentivize action in health. In Mesoamerica, the region consisting of southern Mexico and Central America, the RBA project known as the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative (SMI) was designed to target disparities in maternal and child health, focusing on the poorest 20% of the population across the region. Data were first collected in 365 intervention health facilities to establish a baseline of indicators. For the first follow-up measure, 18 to 24 months later, 368 facilities were evaluated in these same areas. At both stages, we measured a near-identical set of supply-side performance indicators in line with country-specific priorities in maternal and child health. All countries showed progress in performance indicators, although with different levels. El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama reached their 18-month targets, while the State of Chiapas in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize did not. A second follow-up measurement in Chiapas and Guatemala showed continued progress, as they achieved previously missed targets nine to 12 months later, after implementing a performance improvement plan. Our findings show an initial success in the supply-side indicators of SMI. Our data suggest that the RBA approach can be a motivator to improve availability of drugs and services in poor areas. Moreover, our innovative monitoring and evaluation framework will allow health officials with limited resources to identify and target areas of greatest need.

A 1400 km geochemical transect along the Central American Arc: Summary of mafic Holocene volcanism from Guatemala to Panama

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geldmacher, J.; Hoernle, K.; Gill, J. B.; Hauff, F.; Heydolph, K.

2016-12-01

It is generally accepted that subducted oceanic crust and sediments contribute to the composition of arc magmas. Systematic variations of input parameters (including age, subduction angle, and chemical composition of the subducting material) make the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA), which extends from Guatemala in the northwest through El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to the southeast, a prime study object. We present a comprehensive (major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope data) and consistent (all data generated in the same labs using the same methods and data reduction procedures) compilation of published and unpublished Holocene mafic volcanic rocks sampled along the entire arc. New data include Sr and, for the first time, Hf isotope data from the entire CAVA as well as major and trace element data for 43 samples from southern Nicaragua and central Costa Rica from which only isotopic compositions were previously published. The combined elemental and isotopic data confirm the influence of distinct subduction components on the composition of CAVA magmas. Along-arc geochemical variations (especially delta 208Pb/204Pb) of volcanic front magmas in Costa Rica and Panama have been explained by the different compositions of seamounts/ridges of the isotopically zoned Galápagos hotspot track that covers the subducting Cocos Plate in this sector of the arc (Hoernle et al. 2008, Nature 451). Our new data confirm this relationship with arc lavas from Costa Rica having higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios than those from western Panama reflecting a similar spatial-compositional distinction in the subducting hotspot track beneath them. In contrast, 176Hf/177Hf shows no comparable variations in this sector of the arc, indicating that the Hf is primarily derived from the mantle wedge rather than the subducting slab. Although small degree hydrous melts are believed to fertilize the mantle wedge beneath Costa Rica, residual zircon may hold back the Hf.

Land, Life, and Security: An Interview with Edgardo Garcia, Secretary General of the Association of Farm Workers in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Scammell, Madeleine K; Gonzalez, Marvin

2016-08-01

This is an interview with Edgardo Garcia, Secretary General of the Association of Farm Workers in Nicaragua and Oscar Berríos from the Nicaraguan National Engineering University. The interview was conducted in Nicaragua in October 2013. Garcia and Berríos address the importance of organizing among formal workers and informal workers, and the shared conditions of both in Nicaragua. They highlight the history and context of the agricultural workers who began organizing during the national armed revolutionary war, the role of government to create conditions for healthy and safe work, and the need for workers to organize and advocate for themselves. Finally, they highlight the importance of solidarity among workers and the need for alliances with unions and technical assistance providers around the world. © The Author(s) 2016.

The DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management. Volume 25, Number 3, Spring 2003

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

rights impact in Latin America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua). The focus is on research derived from secondary sources and student surveys...E. Berdahl, Information Systems, Incorporated, “ Impact of Foreign Military Sales Case Payment Schedule Improvements on Defense Security Assistance...specialists functioned as it was intended. Ashline’s story, recently reported in the New York Daily News, illustrates the impact that DCMA has on the

Cost-effectiveness of HPV-based cervical cancer screening in the public health system in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Campos, Nicole G; Mvundura, Mercy; Jeronimo, Jose; Holme, Francesca; Vodicka, Elisabeth; Kim, Jane J

2017-06-15

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing (versus Papanicolaou (Pap)-based screening) for cervical cancer screening in Nicaragua. A previously developed Monte Carlo simulation model of the natural history of HPV infection and cervical cancer was calibrated to epidemiological data from Nicaragua. Cost data inputs were derived using a micro-costing approach in Carazo, Chontales and Chinandega departments; test performance data were from a demonstration project in Masaya department. Nicaragua's public health sector facilities. Women aged 30-59 years. Screening strategies included (1) Pap testing every 3 years, with referral to colposcopy for women with an atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or worse result ('Pap'); (2) HPV testing every 5 years, with referral to cryotherapy for HPV-positive eligible women (HPV cryotherapy or 'HPV-Cryo'); (3) HPV testing every 5 years, with referral to triage with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for HPV-positive women ('HPV-VIA'); and (4) HPV testing every 5 years, with referral to Pap testing for HPV-positive women ('HPV-Pap'). Reduction in lifetime risk of cancer and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER; 2015 US$ per year of life saved (YLS)). HPV-based screening strategies were more effective than Pap testing. HPV-Cryo was the least costly and most effective strategy, reducing lifetime cancer risk by 29.5% and outperforming HPV-VIA, HPV-Pap and Pap only, which reduced cancer risk by 19.4%, 12.2% and 10.8%, respectively. With an ICER of US$320/YLS, HPV-Cryo every 5 years would be very cost-effective using a threshold based on Nicaragua's per capita gross domestic product of US$2090. Findings were robust across sensitivity analyses on test performance, coverage, compliance and cost parameters. HPV testing is very cost-effective compared with Pap testing in Nicaragua, due to higher test sensitivity and the relatively lower number of visits required. Increasing

Evaluation of United States Strategy In Central America

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-03

degree of tranquility and repose which it has never en - joyed even under the palmiest days of Spanish oc- cupation." William Walker was driven out of...fear and focus on Cuban/Soviet en - couragement of insurgencies miss the even greater threat that the Soviet objective for the area will bring. This... Belize , British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat

Obstetric referrals from a rural clinic to a community hospital in Honduras.

PubMed

Josyula, Srirama; Taylor, Kathryn K; Murphy, Blair M; Rodas, Dairamise; Kamath-Rayne, Beena D

2015-11-01

referrals between health care facilities are important in low-resource settings, particularly in maternal and child health, to transfer pregnant patients to the appropriate level of obstetric care. Our aim was to characterise the obstetrical referrals from a rural clinic to a community referral hospital in Honduras, to identify barriers in effective transport/referral, and to describe subsequent patient outcomes. we performed a descriptive retrospective study of patients referred during a 9-month period. We reviewed patient charts to review diagnosis, referral, and treatment times at both sites to understand the continuity of care. ninety-two pregnant patients were referred from the rural clinic to the community hospital. Twenty six pregnant patients (28%) did not have complete and accurate medical records and were excluded from the study. The remaining 66 patients were our study population. Of the 66 patients, 54 (82%) received antenatal care with an average of 5.5±2.4 visits. The most common diagnoses requiring referral were non-reassuring fetal status, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and preterm labour. The time spent in the rural clinic until transfer was 7.35±8.60 hours, and transport times were 4.42±1.07 hours. Of the 66 women transferred, 24 (36%) had different primary diagnoses and 16 (24%) had additional diagnoses after evaluation in the community hospital, whereas the remaining 26 (40%) had diagnoses that remained the same. No system was in place to give feedback to the referring clinic doctors regarding their primary diagnoses. our results demonstrate challenges seen in obstetric transport from a rural clinic to a community hospital in Honduras. Further research is needed for reform of emergency obstetric care management, targeting both healthcare personnel and medical referral infrastructure. The example of Honduras can be taken to motivate change in other resource-limited areas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-Time Evolution of Zika Virus Disease Outbreak, Roatán, Honduras.

PubMed

Brooks, Trevor; Roy-Burman, Arup; Tuholske, Cascade; Busch, Michael P; Bakkour, Sonia; Stone, Mars; Linnen, Jeffrey M; Gao, Kui; Coleman, Jayleen; Bloch, Evan M

2017-08-01

A Zika virus disease outbreak occurred in Roatán, Honduras, during September 2015-July 2016. Blood samples and clinical information were obtained from 183 patients given a clinical diagnosis of suspected dengue virus infection. A total of 79 patients were positive for Zika virus, 13 for chikungunya virus, and 6 for dengue virus.

Reinforcing marginality? Maternal health interventions in rural Nicaragua.

PubMed

Kvernflaten, Birgit

2017-06-23

To achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 on maternal health, many countries have focused on marginalized women who lack access to care. Promoting facility-based deliveries to ensure skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care has become a main measure for preventing maternal deaths, so women who opt for home births are often considered 'marginal' and in need of targeted intervention. Drawing upon ethnographic data from Nicaragua, this paper critically examines the concept of marginality in the context of official efforts to increase institutional delivery amongst the rural poor, and discusses lack of access to health services among women living in peripheral areas as a process of marginalization. The promotion of facility birth as the new norm, in turn, generates a process of 're-marginalization', whereby public health officials morally disapprove of women who give birth at home, viewing them as non-compliers and a problem to the system. In rural Nicaragua, there is a discrepancy between the public health norm and women's own preferences and desires for home birth. These women live at the margins also in spatial and societal terms, and must relate to a health system they find incapable of providing good, appropriate care. Strong public pressure for institutional delivery makes them feel distressed and pressured. Paradoxically then, the aim of including marginal groups in maternal health programmes engenders resistance to facility birth.

Why Choose Peace? The El Salvador Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

this monograph identifies some general principles that one can apply to future case studies. 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF...government forces. During the time of the civil war, the ESAF consisted of the regular army with the National Guard acting in rural internal security ...democracy between the warring factions of El Salvador and defense providing “ security against those who use violence against democratization

Dissemination of the ST-103 clonal complex serogroup C meningococci in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Cordeiro, Soraia Machado; Cardoso, Cristiane Wanderley; de Araújo, Lorena Galvão; Ribeiro, Luis Eduardo; Azevedo, Jailton; Silva, Rita de Cassia Vilasboas; Dos Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert Icksang; Reis, Joice Neves

2018-01-01

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a major public health problem worldwide. An epidemic of serogroup C (NmC) IMD occurred in 2010 in the city of Salvador. In this study, we describe the antigenic and genetic characterization of meningococcal isolates collected from meningitis cases in Salvador from 2001 to 2012. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were performed for the analysis of IMD isolates. A total of 733 cases were identified, and the serogroup was determined for 391 (53.0%) of these. Most cases were caused by NmC (53%) or B (47%). The most prevalent strains were B:4,7:P1.19,15 (32.9%; 129/391) and C:23:P1.14-6 (28.6%; 112/391). Based on PFGE/MLST analysis, 71.3% (77/108 PFGE-tested isolates) clustered as two clones of sequence type ST-3779 and ST-3780, both belonging to the ST-103 clonal complex. ST-3779 has been detected in Salvador since 1996 and together with ST-3780 became predominant after 2005. There was a predominance of C:23:P1.14-6, ST-3779/3780 in Salvador during the period of 2007-2012, establishing a major clonal lineage, which remained in the community for a long time; this has serious implications for public health, particularly in terms of prevention and control strategies of IMD. Copyright © 2017 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of child punishment in two Central American countries: Guatemala and El Salvador.

PubMed

Speizer, Ilene S; Goodwin, Mary M; Samandari, Ghazaleh; Kim, Shin Y; Clyde, Maureen

2008-04-01

Severe physical punishment of children is an important issue in international child health and welfare. This study examines such punishment in Guatemala and El Salvador. Data came from nationally representative surveys of women aged 15-49 and men aged 15-59 residing in Guatemala (2002) and El Salvador (2002-2003). The surveys included questions about punishment experienced during childhood, with response options ranging from verbal scolding to beating. In Guatemala, parents were asked how they disciplined their children; questions allowed them to compare how they were punished in their childhood with how they punished their own children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented. In Guatemala, 35% of women and 46% of men reported being beaten as punishment in childhood; in El Salvador, the figures were 42% and 62%, respectively. In both countries, older participants were relatively more likely than younger participants to have been beaten as children. Witnessing familial violence was associated with an increased risk of being beaten in childhood. In Guatemala, having experienced physical punishment as a child increased the chance that parents would use physical punishment on their own children. Multivariate analyses revealed that women who were beaten in childhood were significantly more likely in both countries to be in a violent relationship. The use of beating to physically punish children is a common problem in Guatemala and El Salvador, with generational and intergenerational effects. Its negative and lingering effects necessitate the introduction of policies and programs to decrease this behavior.

Testing road surface treatments to reduce erosion in forest roads in Honduras [Tratamientos de la superficie de rodadura para reducir la erosion en caminos forestales en Honduras

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rivera, Samuel; Kershner, Jeffrey L.; Keller, Gordon R.

2009-01-01

Testing road surface treatments to reduce erosion in forest roads in Honduras. Cien. Inv. Agr. 36(3):425-432. Using forest roads produces more erosion and sedimentation than any other forest or agricultural activity. This study evaluated soil losses from a forest road in central Honduras over two consecutive years. We divided a 400-m segment of road into 8 experimental units, each 50 m in length. Four units were treated with Best Management Practices (BMPs) and four were left untreated. The BMP treatments included reshaping the road prism, installing culverts and reshaping of road ditches, compacting 20-cm layers of the road tread, crowning the road surface (3% slope, double drainage), longitudinal sloping (less than 12%), and adding a 10-cm layer of gravel (crush size = 0.63 cm). Soil movement was measured daily during the rainy seasons. The highest soil loss occurred in the control road, around 500 m3 km-1 per year, while the road treated with BMP lost approximately 225 m3km-1 per year. These results show that road surface erosion can be reduced up to 50% with the implementation of surface treatments.

Geomorphological impact on agroforestry systems in the interior highlands of Nicaragua, Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mentler, Axel; Wriessnig, Karin; Ottner, Franz; Schomakers, Jasmin; Benavides González, Álvaro; Cisne Contreras, José Dolores; Querol Lipcovich, Daniel

2013-04-01

Cerro el Castillo is located in the NW of Nicaragua, Central America, close to the border of Honduras (Provincia Central de las Cordilleras) at 1000-1200m above sea level. In this region, small and medium-sized farms are agroforestry systems with mangos, avocados, coffee, papayas, bananas, strawberries, maize, pumpkins, beans and other vegetables. The production systems are strongly linked to facilities for raising small domestic animals and cows. Main regional agricultural production problems are steep slopes, soil erosion, varying precipitation and distribution, water management and the unstable family income. An investigation of topsoil properties with comparable management systems showed on small scales significant differences in key values of soil chemistry and mineralogy. The outline of the analytical parameters included determination of pH, electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN) and dissolved nitrogen (DN) in soil solution, and plant available nutrients (P and K). The soil's mineralogical composition was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The area is a highly weathered karst landscape within a tropical limestone region displaying different amounts of volcanic pyroclastic parent material. The dominant Nitisoils and Andosols show degraded argic and andic horizons along the upper half of the mountainside. The pH values in the topsoil are moderate from pH 5.0 to 5.6. The upland topsoil is decalcified and the amount of plant available phosphorous is very low with significant low Ca concentration at the sorption complex. The mineralogical composition points to the high weathering intensity of this area (high content of kaolinite and a lower concentration of potassium and plagioclase feldspars and andesite). Along the upper half of the mountain, the soil profiles show wider C:N ratios and lower amounts of organic matter. Topsoil at lower altitude and with a lower

LAND COVER ASSESSMENT OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE BOSAWAS REGION OF NICARAGUA

EPA Science Inventory

Data derived from remotely sensed images were utilized to conduct land cover assessments of three indigenous communities in northern Nicaragua. Historical land use, present land cover and land cover change processes were all identified through the use of a geographic informat...

Creating Sustainable Education Projects in Roatán, Honduras through Continuous Process Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raven, Arjan; Randolph, Adriane B.; Heil, Shelli

2010-01-01

The investigators worked together with permanent residents of Roatán, Honduras on sustainable initiatives to help improve the island's troubled educational programs. Our initiatives focused on increasing the number of students eligible and likely to attend a university. Using a methodology based in continuous process improvement, we developed…

Distinct Zika Virus Lineage in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

PubMed Central

Naccache, Samia N.; Thézé, Julien; Sardi, Silvia I.; Somasekar, Sneha; Greninger, Alexander L.; Bandeira, Antonio C.; Campos, Gubio S.; Tauro, Laura B.; Faria, Nuno R.; Pybus, Oliver G.

2016-01-01

Sequencing of isolates from patients in Bahia, Brazil, where most Zika virus cases in Brazil have been reported, resulted in 11 whole and partial Zika virus genomes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a well-supported Bahia-specific Zika virus lineage, which indicates sustained Zika virus circulation in Salvador, Bahia’s capital city, since mid-2014. PMID:27448188

Real-Time Evolution of Zika Virus Disease Outbreak, Roatán, Honduras

PubMed Central

Roy-Burman, Arup; Tuholske, Cascade; Busch, Michael P.; Bakkour, Sonia; Stone, Mars; Linnen, Jeffrey M.; Gao, Kui; Coleman, Jayleen; Bloch, Evan M.

2017-01-01

A Zika virus disease outbreak occurred in Roatán, Honduras, during September 2015–July 2016. Blood samples and clinical information were obtained from 183 patients given a clinical diagnosis of suspected dengue virus infection. A total of 79 patients were positive for Zika virus, 13 for chikungunya virus, and 6 for dengue virus. PMID:28514227

A new extant species of Electribius Crowson from Honduras (Coleoptera: Elateroidea: Artematopodidae).

PubMed

Gimmel, Matthew L; Bocakova, Milada

2015-03-05

A new extant species of Electribius Crowson, E. llamae sp.n., is described from Cusuco National Park, Cortés Province, Honduras. This new species lacks one of the supposed autapomorphies of the genus; therefore the definition of the genus requires modification. A revised key to the known extant species is presented, and their known distributions are mapped.

New seismic sources parameterization in El Salvador. Implications to seismic hazard.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Henar, Jorge; Staller, Alejandra; Jesús Martínez-Díaz, José; Benito, Belén; Álvarez-Gómez, José Antonio; Canora, Carolina

2014-05-01

El Salvador is located at the pacific active margin of Central America, here, the subduction of the Cocos Plate under the Caribbean Plate at a rate of ~80 mm/yr is the main seismic source. Although the seismic sources located in the Central American Volcanic Arc have been responsible for some of the most damaging earthquakes in El Salvador. The El Salvador Fault Zone is the main geological structure in El Salvador and accommodates 14 mm/yr of horizontal displacement between the Caribbean Plate and the forearc sliver. The ESFZ is a right lateral strike-slip fault zone c. 150 km long and 20 km wide .This shear band distributes the deformation among strike-slip faults trending N90º-100ºE and secondary normal faults trending N120º- N170º. The ESFZ is relieved westward by the Jalpatagua Fault and becomes less clear eastward disappearing at Golfo de Fonseca. Five sections have been proposed for the whole fault zone. These fault sections are (from west to east): ESFZ Western Section, San Vicente Section, Lempa Section, Berlin Section and San Miguel Section. Paleoseismic studies carried out in the Berlin and San Vicente Segments reveal an important amount of quaternary deformation and paleoearthquakes up to Mw 7.6. In this study we present 45 capable seismic sources in El Salvador and their preliminary slip-rate from geological and GPS data. The GPS data detailled results are presented by Staller et al., 2014 in a complimentary communication. The calculated preliminary slip-rates range from 0.5 to 8 mm/yr for individualized faults within the ESFZ. We calculated maximum magnitudes from the mapped lengths and paleoseismic observations.We propose different earthquakes scenario including the potential combined rupture of different fault sections of the ESFZ, resulting in maximum earthquake magnitudes of Mw 7.6. We used deterministic models to calculate acceleration distribution related with maximum earthquakes of the different proposed scenario. The spatial distribution of

Reavistamientos de Corvus corax en las tierras altas de Nicaragua

Treesearch

Francisco J. Muñoz; Wayne J. Arendt; Marvin A. Tórrez; Liliana Chavarría; Arlen Pinell.

2009-01-01

The common raven (Corvus corax) is one of the most widespread naturally occurring birds in the world. Thus, from a conservation and management perspective, it is of minimum concern. Yet, in Nicaragua, observations of this species are few and not well documented. After a lapse of almost 40 years since the last written report, we describe recent sightings from the...

Health effects of the war in two rural communities in Nicaragua. Nicaragua Health Study Collaborative at Harvard, CIES, and UNAN.

PubMed Central

1989-01-01

We report on a pilot study to assess the effects of low intensity war in Nicaragua on the health of the civilian population. The study compared data from two regions in Nicaragua, one in an area of intense conflict, the other further removed from the war's violence. Information was obtained from a questionnaire administered to female heads of randomly selected households; structured interviews with community leaders and health workers; group discussions with community residents; and a review of regional and municipal death records. Height and mid-upper arm circumference of children were measured, and immunization records reviewed. The war has had a serious negative effect on the lives of the civilian population in both the war zone and the non-war zone, with the effects most severe in the war zone. In both communities, over half of the respondents reported the death of a friend or relative. In the war zone community, over one-fourth of respondents reported attacks on family members in non-combat situations around their homes. Death by firearms was the leading cause of death in persons over age 6 in the war zone. Vaccination coverage, nutritional indices, and familial disruption were worse in the war zone community. The findings suggest that continued funding of the Nicaraguan contra forces by the United States may be harming the ostensible beneficiaries of that policy, and that use of such low intensity conflict as a foreign policy tool should be questioned. PMID:2929801

An Introduction to the Psychedelic Psychotherapy of Salvador Roquet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villoldo, Alberto

1977-01-01

Psychosynthesis as developed by Salvador Roquet presents a new method combining Freudian, Frommian, and transpersonal therapies. Its immediate result is to obtain results expected from long-term psychoanalysis in an abbreviated period of time. It also helps the individual take responsibility for his own development. (Author/RK)

Risk factors associated with the presence and severity of food insecurity in rural Honduras.

PubMed

Ben-Davies, Maureen E; Kinlaw, Alan; Estrada Del Campo, Yaniré; Bentley, Margaret E; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria

2014-01-01

To identify factors associated with the presence and severity of food insecurity among a sample of Honduran caregivers of young children. Cross-sectional study in which the dependent variable, household food insecurity, was measured using a fourteen-item questionnaire developed and validated in a population of similar cultural context. A predictive modelling strategy used backwards elimination in logistic regression and multinomial logit regression models to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for food insecurity. Rural Honduras in the department of Intibucá, between March and April 2009. Two-hundred and ninety-eight Honduran caregivers of children aged 6-18 months. Ninety-three per cent of households were classified as having some degree of food insecurity (mild, moderate or severe). After controlling for caregiver age and marital status, compared with caregivers with more than primary-school education, those with less than primary-school education had 3·47 (95% CI 1·34, 8·99) times the odds of severe food insecurity and 2·29 (95% CI 1·00, 5·25) times the odds of moderate food insecurity. Our results also found that child anthropometric status was not associated with the presence or severity of food insecurity. These results show that among the sociodemographic factors assessed, food insecurity in rural Honduras is associated with maternal education. Understanding key factors associated with food insecurity that are unique to Honduras can inform the design of interventions to effectively mitigate the negative impact of food insecurity on children.

"Contra Viento y Marea" (Against Wind and Tide): Building Civic Identity among Children of Emigration in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyrness, Andrea

2012-01-01

This article examines contrasting approaches to citizenship education in two schools in San Salvador, El Salvador, in the face of highly visible transnational migration. I argue that while transnational realities challenge education for democratic citizenship, educational processes that enable students to interrogate their own transnational…

Artisanal Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, Fishery of Caribbean Nicaragua: I. Catch Rates and Trends, 1991–2011

PubMed Central

Lagueux, Cynthia J.; Campbell, Cathi L.; Strindberg, Samantha

2014-01-01

This is the first assessment of catch rates for the legal, artisanal green turtle, Chelonia mydas, fishery in Caribbean Nicaragua. Data were collected by community members, monitoring up to 14 landing sites from 1991 to 2011. We examined take levels, and temporal and spatial variability in catch rates for the overall fishery, by region, and community using General Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs). More than 171,556 green turtles were killed during the period, with a mean estimated minimum 8,169±2,182 annually. There was a statistically significant decline in catch rates overall. Catch rates peaked in 1997 and 2002, followed by a downward trend, particularly from mid-2008 to the end of the study period. Similar downward trends were evident in both study regions. Community specific catch rate trends also indicated declines with decreases ranging from 21% to 90%. Decrease in catch rates in Nicaragua is cause for concern even though the principal source rookery at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, shows an increase in nesting activity. Explanations for the apparent discrepancy between the increasing trend at Tortuguero and decreasing catch rate trends in Nicaragua include: i) an increase in reproductive output, ii) insufficient time has passed to observe the impact of the fishery on the rookery due to a time lag, iii) changes in other segments of the population have not been detected since only nesting activity is monitored, iv) the expansive northern Nicaragua foraging ground may provide a refuge for a sufficient portion of the Tortuguero rookery, and/or v) a larger than expected contribution of non-Tortuguero rookeries occurring in Nicaragua turtle fishing areas. Our results highlight the need for close monitoring of rookeries and in-water aggregations in the Caribbean. Where consumptive use still occurs, nations sharing this resource should implement scientifically based limits on exploitation to ensure sustainability and mitigate impacts to regional population diversity. PMID

"Out of My Comfort Zone": Understanding the Impact of a Service-Learning Experience in Rural El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckman, Paula J.; Christenson, Lea Ann

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study was designed to explore student's perceptions of the impact of a two-week service-learning experience in rural El Salvador. Students stayed in an economically impoverished village in rural El Salvador and worked on projects that promoted education for children in the village. Participants included 15 graduate and…

Primary care provision by volunteer medical brigades in Honduras: a health record review of more than 2,500 patients over three years.

PubMed

Martiniuk, Alexandra L C; Adunuri, Nikesh; Negin, Joel; Tracey, Patti; Fontecha, Claudio; Caldwell, Paul

2012-01-01

The weak health system in Honduras contributes to poor health indicators. To improve population health, a number of volunteer medical brigades from developed countries provide health services in Honduras. To date, there is little information on the brigades' activities and impact. The primary objective of this article is to increase understanding of the type of health care provided by voluntary medical brigades by evaluating and presenting data on patients' presenting symptoms, diagnoses, and care outcomes. The article focuses on an ongoing medical brigade organized by Canadian health professionals in conjunction with Honduras' largest national non-governmental organization. This is a descriptive study of data that are routinely collected by volunteer Canadian health care professionals. Data on all patients presenting to temporary primary health care facilities across Honduras between 2006 and 2009 were analyzed. The data were used to analyze patient demographics, presenting symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments. We found that the brigades provide additional human resources to the relatively weak Honduran health care system. However, while brigades may increase solidarity between Hondurans and Canadians, concerns persist regarding cost-effectiveness and continuity of care for conditions treated by short-term brigade volunteers. Greater scrutiny is needed to increase brigades' effectiveness and ensure they are supportive of domestic health systems.

Infection control in El Salvador: the Hospital Rosales experience.

PubMed

Marinero Cáceres, J A; de Sotello, Y

1987-12-01

We describe circumstances at the Hospital Rosales, located in San Salvador, El Salvador, and some salient observations from an infection control program begun in 1978. Findings include overuse of antibiotics, especially of penicillin and chloramphenicol; a predominance of gram-negative rod infections, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa; a relative infrequency of Staphylococcus aureus infections; an apparent doubling of the mean duration of hospitalization for patients with nosocomial infections compared with other patients (22.1 days versus 11.0 days); documentation and partial correction of deficiencies in aseptic and antiseptic practices; an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis traced to the hospital's factory for the manufacturing of intravenous fluids; and attitudinal problems such as the care of patients with rabies on open wards. Prevalence surveys conducted during 1981 and 1986 suggest a dramatic increase in the recent incidence of surgical wound infection (44% upsilon 28%, P less than 0.001). This latter observation suggests a direct relationship between infection rates and the hardships imposed by poverty and civil war.

Growing pains: status of emergency medicine in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Gaitan, M; Mendez, W; Sirker, N E; Green, G B

1998-03-01

Nicaragua is one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. The health of the population suffers as a result of poor nutrition, epidemic diseases, natural and manmade disasters, sporadic violence, urban industrial growth, and inadequate government funding for even basic medical equipment and supplies. Within this environment, emergency services development has been recognized as an important and cost-effective public health intervention. In recent years, government and nongovernmental agencies working together have had a dramatic positive impact on the quality of emergency care provided.

The red tide event in El Salvador, August 2001-January 2002.

PubMed

Enrique Barraza, José; Armero-Guardado, Julio; Valencia de Toledo, Zobeyda Marisol

2004-09-01

A red tide event occurred in El Salvador from August 2001 to January 2002. National health authorities usually measured toxin levels in Ostrea iridescens, however other species were analyzed during this microalgae bloom: Anadara similis, Anadara tuberculosa and Modiolus sp. El Salvador authorities consider 400 mouse units/100 g the highest value that is safe for human health. During this period toxin levels in 0. iridescens and Modiolus sp. increased from values under 400 to 3977 and 15,468 mouse units/100 g, respectively. Persistent and higher levels were recorded in oyster and mussel banks on the west part of the country. The Ministry of Health and Social Assistance treated 41 slight to moderate intoxications associated to bivalve mollusks consumption.

Suitability of soil bioengineering techniques in Central America: a case study in Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2008-10-01

In the last few years "D. I. A. F." (Department of Agriculture and Forestry Engineering of Florence University), has been testing the effectiveness of soil bioengineering techniques in Central America. The focus of the present study was to find out which native plants were most suited for soil bioengineering purposes, particularly in the realization of riverbank protection in Nicaragua. Furthermore, we have also been aiming at economic efficiency. These techniques are appropriate for sustainable watershed management especially in underdeveloped countries. Concerning the plants to be used we experimented four native species. Gliricidia Sepium, Cordia dentata and Jatropha curcas are suitable for soil bioengineering more than Bursera Simaruba. Economically speaking, the sustainability of such interventions in underdeveloped countries, has been shown by the evaluation of the cost of riverbank protection using vegetated crib-walls in Nicaragua compared to the cost in different contexts.

Fluid Intake and Decreased Risk for Hospitalization for Dengue Fever, Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Pérez, Leonel; Phares, Christina R.; Pérez, Maria de los Angeles; Idiaquez, Wendy; Rocha, Julio; Cuadra, Ricardo; Hernandez, Emelina; Campos, Luisa Amanda; Gonzalez, Alcides; Amador, Juan Jose; Balmaseda, Angel

2003-01-01

In a hospital and health center-based study in Nicaragua, fluid intake during the 24 hours before being seen by a clinician was statistically associated with decreased risk for hospitalization of dengue fever patients. Similar results were obtained for children <15 years of age and older adolescents and adults in independent analyses. PMID:12967502

Sequences of Zika Virus Genomes from a Pediatric Cohort in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Oldfield, Lauren M; Fedorova, Nadia; Puri, Vinita; Shrivastava, Susmita; Amedeo, Paolo; Durbin, Alan; Rocchi, Iara; Williams, Torrey; Shabman, Reed S; Tan, Gene S; Balmaseda, Angel; Kuan, Guillermina; Saborio, Saira; Gordon, Aubree; Harris, Eva; Pickett, Brett E

2018-06-14

We report here the whole-genome sequence of 11 Zika virus (ZIKV) samples from six pediatric patients in Nicaragua. Serum samples were collected, and ZIKV was isolated in tissue culture. Both serum and virus isolates were sequenced. The consensus ZIKV genomes are greater than 99% identical to each other. Copyright © 2018 Oldfield et al.

Educational Opportunity: El Salvador's Barriers to Achieving Equality Persist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosekrans, Kristin

This paper analyzes barriers to educational equality in El Salvador, using a multi-layered framework of educational opportunity. To improve educational opportunity and give the most marginalized sectors of society the possibility of changing their life circumstances requires policies that go beyond mere access to formal schooling. The model…

HIV and STI control in El Salvador: results from an integrated behavioural survey among men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Creswell, Jacob; Guardado, Maria Elena; Lee, Janet; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Kim, Andrea A; Monterroso, Edgar; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2012-12-01

This cross-sectional study investigates HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STI), and risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) in two cities in El Salvador. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to recruit MSM in the cities of San Salvador and San Miguel, El Salvador. Participants responded to questions about HIV risk behaviours; and blood, urine and anal swabs were collected. Blood samples were tested for herpes simplex type 2, syphilis and HIV infection. Urine and anal samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium. HIV-positive samples were tested with the BED capture enzyme immunoassay to distinguish recent from longstanding HIV infection. We estimated population-adjusted prevalence of behavioural variables, STI and HIV, and identified risk factors for HIV. The final sample included 596 and 195 MSM in San Salvador and San Miguel, respectively. Consistent condom use was low across all partner types as was recent HIV testing. RDS-adjusted HIV prevalence was 10.8% (95% CI 7.4% to 14.7%) in San Salvador, and 8.8% (95% CI 4.2% to 14.5%) in San Miguel. The proportion of recent testing among HIV-positive samples was 20%. Prevalence of any bacterial STI by PRC testing was 12.7% (95% CI 8.2% to 17.5%) in San Salvador, and 9.6% (95% CI 4.9% to 15.4%) in San Miguel. We found a high prevalence of HIV, high levels of recent infection, and low condom usage. In El Salvador, targeted interventions towards MSM are needed to promote condom use, as well as to diagnose, treat and prevent HIV and other STIs.

Elementary Schools in Rural Honduras. Problems in Exporting Environmental Education Models from the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ham, Sam H.; Castillo, Lizeth

1990-01-01

Presented is a study designed to determine the best approaches for developing environmental education and teacher training materials for schools in Honduras. Results dispute the value of materials produced in the United States for use in developing nations. (CW)

Translations on Latin America, No. 1909.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-11-14

Nicaragua Panama Paraguay X Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala X Peru Trinidad-Tabago JJruguay Venezuela 17c. ( OSATI...Domestic Service, 3 Nov 78) 143 Briefs PERU Flood Damage in Remedios 144 Minister in Curacao Banned 144 Castro Attends Ballet 144 PCC Members...subsequent recession that began in the last quarter of 1977. At the same time, the inflationary pressures remain intact. It states that it is highly

Haiti’s Downward Spiral: Causes, Consequences, and the Way Ahead

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-04

Salvador, and Honduras. Known as the “cocaine corridor” to the United States via Mexico , these states are an increasing concern for U.S. national...corridor” to the United States via Mexico , these states are an increasing concern for U.S. national security and therefore deserve SOUTHCOM’s full...water wells took on increased urgency after Haiti experienced a cholera outbreak in October 2010 that infected over 250,000 people, killing more than

Civil-Military Relations and Democratization in Guatemala.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-01

by El Salvador and Honduras and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. Even though Spanish is the official language , at least half of the population...September 1821, after more than three centuries of Spanish domination. Guatemala’s territory encompasses over 100,000 square kilometers and is the...state and also protected the societal structure left by the Spanish colonizers, which was highly oligarchic and feudal. Despite the fact that Guatemala

Pathogenic seedborne viruses are rare but Phaseolus vulgaris endornaviruses are common in bean varieties grown in Nicaragua and Tanzania.

PubMed

Nordenstedt, Noora; Marcenaro, Delfia; Chilagane, Daudi; Mwaipopo, Beatrice; Rajamäki, Minna-Liisa; Nchimbi-Msolla, Susan; Njau, Paul J R; Mbanzibwa, Deusdedith R; Valkonen, Jari P T

2017-01-01

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an annual grain legume that was domesticated in Mesoamerica (Central America) and the Andes. It is currently grown widely also on other continents including Africa. We surveyed seedborne viruses in new common bean varieties introduced to Nicaragua (Central America) and in landraces and improved varieties grown in Tanzania (eastern Africa). Bean seeds, harvested from Nicaragua and Tanzania, were grown in insect-controlled greenhouse or screenhouse, respectively, to obtain leaf material for virus testing. Equal amounts of total RNA from different samples were pooled (30-36 samples per pool), and small RNAs were deep-sequenced (Illumina). Assembly of the reads (21-24 nt) to contiguous sequences and searches for homologous viral sequences in databases revealed Phaseolus vulgaris endornavirus 1 (PvEV-1) and PvEV-2 in the bean varieties in Nicaragua and Tanzania. These viruses are not known to cause symptoms in common bean and are considered non-pathogenic. The small-RNA reads from each pool of samples were mapped to the previously characterized complete PvEV-1 and PvEV-2 sequences (genome lengths ca. 14 kb and 15 kb, respectively). Coverage of the viral genomes was 87.9-99.9%, depending on the pool. Coverage per nucleotide ranged from 5 to 471, confirming virus identification. PvEV-1 and PvEV-2 are known to occur in Phaseolus spp. in Central America, but there is little previous information about their occurrence in Nicaragua, and no information about occurrence in Africa. Aside from Cowpea mild mosaic virus detected in bean plants grown from been seeds harvested from one region in Tanzania, no other pathogenic seedborne viruses were detected. The low incidence of infections caused by pathogenic viruses transmitted via bean seeds may be attributable to new, virus-resistant CB varieties released by breeding programs in Nicaragua and Tanzania.

CATACAMAS VIRUS, A HANTAVIRAL SPECIES NATURALLY ASSOCIATED WITH ORYZOMYS COUESI (COUES' ORYZOMYS) IN HONDURAS

PubMed Central

MILAZZO, MARY L.; CAJIMAT, MARIA N. B.; HANSON, J. DELTON; BRADLEY, ROBERT D.; QUINTANA, MIGUEL; SHERMAN, CATALINA; VELÁSQUEZ, REINA T.; FULHORST, CHARLES F.

2006-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to extend our knowledge of the geographical distribution, genetic diversity, and natural host associations of the hantaviruses indigenous to North America. Antibody to a hantavirus was found in 5 (20.8%) of 24 Coues' oryzomys (Oryzomys couesi) and none of 41 other rodents captured near the town of Catacamas in eastern Honduras, and a hantavirus was isolated from one of the antibody-positive Coues' oryzomys. Analyses of nucleotide and amino acid sequence data indicated that the viral isolate is a strain of a novel hantaviral species (proposed species name “Catacamas virus”) that is phylogenetically most closely related to Bayou virus, a hantaviral species that is principally associated with Oryzomys palustris (marsh oryzomys) in the southeastern United States. Catacamas virus is the first evidence for the occurrence of a hantaviral species in Honduras and the first evidence that a hantaviral species is naturally associated with an Oryzomys species other than O. palustis. PMID:17124003

A comparative analysis of locally based conservation education programs that promote issue awareness and community solutions within Honduras and the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Nicole R.

Public understanding and concern for environment issues is critical to conservation efforts. In this study, I investigated education programs focused on the local environmental issues and their impact on sense of place, environmental knowledge, empowerment and awareness (Honduras and Boston). I hypothesized that the curriculum will have an effect on multiple student measures and teachers who participate in workshops will have greater ownership of the curriculum, influencing curriculum's effectiveness. Then I looked at the relation of environmental knowledge to environmental connection, at the regional (Honduras) and international levels (Honduras vs. United States), comparing cultural differences in same measures mentioned. I hypothesized that a population connected to their natural surroundings will have an embedded biological understanding and appreciation of their surroundings. I surveyed a total of 887 students (727 Honduras, 160 Boston) and 293 teachers (Honduras), with participant and nonparticipant teachers included, in a pre/post/follow-up survey design. To evaluate these hypotheses, I used multiple measures to assess program success and regional differences: implicit measures (general sense of place); explicit measures (knowledge of problems and solutions; degree of specificity in thinking about these issues); and affective and attitudinal components (sense of empowerment). For the exploratory study, I gathered parallel data from teachers, so that the effects of the program on both teachers and students would be evident. Our results indicate that there were significant changes in number of problem and solution types proposed by students, that students' responses matched those of their teacher on some measures (but not all) by the end of the program. In Honduras, the main effect of being in the teacher workshop appears to be in their willingness to teach environmental education. Results for student's sense of place and environmental empowerment were

Intimate partner violence as a predictor of antenatal care service utilization in Honduras.

PubMed

Sebert Kuhlmann, Anne K; Foggia, Janine; Fu, Qiang; Sierra, Manuel

2017-08-21

To describe the relationship between exposure to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) and indicators of antenatal care (ANC) service utilization among Honduran women of reproductive age. Data from the 2011-2012 Honduras Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed to describe the relationship between self-reported exposure to IPV and two ANC outcomes: (1) sufficient ANC visits (defined by the Honduran Ministry of Health as five or more visits) and (2) early ANC initiation (within the first trimester). Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate effects of physical and sexual IPV on the outcomes, controlling for women's age, education, literacy, residence, household size, religion, parity, wealth, husband's age, and husband's education. Of women who were married, had at least one living child 5 years or younger, and completed the IPV module (N = 6 629), 13.5% of them reported any physical IPV, and 4.1% reported both physical and sexual IPV. There was no significant association between IPV and early ANC; however, a significant relationship between IPV and sufficient ANC was found. Women who experienced any physical IPV (adjusted odds ratios (aOR) = 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.56) or sexual IPV (aOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.08-2.16) were, respectively, 25% and 53% more likely to receive insufficient ANC. Honduras has one of highest rates of interpersonal violence of any nation in the world. In Honduras, IPV is a contributor to this broader category of interpersonal violence as well as a risk factor for insufficient ANC. Our findings suggest that universal IPV screening during ANC as well as future initiatives aimed at reducing IPV might improve ANC utilization in the country.

3-D Shear Velocity Structure of Costa Rica and Nicaragua from Teleseismic and Ambient Noise Rayleigh Wave Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harmon, N.; Salas, M.; Rychert, C. A.; Fischer, K. M.; Abers, G. A.

2012-12-01

The Costa Rica-Nicaragua subduction zone shows systematic along strike variation in arc chemistry, geology and seismic velocity and attenuation, presenting global extremes within a few hundred kilometres. In this study we use teleseismic and ambient noise derived surface wave tomography to produce a 3-D shear velocity model of the region. We use the 48 stations of the TUCAN array, and up to 96 events for the teleseismic Rayleigh wave inversion, and 20 months of continuous data for cross correlation to estimate Green's functions from ambient noise. In the shallow crust (0-15 km) we observe low shear velocities directly beneath the arc volcanos (< 3 km/s) with higher velocities in the back arc of Nicaragua. The anomalies are likely caused by heated crust, possibly intruded by magma. We observe > 40 km thick crust beneath the Costa Rican arc and the Nicaraguan Highlands, with thinned crust (~20 km) beneath the Nicaraguan Depression, with increasing crustal thickness in the back arc region. At mantle depths (55-120 km depth) we observe lower shear velocities (~2%) beneath the Nicaraguan arc and back arc relative to Costa Rica. This is well-correlated with a Vp/Vs anomaly beneath Nicaragua. The lower shear velocity beneath Nicaragua may indicate higher melt content in the mantle perhaps due to higher volatile flux from the slab. Finally, we observe a linear high velocity region at depths > 120 km parallel to the trench, which is consistent with the subducting slab.

Emergency contraception in Honduras: knowledge, attitudes, and practice among urban family planning clients.

PubMed

García, Sandra G; Lara, Diana; Landis, Sarah H; Yam, Eileen A; Pavón, Suyapa

2006-09-01

Emergency contraception (EC) has the potential to improve women's reproductive health significantly. In Honduras, where nearly one-fourth of pregnancies are unplanned, the need for EC is substantial. To increase awareness of this option, nongovernmental organizations launched countrywide EC outreach activities in 2001-03. We conducted pre- and postintervention cross-sectional surveys among a total of 2,693 family planning clinic clients to assess EC knowledge, attitudes, and practice at baseline and at two years postintroduction. EC awareness increased over time, but remained at just 20 percent at follow-up. Respondents generally demonstrated a positive attitude and low rates of concern about EC. Awareness of and willingness to use EC were strongly associated with age, educational status, and city of residence. Public-sector acceptance of the method is essential to increase awareness of and access to EC. This study is intended to fill an information gap regarding EC in Latin America and the Caribbean and to be useful in determining educational messages and target audiences for future awareness campaigns in Honduras.

[Distribution, surface and protected area of palm-swamps in Costa Rica and Nicaragua].

PubMed

Serrano-Sandí, Juan; Bonilla-Murillo, Fabian; Sasa, Mahmood

2013-09-01

In Central America, palm swamps are known collectively as yolillales. These wetlands are usually dominated by the raffia palm Raphia taedigera, but also by the royal palm Manicaria saccifera and -in lower extensions- by the American oil palm Elaeis oleifera. The yolillales tend to be poor in woody species and are characteristic of regions with high rainfall and extensive hydroperiods, so they remain flooded most of the year. The dominance of large raffia palm leaves in the canopy, allow these environments to be distinguishable in aerial photographs, which consequently has helped to map them along most of their distribution. However, while maps depicting yolillales are available, the extent of their surface area, perimeter and connectivity remains poorly understood. This is particularly true for yolillales in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, countries that share a good proportion of palm dominated swaps in the Rio San Juan Basin. In addition, it is not known the actual area of these environments that is under any category of protection according to the conservation systems of both countries. As a first step to catalog yolillal wetlands in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, this paper evaluates cartographic maps to delineate yolillales in the region. A subsample of yolillales mapped in this study were visited and we geo-referenced them and evaluate the extent and condition of the swamp. A total of 110 883.2ha are classified as yolillales in Nicaragua, equivalent to 22% of wetland surface area recorded for that country (excluding the Cocibolca and Xolothn Lakes). In Costa Rica, 53 931.3ha are covered by these palm dominated swamps, which represent 16.24% of the total surface area covered by wetlands. About 47% of the area covered by yolillales in Nicaragua is under some category of protection, the largest extensions protected by Cerro Silva, Laguna Tale Sulumas and Indio Maiz Nature Reserves. In Costa Rica, 55.5% of the area covered by yolillal is located within protected areas

Surnames in Honduras: A study of the population of Honduras through isonymy.

PubMed

Herrera Paz, Edwin Francisco; Scapoli, Chiara; Mamolini, Elisabetta; Sandri, Massimo; Carrieri, Alberto; Rodriguez-Larralde, Alvaro; Barrai, Italo

2014-05-01

In this work, we investigated surname distribution in 4,348,021 Honduran electors with the aim of detecting population structure through the study of isonymy in three administrative levels: the whole nation, the 18 departments, and the 298 municipalities. For each administrative level, we studied the surname effective number, α, the total inbreeding, FIT , the random inbreeding, FST , and the local inbreeding, FIS . Principal components analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis were performed on Lasker's distance matrix to detect the direction of surname diffusion and for a graphic representation of the surname relationship between different locations. The values of FIT , FST , and FIS display a variation of random inbreeding between the administrative levels in the Honduras population, which is attributed to the "Prefecture effect." Multivariate analyses of department data identified two main clusters, one south-western and the second north-eastern, with the Bay Islands and the eastern Gracias a Dios out of the main clusters. The results suggest that currently the population structure of this country is the result of the joint action of short-range directional migration and drift, with drift dominating over migration, and that population diffusion may have taken place mainly in the NW-SE direction. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.

The Road from LaPalma. Analysis of the Potential for a Negotiated Solution in El Salvador.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (When Data gntered) UNCLASSIFIED SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF TNIS PAG hm "M. ft". and cultural bases of bargaining powers in El Salvador...potential gains and costs of continued conflict. This thesis is a study of the historical and cultural bases of bargaining powers in El Salvador, and...of government intervention. Several contending candidates, including two fellow officers, had been disqualified. Government influence over the media

Quality and Efficiency in a Complementary Middle School Program: The "Educatodos" Experience in Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jeffery H.; Mejia R., Marco Tulio; Aguilar, Claudia R.

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors use recently collected data from the "Educatodos" program in Honduras to analyze attrition, an outcome that has received little attention in previous analyses of alternative school effectiveness. "Educatodos" began in the 1990s with radio courses in primary grades mainly for rural adults. Through…

Decentralization and Educational Performance: Evidence from the PROHECO Community School Program in Rural Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Gropello, Emanuela; Marshall, Jeffery H.

2011-01-01

We analyze the effectiveness of the Programa Hondureno de Educacion Comunitaria (PROHECO) community school program in rural Honduras. The data include standardized tests and extensive information on school, teacher, classroom and community features for 120 rural schools drawn from 15 states. Using academic achievement decompositions we find that…

Teacher Observation in El Salvador. Research Report Number Five.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Judith A.

An instrument to help teacher supervisors in El Salvador to identify and measure good teaching was developed and tested. Because the supervisors were not trained as researchers, they needed an instrument that was simple to use as well as reliable. Several indicators were defined to distinguish between modern and traditional teaching methods, for…

How Patronage Politics Undermines Parental Participation and Accountability: Community-Managed Schools in Honduras and Guatemala

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altschuler, Daniel

2013-01-01

This article shows how patronage politics affects a popular international education model: community-managed schools (CMS). Focusing on Honduras's CMS initiative, PROHECO (Programa Hondureno de Educacion Comunitaria), I demonstrate how patronage can undermine CMS accountability. Whereas supporters argue that CMS increases accountability, partisan…

78 FR 70092 - 2013 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador: Identification of Countries Under Section...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

...-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador: Identification of Countries Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of... announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific IPR issues, Out-of-Cycle Reviews would be conducted.... Submissions should contain the term ``2013 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador'' in the ``Type...

Intercultural Bilingual Education in Nicaragua: Contextualisation for Improving the Quality of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valiente Catter, Teresa

2011-01-01

For the past 35 years, various models of intercultural bilingual education (IBE) have been implemented in Latin American schools and adult education. While Spanish is the official language in Nicaragua, many indigenous languages, such as Miskito and Sumo-Mayangna, are also spoken--especially in the Atlantic coastal region. The Nicaraguan Ministry…

Central America and Cuba in the new world order

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, W.; Gilbert, L.

In Central America and the Caribbean, as in many other parts of the world, military institutions are being forced to define new roles for themselves in the post-Cold War era. In recent times, developments throughout the region, including the dismantling of Panama`s military, the downsizing of the armed forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua, a call by the new Honduran president for military reform and renewed peace talks in Guatemala, suggest that the time may be ripe to reinvigorate earlier regional political organizations and to press for a new round of talks to achieve regional arms control. During the 1980s,more » the ideological struggle between East and West, reignited by the Nicaraguan revolution in 1979, dragged the entire region into conflicts that devastated the isthmus in terms of human lives and economic infrastructure. Indigenous struggles that had developed during the 1970s were suddenly thrust upon the international stage, becoming part of a larger drama between the superpowers. Conflicts in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala provided impetus for larger armed forces throughout the region. This growth was justified as necessary to defend the state from external intervention and the established order from internal subversion, goals which were seen as complementary.« less

Diarrhea Outbreak During U.S. Military Training In El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

Brigade (MEB) were detached to the Base Poligono in San Vicente, El Salvador as part of a military training and humanitarian assistance mission. The... Poligono included tent city (living quarters), latrines, hygiene facilities, the potable water distribution system, dining facility (DFAC), on-base vendor

Pilot assessment of mercury exposure in selected biota from the lowlands of Nicaragua [Evaluacion piloto de exposicion al mercurio en biota selecta de las tierras bajas de Nicaragua

Treesearch

O.P. Lane; W.J. Arendt; M.A. Torrez; J.C. Gamez Castellon

2013-01-01

Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, can damage health of humans and wildlife. In 2012, we collected 73 blood and feather samples from birds among diverse foraging guilds to assess mercury exposure in wetland habitats associated with Lakes Managua and Nicaragua. Blood levels (0.72 parts per million) in a piscivorous Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus from...

Epidemiology as discourse: the politics of development institutions in the Epidemiological Profile of El Salvador

PubMed Central

Aviles, L

2001-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE—To determine the ways in which institutions devoted to international development influence epidemiological studies.
DESIGN—This article takes a descriptive epidemiological study of El Salvador, Epidemiological Profile, conducted in 1994 by the US Agency for International Development, as a case study. The methods include discourse analysis in order to uncover the ideological basis of the report and its characteristics as a discourse of development.
SETTING—El Salvador.
RESULTS—The Epidemiological Profile theoretical basis, the epidemiological transition theory, embodies the ethnocentrism of a "colonizer's model of the world." This report follows the logic of a discourse of development by depoliticising development, creating abnormalities, and relying on the development consulting industry. The epidemiological transition theory serves as an ideology that legitimises and dissimulates the international order.
CONCLUSIONS—Even descriptive epidemiological assessments or epidemiological profiles are imbued with theoretical assumptions shaped by the institutional setting under which epidemiological investigations are conducted.


Keywords: El Salvador; politics PMID:11160170

Operacion FRATERNIDAD. Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 3-6 Septiembre 1962. Exercise Directive Number 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1962-08-01

Jacques MATTOS, Mike LUiMEG, Jorge GOMES , Cesare HCOSTA, Jose PENA, Luis Position Commander Deputy Operations Officer Intelligence Officer...Tte Cnel Federico Poujol, General Staff, b. Staff: Tte Cnel Jorge Robledo, Army of Colombia Mayor Julio Ricardo Zepeda, Army of El Salvador

Leptospirosis Outbreaks in Nicaragua: Identifying Critical Areas and Exploring Drivers for Evidence-Based Planning

PubMed Central

Schneider, Maria Cristina; Nájera, Patricia; Aldighieri, Sylvain; Bacallao, Jorge; Soto, Aida; Marquiño, Wilmer; Altamirano, Lesbia; Saenz, Carlos; Marin, Jesus; Jimenez, Eduardo; Moynihan, Matthew; Espinal, Marcos

2012-01-01

Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide. In Central America, leptospirosis outbreaks have been reported in almost all countries; Nicaragua in particular has faced several outbreaks. The objective of this study was to stratify the risk and identify “critical areas” for leptospirosis outbreaks in Nicaragua, and to perform an exploratory analysis of potential “drivers”. This ecological study includes the entire country (153 municipalities). Cases from 2004 to 2010 were obtained from the country’s health information system, demographic and socioeconomic variables from its Census, and environmental data from external sources. Criteria for risk stratification of leptospirosis were defined. Nicaragua reported 1,980 cases of leptospirosis during this period, with the highest percentage of cases (26.36%) in León, followed by Chinandega (15.35%). Among the 153 municipalities, 48 were considered critical areas, 85 were endemic and 20 silent. Using spatial and statistical analysis, the variable presenting the most evident pattern of association with critical areas defined by top quintile of incidence rate is the percentage of municipal surface occupied by the soil combination of cambisol (over pyroclastic and lava bedrock) and andosol (over a volcanic ashes foundation). Precipitation and percentage of rural population are also associated with critical areas. This methodology and findings could be used for Nicaragua’s Leptospirosis Intersectoral Plan, and to identify possible risk areas in other countries with similar drivers. PMID:23202822

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency among malaria patients of Honduras: a descriptive study of archival blood samples.

PubMed

Zúñiga, Miguel Á; Mejía, Rosa E; Sánchez, Ana L; Sosa-Ochoa, Wilfredo H; Fontecha, Gustavo A

2015-08-07

The frequency of deficient variants of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDd) is particularly high in areas where malaria is endemic. The administration of antirelapse drugs, such as primaquine, has the potential to trigger an oxidative event in G6PD-deficient individuals. According to Honduras´ national scheme, malaria treatment requires the administration of chloroquine and primaquine for both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum infections. The present study aimed at investigating for the first time in Honduras the frequency of the two most common G6PDd variants. This was a descriptive study utilizing 398 archival DNA samples of patients that had been diagnosed with malaria due to P. vivax, P. falciparum, or both. The most common allelic variants of G6PD: G6PD A+(376G) and G6PD A-(376G/202A) were assessed by two molecular methods (PCR-RFLP and a commercial kit). The overall frequency of G6PD deficient genotypes was 16.08%. The frequency of the "African" genotype A- (Class III) was 11.9% (4.1% A- hemizygous males; 1.5% homozygous A- females; and 6.3% heterozygous A- females). A high frequency of G6PDd alleles was observed in samples from malaria patients residing in endemic regions of Northern Honduras. One case of Santamaria mutation (376G/542T) was detected. Compared to other studies in the Americas, as well as to data from predictive models, the present study identified a higher-than expected frequency of genotype A- in Honduras. Considering that the national standard of malaria treatment in the country includes primaquine, further research is necessary to ascertain the risk of PQ-triggered haemolytic reactions in sectors of the population more likely to carry G6PD mutations. Additionally, consideration should be given to utilizing point of care technologies to detect this genetic disorder prior administration of 8-aminoquinoline drugs, either primaquine or any new drug available in the near future.

War and Peace in the Amazon: Strategic Implications for the United States and Latin America of the 1995 Ecuador-Peru War.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-11-24

Agreement and Security," El Comercio (Lima), March 22, 1995, p. A2, as reported in FBIS-LA, April 3, 1995. 19. "Amnesty Law Criticized, Creation of Truth...of National Security and Strategy November 24, 1995 ******* An earlier version of this paper, to be published in the fall 1995 edition of SER en el ...had adjudicated the demarcation of the boundary between Honduras and El Salvador. Because of these considerations, the war in the Amazon headwaters

Climate Change in Nicaragua: a dynamical downscaling of precipitation and temperature.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porras, Ignasi; Domingo-Dalmau, Anna; Sole, Josep Maria; Arasa, Raul; Picanyol, Miquel; Ángeles Gonzalez-Serrano, M.°; Masdeu, Marta

2016-04-01

Climate Change affects weather patterns and modifies meteorological extreme events like tropical cyclones, heavy rainfalls, dry events, extreme temperatures, etc. The aim of this study is to show the Climate Change projections over Nicaragua for the period 2010-2040 focused on precipitation and temperature. In order to obtain the climate change signal, the results obtained by modelling a past period (1980-2009) were compared with the ones obtained by modelling a future period (2010-2040). The modelling method was based on a dynamical downscaling, coupling global and regional models. The MPI-ESM-MR global climate model was selected due to the better performance over Nicaragua. Moreover, a detailed sensitivity analysis for different parameterizations and schemes of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF-ARW) model was made to minimize the model uncertainty. To evaluate and validate the methodology, a comparison between model outputs and satellite measurements data was realized. The results show an expected increment of the temperature and an increment of the number of days per year with temperatures higher than 35°C. Monthly precipitation patterns will change although annual total precipitation will be similar. In addition, number of dry days are expected to increase.

An initial survey of the cattle grub Dermatobia hominis (L. Jr.) in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Villarino, Mario A; Garcia, Omar; Fussell, Weyman; Preston, Kelly; Wagner, Gale G

2003-12-12

After the civil war and the Hurricane-Mitch disaster, cattlemen in Nicaragua were forced to transport their cattle from lowland areas to higher, dryer areas of the country. These areas are natural ecological niches for the cattle grub Dermatobia hominis (L. Jr.) (Diptera: Cuterebridae). To determine the importance of this infestation, the Agricultural and Livestock-Forestry Ministry selected a central area of Nicaragua to run a pioneer survey program to acquire information about hosts involved, number of cases, treatments applied and general knowledge of 42 farmers about the life cycle of the parasite. The subjects were either farm owners or farm managers. Ninety-five percentage of the farms indicated cases of D. hominis infestation in their animals, with cattle being the most affected host (100% of the affected farms). There was poor understanding of the D. hominis life cycle, vectors and control methods. A misuse of insecticides for the treatment of larval infestation by D. hominis was indicated.

Migration, multiple sexual partnerships, and sexual concurrency in the Garífuna population of Honduras

PubMed Central

Gandhi, Anisha D.; Pettifor, Audrey; Barrington, Clare; Marshall, Stephen W.; Behets, Frieda; Guardado, Maria Elena; Farach, Nasim; Ardón, Elvia; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2015-01-01

The Garífuna, an ethnic minority group in Honduras, have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Previous research suggests that migration and high rates of multiple sexual partnerships are major drivers of the epidemic. Using data from a 2012 population-based survey, we assessed whether temporary migration was associated with 1) multiple sexual partnerships and 2) sexual concurrency among Garífuna men and women in Honduras. Among both men and women, temporary migration in the last year was associated with an increased likelihood of multiple sexual partnerships and with concurrency, though only the association between migration and multiple sexual partnerships among men was statistically significant (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.4). Migration may contribute to HIV/STI vulnerability among Garífuna men and women via increases in these sexual risk behaviors. Research conducted among men and women at elevated risk of HIV should continue to incorporate measures of mobility, including history of internal migration. PMID:26242612

Migration, Multiple Sexual Partnerships, and Sexual Concurrency in the Garífuna Population of Honduras.

PubMed

Gandhi, Anisha D; Pettifor, Audrey; Barrington, Clare; Marshall, Stephen W; Behets, Frieda; Guardado, Maria Elena; Farach, Nasim; Ardón, Elvia; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2015-09-01

The Garífuna, an ethnic minority group in Honduras, have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Previous research suggests that migration and high rates of multiple sexual partnerships are major drivers of the epidemic. Using data from a 2012 population-based survey, we assessed whether temporary migration was associated with (1) multiple sexual partnerships and (2) sexual concurrency among Garífuna men and women in Honduras. Among both men and women, temporary migration in the last year was associated with an increased likelihood of multiple sexual partnerships and with concurrency, though only the association between migration and multiple sexual partnerships among men was statistically significant (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio 1.7, 95 % CI 1.2-2.4). Migration may contribute to HIV/STI vulnerability among Garífuna men and women via increases in these sexual risk behaviors. Research conducted among men and women at elevated risk of HIV should continue to incorporate measures of mobility, including history of internal migration.

The comparative and cost-effectiveness of HPV-based cervical cancer screening algorithms in El Salvador.

PubMed

Campos, Nicole G; Maza, Mauricio; Alfaro, Karla; Gage, Julia C; Castle, Philip E; Felix, Juan C; Cremer, Miriam L; Kim, Jane J

2015-08-15

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in El Salvador. Utilizing data from the Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador (CAPE) demonstration project, we assessed the health and economic impact of HPV-based screening and two different algorithms for the management of women who test HPV-positive, relative to existing Pap-based screening. We calibrated a mathematical model of cervical cancer to epidemiologic data from El Salvador and compared three screening algorithms for women aged 30-65 years: (i) HPV screening every 5 years followed by referral to colposcopy for HPV-positive women (Colposcopy Management [CM]); (ii) HPV screening every 5 years followed by treatment with cryotherapy for eligible HPV-positive women (Screen and Treat [ST]); and (iii) Pap screening every 2 years followed by referral to colposcopy for Pap-positive women (Pap). Potential harms and complications associated with overtreatment were not assessed. Under base case assumptions of 65% screening coverage, HPV-based screening was more effective than Pap, reducing cancer risk by ∼ 60% (Pap: 50%). ST was the least costly strategy, and cost $2,040 per year of life saved. ST remained the most attractive strategy as visit compliance, costs, coverage, and test performance were varied. We conclude that a screen-and-treat algorithm within an HPV-based screening program is very cost-effective in El Salvador, with a cost-effectiveness ratio below per capita GDP. © 2015 UICC.

Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador

PubMed Central

Corbett, A. Michelle; Bodnar, Gloria; Rodriguez, Karla; Guevara, Carmen E

2009-01-01

HIV prevention researchers have increasingly advocated structural interventions that address factors in the social, political and economic context to reduce disparities of HIV/AIDS among disadvantaged populations. This paper draws on data collected in three different types of low-income communities (n=6) in the San Salvador metropolitan area in El Salvador. Nine focus group discussions were conducted between January 2006 - July 2007, six with community leaders, and three with crack cocaine users, as well as in-depth interviews with 20 crack users and crack dealers. We explore opportunities and barriers to the implementation of a community-level, structural intervention. We first analyze the different forms of leadership, and other community resources including existing HIV prevention activities that could potentially be used to address the related problems of crack use and HIV in the communities, and the structural factors that may act as barriers to capitalizing on communities’ strengths in interventions. Each of the communities studied demonstrated different resources that stem from each community's unique history and geographic location. HIV testing and prevention resources varied widely among the communities, with resources concentrated in one Older Central community despite a strong need in all communities. In many communities, fear of gang violence and non-responsiveness by government agencies to communities’ needs have discouraged community organizing. In the discussion, we offer concrete suggestions for developing and implementing structural interventions to reduce HIV risks that use communities’ different but complementary resources. PMID:19910099

[The health system of El Salvador].

PubMed

Acosta, Mónica; Sáenz, María del Rocío; Gutiérrez, Blanca; Bermúdez, Juan Luis

2011-01-01

This paper describes the health conditions in El Salvador and the main característics of the Salvadoran health system, including its structure and coverage, its financial sources, the physical, material and human resources available, the stewardship functions developed by the Ministry of Public Health, and the participation of health care users in the evaluation of the system. It also discusses the most recent policy innovations including the approval of the Law for the Creation of the National Health System, which intends to expand coverage, reduce health inequalities and improve the coordination of public health institutions.

Crustal and mantle shear velocity structure of Costa Rica and Nicaragua from ambient noise and teleseismic Rayleigh wave tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harmon, Nicholas; de la Cruz, Mariela Salas; Rychert, Catherine Ann; Abers, Geoffrey; Fischer, Karen

2013-11-01

The Costa Rica-Nicaragua subduction zone shows systematic along strike variation in arc chemistry, geology, tectonics and seismic velocity and attenuation, presenting global extremes within a few hundred kilometres. In this study, we use teleseismic and ambient noise derived surface wave tomography to produce a 3-D shear velocity model of the region. We use the 48 stations of the TUCAN array, and up to 94 events for the teleseismic Rayleigh wave inversion, and 18 months of continuous data for cross correlation to estimate Green's functions from ambient noise. In the shallow crust (0-15 km) we observe low-shear velocities directly beneath the arc volcanoes (<3 km s-1) and higher velocities in the backarc of Nicaragua. The anomalies below the volcanoes are likely caused by heated crust, intruded by magma. We estimate crustal thickness by picking the depth to the 4 km s-1 velocity contour. We infer >40-km-thick crust beneath the Costa Rican arc and the Nicaraguan Highlands, thinned crust (˜20 km) beneath the Nicaraguan Depression, and increasing crustal thickness in the backarc region, consistent with receiver function studies. The region of thinned, seismically slow and likely weakened crust beneath the arc in Nicaragua is not localizing deformation associated with oblique subduction. At mantle depths (55-120 km depth) we observe lower shear velocities (up to 3 per cent) beneath the Nicaraguan arc and backarc than beneath Costa Rica. Our low-shear velocity anomaly beneath Nicaragua is in the same location as a low-shear velocity anomaly and displaced towards the backarc from the high VP/VS anomaly observed in body wave tomography. The lower shear velocity beneath Nicaragua may indicate higher melt content in the mantle perhaps due to higher volatile flux from the slab or higher temperature. Finally, we observe a linear high-velocity region at depths >120 km parallel to the trench, which is consistent with the subducting slab.

Opportunistic Breast Cancer Education and Screening in Rural Honduras

PubMed Central

Kennedy, Linda S.; Bejarano, Suyapa A.; Onega, Tracy L.; Stenquist, Derek S.

2016-01-01

Purpose In Honduras, the breast cancer burden is high, and access to women’s health services is low. This project tested the connection of community-based breast cancer detection with clinical diagnosis and treatment in a tightly linked and quickly facilitated format. Methods The Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth College partnered with the Honduran cancer hospital La Liga Contra el Cancer to expand a cervical cancer screening program, which included self-breast exam (SBE) education and clinical breast exams (CBEs), to assess patient attitudes about and uptake of breast cancer education and screening services. The cervical cancer screening event was held in Honduras in 2013; 476 women from 31 villages attended. Results Half of the women attending elected to receive a CBE; most had concerns about lactation. Clinicians referred 12 women with abnormal CBEs to La Liga Contra el Cancer for additional evaluation at no cost. All referred patients were compliant with the recommendation and received follow-up care. One abnormal follow-up mammogram/ultrasound result was negative on biopsy. One woman with an aggressive phyllodes tumor had a mastectomy within 60 days. Multimodal education about breast cancer screening maximized delivery of women’s health services in a low-tech rural setting. Conclusion The addition of opportunistic breast cancer education and screening to a cervical cancer screening event resulted in high uptake of services at low additional cost to program sponsors. Such novel strategies to maximize delivery of women’s health services in low-resource settings, where there is no access to mammography, may result in earlier detection of breast cancer. Close follow-up of positive results with referral to appropriate treatment is essential. PMID:28717699

Species limits in the Morelet's Alligator lizard (Anguidae: Gerrhonotinae).

PubMed

Solano-Zavaleta, Israel; Nieto-Montes de Oca, Adrián

2018-03-01

The widely distributed, Central American anguid lizard Mesaspis moreletii is currently recognized as a polytypic species with five subspecies (M. m. fulvus, M. m. moreletii, M. m. rafaeli, M. m. salvadorensis, and M. m. temporalis). We reevaluated the species limits within Mesaspis moreletii using DNA sequences of one mitochondrial and three nuclear genes. The multi-locus data set included samples of all of the subspecies of M. moreletii, the other species of Mesaspis in Central America (M. cuchumatanus and M. monticola), and some populations assignable to M. moreletii but of uncertain subspecific identity from Honduras and Nicaragua. We first used a tree-based method for delimiting species based on mtDNA data to identify potential evolutionary independent lineages, and then analized the multilocus dataset with two species delimitation methods that use the multispecies coalescent model to evaluate different competing species delimitation models: the Bayes factors species delimitation method (BFD) implemented in ∗ BEAST, and the Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BP&P) method. Our results suggest that M. m. moreletii, M. m. rafaeli, M. m. salvadorensis, and M. m. temporalis represent distinct evolutionary independent lineages, and that the populations of uncertain status from Honduras and Nicaragua may represent additional undescribed species. Our results also suggest that M. m. fulvus is a synonym of M. m. moreletii. The biogeography of the Central American lineages of Mesaspis is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Capital and Innovative Pedagogy: A Case Study among Indigenous Communities in Mexico and Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregorcic, Marta

2009-01-01

This article introduces case studies of innovative approaches to pedagogy among indigenous Mayan communities in Chiapas (Mexico) and Lencan communities in Intibuca (Honduras). Innovative approaches to researching alternative theories and practices of pedagogy are used by the author to develop an epistemology of critical pedagogy and its potential…

Intercultural-Bilingual Education for an Interethnic-Plurilingual Society? The Case of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeland, Jane

2003-01-01

Latin American models of "intercultural-bilingual" education may be inappropriate for multilingual, interethnic regions such as Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast, where five indigenous and Afro-Caribbean minorities interact in overlapping territories. Examination of one such program and of Coast people's complex linguistic and cultural…

The conservation status of the herpetofauna of Honduras

PubMed Central

2003-01-01

The conservation status of the members of the Honduran herpetofauna is discussed. Based on current and projected future human population growth, it is posited that the entire herpetofauna is endangered. The known herpetofauna of Honduras currently consists of 334 species, including 117 amphibians and 217 reptiles (including six marine reptiles, which are not discussed in this paper). The greatest number of species occur at low and moderate elevations in lowland and/or mesic forest formations, in the Northern and Southern Cordilleras of the Serranía, and the ecophysiographic areas of the Caribbean coastal plain and foothills. Slightly more than one-third of the herpetofauna consists of endemic species or those otherwise restricted to Nuclear Middle America. Honduras is an area severely affected by amphibian population decline, with close to one-half of the amphibian fauna threatened, endangered, or extinct. The principal threats to the survival of members of the herpetofauna are uncontrolled human population growth and its corollaries, habitat alteration and destruction, pollution, pest and predator control, overhunting, and overexploitation. No Honduran amphibians or reptiles are entirely free of human impact. A gauge is used to estimate environmental vulnerability of amphibian species, using measures of extent of geographic range, extent of ecological distribution, and degree of specialization of reproductive mode. A similar gauge is developed for reptiles, using the first two measures for amphibian vulnerability, and a third scale for the degree of human persecution. Based on these gauges, amphibians and reptiles show an actual range of Environmental Vulnerability Scores (EVS) almost as broad as the theoretical range. Based on the actual EVS, both amphibian and reptilian species are divided into three categories of low, medium, and high vulnerability. There are 24 low vulnerability amphibians and 47 reptiles, 43 medium vulnerability amphibians and 111 reptiles

Situation Report - El Salvador, Republic of Korea, and South Africa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in three foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are El Salvador, Republic of Korea, and South Africa. Information is provided under two topics, general background and family planning situation, where appropriate and if it is available. General background covers…

[Diagnosis of capacity to perform essential public health functions in the Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the Mexican states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo].

PubMed

González Block, Miguel Ángel; González Robledo, Luz María; Cuadra Hernández, Silvia Magali

2013-04-01

Characterize the capacity of public and private institutions in the Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the Mexican states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo to perform essential public health functions (EPHFs). An online survey of 83 organizations in Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Mexican states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo was conducted to learn about their capacity to perform each of the 11 EPHFs. The results were validated in a workshop with representatives of the ministries of health from the seven countries and the two participating Mexican states. High levels of performance capacity were found most often for EPHF 1 (monitoring, evaluation, and analysis of health status of the population), EPHF 2.1.1 (surveillance, research, and control of risks and threats to public health from infectious diseases), and EPHF 5 (policy development and health planning). The greatest weakness was found in EPHF 2.1.2 (surveillance, research, and monitoring of noninfectious diseases). Asymmetries in EPHF performance within each country mainly revealed weaknesses in the laboratory and public health research functions. In the countries and territories analyzed, there is a need to improve strategic performance in most of the EPHFs, as well as to strengthen infrastructure, upgrade equipment, and further develop human resources at both the strategic and the tactical levels. A regional approach should be used to take advantage of the different levels of capacity, with a view to greater strengthening and enhanced technical support and cooperation.

Mapping of nutrition and sectoral policies addressing malnutrition in Latin America.

PubMed

Tirado, María Cristina; Galicia, Luis; Husby, Hannah M; Lopez, Jaime; Olamendi, Stephania; Pia Chaparro, Maria; González, María A; Grajeda, Rubén

2016-08-01

To map existing policies addressing malnutrition in all its forms in Latin America and identify gaps in enabling environments supporting the five priority lines of action outlined in the World Health Organization Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (CIP) approved in 2014. This descriptive study consisted of a systematic Internet search for and mapping of publicly available nutrition-related and sectoral policies already in place to address malnutrition in all its forms in 18 Latin American countries (Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay). The policies were described in documents retrieved from the websites of ministries of health, education, agriculture, labor, and development; the national congress; and other government agencies. All 18 countries had relevant policies to address malnutrition, especially undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, but only a few had policies to address overweight and obesity. Nutrition actions were incorporated in food and nutrition security and social protection policies in all 18 countries, and were part of education, environment, agricultural, development, and/or employment policies in some countries. Information on human and financial resources assigned to nutrition was not available through the search strategies used in the study. All 18 countries included in this review had established enabling environments to support CIP implementation. However, each of the 18 countries needs to develop integrated policies for the promotion of nutrition and prevention of noncommunicable diseases through cross-sector involvement and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

[The Latin American Psychiatrist: profile and degree of satisfaction with the specialty].

PubMed

Córdoba, R N; Cano, J F; Alzate, M; Olarte, A F; Salazar, I; Cendales, R

2009-01-01

The primary objective is to describe the profile of the psychiatric members of a national psychiatry association in 19 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela). Secondary objectives are to evaluate job satisfaction and examine the factors related with job satisfaction. A total of 8,028 psychiatrists, members of a national psychiatry association in Latin America, were identified. A probabilistic stratified sample of 2465 psychiatrists was designed and they were asked to fill out an anonymous electronic survey. A sample of 1,292 Latin American psychiatrists was obtained between April 2005 and July 2006 (52.4% of the designed sample). Response rates were superior to 70% in 11 countries. Mean age was 48.2 years, mean experience was 18.2 years; 63.8% were male and 99.9% of the surveyed psychiatrists were working as psychiatrists. Most of the respondents declared being satisfied with their quality of life (70.8%), a slightly larger percentage reported they were satisfied with their work (86.4%). However, 35.3% of the psychiatrists reported being unsatisfied with the income perceived for their economic activity as psychiatrists. Factors associated with job dissatisfaction are described. In Latin America, there is lower satisfaction with the incomes obtained from psychiatric practice and with the quality of life level. Nonetheless, the level of commitment with the profession in itself and job satisfaction remain similar to those reported in developed countries.

Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of metabolic syndrome in school-aged children and their parents in nine Mesoamerican countries.

PubMed

Villamor, Eduardo; Finan, Caitlin C; Ramirez-Zea, Manuel; Roman, Ana Victoria

2017-02-01

To ascertain the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of cardiometabolic risk factors in adults and school-aged children from Mesoamerica. Cross-sectional study with convenience sampling. In adults, metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria. In children, we calculated a continuous sex- and age-standardized metabolic risk score using variables corresponding to adult ATP III criteria. Metabolic syndrome prevalence in adults and risk score distribution in children were compared across levels of sociodemographic characteristics with use of Poisson and linear regression, respectively. Capital cities of Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, the Mexican State of Chiapas (Tuxtla Gutiérrez city) and Belize. Families (n 267), comprising one child aged 7-12 years and their biological parents. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 37·9 % among women and 35·3 % among men. The most common component was low HDL cholesterol, 83·3 % in women and 78·9 % in men. Prevalence was positively associated with age. In women, metabolic syndrome was inversely related to education level whereas in men it was positively associated with household food security and height, after adjustment. The metabolic risk score in children was inversely related to parental height, and positively associated with height-for-age and with having parents with the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in Mesoamerica. The burden of metabolic risk factors disproportionately affects women and children of lower socio-economic status and men of higher socio-economic status.

Population pressures in Latin America. [Updated reprint].

PubMed

Merrick, T W

1991-04-01

This publication examines the main demographic changes in Latin America since World War II, and considers their social and economic impact on the region. The paper looks at the following demographic trends: population growth, fertility, death rate, internal migration, international migration, and age structure. It also examines other factors such as marriage and family structure, and employment and education. Furthermore, the publication provides a discussion of the relationship between population growth and economic development from both a neo-Malthusian and Structuralist view. Finally, the paper considers the region's current population policies and future population prospects. From 1950-65, annual population growth averaged 2.8%, which decreased moderately to 2.4% from 1965-85. The report identified 3 population growth patterns in the region: 1) countries which experienced early and gradual declines in birth and death rates and generally lower population growth rates (the group includes Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, with Chile and Panama also closely fitting the description); 2) countries which underwent rapid declines in birth rate during the 1950s and which began experiencing declines in the birth rate after 1960 (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela, with Ecuador and Peru as borderline cases); and 3) countries which didn't begin to experience declines in mortality rates until relatively late and which lag behind in fertility declines (Bolivia, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Although population growth has slowed and will continue to fall, UN projections do not expect the population to stabilize until late in the 21st Century.

Colored Height and Shaded Relief, Central America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, southern Mexico and parts of Cuba and Jamaica are all seen in this image from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. The dominant feature of the northern part of Central America is the Sierra Madre Range, spreading east from Mexico between the narrow Pacific coastal plain and the limestone lowland of the Yucatan Peninsula. Parallel hill ranges sweep across Honduras and extend south, past the Caribbean Mosquito Coast to lakes Managua and Nicaragua. The Cordillera Central rises to the south, gradually descending to Lake Gatun and the Isthmus of Panama. A highly active volcanic belt runs along the Pacific seaboard from Mexico to Costa Rica.

High-quality satellite imagery of Central America has, until now, been difficult to obtain due to persistent cloud cover in this region of the world. The ability of SRTM to penetrate clouds and make three-dimensional measurements has allowed the generation of the first complete high-resolution topographic map of the entire region. This map was used to generate the image.

Two visualization methods were combined to produce the image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the north-south direction. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow, red, and magenta, to white at the highest elevations.

For an annotated version of this image, please select Figure 1, below: [figure removed for brevity, see original site] (Large image: 9 mB jpeg)

Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. The mission used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was

Along and across arc geochemical variations in NW Central America: Evidence for involvement of lithospheric pyroxenite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heydolph, Ken; Hoernle, Kaj; Hauff, Folkmar; Bogaard, Paul van den; Portnyagin, Maxim; Bindeman, Ilya; Garbe-Schönberg, Dieter

2012-05-01

The Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) has been the subject of intensive research over the past few years, leading to a variety of distinct models for the origin of CAVA lavas with various source components. We present a new model for the NW Central American Volcanic Arc based on a comprehensive new geochemical data set (major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-O isotope ratios) of mafic volcanic front (VF), behind the volcanic front (BVF) and back-arc (BA) lava and tephra samples from NW Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Additionally we present data on subducting Cocos Plate sediments (from DSDP Leg 67 Sites 495 and 499) and igneous oceanic crust (from DSDP Leg 67 Site 495), and Guatemalan (Chortis Block) granitic and metamorphic continental basement. We observe systematic variations in trace element and isotopic compositions both along and across the arc. The data require at least three different endmembers for the volcanism in NW Central America. (1) The NW Nicaragua VF lavas require an endmember with very high Ba/(La, Th) and U/Th, relatively radiogenic Sr, Nd and Hf but unradiogenic Pb and low δ18O, reflecting a largely serpentinite-derived fluid/hydrous melt flux from the subducting slab into a depleted N-MORB type of mantle wedge. (2) The Guatemala VF and BVF mafic lavas require an enriched endmember with low Ba/(La, Th), U/Th, high δ18O and radiogenic Sr and Pb but unradiogenic Nd and Hf isotope ratios. Correlations of Hf with both Nd and Pb isotopic compositions are not consistent with this endmember being subducted sediments. Granitic samples from the Chiquimula Plutonic Complex in Guatemala have the appropriate isotopic composition to serve as this endmember, but the large amounts of assimilation required to explain the isotope data are not consistent with the basaltic compositions of the volcanic rocks. In addition, mixing regressions on Nd vs. Hf and the Sr and O isotope plots do not go through the data. Therefore, we propose that this

Disparities in HIV Screening among Pregnant Women – El Salvador, 2011

PubMed Central

El Bcheraoui, Charbel; Nieto Gómez, Ana I.; Dubón Abrego, María A.; Gagnier, Marielle C.; Sutton, Madeline Y.; Mokdad, Ali H.

2013-01-01

Objectives To provide an accurate estimate of antenatal HIV screening and its determinants among pregnant women in El Salvador and help local authorities make informed decisions for targeted interventions around mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Methods A total sample of 4,730 women aged 15-49 years were interviewed from a random sample of 3,625 households. We collected data on antenatal care services, including HIV screening, during last pregnancy through a pre-established questionnaire. We used a backward elimination multivariate logistic regression model to examine the association between HIV screening and sociodemographic and health care-related factors. Results A total of 2,929 women were included in this analysis. About 98% of participants reported receiving antenatal care, but only 83% of these reported being screened for HIV. Screening was lower in geographic areas with higher HIV incidence and ranged from 69.1% among women who were not seen by a physician during antenatal care, to 93.7% among those who attended or completed college. Odds for screening varied also by age, employment status, household economic expenditure, possession of health care coverage, health care settings, and number of antenatal care visits. Conclusions We found disparities in HIV screening during antenatal care at the environmental, social, demographic, and structural levels despite a high uptake of antenatal care in El Salvador. Our findings should urge health authorities to tailor and enhance current strategies implemented to eliminate MTCT and reduce inequities and HIV morbidity among women in El Salvador. PMID:24349356

[Diagnostic studies in the planning process of human resources: the Central American experience].

PubMed

de Canales, F; Martínez Chopen, O; Tercero Talavera, I; González, G

1987-01-01

In this paper the authors analyze various aspects of one of the essential stages in the process of planning human resources--diagnostic studies and research which will serve as a starting point. They stress the role of diagnostic personnel studies in formulating human resources policies and planning, and describe the phases to be followed in their execution, according to the results obtained in the three Central American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) in which the studies were completed. The paper concludes with a summary of the process in the three countries.

Genetic Diversity of Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) in Nicaragua as Estimated by Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

PubMed Central

Geleta, Mulatu; Herrera, Isabel; Monzón, Arnulfo; Bryngelsson, Tomas

2012-01-01

Coffea arabica L. (arabica coffee), the only tetraploid species in the genus Coffea, represents the majority of the world's coffee production and has a significant contribution to Nicaragua's economy. The present paper was conducted to determine the genetic diversity of arabica coffee in Nicaragua for its conservation and breeding values. Twenty-six populations that represent eight varieties in Nicaragua were investigated using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 24 alleles were obtained from the 12 loci investigated across 260 individual plants. The total Nei's gene diversity (H T) and the within-population gene diversity (H S) were 0.35 and 0.29, respectively, which is comparable with that previously reported from other countries and regions. Among the varieties, the highest diversity was recorded in the variety Catimor. Analysis of variance (AMOVA) revealed that about 87% of the total genetic variation was found within populations and the remaining 13% differentiate the populations (F ST = 0.13; P < 0.001). The variation among the varieties was also significant. The genetic variation in Nicaraguan coffee is significant enough to be used in the breeding programs, and most of this variation can be conserved through ex situ conservation of a low number of populations from each variety. PMID:22701376

Unsuspected Dengue as a Cause of Acute Febrile Illness in Children and Adults in Western Nicaragua.

PubMed

Reller, Megan E; de Silva, Aravinda M; Miles, Jeremy J; Jadi, Ramesh S; Broadwater, Anne; Walker, Katie; Woods, Christopher; Mayorga, Orlando; Matute, Armando

2016-10-01

Dengue is an emerging infectious disease of global significance. Suspected dengue, especially in children in Nicaragua's heavily-urbanized capital of Managua, has been well documented, but unsuspected dengue among children and adults with undifferentitated fever has not. To prospectively study dengue in semi-urban and rural western Nicaragua, we obtained epidemiologic and clinical data as well as acute and convalescent sera (2 to 4 weeks after onset of illness) from a convenience sample (enrollment Monday to Saturday daytime to early evening) of consecutively enrolled patients (n = 740) aged ≥ 1 years presenting with acute febrile illness. We tested paired sera for dengue IgG and IgM and serotyped dengue virus using reverse transcriptase-PCR. Among 740 febrile patients enrolled, 90% had paired sera. We found 470 (63.5%) were seropositive for dengue at enrollment. The dengue seroprevalance increased with age and reached >90% in people over the age of 20 years. We identified acute dengue (serotypes 1 and 2) in 38 (5.1%) patients. Only 8.1% (3/37) of confirmed cases were suspected clinically. Dengue is an important and largely unrecognized cause of fever in rural western Nicaragua. Since Zika virus is transmitted by the same vector and has been associated with severe congenital infections, the population we studied is at particular risk for being devastated by the Zika epidemic that has now reached Central America.

Decentralization and Privatization of Education in El Salvador: Assessing the Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuellar-Marchelli, Helga

2003-01-01

Describes decentralization and privatization policies in El Salvador's education reform plan and assesses their potential success and limitations. The EDUCO program, in which nonprofit parents' associations in poor rural communities administer community schools, has expanded rural access to education. However, EDUCO also has potential to…

Scarcity and Survival in El Salvador. Grades Six to Twelve.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanford Univ., CA. Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education.

This unit, designed for use with students in grades 6-12, has two purposes: (1) to inform teachers and students about social and economic conditions in rural El Salvador; and (2) to teach students how to analyze the indicators of such social and economic conditions. The six included lessons incorporate reading, graphing, and critical thinking…

Education and the Production of Diasporic Citizens in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyrness, Andrea; Sepúlveda, Enrique, III

2015-01-01

In this article, Dyrness and Sepúlveda argue that in El Salvador, young people are participants in a diasporic social imaginary that connects them with Salvadorans and other Latinos in the United States--before they have ever left the country. The authors explore how this transnational relationship manifests in two school communities in San…

Television, Background Characteristics and Learning in El Salvador's Educational Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornik, Robert C.

The use of instructional television (ITV) as part of an educational reform in grades 7, 8 and 9 El Salvador had a positive effect upon learning. This was achieved despite inequities in cognitive skills related to student background factors and inequities in resource distribution. In selected schools, 75% of the variance in cognitive skills in…

Using Technology and Mentorship to Improve Teacher Pedagogy and Educational Opportunities in Rural Nicaragua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindenberg, Anni; Henderson, Kathryn I.; Durán, Leah

2016-01-01

This study used ethnographic methods to understand factors influencing the implementation of an educational intervention combining short math content videos with teacher trainings and mentorship in high-poverty primary schools in Nicaragua with implications for rural school reform. Educators in rural schools in Latin American face serious…

Situation Report--Antigua, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in nine foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are: Antigua, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. Information is provided under two topics, general background and family planning…

First report of Dolabra nepheliae associated with corky bark disease of Rambutan and Pulasan in Honduras

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L., Sapindaceae) was first introduced into Honduras in 1927 but commercial production was not started until after 1980 when cultivation of pulasan (N. mutabile Blume) was initiated. In the last decade these crops have become popular as exotic fruit for export to North A...

Seedborne Pathogenic Fungi in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. INTA Rojo) in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Marcenaro, Delfia; Valkonen, Jari P T

2016-01-01

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume with high nutritional value. In Nicaragua, certified healthy seeds of local bean varieties are not available, and seedborne fungi have gained little attention. Here, were surveyed seedborne pathogenic fungi in an important local bean cultivar, 'INTA Rojo'. Beans grown in the four main production areas in Nicaragua (Boaco, Carazo, Estelí, Matagalpa) for future use as seed stock were sampled from four seed storehouses and six seed lots. A total of 133 fungal strains were isolated from surface-sterilized beans and inoculated to healthy lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) under controlled conditions. Eighty-seven isolates caused symptoms of varying severity in the seedlings, including discoloration, necrotic lesions, cankers, rot, and lethal necrosis. Pathogenic isolates were divided into eight phenotypically distinguishable groups based on morphology and growth characteristics on artificial growth medium, and further identified by analysis of the internal transcribed spacer sequences (ITS1 and ITS2) of the ribosomal RNA genes. The pathogenic isolates belonged to eight genera. Fusarium spp. (F. chlamydosporum, F. equiseti, F. incarnatum), Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Penicillium citrinum were the most damaging and common fungi found in the seed lots. Furthermore, Corynespora cassiicola, Colletotrichum capsisi, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Aspergillus flavus, and Diaporthe sp. (Phomopsis) were seedborne in cultivar 'INTA Rojo' and found to be pathogenic to bean seedlings. This study reveals, for the first time, many seedborne pathogenic fungi in beans in Nicaragua; furthermore, prior to this study, little information was available concerning F. equiseti, F. incarnatum, L. theobromae, C. cassiicola, and Diaporthe spp. as seedborne pathogens of common bean. Our results lay the basis for developing diagnostic tools for seed health inspection and for further study of the epidemiology

Identification of Focal Mechanisms of Seisms Occurring in the San Salvador Volcano-Ilopango Lake Area Between 1994 and March 2005

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maria Mendez Martinez, Luz de; Portillo, Mercy

2009-04-19

We studied the geographic area located in the central part of El Salvador, between the San Salvador Volcano (Quezaltepec) and Ilopango Lake. Its latitude is between 13 deg. 36' and 13 deg. 54', and longitude is between -89 deg. 18' and -88 deg. 57'. This area is directly affected by the WNW axis, the most prominent weak tectonic system in the region. Our research aimed to determine the focal mechanisms of seisms occurring in the studied area between 1994 and March 2005. Our analysis provided information about displacement types of the geological faults, using the wave impulse P method andmore » computer applications ARCGIS and SEISAN, with the subroutine FOCMEC. Information of the studied seisms was obtained from the National Service of Territorial Studies (SNET) database. Geographic models used in the preparation of maps are from the geographic information system of the School of Physics at the University of El Salvador. The 37 focal mechanisms on the map of faults were identified in digital seismographs to determinate the arrival polarity of the wave P for each seism station. Data from the focal mechanisms were analyzed and correlated with their replications. The analysis allowed us to identify evidences to consider the fault continuity not reported by the last geological mission in El Salvador conducted in the 1970s. The fault continuity is located northwest of the studied geographical area, between San Salvador City and the San Salvador Volcano. The compression and strain axes for this area are two main horizontal force axes. The average orientation for the strain axis is NNE-SSW, and WNW-SEE for the compression axis. There is also important seismic activity in the Ilopango Lake and surrounding area. However, data did not allow us to make any inference. The tensors distribution resulted in a high dispersion corresponding to typical fauces models.« less

[Professional Burnout Syndrome of intensive care physicians from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil].

PubMed

Tironi, Márcia Oliveira Staffa; Nascimento Sobrinho, Carlito Lopes; Barros, Dalton de Souza; Reis, Eduardo José Farias Borges; Marques Filho, Edson Silva; Almeida, Alessandro; Bitencourt, Almir; Feitosa, Ana Isabela Ramos; Neves, Flávia Serra; Mota, Igor Carlos Cunha; França, Juliana; Borges, Lorena Guimarães; Lordão, Manuela Barreto de Jesus; Trindade, Maria Valverde; Teles, Marcelo Santos; Almeida, Mônica Bastos T; Souza, Ygor Gomes de

2009-01-01

Describe prevalence of the Burnout syndrome in intensive care physicians of Salvador, associated to demographic data and aspects of the work environment (psychological demand and job control). This cross sectional study has investigated the association between work conditions and Burnout Syndrome in a population of 297 Intensive Care Physicians from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. An individual, self-report questionnaire evaluated the physicians' psychological aspects of work, using the demand-control model (Job Content Questionnaire) and their mental health, using the Maslash Burnout Inventory (MBI). The study found work overload,a high proportion of on duty physicians and low income for the hours worked. Prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome was 7.4% and it was more closely associated with aspects of the job's psychological demand than with its control. Physicians under great stress (high demand and low control) presented prevalence of the Bornout Syndrome 10.2 times higher than those under low stress (low demand and high control) jobs.

HTLV-I in the general population of Salvador, Brazil: a city with African ethnic and sociodemographic characteristics.

PubMed

Dourado, Inês; Alcantara, Luiz C J; Barreto, Maurício L; da Gloria Teixeira, Maria; Galvão-Castro, Bernardo

2003-12-15

The city of Salvador has the highest prevalence of HTLV-I among blood donors in Brazil. To study the prevalence of HTLV-I among the general population of Salvador, 30 "sentinel surveillance areas" were selected for the investigation of various infectious diseases, and 1385 individuals within these areas were surveyed according to a simple random sample procedure. ELISA was used to screen plasma samples for antibodies to HTLV-I, and the positive samples were tested by a confirmatory assay (Western blotting). The overall prevalence of HTLV-I was 1.76% (23/1385). Infection rates were 1.2% for males and 2.0% for females. Specific prevalence demonstrated an increasing linear trend with age. No one younger than 13 years of age was infected. Multivariate analysis estimated adjusted odds ratios for the association of HTLV-I with age of 9.7 (3.3; 30.4) for females and 12.3 (1.47; 103.1) for males. Less education and income might be associated with HTLV-I infection in females. Phylogenetic analysis of the long terminal repeat fragments showed that most of the samples belonged to the Latin American cluster of the Transcontinental subgroup (Cosmopolitan subtype). For the entire city of Salvador, it is estimated that approximately 40000 individuals are infected with HTLV-I. Our results suggest multiple post-Colombian introductions of African HTLV-Ia strains in Salvador.

Intercultural bilingual education in Nicaragua: Contextualisation for improving the quality of education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valiente Catter, Teresa

2011-12-01

For the past 35 years, various models of intercultural bilingual education (IBE) have been implemented in Latin American schools and adult education. While Spanish is the official language in Nicaragua, many indigenous languages, such as Miskito and Sumo-Mayangna, are also spoken - especially in the Atlantic coastal region. The Nicaraguan Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport recognises the need for a flexible curriculum that reflects individual local and regional linguistic and socio-cultural characteristics, through the use of mother tongue and second language learning. The contextualisation model applied in the Atlantic coastal region of Nicaragua is therefore based on the use of a languages strategy in preparing textbooks and basic technical materials with an IBE approach, as part of the process of improving the quality of education. Thus intercultural communication is enhanced, and the need to strengthen the systematic teaching of languages, differentiating between mother tongue, second language and foreign language, is recognised. As well as explaining the contextualisation process in detail, this article discusses the conceptual differences between intercultural bilingual education (IBE) and bilingual intercultural education (BIE). The paper concludes with several recommendations for the further development of BIE in Latin America.

Transmitted drug resistance and type of infection in newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Honduras.

PubMed

Murillo, Wendy; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela; Morales, Sonia; Monterroso, Edgar; Paredes, Mayte; Dobbs, Trudy; Parekh, Bharat S; Albert, Jan; Rivera, Ivette Lorenzana de

2010-12-01

Transmitted drug resistance (TDR) reduces the efficacy of antiretroviral treatment and is a public health concern. To gain insight in the epidemiology of TDR in Honduras by evaluating the amount of TDR in a representative sample of newly diagnosed individuals and by determining whether these are recent or established infections. Two hundred treatment-naïve, newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals representing different population groups (general population, Garifunas ethnic group, female sex workers and men who have sex with men) and different geographic regions were enrolled during April 2004-April 2007. The HIV-1 pol gene was sequenced to identify drug-resistant mutations and TDR was scored as recommended by the WHO. Specimens were classified as recent or established infections using the BED assay. Among 200 samples analyzed from Honduran patients the prevalence of TDR was 7% (95% CI: 3.9-11.5%), 5% for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), 3% for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and 0.5% for protease inhibitors (PIs). Testing of these samples with the BED assay revealed that 12% of the specimens were associated with recent infections. TDR was significantly more common in specimens with recent infection (21%) than established infection (5%) (p=0.016). The prevalence of TDR in Honduras was moderate (7%). The percentage of specimens who were recently infected was low (12%), suggesting that late HIV diagnosis is common. The TDR prevalence was higher in recent than in established infections, which may indicate that TDR is increasing over time. The higher prevalence of NNRTI and NRTI mutations as compared to PI mutations is probably due to a broader and longer use of these drugs in Honduras. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

State Approaches Toward Reducing Youth Violence in Honduras and Nicaragua

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

delinquency issues, through the implantation of domestic policies, security reforms, and social programs. This thesis will make use of statistical 13...Flow of U.S Deportations to Central America, DHS .......... 21 Table 3. Statistics of Central American National Police Forces, 2013. ........ 56 Table...Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) MIGOB Ministerio de Gobernación (Ministry of Interior) MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha NGO non

Comparison of early exploration at Platanares (Honduras) and Wairakei (New Zealand)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Truesdell, A.H.; Glover, R.B.; Janik, C.J.; Brown, K.L.; Goff, F.

1989-01-01

Early exploration at Wairakei, New Zealand, is compared with the present state of exploration of Platanares, Honduras. In retrospect, geothermometer temperatures favor Platanares (e.g., 220 vs. 190??C for Na-K-Ca), but two 600-m drill holes encountered lower temperatures (160??C). Wairakei, explored before the advent of chemical geothermometry, also had disappointing early drilling results (but better than Platanares; one of the first six holes hit T > 180??C). The Wairakei drilling program was nevertheless continued at full speed and by well 20 a successful drilling strategy was discovered.

Situation Report--Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Honduras, Irish Republic, Malta, Romania, Spain, U.S.S.R.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in ten foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Honduras, Irish Republic, Malta, Romania, Spain, and the U.S.S.R. Information is provided, where appropriate and available, under two topics, general background and…

Revolution as a care plan: ethnography, nursing and somatic solidarity in Honduras.

PubMed

Pine, Adrienne

2013-12-01

While diagnosis is not within the biomedical scope of a nurse's work, assessment-an inherently ethnographic exercise-is. In Honduras, as in the United States, nurses' proximity with patients, in terms of both time spent at the bedside and shared class identification (embodied as habitus), mean that nurses are often more effective than physicians in assessment and healing. Following the 2009 coup that brought a violently repressive regime to power in Honduras, subjectivation as citizen healers brought many nurses to assess patient health as a function of neoliberal and political violence. This assessment framed radical struggle that required nurses to block political violence with their own bodies as being a necessary part of patient care. Similarly, as ethnographer, I came to share with nurses and other Hondurans certain violent processes of subjectivation (albeit from a privileged subject position) that strengthened my solidarity with them as well as my deeply embodied investment in their care plan of organizing for radical social change. This paper examines the politicizing impact of the 2009 coup on Honduran auxiliary and professional nurses and the ways in which nurse assessment and ethnographic analysis can overlap and combine in somatic and political solidarity with patients and others resisting state and political violence through their bodies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rupture directivity and local site effects: the M7.3 Honduras earthquake of May 23, 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shulman, D.; Mooney, W. D.

2009-12-01

On May 28, 2009, at 2:24 AM local time, a M 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Honduras on the Motagua-Swan Fault System (MSFS), part of the boundary between the North America and Caribbean plates. This plate boundary has an average slip rate of 20 mm/year. This left-lateral earthquake had an average slip of 1.5 m on a 100-km-long near-vertical fault plane (Hayes and Ji, 2009). The hypocenter depth is estimated at 10 km. The main shock caused 130 structures, including homes and office buildings, to collapse or suffer significant damage in northern Honduras. Seven deaths were reported. Due to a lack of recordings in the area, the available documentation of the local effects of this earthquake are the USGS "Did you feel it?" responses and the data collected during our field seismic intensity investigation. We conducted a field investigation in Honduras between May 30 and June 6, 2009, focused on areas with local reports of damage, including the cities of La Ceiba, El Progresso, San Pedro Sula, Puerto Cortes in northern Honduras and the island of Roatan in the Caribbean Sea. The damage ascertained at these five sites shows that the severity of damage did not decrease with distance from the epicenter as predicted by standard attenuation relations. Instead, a concentration of damage was observed in El Progresso, approximately 75 km directly south from the SW end of the rupture and 160 km from the epicenter. The island of Roatan, just 30 km from the epicenter, was graded as VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale while, El Progresso was graded as VIII (one unit higher than “Did you feel it?”). These intensity anomalies can be explained by two factors: (1) SW-directed rupture propagation and proximity to a localized 3.0m slip pulse (asperity) that occurred near the SW end of the fault (Hayes and Ji, 2009) that focused energy toward the city of El Progress on the mainland and; (2) local site effects, particularly the Precambrian schists and gneisses on the

Lahar hazards at Mombacho Volcano, Nicaragua

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vallance, J.W.; Schilling, S.P.; Devoli, G.

2001-01-01

Mombacho volcano, at 1,350 meters, is situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua and about 12 kilometers south of Granada, a city of about 90,000 inhabitants. Many more people live a few kilometers southeast of Granada in 'las Isletas de Granada and the nearby 'Peninsula de Aseses. These areas are formed of deposits of a large debris avalanche (a fast moving avalanche of rock and debris) from Mombacho. Several smaller towns with population, in the range of 5,000 to 12,000 inhabitants are to the northwest and the southwest of Mombacho volcano. Though the volcano has apparently not been active in historical time, or about the last 500 years, it has the potential to produce landslides and debris flows (watery flows of mud, rock, and debris -- also known as lahars when they occur on a volcano) that could inundate these nearby populated areas. -- Vallance, et.al., 2001

Honduras: A Pariah State, or Innovative Solutions to Organized Crime Deserving U.S. Support

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

organized crime and delinquency in the coun- try. More controversially, he has created a new police force within the military, the Military Police of...and ambitious structure, wrestling with the inter-institutional challenges of the fight against orga- nized crime and delinquency in Honduras is no...example, statistics involving the activi- ties of the organizations under its operational control, 36 including counter-narcotics operations, actions

Interactive radio: distance education in the classroom.

PubMed

1988-01-01

The Honduran Association for Socioeconomic Growth and Development (AVANCE) in conjunction with the U.S. Agency for International Development's Radio Learning Project has developed and promoted programs for radio that encourage interactive learning in Latin America. The Second Interamerican Conference on Interactive Radio was recently held in Tela, Honduras where educators and participants came to attend workshops on scriptwriting, instructional design, community support and other related topics. The participants had the opportunity to study the second generation of interactive radio. Beginning in 1973, Nicaragua began an interactive radio program written for early grade mathematics students. Currently, Honduras is marketing a mathematics program entitled, La Familia de los Numeros," or the Family of Numbers to other countries. In Bolivia, an organization called, "Fe y Alegria," or Faith and Happiness is broadcasting educational programs through the use of interactive radio. In Ecuador, testing has begun to study the viability of interactive radio for their educational system, and in Costa Rica, replication of Honduras' "Familia de los Numeros" has begun. Teachers have noted an improved grasp of subject matter and better attentiveness through the use of interactive radio programs. The programs present 30 minutes of mathematics information and 30 minutes of language information. For each grade, 170 programs have been developed.

Chaparrastique (San Mighel) Volcano Eruptions since Dec. 29th, 2013, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Hackert, B.; Bajo, J. V.; Escobar, D.; Gutierrez, E.

2015-12-01

The December 29th, 2013 eruption of Chaparrastique (San Miguel) volcano in El Salvador came as a surprise and was the first of several small eruptions in the past two years. They came after many years of preceeding earthquake swarms and significant degassing. Being the second volcano to erupt in El Salvador in less than ten years, it caused grave concern for the population of the country. Although they were not large eruptions (VEI 2), the materials were widespread and caused deposits of volcanic tephra as far at the capital San Salvador and closed the airports in the vecinity for a couple of days. This is a summary of the research, mitigation and services that were done days after the first eruption on December 29, 2013 and the follwing months. In conjunction with the team of the Direccion General del Observatorio Ambiental from the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales possible first response strategies were discussed and decided to obtain results that could be quickly put in place to mitigate and decide on actions such as evacuations or relocations of people living in volcano related high-risk hazard areas. Collection of samples, mapping and measurements of the volcanic tephra in the field together with Digital Globe and areal photography after the event, allowed identification of four different volcanic products that can be correlated to the opening of the vent and ending in the eruption of juvenile materials of basaltic to trachybasaltic composition, and the production of a lahar hazard map based on LaharZ.

Urban population genetics of slum-dwelling rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Salvador, Brazil

PubMed Central

Kajdacsi, Brittney; Costa, Federico; Hyseni, Chaz; Porter, Fleur; Brown, Julia; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; Reis, Mitermeyer G.; Childs, James E.; Ko, Albert I.; Caccone, Adalgisa

2013-01-01

Throughout the developing world, urban centers with sprawling slum settlements are rapidly expanding and invading previously forested ecosystems. Slum communities are characterized by untended refuse, open sewers, and overgrown vegetation, which promote rodent infestation. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), are reservoirs for epidemic transmission of many zoonotic pathogens of public health importance. Understanding the population ecology of R. norvegicus is essential to formulate effective rodent control strategies, as this knowledge aids estimation of the temporal stability and spatial connectivity of populations. We screened for genetic variation, characterized the population genetic structure, and evaluated the extent and patterns of gene flow in the urban landscape using 17 microsatellite loci in 146 rats from 9 sites in the city of Salvador, Brazil. These sites were divided between three neighborhoods within the city spaced an average of 2.7 km apart. Surprisingly, we detected very little relatedness among animals trapped at the same site and found high levels of genetic diversity, as well as structuring across small geographic distances. Most FST comparisons among sites were statistically significant, including sites <400 m apart. Bayesian analyses grouped the samples in three genetic clusters, each associated with distinct sampling sites from different neighborhoods or valleys within neighborhoods. These data indicate the existence of complex genetic structure in R. norvegicus in Salvador, linked to the heterogeneous urban landscape. Future rodent control measures need to take into account the spatial and temporal linkage of rat populations in Salvador, as revealed by genetic data, to develop informed eradication strategies. PMID:24118116

Urban population genetics of slum-dwelling rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Kajdacsi, Brittney; Costa, Federico; Hyseni, Chaz; Porter, Fleur; Brown, Julia; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; Reis, Mitermayer G; Childs, James E; Ko, Albert I; Caccone, Adalgisa

2013-10-01

Throughout the developing world, urban centres with sprawling slum settlements are rapidly expanding and invading previously forested ecosystems. Slum communities are characterized by untended refuse, open sewers and overgrown vegetation, which promote rodent infestation. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are reservoirs for epidemic transmission of many zoonotic pathogens of public health importance. Understanding the population ecology of R. norvegicus is essential to formulate effective rodent control strategies, as this knowledge aids estimation of the temporal stability and spatial connectivity of populations. We screened for genetic variation, characterized the population genetic structure and evaluated the extent and patterns of gene flow in the urban landscape using 17 microsatellite loci in 146 rats from nine sites in the city of Salvador, Brazil. These sites were divided between three neighbourhoods within the city spaced an average of 2.7 km apart. Surprisingly, we detected very little relatedness among animals trapped at the same site and found high levels of genetic diversity, as well as structuring across small geographical distances. Most F(ST) comparisons among sites were statistically significant, including sites <400 m apart. Bayesian analyses grouped the samples in three genetic clusters, each associated with distinct sampling sites from different neighbourhoods or valleys within neighbourhoods. These data indicate the existence of complex genetic structure in R. norvegicus in Salvador, linked to the heterogeneous urban landscape. Future rodent control measures need to take into account the spatial and temporal linkage of rat populations in Salvador, as revealed by genetic data, to develop informed eradication strategies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development and validation of a nutritional education pamphlet for low literacy pediatric oncology caregivers in Central America.

PubMed

Garcia, Melissa; Chismark, Elisabeth A; Mosby, Terezie; Day, Sara W

2010-12-01

A culturally appropriate nutrition education pamphlet was developed and validated for low-literacy caregivers in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The pamphlet was developed after a preliminary survey of pediatric oncology nurses in the 3 countries to assess the need for education materials, caregiver literacy levels, and local eating habits. Experts in nutrition and low-literacy patient education and pediatric oncology nurses validated the pamphlet's content and design. The pamphlet was validated positively and has been circulated to pediatric oncology caregivers in Central America.

Burden of group A streptococcal meningitis in Salvador, Brazil: report of 11 years of population-based surveillance

PubMed Central

Santos, Milena Soares; de Sousa Ribeiro, Guilherme; Oliveira, Tainara Queiroz; Santos, Renan Cardoso Nery; Gouveia, Edilane; Salgado, Kátia; Takahashi, Daniele; Fontes, Cleuber; Campos, Leila Carvalho; Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert Icksang; Reis, Joice Neves

2009-01-01

1.2 Summary Background Over recent decades, a resurgence of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections has been observed; GAS remains a rare cause of pyogenic meningitis. We report herein population-based findings of long-term surveillance for GAS meningitis in Salvador, Brazil, and estimate the overall burden of invasive GAS infections. Methods From February 1996 to January 2006 we conducted active surveillance for GAS meningitis in the state reference hospital for infectious diseases in Salvador, Brazil. Data on clinical presentation, laboratory records, and outcome were collected through interviews and chart review. GAS isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial susceptibility and emm type. Results We identified 20 cases of GAS meningitis, which accounted for 0.9% of all culture-proven bacterial meningitis in the study period. The mean annual incidence of GAS meningitis was 0.03 cases per 100 000 population in metropolitan Salvador and peaked in children <1 year of age (0.67 cases per 100 000 population). Among 17 cases with clinical information available, 41% required intensive care unit support and 25% died. Tested isolates were susceptible to penicillin and exhibited large emm type diversity. Based on the incidence of GAS meningitis, we estimate that the annual incidence of GAS infection is 3 cases per 100 000 population in metropolitan Salvador. Conclusions Although rare, GAS is a life-threatening cause of bacterial meningitis. Knowledge of the incidence and emm type variability of the disease is necessary for planning immunization strategies. PMID:19019714

DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE AND APPROPRIATE DRINKING WATER SYSTEM FOR MONTANA DE LUZ AND NUEVA ESPERANZA, HONDURAS

EPA Science Inventory

In this project, we plan to design an appropriate and sustainable water treatment and supply system for a small village (Nueva Esperanza) and nearby orphanage in rural Honduras. The orphanage, named “Montana de Luz,” is a home exclusively for children with HIV/A...

An investigation of vegetation and other Earth resource/feature parameters using LANDSAT and other remote sensing data. 1: LANDSAT. 2: Remote sensing of volcanic emissions. [New England forest and emissions from Mt. St. Helens and Central American volcanoes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birnie, R. W.; Stoiber, R. E. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

A fanning technique based on a simplistic physical model provided a classification algorithm for mixture landscapes. Results of applications to LANDSAT inventory of 1.5 million acres of forest land in Northern Maine are presented. Signatures for potential deer year habitat in New Hampshire were developed. Volcanic activity was monitored in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala along with the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Emphasis in the monitoring was placed on the remote sensing of SO2 concentrations in the plumes of the volcanoes.

[Vagotonía. The medical thesis of Salvador Zubirán].

PubMed

Delgado, Guillermo; Estañol-Vidal, Bruno

2012-01-01

Salvador Zubirán submitted his thesis for his MD degree in 1923. This thesis falls within the context of the new Mexican physiological medicine and denotes the visionary character of its author. Zubirán appears here as the introducer in Mexico of the physiopharmacological approach in autonomic nervous system disorders.

Digital inventory of landslides and related deposits in Honduras triggered by Hurricane Mitch

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harp, Edwin L.; Hagaman, Kirk W.; Held, Matthew D.; McKenna, Jonathan P.

2002-01-01

Intense rainfall from Hurricane Mitch from October 27-31, 1998, exceeded 900 mm in places in Honduras and triggered in excess of 500,000 landslides throughout the country. Landslides damaged an estimated 70% of the road network in Honduras based on estimates by the U. S Army Corps of Engineers. Numbers of fatalities due to landslides are not accurately known due to the fact that numerous small villages throughout Honduras lost residents to landslides without an official count being recorded. A conservative estimate would place the number at near 1,000. Debris flows accounted for over 95% of the landslides and ranged in thickness from 1 to 15 m. Flow path lengths of these failures ranged from several meters to 7.5 km. The highest concentrations of debris flows occurred in the mountains near the town of Choluteca where over 900 mm of rain fell in three days. Although landslides other than debris flows were few, several deep-seated landslides in the city of Tegucigalpa severely impacted people and property. The 'El Berrinche' rotational slump/earth flow of approximately six million cubic meters volume destroyed the entire neighborhood of Colonia Soto near the center of the city. The landslide also dammed the Rio Choluteca and created a lagoon behind the landslide dam, which immediately posed a health problem for the city, because raw, untreated sewage was emptying into the Rio Choluteca. Several areas of highly concentrated landslides have been responsible for much of the flooding problem as well. Huge sediment influxes from landslide source areas near La Ceiba, La Libertad, Marale, and in several arms of El Cajon Reservoir have reduced stream capacities to practically nothing and have exacerbated flooding conditions in even the moderate rainfall seasons since Hurricane Mitch. The ongoing hazard to communities from landslides triggered during Hurricane Mitch are being analyzed using aerial photography taken by the U.S. Air Force and by supplemental photography taken

Community-based assessment and intervention for early childhood caries in rural El Salvador.

PubMed

Dabiri, Darya; Fontana, Margherita; Kapila, Yvonne; Eckert, George; Sokal-Gutierrez, Karen

2016-08-01

The objectives were to assess early childhood caries (ECC) in rural areas of El Salvador and to investigate the changes in caries and mouth pain in the presence of community-based interventions. This study was a retrospective analysis of de-identified and anonymous data obtained from baseline and four annual follow-up visits that focused on the preventive oral health intervention and nutrition in a convenience sample of children 0-6 years of age. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) index for primary teeth was used as the survey tool. Caries was defined as a cavitated lesion. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence of ECC in the sample in relation to age and dmft score. Linear mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalised linear mixed effects models were used to compare the pre-intervention and post-intervention outcomes. The prevalence of caries was 58%. Incorporation of a community oral health education and fluoride supplementation programme contributed to significant reductions in caries experience (from 74% to 61%) and mouth pain (from 58% to 39%), in children 3-6 years of age. ECC is a common public health problem in rural El Salvador. In an established community-based maternal-child health programme in El Salvador, there appears to be an association between the incorporation of preventive oral health intervention and improvement in children's oral health and quality of life over time. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

Diffusive Soil Degassing of Radon and Carbon Dioxide at Ilopango Caldera, El Salvador, Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransom, L.; Lopez, D. L.; Hernandez, P.

2001-12-01

Ilopango Caldera lies 10 Km east of San Salvador, El Salvador and holds Ilopango Lake, the largest body of fresh water in El Salvador. There is currently no observed fumarolic activity within the caldera system. However, the last eruption occurred in 1880. In November - December, 1999, radon gas concentrations (pCi/l) were measured using a Pylon AB5 radon monitor, and flux of CO2 (g/m2/day) was determined using the accumulation chamber method at 106 sampling stations around the lake, along and across the caldera walls. Gas samples were also collected to determine the isotopic composition of C in CO2. CO2 fluxes did not show high values characteristic of other volcanic systems, values ranged from 0.7 to 9.2 g/m2/day with an average value of 3.9. These values are similar to the low values of the background population observed in nearby San Salvador volcano. Highest values are observed to the east and west of the lake. Isotopic values for C in soil gases do not show an important magmatic component. Radon concentrations present three distinct populations with the highest values occurring to the southwest. Thoron concentrations are higher close to the caldera walls than inside the caldera due to the possible higher rock fracturing in that region. Measurements taken in March 2001, after the January 13 and February 13, 2001 earthquakes did not show significant variations in CO2 fluxes. However, radon concentrations varied due to the high seismicity that lasted several months after these earthquakes. These results suggest that the magmatic system of Ilopango Caldera is not emitting high fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere throughout the caldera soils. Subaquatic emissions of CO2 have not been evaluated. However, subaquatic hydrothermal discharges have not been identified at this calderic lake.

Evolving Hazard Monitoring and Communication at San Vicente Volcano, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, L. J.; Gierke, J. S.

2014-12-01

El Salvador has 20 potentially active volcanoes, four of which have erupted in the last 100 years. Since San Vicente Volcano has had no historic eruptions, monitoring is not a high priority; especially given the current eruptive crisis at San Miguel Volcano. Though probability of eruptive hazards remains low at San Vicente, it is arguably one of the most hazardous volcanoes in the country due to rainfall-induced landslides and debris-flow risk. At least 250 deaths occurred in November 2009 from landslides and debris flows triggered by Hurricane Ida. This disaster caused the Universidad de El Salvador - Facultad Multidisciplinaria Paracentral (UES-FMP, San Vicente, El Salvador) to partner with governmental and nongovernmental organizations (including the U.S. Peace Corps, U.S. Fulbright Program, Korean International Cooperation Agency, Protección Civil and the Centro de Protección para Desastres (CEPRODE)) to focus its faculty and student research toward hazard monitoring and risk studies. Newly established monitoring efforts include: measurement of surface cracks and localized rainfall by Protección Civil and local residents using crude extensometers and rain gauges; installation of six weather stations that operate within the most at-risk municipalities; seismic refraction surveys to better characterize stratigraphy and seasonal water table changes; and most recently, a USAID/NSF-funded initiative partnered with the UES-FMP to monitor seasonal hydrologic conditions related to flooding and groundwater recharge. The information from these initiatives is now used to communicate current conditions and warnings through a network of two-way radios established by CEPRODE and Protección Civil. Representatives from the multi-institutional team also communicate the data to authorities who make better-informed decisions regarding warnings and evacuations, as well as determine suitable areas for population relocation in the event of a crisis. Data will eventually be used

Maternal resources and household food security: evidence from Nicaragua.

PubMed

Schmeer, Kammi K; Piperata, Barbara A; Herrera Rodríguez, Andrés; Salazar Torres, Virgilio Mariano; Centeno Cárdenas, Francisco José

2015-11-01

Women (especially mothers) are theorized as critical to reducing household food insecurity through their work and caregiver roles. The present study tests these assumptions, assessing how maternal economic and social resources are associated with food insecurity in households with young children. Data from a population-based sample of households was collected in León, Nicaragua (n 443). Data include a newly validated measure of household food insecurity (ELCSA), maternal resource measures, and household economic status and demographics. Regression analysis tests the statistical associations (P<0·05) of maternal resources with household, adult-specific and child-specific food insecurity. Municipality of León, Nicaragua. Households with children aged 3-11 years in rural and urban León. Only 25% of households with young children were food secure, with 50% mildly food insecure and 25% moderately/severely food insecure. When mothers contributed substantially to household income, the odds of moderate/severe household food insecurity were 34% lower than when their spouse/partner was the main provider. The odds of food insecurity were 60% lower when mothers managed household money, 48% lower when mothers had a secondary (v. primary) education, 65% higher among single mothers and 16% lower with each indicator of social support. Results were similar for adult- and child-specific food insecurity. This research provides new evidence that maternal economic and social resources are important for reducing household food insecurity and adult- and child-specific food insecurity. Women's social status, social support and access to economic resources need to be enhanced as a part of policies aimed to reduce food insecurity in high-poverty settings.

Wounds caused by firearms in El Salvador, 2003-2004: epidemiological issues.

PubMed

Paniagua, Ignacio; Crespin, Emperatriz; Guardado, Ademar; Mauricio, Ana

2005-01-01

This study presents data from hospital records in El Salvador describing the features of 100 patients admitted to a public hospital with firearm wounds. Wounds caused by Firearms (WFA) account for 70 per cent of homicides; 30 per cent of WFA homicides died in hospital. For every death in hospital there are five admissions who need treatment and survive. The typical victim is a young man with reasonable education but poor earning capacities and some family responsibilities, who lives in an urban setting where drugs, alcohol and firearms are commonplace. Extrapolating from this study, an estimated 2,580 people were treated in El Salvador hospitals during 2003; and of these 2,400 were treated in public hospitals at a cost to the state of 7.4 million USD, just over seven per cent of the health budget. Using further extrapolations, the total social costs for WFA morbidity would amount to around 34 million USD. There needs to be greater controls on firearms, public education on their risks and a more unified surveillance system.

Reducing violence in poor urban areas of Honduras by building community resilience through community-based interventions.

PubMed

Hansen-Nord, Nete Sloth; Kjaerulf, Finn; Almendarez, Juan; Rodas, Victor Morales; Castro, Julio

2016-11-01

To examine the impact of a 3 year community-based violence prevention intervention on risk of violence and social capital in two poor urban communities in Honduras in 2011-2014. A quasi-experimental design pre and post implementation of the intervention was conducted based on data from two randomly selected samples using the same structured questionnaire in 2011 and in 2014. Community members had a 42 % lower risk of violence in 2014 compared to 2011. There was a positive relation between participation in the intervention and structural social capital, and participants had more than twice the likelihood of engaging in citizenship activities compared to the general population. The intervention contributed to decreasing violence and increasing community resilience in two urban areas in Honduras. Citizenship activities and active community participation in the violence prevention agenda rather than social trust and cohesion characteristics was affected by the intervention. This research introduces important lessons learned to future researchers aiming to retrieve very sensitive data in a similarly violent setting, and provides strong research opportunities within areas, which to this date remain undiscovered.

Observations and recommendations regarding landslide hazards related to the January 13, 2001 M-7.6 El Salvador earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jibson, Randall W.; Crone, Anthony J.

2001-01-01

The January 13, 2001 earthquake (M-7.6) off the coast of El Salvador triggered widespread damaging landslides in many parts of the El Salvador. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Salvadoran government requested technical assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); USAID, in turn, requested help from technical experts in landslide hazards from the U.S. Geological Survey. In response to that request, we arrived in El Salvador on January 31, 2001 and worked with USAID personnel and Salvadoran agency counterparts in visiting landslide sites and evaluating present and potential hazards. A preliminary, unofficial report was prepared at the end of our trip (February 9) to provide immediate information and assistance to interested agencies and parties. The current report is an updated and somewhat expanded version of that unofficial report. Because of the brief nature of this report, conclusions and recommendations contained herein should be considered tentative and may be revised in the future.

Effects of malnutrition on treatment-related morbidity and survival of children with cancer in Nicaragua.

PubMed

Pribnow, Allison K; Ortiz, Roberta; Báez, Luis Fulgencio; Mendieta, Luvy; Luna-Fineman, Sandra

2017-11-01

Most children with cancer live in resource-limited countries where malnutrition is often prevalent. We identified the relationship between malnutrition and treatment-related morbidity (TRM), abandonment of therapy, and survival of children with cancer in Nicaragua to better inform targeted nutritional interventions. We conducted a retrospective review of patients aged 6 months to 18 years with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Wilms tumor, Hodgkin lymphoma, or Burkitt lymphoma (BL) who were treated between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2007 at Children's Hospital Manuel de Jesus Rivera in Managua, Nicaragua. Statistical analysis examined the relations among nutritional status and cancer type, risk category, TRM, and event-free survival (EFS). Sixty-seven percent of patients (189/282) were malnourished at diagnosis. Malnutrition was highest among patients with Wilms tumor (85.7%), BL (75%), and AML (74.3%). A total of 92.2% of patients (225/244) experienced morbidity during the first 90 days. Malnutrition was associated with severe infection (P = 0.033). Severely malnourished patients had ≥grade 3 TRM on more days (P = 0.023) and were more likely to experience severe TRM on >50% of days (P = 0.032; OR, 3.27 [95% CI, 1.05-10.16]). Malnourished patients had inferior median EFS (2.25 vs. 5.58 years; P = 0.049), and abandoned therapy more frequently (P = 0.015). In Nicaragua, pediatric oncology patients with malnutrition at diagnosis experienced increased TRM, abandoned therapy more frequently, and had inferior EFS. Standardized nutritional evaluation of patients with newly diagnosed cancer and targeted provision of nutritional support are essential to decrease TRM and improve outcomes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synthetic Minor NSR Permit: BP America Production Company - Salvador I/II Central Delivery Point

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page contains the final synthetic minor NSR permit for the BP America Production Company, Salvador I/II Central Delivery Point, located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in La Plata County, CO.

Assessment of earthquake-induced landslides hazard in El Salvador after the 2001 earthquakes using macroseismic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esposito, Eliana; Violante, Crescenzo; Giunta, Giuseppe; Ángel Hernández, Miguel

2016-04-01

Two strong earthquakes and a number of smaller aftershocks struck El Salvador in the year 2001. The January 13 2001 earthquake, Mw 7.7, occurred along the Cocos plate, 40 km off El Salvador southern coast. It resulted in about 1300 deaths and widespread damage, mainly due to massive landsliding. Two of the largest earthquake-induced landslides, Las Barioleras and Las Colinas (about 2x105 m3) produced major damage to buildings and infrastructures and 500 fatalities. A neighborhood in Santa Tecla, west of San Salvador, was destroyed. The February 13 2001 earthquake, Mw 6.5, occurred 40 km east-southeast of San Salvador. This earthquake caused over 300 fatalities and triggered several landslides over an area of 2,500 km2 mostly in poorly consolidated volcaniclastic deposits. The La Leona landslide (5-7x105 m3) caused 12 fatalities and extensive damage to the Panamerican Highway. Two very large landslides of 1.5 km3 and 12 km3 produced hazardous barrier lakes at Rio El Desague and Rio Jiboa, respectively. More than 16.000 landslides occurred throughout the country after both quakes; most of them occurred in pyroclastic deposits, with a volume less than 1x103m3. The present work aims to define the relationship between the above described earthquake intensity, size and areal distribution of induced landslides, as well as to refine the earthquake intensity in sparsely populated zones by using landslide effects. Landslides triggered by the 2001 seismic sequences provided useful indication for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, providing a basis for understanding, evaluating, and mapping the hazard and risk associated with earthquake-induced landslides.

Observations of new bird species for San Salvador Island, the Bahamas

Treesearch

Michael E. Akresh; David I. King

2015-01-01

We present our recent observations and compile other accounts of sightings or captures of 30 additional bird species reported for San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, since Sordahl compiled his checklist in 1996. Most are Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds that either spend the non-breeding season on the island or stop over during migration. Additionally, based on our...

Recent sightings of Kirtland's warblers on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas

Treesearch

Todd M. Jones; Michael E. Akresh; David I. King

2013-01-01

Here we present recent accounts of Kirtland's Warblers (Setophaga kirtlandii) captured and observed on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, in 2012 and 2013. We conducted mist-netting and passive surveys in a variety of habitats on the island from January-March 2012 and December 2012-March 2013. We captured four warblers and sighted at least six...

Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV and AIDS in Nicaragua: a community-level perspective.

PubMed

Ugarte, William J; Högberg, Ulf; Valladares, Eliette; Essén, Birgitta

2013-03-01

Nicaragua's HIV epidemic is concentrated among men who have sex with men. Nevertheless, the increasing number of HIV cases among heterosexuals, high levels of poverty and migration rates, and incomplete epidemiological data suggest the need to improve the understanding of the epidemic. To examine the prevalence of HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and sexual risk-taking behaviors, and their predictors among the adult population. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009 among 520 participants ages 15-49 from an ongoing Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Nicaragua. Bivariate analysis and adjusted prevalence ratios were use to examine factors associated with HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and sexual behavior. Contributing factors for risk-taking behaviors included cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional elements. Insufficient knowledge affecting the accurate assessment of HIV risk were low educational level, poverty, and rural origin, especially among females. Recognizing risk was not sufficient to promote safer sex: 90% of the females and 70% of the males who reported being sexually active in the past year did not use condoms during their last sexual encounter. Inconsistent condom use among men was associated with older age, long-term relationships, and lack of awareness about acquiring HIV infection. Interventions to reduce social-structural contextual factors in Nicaragua are needed so that individuals may adopt and maintain HIV risk reduction strategies. Increased gender-specific HIV education and skills-building programs need to be implemented. Sensitive mass media messages may also increase the knowledge of HIV and AIDS, and serve to encourage protective attitudes and behaviors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and geophysical interpretation of Roatan Island, Honduras, Western Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutton, Daniel Scott

Roatan Island is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. These islands form an emergent crest off the Caribbean coast of Honduras called the Bonacca Ridge. The Bartlett Trough to the north and subsequent Bonacca Ridge were likely formed due to the transform fault system of the Motagua-Swan Islands Fault System. This fault system forms the tectonic plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. Although the timing and kinematics are poorly constrained, the Bay Islands and the Bonacca Ridge were likely uplifted due to transpression along this left-lateral strike-slip system. With limited regional exposures along the adjacent tectonic boundary, this study aimed to present a structural interpretation for Roatan. This new interpretation is further explained through regional considerations for a suggested geologic history of the northwestern Caribbean. In order to better constrain the kinematics of uplift and exhumation of Roatan Island, structural, gravity, and magnetic surveys were conducted. Principal attention was directed to the structural relationship between the geologic units and their relationship to one another through deformation. Resulting geologic cross-sections from this study present the metamorphic basement exposed throughout the island to be in a normal structural order consisting of biotite schist and gneiss, with overlying units of chlorite schist, carbonate, and conglomerate. These units have relatively concordant strike and dip measurements, consistent with resultant magnetic survey readings. Additionally, large and irregular bodies of amphibolite and serpentinite throughout the island are interpreted to have been emplaced as mafic and ultra-mafic intrusions in weakness zones along Early Paleogene transform system fault planes. The interpretation and suggested geologic history from this study demonstrate the importance of transpressive tectonics both local to Roatan and regionally throughout geologic history. Consideration of

[National survey of blindness and avoidable visual impairment in Honduras].

PubMed

Alvarado, Doris; Rivera, Belinda; Lagos, Luis; Ochoa, Mayra; Starkman, Ivette; Castillo, Mariela; Flores, Eduardo; Lansingh, Van C; Limburg, Hans; Silva, Juan Carlos

2014-11-01

To determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in Honduras, its causes and the response by the health services to growing demand. A cross-sectional population study was conducted between June and December 2013 using the standard methodology of the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness. A random sample survey was done in 63 clusters of 50 individuals aged ≥ 50, representative of the country as a whole. Visual acuity (VA) was assessed using a Snellen eye chart, and the condition of the lens and posterior pole was examined by direct ophthalmoscopy. Cataract surgical coverage was calculated and an assessment made of its quality, the causes of VA < 20/60 and the barriers to accessing surgical treatment. A total of 2 999 people were examined (95.2% of the forecast total). Blindness prevalence was 1.9% (confidence interval of 95%: 1.4-2.4%) and 82.2% of these cases were avoidable. The main causes of blindness were unoperated cataracts (59.2%) and glaucoma (21.1%). Uncorrected refraction error was the main cause of severe (19.7%) and moderate (58.6%) visual impairment. Cataract surgical coverage was 75.2%. 62.5% of the eyes operated for cataracts achieved a VA > 20/60 with available correction. The main barriers against cataract surgery were cost (27.7%) and the lack of availability or difficulty of geographical access to the treatment (24.6%). The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in Honduras is similar to that of other Latin American countries. 67% of cases of blindness could be resolved by improving the response capacity of the ophthalmological services, especially of cataract surgery, improving optician services and incorporating eye care in primary health care.

Landslides in Nicaragua - Mapping, Inventory, Hazard Assessment, Vulnerability Reduction, and Forecasting Attempts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dévoli, G.; Strauch, W.; Álvarez, A.; Muñoz, A.; Kjekstad, O.

2009-04-01

A successful landslide hazard and risk assessment requires awareness and good understanding of the potential landslide problems within the geographic area involved. However, this requirement is not always met in developing countries where population, scientific community, and the government may not be aware of the landslide threat. The landslide hazard assessment is often neglected or is based on sparse and not well documented technical information. In Nicaragua (Central America), the basic conditions for landslide hazard and risk assessment were first created after the catastrophic landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. A single landslide took the life of thousands of people at Casita volcano forcing entire communities to be evacuated or relocated and, furthermore, thousands of smaller landslides caused loss of fertile soils and pasture lands, and made serious damages to the infrastructure. Since those events occurred, the public awareness has increased and the country relies now on new local and national governmental laws and policies, on a number of landslide investigations, and on educational and training programs. Dozens of geologists have been capacitated to investigate landslide prone areas, The Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER), governmental geo-scientific institution, has assumed the responsibility to help land-use planners and public officials to reduce geological hazard losses. They are committed to work cooperatively with national, international, and local agencies, universities and the private sector to provide scientific information and improve public safety through forecasting and warnings. However, in order to provide successful long-term landslide hazard assessment, the institutions must face challenges related to the scarcity and varied quality of available landslide information; collection and access to dispersed data and documents; organization of landslide information in a form that can be easy to

Fertility after natural disaster: Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua

PubMed Central

Davis, Jason

2017-01-01

This investigation evaluates the effect of Hurricane Mitch on women’s reproductive outcomes throughout Nicaragua. This research aim is achieved by analyzing a unique Nicaraguan Living Standards Measurement Study panel dataset that tracks women’s fertility immediately before and at two time points after Hurricane Mitch, combined with satellite-derived municipality-level precipitation data for the 10-day storm period. Results show higher odds of post-disaster fertility in municipalities receiving higher precipitation levels in the immediate post-Hurricane Mitch period. However, fertility normalizes between disaster and non-disaster areas four to six years after the storm. These findings suggest that the disruptive effects of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Mitch can have an initial stimulative effect on fertility but the effect is ephemeral. PMID:28694556

Building social capital in post-conflict communities: evidence from Nicaragua.

PubMed

Brune, Nancy E; Bossert, Thomas

2009-03-01

Studies of social capital have focused on the static relationship between social capital and health, governance and economic conditions. This study is a first attempt to evaluate interventions designed to improve the levels of social capital in post-conflict communities in Nicaragua and to relate those increases to health and governance issues. The two-year study involved a baseline household survey of approximately 200 households in three communities in Nicaragua, the implementation of systematic interventions designed to increase social capital in two of the locales (with one control group), and a second household survey administered two years after the baseline survey. We found that systematic interventions promoting management and leadership development were effective in improving some aspects of social capital, in particular the cognitive attitudes of trust in the communities. Interventions were also linked to higher levels of civic participation in governance processes. As in other empirical studies, we also found that higher levels of social capital were significantly associated with some positive health behaviors. The behavioral/structural components of social capital (including participation in groups and social networks) were associated with more desirable individual health behaviors such as the use of modern medicine to treat children's respiratory illnesses. Attitudinal components of social capital were positively linked to community health behaviors such as working on community sanitation campaigns. The findings presented here should be of interest to policy makers interested in health policy and social capital, as well as those working in conflict-ridden communities in the developing world.

Rapid Determination of Appropriate Source Models for Tsunami Early Warning using a Depth Dependent Rigidity Curve: Method and Numerical Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanioka, Y.; Miranda, G. J. A.; Gusman, A. R.

2017-12-01

Recently, tsunami early warning technique has been improved using tsunami waveforms observed at the ocean bottom pressure gauges such as NOAA DART system or DONET and S-NET systems in Japan. However, for tsunami early warning of near field tsunamis, it is essential to determine appropriate source models using seismological analysis before large tsunamis hit the coast, especially for tsunami earthquakes which generated significantly large tsunamis. In this paper, we develop a technique to determine appropriate source models from which appropriate tsunami inundation along the coast can be numerically computed The technique is tested for four large earthquakes, the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake (Mw7.7), the 2001 El Salvador earthquake (Mw7.7), the 2004 El Astillero earthquake (Mw7.0), and the 2012 El Salvador-Nicaragua earthquake (Mw7.3), which occurred off Central America. In this study, fault parameters were estimated from the W-phase inversion, then the fault length and width were determined from scaling relationships. At first, the slip amount was calculated from the seismic moment with a constant rigidity of 3.5 x 10**10N/m2. The tsunami numerical simulation was carried out and compared with the observed tsunami. For the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake, the computed tsunami was much smaller than the observed one. For the 2004 El Astillero earthquake, the computed tsunami was overestimated. In order to solve this problem, we constructed a depth dependent rigidity curve, similar to suggested by Bilek and Lay (1999). The curve with a central depth estimated by the W-phase inversion was used to calculate the slip amount of the fault model. Using those new slip amounts, tsunami numerical simulation was carried out again. Then, the observed tsunami heights, run-up heights, and inundation areas for the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake were well explained by the computed one. The other tsunamis from the other three earthquakes were also reasonably well explained

Examining the cost of delivering routine immunization in Honduras.

PubMed

Janusz, Cara Bess; Castañeda-Orjuela, Carlos; Molina Aguilera, Ida Berenice; Felix Garcia, Ana Gabriela; Mendoza, Lourdes; Díaz, Iris Yolanda; Resch, Stephen C

2015-05-07

Many countries have introduced new vaccines and expanded their immunization programs to protect additional risk groups, thus raising the cost of routine immunization delivery. Honduras recently adopted two new vaccines, and the country continues to broaden the reach of its program to adolescents and adults. In this article, we estimate and examine the economic cost of the Honduran routine immunization program for the year 2011. The data were gathered from a probability sample of 71 health facilities delivering routine immunization, as well as 8 regional and 1 central office of the national immunization program. Data were collected on vaccinations delivered, staff time dedicated to the program, cold chain equipment and upkeep, vehicle use, infrastructure, and other recurrent and capital costs at each health facility and administrative office. Annualized economic costs were estimated from a modified societal perspective and reported in 2011 US dollars. With the addition of rotavirus and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, the total cost for routine immunization delivery in Honduras for 2011 was US$ 32.5 million. Vaccines and related supplies accounted for 23% of the costs. Labor, cold chain, and vehicles represented 54%, 4%, and 1%, respectively. At the facility level, the non-vaccine system costs per dose ranged widely, from US$ 25.55 in facilities delivering fewer than 500 doses per year to US$ 2.84 in facilities with volume exceeding 10,000 doses per year. Cost per dose was higher in rural facilities despite somewhat lower wage rates for health workers in these settings; this appears to be driven by lower demand for services per health worker in sparsely populated areas, rather than increased cost of outreach. These more-precise estimates of the operational costs to deliver routine immunizations provide program managers with important information for mobilizing resources to help sustain the program and for improving annual planning and budgeting as well as longer

Environmental pesticide exposure in Honduras following hurricane Mitch.

PubMed Central

Balluz, L.; Moll, D.; Diaz Martinez, M. G.; Merida Colindres, J. E.; Malilay, J.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether environmental contamination occurred in the wake of hurricane Mitch (30-31 October 1998), we conducted a population-based cross-sectional household survey in the barrio of Istoca, Department of Choluteca, Honduras. The goals were to evaluate chemical contamination of potable water and the extent of human exposure to chemicals as a result of extensive flooding. METHODS: The survey consisted of an environmental exposure assessment, which included assaying water and soil samples for contaminants, and taking blood and urine samples from 45 adolescents aged 15-18 years. We also made a subjective questionnaire assessment of 155 households. FINDINGS: There was significant contamination of the soil in Istoca, but no water contamination in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch. The soil levels of chlopyrifos and parathion were 30- and 1000-times higher, respectively, than the Environmental Data Quality Level. However, the most striking finding was the detection of elevated levels of chlorinated and organophosphate pesticides in adolescents. Toxicological analyses of serum specimens showed that 51% of the samples had elevated levels of 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (p,p-DDE) (range, 1.16-96.9 ng/ml) (US reference mean = 3.5 ng/ml) in adults). Dieldrin levels > 0.2 ng/ml were also present in 23% of the serum specimens (serum levels of this analyte in US adolescents are < 0.2 ng/ml). Of 43 urine samples analysed for organophosphate metabolites, 18.6% contained diethyl phosphate (DEP) at levels which were greater that the reference mean of 6.45 micrograms/g creatinine. We also detected elevated levels of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) and of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (3,5,6-TCPY) in 91% and 42% of the samples, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The elevated levels of chlorinated pesticides were surprising, since although these substances were banned in Honduras 15 years ago it appears that they are still being used in the country. Moreover

Bandaid Diplomacy: An Historical Perspective of U.S. Policy Towards Nicaragua.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-03-01

2 7I the precursor of our own "kanifest destiny " in this hemisphere. In essence it established a base line for future U.S. initiatives, i.e., it was...of later even more successful guerrilla wars in Latin America. The destinies of these two men would not only alter Nicaragua’s history but also the...time. As late as 1974 the FSLN had fever than one hundred members. 100 However, the revolutionary embryo was there waiting for a event that would

With God's Help I Can Do It: Crack Users' Formal and Informal Recovery Experiences in El Salvador

PubMed Central

Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Bodnar, Gloria; Guevara, Carmen Eugenia; Rodriguez, Karla; De Mendoza, Lorena Rivas; Corbett, A. Michelle

2013-01-01

Crack use has increased dramatically in El Salvador in the last few decades. As with other developing countries with sudden onsets of drug problems, El Salvador has few medical staff trained in addictions treatment. Little research has examined drug users' attempts to reduce or abstain from drug use in countries where government-regulated formal medical treatment for drug addiction is scarce. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data gathered from active crack users to explore their formal and informal strategies to reduce or abstain from drugs, and compares these with components of informal and formal treatment in developed countries. PMID:20735191

The Cost-Effectiveness of Interactive Radio Instruction for Improving Primary School Instruction in Honduras, Bolivia and Lesotho.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tilson, Thomas D.; And Others

Findings are presented from studies on the use of radio for teaching primary school children mathematics in Honduras and Bolivia and English as a Second Language in Lesotho. Interactive radio instruction (IRI) is so called because of the active participation of the students. Although lessons are presented by conventional radio, scripts are written…

Impact of U.S. Foreign Policy and Assistance in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-03

forestry and environmental education, community organization and economic development, rural health and sanitation and youth development. USAID’s...The compact includes $88 million for technical assistance and financial services to farmers and rural businesses, $100 million to strengthen...Report, February 27, 2009. 31FUSADES (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social). 2003. Oportunidad, seguridad, legitimidad

Treatment and prevention of malnutrition in Latin America: focus on Chile and Bolivia.

PubMed

Weisstaub, Gerardo; Aguilar, Ana Maria; Uauy, Ricardo

2014-06-01

Seven million children under 5 years of age died worldwide in 2011, and one-third had malnutrition. Latin America and Caribbean countries stand out for the notable improvement of their health and nutrition situation, particularly in pregnant women and young children. Nutrition-sensitive interventions such as promoting food security, women's empowerment, social safety nets, clean water, and sanitation, among others, are critical for success. In Bolivia, the program Desnutrición Cero (Malnutrition Zero) was able to reduce mortality from severe malnutrition after 5 years from 25% to less than 5%, based on widespread implementation of the World Health Organization 10-steps protocol for hospitalized care and the application of community management. The Economic Commission for Latin America estimated the cost of malnutrition for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic as US $6,658 million. Approximately 1 million children have dropped out of school because of malnutrition, and as a result, malnourished children have 2 years less schooling, which brings social and economic losses not only to those affected but to society at large. National and international nutrition and food programs developed over the past 50 years have been implemented as integral components of broader strategies of primary healthcare and education, oriented toward preventing deaths and improving the quality of life of low-socioeconomic-status groups. Treating hundreds or thousands of affected children will not solve the global public health problem of malnutrition. Access to adequate amounts of quality foods represents a basic human right and is a necessary precondition for health. In turn, good nutrition and health are prerequisites for human, social, and economic development.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of deaths associated with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 in Central America and Dominican Republic 2009-2010.

PubMed

Chacon, Rafael; Mirza, Sara; Rodriguez, David; Paredes, Antonio; Guzman, Giselle; Moreno, Lourdes; Then, Cecilia J; Jara, Jorge; Blanco, Natalia; Bonilla, Luis; Clara, Wilfrido A; Minaya, Percy; Palekar, Rakhee; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo

2015-07-31

The demographic characteristics of pandemic influenza decedents among middle and low-income tropical countries are poorly understood. We explored the demographics of persons who died with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 infection during 2009-2010, in seven countries in the American tropics. We used hospital-based surveillance to identify laboratory-confirmed influenza deaths in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic. An influenza death was defined as a person who died within two weeks of a severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) defined as sudden onset of fever >38 °C, cough or sore-throat, and shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing requiring hospitalization, and who tested positive for influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus by real time polymerase chain reaction. We abstracted the demographic and clinical characteristics of the deceased from their medical records. During May 2009-June 2010, we identified 183 influenza deaths. Their median age was 32 years (IQR 18-46 years). One-hundred and one (55 %) were female of which 20 (20 %) were pregnant and 7 (7 %) were in postpartum. One-hundred and twelve decedents (61 %) had pre-existing medical conditions, (15 % had obesity, 13 % diabetes, 11 % asthma, 8 % metabolic disorders, 5 % chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 10 % neurological disorders). 65 % received oseltamivir but only 5 % received it within 48 h of symptoms onset. The pandemic killed young adults, pregnant women and those with pre-existing medical conditions. Most sought care too late to fully benefit from oseltamivir. We recommend countries review antiviral treatment policies for people at high risk of developing complications.

Land cover mapping of Greater Mesoamerica using MODIS data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Giri, Chandra; Jenkins, Clinton N.

2005-01-01

A new land cover database of Greater Mesoamerica has been prepared using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS, 500 m resolution) satellite data. Daily surface reflectance MODIS data and a suite of ancillary data were used in preparing the database by employing a decision tree classification approach. The new land cover data are an improvement over traditional advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) based land cover data in terms of both spatial and thematic details. The dominant land cover type in Greater Mesoamerica is forest (39%), followed by shrubland (30%) and cropland (22%). Country analysis shows forest as the dominant land cover type in Belize (62%), Cost Rica (52%), Guatemala (53%), Honduras (56%), Nicaragua (53%), and Panama (48%), cropland as the dominant land cover type in El Salvador (60.5%), and shrubland as the dominant land cover type in Mexico (37%). A three-step approach was used to assess the quality of the classified land cover data: (i) qualitative assessment provided good insight in identifying and correcting gross errors; (ii) correlation analysis of MODIS- and Landsat-derived land cover data revealed strong positive association for forest (r2 = 0.88), shrubland (r2 = 0.75), and cropland (r2 = 0.97) but weak positive association for grassland (r2 = 0.26); and (iii) an error matrix generated using unseen training data provided an overall accuracy of 77.3% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.73608. Overall, MODIS 500 m data and the methodology used were found to be quite useful for broad-scale land cover mapping of Greater Mesoamerica.