Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death globally, particularly among children and young adults. The spread of new pathogens and the threat of antimicrobial resistance pose particular challenges in combating these diseases. Major Infectious Diseases identifies feasible, cost-effective packages of interventions and strategies across delivery platforms to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, malaria, adult febrile illness, viral hepatitis, and neglected tropical diseases. The volume emphasizes the need to effectively address emerging antimicrobial resistance, strengthen health systems, and increase access to care. The attainable goals are to reduce incidence, develop innovative approaches, and optimize existing tools in resource-constrained settings.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and still represents one of the global health threats to mankind. The World Health Organization estimated more than 10 million new cases and reported more than 1.5 million deaths in 2019, thus ranking TB among the main causes of death due to a single pathogen. Standard anti-TB therapy includes four first-line antibiotics that should be administered for at least six months. However, in the case of multi- and extensively drug-resistant TB, second-line medications must be used and these frequently cause severe side effects resulting in poor compliance. Developing new anti-TB drug candidates is therefore of outmost importance. In this Special Issue dedicated to Tuberculosis Drug Discovery and Development, we present the main and latest achievements in the fields of drug and target discovery, host-directed therapy, anti-virulence drugs, and describe the development of two advanced compounds: macozinone and delpazolid. In addition, this Special Issue provides an historical perspective focused on Carlo Forlanini, the inventor of pneumothorax for TB treatment, and includes an overview of the state-of-the-art technologies which are being exploited nowadays in TB drug development. Finally, a summary of TB vaccines that are either approved or undergoing clinical trials concludes the Special Issue.
In the global war to control tuberculosis (TB), there are several critical battles which must be waged and won if we are to make significant progress. Broadly speaking, these battlefields may be regarded as diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Within the arena of treatment are various critical elements. Current drug regimens require 6 months to achieve predictable cures; it is essential that shorter regimens be developed to lessen non-adherence and to improve affordability. To facilitate directly-observed therapy, intermittent (less than daily) regimens have been employed. To ensure favourable outcomes, including patients with AIDS, thrice-weekly regimens are the current standard; reducing the frequency of dosing to twice- or once-weekly may offer significant advantages. Drug resistance to the current major medications, the rifamycins and isoniazid, threatens to make tuberculosis untreatable for rising numbers of patients in many regions of the world. Finding new, effective agents is essential to ensure cures for these cases and to halt transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis to others. Additional issues include reducing the side effects and toxicity of anti-tuberculosis regimens and developing regimens that can be given simultaneously with anti-retroviral therapy without deleterious drug-drug interactions or unacceptable toxicity. Finally, attention must be directed to the potential utility of treating latent infection to prevent the evolution of active disease. The current vaccine Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), while protecting infants and children against potentially lethal forms of TB, has done little to control the incidence of communicable adult pulmonary disease. Research is underway to develop improved vaccines, but due to the prolonged period to determine the efficacy of a TB vaccine (a minimum of 10 to 20 years) -- alternative strategies must be pursued. Furthermore, the utility of a traditional vaccine would be sorely limited by the fact that roughly two billion persons today harbour latent tuberculosis infection. This huge reservoir of future disease would not be eligible for a traditional pre-infection vaccine. "Preventive therapy" with isoniazid has been shown to reduce the subsequent risk of tuberculosis by about 70% in large, randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials. However, this strategy is limited by the requirement for extended duration of treatment (6 to 9 months), the risks of drug-induced hepatitis and rising rates of resistance to isoniazid in many regions of the world where the TB epidemic is most intense. Alternative means for the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection should be given high priority. The authors have assembled an outstanding panel of contributors to address these issues. The topics herein have great relevance both in the industrialised nations where contemporary medications and strategies appear to have exacted their maximum benefits and for the developing nations where this ancient scourge remains rampant. This book will provide an impetus for authorities and organisations devoted to the development of new drugs to address the aforementioned growing problems of TB world-wide.
The fact college students often struggle in mathematics is not new. They exhibit a great deal of anxiety, dislike, and overall disinterest. Quantitative data displaying abysmal student success rates are widely available and shared. This book explores the complexity surrounding the issue of student difficulties in community college math. Though much quantitative research focuses on the faculty experiences and perspectives regarding methods and practices, the author puts the focus on students’ experiences. The book presents the results of a study focused on students who struggled in mathematics. Though their experiences varied, they all entered community college with a great deal of disgust and anxiety toward mathematics courses and requirements. These impressions and attitudes create barriers to success. However, all the students eventually succeeded in fulfilling their college-level mathematics requirement. The author presents these students’ experiences prior to entering community college, what led to both success and failure in their math courses, and the common themes leading to success and failure. Through these student responses, the author assists readers in gaining a better understanding of the community college student who struggles in math and how to break students’ community college math barriers to success. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1. Math is a Four-Letter Word 2. The Framework for Developmental and Introductory College-Level Math 3.The Study, Settings, and the Participants 4. Prior Experiences in Math 5. Attempting Math and Community College 6. Navigating the First Developmental Math Course 7. Math Pathways and Completing Developmental Math 8. The End of the Rainbow 9 I Need More Math...Now What? 10. Lessons Learned in the Aftermath Appendix A: Analyzing the Results and Ensuring Accuracy Appendix B: Pre-Algebra and Introduction to Algebra Course Content Appendix C: Stand-Alone Quantway 1 and Statway 1 Course Content Appendix D: Elementary Algebra (all half semester) Content Appendix E: Intermediate Algebra Content Appendix F: Lead Questions for Student Participants Appendix G: Lead Questions for the Lester Community College Faculty Index BIOGRAPHY With 21 years of experience in mathematics education and 17 years as a community college math professor, the author has instructed courses from developmental math through calculus. He has served as Chair of the Developmental Math Department and Assistant Chair of the Mathematics Department at Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio. He received the Jon and Suanne Roueche Award for Teaching Excellence and the Ohio Magazine Excellence in Education Award. His published research focuses on faculty viewpoints regarding pedagogical practices as well as conceptual research concentrating on developmental math. His article, "Acceleration and Compression in Developmental Math: Faculty Viewpoints," was awarded Article of the Year by the Journal of Developmental Education.
The Development of Early Childhood Mathematics Education, Volume 53 in the Advances in Child Development and Behavior series, includes chapters that highlight some of the most recent research in the field of developmental psychology. Users will find updated chapters on a variety of topics, including sections on The DREME Network: Research and Interventions in Early Childhood Mathematics, The Use of Concrete Experiences in Early Childhood Mathematics Instruction, Interventions in Early Mathematics: Avoiding Pollution and Dilution, Coaching in Early Mathematics, and Designing Studies to Test Causal Questions About Early Math: The Development of Making Pre-K Count. Each chapter provides in-depth discussions, with this volume serving as an invaluable resource for developmental or educational psychology researchers, scholars and students. - Contains chapters that highlight some of the most recent research in the area of child development and behavior - Presents a wide array of topics that are discussed in detail
This book documents the journey undertaken by educators from the Mathematics and Mathematics Education (MME) Academic Group in the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Singapore schools during a Mathematical Modelling Outreach (MMO) event in June 2010 under the guidance of renowned experts in the field of mathematical modelling. The main goal of MMO was to reach out to Singapore primary and secondary schools and introduce the potentials of mathematical modelling as a platform for eliciting mathematical thinking, communication, and reasoning among students. This book contributes to the expanding literature on mathematical modelling by offering voices from the Singaporean context. It suggests how theoretical perspectives on mathematical modelling can be transformed into actual practice in schools, all within the existing infrastructure of the current Singapore mathematics curriculum. More importantly, the book provides documentary evidence on how plans put in place through MMO in 2010 have since been realised.The publication of this book is hence timely at this juncture. Not only does the book record how MMO was among the first pebbles launched into the pond, it also serves as a bridge over which educators can stand upon to view how the ripple effect had developed from the initial MMO pebble and the directions it may continue to extend. Perhaps in the process, other ripples in the teaching, learning, and research of mathematical modelling can be created.
This engaging book presents the essential mathematics needed to describe, simulate, and render a 3D world. Reflecting both academic and in-the-trenches practical experience, the authors teach you how to describe objects and their positions, orientations, and trajectories in 3D using mathematics. The text provides an introduction to mathematics for
