Cameroon, until now a point of stability in the region, faces potential instability in the run-up to the presidential elections scheduled for late 2011.

En Guinée, la période trouble sous la domination de la junte ne sera bientôt plus qu’un mauvais souvenir – si tout va bien. Le capitaine Dadis Camara, qui a été acclamé lors de son arrivée à la tête de l’Etat suite à la mort du président Conté, a fait de 2009 une année que les Guinéens veulent oublier, son évènement le plus marquant ayant été le massacre de 160 personnes dans le stade national en septembre 2009.

While the prospect of Guinea's return to constitutional rule after its recent election is cause for hope, the recent resurgence of military takeovers in Africa may not yet have run its full course.

For more than a year and a half, UN peacekeepers have continuously supported military operations conducted by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) against the Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in North and South Kivu.

Después de 28 años bajo el gobierno de Paul Biya, Camerún se encuentra en una situación de inestabilidad grave que no sólo podría echar a perder las próximas elecciones presidenciales en 2011, sino que también pone en riesgo su papel como principal pilar de estabilidad en África Central.

Le président sortant vient d'entamer un sixième mandat au Cameroun. Aujourd'hui, le pays est résolument tourné vers l'avenir et pense à l'après-Biya.

Cameroon’s apparent stability belies the variety of internal and external pressures threatening the country’s future. Without social and political change, a weakened Cameroon could become another flashpoint in the region.

Since President Paul Biya came to power in 1982, Cameroon has been a sleepy regime with a soft and aging dictator, a nation all but forgotten in a remote corner of the African continent. This has dramatically changed with the spillover of Boko Haram from Nigeria into Cameroon in 2014 and its transformation into a regional threat. Now there is not a single day without reports of Boko Haram attacks in northern Cameroon. Even before it realized what it meant, the Cameroonian regime had become part of the fight against terrorism. After initially downplaying the problem, Cameroon’s leaders are now discovering the challenges and dangers of this new war. This rising, external threat sheds a new light on a forgotten country with a strategic position in Africa. The geography of Cameroon is both its blessing and its curse—a pivot between West and Central Africa, divided by language, culture, and history, its very existence depending on a regional stability so often beyond its grasp.

​Religious intolerance is a growing but seriously underestimated risk in Cameroon, both between and inside the major faiths. To halt the spread of violent extremism in the country, Cameroon needs to bring all sects into a new social compact and within the bounds of a charter for religious tolerance.

La imagen de Camerún como una isla de paz en medio de una región tumultuosa terminó en 2013, cuando la violencia de Boko Haram cruzó la frontera nigeriana. Este grupo está afiliado al llamado Estado Islámico o Daesh, e incluso se rebautizó como Estado Islámico de África Occidental a principios de este año. Pero la forma brutal de yihadismo africano que representa difícilmente se explica por el auge del Estado Islámico en Irak y Siria. De hecho, es en parte una consecuencia del cambiante panorama religioso africano, que afecta y no poco a Camerún.

The image of Cameroon as an island of peace amidst regional turmoil ended in 2013, when Boko Haram’s violence first crossed the Nigerian border. The militant group is affiliated with so-called Islamic State or Daesh, and even renamed itself Islamic State in West Africa earlier this year. But the brutal form of African jihadism it represents is hardly a result of the Islamic State’s rise in Iraq and Syria. In fact, it is in part a consequence of Africa’s changing religious landscape – not least in Cameroon.

L’image de havre de paix dans une région en proie aux conflits dont bénéficiait le Cameroun a volé en éclats depuis l’irruption de Boko Haram en 2013 au nord du pays. Ce mouvement, devenu l’Etat islamique en Afrique de l’Ouest en mars 2015, revendique son affiliation à Daech. Néanmoins, l’apparition brutale et sanglante de ce djihadisme africain est moins liée à l’essor de Daech en Irak et en Syrie qu’aux bouleversements du paysage religieux de l’Afrique en général et du Cameroun en particulier.

Since 2012, single low dose of primaquine (SLDPQ, 0.25mg/kg) has been recommended with artemisinin-based combination therapies, as first-line treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, to interrupt its transmission, especially in low transmission settings of multidrug, including artemisinin, resistance. Policy makers in Cambodia have been reluctant to implement this recommendation due to primaquine safety concerns and lack of data on its efficacy.

In this randomized controlled trial, 109 Cambodians with acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria received dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) alone or combined with SLDPQ on the first treatment day. Transmission-blocking efficacy of SLDPQ was evaluated on Days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and recrudescence by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (gametocyte prevalence) and membrane-feeding assays with Anopheles minimus mosquitoes (gametocyte infectivity). Without the influence of recrudescent infections, DP+SLDPQ reduced gametocyte carriage 3 fold compared to DP. Of 48 patients tested on Day 0, only three patients were infectious to mosquitoes (~6%). Post-treatment, three patients were infectious: on D14 (3.5%, 1/29), and on the first and seventh day of recrudescence (8.3%, 1/12 for each); this overall low infectivity precluded our ability to assess its transmission blocking efficacy.

Our study confirms effective gametocyte clearance of SLDPQ when combined with DP in multidrug resistant P. falciparum and the negative impact of recrudescent infections due to poor DP efficacy. Artesunate-mefloquine (ASMQ) has replaced DP and ASMQ-SLDPQ has been deployed to treat all P. falciparum symptomatic patients to further support the elimination of multidrug resistant P. falciparum in Cambodia.

Bacteria of the genus Campylobacter are major foodborne pathogens which have become increasingly resistant to clinically important antimicrobial agents (1)....

Florfenicol belongs to a class of phenicol antimicrobials widely used as feed additives and for the treatment of respiratory infections. In recent years, increasing resistance to florfenicol has been reported in Campylobacter spp., the leading foodborne enteric pathogen causing diarrheal diseases worldwide. Here, we reported the identification of fexA, a novel mobile florfenicol resistance gene in Campylobacter. Of the 100 Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from poultry in Zhejiang, China, nine of them were shown to be fexA positive, and their whole genome sequences were further determined by integration of Illumina short-read and MinION long-read sequencing. The fexA gene was found in the plasmid of one strain and chromosomes of eight strains, and its location was verified by S1 nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (S1-PFGE) and Southern blotting. Based on comparative analysis, the fexA gene was located within a region with the tet(L)-fexA-catA-tet(O) gene arrangement, demonstrated to be successfully transferrable among C. jejuni strains. Functional cloning indicated that acquisition of the single fexA gene significantly increased resistance to florfenicol, whereas its inactivation resulted in increased susceptibility to florfenicol in Campylobacter. Taken together, these results indicated that the emerging fexA resistance is horizontally transferable, which might greatly facilitate the adaptation of Campylobacter in food producing environments where florfenicols are frequently used.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has grown to become a major burden on healthcare systems. The cumulation of limited therapeutic options and worsened patient outcomes with persistent MRSA bacteremia has driven research in optimizing its initial management. The guidelines published by the Infectious Disease of America currently recommend combination therapy for refractory MRSA bacteremia, but the utility of combining antibiotics from the start of therapy is under investigation. The alternative strategy of early use of a β-lactam antibiotics in combination with vancomycin upon initial MRSA bacteremia detection has shown promise. While this concept has gained international attention, providers should give this strategy serious consideration prior to implementation. The objective of this review is to examine retrospective and prospective evidence for early combination with vancomycin and β-lactam antibiotics, as well as explore potential consequences of combination therapy.

Campaign Monitor is a satisfactory marketing tool, especially with email marketing features and analytics, but it trails the competition in areas like direct online support.

SIM-swap fraud complaints seem to be on the rise with a growing number of victims coming forward to share their dreadful experiences. Vodacom offers some helpful tips.

Unsuspected consumers are being targeted by fraudsters using the name of Sanlam to swindle cash out of them, the financial service provider has warned.

Despite the many investment scams that the South African public is falling for, in many cases the Financial Services Board (FSB) finds its hands tied when it comes to protecting the public.

Penn Staters across the Commonwealth are embodying the “We Are” spirit by keeping campus food pantries open and shelves stocked to continue to serve students in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hazleton native Megan Bobish has joined the Penn State Hazleton Athletics Department as the newest member of its team.

Penn State Hazleton’s Student Services and Engagement team is continuing to forge personal connections with students while operating under the restrictions in the virtual environment created by the COVID-19 crisis.

Katie Marshall, Penn State World Campus mental health case manager, connects students learning online to resources in their own communities.

As part of Penn State's 2020 spring commencement activities, Matthew Solovey will represent the College of the Liberal Arts as its World Campus student marshal.

Campus Recreation, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, is hosting the first ever “We Are Penn State Virtual 5K,” with the opportunity to benefit the Penn State Student Care and Advocacy Student Emergency Fund.

Online learners at Penn State have elected 10 leaders to the World Campus Student Government Association to serve in the 2020-21 school year.

Apple quietly revealed new iPods today with new colors and better specs.

Don't take your safety for granted. These apps, services, and gadgets will help you communicate your location to trusted contacts and get help should trouble arise.

The Logitech C920 1080p webcam is back down to its Prime Day price, the 65-inch Vizio P-Series Quantum 4K TV is on sale for less than $1,000, and you can grab the new Dell Inspiron 15 5000 plus a $100 Visa prepaid card for just $600.

Three Berks Thun Library employees received the 2020 Innovation in College Librarianship Award from the College Libraries Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The award honors librarians who demonstrate a capacity for innovation in working with or serving undergraduates or instructors in the areas of programs, services, and operations, or creating innovations for library colleagues that facilitate their ability to better serve the library’s community.

On Monday, Pablo Escobar's brother started to take orders for a second foldable phone at the low price of $399. However, users who bought the first foldable phone from the company say their orders have yet to arrive. Instead, what they got was a book and a pamphlet.

Fifty students of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus have generated $71,063.48 in donations for the annual Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), held Feb. 22 to 23 in the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park.

William J. Doan, the 2019-20 Penn State Laureate, presented “The Anxiety Project: An Artist’s Look at Mental Health and Wellness” at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus on March 3.

Four Penn State World Campus energy and sustainability policy majors spent the year working with Pennsylvania boroughs to inventory greenhouse gas emissions, and coming up with climate action plans for reducing them.

Security expert Max Eddy doesn't want creepers spying on him (or his dog) through insecure hardware, but that's not why he doesn't have internet-connected cameras in his home.

A Florida city made the difficult decision to fork over the cash after ransomware hijacked city computers. Everyone needs to make their own choice, but I firmly believe you should never pay the ransom.

Deepfakes, or doctored videos, have mostly been used to harm the reputations of celebrities and politicians. Now the AI-assisted technology is being used to trick companies out of big money.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has approved a series of new hires that will significantly expand his campaign ahead of the general election fight with President Trump.

Penn State faculty are going beyond using traditional video in their courses by incorporating virtual-reality immersive experiences. They are discovering how those experiences help enhance active learning and focus students' attention on critical lessons in their courses.

Virtual visits provide opportunities to learn about what Penn State York has to offer. Programming scheduled through May.

From the creepy scales to the gaping wheel arches, the Vision Avtr is not particularly attractive, but it is environmentally friendly, from its vegan leather interior to its compostable battery.

A freestyle world champion stars in an incredible keepy-up video across Europe to launch UEFA's #PlayAnywhere campaign, which also features eight top women's players and 13 unique locations.

Rita Ora is offering fans an opportunity to meet her as part of UEFA's newest women's football initiative.

Europe's most famous footballing families are supporting a new TV campaign by UEFA which calls on dads to encourage their daughters to play football.

A Bangladeshi woman sees God answer prayer in an unlikely way. Her new faith teaches her to trust that God hears her.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan briefed a joint meeting of Parliament's Portfolio and Standing Committees on Public Enterprises on Wednesday evening.

University officials, who have discouraged visits to campus and campus landmarks due to COVID-19, are increasing signage and social distancing guidance around the sites, as visitors continue to seek photographs in those areas and appear to be ignoring health care recommendations.

Throughout the pandemic Penn State has been active in offering support and advice to all of its students, including those who normally reside off campus.

For just $139 you can keep tabs on your dog and send them treats wherever you are.