Implementation of the reaching every district [RED] approach: experience from North Sudan

The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the extent and quality of implementing the Reaching Every District [RED] approach in North Sudan and its impact on immunization coverage. The evaluation was conducted in all 70 districts of North Sudan, excluding Darfur. District RED implementation data for 2006 were collected from district staff and used to quantify implementation by calculating Implementation Scores [IS] using a 10-point scale, with 10 being fully implemented. Overall RED IS ranged from 1.6 to 8.9. The percentage of districts with diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus [DPT] 3 coverage >/=80% increased as the overall RED IS increased, 78%, 87%, and 96% in low-, medium-, and high-scoring groups respectively. The degree of RED implementation varied across districts. Although it is not possible to directly attribute the overall increase in DPT3 coverage to RED implementation, RED implementation quality might be associated with improved DPT3 coverage

study of the possible influence of biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate [DDB] on the social behavior developed by the sensory contact model in mice

The sensory contact model allows forming different psychopathological states produced by repeated agonistic interactions in male mice. It gives the opportunity of using animals with behavioral pathology to investigate the action of novel [along with widely used] psychotropic drugs and to conduct their screening in the simulated clinical conditions. Due to wide use of Biphenyl Dimethyl Dicarboxylate [DDB] together with its neurobehavioral effect, the present work aimed to investigate the possible effects of DDB on social behavior by studying its protective and medicative effects on the process of transformation to aggressive and submissive behaviors using the sensory contact model. Besides, measuring behavioral changes [using the open field test and the elevated plus maze test], neurotransmitters [serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine] and immunological changes [total leucocyte count, differential leucocytic count, and evaluation of bone marrow lymphocytes count and viability assessment] were evaluated. The work was conducted using adult male Swiss mice. DDB was administered orally in a dose of 100 mg/kg/day for two weeks and in two regimens. First as a protective treatment: it was applied for two weeks from the fifth day to the last day of the sensory contact model. Second, as a medicative treatment: DDP was administered after the end of the sensory contact model where the animals were kept in comfortable housing condition without daily interaction and received the treatment for two weeks. The present results concluded that, administration of DDB to the sensory contact model involved animals was showen to be associated with significant impacts on the animals' behavior, brain contents of neurotransmitters as well as the examined immunity related parameters. The produced effects were developed on the frame of DDB administration, whether it is administred as a possible protective agent or as a possible medicative one