Environmental monitoring of Mycobacterium bovis in badger feces and badger sett soil by real-time PCR, as confirmed by immunofluorescence, immunocapture, and cultivation

Real-time PCR was used to detect and quantify Mycobacterium bovis cells in naturally infected soil and badger faeces. Immunomagnetic capture, immunofluorescence and selective culture confirmed species identification and cell viability. These techniques will prove useful for monitoring M. bovis in the environment and for elucidating transmission routes between wildlife and cattle

Inhomogeneous scalar field solutions and inflation

We present new exact cosmological inhomogeneous solutions for gravity coupled to a scalar field in a general framework specified by the parameter $\lambda$. The equations of motion (and consequently the solutions) in this framework correspond either to low-energy string theory or Weyl integrable spacetime according to the sign of $\lambda$. We show that different inflationary behaviours are possible, as suggested by the study of the violation of the strong energy condition. Finally, by the analysis of certain curvature scalars we found that some of the solutions may be nonsingular.Comment: LaTex file, 14 page

General Practice in the Time of COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Service Evaluation of a Primary Care COVID-19 Service

Primary care coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinics were rapidly introduced across the UK to review potentially infectious patients. Evaluation of these services is needed to guide future implementation. This mixed-methods study evaluates patient demographics, clinical presentation, co-morbidities, service usage, and outcomes for the Islington COVID-19 service (London, UK) and from April to May 2020 and thematically analyses survey responses from 29 service clinicians and 41 GP referrers on their service experience. Of the 237 patients booked into the service, a significant number of referrals (n = 91; 38.6%) were made after the presumed infectious period of 14 days. Almost half of all adult referrals (49%) were dealt with remotely (via telephone/video consultation +/− remote oxygen saturation monitoring). The service was perceived to provide a safe way to see patients; it developed local expertise, learning, and empowerment; and it was a positive teamworking experience. These findings suggest that the management of many patients with COVID-19 symptoms is possible in routine general practice with minimal risk through the implementation of remote consultation methods and in patients who present after the post-infectious period. Additionally, the use of remote saturation monitoring and local GP COVID-19 “experts” can support practices to manage COVID-19 patients. Future primary care COVID-19 services should act as empowerment tools to assist GPs to safely manage their own patients and provide support for GPs in this process

Maximizing the potential of multi-parental crop populations.

Most agriculturally significant crop traits are quantitatively inherited which limits the ease and efficiency of trait dissection. Multi-parent populations overcome the limitations of traditional trait mapping and offer new potential to accurately define the genetic basis of complex crop traits. The increasing popularity and use of nested association mapping (NAM) and multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) populations raises questions about the optimal design and allocation of resources in their creation. In this paper we review strategies for the creation of multi-parent populations and describe two complementary in silico studies addressing the design and construction of NAM and MAGIC populations. The first simulates the selection of diverse founder parents and the second the influence of multi-parent crossing schemes (and number of founders) on haplotype creation and diversity. We present and apply two open software resources to simulate alternate strategies for the development of multi-parent populations

Integrable multiparametric quantum spin chains

Using Reshetikhin's construction for multiparametric quantum algebras we obtain the associated multiparametric quantum spin chains. We show that under certain restrictions these models can be mapped to quantum spin chains with twisted boundary conditions. We illustrate how this general formalism applies to construct multiparametric versions of the supersymmetric t-J and U models.Comment: 17 pages, RevTe

Traversable wormholes coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics

In this work we explore the possible existence of static, spherically symmetric and stationary, axisymmetric traversable wormholes coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics. Considering static and spherically symmetric (2+1) and (3+1)-dimensional wormhole spacetimes, we verify the presence of an event horizon and the non-violation of the null energy condition at the throat. For the former spacetime, the principle of finiteness is imposed, in order to obtain regular physical fields at the throat. Next, we analyze the (2+1)-dimensional stationary and axisymmetric wormhole, and also verify the presence of an event horizon, rendering the geometry non-traversable. Relatively to the (3+1)-dimensional stationary and axisymmetric wormhole geometry, we find that the field equations impose specific conditions that are incompatible with the properties of wormholes. Thus, we prove the non-existence of the general class of traversable wormhole solutions, outlined above, within the context of nonlinear electrodynamics.Comment: 9 pages, Revtex4. V2: major change in title; considerable additions in the Introduction and in the rotating solution, no physics changes; correction of a reference, one reference added; now 10 pages. This version to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

The world's crop productivity is stagnating whereas population growth, rising affluence, and mandates for biofuels put increasing demands on agriculture. Meanwhile, demand for increasing cropland competes with equally crucial global sustainability and environmental protection needs. Addressing this looming agricultural crisis will be one of our greatest scientific challenges in the coming decades, and success will require substantial improvements at many levels. We assert that increasing the efficiency and productivity of photosynthesis in crop plants will be essential if this grand challenge is to be met. Here, we explore an array of prospective redesigns of plant systems at various scales, all aimed at increasing crop yields through improved photosynthetic efficiency and performance. Prospects range from straightforward alterations, already supported by preliminary evidence of feasibility, to substantial redesigns that are currently only conceptual, but that may be enabled by new developments in synthetic biology. Although some proposed redesigns are certain to face obstacles that will require alternate routes, the efforts should lead to new discoveries and technical advances with important impacts on the global problem of crop productivity and bioenergy production

General Practice in the Time of COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Service Evaluation of a Primary Care COVID-19 Service.

Primary care coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinics were rapidly introduced across the UK to review potentially infectious patients. Evaluation of these services is needed to guide future implementation. This mixed-methods study evaluates patient demographics, clinical presentation, co-morbidities, service usage, and outcomes for the Islington COVID-19 service (London, UK) and from April to May 2020 and thematically analyses survey responses from 29 service clinicians and 41 GP referrers on their service experience. Of the 237 patients booked into the service, a significant number of referrals (n = 91; 38.6%) were made after the presumed infectious period of 14 days. Almost half of all adult referrals (49%) were dealt with remotely (via telephone/video consultation +/- remote oxygen saturation monitoring). The service was perceived to provide a safe way to see patients; it developed local expertise, learning, and empowerment; and it was a positive teamworking experience. These findings suggest that the management of many patients with COVID-19 symptoms is possible in routine general practice with minimal risk through the implementation of remote consultation methods and in patients who present after the post-infectious period. Additionally, the use of remote saturation monitoring and local GP COVID-19 "experts" can support practices to manage COVID-19 patients. Future primary care COVID-19 services should act as empowerment tools to assist GPs to safely manage their own patients and provide support for GPs in this process