Serological detection of close and distant relationships of an isolated Tobamovirus

A virus causing mosaic and leaf yellowing symptoms on Mucuna pruriens was isolated and purified through its susceptible host Vigna unguiculata var. TVu 76. Yield of the purified virus obtained was 7.2 mg/kg. It had an ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectrum at 260 nm as 1.53±0.00 and at 280 nm as 1.45±0.00, which translated into nucleic acid content of 72.9 %. Determination of the molecular weight of the virus coat protein from a plotted graph gave 27 kiloDaltons. When the purified virus was electrophoresed in agarose gel, no secondary band was observed. Absorbance curve at 260 nm was obtained when the purified virus was measured spectrophotometrically. A volume of 16 000μL antiserum was obtained against the virus with concentration of 0.3 mg/ml. The titre value determined for the antiserum raised against the virus was 1:2000 as there was a wider difference between the readings obtained for the healthy and diseased controls. At this dilution, the titre value was two and a half times greater than that of the healthy control. The heterologous: homologous percentage (%) obtained for the isolated virus and TMV (Muguga strain) was 50.0 % when Protein-A sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (PAS ELISA) was used to determine its serological relationship with the virus and other Tobamovirus strains.Keywords: PAS ELISA, Tobamovirus, coat protein, molecular weigh

Glasgow University and World War I

No abstract available, introduction pp.2-8

Corticosteroids for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy

Background: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a progressive or relapsing and remitting paralysing illness, probably due to an autoimmune response, which should benefit from corticosteroid treatment. Non-randomised studies suggest that corticosteroids are beneficial. Two commonly used corticosteroids are prednisone and prednisolone. Both are usually given as oral tablets. Prednisone is converted into prednisolone in the liver so that the effect of the two drugs is usually the same. Another corticosteroid, dexamethasone, is more potent and is used in smaller doses. The review was first published in 2001 and last updated in 2015; we undertook this update to identify any new evidence. Objectives: To assess the effects of corticosteroid treatment for CIDP compared to placebo or no treatment, and to compare the effects of different corticosteroid regimens. Search methods: On 8 November 2016, we searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, and Embase for randomised trials of corticosteroids for CIDP. We searched clinical trials registries for ongoing trials. Selection criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs of treatment with any corticosteroid or adrenocorticotrophic hormone for CIDP, diagnosed by an internationally accepted definition. Data collection and analysis: Two authors extracted data from included studies and assessed the risk of bias independently. The intended primary outcome was change in disability, with change in impairment after 12 weeks and side effects as secondary outcomes. We assessed strength of evidence using the GRADE approach. Main results: One non-blinded RCT comparing prednisone with no treatment in 35 eligible participants did not measure the primary outcome for this systematic review. The trial had a high risk of bias. Neuropathy Impairment Scale scores after 12 weeks improved in 12 of 19 participants randomised to prednisone, compared with five of 16 participants randomised to no treatment (risk ratio (RR) for improvement 2.02 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90 to 4.52; very low-quality evidence). The trial did not report side effects in detail, but one prednisone-treated participant died. A double-blind RCT comparing daily standard-dose oral prednisolone with monthly high-dose oral dexamethasone in 40 participants reported none of the prespecified outcomes for this review. The trial had a low risk of bias, but the quality of evidence was limited as it came from a single small study. There was little or no difference in number of participants who achieved remission (RR 1.11; 95% CI 0.50 to 2.45 in favour of monthly dexamethasone; moderate-quality evidence), or change in disability or impairment after one year (low-quality evidence). Change of grip strength or Medical Research Council (MRC) scores demonstrated little or no difference between groups (moderate-quality to low-quality evidence). Eight of 16 people in the prednisolone group and seven of 24 people in the dexamethasone group deteriorated. Side effects were similar with each regimen, except that sleeplessness was less common with monthly dexamethasone (low-quality evidence) as was moon facies (moon-shaped appearance of the face) (moderate-quality evidence). Experience from large non-randomised studies suggests that corticosteroids are beneficial, but long-term use causes serious side effects. Authors' conclusions: We are very uncertain about the effects of oral prednisone compared with no treatment, because the quality of evidence from the only RCT that exists is very low. Nevertheless, corticosteroids are commonly used in practice, supported by very low-quality evidence from observational studies. We also know from observational studies that corticosteroids carry the long-term risk of serious side effects. The efficacy of high-dose monthly oral dexamethasone is probably little different from that of daily standard-dose oral prednisolone. Most side effects occurred with similar frequencies in both groups, but with high-dose monthly oral dexamethasone moon facies is probably less common and sleeplessness may be less common than with oral prednisolone. We need further research to identify factors that predict response

Biological control of an agricultural pest protects tropical forests

Though often perceived as an environmentally-risky practice, biological control of invasive species can restore crop yields, ease land pressure and thus contribute to forest conservation. Here, we show how biological control against the mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti (Hemiptera) slows deforestation across Southeast Asia. In Thailand, this newly-arrived mealybug caused an 18% decline in cassava yields over 2009–2010 and an escalation in prices of cassava products. This spurred an expansion of cassava cropping in neighboring countries from 713,000 ha in 2009 to > 1 million ha by 2011: satellite imagery reveals 388%, 330%, 185% and 608% increases in peak deforestation rates in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam focused in cassava crop expansion areas. Following release of the host-specific parasitoid Anagyrus lopezi (Hymenoptera) in 2010, mealybug outbreaks were reduced, cropping area contracted and deforestation slowed by 31–95% in individual countries. Hence, when judiciously implemented, insect biological control can deliver substantial environmental benefits

The internal structure of situational judgement tests reflects candidate main effects: not dimensions or situations

Despite their popularity and capacity to predict performance, there is no clear consensus on the internal measurement characteristics of situational judgement tests (SJTs). Contemporary propositions in the literature focus on treating SJTs as methods, as measures of dimensions, or as measures of situational responses. However, empirical evidence relating to the internal structure of SJT scores is lacking. Using generalizability theory, we decomposed multiple sources of variance for three different SJTs used with different samples of job candidates (N1 = 2,320; N2 = 989; N3 = 7,934). Results consistently indicated that (a) the vast majority of reliable observed score variance reflected SJT-specific candidate main effects, analogous to a general judgment factor and that (b) the contribution of dimensions and situations to reliable SJT variance was, in relative terms, negligible. These findings do not align neatly with any of the proposals in the contemporary literature; however they do suggest an internal structure for SJTs

The chronology and kinematics of late Palaeozoic deformation in the NW contact metamorphic aureole of the Land's End Granite

A structural investigation of coastal exposures between Cape Cornwall and Pendeen Watch, in the NW contact metamorphic aureole of the Land’s End Granite, has confirmed a similar deformation chronology as in a reference section around Porthleven. D1 deformation is represented by an ubiquitous bedding-parallel S1 cleavage although F1 folds have not been recognised. D2 deformation is more localised and characterised by open F2 folds that verge WSW to NW and are associated with an ENE to SE dipping S2 crenulation cleavage. These structures are commonly obscured by later deformation and contact metamorphism and have not been described previously. A set of steeply inclined NNW-SSE trending, and subordinate set of moderately SE dipping, post-D2 metamorphic quartz veins formed coevally during an episode of strike-slip deformation prior to, or during, the early stages of D3 deformation. D3 deformation is widespread and represented by F3 folds and a WNW to NW dipping S3 crenulation cleavage; it has been recorded previously as D2 deformation. Two orders of F3 folds are developed; first order folds have a wavelength of up to 50 m, verge ESE, and result in vertical or steeply inclined bedding and S1 cleavage on their short limbs. Second order folds usually have a wavelength of 1 m or less and usually verge ESE, unless on the short limb of first order folds, where they verge WNW. Previously published data, indicating a dominant NW to WNW vergence of F3 folds on the northern flank of the Land’s End Granite are incorrect. D3 structures are consistent with formation during the extensional reactivation of large-scale thrust faults. Granite emplacement post-dates all three episodes of ductile deformation but granites and their host rocks are deformed by a late brittle expression of D3 deformation. The Land’s End pluton has been accommodated, at the current exposure level, primarily by roof uplift that has resulted in the tilting of D3 and earlier structures to the NW by 40-50º; this may have been accompanied by differential vertical axis rotations of the host rock. The last significant Palaeozoic deformation episode formed F4 folds and S4 cleavage and was a consequence of Mid- to Late Permian ENE-WSW shortening

Finite element model to simulate impact on a soft tissue simulant

A finite element model of an impact test on a soft tissue simulant, used as part of a shoulder surrogate, was developed in Ansys© LS-DYNA®. The surrogate consisted of a metal hemicylindrical core, with a diameter of 75 mm, covered with a 15 mm thick relaxed muscle simulant. The muscle simulant consisted of a 14 mm thick layer of silicone covered with 1 mm thick chamois leather to represent skin. The material properties of the silicone were obtained via quasi-static compression testing (curve fit with hyperelastic models) and compressive stress relaxation testing (curve fit with a Prony series). Outputs of the finite element models were compared against experimental data from impact tests on the shoulder surrogate at energies of 4.9, 9.8 and 14.7 J. The accuracy of the finite element models was assessed using four parameters: peak impact force, maximum deformation, impact duration and impulse. A 5-parameter Mooney-Rivlin material model combined with a 2-term Prony series was found to be suitable for modelling the soft tissue simulant of the shoulder surrogate. This model had under 10% overall mean deviation from the experimental values for the four assessment parameters across the three impact energies. Overall, the model provided a repeatable test method that can be adapted to help predict injuries to skin tissue and the performance/efficacy of personal protective equipment

On the size and shape of drumlins

We provide a mechanistic explanation for observed metrics for drumlins, which represent their sizes and shapes. Our explanation is based on a concept of drumlin growth occurring through a process of instability, whereby small amplitude wave forms first grow as ice slides over a bed of deformable sediments, followed by a coarsening process, in which the wavelength as well as the relief of the drumlins continues to grow. The observations then provide inferences about the growth process itself

Trends in sexually transmitted infections in general practice 1990-2000: population based study using data from the UK general practice research database

Objective: To describe the contribution of primary care to the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom, 1990-2000, in the context of increasing incidence of infections in genitourinary medicine clinics. Design: Population based study. Setting: UK primary care. Participants: Patients registered in the UK general practice research database. Main outcome measures: Incidence of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections in primary care and estimation of the proportion of major such infections diagnosed in primary care. Results: An estimated 23.0% of chlamydia cases in women but only 5.3% in men were diagnosed and treated in primary care during 1998-2000, along with 49.2% cases of non-specific urethritis and urethral discharge in men and 5.7% cases of gonorrhoea in women and 2.9% in men. Rates of diagnosis in primary care rose substantially in the late 1990s. Conclusions: A substantial and increasing number of sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed and treated in primary care in the United Kingdom, with sex ratios differing from those in genitourinary medicine clinics. Large numbers of men are treated in primary care for presumptive sexually transmitted infections

Information systems project failure – analysis of causal links using interpretive structural modelling

YesThe analysis of the root causes of information systems project failure has been the subject of intense scrutiny for some time within industry and the academic community. Researchers have developed various models, notions of failure and categorisations to succinctly classify project failure into a set of key factors for organisations and project managers to focus on in their attempts to avoid failure. This study incorporates a technique titled: interpretive structural modelling as the methodology to formalise the relationships between the selected failure factors. This approach is positioned as a mechanism that can yield greater insights into the relationships between the factors surrounding project failure, thereby developing a better understanding of how these relationships can have a bearing on project outcomes. The findings identify key driving variables that are presented as having significant impact on the other factors within the model. A number of variables are also identified as being heavily dependent on other connected factors highlighting that a failure in one or more of these connected factors is likely to result in a failure in one or more of the dependent factors unless timely steps are taken to address these key issues. This research details a number of practical implications for senior management and project managers as well as the academic community. These considerations form an underlying thread within this study as specific practice-related implications are highlighted and discussed throughout the study