60 research outputs found
Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Barmah Forest Virus Disease in Queensland, Australia
Background Barmah Forest virus (BFV) disease is a common and wide-spread mosquito-borne disease in Australia. This study investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of BFV disease in Queensland, Australia using geographical information system (GIS) tools and geostatistical analysis. Methods/Principal Findings We calculated the incidence rates and standardised incidence rates of BFV disease. Moran's I statistic was used to assess the spatial autocorrelation of BFV incidences. Spatial dynamics of BFV disease was examined using semi-variogram analysis. Interpolation techniques were applied to visualise and display the spatial distribution of BFV disease in statistical local areas (SLAs) throughout Queensland. Mapping of BFV disease by SLAs reveals the presence of substantial spatio-temporal variation over time. Statistically significant differences in BFV incidence rates were identified among age groups (χ2 = 7587, df = 7327,p<0.01). There was a significant positive spatial autocorrelation of BFV incidence for all four periods, with the Moran's I statistic ranging from 0.1506 to 0.2901 (p<0.01). Semi-variogram analysis and smoothed maps created from interpolation techniques indicate that the pattern of spatial autocorrelation was not homogeneous across the state. Conclusions/Significance This is the first study to examine spatial and temporal variation in the incidence rates of BFV disease across Queensland using GIS and geostatistics. The BFV transmission varied with age and gender, which may be due to exposure rates or behavioural risk factors. There are differences in the spatio-temporal patterns of BFV disease which may be related to local socio-ecological and environmental factors. These research findings may have implications in the BFV disease control and prevention programs in Queensland
The reference frame for encoding and retention of motion depends on stimulus set size
YesThe goal of this study was to investigate the reference
frames used in perceptual encoding and storage of visual
motion information. In our experiments, observers viewed
multiple moving objects and reported the direction of motion
of a randomly selected item. Using a vector-decomposition
technique, we computed performance during smooth pursuit
with respect to a spatiotopic (nonretinotopic) and to a
retinotopic component and compared them with performance
during fixation, which served as the baseline. For the stimulus
encoding stage, which precedes memory, we found that the
reference frame depends on the stimulus set size. For a single
moving target, the spatiotopic reference frame had the most
significant contribution with some additional contribution
from the retinotopic reference frame. When the number of
items increased (Set Sizes 3 to 7), the spatiotopic reference
frame was able to account for the performance. Finally, when
the number of items became larger than 7, the distinction
between reference frames vanished. We interpret this finding
as a switch to a more abstract nonmetric encoding of motion
direction. We found that the retinotopic reference frame was
not used in memory. Taken together with other studies, our
results suggest that, whereas a retinotopic reference frame
may be employed for controlling eye movements, perception
and memory use primarily nonretinotopic reference frames.
Furthermore, the use of nonretinotopic reference frames appears
to be capacity limited. In the case of complex stimuli, the
visual system may use perceptual grouping in order to simplify
the complexity of stimuli or resort to a nonmetric abstract
coding of motion information
HIV provider and patient perspectives on the Development of a Health Department “Data to Care” Program: a qualitative study
Ensemble coding of color and luminance contrast
Ensemble coding has been demonstrated for many attributes including color, but the metrics on which this coding is based remain uncertain. We examined ensemble percepts for stimulus sets that varied in chromatic contrast between complementary hues, or that varied in luminance contrast between increments and decrements, in both cases focusing on the ensemble percepts for the neutral gray stimulus defining the category boundary. Each ensemble was composed of 16 circles with four contrast levels. Observers saw the display for 0.5 s and then judged whether a target contrast was a member of the set. False alarms were high for intermediate contrasts (within the range of the ensemble) and fell for higher or lower values. However, for ensembles with complementary hues, gray was less likely to be reported as a member, even when it represented the mean chromaticity of the set. When the settings were repeated for luminance contrast, false alarms for gray were higher and fell off more gradually for out-of-range contrasts. This difference implies that opposite luminance polarities represent a more continuous perceptual dimension than opponent-color variations, and that “gray” is a stronger category boundary for chromatic than luminance contrasts. For color, our results suggest that ensemble percepts reflect pooling within rather than between large hue differences, perhaps because the visual system represents hue differences more like qualitatively different categories than like quantitative differences within an underlying color “space.” The differences for luminance and color suggest more generally that ensemble coding for different visual attributes might depend on different processes that in turn depend on the format of the visual representation
Roadmap on dynamics of molecules and clusters in the gas phase
This roadmap article highlights recent advances, challenges and future prospects in studies of the dynamics of molecules and clusters in the gas phase. It comprises nineteen contributions by scientists with leading expertise in complementary experimental and theoretical techniques to probe the dynamics on timescales spanning twenty order of magnitudes, from attoseconds to minutes and beyond, and for systems ranging in complexity from the smallest (diatomic) molecules to clusters and nanoparticles. Combining some of these techniques opens up new avenues to unravel hitherto unexplored reaction pathways and mechanisms, and to establish their significance in, e.g. radiotherapy and radiation damage on the nanoscale, astrophysics, astrochemistry and atmospheric science
The small heat shock protein Hsp31 cooperates with Hsp104 to modulate Sup35 prion aggregation
Recommended from our members
Investigating Disparities in Hypopharyngeal/Laryngeal Cancer Survival in Florida With Geospatial Mapping Analysis
Identify predictors of overall survival (OS) after hypopharyngeal/laryngeal cancer in Florida.
We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) on patients diagnosed with hypopharyngeal or laryngeal cancer from 2010-2017. Primary outcome was OS. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated from univariable and multivariable Cox regression models for OS. Data was analyzed from November 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.
We analyzed 6771 patients, who were primarily male (81.2%), White non-Hispanic (WNH) (78.2%), publicly insured (70.1%), married (51.8%), and residents of urban counties (73.6%). Black patients were more likely to be younger at diagnosis (38.9%), single (43.4%), to have distant SEER stage disease (25.6%). Median OS were lowest among patients who were uninsured (34 months), with hypopharyngeal site disease (18 months), and a smoking history (current: 34 months, former: 46 months, no smoking: 63 months). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed worse OS for single/unmarried vs married (HR 1.47 [95%CI: 1.36-1.59],
< .001), history of tobacco use (current: HR 1.62 [95%CI: 1.440-1.817],
< .001; former smokers: (HR 1.28 [95%CI: 1.139-1.437],
< .001) vs no history). Improved OS was observed among White Hispanics (WH) vs WNH (HR .73 [95%CI: .655-.817],
< .001) and women vs men (HR .88 [95%CI: .807-.954],
= .002). Geographical mapping showed that mortality rates were highest in census tracts with low income and education.
Our findings suggest that sociodemographic and clinical factors impact OS from hypopharyngeal/laryngeal cancer in Florida and vary geographically within the state. These results will help guide future public health interventions
- …