Physics of Solar Prominences: II - Magnetic Structure and Dynamics

Observations and models of solar prominences are reviewed. We focus on non-eruptive prominences, and describe recent progress in four areas of prominence research: (1) magnetic structure deduced from observations and models, (2) the dynamics of prominence plasmas (formation and flows), (3) Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) waves in prominences and (4) the formation and large-scale patterns of the filament channels in which prominences are located. Finally, several outstanding issues in prominence research are discussed, along with observations and models required to resolve them.Comment: 75 pages, 31 pictures, review pape

Overview of the Canadian pediatric end-stage renal disease database

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Performing clinical research among pediatric end-stage renal disease patients is challenging. Barriers to successful initiation and completion of clinical research projects include small sample sizes and resultant limited statistical power and lack of longitudinal follow-up for hard clinical end-points in most single center studies.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>Existing longitudinal organ failure disease registry and administrative health datasets available within a universal access health care system can be used to study outcomes of end-stage renal disease among pediatric patients in Canada. To construct the Canadian Pediatric End-Stage Renal Disease database, registry data were linked to administrative health data through deterministic linkage techniques creating a research database which consists of socio-demographic variables, clinical variables, all-cause hospitalizations, and relevant outcomes (death and renal allograft loss) for this patient population. The research database also allows study of major cardiovascular events using previously validated administrative data definitions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Organ failure registry linked to health administrative data can be a powerful tool to perform longitudinal studies in pediatric end-stage renal disease patients. The rich clinical and demographic information found in this database will facilitate study of important medical and non-medical risk factors for death, graft loss and cardiovascular disease among pediatric end-stage renal disease patients.</p

Impact of Sauropod Dinosaurs on Lagoonal Substrates in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous), Western Australia

Existing knowledge of the tracks left by sauropod dinosaurs (loosely ‘brontosaurs’) is essentially two-dimensional, derived mainly from footprints exposed on bedding planes, but examples in the Broome Sandstone (Early Cretaceous) of Western Australia provide a complementary three-dimensional picture showing the extent to which walking sauropods could deform the ground beneath their feet. The patterns of deformation created by sauropods traversing thinly-stratified lagoonal deposits of the Broome Sandstone are unprecedented in their extent and structural complexity. The stacks of transmitted reliefs (underprints or ghost prints) beneath individual footfalls are nested into a hierarchy of deeper and more inclusive basins and troughs which eventually attain the size of minor tectonic features. Ultimately the sauropod track-makers deformed the substrate to such an extent that they remodelled the topography of the landscape they inhabited. Such patterns of substrate deformation are revealed by investigating fragmentary and eroded footprints, not by the conventional search for pristine footprints on intact bedding planes. For that reason it is not known whether similar patterns of substrate deformation might occur at sauropod track-sites elsewhere in the world

Integrated dataset of screening hits against multiple neglected disease pathogens.

New chemical entities are desperately needed that overcome the limitations of existing drugs for neglected diseases. Screening a diverse library of 10,000 drug-like compounds against 7 neglected disease pathogens resulted in an integrated dataset of 744 hits. We discuss the prioritization of these hits for each pathogen and the strong correlation observed between compounds active against more than two pathogens and mammalian cell toxicity. Our work suggests that the efficiency of early drug discovery for neglected diseases can be enhanced through a collaborative, multi-pathogen approach

Bacterial and Fungal Contributions to Carbon Sequestration in Agroecosystems

This paper reviews the current knowledge of microbial processes affecting C sequestration in agroecosystems. The microbial contri-bution to soil C storage is directly related to microbial community dynamics and the balance between formation and degradation of mi-crobial byproducts. Soil microbes also indirectly influence C cycling by improving soil aggregation, which physically protects soil organic matter (SOM). Consequently, the microbial contribution to C seques-tration is governed by the interactions between the amount of micro-bial biomass, microbial community structure, microbial byproducts, and soil properties such as texture, clay mineralogy, pore-size distribu-tion, and aggregate dynamics. The capacity of a soil to protect micro-bial biomass and microbially derived organic matter (MOM) is directly and/or indirectly (i.e., through physical protection by aggregates) related to the reactive properties of clays. However, the stabilizatio

Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes from Herbal Vermicompost

Overreliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers has resulted in problems including safety risks, outbreaks of secondary pests normally held in check by natural enemies, insecticide resistance, environmental contamination, and decrease in biodiversity. The increasing costs and negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers necessitate the idea of biological options of crop protection and production. This includes the use of animal manure, crop residues, microbial inoculum, and composts. They provide natural nutrition, reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers, develop biodiversity, increase soil biological activity, maintain soil physical properties, and improve environmental health

Time trends over five decades, and recent geographical variation, in rates of childhood squint surgery in England.

AIMS: To study trends in rates of childhood squint surgery in England over five decades, and to study recent geographical variation in England. METHODS: Use of routine hospital statistics to analyse trends in squint surgery in the Oxford record linkage study area 1963-2010, and England 1968-2010; analysis of geographical variation in England 1999-2010. All rates, numerators and population denominators were restricted to people aged under 15 years. RESULTS: The study included 519 089 admissions for operations on squint. Annual admission rates for squint surgery in England fell from 188.8 episodes per 100 000 population (95% CI 180.9 to 196.8) in 1968 to 64.1 (62.4 to 65.7) episodes per 100 000 population in 2010. A similar decline was seen in the Oxford region, from 213.2 (181.3 to 245.2) episodes per 100 000 population in 1963 to 61.3 (54.8 to 67.9) episodes in 2010. There was wide variation across local authorities in annual rates of squint surgery from 28.2 (95% CI 22.7 to 34.8) admissions per 100 000 population to 138.6 (123.0 to 155.7) admissions per 100 000, a 4.9-fold difference between areas with the highest and lowest rates. CONCLUSIONS: Squint surgery rates have decreased substantially over time. The current wide geographical variation in rates raises questions about whether this scale of variation is clinically warranted, whether it reflects variation in needs for surgery and patient/parental choice, whether it is a result of inequalities in the availability of ophthalmic services, or whether it results from variation between clinicians in clinical decision making about the likely benefits of squint surgery

Cortico-Striatal Control over Adaptive Goal-Directed Responding Elicited by Cues Signaling Sucrose Reward or Punishment

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been associated with the expression of adaptive and maladaptive behavior elicited by fear-related and drug-associated cues. However, reported effects of mPFC manipulations on cue-elicited natural reward-seeking and inhibition thereof have been varied, with few studies examining cortico-striatal contributions in tasks that require adaptive responding to cues signaling reward and punishment within the same session. The current study aimed to better elucidate the role of mPFC and NAc subdivisions, and their functional connectivity in cue-elicited adaptive responding using a novel discriminative cue responding task. Male Long–Evans rats learned to lever-press on a VR5 schedule for a discriminative cue signaling reward, and to avoid pressing the same lever in the presence of another cue signaling punishment. Postacquisition, prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) areas of the mPFC, NAc core, shell, PL-core, or IL-shell circuits were pharmacologically or chemogenetically inhibited while animals performed under (1) nonreinforced (extinction) conditions, where the appetitive and aversive cues were presented in alternating trials alone or as a compound stimulus; and (2) reinforced conditions, whereby cued responding was accompanied by associated outcomes. PL and IL inactivation attenuated nonreinforced and reinforced goal-directed cue responding, whereas NAc core and shell inactivation impaired nonreinforced responding for the appetitive, but not aversive cue. Furthermore, PL-core and IL-shell inhibition disinhibited nonreinforced but not reinforced cue responding. Our findings implicate the mPFC as a site of confluence of motivationally significant cues and outcomes, and in the regulation of nonreinforced cue responding via downstream NAc targets.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe ability to discriminate and respond appropriately to environmental cues that signal availability of reward or punishment is essential for survival. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been implicated in adaptive and maladaptive behavior elicited by fear-related and drug-associated cues. However, less is known about the role they play in orchestrating adaptive responses to natural reward and punishment cues within the same behavioral task. Here, using a novel discriminative cue responding task combined with pharmacological or chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC, NAc and mPFC-NAc circuits, we report that mPFC is critically involved in responding to changing cued response-outcomes, both when the responses are reinforced, and nonreinforced. Furthermore, the mPFC coordinates nonreinforced discriminative cue responding by suppressing inappropriate responding via downstream NAc targets.</jats:p