Palladium catalysed sequential imine arylation/Suzuki–Miyaura coupling: synthesis of a-(biarylyl)benzylamines

report an innovative, high yielding one-pot sequential catalytic imine arylation/SuzukieMiyaura cross-coupling reaction, which converts suitably activated imine substrates to various biarylarylmethyl amine products using several commercial Pd catalysts. Many biarylarylmethyl amine molecules are biologically active. Insightful computational studies detail the mechanism of the imine arylation process. The sequence of reactions is likely to be dependent on the reaction conditions

One Health proof of concept: Bringing a transdisciplinary approach to surveillance for zoonotic viruses at the human-wild animal interface.

As the world continues to react and respond inefficiently to emerging infectious diseases, such as Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome and the Ebola and Zika viruses, a growing transdisciplinary community has called for a more proactive and holistic approach to prevention and preparedness - One Health. Such an approach presents important opportunities to reduce the impact of disease emergence events and also to mitigate future emergence through improved cross-sectoral coordination. In an attempt to provide proof of concept of the utility of the One Health approach, the US Agency for International Development's PREDICT project consortium designed and implemented a targeted, risk-based surveillance strategy based not on humans as sentinels of disease but on detecting viruses early, at their source, where intervention strategies can be implemented before there is opportunity for spillover and spread in people or food animals. Here, we share One Health approaches used by consortium members to illustrate the potential for successful One Health outcomes that can be achieved through collaborative, transdisciplinary partnerships. PREDICT's collaboration with partners around the world on strengthening local capacity to detect hundreds of viruses in wild animals, coupled with a series of cutting-edge virological and analytical activities, have significantly improved our baseline knowledge on the zoonotic pool of viruses and the risk of exposure to people. Further testament to the success of the project's One Health approach and the work of its team of dedicated One Health professionals are the resulting 90 peer-reviewed, scientific publications in under 5 years that improve our understanding of zoonoses and the factors influencing their emergence. The findings are assisting in global health improvements, including surveillance science, diagnostic technologies, understanding of viral evolution, and ecological driver identification. Through its One Health leadership and multi-disciplinary partnerships, PREDICT has forged new networks of professionals from the human, animal, and environmental health sectors to promote global health, improving our understanding of viral disease spillover from wildlife and implementing strategies for preventing and controlling emerging disease threats

Dark Matter Capture in the First Stars: a Power Source and Limit on Stellar Mass

The annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles can provide an important heat source for the first (Pop. III) stars, potentially leading to a new phase of stellar evolution known as a "Dark Star". When dark matter (DM) capture via scattering off of baryons is included, the luminosity from DM annihilation may dominate over the luminosity due to fusion, depending on the DM density and scattering cross-section. The influx of DM due to capture may thus prolong the lifetime of the Dark Stars. Comparison of DM luminosity with the Eddington luminosity for the star may constrain the stellar mass of zero metallicity stars; in this case DM will uniquely determine the mass of the first stars. Alternatively, if sufficiently massive Pop. III stars are found, they might be used to bound dark matter properties.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 3 Tables updated captions and graphs, corrected grammer, and added citations revised for submission to JCA

<i>Plasmodium </i>Condensin Core Subunits SMC2/SMC4 Mediate Atypical Mitosis and Are Essential for Parasite Proliferation and Transmission

Condensin is a multi-subunit protein complex regulating chromosome condensation and segregation during cell division. In Plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria, cell division is atypical and the role of condensin is unclear. Here we examine the role of SMC2 and SMC4, the core subunits of condensin, during endomitosis in schizogony and endoreduplication in male gametogenesis. During early schizogony, SMC2/SMC4 localize to a distinct focus, identified as the centromeres by NDC80 fluorescence and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses, but do not form condensin I or II complexes. In mature schizonts and during male gametogenesis, there is a diffuse SMC2/SMC4 distribution on chromosomes and in the nucleus, and both condensin I and condensin II complexes form at these stages. Knockdown of smc2 and smc4 gene expression reveals essential roles in parasite proliferation and transmission. The condensin core subunits (SMC2/SMC4) form different complexes and may have distinct functions at various stages of the parasite life cycle

Increasing biomass in Amazonian forest plots

A previous study by Phillips et al. of changes in the biomass of permanent sample plots in Amazonian forests was used to infer the presence of a regional carbon sink. However, these results generated a vigorous debate about sampling and methodological issues. Therefore we present a new analysis of biomass change in old-growth Amazonian forest plots using updated inventory data. We find that across 59 sites, the above-ground dry biomass in trees that are more than 10 cm in diameter (AGB) has increased since plot establishment by 1.22 ± 0.43 Mg per hectare per year (ha-1 yr-1), where 1 ha = 104 m2), or 0.98 ± 0.38 Mg ha-1 yr-1 if individual plot values are weighted by the number of hectare years of monitoring. This significant increase is neither confounded by spatial or temporal variation in wood specific gravity, nor dependent on the allometric equation used to estimate AGB. The conclusion is also robust to uncertainty about diameter measurements for problematic trees: for 34 plots in western Amazon forests a significant increase in AGB is found even with a conservative assumption of zero growth for all trees where diameter measurements were made using optical methods and/or growth rates needed to be estimated following fieldwork. Overall, our results suggest a slightly greater rate of net stand-level change than was reported by Phillips et al. Considering the spatial and temporal scale of sampling and associated studies showing increases in forest growth and stem turnover, the results presented here suggest that the total biomass of these plots has on average increased and that there has been a regional-scale carbon sink in old-growth Amazonian forests during the previous two decades

The Cold Big-Bang Cosmology as a Counter-example to Several Anthropic Arguments

A general Friedmann big-bang cosmology can be specified by fixing a half-dozen cosmological parameters such as the photon-to-baryon ratio Eta, the cosmological constant Lambda, the curvature scale R, and the amplitude Q of (assumed scale-invariant) primordial density fluctuations. There is currently no established theory as to why these parameters take the particular values we deduce from observations. This has led to proposed `anthropic' explanations for the observed value of each parameter, as the only value capable of generating a universe that can host intelligent life. In this paper, I explicitly show that the requirement that the universe generates sun-like stars with planets does not fix these parameters, by developing a class of cosmologies (based on the classical `cold big-bang' model) in which some or all of the cosmological parameters differ by orders of magnitude from the values they assume in the standard hot big-bang cosmology, without precluding in any obvious way the existence of intelligent life. I also give a careful discussion of the structure and context of anthropic arguments in cosmology, and point out some implications of the cold big-bang model's existence for anthropic arguments concerning specific parameters.Comment: 13 PRD-style pages, 2 postscript figures. Reference 26 corrected. Accepted to Phys. Rev.

Increasing dominance of large lianas in Amazonian forests

Ecological orthodoxy suggests that old-growth forests should be close to dynamic equilibrium, but this view has been challenged by recent findings that neotropical forests are accumulating carbon and biomass, possibly in response to the increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. However, it is unclear whether the recent increase in tree biomass has been accompanied by a shift in community composition. Such changes could reduce or enhance the carbon storage potential of old-growth forests in the long term. Here we show that non-fragmented Amazon forests are experiencing a concerted increase in the density, basal area and mean size of woody climbing plants (lianas). Over the last two decades of the twentieth century the dominance of large lianas relative to trees has increased by 1.7–4.6% a year. Lianas enhance tree mortality and suppress tree growth, so their rapid increase implies that the tropical terrestrial carbon sink may shut down sooner than current models suggest. Predictions of future tropical carbon fluxes will need to account for the changing composition and dynamics of supposedly undisturbed forests

Baseline Trachoma Surveys in Kaskazini A and Micheweni Districts of Zanzibar: Results of Two Population-Based Prevalence Surveys Conducted with the Global Trachoma Mapping Project.

PURPOSE: Based on health care records and trachoma rapid assessments, trachoma was suspected to be endemic in Kaskazini A and Micheweni districts of Zanzibar. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF), and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in each of those districts. METHODS: The survey was undertaken in Kaskazini A and Micheweni districts on Unguja and Pemba Islands, respectively. A multi-stage cluster random sampling design was applied, whereby 25 census enumeration areas (clusters) and 30 households per cluster were included. Consenting eligible participants (children aged 1-9 years and people aged 15 years and older) were examined for trachoma using the World Health Organization simplified grading system. RESULTS: A total of 1673 households were surveyed and 6407 participants (98.0% of those enumerated) were examined for trachoma. Examinees included a total of 2825 children aged 1-9 years and 3582 people aged 15 years and older. TF prevalence in 1-9-year-olds was 2.7% (95% confidence interval, CI, 2.7-4.1%) in Kazkazini A and 11.4% (95% CI 6.6-16.5%) in Micheweni. Among people aged 15 years and older, TT prevalence was 0.01% (95% CI 0.00-0.04%) in Kazkazini A and 0.21% (95% CI 0.08-0.39%) in Micheweni. CONCLUSION: Trachoma is a public health problem in Micheweni district, where implementation of all four components of the SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement), including mass drug administration with azithromycin, is required. These findings will facilitate planning for trachoma elimination

Identification of five fundamental implicit theories underlying cognitive distortions in child abusers : a preliminary study

Qualitative analysis of interviews with 22 child abusers found strong evidence for Ward and Keenan\u27s (1999) proposal that there are five implicit theories in child abusers that account for the majority of their cognitive distortions/thinking errors. These implicit theories are: Child as a sexual being where children are perceived as being able to and wanting to engage in sexual activity with adults and also are not be harmed by such sexual contact; Nature of harm where the offender perceives that sexual activity does not cause harm (and may in fact be beneficial) to the child; Entitlement where the child abuser perceives that he is superior and more important than others: and hence is able to have sex with whoever, and whenever, he wants; Dangerous world where the offender perceives that that others are abusive and rejecting and he must fight to regain control; and Uncontrollable where the offender perceives the world as uncontrollable and hence he believes that circumstances are outside of his control. There was no evidence for any other type of implicit theory. Results of the study also indicated that there was a significant difference in terms of the endorsement of the Dangerous world implicit theory between participants reporting a history of child sexual abuse and those who did not. Offenders against male victims were significantly more likely to endorse the Child as a sexual being and Dangerous world implicit theories compared to men who had offended against female children