Intermediate reading exercises for use with the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Creative professional users musical relevance criteria

Although known item searching for music can be dealt with by searching metadata using existing text search techniques, human subjectivity and variability within the music itself make it very difficult to search for unknown items. This paper examines these problems within the context of text retrieval and music information retrieval. The focus is on ascertaining a relationship between music relevance criteria and those relating to relevance judgements in text retrieval. A data-rich collection of relevance judgements by creative professionals searching for unknown musical items to accompany moving images using real world queries is analysed. The participants in our observations are found to take a socio-cognitive approach and use a range of content and context based criteria. These criteria correlate strongly with those arising from previous text retrieval studies despite the many differences between music and text in their actual content

Genomics reveals historic and contemporary transmission dynamics of a bacterial disease among wildlife and livestock

Whole-genome sequencing has provided fundamental insights into infectious disease epidemiology, but has rarely been used for examining transmission dynamics of a bacterial pathogen in wildlife. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), outbreaks of brucellosis have increased in cattle along with rising seroprevalence in elk. Here we use a genomic approach to examine Brucella abortus evolution, cross-species transmission and spatial spread in the GYE. We find that brucellosis was introduced into wildlife in this region at least five times. The diffusion rate varies among Brucella lineages (∼3 to 8 km per year) and over time. We also estimate 12 host transitions from bison to elk, and 5 from elk to bison. Our results support the notion that free-ranging elk are currently a self-sustaining brucellosis reservoir and the source of livestock infections, and that control measures in bison are unlikely to affect the dynamics of unrelated strains circulating in nearby elk populations

A benefit-cost analysis decision framework for mitigation of disease transmission at the wildlife–livestock interface

The economics of managing disease transmission at the wildlife–livestock interface have received heightened attention as agricultural and natural resource agencies struggle to tackle growing risks to animal health. In the fiscal landscape of increased scrutiny and shrinking budgets, resource managers seek to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of disease mitigation efforts. To address this issue, a benefit-cost analysis decision framework was developed to help users make informed choices about whether and how to target disease management efforts in wildlife and livestock populations. Within the context of this framework, we examined the conclusions of a benefit-cost analysis conducted for vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) rabies control in Mexico. The benefit-cost analysis decision framework provides a method that can be used to identify, assemble, and measure the components vital to the biological and economic efficiency of animal disease mitigation efforts. The framework can be applied to commercially-raised and free-ranging species at various levels of management – from detailed intervention strategies to broad programmatic actions. The ability of benefit cost analysis to illustrate the benefits of disease management projects per dollar spent allows for the determination of economic efficiency of alternative management actions. We believe this framework will be useful to the broader natural resource management community to maximize returns on financial and other resources invested in wildlife and livestock disease management programs

Genomics of Brucellosis in Wildlife and Livestock of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Brucellosis, a disease caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, has recently been expanding its distribution in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), with increased outbreaks in cattle and rising seroprevalence in elk (Cervus elaphus) over the past decade. Genetic studies suggest elk are a primary source of recent transmission to cattle. However, these studies are based on Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) data, which are limited in assessing and quantifying transmission among species. The goal of this study was to (i) investigate the introduction history of B. abortus in the GYE, (ii) identify B. abortus lineages associated with host species and/or geographic localities, and (iii) quantify transmission across wildlife and livestock host species and populations. We sequenced B. abortus whole genomes (n= 207) derived from isolates collected from three host species (bison, elk, cattle) over the past 30 years, throughout the GYE. We identified genetic variation among isolates, and applied a spatial diffusion phylogeographic modeling approach that incorporated temporal information from sampling. Based on these data, our results suggest four divergent Brucella lineages, with a time to most recent common ancestor of ~130 years ago, possibly representing a minimum of four brucellosis introductions into the GYE. Two Brucella lineages were generally clustered by geography. Evidence for cross-species transmission was detected among all species, though most events occur within species and herds. Understanding transmission dynamics is imperative for implementing effective control measures and may assist in identifying source populations responsible for past and future brucellosis infections in wildlife and outbreaks in livestock

Marine alkaloids as bioactive agents against protozoal neglected tropical diseases and malaria.

Covering: 2000 up to 2021Natural products are an important resource in drug discovery, directly or indirectly delivering numerous small molecules for potential development as human medicines. Among the many classes of natural products, alkaloids have a rich history of therapeutic applications. The extensive chemodiversity of alkaloids found in the marine environment has attracted considerable attention for such uses, while the scarcity of these natural materials has stimulated efforts towards their total synthesis. This review focuses on the biological activity of marine alkaloids (covering 2000 to up to 2021) towards Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) caused by protozoan parasites, and malaria. Chemotherapy represents the only form of treatment for Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis and malaria, but there is currently a restricted arsenal of drugs, which often elicit severe adverse effects, show variable efficacy or resistance, or are costly. Natural product scaffolds have re-emerged as a focus of academic drug discovery programmes, offering a different resource to discover new chemical entities with new modes of action. In this review, the potential of a range of marine alkaloids is analyzed, accompanied by coverage of synthetic efforts that enable further studies of key antiprotozoal natural product scaffolds

Genes flow by the channels of culture: the genetic imprint of matrilocality in Ngazidja, Comoros Islands

International audienc