Research Notes : India : Potential of an off-season soybean nursery

In India, soybean is generally sown during summer (June-October). However, due to tremendous variability in climatic conditions of the country, there is a scope for growing soybean in more than one season. The efficacy of yield improvement projects could be substantially enhanced by rapid genera-tion turnover

Urban Cholera transmission hotspots and their implications for Reactive Vaccination: evidence from Bissau city, Guinea Bissau

Use of cholera vaccines in response to epidemics (reactive vaccination) may provide an effective supplement to traditional control measures. In Haiti, reactive vaccination was considered but, until recently, rejected in part due to limited global supply of vaccine. Using Bissau City, Guinea-Bissau as a case study, we explore neighborhood-level transmission dynamics to understand if, with limited vaccine and likely delays, reactive vaccination can significantly change the course of a cholera epidemic

On the Verification and Correction of Large-Scale Kinetic Models in Systems Biology

14 páginasIn this paper we consider the problem of verification of large dynamic models of biological systems. We present syntactical criteria based on biochemical kinetics to ensure the plausibility of a model and the positivity of its solution. These criteria include the positivity of the rate functions, their kinetic type dependence on the reactant species concentrations, and the absence of the negative cross-effects that together guarantee the nonnegativity of the dynamics. Further, the stoichiometric matrix of the truncated reaction system is checked against conservation using its algebraic properties. Algorithmic procedures are then proposed for checking these criteria with emphasis on good scaling up properties. In addition to these verification procedures, we also provide, for certain typical errors, model correcting methods. The capabilities and usefulness of these procedures are illustrated on biochemical models taken from the Biomodels database. In particular, a set of 11 kinetic models related with E. coli are checked, finding two with deficiencies. Correcting actions for these models are proposed.Peer reviewe

Images in Clinical Urology: Complex open pyeloplasty in a pelvic kidney

A pelvic kidney occurs in between 1 in 2200 and 1 in 3000 people,1 due to failure of ascent during development. It is commonly asymptomatic and usually functions normally. Pelvic ureteral junction obstruction can either be congenital or acquired, and is characterized by intrinsic stenosis or extrinsic compression of the ureter at the junction with the pelvicalyceal renal system. This can cause symptomatic or asymptomatic hydronephrosis. We describe the complex case and management of a patient with a massive pelvic ureteral junction obstruction in a pelvic kidney

Input-dependent structural identifiability of nonlinear systems

A dynamic model is structurally identifiable if it is possible to infer its unknown parameters by observing its output. Structural identifiability depends on the system dynamics, output, and input, as well as on the specific values of initial conditions and parameters. Here we present a symbolic method that characterizes the input that a model requires to be structurally identifiable. It determines which derivatives must be non-zero in order to have a sufficiently exciting input. Our approach considers structural identifiability as a generalization of nonlinear observability and incorporates extended Lie derivatives. The methodology assesses structural identifiability for time-varying inputs and, additionally, it can be used to determine the input profile that is required to make the parameters structurally locally identifiable. Furthermore, it is sometimes possible to replace an experiment with time-varying input with multiple experiments with constant inputs. We implement the resulting method as a MATLAB toolbox named STRIKE-GOLDD2. This tool can assist in the design of new experiments for the purpose of parameter estimation

PEPFAR Public Health Evaluation -Care and Support -Phase I Uganda

Phase 1, a survey of 120 care facilities in Kenya and Uganda, found that over 90% of facilities provided some level of clinical, psychological,and preventive care. Pain control was very limited with paracetamol often the only analgesic. In focus group discussions, patients appreciated free care and positive attitudes from staff, but said that services would be improved by more staff, shorter queues, and reliable drug supplies