An overview of malarial Anopheles mosquito survival estimates in relation to methodology

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The datasets analysed during the present study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.BACKGROUND: The transmission of malaria is known to be sensitive to the survival (longevity, mortality) of its mosquito vector, yet there have been few reviews of estimates of this important population parameter in the malaria-carrying genus Anopheles. METHODS: We carried out a systematic search for and meta-analysis of survival estimates, framed around the methods of estimation, under the major groupings of ‛vertical' (based on stable age or stage frequencies), ‛horizontal' (based on recaptures of marked and released cohorts), and ‛parasitological' (proportion of infectious mosquitoes). Because of the intricacies of the estimation process we provide an outline of these methods. RESULTS: By meta-analysis we quantify the average of the distribution of daily survival [Formula: see text] for vertical (0.83, 95% CI: 0.80-0.86), horizontal (0.73, 95% CI: 0.66-0.79) and parasitological (0.92, 95% CI: 0.86-0.95) methods. CONCLUSIONS: The meta-analysis demonstrates the anticipated result that horizontal estimates are lowest because they estimate apparent survival (survival and non-emigration) rather than true survival. On the other hand, vertical methods make strong assumptions about the stability or stationarity of the underlying populations. Further potential sources of methodological bias are mentioned. The substantial differences in estimates between methods indicates that methodological biases need to be considered when making use of available survival estimates.e National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

A Tribute to Harry Pratter

The Board of Editors, in recognition of his lasting service to Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, hereby dedicates Volume 78 of the Indiana Law Journal to the memory of Harry Pratter, who taught at the School of Law from 1950 until 1994, and passed away March 11,2002. As evidenced below, Professor Pratter\u27s influence spread far beyond the bounds of his classroom walls, and his presence in the Law School\u27s community will be sorely missed

A Tribute to Harry Pratter

The Board of Editors, in recognition of his lasting service to Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, hereby dedicates Volume 78 of the Indiana Law Journal to the memory of Harry Pratter, who taught at the School of Law from 1950 until 1994, and passed away March 11,2002. As evidenced below, Professor Pratter\u27s influence spread far beyond the bounds of his classroom walls, and his presence in the Law School\u27s community will be sorely missed

Whole-system approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers: A systematic review

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals throughout the developed world report higher levels of sickness absence, dissatisfaction, distress, and "burnout" at work than staff in other sectors. There is a growing call for the 'triple aim' of healthcare delivery (improving patient experience and outcomes and reducing costs; to include a fourth aim: improving healthcare staff experience of healthcare delivery. A systematic review commissioned by the United Kingdom's (UK) Department of Health reviewed a large number of international healthy workplace interventions and recommended five whole-system changes to improve healthcare staff health and wellbeing: identification and response to local need, engagement of staff at all levels, and the involvement, visible leadership from, and up-skilling of, management and board-level staff. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to identify whole-system healthy workplace interventions in healthcare settings that incorporate (combinations of) these recommendations and determine whether they improve staff health and wellbeing. METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search of medical, education, exercise science, and social science databases was undertaken. Studies were included if they reported the results of interventions that included all healthcare staff within a healthcare setting (e.g. whole hospital; whole unit, e.g. ward) in collective activities to improve physical or mental health or promote healthy behaviours. RESULTS: Eleven studies were identified which incorporated at least one of the whole-system recommendations. Interventions that incorporated recommendations to address local need and engage the whole workforce fell in to four broad types: 1) pre-determined (one-size-fits-all) and no choice of activities (two studies); or 2) pre-determined and some choice of activities (one study); 3) A wide choice of a range of activities and some adaptation to local needs (five studies); or, 3) a participatory approach to creating programmes responsive and adaptive to local staff needs that have extensive choice of activities to participate in (three studies). Only five of the interventions included substantial involvement and engagement of leadership and efforts aimed at up-skilling the leadership of staff to support staff health and wellbeing. Incorporation of more of the recommendations did not appear to be related to effectiveness. The heterogeneity of study designs, populations and outcomes excluded a meta-analysis. All studies were deemed by their authors to be at least partly effective. Two studies reported statistically significant improvement in objectively measured physical health (BMI) and eight in subjective mental health. Six studies reported statistically significant positive changes in subjectively assessed health behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review identified 11 studies which incorporate at least one of the Boorman recommendations and provides evidence that whole-system healthy workplace interventions can improve health and wellbeing and promote healthier behaviours in healthcare staff.Funding provided in part to the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (part of the University of Exeter Medical School) by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/erdf-programmes-and-resources) and European Social Fund Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (http://www.erdfconvergence.org.uk/esf). This research was also funded in part by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula (http://clahrc-peninsula.nihr.ac.uk/) at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (http://www.rdehospital.nhs.uk/). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Membrane Protein Properties Revealed through Data-Rich Electrostatics Calculations.

The electrostatic properties of membrane proteins often reveal many of their key biophysical characteristics, such as ion channel selectivity and the stability of charged membrane-spanning segments. The Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation is the gold standard for calculating protein electrostatics, and the software APBSmem enables the solution of the PB equation in the presence of a membrane. Here, we describe significant advances to APBSmem, including full automation of system setup, per-residue energy decomposition, incorporation of PDB2PQR, calculation of membrane-induced pKa shifts, calculation of non-polar energies, and command-line scripting for large-scale calculations. We highlight these new features with calculations carried out on a number of membrane proteins, including the recently solved structure of the ion channel TRPV1 and a large survey of 1,614 membrane proteins of known structure. This survey provides a comprehensive list of residues with large electrostatic penalties for being embedded in the membrane, potentially revealing interesting functional information

The Effects of Myelin on Macrophage Activation Are Phenotypic Specific via cPLA\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e in the Context of Spinal Cord Injury Inflammation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) produces chronic, pro-inflammatory macrophage activation that impairs recovery. The mechanisms driving this chronic inflammation are not well understood. Here, we detail the effects of myelin debris on macrophage physiology and demonstrate a novel, activation state-dependent role for cytosolic phospholipase-A2 (cPLA2) in myelin-mediated potentiation of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation. We hypothesized that cPLA2 and myelin debris are key mediators of persistent pro-inflammatory macrophage responses after SCI. To test this, we examined spinal cord tissue 28-days after thoracic contusion SCI in 3-month-old female mice and observed both cPLA2 activation and intracellular accumulation of lipid-rich myelin debris in macrophages. In vitro, we utilized bone marrow-derived macrophages to determine myelin’s effects across a spectrum of activation states. We observed phenotype-specific responses with myelin potentiating only pro-inflammatory (LPS + INF-γ; M1) macrophage activation, whereas myelin did not induce pro-inflammatory responses in unstimulated or anti-inflammatory (IL-4; M2) macrophages. Specifically, myelin increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide production in M1 macrophages as well as M1-mediated neurotoxicity. PACOCF3 (cPLA2 inhibitor) blocked myelin’s detrimental effects. Collectively, we provide novel spatiotemporal evidence that myelin and cPLA2 play an important role in the pathophysiology of SCI inflammation and the phenotype-specific response to myelin implicate diverse roles of myelin in neuroinflammatory conditions

Relationship between baseline physical activity assessed by pedometer count and new-onset diabetes in the NAVIGATOR trial

Objective: Physical activity is related to clinical outcomes, even after adjusting for body mass, but is rarely assessed in randomized clinical trials. Research design and methods: We conducted an observational analysis of data from the Nateglinide and Valsartan in Impaired Glucose Tolerance Outcomes Research trial, in which a total of 9306 people from 40 countries with impaired glucose tolerance and either cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors were randomized to receive nateglinide or placebo, in a 2-by-2 factorial design with valsartan or placebo. All were asked to also participate in a detailed lifestyle modification programme and followed-up for a median of 6.4 years with progression to diabetes as a co-primary end point. Seven-day ambulatory activity was assessed at baseline using research-grade pedometers. We assessed whether the baseline amount of physical activity was related to subsequent development of diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. Results: Pedometer data were obtained on 7118 participants and 35.0% developed diabetes. In an unadjusted analysis each 2000-step increment in the average number of daily steps, up to 10 000, was associated with a 5.5% lower risk of progression to diabetes (HR 0.95, 95%CI 0.92 to 0.97), with >6% relative risk reduction after adjustment. Conclusions: Physical activity should be measured objectively in pharmacologic trials as it is a significant but underappreciated contributor to diabetes outcomes. It should be a regular part of clinical practice as well. © 2018 Author(s) (or their employer(s).Peer reviewe