Sleeper end resistance of ballasted railway tracks

This paper describes model tests used to investigate how ballast shoulder width and height contribute to a railway sleeper’s resistance to lateral movement for a range of shoulder widths and heights. Deflection and resistance were measured and photographs taken during the tests.The photographs were analyzed using a digital image correlation technique to identify the zones of ballast surface disturbance, which demonstrated that a bulbed failure volume was mobilized at the ultimate limit state. An idealized three-dimensional failure mechanism is proposed, and resistances are calculated using the limit equilibrium approach. The calculation provides a reliable estimate of the measured resistance. The work identifies the optimum shoulder width and height. The calculations are extended to demonstrate that when a number of sleepers are moved simultaneously, the sleeper end resistance may be one-third less per sleeper than that indicated in tests on an isolated sleeper. Image analysis and limit equilibrium calculations show that this is caused by overlapping of mobilized failure volumes from adjacent sleepers

Total hip arthroplasty versus hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral neck fractures in the healthy elderly: A meta-Analysis and systematic review of randomized trials

Purpose Displaced femoral neck fractures in healthy elderly patients have traditionally been managed with hemiarthroplasty (HA). Recent data suggest that total hip arthroplasty (THA) may be a better alternative. Methods A systematic review of the English literature was conducted. Randomized controlled trials comparing all forms of THA with HA were included. Three authors independently extracted articles and predefined data. Results were pooled using a random effects model. Results Eight trials totalling 986 patients were retrieved. After THA 4 % underwent revision surgery versus 7 % after HA. The one-year mortality was equal in both groups: 13 % (THA) versus 15 % (HA). Dislocation rates were 9 % after THA versus 3 % after HA. Equal rates were found for major (25 % in THA versus 24 % in HA) and minor complications (13 % THA versus 14 % HA). The weighted mean of the Harris hip score was 81 point

Gut microbiome transition across a lifestyle gradient in Himalaya

Published: November 15, 2018The composition of the gut microbiome in industrialized populations differs from those living traditional lifestyles. However, it has been difficult to separate the contributions of human genetic and geographic factors from lifestyle. Whether shifts away from the foraging lifestyle that characterize much of humanity's past influence the gut microbiome, and to what degree, remains unclear. Here, we characterize the stool bacterial composition of four Himalayan populations to investigate how the gut community changes in response to shifts in traditional human lifestyles. These groups led seminomadic hunting-gathering lifestyles until transitioning to varying levels of agricultural dependence upon farming. The Tharu began farming 250-300 years ago, the Raute and Raji transitioned 30-40 years ago, and the Chepang retain many aspects of a foraging lifestyle. We assess the contributions of dietary and environmental factors on their gut-associated microbes and find that differences in the lifestyles of Himalayan foragers and farmers are strongly correlated with microbial community variation. Furthermore, the gut microbiomes of all four traditional Himalayan populations are distinct from that of the Americans, indicating that industrialization may further exacerbate differences in the gut community. The Chepang foragers harbor an elevated abundance of taxa associated with foragers around the world. Conversely, the gut microbiomes of the populations that have transitioned to farming are more similar to those of Americans, with agricultural dependence and several associated lifestyle and environmental factors correlating with the extent of microbiome divergence from the foraging population. The gut microbiomes of Raute and Raji reveal an intermediate state between the Chepang and Tharu, indicating that divergence from a stereotypical foraging microbiome can occur within a single generation. Our results also show that environmental factors such as drinking water source and solid cooking fuel are significantly associated with the gut microbiome. Despite the pronounced differences in gut bacterial composition across populations, we found little differences in alpha diversity across lifestyles. These findings in genetically similar populations living in the same geographical region establish the key role of lifestyle in determining human gut microbiome composition and point to the next challenging steps of determining how large-scale gut microbiome reconfiguration impacts human biology.Aashish R. Jha, Emily R. Davenport, Yoshina Gautam, Dinesh Bhandari, Sarmila Tandukar, Katharine M. Ng, Gabriela K. Fragiadakis, Susan Holmes, Guru Prasad Gautam, Jeff Leach, Jeevan Bahadur Sherchand, Carlos D. Bustamante, Justin L. Sonnenbur

Extended Analysis of HIV Infection in Cisgender Men and Transgender Women Who Have Sex with Men Receiving Injectable Cabotegravir for HIV Prevention: HPTN 083

HPTN 083 demonstrated that injectable cabotegravir (CAB) was superior to oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) for HIV prevention in cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men. We previously analyzed 58 infections in the blinded phase of HPTN 083 (16 in the CAB arm and 42 in the TDF-FTC arm). This report describes 52 additional infections that occurred up to 1 year after study unblinding (18 in the CAB arm and 34 in the TDF-FTC arm). Retrospective testing included HIV testing, viral load testing, quantification of study drug concentrations, and drug resistance testing. The new CAB arm infections included 7 with CAB administration within 6 months of the first HIV-positive visit (2 with on-time injections, 3 with ≥1 delayed injection, and 2 who restarted CAB) and 11 with no recent CAB administration. Three cases had integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) resistance (2 with on-time injections and 1 who restarted CAB). Among 34 CAB infections analyzed to date, diagnosis delays and INSTI resistance were significantly more common in infections with CAB administration within 6 months of the first HIV-positive visit. This report further characterizes HIV infections in persons receiving CAB preexposure prophylaxis and helps define the impact of CAB on the detection of infection and the emergence of INSTI resistance

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

Search for leptophobic Z ' bosons decaying into four-lepton final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for black holes and other new phenomena in high-multiplicity final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for high-mass diphoton resonances in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV and combination with 8 TeV search

Peer reviewe