Evolution of abilities to regenerate neurons in central nervous systems

This work was supported by a Kappa Kappa Gamma Graduate Fellowship Award to C. E. H. and NIH grant NS-11861 and RCDA NS-00070 to G. D. B.Neuroscienc

Effects of Thermal Spiking on Graphite-Epoxy Composites

Tests were performed evaluating the effects of thermal spikes on the moisture absorption characteristics, the ultimate tensile strength, and the buckling modulus of Thornel 300/Fiberite 1034 composites. Measurements were made on unidirectional and π/4 laminates, using different types of thermal spikes. A survey was also made of the existing data. This survey, together with the present data indicate how thermal spikes affect the mois ture absorption and the mechanical properties of different graphite-epoxy composites.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66923/2/10.1177_002199837901300102.pd

High seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a large slum in South India; what does it tell us about managing a pandemic and beyond?

People living in urban slums or informal settlements are among the most vulnerable communities, highly susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and vulnerable to the consequences of the measures taken to control the spread of the virus. Fear and stigma related to infection, mistrust between officials and the population, the often-asymptomatic nature of the disease is likely to lead to under-reporting. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a large slum in South India 3 months after the index case and recruited 499 adults (age >18 years). The majority (74.3%) were females and about one-third of the population reported comorbidities. The overall seroprevalence of IgG antibody for COVID-19 was 57.9% (95% CI 53.4–62.3). Age, education, occupation and the presence of reported comorbidities were not associated with seroprevalence (P-value >0.05). Case-to-undetected-infections ratio was 1:195 and infection fatality rate was calculated as 2.94 per 10 000 infections. We estimated seroprevalence of COVID-19 was very high in our study population. The focus in this slum should shift from infection prevention to managing the indirect consequences of the pandemic. We recommend seroprevalence studies in such settings before vaccination to identify the vulnerability of COVID-19 infection to optimise the use of insufficient resources. It is a wake-up call to societies and nations, to dedicate paramount attention to slums into recovery and beyond – to build, restore and maintain health equity for the ‘Health and wellbeing of all’

Challenges, experience and coping of health professionals in delivering healthcare in an urban slum in India during the first 40 days of COVID-19 crisis : a mixed method study

Objectives: To describe the initial dilemmas, mental stress, adaptive measures implemented and how the healthcare team collectively coped while providing healthcare services in a large slum in India, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting: Community Health Division, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Bangalore. Study design: We used mixed methods research with a quantitative (QUAN) paradigm nested in the primary qualitative (QUAL) design. QUAL methods included ethnography research methods, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Participants: A healthcare team of doctors, nurses, paramedical and support staff. Out of 87 staff, 42 participated in the QUAL methods and 64 participated in the QUAN survey. Results: Being cognizant of the extreme vulnerability of the slums, the health team struggled with conflicting thoughts of self-preservation and their moral obligation to the marginalised section of society. Majority (75%) of the staff experienced fear at some point in time. Distracting themselves with hobbies (20.3%) and spending more time with family (39.1%) were cited as a means of emotional regulation by the participants in the QUAN survey. In the QUAL interviews, fear of death, the guilt of disease transmission to their loved ones, anxiety about probable violence and stigma in the slums and exhaustion emerged as the major themes causing stress among healthcare professionals. With positive cognitive reappraisal, the health team collectively designed and implemented adaptive interventions to ensure continuity of care. They dealt with the new demands by positive reframing, peer support, distancing, information seeking, response efficacy, self-efficacy, existential goal pursuit, value adherence and religious coping. Conclusion: The novel threat of the COVID-19 pandemic threw insurmountable challenges potentiating disastrous consequences; slums becoming a threat to themselves, threat to the health providers and a threat for all. Perhaps, a lesson we could learn from this pandemic is to incorporate ‘slum health’ within universal healthcare

Central nervous system disease and genital disease in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are associated with different herpesviruses

Herpesvirus infection causes disease of variable severity in many species, including cetaceans. However, little is known about herpesvirus infection in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), despite being widespread in temperate coastal waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, we examined harbor porpoises that stranded alive in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany between 2000 and 2014 for herpesvirus infection and associated disease. Porpoises that died or had to be euthanized were autopsied, and samples were collected for virological and pathological analyses. We found one known herpesvirus (Phocoena phocoena herpesvirus type 1, PPHV-1) - a gammaherpesvirus - and two novel herpesviruses (PPHV-2 and PPHV-3) - both alphaherpesviruses - in these porpoises. A genital plaque, in which PPHV-1 was detected, occurred in 1% (1/117) of porpoises. The plaque was characterized by epithelial hyperplasia and intranuclear inclusion bodies that contained herpesvirus-like particles, and that stained positive by a PPHV-1-specific in situ hybridization test. PPHV-2 occurred in the brain of 2% (1/74) of porpoises. This infection was associated with lymphocytic encephalitis, characterized by neuronal necrosis and intranuclear inclusion bodies containing herpesvirus-like particles. PPHV-3 had a prevalence of 5% (4/74) in brain tissue, 5% (2/43) in blowhole swabs, and 2% (1/43) in genital swabs, but was not associated with disease. Phylogenetically, PPHV-1 was identical to a previously reported herpesvirus from a harbor porpoise, PPHV-2 showed closest identity with two herpesviruses from dolphins, and PPHV-3 showed closest identity with a cervid herpesvirus. In conclusion, harbor

Limits on Neutrino Oscillations from the CHOOZ Experiment

We present new results based on the entire CHOOZ data sample. We find (at 90% confidence level) no evidence for neutrino oscillations in the anti_nue disappearance mode, for the parameter region given by approximately Delta m**2 > 7 x 10**-4 eV^2 for maximum mixing, and sin**2(2 theta) = 0.10 for large Delta m**2. Lower sensitivity results, based only on the comparison of the positron spectra from the two different-distance nuclear reactors, are also presented; these are independent of the absolute normalization of the anti_nue flux, the cross section, the number of target protons and the detector efficiencies.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, Latex fil

The Revised TESS Input Catalog and Candidate Target List

We describe the catalogs assembled and the algorithms used to populate the revised TESS Input Catalog (TIC), based on the incorporation of the Gaia second data release. We also describe a revised ranking system for prioritizing stars for 2-minute cadence observations, and assemble a revised Candidate Target List (CTL) using that ranking. The TIC is available on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) server, and an enhanced CTL is available through the Filtergraph data visualization portal system at the URL http://filtergraph.vanderbilt.edu/tess_ctl.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, submitted to AAS Journals; provided to the community in advance of publication in conjunction with public release of the TIC/CTL on 28 May 201

REPETITA: detection and discrimination of the periodicity of protein solenoid repeats by discrete Fourier transform

Motivation: Proteins with solenoid repeats evolve more quickly than non-repetitive ones and their periodicity may be rapidly hidden at sequence level, while still evident in structure. In order to identify these repeats, we propose here a novel method based on a metric characterizing amino-acid properties (polarity, secondary structure, molecular volume, codon diversity, electric charge) using five previously derived numerical functions

Health issues in a Bangalore slum: findings from a household survey using a mobile screening toolkit in Devarajeevanahalli.

Background: Slums are home to nearly one billion people in the world and are expanding at an exponential rate. Devarjeevanahalli is a large notified slum in Bangalore, South India which is characterised by poverty, overcrowding, hazardous living environment and social complexities. The poor living conditions not only affect the health of the people living there but also poses distinctive challenges to conducting health surveys. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a household survey that was done to study the health condition of people living in a slum. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was designed to determine the prevalence of health conditions using a mobile screening toolkit-THULSI (Toolkit for Healthy Urban Life in Slums Initiative). Devarjeevanahalli slum was chosen purposively as it is fairly representative of any slum in a big city in India. Sample size was calculated as 1100 households and demographic parameters at the household level and parameters related to priority health conditions (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, anaemia and malnutrition) at the individual level were studied. Six zones within the slum were purposively selected and all the contiguous households were selected. The last of the six zones was partially surveyed as the desired sample size was achieved. Results: A total of 1186 households were surveyed and 3693 people were screened. More than three fourth (70.4%) of the population were below poverty line. Only one third had a regular job and the average daily income was 5.3$and 2.6$ in men and women respectively. The prevalence of hypertension (35.5%), diabetes (16.6%) and anaemia (70.9%) was high in the screened slum population. Most of the people (56.5% of hypertensives and 34.4% diabetics) were screened for the first time. Almost half of the children under the age of five years were stunted. Conclusions: Poor income security and huge burden of health issues were reported among adults and children in the household health screening in a large notified slum in South India. Most people were unaware of their disease condition prior to the screening. Relatively simple technological solutions enabled the local health team to screen the slum population despite many challenges