Spatiotemporal patterns and environmental drivers of human echinococcoses over a twenty-year period in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

Background Human cystic (CE) and alveolar (AE) echinococcoses are zoonotic parasitic diseases that can be influenced by environmental variability and change through effects on the parasites, animal intermediate and definitive hosts, and human populations. We aimed to assess and quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of human echinococcoses in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), China between January 1994 and December 2013, and examine associations between these infections and indicators of environmental variability and change, including large-scale landscape regeneration undertaken by the Chinese authorities. Methods Data on the number of human echinococcosis cases were obtained from a hospital-based retrospective survey conducted in NHAR for the period 1 January 1994 through 31 December 2013. High-resolution imagery from Landsat 4/5-TM and 8-OLI was used to create single date land cover maps. Meteorological data were also collected for the period January 1980 to December 2013 to derive time series of bioclimatic variables. A Bayesian spatio-temporal conditional autoregressive model was used to quantify the relationship between annual cases of CE and AE and environmental variables. Results Annual CE incidence demonstrated a negative temporal trend and was positively associated with winter mean temperature at a 10-year lag. There was also a significant, nonlinear effect of annual mean temperature at 13-year lag. The findings also revealed a negative association between AE incidence with temporal moving averages of bareland/artificial surface coverage and annual mean temperature calculated for the period 11–15 years before diagnosis and winter mean temperature for the period 0–4 years. Unlike CE risk, the selected environmental covariates accounted for some of the spatial variation in the risk of AE. Conclusions The present study contributes towards efforts to understand the role of environmental factors in determining the spatial heterogeneity of human echinococcoses. The identification of areas with high incidence of CE and AE may assist in the development and refinement of interventions for these diseases, and enhanced environmental change risk assessment

(Same)-sex in the City: urbanisation and LGBTI rights expansion

Despite the notable successes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activism in the region, individual European countries have varied considerably in the extent and speed with which they have adopted legislation to recognise the rights of their LGBTI citizens. Scholars have often turned to modernisation theory to explain these variable outcomes and argue that high levels of national wealth are an important factor in the success of LGBTI movements. Although the correlation between modernity, economic development and tolerance of LGBTI lifestyles is often treated as a truism in the literature, scholars have paid less attention to the precise mechanisms by which the complex processes associated with modernisation facilitate policy change. Drawing on the classic works of both modernisation theory and gay and lesbian history, we examine a less explored route by which modernisation leads to the expansion of LGBTI rights. Specifically, we posit that urbanisation facilitates the adoption of rights policies by strengthening LGBTI movements and enhancing their political effectiveness. To test this proposition, we use event history analysis and an original dataset that contains measures for institutional, cultural, economic and movement variables, as well as measures of urbanisation in 44 European countries between 1980 and 2015. Our findings support the contention that urbanisation has a strong effect on the formation of LGBTI movement organisations as well as the speed with which European states adopt both same‐sex union and anti‐discrimination legislation. The relationship between urbanisation and rights expansion persists even after controlling for a country's level of wealth, religious adherence and the influence of European institutions and norms

A leucine aminopeptidase is involved in kinetoplast DNA segregation in <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>

The kinetoplast (k), the uniquely packaged mitochondrial DNA of trypanosomatid protists is formed by a catenated network of minicircles and maxicircles that divide and segregate once each cell cycle. Although many proteins involved in kDNA replication and segregation are now known, several key steps in the replication mechanism remain uncharacterized at the molecular level, one of which is the nabelschnur or umbilicus, a prominent structure which in the mammalian parasite Trypanosoma brucei connects the daughter kDNA networks prior to their segregation. Here we characterize an M17 family leucyl aminopeptidase metalloprotease, termed TbLAP1, which specifically localizes to the kDNA disk and the nabelschur and represents the first described protein found in this structure. We show that TbLAP1 is required for correct segregation of kDNA, with knockdown resulting in delayed cytokinesis and ectopic expression leading to kDNA loss and decreased cell proliferation. We propose that TbLAP1 is required for efficient kDNA division and specifically participates in the separation of daughter kDNA networks

Boletín Clínico, Vol. 02, No. 06. Diciembre

Fichero médico de "Boletin Clinico". No. 4. Tratamiento Médico de las anemias * dirección del plan de urbanización de la ciudad de Buenos Aires * Homenaje al Dr. Braulio Henao Mejía. Pag.243-244 * Algunas consideraciones sobre la resección prostática. Pag.245-253 * Anfiteatro de la facultad de medicina de la U. de A. Pag.254-256 * El agua bidestilada como agente terapéutico. Informe del presidente de tesis. Pag.257-261 * Universidad de Antioquia. Facultad de medicina. Prospecto para 1936. Pag.262-276 * Doctor Ramón Arango. Pag.277-288 * Notas necrológicas. El profesor Luis Morquio * Doctor Zoilo Cuellar Durán * Doctor Antonio Mesa * Reglamento de la profesión médica * Uso indebido de la franquicia postal * Nuevo DoctorFichero medico de boletin clinico numero 4 Boletin Clinico anexo Direccion del plan de urbanizacion de la ciudad de buenos aires anexo Dr. Braulio Henao Mejia Arango Mejia, Manuel S. p.243-244 Algunas consideraciones sobre la reseccion prostatica Henao Mejia, Braulio p.245-253 Anfiteatro de la Facultad de Medicina de la U.deA.; algunas guriosas anomalias anatomicas Osorio Isaza, Antonio p.254-256 El agua bidestilada como agente terapeutico; informe del presidente de tesis Restrepo Moreno, Alonso p.257-261 Universidad de Antioquia Facultad de Medicina; prospecto para 1936 Universidad de Antioquia. Facultad de Medicina p.262-276 Doctor Ramon Arango Cadavid Restrepo, Tomas p.277-288 El profesor Luis Morquio Yepes Cadavid, Jesús anex

Herramienta computacional para el análisis de la estabilidad de tensión

This project develops physical and mathematical concepts for the creation of a program in the C++ language, used in loadflow simulations and the voltage stability of the power system, which is a subject especially related with the total and partial faults in the electrical systems, technically knows as blackouts. At the beginning, the definition and classification of the voltage stability concept is showed, afterwards the blackout topic is approached. In this part are displayed some sequential events with real maneuvers that had happened in the world which had lead to a voltage collapse. Then, are exposed some of the actual tools that allow to analyze the voltage stability problems. Furthermore, the program algorithms are pointed out and a short introduction to the C++ Builder is given, which is the compiler used to develop the tool. Finally, the program effectiveness is proved with several study cases developed by the IEEE.Este trabajo desarrolla conceptos físicos y matemáticos para la creación de una herramienta computacional en el lenguaje C++ con el propósito de realizar la simulación del flujo de cargas y la estabilidad de tensión de un sistema de potencia, el cual es un tema muy relacionado con las fallas totales o escalonadas de los sistemas eléctricos, conocidas técnicamente como Apagones. Al principio se muestra la definición y la clasificación del concepto de la estabilidad de tensión, para luego llegar al tema de los apagones. En esta parte se muestran una serie de eventos con maniobras reales ocurridas en el mundo que han llevado al colapso de tensión. Después se muestran algunas de las herramientas actuales que permiten analizar los problemas de estabilidad de tensión. Más adelante se esbozan los conceptos de los algoritmos que desarrolla el programa y se da una pequeña introducción a C++ Builder, el cual es el compilador utilizado para el desarrollo de la herramienta. En la última parte, se prueba la efectividad del programa con varios casos de estudio desarrollados por la IEEE