Force Output Comparison between Six U.S. Collegiate Athletic Teams.

The aim of the study was to compare allometrically scaled peak force and the force at 250 ms between six U.S. collegiate sport teams using isometric mid-thigh pull. Ninety subjects performed maximum effort of isometric mid-thigh pull to measure force output. The data were averaged within the teams, and statistically compared between teams using one-way ANOVA (p=.01). Significant difference was found that men’s soccer and baseball produced higher allometrically scaled peak force, and men’s soccer, tennis, and baseball produced higher allometrically scaled force at 250 ms. The data indicates that not all sports possess similar strength characteristics because of the nature of the sports, and observed separation between gender. Teams such as volleyball and baseball showed higher coefficient of variation due to the various positions within their sports

Angiotensin II for the Treatment of Vasodilatory Shock

BACKGROUND Vasodilatory shock that does not respond to high-dose vasopressors is associated with high mortality. We investigated the effectiveness of angiotensin II for the treatment of patients with this condition. METHODS We randomly assigned patients with vasodilatory shock who were receiving more than 0.2 mu g of norepinephrine per kilogram of body weight per minute or the equivalent dose of another vasopressor to receive infusions of either angiotensin II or placebo. The primary end point was a response with respect to mean arterial pressure at hour 3 after the start of infusion, with response defined as an increase from baseline of at least 10 mm Hg or an increase to at least 75 mm Hg, without an increase in the dose of background vasopressors. RESULTS A total of 344 patients were assigned to one of the two regimens; 321 received a study intervention (163 received angiotensin II, and 158 received placebo) and were included in the analysis. The primary end point was reached by more patients in the angiotensin II group (114 of 163 patients, 69.9%) than in the placebo group (37 of 158 patients, 23.4%) (odds ratio, 7.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.76 to 13.3; P<0.001). At 48 hours, the mean improvement in the cardiovascular Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (scores range from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating more severe dysfunction) was greater in the angiotensin II group than in the placebo group (-1.75 vs. -1.28, P = 0.01). Serious adverse events were reported in 60.7% of the patients in the angiotensin II group and in 67.1% in the placebo group. Death by day 28 occurred in 75 of 163 patients (46%) in the angiotensin II group and in 85 of 158 patients (54%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.57 to 1.07; P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS Angiotensin II effectively increased blood pressure in patients with vasodilatory shock that did not respond to high doses of conventional vasopressors. (Funded by La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company; ATHOS-3 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02338843.)Peer reviewe

Energy In/Out of Place

This book, and the online workshop that preceded it, are attempts to intensify the sense of place within our scholarship and in our scholarly practices. They are formed from the efforts of five research teams examining energy cultures in five different locations around the world. Team members weren’t necessarily experts on their given places, but many were bound to these sites through time, kith, and kin

Accuracy, acceptability and feasibility of photography for use in trachoma surveys: a mixed methods study in Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Photography could be used to train individuals to diagnose trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) as trachoma prevalence decreases and to ensure accurate field TF grading in trachoma prevalence surveys. We compared photograph and field TF grading and determined the acceptability and feasibility of eyelid photography to community members and trachoma survey trainers. METHODS: A total of 100 children ages 1-9 y were examined for TF in two Maasai villages in Tanzania. Two images of the right everted superior tarsal conjunctiva of each child were taken with a smartphone and a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. Two graders independently graded all photos. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community members and Tropical Data trainers. RESULTS: Of 391 photos, one-fifth were discarded as ungradable. Compared with field grading, photo grading consistently underdiagnosed TF. Compared with field grading, DSLR photo grading resulted in a higher prevalence and sensitivity than smartphone photo grading. FGDs indicated that communities and trainers found photography acceptable and preferred smartphones to DSLR in terms of practicalities, but image quality was of paramount importance for trainers. CONCLUSIONS: Photography is acceptable and feasible, but further work is needed to ensure high-quality images that enable accurate and consistent grading before being routinely implemented in trachoma surveys

Il naturalismo culturale di Dewey

The essay focuses on John Dewey’s pragmatic naturalism in order to show that the relatively recent naturalizing trend in philosophy should be considered a historically and culturally situated restriction of other forms of naturalism. Dewey’s cultural naturalism is based on a strong continuity between nature and culture, assuming that human intelligent behaviour arises from already existing organic and environmental resources in an entirely contingent manner. This kind of naturalism does not involve physical reductionism: more complex interactions between organisms and their environment, such as human mental behaviour, are seen as innovative, in the sense that they produce forms of organization that, on the one hand, are not reducible to the simple association of pre-existing elements. On the other hand, innovative modes of interaction between human organisms and their naturally social environment have consequence on the natural world: they produce changes within it. The second part of the text presents Dewey’s non-substantive conception of the mind, which has its roots in the non-reversible consequences of the advent of highly communicative and linguistic interactions in the human world as well as in the possibility for human organism to reconsider analytically or reflectively their primarily holistic, qualitatively felt experiences.The essay focuses on John Dewey’s pragmatic naturalism in order to show that the relatively recent naturalizing trend in philosophy should be considered a historically and culturally situated restriction of other forms of naturalism. Dewey’s cultural naturalism is based on a strong continuity between nature and culture, assuming that human intelligent behaviour arises from already existing organic and environmental resources in an entirely contingent manner. This kind of naturalism does not involve physical reductionism: more complex interactions between organisms and their environment, such as human mental behaviour, are seen as innovative, in the sense that they produce forms of organization that, on the one hand, are not reducible to the simple association of pre-existing elements. On the other hand, innovative modes of interaction between human organisms and their naturally social environment have consequence on the natural world: they produce changes within it. The second part of the text presents Dewey’s non-substantive conception of the mind, which has its roots in the non-reversible consequences of the advent of highly communicative and linguistic interactions in the human world as well as in the possibility for human organism to reconsider analytically or reflectively their primarily holistic, qualitatively felt experiences

The global burden of trichiasis in 2016.

BACKGROUND: Trichiasis is present when one or more eyelashes touches the eye. Uncorrected, it can cause blindness. Accurate estimates of numbers affected, and their geographical distribution, help guide resource allocation. METHODS: We obtained district-level trichiasis prevalence estimates in adults for 44 endemic and previously-endemic countries. We used (1) the most recent data for a district, if more than one estimate was available; (2) age- and sex-standardized corrections of historic estimates, where raw data were available; (3) historic estimates adjusted using a mean adjustment factor for districts where raw data were unavailable; and (4) expert assessment of available data for districts for which no prevalence estimates were available. FINDINGS: Internally age- and sex-standardized data represented 1,355 districts and contributed 662 thousand cases (95% confidence interval [CI] 324 thousand-1.1 million) to the global total. Age- and sex-standardized district-level prevalence estimates differed from raw estimates by a mean factor of 0.45 (range 0.03-2.28). Previously non- stratified estimates for 398 districts, adjusted by ×0.45, contributed a further 411 thousand cases (95% CI 283-557 thousand). Eight countries retained previous estimates, contributing 848 thousand cases (95% CI 225 thousand-1.7 million). New expert assessments in 14 countries contributed 862 thousand cases (95% CI 228 thousand-1.7 million). The global trichiasis burden in 2016 was 2.8 million cases (95% CI 1.1-5.2 million). INTERPRETATION: The 2016 estimate is lower than previous estimates, probably due to more and better data; scale-up of trichiasis management services; and reductions in incidence due to lower active trachoma prevalence

Genome sequence of the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans):Vector of African trypanosomiasis

Tsetse flies are the sole vectors of human African trypanosomiasis throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Both sexes of adult tsetse feed exclusively on blood and contribute to disease transmission. Notable differences between tsetse and other disease vectors include obligate microbial symbioses, viviparous reproduction, and lactation. Here, we describe the sequence and annotation of the 366-megabase Glossina morsitans morsitans genome. Analysis of the genome and the 12,308 predicted protein-encoding genes led to multiple discoveries, including chromosomal integrations of bacterial (Wolbachia) genome sequences, a family of lactation-specific proteins, reduced complement of host pathogen recognition proteins, and reduced olfaction/chemosensory associated genes. These genome data provide a foundation for research into trypanosomiasis prevention and yield important insights with broad implications for multiple aspects of tsetse biology.IS

SNAPSHOT USA 2019 : a coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August - 24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian's eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the USA. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban-wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as well as future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Potent and broad HIV-neutralizing antibodies in memory B cells and plasma.

CAPRISA, 2017.Abstract available in pdf

Exploring water, sanitation, and hygiene coverage targets for reaching and sustaining trachoma elimination: G-computation analysis.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness. To reduce transmission, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) improvements are promoted through a comprehensive public health strategy. Evidence supporting the role of WaSH in trachoma elimination is mixed and it remains unknown what WaSH coverages are needed to effectively reduce transmission. METHODS/FINDINGS: We used g-computation to estimate the impact on the prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular among children aged 1-9 years (TF1-9) when hypothetical WaSH interventions raised the minimum coverages from 5% to 100% for "nearby" face-washing water (<30 minutes roundtrip collection time) and adult latrine use in an evaluation unit (EU). For each scenario, we estimated the generalized prevalence difference as the TF1-9 prevalence under the intervention scenarios minus the observed prevalence. Data from 574 cross-sectional surveys conducted in 16 African and Eastern Mediterranean countries were included. Surveys were conducted from 2015-2019 with support from the Global Trachoma Mapping Project and Tropical Data. When modeling interventions among EUs that had not yet met the TF1-9 elimination target, increasing nearby face-washing water and latrine use coverages above 30% was generally associated with consistent decreases in TF1-9. For nearby face-washing water, we estimated a ≥25% decrease in TF1-9 at 65% coverage, with a plateau upon reaching 85% coverage. For latrine use, the estimated decrease in TF1-9 accelerated from 80% coverage upward, with a ≥25% decrease in TF1-9 by 85% coverage. Among EUs that had previously met the elimination target, results were inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support Sustainable Development Goal 6 and provide insight into potential WaSH-related coverage targets for trachoma elimination. Targets can be tested in future trials to improve evidence-based WaSH guidance for trachoma