Insecticide space spraying for preventing malaria transmission (Protocol)

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: Primary objective To evaluate the impact of space spraying on malaria transmission and vector populations, or the incremental impact when applied in combination with other malaria control methods, in comparison to equivalent conditions with no space spraying intervention. Secondary objective To guide future evaluations of strategies for which there is currently insufficient evidence to reliably assess the impact on malaria transmission, by identifying the following. The range of space spraying strategies that have been trialled. Potentially promising strategies that have been used and warrant further evaluation. Strategies that have been used and appear unlikely to warrant further evaluation (for example, because they were found to be infeasible or unacceptable)

The P0-matrix completion problem

In this paper the P0-matrix completion problem is considered. It is established that every asymmetric partial P0-matrix has P0-completion. All 4 × 4 patterns that include all diagonal positions are classified as either having P0-completion or not having P0-completion. It is shown that any positionally symmetric pattern whose graph is an n-cycle with n ≥ 5 has P0-completion

THE NONNEGATIVE P0-MATRIX COMPLETION PROBLEM

In this paperthe nonnegative P0-matrix completion problem is considered. It is shown that a pattern for 4 × 4 matrices that includes all diagonal positions has nonnegative P0completion if and only if its digraph is complete when it has a 4-cycle. It is also shown that any positionally symmetric pattern that includes all diagonal positions and whose graph is an n-cycle has nonnegative P0-completion if and only if n = 4

CIB1 protects against MPTP-induced neurotoxicity through inhibiting ASK1.

Calcium and integrin binding protein 1 (CIB1) is a calcium-binding protein that was initially identified as a binding partner of platelet integrin αIIb. Although CIB1 has been shown to interact with multiple proteins, its biological function in the brain remains unclear. Here, we show that CIB1 negatively regulates degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson\u27s disease using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Genetic deficiency of the CIB1 gene enhances MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in dopaminergic neurons in CIB1(-/-) mice. Furthermore, RNAi-mediated depletion of CIB1 in primary dopaminergic neurons potentiated 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyrinidium (MPP(+))-induced neuronal death. CIB1 physically associated with apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and thereby inhibited the MPP(+)-induced stimulation of the ASK1-mediated signaling cascade. These findings suggest that CIB1 plays a protective role in MPTP/MPP(+)-induced neurotoxicity by blocking ASK1-mediated signaling

Internationalising research in a neoliberal climate : maintaining integrity in developing and executing funded comparative research

This study contributes to the debate on the impact of internationalising research in the neoliberal climate, through the case of a multinational project funded through competitive bidding. While neoliberalisation of higher education has been explored from multiple perspectives, the impact around competitive research funding as a performativity measure has not received due attention, in particular concerning international collaboration. Research supported by competitive funding is often managed through rigid measures combining narrow success criteria and tight accountability. This paper discusses the challenges in developing and executing an international project in this context, as encountered by a multinational research team. Analysing the team’s reflective writing and written conversations spanning over three years, we illustrate how the team managed to engage in genuine knowledge-building and collaboration, which the global neoliberal research governance system inadvertently undermines. The paper concludes with some recommendations to redress such unintended consequences and effects

Doing enactment within the logics of policy privatisation : how inclusion policy can be interpreted and translated for English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) students

The logics of policy privatisation in schooling, including decentralisation, school autonomy, and discretionary funding mechanisms, shift responsibility for particular types of students onto individual schools and their staff. Burch (Citation2021) asks to what extent the most disadvantaged students in government schools are able to access services most beneficial to them, under these emerging forms of privatisation. With this question in mind, this paper considers the delivery of English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) services under the umbrella of the Queensland Department of Education Inclusion policy, in two Queensland government secondary schools. We tease out how the Inclusive Education (IE) policy, of which EAL/D is a subset, is interpreted and translated (Ball et al. Citation2012) in the situation of privatisation practices. We found that inclusion was understood as primarily targeted at students with disabilities, and that mainstreaming of all learners was considered unsustainable for teachers. In interpreting and translating inclusion for EAL/D, both schools pushed back against the ‘mainstreaming’ discourse, and instead, EAL/D service was provided through targeted programs, staffed with key specialist personnel. In both cases, privatisation logics enabled the ‘EAL/D aware’ principals to justify and enact specialised EAL/D services. In this policy context, there is a need for widespread professional development to ensure all principals understand and apply appropriate supports for EAL/D learners

Larviciding to prevent malaria transmission

Background Larviciding refers to the regular application of chemical or microbial insecticides to water bodies or water containers to kill the aquatic immature forms of the mosquito (the larvae and pupae). Objectives To summarize research evidence evaluating whether larviciding with chemical or microbial insecticides prevents malaria transmission. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), published in the Cochrane Library; MEDLINE; Embase; CAB Abstracts; LILACS; the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP); ClinicalTrials.gov; and the ISRCTN registry up to 6 June 2019. Selection criteria We included cluster‐randomized controlled trials (cRCTs), interrupted time series (ITS), randomized cross‐over studies, non‐randomized cross‐over studies, and controlled before‐and‐after studies (CBAs) that compared larviciding with no larviciding. Data collection and analysis We independently assessed trials for eligibility and risk of bias, and extracted data. We assessed the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach. Main results Four studies (one cRCT, two CBAs, and one non‐randomized cross‐over design) met the inclusion criteria. All used ground application of larvicides (people hand‐delivering larvicides); one evaluated chemical and three evaluated microbial agents. Studies were carried out in The Gambia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. Three studies were conducted in areas where mosquito aquatic habitats were less extensive ( 1 km²; a cross‐over study from The Gambia). For aquatic habitats of less than 1 km², one cRCT randomized eight villages in Sri Lanka to evaluate chemical larviciding using insect growth regulator; and two CBA studies undertaken in Kenya and Tanzania evaluated microbial larvicides. In the cRCT, larviciding across all villages was associated with lower malaria incidence (rate ratio 0.24, 4649 participants, low‐certainty evidence) and parasite prevalence (risk ratio (RR) 0.26, 5897 participants, low‐certainty evidence) compared to no larviciding. The two CBA studies reported lower malaria prevalence during the intervention period (parasite prevalence RR 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71 to 0.89; 70,902 participants; low‐certainty evidence). The Kenyan study also reported a reduction in the incidence of new malaria cases (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.01; 720 participants; very low‐certainty evidence). For aquatic habitats of more than 1 km², the non‐randomized cross‐over trial using microbial larvicides did not detect an effect for malaria incidence (RR 1.58, 95% CI 0.94 to 2.65; 4226 participants), or parasite prevalence (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.41 to 3.20; 3547 participants); both were very low‐certainty evidence. The Gambia trial also reported the mean haemoglobin level, and there was no difference across the four comparisons (mean difference –0.13, 95% CI –0.40 to 0.13; 3586 participants). We were unable to summarize or pool entomological outcomes due to unreported and missing data. Authors' conclusions Most controlled studies on larviciding have been performed with microbial agents. Ground larviciding for non‐extensive larval habitats may have an effect on malaria transmission, and we do not know if there is an effect in large‐scale aquatic habitats. We found no studies using larviciding application techniques that could cover large aquatic habitats, such as aerial spraying using aircraft

Concurrent muscle and bone deterioration in a murine model of cancer cachexia

Cachexia is defined as an excessive, involuntary loss of fat and lean tissue. We tested the validity of the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) as a model of cancer cachexia and examined its effect on the two major lean tissue components, skeletal muscle and bone. LLC cells (0.75 × 106) were injected into the left thigh of C57BL/6 mice. Control mice received an equal volume injection of growth media. Tumors were observed in all LLC-injected animals 21 and 25 days post inoculation. LLC-injected animals showed significant reductions in fat and lean mass despite having the same average daily caloric intake as media-treated mice. Global bone mineral density (BMD) had fallen by 5% and 6% in the LLC animals at 21 and 25 days, respectively, compared to a BMD increase of 5% in the 25-day media-treated animals. Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles (isolated from the noninjected hindlimb) showed earlier and quantitatively greater losses in mass, physiological cross-sectional area (pCSA), and tetanic force compared to soleus muscles from the same hindlimb. By the 25th day post-LLC inoculation, EDL force/pCSA was reduced by 19% versus media treatment. This loss in specific force was not trivial as it accounted for about one-third of the reduction in EDL absolute force at this time point. Muscle strips dissected from the diaphragm of LLC mice also exhibited significant reductions in force/pCSA at day 25. We conclude that LLC is a valid model of cachexia that induces rapid losses in global BMD and in limb and respiratory muscle function

Caenorhabditis elegans predation on Bacillus anthracis: Decontamination of spore contaminated soil with germinants and nematodes

Remediation of Bacillus anthracis-contaminated soil is challenging and approaches to reduce overall spore levels in environmentally contaminated soil or after intentional release of the infectious disease agent in a safe, low-cost manner are needed. B. anthracis spores are highly resistant to biocides, but once germinated they become susceptible to traditional biocides or potentially even natural predators such as nematodes in the soil environment. Here, we describe a two-step approach to reducing B. anthracis spore load in soil during laboratory trials, whereby germinants and Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes are applied concurrently. While the application of germinants reduced B. anthracis spore load by up to four logs depending on soil type, the addition of nematodes achieved a further log reduction in spore count. These laboratory based results suggest that the combined use of nematodes and germinants could represent a promising approach for the remediation of B. anthracis spore contaminated soil