The role of basic education in post-conflict recovery

The last decade has seen a growing recognition amongst international donors, development agencies, non-government organisations and academics of the vital role education can play in bringing about recovery following violent conflict, natural disaster and other crises. This has led to the development of increasingly targeted and sophisticated programme planning and management tools, for use by government ministries, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations in fragile contexts. Drawing on the 2010 independent study of UNICEF's Education in Emergencies and Post-Conflict Transition Programme, this paper explores the transformative role education can play in post-conflict recovery. It argues that while basic education assistance can have a catalytic role in helping states during the early stages of a transition out of violent conflict, there is the need for a better understanding of its role in building peace at the national, sub-national and community levels. The paper also argues for the development of a solid evidence base to inform policy and practice at all national, regional and community levels so as to demonstrate conclusively the important role played by education during and in the aftermath of conflict

The effects of varying glenohumeral joint angle on acute volume load, muscle activation, swelling, and echo-Intensity on the biceps brachii in resistance-trained individuals

There is a paucity of data on how manipulating joint angles during isolation exercises may impact overall session muscle activation and volume load in resistance-trained individuals. We investigated the acute effects of varying glenohumeral joint angle on the biceps brachii with a crossover repeated measure design with three different biceps curls. One session served as the positive control (CON), which subjects performed 9 sets of bicep curls with their shoulder in a neutral position. The experimental condition (VAR), varied the glenohumeral joint angle by performing 3 sets in shoulder extension (30 degrees), 3 sets neutral (0 degrees), and 3 sets in flexion (90 degrees). Volume load and muscle activation (EMG) were recorded during the training sessions. Muscle swelling and strain were assessed via muscle thickness and echo-intensity responses at pre, post, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. There were no significant differences between conditions for most dependent variables. However, the overall session EMG amplitude was significantly higher (p = 0.0001) in VAR compared to CON condition (95%-CI: 8.4% to 23.3%). Our findings suggest that varying joint angles during resistance training (RT) may enhance total muscle activation without negatively affecting volume load within a training session in resistance-trained individuals7

Magnetic NiFe₂O₄ Nanoparticles Prepared via Non-Aqueous Microwave-Assisted Synthesis for Application in Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation

Phase‐pure spinel‐type magnetic nickel ferrite (NiFe(2)O(4)) nanocrystals in the size range of 4 to 11 nm were successfully synthesized by a fast and energy‐saving microwave‐assisted approach. Size and accessible surface areas can be tuned precisely by the reaction parameters. Our results highlight the correlation between size, degree of inversion, and magnetic characteristics of NiFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles, which enables fine‐tuning of these parameters for a particular application without changing the elemental composition. Moreover, the application potential of the synthesized powders for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media was demonstrated, showing that a low degree of inversion is beneficial for the overall performance. The most active sample reaches an overpotential of 380 mV for water oxidation at 10 mA cm(−2) and 38.8 mA cm(−2) at 1.7 V vs. RHE, combined with a low Tafel slope of 63 mV dec(−1)

Two-Component Direct Fluorescent-Antibody Assay for Rapid Identification of Bacillus anthracis

A two-component direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) assay, using fluorescein-labeled monoclonal antibodies specific to the Bacillus anthracis cell wall (CW-DFA) and capsule (CAP-DFA) antigens, was evaluated and validated for rapid identification of B. anthracis. We analyzed 230 B. anthracis isolates; 228 and 229 were positive by CW-DFA and CAP-DFA assays, respectively. We also tested 56 non–B. anthracis strains; 10 B. cereus and 2 B. thuringiensis were positive by the CW-DFA assay, and 1 B. megaterium strain was positive by CAP-DFA. Analysis of the combined DFA results identified 227 of 230 B. anthracis isolates; all 56 strains of the other Bacillus spp. were negative. Both DFA assays tested positive on 14 of 26 clinical specimens from the 2001 anthrax outbreak investigation. The two-component DFA assay is a sensitive, specific, and rapid confirmatory test for B. anthracis in cultures and may be useful directly on clinical specimens

Gender Differences in Aspirin use Among Adults With Coronary Heart Disease in the United States

BACKGROUND: Aspirin reduces mortality for men and women with coronary heart disease (CHD). Previous research suggests women with acute coronary syndromes receive less aggressive care, including less frequent early administration of aspirin. The presence of gender differences in aspirin use for secondary prevention is less clear. OBJECTIVE: To determine if a gender difference exists in the use of aspirin for secondary prevention among individuals with CHD. DESIGN: We analyzed data from the nationally representative 2000–2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys to determine the prevalence of regular aspirin use among men and women with CHD. PARTICIPANTS: Participants, 1,869, 40 years and older who reported CHD or prior myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Women were less likely than men to use aspirin regularly (62.4% vs 75.6%, p < .001) even after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics (adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI, 0.48–0.79). This difference narrowed but remained significant when the analysis was limited to those without self-reported contraindications to aspirin (79.8% vs 86.4%, P = .002, adjusted OR = 0.68, 95% CI, 0.48–0.97). Women were more likely than men to report contraindications (20.5% vs 12.5%, P < .001). Differences in aspirin use were greater between women and men with private health insurance (61.8% vs 79.0%, P < .001, adjusted OR = 0.48, 95% CI, 0.35–0.67) than among those with public coverage (62.5% vs 70.7%, P = .04, adjusted OR = 0.74, 95% CI, 0.50–1.11) (P < .001 for gender–insurance interaction). CONCLUSION: We found a gender difference in aspirin use among patients with CHD not fully explained by differences in patient characteristics or reported contraindications. These findings suggest a need for improved secondary prevention of cardiovascular events for women with CHD

Inherited variants in CHD3 show variable expressivity in Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome

Purpose: Common diagnostic next-generation sequencing strategies are not optimized to identify inherited variants in genes associated with dominant neurodevelopmental disorders as causal when the transmitting parent is clinically unaffected, leaving a significant number of cases with neurodevelopmental disorders undiagnosed. Methods: We characterized 21 families with inherited heterozygous missense or protein-truncating variants in CHD3, a gene in which de novo variants cause Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome. Results: Computational facial and Human Phenotype Ontology–based comparisons showed that the phenotype of probands with inherited CHD3 variants overlaps with the phenotype previously associated with de novo CHD3 variants, whereas heterozygote parents are mildly or not affected, suggesting variable expressivity. In addition, similarly reduced expression levels of CHD3 protein in cells of an affected proband and of healthy family members with a CHD3 protein-truncating variant suggested that compensation of expression from the wild-type allele is unlikely to be an underlying mechanism. Notably, most inherited CHD3 variants were maternally transmitted. Conclusion: Our results point to a significant role of inherited variation in Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a finding that is critical for correct variant interpretation and genetic counseling and warrants further investigation toward understanding the broader contributions of such variation to the landscape of human disease

Structure, Function, and Evolution of the Thiomonas spp. Genome

Bacteria of the Thiomonas genus are ubiquitous in extreme environments, such as arsenic-rich acid mine drainage (AMD). The genome of one of these strains, Thiomonas sp. 3As, was sequenced, annotated, and examined, revealing specific adaptations allowing this bacterium to survive and grow in its highly toxic environment. In order to explore genomic diversity as well as genetic evolution in Thiomonas spp., a comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) approach was used on eight different strains of the Thiomonas genus, including five strains of the same species. Our results suggest that the Thiomonas genome has evolved through the gain or loss of genomic islands and that this evolution is influenced by the specific environmental conditions in which the strains live

GestaltMatcher Database - A global reference for facial phenotypic variability in rare human diseases

The most important factor that complicates the work of dysmorphologists is the significant phenotypic variability of the human face. Next-Generation Phenotyping (NGP) tools that assist clinicians with recognizing characteristic syndromic patterns are particularly challenged when confronted with patients from populations different from their training data. To that end, we systematically analyzed the impact of genetic ancestry on facial dysmorphism. For that purpose, we established the GestaltMatcher Database (GMDB) as a reference dataset for medical images of patients with rare genetic disorders from around the world. We collected 10,980 frontal facial images - more than a quarter previously unpublished - from 8,346 patients, representing 581 rare disorders. Although the predominant ancestry is still European (67%), data from underrepresented populations have been increased considerably via global collaborations (19% Asian and 7% African). This includes previously unpublished reports for more than 40% of the African patients. The NGP analysis on this diverse dataset revealed characteristic performance differences depending on the composition of training and test sets corresponding to genetic relatedness. For clinical use of NGP, incorporating non-European patients resulted in a profound enhancement of GestaltMatcher performance. The top-5 accuracy rate increased by +11.29%. Importantly, this improvement in delineating the correct disorder from a facial portrait was achieved without decreasing the performance on European patients. By design, GMDB complies with the FAIR principles by rendering the curated medical data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. This means GMDB can also serve as data for training and benchmarking. In summary, our study on facial dysmorphism on a global sample revealed a considerable cross ancestral phenotypic variability confounding NGP that should be counteracted by international efforts for increasing data diversity. GMDB will serve as a vital reference database for clinicians and a transparent training set for advancing NGP technology.</p