Persistence and change in interregional differences in entrepreneurship: England and Wales, 1921–2011

The paper explores time-persistence in interregional differences of self-employment rates in England and Wales in the 1921–2011 period by using census data. The results suggest a strong path-dependence in entrepreneurship as past self-employment rates have strong bearing on future ones. However, there is also some rank mobility reflected in the upward movements of London boroughs and downward movements of primarily coastal areas. Rank mobility relates to structural changes, changes in human capital, regional age structures and immigration

Informing investment to reduce inequalities: a modelling approach

Background: Reducing health inequalities is an important policy objective but there is limited quantitative information about the impact of specific interventions. Objectives: To provide estimates of the impact of a range of interventions on health and health inequalities. Materials and methods: Literature reviews were conducted to identify the best evidence linking interventions to mortality and hospital admissions. We examined interventions across the determinants of health: a ‘living wage’; changes to benefits, taxation and employment; active travel; tobacco taxation; smoking cessation, alcohol brief interventions, and weight management services. A model was developed to estimate mortality and years of life lost (YLL) in intervention and comparison populations over a 20-year time period following interventions delivered only in the first year. We estimated changes in inequalities using the relative index of inequality (RII). Results: Introduction of a ‘living wage’ generated the largest beneficial health impact, with modest reductions in health inequalities. Benefits increases had modest positive impacts on health and health inequalities. Income tax increases had negative impacts on population health but reduced inequalities, while council tax increases worsened both health and health inequalities. Active travel increases had minimally positive effects on population health but widened health inequalities. Increases in employment reduced inequalities only when targeted to the most deprived groups. Tobacco taxation had modestly positive impacts on health but little impact on health inequalities. Alcohol brief interventions had modestly positive impacts on health and health inequalities only when strongly socially targeted, while smoking cessation and weight-reduction programmes had minimal impacts on health and health inequalities even when socially targeted. Conclusions: Interventions have markedly different effects on mortality, hospitalisations and inequalities. The most effective (and likely cost-effective) interventions for reducing inequalities were regulatory and tax options. Interventions focused on individual agency were much less likely to impact on inequalities, even when targeted at the most deprived communities

Periodic eclipses of the young star PDS 110 discovered with WASP and KELT photometry

We report the discovery of eclipses by circumstellar disc material associated with the young star PDS 110 in the Ori OB1a association using the SuperWASP and Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope surveys. PDS 110 (HD 290380, IRAS 05209-0107) is a rare Fe/Ge-type star, an similar to 10 Myr-old accreting intermediate-mass star showing strong infrared excess (L-IR/L-bol similar or equal to 0.25). Two extremely similar eclipses with a depth of 30 per cent and duration similar to 25 d were observed in 2008 November and 2011 January. We interpret the eclipses as caused by the same structure with an orbital period of 808 +/- 2 d. Shearing over a single orbit rules out diffuse dust clumps as the cause, favouring the hypothesis of a companion at similar to 2 au. The characteristics of the eclipses are consistent with transits by an unseen low-mass (1.8-70M(Jup)) planet or brown dwarf with a circumsecondary disc of diameter similar to 0.3 au. The next eclipse event is predicted to take place in 2017 September and could be monitored by amateur and professional observatories across the world

Hierarchy Theory of Evolution and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Some Epistemic Bridges, Some Conceptual Rifts

Contemporary evolutionary biology comprises a plural landscape of multiple co-existent conceptual frameworks and strenuous voices that disagree on the nature and scope of evolutionary theory. Since the mid-eighties, some of these conceptual frameworks have denounced the ontologies of the Modern Synthesis and of the updated Standard Theory of Evolution as unfinished or even flawed. In this paper, we analyze and compare two of those conceptual frameworks, namely Niles Eldredge’s Hierarchy Theory of Evolution (with its extended ontology of evolutionary entities) and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (with its proposal of an extended ontology of evolutionary processes), in an attempt to map some epistemic bridges (e.g. compatible views of causation; niche construction) and some conceptual rifts (e.g. extra-genetic inheritance; different perspectives on macroevolution; contrasting standpoints held in the “externalism–internalism” debate) that exist between them. This paper seeks to encourage theoretical, philosophical and historiographical discussions about pluralism or the possible unification of contemporary evolutionary biology

An Outbreak of Dengue Fever in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands), 2005

BACKGROUND: Periodic outbreaks of dengue fever occur in the United States Virgin Islands. In June 2005, an outbreak of dengue virus (DENV) serotype-2 with cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) was detected in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The objective of this report is to describe this outbreak of DENV-2 and the findings of a case-control study examining risk factors for DHF. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This is the largest dengue outbreak ever recorded in St. Croix, with 331 suspected dengue cases reported island-wide during 2005 (62.2 cases/10,000 population); 54% were hospitalized, 21% had at least one hemorrhagic manifestation, 28% had thrombocytopenia, 5% had DHF and 1 patient died. Eighty-nine laboratory-positive hospitalized patients were identified. Of these, there were 15 (17%) who met the WHO criteria for DHF (cases) and 74 (83%) who did not (controls). The only variable significantly associated with DHF on bivariate or multivariable analysis was age, with an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.033 (1.003,1.064). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: During this outbreak of DENV-2, a high proportion of cases developed DHF and increasing age was significantly associated with DHF

Mapping Exoplanets

The varied surfaces and atmospheres of planets make them interesting places to live, explore, and study from afar. Unfortunately, the great distance to exoplanets makes it impossible to resolve their disk with current or near-term technology. It is still possible, however, to deduce spatial inhomogeneities in exoplanets provided that different regions are visible at different times---this can be due to rotation, orbital motion, and occultations by a star, planet, or moon. Astronomers have so far constructed maps of thermal emission and albedo for short period giant planets. These maps constrain atmospheric dynamics and cloud patterns in exotic atmospheres. In the future, exo-cartography could yield surface maps of terrestrial planets, hinting at the geophysical and geochemical processes that shape them.Comment: Updated chapter for Handbook of Exoplanets, eds. Deeg & Belmonte. 17 pages, including 6 figures and 4 pages of reference

HDP—A Novel Heme Detoxification Protein from the Malaria Parasite

When malaria parasites infect host red blood cells (RBC) and proteolyze hemoglobin, a unique, albeit poorly understood parasite-specific mechanism, detoxifies released heme into hemozoin (Hz). Here, we report the identification and characterization of a novel Plasmodium Heme Detoxification Protein (HDP) that is extremely potent in converting heme into Hz. HDP is functionally conserved across Plasmodium genus and its gene locus could not be disrupted. Once expressed, the parasite utilizes a circuitous “Outbound–Inbound” trafficking route by initially secreting HDP into the cytosol of infected RBC. A subsequent endocytosis of host cytosol (and hemoglobin) delivers HDP to the food vacuole (FV), the site of Hz formation. As Hz formation is critical for survival, involvement of HDP in this process suggests that it could be a malaria drug target

Best Practices in Dengue Surveillance: A Report from the Asia-Pacific and Americas Dengue Prevention Boards

The Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative organized Dengue Prevention Boards in the Asia-Pacific and the Americas regions consisting of dengue experts from endemic countries. Both Boards convened meetings to review issues in surveillance. Through presentations, facilitated discussions, and surveys, the Boards identified best practices in dengue surveillance including: (1) Dengue should be a notifiable disease in endemic countries; (2) World Health Organization regional case definitions should be consistently applied; (3) electronic reporting systems should be developed and used broadly to speed delivery of data to stakeholders; (4) minimum reporting should include incidence rates of dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, dengue shock syndrome, and dengue deaths, and hospitalization and mortality rates should be reported by age group; (5) periodic additional studies (e.g., capture/recapture) should be conducted to assess under-detection, under-reporting, and the quality of surveillance; (6) laboratory methods and protocols should be standardized; (7) national authorities should encourage laboratories to develop networks to share expertise and data; and (8) RT-PCR and virus isolation (and possibly detection of the NS1 protein) are the recommended methods for confirmation of an acute dengue infection, but are recommended only for the four days after onset of fever—after day 4, IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is recommended

Functional intercomparison of intraoperative radiotherapy equipment – Photon Radiosurgery System

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT) is a method by which a critical radiation dose is delivered to the tumour bed immediately after surgical excision. It is being investigated whether a single high dose of radiation will impart the same clinical benefit as a standard course of external beam therapy. Our centre has four Photon Radiosurgery Systems (PRS) currently used to irradiate breast and neurological sites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The PRS comprises an x-ray generator, control console, quality assurance tools and a mobile gantry. We investigated the dosimetric characteristics of each source and its performance stability over a period of time. We investigated half value layer, output diminution factor, internal radiation monitor (IRM) reproducibility and depth-doses in water. The half value layer was determined in air by the broad beam method, using high purity aluminium attenuators. To quantify beam hardening at clinical depths, solid water attenuators of 5 and 10 mm were placed between the x-ray probe and attenuators. The ion chamber current was monitored over 30 minutes to deduce an output diminution factor. IRM reproducibility was investigated under various exposures. Depth-dose curves in water were obtained at distances up to 35 mm from the probe. RESULTS: The mean energies for the beam attenuated by 5 and 10 mm of solid water were derived from ICRU Report 17 and found to be 18 and 24 keV. The average output level over a period of 30 minutes was found to be 99.12%. The average difference between the preset IRM limit and the total IRM count was less than 0.5%. For three x-ray sources, the average difference between the calculated and actual treatment times was found to be 0.62% (n = 30). The beam attenuation in water varied by approximately 1/r(3). CONCLUSION: The x-ray sources are stable over time. Most measurements were found to lie within the manufacturer's tolerances and an intercomparison of these checks suggests that the four x-ray sources have similar performance characteristics