An increase in hookworm infection temporally associated with ecologic change.

This report describes a significant increase in the prevalence of hookworm infection in an area of Haiti where intestinal parasites are common, but hookworm has not been common. Changing environmental conditions, specifically deforestation and subsequent silting of a local river, have caused periodic flooding with deposition of a layer of sandy loam topsoil and increased soil moisture. We speculate that these conditions, conducive to transmission of the infection, have allowed hookworm to reemerge as an important human pathogen

Elastic Correlations in Nucleosomal DNA Structure

The structure of DNA in the nucleosome core particle is studied using an elastic model that incorporates anisotropy in the bending energetics and twist-bend coupling. Using the experimentally determined structure of nucleosomal DNA [T.J. Richmond and C.A. Davey, Nature {\bf 423}, 145 (2003)], it is shown that elastic correlations exist between twist, roll, tilt, and stretching of DNA, as well as the distance between phosphate groups. The twist-bend coupling term is shown to be able to capture these correlations to a large extent, and a fit to the experimental data yields a new estimate of G=25 nm for the value of the twist-bend coupling constant

On Embeddability of Buses in Point Sets

Set membership of points in the plane can be visualized by connecting corresponding points via graphical features, like paths, trees, polygons, ellipses. In this paper we study the \emph{bus embeddability problem} (BEP): given a set of colored points we ask whether there exists a planar realization with one horizontal straight-line segment per color, called bus, such that all points with the same color are connected with vertical line segments to their bus. We present an ILP and an FPT algorithm for the general problem. For restricted versions of this problem, such as when the relative order of buses is predefined, or when a bus must be placed above all its points, we provide efficient algorithms. We show that another restricted version of the problem can be solved using 2-stack pushall sorting. On the negative side we prove the NP-completeness of a special case of BEP.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, conference version at GD 201

The Arecibo Arp 220 Spectral Census I: Discovery of the Pre-Biotic Molecule Methanimine and New Cm-wavelength Transitions of Other Molecules

An on-going Arecibo line search between 1.1 and 10 GHz of the prototypical starburst/megamaser galaxy, Arp 220, has revealed a spectrum rich in molecular transitions. These include the ``pre-biotic'' molecules: methanimine (CH$_{2}$NH) in emission, three $v_{2}=1$ direct l-type absorption lines of HCN, and an absorption feature likely to be from either $^{18}$OH or formic acid (HCOOH). In addition, we report the detection of two, possibly three, transitions of $\lambda$4-cm excited OH not previously detected in Arp~220 which are seen in absorption, and a possible absorption feature from the 6.668-GHz line of methanol. This marks the first distant extragalactic detection of methanimine, a pre-biotic molecule. Also, if confirmed, the possible methanol absorption line presented here would represent the first extragalactic detection of methanol at a distance further than 10 Mpc. In addition, the strong, previously undetected, cm-wave HCN $v_{2}=1$ direct l-type lines will aid the study of dense molecular gas and active star-forming regions in this starburst galaxy.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A

Global Health and Disability: A Review and Call to Action for All Rehabilitation Professions

The World Health Organization estimates 15% of the world’s population is living with disability and anticipates an increase as the population ages. Disability is a growing healthcare concern and presents a tremendous burden to all nations. The world will soon need to provide health and rehabilitative care for an enormous number of persons with disability. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief narrative review pertaining to global health and rehabilitation, and to motivate the rehabilitation professions in taking immediate action through further investment in global health initiatives to manage both the current and projected burden of disability. A deficient level of research exists in global health by the rehabilitation professions and there is significant lag in their efforts when compared to other healthcare professions. The World Health Organization’s World Report on Disability (2011), Global Disability Action Plan 2014-2021, and the Global Burden of Disease study are pivotal bodies of work in this field. They serve as both a model and a challenge to affect large-scale global change among the rehabilitation professions. Collectively, an immediate effort is needed to bolster disability and rehabilitation research in developing nations, global rehabilitative outreach programs, and improve access to rehabilitative healthcare to persons with disability in order to fully address the magnitude of this matter

Mach's Principle and the Origin of Inertia

The current status of Mach's principle is discussed within the context of general relativity. The inertial properties of a particle are determined by its mass and spin, since these characterize the irreducible unitary representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. The origin of the inertia of mass and intrinsic spin are discussed and the inertia of intrinsic spin is studied via the coupling of intrinsic spin with rotation. The implications of spin-rotation coupling and the possibility of history dependence and nonlocality in relativistic physics are briefly mentioned.Comment: 14 pages. Dedicated to Carl Brans in honor of his 80th birthday. To appear in the Brans Festschrift; v2: typo corrected, published in: At the Frontier of Spacetime, edited by T. Asselmeyer-Maluga (Springer, 2016), Chapter 10, pp. 177-18

Vulnerability analysis of satellite-based synchronized smart grids monitoring systems

The large-scale deployment of wide-area monitoring systems could play a strategic role in supporting the evolution of traditional power systems toward smarter and self-healing grids. The correct operation of these synchronized monitoring systems requires a common and accurate timing reference usually provided by a satellite-based global positioning system. Although these satellites signals provide timing accuracy that easily exceeds the needs of the power industry, they are extremely vulnerable to radio frequency interference. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis aimed at identifying their potential vulnerabilities is of paramount importance for correct and safe wide-area monitoring system operation. Armed with such a vision, this article presents and discusses the results of an experimental analysis aimed at characterizing the vulnerability of global positioning system based wide-area monitoring systems to external interferences. The article outlines the potential strategies that could be adopted to protect global positioning system receivers from external cyber-attacks and proposes decentralized defense strategies based on self-organizing sensor networks aimed at assuring correct time synchronization in the presence of external attacks

Measured energy expenditure of tube-fed patients with severe neurodevelopment disabilities

Objective: To determine measured resting energy expenditure (REE) of nonambulatory tube-fed patients with severe neurological neurodevelopmental disabilities. Methods: Twenty patients were prospectively studied. Only steady state indirect calorimetry measurements were taken. All measurements were conducted using a canopy system. Nutritional needs were met entirely by enteral feedings via a permanent ostomy. Results: REE was widely distributed from 16 kcals/kg/day to 39 kcals/kg/day. The mean REE (888 ±176 kcals/day) of the patients was significantly (p \u3c 0.01) lower than predicted as estimated by the Harris-Benedict equations (1081 ± 155 kcals/day) and World Health Organization equations (1194 ± 167 kcals/day). Fat-free mass (FFM) was the best parameter for predicting REE. Two predictive equations were developed that are not significantly biased and more precise (≤ 15% error) than conventional predictive formulas. Conclusion: Conventional formulas for estimating energy expenditure are inaccurate and generally overestimate measured energy expenditure of nonambulatory patients with severe developmental disabilities

Differences in estimates of size distribution of beryllium powder materials using phase contrast microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and liquid suspension counter techniques

Accurate characterization of the physicochemical properties of aerosols generated for inhalation toxicology studies is essential for obtaining meaningful results. Great emphasis must also be placed on characterizing particle properties of materials as administered in inhalation studies. Thus, research is needed to identify a suite of techniques capable of characterizing the multiple particle properties (i.e., size, mass, surface area, number) of a material that may influence toxicity. The purpose of this study was to characterize the morphology and investigate the size distribution of a model toxicant, beryllium. Beryllium metal, oxides, and alloy particles were aerodynamically size-separated using an aerosol cyclone, imaged dry using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), then characterized using phase contrast microscopy (PCM), a liquid suspension particle counter (LPC), and computer-controlled SEM (CCSEM). Beryllium metal powder was compact with smaller sub-micrometer size particles attached to the surface of larger particles, whereas the beryllium oxides and alloy particles were clusters of primary particles. As expected, the geometric mean (GM) diameter of metal powder determined using PCM decreased with aerodynamic size, but when suspended in liquid for LPC or CCSEM analysis, the GM diameter decreased by a factor of two (p < 0.001). This observation suggested that the smaller submicrometer size particles attached to the surface of larger particles and/or particle agglomerates detach in liquid, thereby shifting the particle size distribution downward. The GM diameters of the oxide materials were similar regardless of sizing technique, but observed differences were generally significant (p < 0.001). For oxides, aerodynamic cluster size will dictate deposition in the lung, but primary particle size may influence biological activity. The GM diameter of alloy particles determined using PCM became smaller with decreasing aerodynamic size fraction; however, when suspended in liquid for CCSEM and LPC analyses, GM particle size decreased by a factor of two (p < 0.001) suggesting that alloy particles detach in liquid. Detachment of particles in liquid could have significance for the expected versus actual size (and number) distribution of aerosol delivered to an exposure subject. Thus, a suite of complimentary analytical techniques may be necessary for estimating size distribution. Consideration should be given to thoroughly understanding the influence of any liquid vehicle which may alter the expected aerosol size distribution