A Panel of Papers Examining COVID-19 Masking and Vaccination Advertisements

This panel of papers harnesses persuasion theories to examine the content of masking and vaccination advertisements and public service announcements concerning COVID-19. The first paper describes major persuasion approaches, the rationale for the studies, and the methodology. The second and third papers describe the results of the content analyses, along with their implications for media messages on COVID and future research on these topics

Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free‐tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology

Lokale Politik und Beteiligung: Neue Wege des Stadtmachens und die Rolle lokaler Politik

Das Forschungsprojekt erkundet die - veränderte - Rolle lokaler Politik in neuen Wegen des Stadtmachens. Im Fokus stehen die Berührungspunkte von Stadtplanung und Politik, die sehr vielfältig und komplex sind. Dazu wird ein methodisches Vorgehen gewählt, das in einem ersten Schritt zunächst ein konzeptionelles Gerüst entwickelt. Daran schließt sich eine dreigliedrige empirische Arbeit an. Zunächst werden sechs Fallstudien untersucht, welche durch neue Wege des Stadtmachens die üblichen Rollen und Prozesse lokaler Politik herausfordern. In einem Quervergleich werden anschließend Spannungslinien zwischen Politik und Prozessen des Stadtmachens identifiziert. Abschließend werden - aufbauend auf einer Expertendiskussion im Rahmen eines Symposiums - Folgerungen für die Arenen lokaler Politik entwickelt

Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free‐tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology

Annual report on year one - Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change

Exactly one year following its establishment, the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC) has published the Annual Report on Year One to review its first year of operations and key contributions to Bristol’s response to the climate emergency.This report captures BACCC’s key activities to date, its conclusions on the One City Climate Strategy and the evidence base that has been used in the development of the strategy, as well as recommendations for future work.The BACCC celebrates the level of the city’s climate ambitions and looks forward to playing a continued and supportive role – working closely with One City thematic boards, Bristol City Council and other agencies – as the city begins to translate strategy into detailed action and delivery plans.The BACCC has identified its priority areas for the next year as:To work closely with the National Committee on Climate Change and other key agencies – to understand and contextualise key developments for Bristol and exchange insights and learnings from Bristol.To increase the focus on climate risk and adaptation needs.To monitor progress of delivery of the One City Climate Strategy.To support local Climate Emergency communication and engagement activity

Comparative effectiveness of three versions of a stepped care model for insomnia differing in the amount of therapist support in internet-delivered treatment: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial (GET Sleep)

INTRODUCTION: It is unclear how internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can be integrated into healthcare systems, and little is known about the optimal level of therapist guidance. The aim of this study is to investigate three different versions of a stepped care model for insomnia (IG1, IG2, IG3) versus treatment as usual (TAU). IG1, IG2 and IG3 rely on treatment by general practitioners (GPs) in the entry level and differ in the amount of guidance by e-coaches in internet-delivered CBT-I. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this randomised controlled trial, 4268 patients meeting International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) criteria for insomnia will be recruited. The study will use cluster randomisation of GPs with an allocation ratio of 3:3:3:1 (IG1, IG2, IG3, TAU). In step 1 of the stepped care model, GPs will deliver psychoeducational treatment; in step 2, an internet-delivered CBT-I programme will be used; in step 3, GPs will refer patients to specialised treatment. Outcomes will be collected at baseline, and 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months after baseline assessment. The primary outcome is insomnia severity at 6 months. An economic evaluation will be conducted and qualitative interviews will be used to explore barriers and facilitators of the stepped care model. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical Centre-University of Freiburg. The results of the study will be published irrespective of the outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00021503

Data from: Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2-year-old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free-tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology

Partial mitochondrial cytochrome b and 16S sequences from bats captured in southeastern Guinea, 2014

Comprises all Sanger sequences generated for this study. Individuals were only assigned to the genus-level in the field. BLAST results were combined with this field assignment and further biological information (species distribution) to perform the final assignment. Sequence names are built as follows: sample #_final assignment