Regional variation in Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections by age cohort and sex: effects of market integration among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador

Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection peaks during childhood and varies by sex. The impact of market integration (MI) (increasing production for and consumption from a market-based economy) on these infection patterns, however, is unclear. In this study, STH infection is examined by sex and age among indigenous Shuar inhabiting two regions of Amazonian Ecuador: (1) the modestly market-integrated Upano Valley (UV) and (2) the more traditional Cross-Cutucú (CC) region. Methods: Kato-Katz fecal smears were examined for parasite presence and infection intensity. Factorial ANOVAs and post hoc simple effects analyses were performed by sex to compare infection intensity between regions and age categories (infant/child, juvenile/adolescent, adult). Results: Significant age and regional differences in Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infection were detected. Overall, infants/children and juveniles/adolescents displayed higher parasite loads than adults. CC females exhibited higher A. lumbricoides loads than UV females, while the opposite pattern was observed for T. trichiura infection in males. Conclusions: Regional infection patterns varied by sex and parasite species, perhaps due to MI-linked environmental and lifestyle changes. These results have public health implications for the identification of individuals at risk for infection and contribute to ongoing efforts to track changes and alleviate STH infection in indigenous populations undergoing MI

Neutrino factory

The properties of the neutrino provide a unique window on physics beyond that described by the standard model. The study of subleading effects in neutrino oscillations, and the race to discover CP-invariance violation in the lepton sector, has begun with the recent discovery that θ13>0. The measured value of θ13 is large, emphasizing the need for a facility at which the systematic uncertainties can be reduced to the percent level. The neutrino factory, in which intense neutrino beams are produced from the decay of muons, has been shown to outperform all realistic alternatives and to be capable of making measurements of the requisite precision. Its unique discovery potential arises from the fact that only at the neutrino factory is it practical to produce high-energy electron (anti)neutrino beams of the required intensity. This paper presents the conceptual design of the neutrino factory accelerator facility developed by the European Commission Framework Programme 7 EUROν Design Study consortium. EUROν coordinated the European contributions to the International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) collaboration. The EUROν baseline accelerator facility will provide 10^21 muon decays per year from 12.6 GeV stored muon beams serving a single neutrino detector situated at a source-detector distance of between 1 500 km and 2 500 km. A suite of near detectors will allow definitive neutrino-scattering experiments to be performed

Stevens Johnson Syndrome—Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Induced by A Combination of Lamotrigine and Valproic Acid: A Case Report

Both Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are rare and life-threatening acute allergic reactions affecting the skin and mucous membranes. We report a case with SJS-TEN likely induced by inappropriate lamotrigine titration during the use of a lamotrigine and valproic acid regimen. The present case report supports the clinical evidence that combination of lamotrigine with other psychiatric drugs increases the frequency and severity of skin reactions. Therefore in polypharmacy, lamotrigine should be used more carefully and lamotrigine should be discontinued if any rash appears

Oceanic Plateaus

Oceanic plateaus are vast areas (> 0.1 × 106 km2) of overthickened oceanic crust (up to, and sometimes > 30 km) that are widely interpreted to have formed by decompression melting of hot mantle plumes. Oceanic plateaus have formed throughout most of Earth's history and, due to their excess crustal thicknesses, are difficult to subduct; typically, their uppermost sections are accreted to continental margins. In addition to providing a means of preserving sections of these plateaus in the geological record, the accretion of oceanic plateaus has been an important contributor to crustal growth throughout Earth's history