Temporary exclusion of ill children from childcare centres in Switzerland: practice, problems and potential solutions.

BACKGROUND: In childcare centres, temporary exclusion of ill children, if their illness poses a risk of spread of harmful diseases to others, is a central approach to fight disease transmission. However, not all ill children need to be excluded. Previous studies suggested that childcare centre staff have difficulties in deciding whether or not to exclude an ill child, even when official ill-child guidelines are used. We aimed to describe, quantify and analyse these ambiguities and discuss potential solutions. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, we sent postal surveys to 488 childcare centre directors in the Swiss Canton of Zurich, where no official ill-child guideline is in place. We asked for exclusion criteria for ill children and ambiguities faced when dealing with ill children. We checked whether existing guidelines provided solutions to the ambiguities identified. RESULTS: 249/488 (51%) directors responded to the survey. The most common exclusion criteria were fever (87.4%) and contagiousness (52.2%). Ambiguities were mostly caused by conjunctivitis (23.7%) and use of antipyretic drugs (22.9%). Roughly one third of the ambiguities identified could have been resolved with existing guidelines, another third if existing guidelines contained additional information. For the last third, clear written directives are difficult to formulate. CONCLUSIONS: Written recommendations may help to clarify when an ill child should temporarily be excluded. However, such a guideline should cover the topics antipyretic drugs and teething and have room for modification to local circumstances. Collaboration with a paediatrician may be of additional benefit

Detecting the long-distance structure of the X(3872)

We study the decay within a molecular picture for the state. This decay mode is more sensitive to the long-distance structure of the resonance than its and decays, which are mainly controlled by the details of the wave function at short distances. We show that the final state interaction can be important, and that a precise measurement of this partial decay width can provide valuable information on the interaction strength between the charm mesons

Eukaryotic Cells Producing Ribosomes Deficient in Rpl1 Are Hypersensitive to Defects in the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System

It has recently become clear that the misassembly of ribosomes in eukaryotic cells can have deleterious effects that go far beyond a simple shortage of ribosomes. In this work we find that cells deficient in ribosomal protein L1 (Rpl1; Rpl10a in mammals) produce ribosomes lacking Rpl1 that are exported to the cytoplasm and that can be incorporated into polyribosomes. The presence of such defective ribosomes leads to slow growth and appears to render the cells hypersensitive to lesions in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Several genes that were reasonable candidates for degradation of 60S subunits lacking Rpl1 fail to do so, suggesting that key players in the surveillance of ribosomal subunits remain to be found. Interestingly, in spite of rendering the cells hypersensitive to the proteasome inhibitor MG132, shortage of Rpl1 partially suppresses the stress-invoked temporary repression of ribosome synthesis caused by MG132.United States. National Institutes of Health (GM25532)United States. National Institutes of Health (ARRAGM25532-S1)United States. National Institutes of Health (GM085177)United States. National Institutes of Health (CAI-3330)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Towards neuro-inspired symbolic models of cognition: linking neural dynamics to behaviors through asynchronous communications

A computational architecture modeling the relation between perception and action is proposed. Basic brain processes representing synaptic plasticity are first abstracted through asynchronous communication protocols and implemented as virtual microcircuits. These are used in turn to build mesoscale circuits embodying parallel cognitive processes. Encoding these circuits into symbolic expressions gives finally rise to neuro-inspired programs that are compiled into pseudo-code to be interpreted by a virtual machine. Quantitative evaluation measures are given by the modification of synapse weights over time. This approach is illustrated by models of simple forms of behaviors exhibiting cognition up to the third level of animal awareness. As a potential benefit, symbolic models of emergent psychological mechanisms could lead to the discovery of the learning processes involved in the development of cognition. The executable specifications of an experimental platform allowing for the reproduction of simulated experiments are given in “Appendix”

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Quantification of methylmercury and geochemistry of mercury in sediments from a contaminated area of Descoberto (MG), Brazil.

In 2002, metallic Hg was found buried in a rural area of Descoberto city, Brazil. The origin of the Hg was a gold mining explotation plant established nearly one century ago. Although a number of studies have been conducted in order to assess the contamination of the area, none of them investigated the presence of methylated Hg in the hydric system. In this work methylmercury (CH3Hg?) was determined using gas chromatography-pyrolysis-atomic fluorescence detection (CG-pyro-AFS) in material from rain sedimentation boxes and stream sediments near the contaminated area. Total Hg concentration (HgT) along with the chemical speciation by thermo-desorption were performed. HgT in material from the sedimentation boxes was found to be very high, up to 41,580 mg kg 1, even in the rainy season, when in general HgT were much lower than in dry season. The samples from the Grama and Rico streams show a range of HgT from 5.8 to 266 mg kg 1. The thermo-desorption analysis showed predominance of Hg2?, possibly linked to organic sulfur, suggested by a good positive correlation between Hg2?, HgT, organic mater (OM) and total S. The CH3Hg? concentration in stream sediment samples ranged from <0.07 to 1.87 mg kg 1 and in the samples of sedimentation boxes the concentrations were 1.33 and 8.0 mg kg 1 during dry season. The sample with the highest percentage of HgT as Hg2? (98%) presented also the highest percentage of CH3Hg? (0.7%). These are high values, showing that care should be taken to avoid the transport of this material to the hydrological system. Further studies on the transfer through the food chain would be very important

Durability of Supplemental Nucleus Pulposus Allograft in Patients with Lumbar Discogenic Pain

Shrif Costandi,1 Douglas P Beall,2 Timothy T Davis,3 Kasra Amirdelfan,4 Ramana K Naidu,5 Michael J DePalma,6 Edward S Yoon,7 Jacob W Fleming,8 Jon E Block,9 Nagy Mekhail1 1Pain Management, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; 2Comprehensive Specialty Care, Edmond, OK, USA; 3Source Healthcare, Santa Monica, CA, USA; 4Boomerang Healthcare, Inc., Walnut Creek, CA, USA; 5MarinHealth Spine Institute, Larkspur, CA, USA; 6Virginia iSpine Physicians, Richmond, VA, USA; 7Interventional Radiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA; 8Vascular and Interventional Specialists, Dallas, TX, USA; 9Private Practice, San Francisco, CA, USACorrespondence: Jon E Block, Private Practice, 2210 Jackson Street, Ste. 401, San Francisco, CA, 94115, USA, Tel +1 415-775-7947, Email [email protected]: The objective of this study was to determine the degree of improvement in lumbar discogenic pain severity and associated back impairment in patients with chronic axial low back pain treated with intradiscally delivered allogeneic nucleus pulposus (NP) at up to two vertebral levels (L1-S1).Methods: Prospective, single-arm clinical study conducted at 6 sites in the US involving 28 participants with discogenic pain (mean age: 44 ± 13 yrs) and modified Pfirrmann grade 3– 7 on magnetic resonance imaging. This report includes the final participant follow up at 24 months post procedure. Back pain severity was evaluated using an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) and back function using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and substantial clinical benefit (SCB) were set at ≥ 30% and ≥ 50% over baseline, respectively. The patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) threshold for pain severity was ≤ 3.Results: The average improvement in back pain severity from 7.1 ± 1.6 at baseline to 3.6 ± 2.9 at 24 months was 43% (p< 0.001). Approximately 64% (14 of 22) of participants achieved both the MCID and SCB in back pain at 24 months, while nearly 55% (12 of 22) reported a 24-month back pain severity score of ≤ 3. The corresponding average decrease in ODI values was 53% (p< 0.001) with 73% (16 of 22) of participants achieving the MCID. At baseline approximately 82% (23 of 28) of participants reported severe or crippled back impairment compared to 18% (4 of 22) at 24 months (p< 0.001). There was no association between modified Pfirrmann grade, number of levels treated or Modic changes and any outcome (range: p=0.12 to 0.43).Conclusion: This study provides evidence of clinically significant pain relief and functional improvement through 24 months of follow up after a single allogeneic NP supplementation procedure in patients with lumbar discogenic pain.Keywords: nucleus pulposus, allograft, discogenic, back pain, intradiscal, degenerative disc diseas

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July