Vertical pattern of organic matter decomposability in cryoturbated permafrost-affected soils

Permafrost thaw will release additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere resulting in a positive feedback to climate change. However, the mineralization dynamics of organic matter (OM) stored in permafrost-affected soils remain unclear. We used physical soil fractionation, radiocarbon measurements, incubation experiments, and a dynamic decomposition model to identify distinct vertical pattern in OM decomposability. The observed differences reflect the type of OM input to the subsoil, either by cryoturbation or otherwise, e.g. by advective water-borne transport of dissolved OM. In non-cryoturbated subsoil horizons, most OM is stabilized at mineral surfaces or by occlusion in aggregates. In contrast, pockets of OM-rich cryoturbated soil contain sufficient free particulate OM for microbial decomposition. After thaw, OM turnover is as fast as in the upper active layer. Since cryoturbated soils store ca. 450 Pg carbon, identifying differences in decomposability according to such translocation processes has large implications for the future global carbon cycle and climate, and directs further process model development

Spatial mobility and large-scale resource extraction: an analysis of community well-being and health in a copper mining area of Zambia

We examine population mobility around a newly-developed large-scale copper mine in Zambia and analyse how socioeconomic and health indicators differed amongst migrants, resettled households, and non-mobile local (e.g. non-migrant/-resettled) populations. Two cross-sectional household surveys in 2015 and 2019 collected quan-titative data on health, socioeconomic indicators, and resettlement and migration status. A wealth index for the pooled sample (N =990 households) was computed using a simplified list of household assets adapted from the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey. Logistic regression models were conducted to assess associations with health outcomes. In-migrants were younger than non-mobile locals (mean age of household head 33.9 vs. 37.7 years), more highly educated (34.3% of household heads completed secondary school vs. 7.3%), had higher employment (43.8% vs. 15.8%), and higher mean wealth (3.6 vs. 3.0). The odds of having a child <5 years diagnosed with malaria (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.71) or classified as stunted (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.87) were significantly lower for migrants during the construction phase, even after adjusting for family wealth score. Migrant and resettled households had greater wealth and assets even after adjusting for age, education, and employment, suggesting spatial mobility is associated with improved socioeconomic status and disease prevention

Changes in household wealth in communities living in proximity to a large-scale copper mine in Zambia

Large-scale mining can alter the living conditions of surrounding communities in positive and negative ways. A health impact assessment conducted in the context of a newly developed large-scale copper mine in rural Zambia gave us the opportunity to measure changes in health determinants over time. We conducted periodic household surveys at baseline in 2011, during the construction phase in 2015 and during the operational phase in 2019. Data collected included economic indicators that were based on the standardized list of household assets used in the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, which we subsequently converted into a wealth score using principal component analysis. We compared mean wealth scores in six communities directly impacted by the mine with comparison communities, as well as the rest of the North-Western province of Zambia. A difference-indifferences linear regression model was used to compare changes over time. Mean wealth of the communities near the mine was significantly lower at baseline than that of the North-Western province (? 0.54 points; pvalue< 0.001) in 2011, but surpassed the regional average in 2019 (+1.07 points; p-value <0.001). Mean wealth increased more rapidly in communities directly impacted by mine than in the comparison communities (+0.30 points, p-value <0.001). These results suggest a positive impact on living conditions in communities living near this copper mine. Our findings underscore the potential of the mining sector to contribute to economic development in Zambia

Changes in socioeconomic determinants of health in a copper mine development area, northwestern Zambia

In 2011, an industrial copper mine was developed in northwestern Zambia. A health impact assessment was conducted to anticipate and address potential health impacts. To monitor these impacts, three community-based surveys were conducted in the area (2011, 2015 and 2019). We analysed these data to determine how household socioeconomic indicators - considered determinants of health - have changed in the area over time. In mine-impacted communities, between 2011 (pre-construction) and 2019, significant changes were observed for: (i) average household size (-0.6 members); (ii) proportion of mothers that have not completed primary school (+20.4%); (iii) ownership of economic assets (e.g. phones +29.3%; televisions +15.6%); (iv) access to safe drinking water (+27.4%); and (v) improved housing structures (e.g. finished roof +58.6%). When comparing changes between 2015 and 2019 in impacted communities to nearby comparison communities, there was (i) an increased proportion of mothers that had not completed primary school in comparison communities vs. no change in impacted communities; and (ii) increased ownership of economic assets in impacted vs. comparison communities in 2019. This study found generally positive changes in the socioeconomic development of impacted compared to comparison communities, with the most pronounced improvements in the early phases of mine development

Binary Willshaw learning yields high synaptic capacity for long-term familiarity memory

We investigate from a computational perspective the efficiency of the Willshaw synaptic update rule in the context of familiarity discrimination, a binary-answer, memory-related task that has been linked through psychophysical experiments with modified neural activity patterns in the prefrontal and perirhinal cortex regions. Our motivation for recovering this well-known learning prescription is two-fold: first, the switch-like nature of the induced synaptic bonds, as there is evidence that biological synaptic transitions might occur in a discrete stepwise fashion. Second, the possibility that in the mammalian brain, unused, silent synapses might be pruned in the long-term. Besides the usual pattern and network capacities, we calculate the synaptic capacity of the model, a recently proposed measure where only the functional subset of synapses is taken into account. We find that in terms of network capacity, Willshaw learning is strongly affected by the pattern coding rates, which have to be kept fixed and very low at any time to achieve a non-zero capacity in the large network limit. The information carried per functional synapse, however, diverges and is comparable to that of the pattern association case, even for more realistic moderately low activity levels that are a function of network size.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

The effect of ICAD-S on the formation and intracellular distribution of a nucleolytically active caspase-activated DNase

We show here that co-expression of murine CAD with either ICAD-L or ICAD-S in Escherichia coli as well as mammalian cells leads to a functional DFF complex, which after caspase-3 activation releases a nucleolytically active DNase. The chaperone activity of ICAD-S is between one and two orders of magnitude less effective than that of ICAD-L, as deduced from cleavage experiments with different activated recombinant DFF complexes produced in Ecoli. With nucleolytically active EGFP fusion proteins of CAD it is demonstrated that co-expression of ICAD-S, which lacks the C-terminal domain of ICAD-L, including the NLS, leads to a homogeneous intracellular distribution of the DNase in transfected cells, whereas co-expression of human or murine ICAD-L variants lacking the NLS leads to exclusion of EGFP-CAD from the nuclei in ∼50% of cells. These results attribute a particular importance of the NLS in the long isoform of the inhibitor of CAD for nuclear accumulation of the DFF complex in living cells. It is concluded that ICAD-L and ICAD-S in vivo might function as tissue-specific modulators in the regulation of apoptotic DNA degradation by controlling not only the enzymatic activity but also the amount of CAD available in the nuclei of mammalian cells

Drones and digital adherence monitoring for community-based tuberculosis control in remote Madagascar: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Continuing tuberculosis control with current approaches is unlikely to reach the World Health Organization's objective to eliminate TB by 2035. Innovative interventions such as unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones) and digital adherence monitoring technologies have the potential to enhance patient-centric quality tuberculosis care and help challenged National Tuberculosis Programs leapfrog over the impediments of conventional Directly Observed Therapy (DOTS) implementation. A bundle of innovative interventions referred to for its delivery technology as the Drone Observed Therapy System (DrOTS) was implemented in remote Madagascar. Given the potentially increased cost these interventions represent for health systems, a cost-effectiveness analysis was indicated.; A decision analysis model was created to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness of the DrOTS strategy compared to DOTS, the standard of care, in a study population of 200,000 inhabitants in rural Madagascar with tuberculosis disease prevalence of 250/100,000. A mixed top-down and bottom-up costing approach was used to identify costs associated with both models, and net costs were calculated accounting for resulting TB treatment costs. Net cost per disability-adjusted life years averted was calculated. Sensitivity analyses were performed for key input variables to identify main drivers of health and cost outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.; Net cost per TB patient identified within DOTS and DrOTS were, respectively, $282 and$1,172. The incremental cost per additional TB patient diagnosed in DrOTS was $2,631 and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of DrOTS compared to DOTS was$177 per DALY averted. Analyses suggest that integrating drones with interventions ensuring highly sensitive laboratory testing and high treatment adherence optimizes cost-effectiveness.; Innovative technology packages including drones, digital adherence monitoring technologies, and molecular diagnostics for TB case finding and retention within the cascade of care can be cost effective. Their integration with other interventions within health systems may further lower costs and support access to universal health coverage

Nap sleep spindle correlates of intelligence

Contains fulltext : 152518.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Sleep spindles are thalamocortical oscillations in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, that play an important role in sleep-related neuroplasticity and offline information processing. Several studies with full-night sleep recordings have reported a positive association between sleep spindles and fluid intelligence scores, however more recently it has been shown that only few sleep spindle measures correlate with intelligence in females, and none in males. Sleep spindle regulation underlies a circadian rhythm, however the association between spindles and intelligence has not been investigated in daytime nap sleep so far. In a sample of 86 healthy male human subjects, we investigated the correlation between fluid intelligence and sleep spindle parameters in an afternoon nap of 100 minutes. Mean sleep spindle length, amplitude and density were computed for each subject and for each derivation for both slow and fast spindles. A positive association was found between intelligence and slow spindle duration, but not any other sleep spindle parameter. As a positive correlation between intelligence and slow sleep spindle duration in full-night polysomnography has only been reported in females but not males, our results suggest that the association between intelligence and sleep spindles is more complex than previously assumed