Virological and serological surveillance for type A influenza in the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The epidemiology of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in gulls is only partially known. The role of the world's most numerous gull species, the black-legged kittiwake (<it>Rissa tridactyla</it>), as a potential AIV reservoir species has been unclear. The prevalence of AIV and humoral response against AIV were therefore studied in a colony of apparently healthy black-legged kittiwakes breeding in a nesting cliff in the South West Barents Region of Norway (70°22' N, 31°10' E), in 2008 and 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>AIVs were detected from the oropharynx and cloaca in low amounts, with prevalences of 15% and 5%, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Direct, partial sequencing of the hemagglutinin (HA) gene revealed that the H4 subtype was present. In 2009, antibodies to influenza A virus were detected in sera from 57 of 80 adult birds. In contrast, none of the three-week-old chicks (n = 18) tested seropositive. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays demonstrated that the adult kittiwakes primarily had antibodies specific to the gull-associated H13 and H16 subtypes, with antibodies to H16 being most common.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results support that the highly pelagic black-legged kittiwake is a reservoir of AIV. The serological findings suggest that H16 might be the main AIV subtype in the black-legged kittiwake. Further studies are needed to understand the ecology of AIV in the black-legged kittiwake and in gulls in general.</p

Basic Results on Ideals and Varieties in Finite Fields

: The connection between ideals and varieties for polynomial rings over finite fields is investigated. An extension to Hilbert&apos;s Nullstellen Satz is given for these ideals. Furthermore projections and embeddings of these is examined. These results basically give ideal theoretic formulations for several algebro-geometric questions. This in turn is translated to Grobner basis and polynomial remainder calculations. An example implementation in Mathematica is also given. Keywords: Ideal, Variety, Algebraic Geometry, Grobner Basis, Nullstellen Satz, Commutative Algebra 1 Introduction This report basically clarifies the relation between algebro-geometric objects such as variety and homomorphisms and projections thereof to their corresponding ideals. It might seem strange to have such a report coming from an electrical engineering department, but basically we were following another track, namely finite systems defined by polynomials over finite fields. As the standard algebraic geometry or ..

Logic Proofs = Ideal Inclusions

: The two approaches of propositional logic (semantic and proof theoretic) are found to have equivalent formulations in commutative algebra over finite fields. In particular the semantic approach corresponds to an algebro geometric formulation and the proof theoretic corresponds to an ideal theoretic framework. Based on this correspondence a new completeness proof is given. An implementation of this proof system in Mathematica is also given which basically is based on Grobner basis computations. Keywords: Sematics, Proof Theory, Ideal, Algebraic Geometry, Variety, Grobner Bases 1 Introduction This section presents the major results and the disposition of the article. The basic idea of this article is to use algebraic methods to do (propositional) logic proofs. More specifically logic propositions may be mapped to polynomials in such a way that truth values are preserved. By using this representation one can simulate logic proofs in either of two modes: Semantic: The semantic approach..

A Tetris Controller -- An Example of a Discrete Event Dynamic System

In this paper we build a controller for a Tetris game. A model inspired by control theory is used and a control law derived. This control law has certain degrees of freedom, i.e. some parameters to tune. Stochastic approximation is used to derive the &quot;optimal&quot; controller within this framework. An implementation of this control law with an existing Tetris game has been done and all code is available inorder for more control schemes to be proposed. This process is also proposed as a test case for discrete event methods. 1 Introduction 1.1 About Tetris The computer game Tetris consists of a well, where the player is supposed to place the incoming pieces properly at the bottom. These pieces should be placed in such a way (if possible) that no holes are present. Once a row is completed it gets deleted and the player will get some extra points. The purpose of the game is to keep playing for as long as possible or equivalently to obtain as high score as possible. See section 2 for a more de..

Social representation of hearing aids: cross-cultural study in India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom

Vinaya Manchaiah,1 Berth Danermark,2 Vinay,3 Tayebeh Ahmadi,4 David Tom&eacute;,5 Rajalakshmi Krishna,6 Per Germundsson7 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA; 2Swedish Institute for Disability Research, &Ouml;rebro University, &Ouml;rebro, Sweden; 3Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Troms&oslash;, Troms&oslash;, Norway; 4Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 5Department of Audiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal; 6All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, University of Mysore, Mysore, India; 7The Department of Health and Welfare Studies, Malm&ouml; University, Malm&ouml;, Sweden Background: The current study was aimed at understanding the social representation of hearing aids in India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. We also compared these results to explore the cross-cultural differences and similarities among these countries. Methods: The study involved a cross-sectional design, and the data were collected from four different countries using the snowball sampling method. Data were analyzed using a content analysis to identify the most-similar categories of responses reported, a co-occurrences analysis to see which of these categories are reported commonly, and a chi-square analysis to study if there was any association between positive, neutral, and negative connotations among participants in different countries. Results: The current study revealed four different social representations of hearing aids from India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and also a global index. Conclusion: The study results provide very useful insights into how hearing aids are represented in the society. These findings may have important implications for public education and also for manufacturers from the viewpoint of designing and marketing hearing aids in different countries. Keywords: hearing aids, hearing loss, social representation, cross-culture, attitudes, perceptio

Social representation of &ldquo;hearing loss&rdquo;: cross-cultural exploratory study in India, Iran, Portugal, and the UK

Vinaya Manchaiah,1 Berth Danermark,2 Tayebeh Ahmadi,3 David Tom&eacute;,4 Fei Zhao,5 Qiang Li,6 Rajalakshmi Krishna,7 Per Germundsson8 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, USA; 2Swedish Institute for Disability Research, &Ouml;rebro University, &Ouml;rebro, Sweden; 3Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Department of Audiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal; 5Centre for Speech Language Therapy and Hearing, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK; 6Department of Social Science and Law, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, People&rsquo;s Republic of China; 7All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, University of Mysore, Mysore, India; 8Department of Health and Welfare Studies, Malm&ouml; University, Malm&ouml;, Sweden Background: Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic conditions in older adults. In&nbsp;audiology literature, several studies have examined the attitudes and behavior of people with hearing loss; however, not much is known about the manner in which society in general views and perceives hearing loss. This exploratory study was aimed at understanding the social representation of hearing loss (among the general public) in the countries of India, Iran, Portugal, and the UK. We also compared these social representations.Materials and methods: The study involved a cross-sectional design, and participants were recruited using the snowball sampling method. A total of 404 people from four countries participated in the study. Data were collected using a free-association task where participants were asked to produce up to five words or phrases that came to mind while thinking about hearing loss. In addition, they were also asked to indicate if each word they presented had positive, neutral, or negative associations in their view. Data were analyzed using various qualitative and quantitative methods.Results: The most frequently occurring categories were: assessment and management; causes of hearing loss; communication difficulties; disability; hearing ability or disability; hearing instruments; negative mental state; the attitudes of others; and sound and acoustics of the environment. Some categories were reported with similar frequency in most countries (eg, causes of hearing loss, communication difficulties, and negative mental state), whereas others differed among countries. Participants in India reported significantly more positive and fewer negative associations when compared to participants from Iran, Portugal, and the UK. However, there was no statistical difference among neutral responses reported among these countries. Also, more differences were noted among these countries than similarities.Conclusion: These findings provide useful insights into the public perception of hearing loss that may prove useful in public education and counseling. Keywords: hearing loss, hearing impairment, social representation, societal attitude, cross-culture, perception of disabilit

Patterns in the social representation of “hearing loss” across countries: how do demographic factors influence this representation?

International audienceThis study aims to understand patterns in the social representation of hearing loss reported by adultsacross different countries and explore the impact of different demographic factors on response patterns.The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected using a free association task and analysed using qualitative content analysis, cluster analysis and chi-square analysis. The study sampleincluded 404 adults (18 years and over) in the general population from four countries (India, Iran,Portugal and UK). The cluster analysis included 380 responses out of 404 (94.06%) and resulted in fiveclusters. The clusters were named: (1) individual aspects; (2) aetiology; (3) the surrounding society; (4) limitations and (5) exposed. Various demographic factors (age, occupation type, education and country)showed an association with different clusters, although country of origin seemed to be associated withmost clusters. The study results suggest that how hearing loss is represented in adults in general population varies and is mainly related to country of origin. These findings strengthen the argument aboutcross-cultural differences in perception of hearing loss, which calls for a need to make necessary accommodations while developing public health strategies about hearing loss