Somatosensory neurons integrate the geometry of skin deformation and mechanotransduction channels to shape touch sensing.

Touch sensation hinges on force transfer across the skin and activation of mechanosensitive ion channels along the somatosensory neurons that invade the skin. This skin-nerve sensory system demands a quantitative model that spans the application of mechanical loads to channel activation. Unlike prior models of the dynamic responses of touch receptor neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans (Eastwood et al., 2015), which substituted a single effective channel for the ensemble along the TRNs, this study integrates body mechanics and the spatial recruitment of the various channels. We demonstrate that this model captures mechanical properties of the worm's body and accurately reproduces neural responses to simple stimuli. It also captures responses to complex stimuli featuring non-trivial spatial patterns, like extended or multiple contacts that could not be addressed otherwise. We illustrate the importance of these effects with new experiments revealing that skin-neuron composites respond to pre-indentation with increased currents rather than adapting to persistent stimulation

Print media: influencing behavioural responses towards climate change?

Climate change has affected the global population including South Africans. Changes in weather and climatic patterns are increasingly observed (IPCC, 2007a; IPCC, 2013). It is also important to address climate change in order to maintain the production of resources in South Africa to protect the livelihoods of its citizens (South African National Climate Change Response Green Paper, 2010). The media’s role is to relay information (in this instance, of climate change) to the public in a way that they are able to understand (Burgess, 1999). The purpose of this research is to determine the way newspapers report on climate change and to determine whether or not these media messages affect public perception of climate change. More specifically this research investigates how climate change is reported in newspaper media; what the effects of media messages on the public are and what other factors influence the public’s perceptions of climate change. This research was completed in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa between 2011 and 2014. There are a number of research papers which address the relationship between climate change and media in a northern hemisphere/developed world context but there is little research which shows this relationship in a southern hemisphere/developing countries context. There is also a dearth of research which illustrates how the relationship between climate change and the media affects public perception of climate change in a southern hemisphere/developing word context. Newspaper articles were collected from the internet archives of three newspapers – The Star, BusinessDay and Mail & Guardian - between Jan 2011 and January 2012. Thereafter, questionnaires were emailed to 120 newspaper readers with 40 respondents representing each newspaper. The newspaper analysis shows that climate change reporting has a political focus. The newspapers report on who should be responsible for addressing climate change. The findings highlight that government, the corporate sector and individuals should be responsible for addressing climate change. Furthermore, the newspapers often portray climate change to be caused by anthropogenic activities and infrequently report on climate change as a natural cycle. The newspapers often report on climate change in conjunction with recent weather events that are assumed to be associated with climate change highlighting the associated environmental concerns. The newspapers hardly ever report on climate change from a religious or moral standpoint. The newspaper analysis illustrates that climate change has an effect on various financial issues and the green economy. The newspaper readers understand that climate change is a natural cycle which has been affected by anthropogenic activities. Media has affected the newspaper readers’ perceptions of climate change but they rely on a number of other media sources as well. People have made positive lifestyle and behavioural changes to address climate change. However the readers will only make changes that they can afford and mostly for their own benefit

Cross-Cutting Computational Modeling Project: Exploration Medical Station Analysis

Astronauts will be away from Earth-based medical care for long periods during future exploration missions. Thus, it will be necessary for the astronauts to perform various medical tasks to monitor and maintain their health in the microgravity environment of space. Performance of these tasks will be constrained due to the limited volume available to perform the task, the absence of gravity and the limited resources and capabilities available in the medical work area. It is therefore necessary to evaluate exploration medical workstation designs for how well the designs will support crew performance of medical tasks. This evaluation featured two trained medical caregivers (99th percentile male, 26th percentile female) performing emergent care procedures (alone and in tandem) on a medical manikin. The procedures came from the The procedures came from the International Space Station Medical Checklist, and they are designed for spaceflight. The objectives of the evaluation included determining the operational volume required to perform the tasks, examining the effect of constraining the operational volume with partitions, determining candidate locations for foot restraints and equipment placements and determining the effect of single vs. dual caregiver on the operational volume.A marker-based motion capture system collected the motion data, which enabled computation of operational volumes and foot placement maps using custom Python code. Additional data collected included heart rate, time to perform the procedures, and feedback from the caregivers in the form of the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), the US Government System Usability Survey, and an open-ended questionnaire

Temporal matching of occurrence localities and forest cover data helps improve range estimates and predict climate change vulnerabilities

Improved quantification of species\u27 ranges is needed to provide more accurate estimates of extinction risks for conservation planning. Highland tropical biodiversity may be particularly vulnerable to the anthropogenic changes in land cover and climate and is subject to overestimation of geographic range size in IUCN assessments. Here, we demonstrate a novel and practical approach for quantifying inferred range reductions based upon temporal matching of recent species occurrence localities and vegetation data. As an illustration pertinent to montane forest-associated species with limited distribution data, we use Gymnuromys roberti, an endemic Malagasy rodent with a Least Concern conservation status. We estimated climatic suitability and climate change vulnerability using species distribution modeling (SDM). We then determined deforestation tolerance thresholds for the species by temporally matching recent occurrence localities with percent forest cover values from MODIS forest cover layers. Finally, we applied these thresholds in postprocessing SDM-based range estimates. These estimates demonstrate that the lack of sufficient forest cover substantially reduces the species\u27 current estimated range compared with the IUCN range map. Projections to 2050 suggest that there will be a loss of climatic suitability over three quarters of the currently suitable habitat along with increased fragmentation, highlighting the need to include climate change vulnerability assessments as an integral part of conservation planning. Broader application of SDMs could assist practitioners at various stages of conservation planning, stressing the need for improved accessibility of methodologically complex SDM approaches

Long-Term Follow-Up of Children Treated With Peginterferon and Ribavirin for Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Objectives: The aim of the study was to describe the 5-year follow-up of children who received peginterferon and ribavirin in a global, open-label study. Methods: A 5-year follow-up study of 107 children and adolescents ages 3 to 17 years with chronic hepatitis C virus infection who received peginterferon and ribavirin for 24 or 48 weeks. No drugs were administered during follow-up. Results: Ninety-four patients were enrolled in the long-term follow-up portion of the study;the median duration of follow-up was 287 weeks (range, 73-339). Of 63 patients with sustained virologic response who were enrolled, 54 completed 5 years of follow-up;none had relapse in the 5-year follow-up period. Significant decreases in height z scores were observed during treatment. The effect of treatment on height z score was larger in patients treated for 48 weeks compared with those treated for 24 weeks (mean change from baseline to the end of treatment was -0.13 [P < 0.001] and -0.44 [P < 0.001] in the 247 and 48-week treatment groups, respectively). Among patients treated for 24 weeks, full recovery of height z scores to baseline was observed by 1 year of follow-up, whereas only partial recovery was observed during 5 years of follow-up in patients treated for 48 weeks (mean change from baseline to the final follow-up visit was -0.16 (P=NS) and 0.32 (P < 0.05) in the 24- and 48-week treatment groups, respectively). Similar patterns were observed for weight and body mass index z scores. Conclusions: Impairment of growth should be considered when assessing the risk-benefit profile of peginterferon/ribavirin therapy in children with hepatitis C virus infection. In deciding to treat children with chronic hepatitis C virus, considerations should include both deferring treatment in patients during optimal growth periods, and the possibility that interferon free regimens may be available to children in the next 5 to 10 years

Treaty Compliance and Violation

International law has enjoyed a recent renaissance as an important subfield of study within international relations. Two trends are evident in the recent literature. First, the obsession with theoretical labels is on the decline. Second, empirical, especially quantitative, work is burgeoning. This article reviews the literature in four issues areas — security, war, and peace; international trade; protection of the environment; and human rights — and concludes we have a much stronger basis for assessing claims about compliance and violation now than was the case only a few years ago. Still, the literature suffers from a few weaknesses, including problems of selection and endogeneity of treaties themselves and an enduring state-centric focus, despite the fact that researchers recognize that nonstate and substate actors influence treaty behavior. Nonetheless, the quality and quantity of new work demonstrates that international law has regained an important place in the study of international politics

Temperature dependent BCS equations with continuum coupling

The temperature dependent BCS equations are modified in order to include the contribution of the continuum single particle states. The influence of the continuum upon the critical temperature corresponding to the phase transition from a superfluid to a normal state and upon the behaviour of the excitation energy and of the entropy is discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

DEG/ENaC but Not TRP Channels Are the Major Mechanoelectrical Transduction Channels in a C. elegans Nociceptor

SummaryMany nociceptors detect mechanical cues, but the ion channels responsible for mechanotransduction in these sensory neurons remain obscure. Using in vivo recordings and genetic dissection, we identified the DEG/ENaC protein, DEG-1, as the major mechanotransduction channel in ASH, a polymodal nociceptor in Caenorhabditis elegans. But DEG-1 is not the only mechanotransduction channel in ASH: loss of deg-1 revealed a minor current whose properties differ from those expected of DEG/ENaC channels. This current was independent of two TRPV channels expressed in ASH. Although loss of these TRPV channels inhibits behavioral responses to noxious stimuli, we found that both mechanoreceptor currents and potentials were essentially wild-type in TRPV mutants. We propose that ASH nociceptors rely on two genetically distinct mechanotransduction channels and that TRPV channels contribute to encoding and transmitting information. Because mammalian and insect nociceptors also coexpress DEG/ENaCs and TRPVs, the cellular functions elaborated here for these ion channels may be conserved