The Complexity of Antibody-Dependent Enhancement of Dengue Virus Infection

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) has been proposed as a mechanism to explain dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in the course of a secondary dengue infection. Very recently, Dejnirattisai et al., 2010 [1], published an important article supporting the involvement of anti-prM antibodies in the ADE phenomenon. The complexity of ADE in the context of a secondary dengue infection is discussed here

Evaluation of Three Methods of Bean Cookery and Standardization of Quantity Recipes for Use in the Philippines

Food, Nutrition, and Institution administratio

Inferring the parallax of Westerlund 1 from Gaia DR2

Westerlund 1 (Wd1) is potentially the largest star cluster in the Galaxy. That designation critically depends upon the distance to the cluster, yet the cluster is highly obscured, making luminosity-based distance estimates difficult. Using {\it Gaia} Data Release 2 (DR2) parallaxes and Bayesian inference, we infer a parallax of $0.35^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$ mas corresponding to a distance of $2.6^{+0.6}_{-0.4}$ kpc. To leverage the combined statistics of all stars in the direction of Wd1, we derive the Bayesian model for a cluster of stars hidden among Galactic field stars; this model includes the parallax zero-point. Previous estimates for the distance to Wd1 ranged from 1.0 to 5.5 kpc, although values around 5 kpc have usually been adopted. The {\it Gaia} DR2 parallaxes reduce the uncertainty from a factor of 3 to 18\% and rules out the most often quoted value of 5 kpc with 99\% confidence. This new distance allows for more accurate mass and age determinations for the stars in Wd1. For example, the previously inferred initial mass at the main-sequence turn-off was around 40 M$_{\odot}$; the new {\it Gaia} DR2 distance shifts this down to about 22 M$_{\odot}$. This has important implications for our understanding of the late stages of stellar evolution, including the initial mass of the magnetar and the LBV in Wd1. Similarly, the new distance suggests that the total cluster mass is about four times lower than previously calculated.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

PhiGO seasonal groundwater forecasting system

This report provides an overview of the seasonal (90-day) groundwater level forecasting system for the Philippines that was developed as part of the NERC-Newton fund Philippines Groundwater Outlook (PhiGO) project (NE/S003118/1). The system builds on other operational groundwater level forecasting systems developed at the BGS, such as the UK Hydrological Outlook (Prudhomme et al., 2017). Forecasts are made at the borehole scale across a network of observation boreholes using the BGS AquiMod groundwater model (Mackay et al., 2014a) driven by numerical weather prediction forecasts. However, this system has been customised with the Philippine case study in mind. More specifically, it has been developed to work alongside a telemetered network of boreholes operated by Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and owned by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) under the Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) project. Groundwater level data have only been collected since 2019 and the network is continually expanding. Accordingly, a number of additional features have been included, such as automated recalibration of the AquiMod models as more observation data become available; and the ability to automatically generate new AquiMod groundwater models as the telemetered network expands. Climate observation data are also relatively sparse and, therefore, the system makes use of freely-available global gridded datasets. This report outlines the scientific background and methodology of the forecasting system. It also summarises the principal outputs, which are published online via a free-to-view web-delivery platform (https://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/phigo/). The report begins with an overview of the process-based BGS AquiMod groundwater model which underpins the groundwater level forecasts as well as the model calibration and evaluation approach used in the forecasting system. Section 3 provides more details of the input data used to drive the forecasts before Section 4 gives an overview of the underlying processes in the forecasting system. Finally, a description of the main system outputs is given in Section 5

Hydrological modelling for Panay and Pampanga, Philippines 1979 - 2089

This report describes an investigation of the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle in Panay Island and Pampanga Province, Philippines. We developed an integrated surface water-groundwater model using a version of the widely applied VIC hydrological model that includes a 2D groundwater model: VIC-AMBHAS. The model simulates components of the hydrological cycle, such as soil moisture, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, groundwater recharge, and river baseflow. The model can be used to simulate the hydrological cycle over historical and future time periods. We used data available at a global scale to parameterise the models, which were constructed on a ~1km grid. The meteorological driving data is downscaled to this resolution. Both historical climatology (1979-2018) and future climate projections up to 2089 are used to drive the model to study the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle. Over the historical period, Pampanga receives marginally more rainfall (181 mm/month) than Panay (174 mm/month). However, the partitioning of precipitation into the different water fluxes varies for the two regions. In Panay, 72% of the precipitation is partitioned into evapotranspiration whereas in Pampanga this is only 60% of the precipitation. This results in higher surface runoff and groundwater recharge in Pampanga (runoff: 44 mm/month, recharge: 36 mm/month) than Panay (runoff: 33 mm/month, recharge: 18 mm/month). Consequently, on an annual basis, Panay receives half the groundwater recharge compared to Pampanga. We apply projections of future climate derived from global climate simulations undertaken by the UK Meteorological Office’s Hadley Centre – the UKCP18 projections. We also apply two sets of UKCP18 projections that consider different greenhouse gas concentration pathways: RCP2.6 and RCP8.5. In RCP 2.6 carbon dioxide emissions start declining by 2020 and go to zero by 2100. In RCP 8.5 emissions continue to rise throughout the 21st century. Simulated hydrological changes produced using the RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 projections for the 2050s (Table 1) are relatively similar for each location and indicate the following: • Panay: o Reduction in precipitation of 5% o Reduction in groundwater recharge of 11-12% o Reduction in surface runoff of 6% o Reduction in river baseflow of 12-13% • Pampanga o No change in precipitation o Reduction in groundwater recharge of 2-4% o No clear change in surface runoff o Reduction in river baseflow of 1-3% Simulated hydrological changes for 2080s (Table 2) are in less agreement between the RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 than the 2050s: • Panay: o Reduction in precipitation of 6-15% o Reduction in groundwater recharge 13-29% o Reduction in surface runoff 6-17% o Reduction in river baseflow 15-33% • Pampanga o Reduction in precipitation of 2-4% o Reduction in groundwater recharge 4-12% o Reduction in surface runoff 3-4% o Reduction in river baseflow 3-9% The model simulations highlight regional differences in the groundwater and surface water availability for Panay and Pampanga for both the historical and future climate periods. Panay receives less groundwater recharge and is projected to be more affected by impacts of climate change than Pampanga. The effects of climate change will result in a larger reduction in precipitation, groundwater, and surface water for periods later in the century. Whilst the VIC-AMBHAS model has been applied to Pampanga and Panay, an associated modelling framework has been developed which supports the application of the model to other Philippine islands or to the whole of the Philippines. For example, this framework facilitates the processing and downscaling of global climate datasets to create the related input files required by the model. Following on from this project, the British Geological Survey are extending this work by developing a national-scale hydrological model for the whole of the Philippines. This national model will seek to inform the water resource sector and policy makers about regional differences in water availability and predicted response to climate change to help with decision making and policy development

Design of a Remote Real-time Groundwater Level and Water Quality Monitoring System for the Philippine Groundwater Management Plan Project

Recent technological advances allow us to utilize remote monitoring systems or real-time access of data. While the use of remote monitoring systems is not new, there are still numerous applications that can be explored and improved on, one such is groundwater level and quality monitoring. In the Philippines, the extraction of groundwater for both domestic use and industrial use are manually monitored by the government’s concerned agency and is done at least once per year. With this current setup, the real and significant state of the groundwater is not reflected in a way that is most valuable to the government and to the community. This project aims to design and develop a remote real-time groundwater level and quality monitoring system. It is intended to provide quantitative data for policy makers in addressing recurrent water shortages in the Philippines. This paper discusses the designed system composed of three modules: power module, sensors and control, and data visualization. These three modules provide real-time data from far-flung locations while being energy-sustainable. Dry runs of the system in a controlled environment yielded excellent results — average data accuracy of 96.63% for all six (6) groundwater quantity and quality parameters namely: pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and static water level (SWL), and 90.63% data transmission reliability. Initial deployment of the system on one of the groundwater monitoring well in Metro Manila, Philippines returned a 91.16% data transmission reliability. The system is currently installed in 20 groundwater monitoring sites all-over the Philippines and is scheduled for more installations

The Cuba-United States Thaw: Building Bridges Through Science and Global Health.

AbstractBeginning in 2014, there has been significant progress in normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States. Herein, we discuss the history and recent progress in scientific collaboration between the two countries as well as the continued challenges. Science and global health diplomacy can be key tools in reestablishing a trusting and productive relationship of mutual and global benefit, bringing about better and healthier lives for people in both Cuba and the United States

Epidemiological studies on dengue virus type 3 in Playa municipality, Havana, Cuba, 2001–2002

SummaryObjectivesRecognizing the uniqueness of secondary dengue virus (DENV)-1/3 dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) cases at an interval of 24 years, we sought to estimate DENV infections as well as the ratios between mild disease and DHF/DSS by DENV infection sequence in Playa District (Havana, Cuba) during the 2001–2002 outbreak of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3).MethodsA retrospective seroepidemiological study was conducted in 2003 in Playa District. Blood samples were collected from a 1% random sample of residents and were studied for the prevalence of dengue neutralizing antibodies.ResultsDENV-3 was found to have infected 7.2% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 6.0–8.4%) of susceptible individuals (the entire cohort), the majority of whom experienced silent infections. Virtually every individual who had a secondary infection in the sequence DENV-1 then DENV-3 became ill, with a ratio of severe to mild cases of 1:35 (95% CI 1:67–1:23). Secondary infections in the sequence DENV-2/3 were less pathogenic than DENV-1/3. Mild disease accompanying secondary DENV2/3 occurred at a ratio of 1:4.49 infections (95% CI 1:5.77–1:3.42) secondary infections.ConclusionsThe results obtained highlight the role of the infecting serotype and also the sequence of the viral infection in the clinical outcome of a dengue infection

Software and Data Visualization Platform for Groundwater Level and Quality Monitoring System

Rapid urbanization and increasing population come with the increased extraction and use of groundwater resources. To track the effect of these activities on groundwater level and quantity; a system for real-time monitoring is devised. In this paper; we present a software system design that enables a locally-developed groundwater level and water quality monitoring hardware setup to gather water quality parameter data; send it to a cloud server; and present organized data for better visualization. The hardware setup consists of an Arduino microcontroller. Upon deployment; the hardware setup is linked to an Android application that connects to the web-based platform