Marketing of woodlot products

Cover title.Mode of access: Internet

Signatures of Subacute Potentially Catastrophic Illness in the ICU: Model Development and Validation

Objectives: Patients in ICUs are susceptible to subacute potentially catastrophic illnesses such as respiratory failure, sepsis, and hemorrhage that present as severe derangements of vital signs. More subtle physiologic signatures may be present before clinical deterioration, when treatment might be more effective. We performed multivariate statistical analyses of bedside physiologic monitoring data to identify such early subclinical signatures of incipient life-threatening illness. Design: We report a study of model development and validation of a retrospective observational cohort using resampling (Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis type 1b internal validation) and a study of model validation using separate data (type 2b internal/external validation). Setting: University of Virginia Health System (Charlottesville), a tertiary-care, academic medical center. Patients: Critically ill patients consecutively admitted between January 2009 and June 2015 to either the neonatal, surgical/trauma/burn, or medical ICUs with available physiologic monitoring data. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: We analyzed 146 patient-years of vital sign and electrocardiography waveform time series from the bedside monitors of 9,232 ICU admissions. Calculations from 30-minute windows of the physiologic monitoring data were made every 15 minutes. Clinicians identified 1,206 episodes of respiratory failure leading to urgent unplanned intubation, sepsis, or hemorrhage leading to multi-unit transfusions from systematic individual chart reviews. Multivariate models to predict events up to 24 hours prior had internally validated C-statistics of 0.61-0.88. In adults, physiologic signatures of respiratory failure and hemorrhage were distinct from each other but externally consistent across ICUs. Sepsis, on the other hand, demonstrated less distinct and inconsistent signatures. Physiologic signatures of all neonatal illnesses were similar. Conclusions: Subacute potentially catastrophic illnesses in three diverse ICU populations have physiologic signatures that are detectable in the hours preceding clinical detection and intervention. Detection of such signatures can draw attention to patients at highest risk, potentially enabling earlier intervention and better outcomes

A corruption risk assessment for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Nigeria

This study asked if the concerns about corruption in climate change in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and, therefore, fiduciary standards, is justified or not. The study employed an explorative approach using the Nigeria REDD+ process as a case study. Using semistructured questionnaire and in-depth interviews with key informants, data were collected from 201 households from REDD+ project sites and twenty-one forestry officials from local forestry commission on the perceived extent of transparency in REDD+ implementation in the study area; how REDD+ local officials perceive the fiduciary standards and other governance standards by international climate funds; and effectiveness of anticorruption measures within the REDD+ projects. The confidence reposed in the project's local implementing agency was generally poor. Allocation of carbon rights was the most critically perceived to be fraught with poor transparency in REDD+ processes. Only five out of eight governance measures that could help improve transparency in REDD+ processes were available locally two of which were rated as just fairly functional. This study agreed that the multilateral climate funds are justified in respect of the set fiduciary standards for climate finance flows

Quantifying bacterial evolution in the wild : A birthday problem for Campylobacter lineages

Measuring molecular evolution in bacteria typically requires estimation of the rate at which nucleotide changes accumulate in strains sampled at different times that share a common ancestor. This approach has been useful for dating ecological and evolutionary events that coincide with the emergence of important lineages, such as outbreak strains and obligate human pathogens. However, in multi-host (niche) transmission scenarios, where the pathogen is essentially an opportunistic environmental organism, sampling is often sporadic and rarely reflects the overall population, particularly when concentrated on clinical isolates. This means that approaches that assume recent common ancestry are not applicable. Here we present a new approach to estimate the molecular clock rate in Campylobacter that draws on the popular probability conundrum known as the 'birthday problem'. Using large genomic datasets and comparative genomic approaches, we use isolate pairs that share recent common ancestry to estimate the rate of nucleotide change for the population. Identifying synonymous and non-synonymous nucleotide changes, both within and outside of recombined regions of the genome, we quantify clock-like diversification to estimate synonymous rates of nucleotide change for the common pathogenic bacteria Campylobacter colt (2.4 x 10(-6) s/s/y) and Campylobacter jejuni (3.4 x 10(-6) s/s/y). Finally, using estimated total rates of nucleotide change, we infer the number of effective lineages within the sample time frame-analogous to a shared birthday-and assess the rate of turnover of lineages in our sample set over short evolutionary timescales. This provides a generalizable approach to calibrating rates in populations of environmental bacteria and shows that multiple lineages are maintained, implying that large-scale clonal sweeps may take hundreds of years or more in these species.Peer reviewe

Argon Purification Studies and a Novel Liquid Argon Re-circulation System

Future giant liquid argon (LAr) time projection chambers (TPCs) require a purity of better than 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) to allow the ionised electrons to drift without significant capture by any electronegative impurities. We present a comprehensive study of the effects of electronegative impurity on gaseous and liquid argon scintillation light, an analysis of the efficacy of various purification chemicals, as well as the Liverpool LAr setup, which utilises a novel re-circulation purification system. Of the impurities tested - Air, O_2, H_2O, N_2 and CO_2 in the range of between 0.01 ppm to 1000 ppm - H_2O was found to have the most profound effect on gaseous argon scintillation light, and N_2 was found to have the least. Additionally, a correlation between the slow component decay time and the total energy deposited with 0.01 ppm - 100 ppm O_2 contamination levels in liquid argon has been established. The superiority of molecular sieves over anhydrous complexes at absorbing Ar gas, N_2 gas and H_2O vapour has been quantified using BET isotherm analysis. The efficiency of Cu and P_2O5 at removing O_2 and H_2O impurities from 1 bar N6 argon gas at both room temperature and -130 ^oC was investigated and found to be high. A novel, highly scalable LAr re-circulation system has been developed. The complete system, consisting of a motorised bellows pump operating in liquid and a purification cartridge, were designed and built in-house. The system was operated successfully over many days and achieved a re-circulation rate of 27 litres/hour and high purity

Agricultural intensification and the evolution of host specialism in the enteric pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.

Modern agriculture has dramatically changed the distribution of animal species on Earth. Changes to host ecology have a major impact on the microbiota, potentially increasing the risk of zoonotic pathogens being transmitted to humans, but the impact of intensive livestock production on host-associated bacteria has rarely been studied. Here, we use large isolate collections and comparative genomics techniques, linked to phenotype studies, to understand the timescale and genomic adaptations associated with the proliferation of the most common food-born bacterial pathogen (Campylobacter jejuni) in the most prolific agricultural mammal (cattle). Our findings reveal the emergence of cattle specialist C. jejuni lineages from a background of host generalist strains that coincided with the dramatic rise in cattle numbers in the 20th century. Cattle adaptation was associated with horizontal gene transfer and significant gene gain and loss. This may be related to differences in host diet, anatomy, and physiology, leading to the proliferation of globally disseminated cattle specialists of major public health importance. This work highlights how genomic plasticity can allow important zoonotic pathogens to exploit altered niches in the face of anthropogenic change and provides information for mitigating some of the risks posed by modern agricultural systems

Flavonoids from Pterogyne nitens Inhibit Hepatitis C Virus Entry

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of liver diseases and transplantation worldwide. The current available therapy for HCV infection is based on interferon-α, ribavirin and the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), such as NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase inhibitors. However, the high costs of drug design, severe side effects and HCV resistance presented by the existing treatments demonstrate the need for developing more efficient anti-HCV agents. This study aimed to evaluate the antiviral effects of sorbifolin (1) and pedalitin (2), two flavonoids from Pterogyne nitens on the HCV replication cycle. These compounds were investigated for their anti-HCV activities using genotype 2a JFH-1 subgenomic replicons and infectious virus systems. Flavonoids 1 and 2 inhibited virus entry up to 45.0% and 78.7% respectively at non-cytotoxic concentrations. The mechanism of the flavonoid 2 block to virus entry was demonstrated to be by both the direct action on virus particles and the interference on the host cells. Alternatively, the flavonoid 1 activity was restricted to its virucidal effect. Additionally, no inhibitory effects on HCV replication and release were observed by treating cells with these flavonoids. These data are the first description of 1 and 2 possessing in vitro anti-HCV activity

Clientelism as civil society? Unpacking the relationship between clientelism and democracy at the local level in South Africa

This article, building on analyses from the global south, attempts to reframe democratic expectations by considering where previously maligned practices such as clientelism may hold moments of democracy. It does so by comparing the theory of civil society with that of clientelism, and its African counterpart neo-patrimonialism. It argues that clientelism as civil society may fulfil democratic tasks such as holding the (local) state accountable, strengthening civil and political liberties and providing channels of access for previously marginalised groups. Clientelism is not necessarily a reflection of imposed power relations but, at times, can demonstrate a conscious political strategy, to generate development, on the part of its protagonists.IS

Search for short baseline nu(e) disappearance with the T2K near detector

8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRD rapid communication8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRD rapid communicationWe thank the J-PARC staff for superb accelerator performance and the CERN NA61 collaboration for providing valuable particle production data. We acknowledge the support of MEXT, Japan; NSERC, NRC and CFI, Canada; Commissariat `a l’Energie Atomique and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique–Institut National de Physique Nucle´aire et de Physique des Particules, France; DFG, Germany; INFN, Italy; National Science Centre (NCN), Poland; Russian Science Foundation, RFBR and Ministry of Education and Science, Russia; MINECO and European Regional Development Fund, Spain; Swiss National Science Foundation and State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, Switzerland; STFC, UK; and DOE, USA. We also thank CERN for the UA1/NOMAD magnet, DESY for the HERA-B magnet mover system, NII for SINET4, the WestGrid and SciNet consortia in Compute Canada, GridPP, UK. In addition participation of individual researchers and institutions has been further supported by funds from ERC (FP7), EU; JSPS, Japan; Royal Society, UK; DOE Early Career program, USA