Comparison of contact patterns relevant for transmission of respiratory pathogens in Thailand and the Netherlands using respondent-driven sampling

Understanding infection dynamics of respiratory diseases requires the identification and quantification of behavioural, social and environmental factors that permit the transmission of these infections between humans. Little empirical information is available about contact patterns within real-world social networks, let alone on differences in these contact networks between populations that differ considerably on a socio-cultural level. Here we compared contact network data that were collected in the Netherlands and Thailand using a similar online respondent-driven method. By asking participants to recruit contact persons we studied network links relevant for the transmission of respiratory infections. We studied correlations between recruiter and recruited contacts to investigate mixing patterns in the observed social network components. In both countries, mixing patterns were assortative by demographic variables and random by total numbers of contacts. However, in Thailand participants reported overall more contacts which resulted in higher effective contact rates. Our findings provide new insights on numbers of contacts and mixing patterns in two different populations. These data could be used to improve parameterisation of mathematical models used to design control strategies. Although the spread of infections through populations depends on more factors, found similarities suggest that spread may be similar in the Netherlands and Thailand

Multiparticle azimuthal correlations for extracting event-by-event elliptic and triangular flow in Au + Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV

We present measurements of elliptic and triangular azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles detected at forward rapidity 1<|η|<3 in Au + Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV, as a function of centrality. The multiparticle cumulant technique is used to obtain the elliptic flow coefficients v2{2},v2{4},v2{6}, and v2{8}, and triangular flow coefficients v3{2} and v3{4}. Using the small-variance limit, we estimate the mean and variance of the event-by-event v2 distribution from v2{2} and v2{4}. In a complementary analysis, we also use a folding procedure to study the distributions of v2 and v3 directly, extracting both the mean and variance. Implications for initial geometrical fluctuations and their translation into the final-state momentum distributions are discussed

‘Nothing about us without us’ : disabled people determining their human rights through the UNCRPD

The human rights and fundamental freedoms of disabled persons are set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This paper firstly focuses on the importance of the involvement of disabled people at all levels of decision-making. The second part of the paper identifies those aspects of the UNCRPD that reflect the direct involvement of disabled people. Finally, it considers how human rights bodies can best build on this specific aspect of the UNCRPD in order to realize the potential of the Convention as a determining factor in affirming disabled people rights in an effective and meaningful manner.peer-reviewe

Nonperturbative transverse-momentum-dependent effects in dihadron and direct photon-hadron angular correlations in p+p collisions at s =200 GeV

Dihadron and isolated direct photon-hadron angular correlations are measured in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV. The correlations are sensitive to nonperturbative initial-state and final-state transverse momenta kT and jT in the azimuthal nearly back-to-back region Δφ∼π. To have sensitivity to small transverse momentum scales, nonperturbative momentum widths of pout, the out-of-plane transverse-momentum component perpendicular to the trigger particle, are measured. In this region, the evolution of pout can be studied when several different hard scales are measured. These widths are used to investigate possible effects from transverse-momentum-dependent factorization breaking. When accounting for the longitudinal-momentum fraction of the away-side hadron with respect to the near-side trigger particle, the widths are found to increase with the hard scale; this is qualitatively similar to the observed behavior in Drell-Yan and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering interactions, where factorization is predicted to hold. The momentum widths are also studied as a function of center-of-mass energy by comparing to previous measurements at s=510 GeV. The nonperturbative jet widths also appear to increase with s at a similar xT, which is qualitatively consistent to similar measurements in Drell-Yan interactions. Future detailed global comparisons between measurements of processes where transverse-momentum-dependent factorization is predicted to hold and be broken will provide further insight into the role of color in hadronic interactions

Nonperturbative-transverse-momentum broadening in dihadron angular correlations in sNN =200 GeV proton-nucleus collisions

The PHENIX collaboration has measured high-pT dihadron correlations in p+p, p+Al, and p+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV. The correlations arise from inter- and intrajet correlations and thus have sensitivity to nonperturbative effects in both the initial and final states. The distributions of pout, the transverse-momentum component of the associated hadron perpendicular to the trigger hadron, are sensitive to initial- and final-state transverse momenta. These distributions are measured multidifferentially as a function of xE, the longitudinal momentum fraction of the associated hadron with respect to the trigger hadron. The near-side pout widths, sensitive to fragmentation transverse momentum, show no significant broadening between p+Au, p+Al, and p+p. The away-side nonperturbative pout widths are found to be broadened in p+Au when compared to p+p; however, there is no significant broadening in p+Al compared to p+p collisions. The data also suggest that the away-side pout broadening is a function of Ncoll, the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, in the interaction. The potential implications of these results with regard to initial- and final-state transverse-momentum broadening and energy loss of partons in a nucleus, among other nuclear effects, are discussed

Pseudorapidity Dependence of Particle Production and Elliptic Flow in Asymmetric Nuclear Collisions of p+Al, p+Au, d+Au, and ^{3}He+Au at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV.

Asymmetric nuclear collisions of p+Al, p+Au, d+Au, and ^{3}He+Au at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV provide an excellent laboratory for understanding particle production, as well as exploring interactions among these particles after their initial creation in the collision. We present measurements of charged hadron production dN_{ch}/dη in all such collision systems over a broad pseudorapidity range and as a function of collision multiplicity. A simple wounded quark model is remarkably successful at describing the full data set. We also measure the elliptic flow v_{2} over a similarly broad pseudorapidity range. These measurements provide key constraints on models of particle emission and their translation into flow

Measurements of μμ pairs from open heavy flavor and Drell-Yan in p+p collisions at s =200 GeV

PHENIX reports differential cross sections of μμ pairs from semileptonic heavy-flavor decays and the Drell-Yan production mechanism measured in p+p collisions at s=200 GeV at forward and backward rapidity (1.2<|η|<2.2). The μμ pairs from cc, bb, and Drell-Yan are separated using a template fit to unlike- and like-sign muon pair spectra in mass and pT. The azimuthal opening angle correlation between the muons from cc and bb decays and the pair-pT distributions are compared to distributions generated using pythia and powheg models, which both include next-to-leading order processes. The measured distributions for pairs from cc are consistent with pythia calculations. The cc data present narrower azimuthal correlations and softer pT distributions compared to distributions generated from powheg. The bb data are well described by both models. The extrapolated total cross section for bottom production is 3.75±0.24(stat)±0.500.35(syst)±0.45(global) [μb], which is consistent with previous measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in the same system at the same collision energy and is approximately a factor of 2 higher than the central value calculated with theoretical models. The measured Drell-Yan cross section is in good agreement with next-to-leading-order quantum-chromodynamics calculations

Potential conservation of circadian clock proteins in the phylum Nematoda as revealed by bioinformatic searches

Although several circadian rhythms have been described in C. elegans, its molecular clock remains elusive. In this work we employed a novel bioinformatic approach, applying probabilistic methodologies, to search for circadian clock proteins of several of the best studied circadian model organisms of different taxa (Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Neurospora crassa, Arabidopsis thaliana and Synechoccocus elongatus) in the proteomes of C. elegans and other members of the phylum Nematoda. With this approach we found that the Nematoda contain proteins most related to the core and accessory proteins of the insect and mammalian clocks, which provide new insights into the nematode clock and the evolution of the circadian system.Fil: Romanowski, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; ArgentinaFil: Garavaglia, Matías Javier. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Ing.genética y Biolog.molecular y Celular. Area Virus de Insectos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Goya, María Eugenia. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ghiringhelli, Pablo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Ing.genética y Biolog.molecular y Celular. Area Virus de Insectos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Golombek, Diego Andres. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin