Simulating Dynamical Features of Escape Panic

One of the most disastrous forms of collective human behaviour is the kind of crowd stampede induced by panic, often leading to fatalities as people are crushed or trampled. Sometimes this behaviour is triggered in life-threatening situations such as fires in crowded buildings; at other times, stampedes can arise from the rush for seats or seemingly without causes. Tragic examples within recent months include the panics in Harare, Zimbabwe, and at the Roskilde rock concert in Denmark. Although engineers are finding ways to alleviate the scale of such disasters, their frequency seems to be increasing with the number and size of mass events. Yet, systematic studies of panic behaviour, and quantitative theories capable of predicting such crowd dynamics, are rare. Here we show that simulations based on a model of pedestrian behaviour can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of and preconditions for panic and jamming by incoordination. Our results suggest practical ways of minimising the harmful consequences of such events and the existence of an optimal escape strategy, corresponding to a suitable mixture of individualistic and collective behaviour.Comment: For related information see http://angel.elte.hu/~panic, http://www.helbing.org, http://angel.elte.hu/~fij, and http://angel.elte.hu/~vicse

Cancer associated auto-antibodies to MUC1 and MUC4 - A blinded case control study of colorectal cancer in UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

Recent reports suggest that autoantibodies directed to aberrantly glycosylated mucins, in particular MUC1 and MUC4, are found in patients with colorectal cancer. There is, however, limited information on the autoantibody levels prior to clinical diagnosis, and their utility in cancer screening in the general population. In this study, we have generated O-glycosylated synthetic MUC1 and MUC4 peptides in vitro, to mimic cancer associated glycoforms, and displayed these on microarrays. The assay's performance was tested through an initial screening of serum samples taken from patients at the time of colorectal cancer diagnosis and healthy controls. Subsequently the selected biomarkers were evaluated in a blinded nested case control study, using stored serum samples from among the 50,640 women randomised to the multimodal arm of the UKCTOCS, where women gave annual blood samples for several years. Cases were 97 postmenopausal women who developed colorectal cancer following recruitment, and were age-matched to 97 women without any history of cancer. MUC1-STn and MUC1-Core3 IgG autoantibodies identified cases with 8.2% and 13.4% sensitivity, respectively, at 95% specificity. IgA to MUC4-glycoforms were unable to discriminate between cases and controls in the UKCTOCS sera. Additional analysis was undertaken by combining the data of MUC1-STn and MUC1-Core3 with previously generated data on autoantibodies to p53 peptides, which increased the sensitivity to 32.0% at 95% specificity in the UKCTOCS set. These findings suggest that a combination of antibody signatures may have a role as part of a biomarker panel for the early detection of colorectal cancer

2015 ACVIM Small Animal Consensus Statement on Seizure Management in Dogs

This report represents a scientific and working clinical consensus statement on seizure management in dogs based on current literature and clinical expertise. The goal was to establish guidelines for a predetermined, concise, and logical sequential approach to chronic seizure management starting with seizure identification and diagnosis (not included in this report), reviewing decision‐making, treatment strategies, focusing on issues related to chronic antiepileptic drug treatment response and monitoring, and guidelines to enhance patient response and quality of life. Ultimately, we hope to provide a foundation for ongoing and future clinical epilepsy research in veterinary medicine

Making mathematics and science integration happen: key aspects of practice

The integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning facilitates student learning, engagement, motivation, problem-solving, criticality and real-life application. However, the actual implementation of an integrative approach to the teaching and learning of both subjects at classroom level, with in-service teachers working collaboratively, at second-level education, is under-researched due to the complexities of school-based research. This study reports on a year-long case study on the implementation of an integrated unit of learning on distance, speed and time, within three second-level schools in Ireland. This study employed a qualitative approach and examined the key aspects of practice that impact on the integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning. We argue that teacher perspective, teacher knowledge of the ‘other subject’ and of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and teacher collaboration and support all impact on the implementation of an integrative approach to mathematics and science education

Pedestrian, Crowd, and Evacuation Dynamics

This contribution describes efforts to model the behavior of individual pedestrians and their interactions in crowds, which generate certain kinds of self-organized patterns of motion. Moreover, this article focusses on the dynamics of crowds in panic or evacuation situations, methods to optimize building designs for egress, and factors potentially causing the breakdown of orderly motion.Comment: This is a review paper. For related work see http://www.soms.ethz.c

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus proposal: Medical treatment of canine epilepsy in Europe

In Europe, the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed for dogs has grown considerably over the last years. Nevertheless, the same questions remain, which include, 1) when to start treatment, 2) which drug is best used initially, 3) which adjunctive AED can be advised if treatment with the initial drug is unsatisfactory, and 4) when treatment changes should be considered. In this consensus proposal, an overview is given on the aim of AED treatment, when to start long-term treatment in canine epilepsy and which veterinary AEDs are currently in use for dogs. The consensus proposal for drug treatment protocols, 1) is based on current published evidence-based literature, 2) considers the current legal framework of the cascade regulation for the prescription of veterinary drugs in Europe, and 3) reflects the authors’ experience. With this paper it is aimed to provide a consensus for the management of canine idiopathic epilepsy. Furthermore, for the management of structural epilepsy AEDs are inevitable in addition to treating the underlying cause, if possible

A seasonal cycle in the export of bottom water from the Weddell Sea

Dense water formed over the Antarctic continental shelf rapidly descends into the deep ocean where it spreads throughout the global ocean as Antarctic Bottom Water1, 2. The coldest and most voluminous component of this water mass is Weddell Sea bottom water1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Here we present observations over eight years of the temperature and salinity stratification in the lowermost ocean southeast of the South Orkney Islands, marking the export of Weddell Sea bottom water. We observe a pronounced seasonal cycle in bottom temperatures, with a cold pulse in May/June and a warm one in October/November, but the timing of these phases varies each year. We detect the coldest bottom water in 1999 and 2002, whereas there was no cold phase in 2000. On the basis of current velocities and water mass characteristics, we infer that the pulses originate from the southwest Weddell Sea. We propose that the seasonal fluctuations of Weddell Sea bottom-water properties are governed by the seasonal cycle of the winds over the western margin of the Weddell Sea. Interannual fluctuations are linked to the variability of the wind-driven Weddell Sea gyre and hence to large-scale climate phenomena such as the Southern Annular Mode and El Niño/Southern Oscillation

A novel approach to locate Phytophthora infestans resistance genes on the potato genetic map

Mapping resistance genes is usually accomplished by phenotyping a segregating population for the resistance trait and genotyping it using a large number of markers. Most resistance genes are of the NBS-LRR type, of which an increasing number is sequenced. These genes and their analogs (RGAs) are often organized in clusters. Clusters tend to be rather homogenous, viz. containing genes that show high sequence similarity with each other. From many of these clusters the map position is known. In this study we present and test a novel method to quickly identify to which cluster a new resistance gene belongs and to produce markers that can be used for introgression breeding. We used NBS profiling to identify markers in bulked DNA samples prepared from resistant and susceptible genotypes of small segregating populations. Markers co-segregating with resistance can be tested on individual plants and directly used for breeding. To identify the resistance gene cluster a gene belongs to, the fragments were sequenced and the sequences analyzed using bioinformatics tools. Putative map positions arising from this analysis were validated using markers mapped in the segregating population. The versatility of the approach is demonstrated with a number of populations derived from wild Solanum species segregating for P. infestans resistance. Newly identified P. infestans resistance genes originating from S. verrucosum, S. schenckii, and S. capsicibaccatum could be mapped to potato chromosomes 6, 4, and 11, respectively