Isolation of Rabies Virus from the Salivary Glands of Wild and Domestic Carnivores during a Skunk Rabies Epizootic

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease of global importance. Rabies virus is shed in the saliva of infected hosts and is primarily transmitted through bite contact. Canine rabies has been eliminated from the US, but wildlife constitutes more than 90% of the reported cases of animal rabies in the US each year. In the US, several wild carnivore species are reservoirs of distinct variants of rabies virus (RV). After decades of apparent absence, the south-central skunk (SCSK) RV variant was detected in Colorado in 2007 and resulted in a large-scale epizootic in striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations in northern Colorado starting in 2012. We attempted isolation of RV from salivary gland tissues from confirmed rabid carnivores, comprising 51 striped skunks and seven other wild and domestic carnivores collected during 2013 through 2015 in northern Colorado. We isolated RV from 84.0% (158/188; 95% confidence interval¼78.1–88.6%) of striped skunk and 71% (17/24; 95% confidence interval ¼51–85%) of other carnivore salivary glands. These data suggested that infected reservoir and vector species were equally likely to shed the SCSK RV variant and posed a secondary transmission risk to humans and other animals

A predictive and testable unified theory of fermion masses, mixing and leptogenesis

We consider a minimal non-supersymmetric SO(10) Grand Unified Theory (GUT) model that can reproduce the observed fermionic masses and mixing parameters of the Standard Model. We calculate the scales of spontaneous symmetry breaking from the GUT to the Standard Model gauge group using two-loop renormalisation group equations. This procedure determines the proton decay rate and the scale of U(1)B−L breaking, which generates cosmic strings and the right-handed neutrino mass scales. Consequently, the regions of parameter space where thermal leptogenesis is viable are identified and correlated with the fermion masses and mixing, the neutrinoless double beta decay rate, the proton decay rate, and the gravitational wave signal resulting from the network of cosmic strings. We demonstrate that this framework, which can explain the Standard Model fermion masses and mixing and the observed baryon asymmetry, will be highly constrained by the next generation of gravitational wave detectors and neutrino oscillation experiments which will also constrain the proton lifetime

Interaction modelling for IoT

Informal design artefacts allow end-users and nonexperts to contribute to software design ideas and development. In contrast, software engineering techniques such as modeldriven development support experts in ensuring quality properties of the software they propose and build. Each of these approaches have benefits which contribute to the development of robust, reliable and usable software, however it is not always obvious how best to combine these two. In this paper we describe a novel technique which allows us to use informal design artefacts, in the form of ideation card designs, to generate formal models of IoT applications. To implement this technique, we created the Cards-to-Model (C2M) tool which allows us to automate the model generation process. We demonstrate this technique with a case study for a safety-critical IoT application called “Medication Reminders”. By generating formal models directly from the design we reduce the complexity of the modelling process. In addition, by incorporating easy-to-use informal design artefacts in the process we allow non-experts to engage in the design and modelling process of IoT application

A Community-Based Social Networking Intervention to Increase Walking in Dog Owners

Roughly 40% of U.S. households own a dog and while dog ownership is associated with greater engagement in physical activity, up to 60% of dog owners do not achieve the recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity. The present study aims to develop and test a dog walking intervention addressing individual, interpersonal, and community factors. The study represents collaboration between UMass Medical School, UMass Lowell and their community partners, Common Pathways and the Greater Lowell Health Alliance. The developmental phase uses a community-based participatory research approach by creating community advisory boards and conducting focus groups with residents to ensure community perspectives are represented throughout intervention development. Information gathered from the developmental phase will inform the intervention. The intervention phase will determine the feasibility and efficacy of a multi-component dog walking intervention using a group randomized controlled trial. The intervention uses a social networking website, newsletters, pedometers, neighborhood walks, and community events to educate owners on the benefits of walking, create a supportive environment, and increase the “dog friendliness” of a community. Communities in Worcester and Lowell will be randomized to the intervention or control condition. Outcome measures include pedometer steps, time spent walking the dog, social support for exercise, and sense of community. This study is one of the first studies to test whether increasing dog walking in dog owners can increase owner physical activity via a social networking website. If successful, we will assess the extent to which the community can sustain the intervention

A Beautiful Thing: A Service Learning Partnership Develops

This roundtable presents multiple perspectives on a multi-year partnership between an urban school and its university neighbor. Building and nurturing a thriving mutually beneficial partnership between an urban Pre-K-8 school and its neighboring university is, as the principal of Cesar Batalla School often says, “a beautiful thing.” Cesar Batalla, serving 800 students and families from a multilingual, multiethnic community in a low-income neighborhood, is located a stone’s throw from a mid-sized suburban, private university that attracts undergraduate and graduate students with little personal firsthand experience with racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity, or of poverty and its challenges. “Geographical neighbors, yet worlds apart” would aptly describe the university school juxtaposition before we embarked upon our partnership. Transforming a coincidental proximity into a deep partnership has been a journey of many discoveries

Evidence for Cold Accretion: Primitive Gas Flowing onto a Galaxy at z~0.274

We present UV and optical observations from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck of a z= 0.27395 Lyman limit system (LLS) seen in absorption against the QSO PG1630+377. We detect H I absorption with log N(HI)=17.06\pm0.05 as well as Mg II, C III, Si III, and O VI in this system. The column densities are readily explained if this is a multi-phase system, with the intermediate and low ions arising in a very low metallicity ([Mg/ H] =-1.71 \pm 0.06) photoionized gas. We identify via Keck spectroscopy and Large Binocular Telescope imaging a 0.3 L_* star-forming galaxy projected 37 kpc from the QSO at nearly identical redshift (z=0.27406, \Delta v = -26 \kms) with near solar metallicity ([O/ H]=-0.20 \pm 0.15). The presence of very low metallicity gas in the proximity of a near-solar metallicity, sub-L_* galaxy strongly suggests that the LLS probes gas infalling onto the galaxy. A search of the literature reveals that such low metallicity LLSs are not uncommon. We found that 50% (4/8) of the well-studied z < 1 LLSs have metallicities similar to the present system and show sub-L_* galaxies with rho < 100 kpc in those fields where redshifts have been surveyed. We argue that the properties of these primitive LLSs and their host galaxies are consistent with those of cold mode accretion streams seen in galaxy simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Extended Functional Connectivity of Convergent Structural Alterations Among Individuals with PTSD: A Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder defined by the onset of intrusive, avoidant, negative cognitive or affective, and/or hyperarousal symptoms after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided insight into structural brain alterations associated with PTSD with notable heterogeneity across these studies. Furthermore, how structural alterations may be associated with brain function, as measured by task-free and task-based functional connectivity, remains to be elucidated. Methods: Using emergent meta-analytic techniques, we sought to first identify a consensus of structural alterations in PTSD using the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Next, we generated functional profiles of identified convergent structural regions utilizing resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and meta-analytic co-activation modeling (MACM) methods. Finally, we performed functional decoding to examine mental functions associated with our ALE, rsFC, and MACM brain characterizations. Results: We observed convergent structural alterations in a single region located in the medial prefrontal cortex. The resultant rsFC and MACM maps identified functional connectivity across a widespread, whole-brain network that included frontoparietal and limbic regions. Functional decoding revealed overlapping associations with attention, memory, and emotion processes. Conclusions: Consensus-based functional connectivity was observed in regions of the default mode, salience, and central executive networks, which play a role in the tripartite model of psychopathology. Taken together, these findings have important implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms associated with PTSD

Concert recording 2015-04-26

[Track 01]. Catching shadows / Ivan Trevino -- [Track 02]. Variation in F-sharp minor, op. 24. Theme : Andante cantabile ; Variation I : Allegretto scherzando ; Variations III : Andante molto sostenuto ; Variation V : Vivo scherzando / Léon Stekke -- [Track 03]. Concerto in E minor. Allegro apassionoto / Felix Mendelssohn -- [Track 04]. Cantabile et presto / George Enesco -- [Track 05]. Poem / Charles Griffes -- [Track 06]. Legende / George Enesco -- [Track 07]. Violin concerto in A minor, op. 53. Allegro ma non troppo / Antonin Dvorâk -- [Track 08]. Fantasie concertante / Jacques Casérède