A triple-drug treatment regimen to accelerate elimination of lymphatic filariasis: From conception to delivery

The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) is using mass drug administration (MDA) of antifilarial medications to treat filarial infections, prevent disease and interrupt transmission. Almost 500 million people receive these medications each year. Clinical trials have recently shown that a single dose of a triple-drug combination comprised of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine and albendazole (IDA) is dramatically superior to widely used two-drug combinations for clearing larval filarial parasites from the blood of infected persons. A large multicenter community study showed that IDA was well-tolerated when it was provided as MDA. IDA was rapidly advanced from clinical trial to policy and implementation; it has the potential to accelerate LF elimination in many endemic countries

Development and introduction of the Filariasis Test Strip: A new diagnostic test for the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

A key component to achieving the global goal of elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is the availability of appropriate tools for disease mapping, monitoring, and surveillance. However, the development of these tools for a neglected disease such as LF can be a challenge. The lack of a commercial market and low familiarity with these diseases leave little incentive for diagnostic manufacturers to invest in this space. The Filarial Test Strip (FTS) development story provides a case study on how a multi-stakeholder, public-private partnership model facilitated the development, evaluation, and introduction of a new monitoring and surveillance tool for LF. This paper will reflect on the experience with the FTS and document the process from development of the target product profile to adoption and scale-up in country programs. Lessons learned from both the successes and challenges experienced during this process may help inform future efforts to develop and introduce new diagnostic or surveillance tools for neglected diseases

The variance of the number of prime polynomials in short intervals and in residue classes

We resolve a function field version of two conjectures concerning the variance of the number of primes in short intervals (Goldston and Montgomery) and in arithmetic progressions (Hooley). A crucial ingredient in our work are recent equidistribution results of N. Katz.Comment: Revised according to referees' comment

¿Qué ocurre cuando los profesores de ciencias reflexionan sobre lo que sus estudiantes opinan acerca de su enseñanza?

Esta investigación consiste en un estudio de casos de 4 profesores de ciencias interesados en alinear su enseñanza con el aprendizaje de las ciencias. Dicho proceso cuenta con un acompañamiento realizado hacia los profesores donde se discute sobre las opiniones que poseen los estudiantes acerca de la enseñanza de las ciencias, contenidos y habilidades que desean desarrollar. En este trabajo se mostrarán los resultados preliminares del acompañameinto realizado a los profesores, el cual consiste en evidenciar y discutir las necesidades que tienen los docentes de ciencias, las preocupaciones que presentan sobre su enseñanza, las expectativas de sus estudiantes, el modelo didáctico que subyace a sus prácticas de aula y los obstáculos que consideran relevantes abordar para disminuir la brecha de los que desean enseñar con lo que los estudiantes desean aprender. Como conclusión principal se señala que este acompañamiento realizado a los docentes participantes fomenta la reflexión y su desarrollo profesional

Global Star Formation Rates in Disk Galaxies and Circumnuclear Starbursts from Cloud Collisions

We invoke star formation triggered by cloud-cloud collisions to explain global star formation rates of disk galaxies and circumnuclear starbursts. Previous theories based on the growth rate of gravitational perturbations ignore the dynamically important presence of magnetic fields. Theories based on triggering by spiral density waves fail to explain star formation in systems without such waves. Furthermore, observations suggest gas and stellar disk instabilities are decoupled. Following Gammie, Ostriker & Jog (1991), the cloud collision rate is set by the shear velocity of encounters with initial impact parameters of a few tidal radii, due to differential rotation in the disk. This, together with the effective confinement of cloud orbits to a two dimensional plane, enhances the collision rate above that for particles in a three dimensional box. We predict Sigma_{SFR}(R) proportional to Sigma_{gas} Omega (1-0.7 beta). For constant circular velocity (beta = 0), this is in agreement with recent observations (Kennicutt 1998). We predict a B-band Tully-Fisher relation: L_{B} proportional to v_{circ}^{7/3}, also consistent with observations. As additional tests, we predict enhanced star formation in regions with relatively high shear rates, and lower star formation efficiencies in clouds of higher mass.Comment: 27 pages including 3 figures and 2 tables. Accepted to ApJ. Expanded statistical analysis of cloud SF efficiency test. Stylistic changes. Data for figures available electronically at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~jt/disksfr.htm

Indiana’s Agriculture in a Changing Climate: A Report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment

Indiana has long been one of the nation’s leaders in agricultural productivity. Favorable temperatures and precipitation help Indiana farmers generate over $31 billion worth of sales per year, making the state 11th in total agricultural products sold. Changes to the state’s climate over the coming decades, including increasing temperatures, changes in precipitation amounts and patterns, and rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air will result in several direct and indirect impacts to the state’s agricultural industry. This report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) describes how projected changes in the state’s climate will affect the health of livestock and poultry, growing season conditions for crops, the types of crops that can be planted, soil health and water quality as well as weed, pest and disease pressure for agricultural production statewide

Diffuse Stellar Light at 100 kpc Scales in M87

In a new survey of nearby galaxies from stacked photographic images, M87 shows a diffuse fan of stellar material which extends along the projected SE (major) axis out to about 100 kpc at a limiting (B) surface brightness of $28 \hbox{mag arcsec}^{-2}$. We suggest that disruption of a small spheroidal galaxy within a larger potential is the most likely explanation for the diffuse structure. Our simulations include a rigid primary potential with characteristics similar to those derived for M87 and a populated intruder. The orbit is required to pass close to the center of the potential to produce a fan which nearly aligns with the major axis and has a large opening angle, as seen in M87. The structure of the dark matter at large galactic radii is investigated by representing M87 with different potentials. The morphology and luminosity of the fan and the kinematics of debris in the center of the primary potential are analyzed and compared with substructure in M87. The short lifetimes (t_fan < 5 10^8 years) of the simulated diffuse fans indicate that several accretion events could be hidden in galaxies.Comment: 24 pages, Latex (aaspp4.sty), with 15 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Diagnostics to Support Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis-Development of Two Target Product Profiles

As lymphatic filariasis (LF) programs move closer to established targets for validation elimination of LF as a public health problem, diagnostic tools capable of supporting the needs of the programs are critical for success. Known limitations of existing diagnostic tools make it challenging to have confidence that program endpoints have been achieved. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for Neglected Tropical Diseases tasked with prioritizing diagnostic needs including defining use-cases and target product profiles (TPPs) for needed tools. Subsequently, disease-specific DTAG subgroups, including one focused on LF, were established to develop TPPs and use-case analyses to be used by product developers. Here, we describe the development of two priority TPPs for LF diagnostics needed for making decisions for stopping mass drug administration (MDA) of a triple drug regimen and surveillance. Utilizing the WHO core TPP development process as the framework, the LF subgroup convened to discuss and determine attributes required for each use case. TPPs considered the following parameters: Product use, design, performance, product configuration and cost, and access and equity. Version 1.0 TPPs for two use cases were published by WHO on 12 March 2021 within the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development. A common TPP characteristic that emerged in both use cases was the need to identify new biomarkers that would allow for greater precision in program delivery. As LF diagnostic tests are rarely used for individual clinical diagnosis, it became apparent that reliance on population-based surveys for decision making requires consideration of test performance in the context of such surveys. In low prevalence settings, the number of false positive test results may lead to unnecessary continuation or resumption of MDA, thus wasting valuable resources and time. Therefore, highly specific diagnostic tools are paramount when used to measure low thresholds. The TPP process brought to the forefront the importance of linking use case, program platform and diagnostic performance characteristics when defining required criteria for diagnostic tools

Challenges in Ceramic Science: A Report from the Workshop on Emerging Research Areas in Ceramic Science

In March 2012, a group of researchers met to discuss emerging topics in ceramic science and to identify grand challenges in the field. By the end of the workshop, the group reached a consensus on eight challenges for the future:—understanding rare events in ceramic microstructures, understanding the phase-like behavior of interfaces, predicting and controlling heterogeneous microstructures with unprecedented functionalities, controlling the properties of oxide electronics, understanding defects in the vicinity of interfaces, controlling ceramics far from equilibrium, accelerating the development of new ceramic materials, and harnessing order within disorder in glasses. This paper reports the outcomes of the workshop and provides descriptions of these challenges