The Genetic Relationship between Leishmania aethiopica and Leishmania tropica Revealed by Comparing Microsatellite Profiles

Background Leishmania (Leishmania) aethiopica and L. (L.) tropica cause cutaneous leishmaniases and appear to be related. L. aethiopica is geographically restricted to Ethiopia and Kenya; L. tropica is widely dispersed from the Eastern Mediterranean, through the Middle East into eastern India and in north, east and south Africa. Their phylogenetic inter- relationship is only partially revealed. Some studies indicate a close relationship. Here, eight strains of L. aethiopica were characterized genetically and compared with 156 strains of L. tropica from most of the latter species' geographical range to discern the closeness. Methodology/Principal Findings Twelve unlinked microsatellite markers previously used to genotype strains of L. tropica were successfully applied to the eight strains of L. aethiopica and their microsatellite profiles were compared to those of 156 strains of L. tropica from various geographical locations that were isolated from human cases of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, hyraxes and sand fly vectors. All the microsatellite profiles were subjected to various analytical algorithms: Bayesian statistics, distance-based and factorial correspondence analysis, revealing: (i) the species L. aethiopica, though geographically restricted, is genetically very heterogeneous; (ii) the strains of L. aethiopica formed a distinct genetic cluster; and (iii) strains of L. aethiopica are closely related to strains of L. tropica and more so to the African ones, although, by factorial correspondence analysis, clearly separate from them. Conclusions/Significance The successful application of the 12 microsatellite markers, originally considered species-specific for the species L. tropica, to strains of L. aethiopica confirmed the close relationship between these two species. The Bayesian and distance-based methods clustered the strains of L. aethiopica among African strains of L. tropica, while the factorial correspondence analysis indicated a clear separation between the two species. There was no correlation between microsatellite profiles of the eight strains of L. aethiopica and the type of leishmaniasis, localized (LCL) versus diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL), displayed by the human cases

Å fylle et tomrom – søskens rolle som omsorgsgiver for brødre og søstre med alvorlige psykiske lidelser

Little is known about the role of adult siblings’ caregiver role within the context of mental illness. Therefore, our purpose was to explore how siblings narrate their experiences of being the main caregivers of a brother or sister with severe mental illness and how they cooperate with their ill sibling and their family of origin. We used a narrative hermeneutic approach and performed a secondary analysis of two interviews of siblings derived from a study of peoples’ experiences of hearing voices. The findings illuminate the participants’ multifaceted roles and how differently siblings might deal with the multiple challenges of caring for an ill sibling. The mediating role between their ill sibling and their family of origin to reestablish the broken family bonds was a significant aspect. Nurses’ awareness of the important and multidimensional role of caregiving siblings can improve the provision of family support and promote involvement of siblings in the treatment of an ill family member

Don't waste your time measuring intelligence: Further evidence for the validity of a three-minute speeded reasoning test

The rise of large-scale collaborative panel studies has generated a need for fast, reliable, and valid assessments of cognitive abilities. In these studies, a detailed characterization of participants' cognitive abilities is often unnecessary, leading to the selection of tests based on convenience, duration, and feasibility. This often results in the use of abbreviated measures or proxies, potentially compromising their reliability and validity. Here we evaluate the mini-q (Baudson & Preckel, 2016), a three-minute speeded reasoning test, as a brief assessment of general cognitive abilities. The mini-q exhibited excellent reliability (0.96–0.99) and a substantial correlation with general cognitive abilities measured with a comprehensive test battery (r = 0.57; age-corrected r = 0.50), supporting its potential as a brief screening of cognitive abilities. Working memory capacity accounted for the majority (54%) of the association between test performance and general cognitive abilities, whereas individual differences in processing speed did not contribute to this relationship. Our results support the notion that the mini-q can be used as a brief, reliable, and valid assessment of general cognitive abilities. We therefore developed a computer-based version, ensuring its adaptability for large-scale panel studies. The paper- and computer-based versions demonstrated scalar measurement invariance and can therefore be used interchangeably. We provide norm data for young (18 to 30 years) and middle-aged (31 to 60 years) adults and provide recommendations for incorporating the mini-q in panel studies. Additionally, we address potential challenges stemming from language diversity, wide age ranges, and online testing in such studies

Multilocus Microsatellite Typing reveals intra-focal genetic diversity among strains of Leishmania tropica in Chichaoua Province, Morocco

AbstractIn Morocco, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania (L.) tropica is a major public health threat. Strains of this species have been shown to display considerable serological, biochemical, molecular biological and genetic heterogeneity; and Multilocus Enzyme Electrophoresis (MLEE), has shown that in many countries including Morocco heterogenic variants of L. tropica can co-exist in single geographical foci. Here, the microsatellite profiles discerned by MLMT of nine Moroccan strains of L. tropica isolated in 2000 from human cases of CL from Chichaoua Province were compared to those of nine Moroccan strains of L. tropica isolated between 1988 and 1990 from human cases of CL from Marrakech Province, and also to those of 147 strains of L. tropica isolated at different times from different worldwide geographical locations within the range of distribution of the species. Several programs, each employing a different algorithm, were used for population genetic analysis. The strains from each of the two Moroccan foci separated into two phylogenetic clusters independent of their geographical origin. Genetic diversity and heterogeneity existed in both foci, which are geographically close to each other. This intra-focal distribution of genetic variants of L. tropica is not considered owing to in situ mutation. Rather, it is proposed to be explained by the importation of pre-existing variants of L. tropica into Morocco

Fiber- vs. Microwave-based 5G Transport: a Total Cost of Ownership Analysis

Answering a key question from operators, the paper compares the techno-economic performance of fiber and microwave-based 5G transport deployments using vendor’s inventories and real-life field deployment scenarios. Results highlight how microwave gains vary based on the geo-types, the fiber trenching, and microwave equipment costs

Techno-economics of Fiber vs. Microwave for Mobile Transport Network Deployments [Invited]

One of the challenges for network operators is to design and deploy cost-efficient transport networks (TNs) to meet the high capacity and strict latency/reliability requirements of today’s emerging services. Therefore, they need to consider different aspects, including the appropriate technology, the level of reconfigurability, and the functional split option. A crucial aspect of network design is assessing the impact of these aspects against the total cost of ownership (TCO), latency, and reliability performance of a given solution. For this reason, this paper proposes a framework to investigate the TCO, latency, and reliability performance of a set of fiber and microwave-based TN architectures. They are categorized based on their baseband functional split option and the reconfigurability capabilities of the equipment used. The results, based on real data from a non-incumbent operator, show that in most of the considered scenarios, a microwavebased TN exhibits lower TCO than a fiber-based one. The TCO gain may vary with the choice of the functional split option, geo-type, reconfigurability features, fiber trenching costs, and cost of microwave equipment, with a more significant impact in a dense urban geo-type, where for a low layer functional split option the fiber- and microwave-based architectures have a comparable TCO. Finally, it was found that the considered fiber and microwave architectures have almost similar average latency and connection availability performance. Both are suitable to meet the service requirements of 5G and beyond 5G services in most of the considered scenarios. Only in extreme latency-critical scenarios, a small number of the cells might not fully satisfy the latency requirements of a low layer split option due to multiple microwave hops in the microwave-based architecture

Techno-economics of 5G transport deployments

Network densification is a crucial enabler for 5G, requiring the installation of a large number of devices and/or cables for the 5G transport network. This invited paper provides a techno-economic study focusing on adopting microwave and fiber equipment for 5G transport network deployments. Different architectures for low layer split supporting latency critical services are considered

Small-Signal Circuit Model for Synchronous Buck DC/DC Converter featuring ZVS at Low-Side

In this paper we provide an improved small-signal equivalent circuit model of a synchronous Buck converter which operates in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) and includes an alternative Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) mechanism for the low-side power MOSFET that rely on the MOSFETs output capacitance. The addressed analysis improves the state of the art in DC/DC small-signal modeling as it is capable to predict unexpected effects on the dynamical system response such as the dependency on input voltage introduced by parasitics. Therefore, a complete design tool which permits to evaluate the impact of the MOSFETs output capacitance and the ZVS network on the converter dynamics is proposed. The derived equivalent circuit model which includes an additional feedforward path and a feedback loop is analyzed and the main open-loop transfer functions (control-to-output, line-to-output, output impedance) are analytically assessed. A verification has been carried out through SIMPLIS circuital simulations, corroborating the validity of the whole evaluation process

A profile shape correction to reduce the vertical sensitivity of cosmic-ray neutron sensing of soil moisture

n recent years, cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) has shown a large potential among proximal sensing techniques to monitor soil moisture noninvasively, with high frequency and a large support volume (radius up to 240 m and sensing depth up to 80 cm). This signal is, however, more sensitive to closer distances and shallower depths. Inherently, CRNS-derived soil moisture is a spatially weighted value, different from an average soil moisture as retrieved by a sensor network. In this study, we systematically test a new profile shape correction on CRNS-derived soil moisture, based on additional soil moisture profile measurements and vertical unweighting, which is especially relevant during pronounced wetting or drying fronts. The analyses are conducted with data collected at four contrasting field sites, each equipped with a CRNS probe and a distributed soil moisture sensor network. After applying the profile shape correction on CRNS-derived soil moisture, it is compared with the sensor network average. Results show that the influence of the vertical sensitivity of CRNS on integral soil moisture values is successfully reduced. One to three properly located profile measurements within the CRNS support volume improve the performance. For the four investigated field sites, the RMSE decreased 11–53% when only one profile location was considered. We therefore recommend to install along with a CRNS at least one soil moisture profile in a radial distanceProfile-shape-corrected, CRNS-derived soil moisture is an unweighted integral soil moisture over the support volume, which is easier to interpret and easier to use for further applications