87 research outputs found

    ARDUSAT, AN ARDUINO-BASED CUBESAT PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE THEIR OWN SATELLITE EXPERIMENT AND COLLECT REAL-WORLD SPACE DATA

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    ABSTRACT Short for "Arduino Satellite", ArduSat is an open-source Nanosatellite, based on the CubeSat standard. The extensive Arduino sensor suite on board gives students the opportunity to create their own satellite experiments and collect real-world space data using the Arduino open-source prototyping platform. From March until May 2014, two undergraduate physics students from Hasselt University used the downloadable ArduSat Software Development Kit which allowed them to design the command sequences they used to conduct their experiments

    Bridging the TB data gap: in silico extraction of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis diagnostic test results from whole genome sequence data

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    YesBackground: Mycobacterium tuberculosis rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are widely employed in routine laboratories and national surveys for detection of rifampicinresistant (RR)-TB. However, as next-generation sequencing technologies have become more commonplace in research and surveillance programs, RDTs are being increasingly complemented by whole genome sequencing (WGS). While comparison between RDTs is difficult, all RDT results can be derived from WGS data. This can facilitate continuous analysis of RR-TB burden regardless of the data generation technology employed. By converting WGS to RDT results, we enable comparison of data with different formats and sources particularly for low- and middle-income high TB-burden countries that employ different diagnostic algorithms for drug resistance surveys. This allows national TB control programs (NTPs) and epidemiologists to utilize all available data in the setting for improved RR-TB surveillance. Methods: We developed the Python-based MycTB Genome to Test (MTBGT) tool that transforms WGS-derived data into laboratory-validated results of the primary RDTs—Xpert MTB/RIF, XpertMTB/RIF Ultra, GenoType MDRTBplus v2.0, and GenoscholarNTM+MDRTB II. The tool was validated through RDT results of RR-TB strains with diverse resistance patterns and geographic origins and applied on routine-derived WGS data. Results: The MTBGT tool correctly transformed the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data into the RDT results and generated tabulated frequencies of the RDT probes as well as rifampicin-susceptible cases. The tool supplemented the RDT probe reactions output with the RR-conferring mutation based on identified SNPs. The MTBGT tool facilitated continuous analysis of RR-TB and Xpert probe reactions from different platforms and collection periods in Rwanda. Conclusion: Overall, the MTBGT tool allows low- and middle-income countries to make sense of the increasingly generated WGS in light of the readily available RDT.Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Fellowship grant 2016- 1346

    The relationship between transmission time and clustering methods in Mycobacterium tuberculosis epidemiology

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    YesBackground: Tracking recent transmission is a vital part of controlling widespread pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Multiple methods with specific performance characteristics exist for detecting recent transmission chains, usually by clustering strains based on genotype similarities. With such a large variety of methods available, informed selection of an appropriate approach for determining transmissions within a given setting/time period is difficult. Methods: This study combines whole genome sequence (WGS) data derived from 324 isolates collected 2005–2010 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a high endemic setting, with phylodynamics to unveil the timing of transmission events posited by a variety of standard genotyping methods. Clustering data based on Spoligotyping, 24-loci MIRU-VNTR typing, WGS based SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) and core genome multi locus sequence typing (cgMLST) typing were evaluated. Findings: Our results suggest that clusters based on Spoligotyping could encompass transmission events that occurred almost 200 years prior to sampling while 24-loci-MIRU-VNTR often represented three decades of transmission. Instead, WGS based genotyping applying low SNP or cgMLST allele thresholds allows for determination of recent transmission events, e.g. in timespans of up to 10 years for a 5 SNP/allele cut-off. Interpretation: With the rapid uptake of WGS methods in surveillance and outbreak tracking, the findings obtained in this study can guide the selection of appropriate clustering methods for uncovering relevant transmission chains within a given time-period. For high resolution cluster analyses, WGS-SNP and cgMLST based analyses have similar clustering/timing characteristics even for data obtained from a high incidence setting.ERC grant [INTERRUPTB; no. 311725] to BdJ, FG and CJM; an ERC grant to TS [PhyPD; no. 335529]; an FWO PhD fellowship to PM [grant number 1141217N]; the Leibniz Science Campus EvolLUNG for MM and SN; the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF) for TAK, MM, CU, PB and SN; a SNF SystemsX grant (TBX) to JP and TS and a Marie Heim-Vögtlin fellowship granted to DK by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI

    O Programa de Ajustamento Estrutural na RepĂșblica da GuinĂ©-Bissau: Uma avaliação polĂ­tica e Ética

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    Os guineenses assumiram o desenvolvimento como uma das metas a atingir e a estabilização e o ajustamento foi-lhes imposta como solução para os problemas estruturais existentes. No entanto, a forma como tĂȘm vindo a ser concebidos pelo Banco Mundial e pelo Fundo MonetĂĄrio Internacional, direccionada sobretudo para a ĂĄrea econĂłmica, acabou por limitar o papel dos Programas de Ajustamento Estrutural (PAE) tidos como indutores do desenvolvimento, tornando-os num agregado de premissas austeras, com resultados nĂŁo esperados. As propostas do FMI e do BM, tendendo para a liberalização econĂłmica e estĂ­mulo dos mercados em detrimento da intervenção estatal, traduzem-se em medidas de redução de taxas de utilização dos serviços pĂșblicos, supressĂŁo de subsĂ­dios, redimensionamento da administração pĂșblica, cortes, congelamentos salariais e privatizaçÔes. Os resultados destas reformas foram catastrĂłficos, porquanto nĂŁo sĂł nĂŁo melhoraram o dĂ©fice orçamental, como os efeitos negativos das restriçÔes orçamentais sobre o bem-estar, geraram um ambiente de promiscuidade social e o agravamento do sector informal como estratĂ©gia de sobrevivĂȘncia Tendo em conta o objecto em estudo, isto Ă©, a relação de forças que encontrĂĄmos entre o relacionamento entre os actores polĂ­ticos guineenses e as InstituiçÔes Financeiras Internacionais, notĂĄmos que a ausĂȘncia de comportamentos Ă©ticos tambĂ©m influiu nos resultados. Por um lado, o BM e o FMI, perante um Estado fragilizado, apresentaram condicionalismos Ă  obtenção de emprĂ©stimos e ajudas, por outro lado, os actores guineenses, mesmo perante este dilema, nĂŁo se coibiram do exercĂ­cio da corrupção, do clientelismo e do neo-patrimonialismo, como estratĂ©gia para o enriquecimento fĂĄcil.Instituto Superior de CiĂȘncias do Trabalho e da Empres

    Encodage/dĂ©codage au dĂ©but de l’apprentissage de l’écrit

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    Cet article s’appuie sur une recherche en cours centrĂ©e sur l’entrĂ©e dans l’écrit d’élĂšves de CP. Lors de cette recherche, 156 enfants ont Ă©tĂ© observĂ©s en entretien individuel, quatre fois dans l’annĂ©e (novembre, janvier, mars et juin). Afin de bien comparer les donnĂ©es recueillies, les quatre entretiens se sont strictement dĂ©roulĂ©s de la mĂȘme façon : mĂȘme tĂąche d’écriture inventĂ©e, mĂȘme tĂąche de lecture, mĂȘme questionnement sur la lectureĂ©criture. L’objectif de cet article est d’établir des liens Ă  partir de la premiĂšre observation entre les rĂ©ponses fournies par les sujets lors de la tĂąche d’écriture et celles qu’ils fournissent lors de la tĂąche de lecture.Lempens Isabelle. Encodage/dĂ©codage au dĂ©but de l’apprentissage de l’écrit. In: Spirale. Revue de recherches en Ă©ducation, n°23, 1999. Apprendre l’écrit - Les valeurs en formation et en Ă©ducation (3) sous la direction de Dominique-Guy Brassart et Yves Reuter. pp. 153-164
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