Black Stork Down: Military Discourses in Bird Conservation in Malta

Tensions between Maltese hunters and bird conservation NGOs have intensified over the past decade. Conservation NGOs have become frustrated with the Maltese State for conceding to the hunter lobby and negotiating derogations from the European Union’s Bird Directive. Some NGOs have recently started to organize complex field-operations where volunteers are trained to patrol the landscape, operate drones and other surveillance technologies, detect illegalities, and lead police teams to arrest poachers. We describe the sophisticated military metaphors which conservation NGOs have developed to describe, guide and legitimize their efforts to the Maltese public and their fee-paying members. We also discuss why such groups might be inclined to adopt these metaphors. Finally, we suggest that anthropological studies of discourse could help understand delicate contexts such as this where conservation NGOs, hunting associations and the State have ended in political deadlock

Extraluminal Amyloidoma of the Pelvic Cavity Causing Large Bowel Obstruction

Amyloidosis is a group of diverse disorders that fall into several major categories: primary, secondary, dialysis-associated, and hereditary forms. Clinically, amyloidosis may be categorized as localized or systemic. The gastrointestinal tract is among the most common places for deposition of amyloid, but large, localized amyloid deposits are an uncommon occurrence and rarely cause extraluminal bowel compression resulting in obstruction as was seen in the case presented in this clinical scenario

Drivers for Rift Valley fever emergence in Mayotte: A Bayesian modelling approach

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a major zoonotic and arboviral hemorrhagic fever. The conditions leading to RVF epidemics are still unclear, and the relative role of climatic and anthropogenic factors may vary between ecosystems. Here, we estimate the most likely scenario that led to RVF emergence on the island of Mayotte, following the 2006–2007 African epidemic. We developed the first mathematical model for RVF that accounts for climate, animal imports and livestock susceptibility, which is fitted to a 12-years dataset. RVF emergence was found to be triggered by the import of infectious animals, whilst transmissibility was approximated as a linear or exponential function of vegetation density. Model forecasts indicated a very low probability of virus endemicity in 2017, and therefore of re-emergence in a closed system (i.e. without import of infected animals). However, the very high proportion of naive animals reached in 2016 implies that the island remains vulnerable to the import of infectious animals. We recommend reinforcing surveillance in livestock, should RVF be reported is neighbouring territories. Our model should be tested elsewhere, with ecosystem-specific data

Ordinary morality does not imply atheism

Many theist as well as many atheist philosophers have maintained that if God exists, then every instance of undeserved, unwanted suffering ultimately benefits the sufferer. Recently, several authors have argued that this implication of theism conflicts with ordinary morality. I show that these arguments all rest on a common mistake. Defenders of these arguments overlook the role of merely potential instances of suffering in determining our moral obligations toward suffering

Defective Gpsm2/G alpha(i3) signalling disrupts stereocilia development and growth cone actin dynamics in Chudley-McCullough syndrome

Mutations in GPSM2 cause Chudley-McCullough syndrome (CMCS), an autosomal recessive neurological disorder characterized by early-onset sensorineural deafness and brain anomalies. Here, we show that mutation of the mouse orthologue of GPSM2 affects actin-rich stereocilia elongation in auditory and vestibular hair cells, causing deafness and balance defects. The G-protein subunit Gαi3, a well-documented partner of Gpsm2, participates in the elongation process, and its absence also causes hearing deficits. We show that Gpsm2 defines an ∼200 nm nanodomain at the tips of stereocilia and this localization requires the presence of Gαi3, myosin 15 and whirlin. Using single-molecule tracking, we report that loss of Gpsm2 leads to decreased outgrowth and a disruption of actin dynamics in neuronal growth cones. Our results elucidate the aetiology of CMCS and highlight a new molecular role for Gpsm2/Gαi3 in the regulation of actin dynamics in epithelial and neuronal tissues

Bio-inspired relevant interaction modelling in cognitive crowd management

Cognitive algorithms, integrated in intelligent systems, represent an important innovation in designing interactive smart environments. More in details, Cognitive Systems have important applications in anomaly detection and management in advanced video surveillance. These algorithms mainly address the problem of modelling interactions and behaviours among the main entities in a scene. A bio-inspired structure is here proposed, which is able to encode and synthesize signals, not only for the description of single entities behaviours, but also for modelling cause–effect relationships between user actions and changes in environment configurations. Such models are stored within a memory (Autobiographical Memory) during a learning phase. Here the system operates an effective knowledge transfer from a human operator towards an automatic systems called Cognitive Surveillance Node (CSN), which is part of a complex cognitive JDL-based and bio-inspired architecture. After such a knowledge-transfer phase, learned representations can be used, at different levels, either to support human decisions, by detecting anomalous interaction models and thus compensating for human shortcomings, or, in an automatic decision scenario, to identify anomalous patterns and choose the best strategy to preserve stability of the entire system. Results are presented in a video surveillance scenario , where the CSN can observe two interacting entities consisting in a simulated crowd and a human operator. These can interact within a visual 3D simulator, where crowd behaviour is modelled by means of Social Forces. The way anomalies are detected and consequently handled is demonstrated, on synthetic and also on real video sequences, in both the user-support and automatic modes

Intragenic DNA methylation: implications of this epigenetic mechanism for cancer research

Epigenetics is the study of all mechanisms that regulate gene transcription and genome stability that are maintained throughout the cell division, but do not include the DNA sequence itself. The best-studied epigenetic mechanism to date is DNA methylation, where methyl groups are added to the cytosine base within cytosine–guanine dinucleotides (CpG sites). CpGs are frequently clustered in high density (CpG islands (CGIs)) at the promoter of over half of all genes. Current knowledge of transcriptional regulation by DNA methylation centres on its role at the promoter where unmethylated CGIs are present at most actively transcribed genes, whereas hypermethylation of the promoter results in gene repression. Over the last 5 years, research has gradually incorporated a broader understanding that methylation patterns across the gene (so-called intragenic or gene body methylation) may have a role in transcriptional regulation and efficiency. Numerous genome-wide DNA methylation profiling studies now support this notion, although whether DNA methylation patterns are a cause or consequence of other regulatory mechanisms is not yet clear. This review will examine the evidence for the function of intragenic methylation in gene transcription, and discuss the significance of this in carcinogenesis and for the future use of therapies targeted against DNA methylation

Slip and hall current effects on Jeffrey fluid suspension flow in a peristaltic hydromagnetic blood micropump

The magnetic properties of blood allow it to be manipulated with an electromagnetic field. Electromagnetic blood flow pumps are a robust technology which provide more elegant and sustainable performance compared with conventional medical pumps. Blood is a complex multi-phase suspension with non-Newtonian characteristics which are significant in micro-scale transport. Motivated by such applications, in the present article a mathematical model is developed for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pumping of blood in a deformable channel with peristaltic waves. A Jeffery’s viscoelastic formulation is employed for the rheology of blood. A twophase fluid-particle (“dusty”) model is utilized to better simulate suspension characteristics (plasma and erythrocytes). Hall current and wall slip effects are incorporated to achieve more realistic representation of actual systems. A two-dimensional asymmetric channel with dissimilar peristaltic wave trains propagating along the walls is considered. The governing conservation equations for mass, fluid and particle momentum are formulated with appropriate boundary conditions. The model is simplified using of long wavelength and creeping flow approximations. The model is also transformed from the fixed frame to the wave frame and rendered non-dimensional. Analytical solutions are derived. The resulting boundary value problem is solved analytically and exact expressions are derived for the fluid velocity, particulate velocity, fluid/particle fluid and particulate volumetric flow rates, axial pressure gradient, pressure rise and skin friction distributions are evaluated in detail. Increasing Hall current parameter reduces bolus growth in the channel, particle phase velocity and pressure difference in the augmented pumping region whereas it increases fluid phase velocity, axial pressure gradient and pressure difference in the pumping region. Increasing the hydrodynamic slip parameter accelerates both particulate and fluid phase flow at and close to the channel walls, enhances wall skin friction, boosts pressure difference in the augmented pumping region and increases bolus magnitudes. Increasing viscoelastic parameter (stress relaxation time to retardation time ratio) decelerates the fluid phase flow, accelerates the particle phase flow, decreases axial pressure gradient, elevates pressure difference in the augmented pumping region and reduces pressure difference in the pumping region. Increasing drag particulate suspension parameter decelerates the particle phase velocity, accelerates the fluid phase velocity, strongly elevates axial pressure gradient and reduces pressure difference (across one wavelength) in the augmented pumping region. Increasing particulate volume fraction density enhances bolus magnitudes in both the upper and lower zones of the channel and elevates pressure rise in the augmented pumping region

Iridium wire grid polarizer fabricated using atomic layer deposition

In this work, an effective multistep process toward fabrication of an iridium wire grid polarizer for UV applications involving a frequency doubling process based on ultrafast electron beam lithography and atomic layer deposition is presented. The choice of iridium as grating material is based on its good optical properties and a superior oxidation resistance. Furthermore, atomic layer deposition of iridium allows a precise adjustment of the structural parameters of the grating much better than other deposition techniques like sputtering for example. At the target wavelength of 250 nm, a transmission of about 45% and an extinction ratio of 87 are achieved