The control of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep flocks : a mathematical model of the impact of vaccination, serological testing, clinical examination and lancing of abscesses

A mathematical model of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep flocks was used to evaluate strategies for control and elimination of caseous lymphadenitis (CIA). Control strategies tested were vaccination, serological testing and removal of seropositives, clinical examination and removal of sheep with abscesses, lancing abscesses, and appropriate combinations. Three different infection rates with and without replacement of culled ewes were used to evaluate the control options. Controls were either implemented immediately after infection was detected in a flock or once CIA was at endemic equilibrium, and with different frequencies of examination or testing. Elimination of infection was defined as 99% confidence that no sheep were infected with C. pseudo tuberculosis. The control strategies were evaluated by estimating the reduction in infection or probability of elimination and the number of ewes culled from the flock. Lancing abscesses reduced the prevalence of infection when the initial prevalence was 0.90, but vaccination combined with clinical examination reduced infection rapidly with little impact on lamb productivity. Further research is required to develop a diagnostic test with at least 0.90 specificity and sensitivity under field conditions before any methods of control can be recommended with confidence

A MicroRNA that Regulates TLR-Mediated Fibrosis

Hepatic damage can be caused by an array of factors which, if sustained, can lead to hepatic fibrosis.[...

Seasonal predictability of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation from a jet stream perspective

The winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has varied on interannual and decadal timescales over the last century, associated with variations in the speed and latitude of the eddy-driven jet stream. This paper uses hindcasts from two operational seasonal forecast systems (the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts's seasonal forecast system, and the U.K. Met Office global seasonal forecast system) and a century-long atmosphere-only experiment (using the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts's Integrated Forecasting System model) to relate seasonal prediction skill in the NAO to these aspects of jet variability. This shows that the NAO skill realized so far arises from interannual variations in the jet, largely associated with its latitude rather than speed. There likely remains further potential for predictability on longer, decadal timescales. In the small sample of models analyzed here, improved representation of the structure of jet variability does not translate to enhanced seasonal forecast skill

Community based low threshold substance use services: practitioner approaches and challenges.

Low threshold services are typically provided within community or city settings, either by statutory or community organisations. Services may be staffed by counsellors, key workers or support workers who would normally seek to engage informally with clients and deliver brief, harm reduction focused interventions. In addition, low threshold services often depend on volunteers for staffing and provide new drugs workers who may require high levels of supervision with an entry point into drugs work. A range of issues have emerged in relation to low threshold service provision including high volumes of clients accessing a service, variation in approach and aims of low threshold services and health and safety implications for workers and clients in regard to service users being severely intoxicated, using substances on the premises or overdosing

Adherence to prescribed artemisinin-based combination therapy in Garissa and Bunyala districts, Kenya

BACKGROUND: Following the development of resistance to anti-malarial mono-therapies, malaria endemic countries in Africa now use artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as recommended first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria. Patients' adherence to ACT is an important factor to ensure treatment efficacy, as well as to reduce the likelihood of parasite resistance to these drugs. This study reports adherence to a specific ACT, artemether-lumefantrine (AL), under conditions of routine clinical practice in Kenya. METHOD: The study was undertaken in Garissa and Bunyala districts among outpatients of five government health facilities. Patients treated with AL were visited at home four days after having been prescribed the drug. Respondents (patients ≥ 15 years and caregivers of patients < 15 years) were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire, AL blister packs were physically inspected and the adherence status of patients was then recorded. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was used to determine predictors of adherence. RESULTS: Of the 918 patients included in the study, 588 (64.1%) were 'probably adherent', 291 (31.7%) were 'definitely non-adherent' and 39 (4.2%) were 'probably non-adherent'. Six factors were found to be significant predictors of adherence: patient knowledge of the ACT dosing regimen (odds ratio (OR) = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.32-2.35), patient age (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.02-1.85), respondent age (OR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.10-2.48), whether a respondent had seen AL before (OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.08-1.98), whether a patient had reported dislikes to AL (OR = 0.62 95% CI = 0.47-0.82) and whether a respondent had waited more than 24 hours to seek treatment (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.54-0.99). CONCLUSION: Overall, adherence to AL was found to be low in both Garissa and Bunyala districts, with patient knowledge of the AL dosing regimen found to be the strongest predictor of adherence. Interventions aimed at increasing community awareness of the AL dosing regimen, use of child friendly formulations and improving health workers' prescribing practices are likely to ensure higher adherence to AL and eventual treatment success

Advancing human capabilities for water security: A relational approach

We argue that a relational water security framework informed by the capabilities approach offers new ways to consider politics and cultures of water. Each dimension allows us to better contextualize water security beyond just an object (H2O) to be secured for a certain population. Instead, the relational perspective demands a fuller consideration of the political structures and processes through which water is secured, with emphasis on the social relations of access as opposed to simply the politics around water supply. We also attend to cultural dimensions, such as the meanings of water and customary practices that are not easily captured by standardized metrics. By including these dimensions, we necessarily broaden analytical space to evaluate water security as a relational and dynamic process tied to lived experience rather than as solely parameterized conditions in relation to access, quality, or availability of water. We first move to explain our broader conceptualization of water security as linked to human capabilities, then explore in more detail the specific engagements with politics and culture in the sections that follow

Dynamical mechanisms linking Indian monsoon precipitation and the circumglobal teleconnection

The circumglobal teleconnection (CGT) is an important mode of circulation variability, with an influence across many parts of the northern hemisphere. Here, we examine the excitation mechanisms of the CGT in the ECMWF seasonal forecast model, and the relationship between the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), the CGT and the extratropical northern hemisphere circulation. Results from relaxation experiments, in which the model is corrected to reanalysis in specific regions, suggest that errors over northwest Europe are more important in inhibiting the model skill at representing the CGT, in addition to northern hemisphere skill more widely, than west-central Asia and the ISM region, although the link between ISM precipitation and the extratropical circulation is weak in all experiments. Thermal forcing experiments in the ECMWF model, in which a heating is applied over India, suggest that the ISM does force an extratropical Rossby wave train, with upper tropospheric anticyclonic anomalies over east Asia, the North Pacific and North America associated with increased ISM heating. However, this eastward-propagating branch of the wave train does not project into Europe, and the response there occurs largely through westward-propagating Rossby waves. Results from barotropic model experiments show a response that is highly consistent with the seasonal forecast model, with similar eastward- and westward-propagating Rossby waves. This westward-propagating response is shown to be important in the downstream reinforcement of the wave train between Asia and North America

Hepatic and adipose phenotype in Alström syndrome

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alström syndrome (AS) is a recessive monogenic syndrome characterized by obesity, extreme insulin resistance and multi-organ fibrosis. Despite phenotypically being high risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there is a lack of data on the extent of fibrosis in the liver and its close links to adipose in patients with AS. Our aim was to characterize the hepatic and adipose phenotype in patients with AS. METHODS: Observational cohort study with comprehensive assessment of metabolic liver phenotype including liver elastography (Fibroscan® ), serum Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) Panel and liver histology. In addition, abdominal adipose histology and gene expression was assessed. We recruited 30 patients from the UK national AS clinic. A subset of six patients underwent adipose biopsies which was compared with control tissue from nine healthy participants. RESULTS: Patients were overweight/obese (BMI 29.3 (25.95-34.05) kg/m2 ). A total of 80% (24/30) were diabetic; 74% (20/27) had liver ultrasound scanning suggestive of NAFLD. As judged by the ELF panel, 96% (24/25) were categorized as having fibrosis and 10/21 (48%) had liver elastography consistent with advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. In 7/8 selected cases, there was evidence of advanced NAFLD on liver histology. Adipose tissue histology showed marked fibrosis as well as disordered pro-inflammatory and fibrotic gene expression profiles. CONCLUSIONS: NAFLD and adipose dysfunction are common in patients with AS. The severity of liver disease in our cohort supports the need for screening of liver fibrosis in AS.Alström UKThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/liv.1316

Nanoscale Chemical Imaging by Photo-Induced Force Microscopy: Technical Aspects and Application to the Geosciences

Photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM) is a new-frontier technique that combines the advantages of atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy and allows for the simultaneous acquisition of 3D topographic data with molecular chemical information at high spatial (~ 5 nm) and spectral (~ 1 cm−1) resolution at the nanoscale. This non-destructive technique is time efficient as it requires only conventional mirror-polishing and has fast mapping rates on the order of a few minutes that allow the study of dynamic processes via time series. Here, we review the method’s historical development, working principle, data acquisition, and evaluation, and provide a comparison with traditional geochemical methods. We review PiFM studies in the areas of materials science, chemistry and biology. In addition, we provide the first applications for geochemical samples including the visualization of faint growth zonation in zircons, the identification of fluid speciation in high-pressure experimental samples, and of nanoscale organic phases in biominerals. We demonstrate that PiFM analysis is a time- and cost-efficient technique combining high-resolution surface imaging with molecular chemical information at the nanoscale and, thus, complements and expands traditional geochemical methods.LMO is grateful for financial support through a Beate Mocek Prize awarded by the German Mineralogical Society. This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (DEJ: DP160102081, EB: FT110100685, SFF and MWF: FL180100134) and Macquarie University (MWF: MQRF0001074-2020). We thank both anonymous reviewers and handling editor Dr. Thomas Meisel for improving the final version of this review with their expert comments