639 research outputs found
The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change:a systematic review of systematic reviews
Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases
The Dynamics of Nestedness Predicts the Evolution of Industrial Ecosystems
In economic systems, the mix of products that countries make or export has
been shown to be a strong leading indicator of economic growth. Hence, methods
to characterize and predict the structure of the network connecting countries
to the products that they export are relevant for understanding the dynamics of
economic development. Here we study the presence and absence of industries at
the global and national levels and show that these networks are significantly
nested. This means that the less filled rows and columns of these networks'
adjacency matrices tend to be subsets of the fuller rows and columns. Moreover,
we show that nestedness remains relatively stable as the matrices become more
filled over time and that this occurs because of a bias for industries that
deviate from the networks' nestedness to disappear, and a bias for the missing
industries that reduce nestedness to appear. This makes the appearance and
disappearance of individual industries in each location predictable. We
interpret the high level of nestedness observed in these networks in the
context of the neutral model of development introduced by Hidalgo and Hausmann
(2009). We show that, for the observed fills, the model can reproduce the high
level of nestedness observed in these networks only when we assume a high level
of heterogeneity in the distribution of capabilities available in countries and
required by products. In the context of the neutral model, this implies that
the high level of nestedness observed in these economic networks emerges as a
combination of both, the complementarity of inputs and heterogeneity in the
number of capabilities available in countries and required by products. The
stability of nestedness in industrial ecosystems, and the predictability
implied by it, demonstrates the importance of the study of network properties
in the evolution of economic networks.Comment: 26 page
Brane-World Gravity
The observable universe could be a 1+3-surface (the "brane") embedded in a
1+3+\textit{d}-dimensional spacetime (the "bulk"), with Standard Model
particles and fields trapped on the brane while gravity is free to access the
bulk. At least one of the \textit{d} extra spatial dimensions could be very
large relative to the Planck scale, which lowers the fundamental gravity scale,
possibly even down to the electroweak ( TeV) level. This revolutionary
picture arises in the framework of recent developments in M theory. The
1+10-dimensional M theory encompasses the known 1+9-dimensional superstring
theories, and is widely considered to be a promising potential route to quantum
gravity. At low energies, gravity is localized at the brane and general
relativity is recovered, but at high energies gravity "leaks" into the bulk,
behaving in a truly higher-dimensional way. This introduces significant changes
to gravitational dynamics and perturbations, with interesting and potentially
testable implications for high-energy astrophysics, black holes, and cosmology.
Brane-world models offer a phenomenological way to test some of the novel
predictions and corrections to general relativity that are implied by M theory.
This review analyzes the geometry, dynamics and perturbations of simple
brane-world models for cosmology and astrophysics, mainly focusing on warped
5-dimensional brane-worlds based on the Randall--Sundrum models. We also cover
the simplest brane-world models in which 4-dimensional gravity on the brane is
modified at \emph{low} energies -- the 5-dimensional Dvali--Gabadadze--Porrati
models. Then we discuss co-dimension two branes in 6-dimensional models.Comment: A major update of Living Reviews in Relativity 7:7 (2004)
"Brane-World Gravity", 119 pages, 28 figures, the update contains new
material on RS perturbations, including full numerical solutions of
gravitational waves and scalar perturbations, on DGP models, and also on 6D
models. A published version in Living Reviews in Relativit
MLVA Subtyping of Genovar E Chlamydia trachomatis Individualizes the Swedish Variant and Anorectal Isolates from Men who Have Sex with Men
This study describes a new multilocus variable number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) typing system for the discrimination of Chlamydia trachomatis genovar D to K isolates or specimens. We focused our MLVA scheme on genovar E which predominates in most populations worldwide. This system does not require culture and therefore can be performed directly on DNA extracted from positive clinical specimens. Our method was based on GeneScan analysis of five VNTR loci labelled with fluorescent dyes by multiplex PCR and capillary electrophoresis. This MLVA, called MLVA-5, was applied to a collection of 220 genovar E and 94 non-E genovar C. trachomatis isolates and specimens obtained from 251 patients and resulted in 38 MLVA-5 types. The genetic stability of the MLVA-5 scheme was assessed for results obtained both in vitro by serial passage culturing and in vivo using concomitant and sequential isolates and specimens. All anorectal genovar E isolates from men who have sex with men exhibited the same MLVA-5 type, suggesting clonal spread. In the same way, we confirmed the clonal origin of the Swedish new variant of C. trachomatis. The MLVA-5 assay was compared to three other molecular typing methods, ompA gene sequencing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and a previous MLVA method called MLVA-3, on 43 genovar E isolates. The discriminatory index was 0.913 for MLVA-5, 0.860 for MLST and 0.622 for MLVA-3. Among all of these genotyping methods, MLVA-5 displayed the highest discriminatory power and does not require a time-consuming sequencing step. The results indicate that MLVA-5 enables high-resolution molecular epidemiological characterisation of C. trachomatis genovars D to K infections directly from specimens
Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis: Results of the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program and review of the literature
BACKGROUND: Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) is so rare in developed countries with measles immunization programs that national active surveillance is now needed to capture sufficient number of cases for meaningful analysis of data. Through the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP), the SSPE study was able to document a national incidence and determine the epidemiology of affected Canadian children. METHODS: Between 1997 and 2000, the CPSP surveyed monthly 1978 to 2294 Canadian pediatricians and sub-specialists for SSPE cases. The response rate varied from 82–86% over those years. RESULTS: Altogether, four SSPE cases were reported to the CPSP: one case before, two during and one after the study period. The incidence of SSPE in Canadian children was 0.06/million children/year. Of the four cases, diagnosed between ages four and 17 years, three children had measles infection in infancy. All children showed a progressive course of dementia, loss of motor skills and epilepsy. Two children were treated with isoprinosine and intraventricular interferon but died in less than three years from disease onset. One child did not have any treatment and died after seven years of illness. One child received intraventricular ribavirin and remains alive, but markedly impaired, nine years following diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The CPSP has demonstrated that Canadian paediatricians and paediatric neurologists may encounter cases of SSPE. This report highlights the clinical course of affected Canadian children and provides a review of the disease and its management
Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector
Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02 TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1 μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT
Postembryonic establishment of megabase-scale gene silencing in nucleolar dominance
Nucleolar dominance is an epigenetic phenomenon in plant and animal genetic hybrids that describes the expression of 45S
ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA genes) inherited from only one progenitor due to the silencing of the other progenitor’s rRNA genes.
rRNA genes are tandemly arrayed at nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) that span millions of basepairs, thus gene silencing in
nucleolar dominance occurs on a scale second only to X-chromosome inactivation in female mammals. In Arabidopsis suecica, the
allotetraploid hybrid of A. thaliana and A. arenosa, theA. thaliana –derived rRNA genes are subjected to nucleolar dominance and
are silenced via repressive chromatin modifications. However, the developmental stage at which nucleolar dominance is
established in A. suecica is currently unknown. We show that nucleolar dominance is not apparent in seedling cotyledons formed
during embryogenesis but becomes progressively established during early postembryonic development in tissues derived from
both the shoot and root apical meristems. The progressive silencing of A. thaliana rRNA genes correlates with the transition of A.
thaliana NORs from a decondensed euchromatic state associated with histone H3 that is trimethylated on lysine 4 (H3K4me3) to
a highly condensed heterochromatic state in which the NORs are associated with H3K9me2 and 5-methylcytosine-enriched
chromocenters. In RNAi-lines in which the histone deacetylases HDA6 and HDT1 are knocked down, the developmentally
regulated condensation and inactivation of A. thaliana NORs is disrupted. Collectively, these data demonstrate that HDA6 and
HDT1 function in the postembryonic establishment of nucleolar dominance, a process which recurs in each generatio
Clinical and Virological Study of Dengue Cases and the Members of Their Households: The Multinational DENFRAME Project
Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in humans. This disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries and threatens more than 2.5 billion people living in tropical countries. It currently affects about 50 to 100 million people each year. It causes a wide range of symptoms, from an inapparent to mild dengue fever, to severe forms, including dengue hemorrhagic fever. Currently no specific vaccine or antiviral drugs are available. We carried out a prospective clinical study in South-East Asia and Latin America, of virologically confirmed dengue-infected patients attending the hospital, and members of their households. Among 215 febrile dengue subjects, 177 agreed to household investigation. Based on our data, we estimated the proportion of dengue-infected household members to be about 45%. At the time of the home visit, almost three quarters of (29/39) presented an inapparent dengue infection. The proportion of inapparent dengue infection was higher in South-East Asia than in Latin America. These findings confirm the complexity of dengue disease in humans and the need to strengthen multidisciplinary research efforts to improve our understanding of virus transmission and host responses to dengue virus in various human populations
Chemical intervention in plant sugar signalling increases yield and resilience
The pressing global issue of food insecurity due to population growth, diminishing land and variable climate can only be addressed in agriculture by improving both maximum crop yield potential and resilience. Genetic modification is one potential solution, but has yet to achieve worldwide acceptance, particularly for crops such as wheat. Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P), a central sugar signal in plants, regulates sucrose use and allocation, underpinning crop growth and development. Here we show that application of a chemical intervention strategy directly modulates T6P levels in planta. Plant-permeable analogues of T6P were designed and constructed based on a ‘signalling-precursor’ concept for permeability, ready uptake and sunlight-triggered release of T6P in planta. We show that chemical intervention in a potent sugar signal increases grain yield, whereas application to vegetative tissue improves recovery and resurrection from drought. This technology offers a means to combine increases in yield with crop stress resilience. Given the generality of the T6P pathway in plants and other small-molecule signals in biology, these studies suggest that suitable synthetic exogenous small-molecule signal precursors can be used to directly enhance plant performance and perhaps other organism function
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