Transmission of Plasmodium vivax in South-Western Uganda: Report of Three Cases in Pregnant Women

Plasmodium vivax is considered to be rare in the predominantly Duffy negative populations of Sub-Saharan Africa, as this red blood cell surface antigen is essential for invasion by the parasite. However, despite only very few reports of molecularly confirmed P. vivax from tropical Africa, serological evidence indicated that 13% of the persons sampled in Congo had been exposed to P. vivax. We identified P. vivax by microscopy in 8 smears from Ugandan pregnant women who had been enrolled in a longitudinal study of malaria in pregnancy. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol was used to detect and identify the Plasmodium parasites present. PCR analysis confirmed the presence of P. vivax for three of the women and analysis of all available samples from these women revealed clinically silent chronic low-grade vivax infections for two of them. The parasites in one woman carried pyrimethamine resistance-associated double non-synonymous mutations in the P. vivax dihydrofolate reductase gene. The three women found infected with P. vivax were Duffy positive as were nine of 68 women randomly selected from the cohort. The data presented from these three case reports is consistent with stable transmission of malaria in a predominantly Duffy negative African population. Given the substantial morbidity associated with vivax infection in non-African endemic areas, it will be important to investigate whether the distribution and prevalence of P. vivax have been underestimated in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is particularly important in the context of the drive to eliminate malaria and its morbidity

Rationale and design of the HIP fracture Accelerated surgical TreaTment And Care tracK (HIP ATTACK) Trial : a protocol for an international randomised controlled trial evaluating early surgery for hip fracture patients

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Nanoelectronic COupled problems solutions - nanoCOPS: modelling, multirate, model order reduction, uncertainty quantification, fast fault simulation

The FP7 project nanoCOPS derives new methods for simulation during development of designs of integrated products. It covers advanced simulation techniques for electromagnetics with feedback couplings to electronic circuits, heat and stress. It is inspired by interest from semiconductor industry and by a simulation tool vendor in electronic design automation. The project is on-going and the paper presents the outcomes achieved after the first half of the project duration

Terrestrial behavior in titi monkeys (Callicebus, Cheracebus, and Plecturocebus) : potential correlates, patterns, and differences between genera

For arboreal primates, ground use may increase dispersal opportunities, tolerance to habitat change, access to ground-based resources, and resilience to human disturbances, and so has conservation implications. We collated published and unpublished data from 86 studies across 65 localities to assess titi monkey (Callicebinae) terrestriality. We examined whether the frequency of terrestrial activity correlated with study duration (a proxy for sampling effort), rainfall level (a proxy for food availability seasonality), and forest height (a proxy for vertical niche dimension). Terrestrial activity was recorded frequently for Callicebus and Plecturocebus spp., but rarely for Cheracebus spp. Terrestrial resting, anti-predator behavior, geophagy, and playing frequencies in Callicebus and Plecturocebus spp., but feeding and moving differed. Callicebus spp. often ate or searched for new leaves terrestrially. Plecturocebus spp. descended primarily to ingest terrestrial invertebrates and soil. Study duration correlated positively and rainfall level negatively with terrestrial activity. Though differences in sampling effort and methods limited comparisons and interpretation, overall, titi monkeys commonly engaged in a variety of terrestrial activities. Terrestrial behavior in Callicebus and Plecturocebus capacities may bolster resistance to habitat fragmentation. However, it is uncertain if the low frequency of terrestriality recorded for Cheracebus spp. is a genus-specific trait associated with a more basal phylogenetic position, or because studies of this genus occurred in pristine habitats. Observations of terrestrial behavior increased with increasing sampling effort and decreasing food availability. Overall, we found a high frequency of terrestrial behavior in titi monkeys, unlike that observed in other pitheciids

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Le sens originaire de la pensée esthétique de José Vasconcelos dans le contexte historiographique de la philosophie en Amérique hispanique

Au delà de son action politique éducative et de son autobiographie controversée, José Vasconcelos (1882-1959) est connu pour sa pensée ibéro-américaine. La raza cósmica (1925) contient l ensemble des idées que on lui associe. La défense de l ibéro-américain (la doctrine de Bolivar) face à l anglo-américain (la doctrine de Monroe) est l attitude réflexive et existentielle que sa personnalité intellectuelle a laissée. Cependant, au delà d avoir été un défenseur de la race , Vasconcelos a construit un système philosophique connu sous le nom de monisme esthétique qui consiste principalement en: Tratado de metafísica (1929), Ética (1932) et Estética (1935). Or, parce qu il a été un intellectuel passionné, sa philosophie a toujours été expliquée depuis la perspective sociopolitique. Elle est ce que nous connaissons le moins et qui a été le plus critiquée. Ce jugement, pensée dogmatique et irrationnelle, trouvant ses fondements dans la vision hégémonique de l historiographie philosophique hispano-américaine. Depuis cette perspective il n aurait jamais existé une pensée philosophique authentique mais une imitation de l européanité. Ainsi, bien que dans l actualité la pensée hispano-américaine soit devenue consciente de ce fait et ai assaini beaucoup de ses déficiences, le passé est resté relégué à une simple imitation. Notre objectif est donc de déterminer si la pensée philosophique de José Vasconcelos est la reproduction de la pensée européenne, si elle ne fait aucun apport philosophique et si ce que nous pouvons en sauver est seulement un geste pratique, idéologique et politique, ou au contraire, si elle est authentique est pose les jalons d une pensée spécifiquement ibéro-américaine. Ce que cette thèse démontre.Apart from his political and educational work, and from his controversial autobiography, José Vasconcelos (1882-1959) is known for his Ibero-Americanist thought. The Cosmic Race gathers all the ideas that are systematically associated with him. What this prominent intellectual personality left for posterity is a reflective and existential attitude embodied in the defense of the Ibero-American identity (Bolivar s doctrine) as opposed to the Anglo-American one (Monroe s doctrine). However, in addition to having been a race advocate , Vasconcelos constructed a philosophical system. The system is known as Aesthetic Monism and it consists mainly of Tratado de Metafísica (1929), Ética (1932) and Estética (1935). Nevertheless, due to the fact that he was a passionate Ibero-Americanist, his philosophical thought has always been explained from the sociopolitical point of view. His philosophy is, therefore, what we know less of and what is most criticized because, according to experts, it is made up of dogmatic and irrationalist ideas. Actually, this opinion is based on the hegemonic vision of the Hispano-American philosophic historiography. In fact, from this point of view, there has not been an authentic philosophical thought to this day because it has always been characterized as the reproduction of European ones. Even though nowadays Hispano-American thought has been made aware of that fact and has been able to correct many of its faults, its past is still marked by the imitation. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to determine whether José Vasconcelos philosophical thought is the reproduction of European thought, if it does not have any philosophical contribution and if it is true that it is merely a practical, ideological and political gesture. In other words, our analysis aims at identifying if there is no development inherent to Hispano-American thought and if, as a consequence, in order to think about Hispanic America, it is required to continue looking outwards only.ST DENIS-BU PARIS8 (930662101) / SudocSudocFranceF