Coordination failure: A temporal perspective on group diversity

The existing literature on diverse teams suggests that diversity is both helpful to teams in making more information available and encouraging creativity and damaging to teams in reducing cohesion and information sharing. Thus the extant literature suggests that diversity within teams is a double-edged sword that leads to both positive and negative effects simultaneously. This literature has not, however, fully embraced the increasing calls in the broader groups literature to take account of time in understanding how groups function (e.g., Cronin, Weingart, & Todorova, 2011). We review the literature on diverse teams employing this lens to develop a dynamic perspective that takes account of the timing and flow of diversity's effects. Our review suggests that diversity in groups has different short-term and long-term effects in ways that are not fully captured by the dominant double-edged sword metaphor. We identify an emerging perspective that suggests a tropical depression metaphor—that has the potential, over time, to develop either into a dangerous hurricane or diffuse into a rainstorm that gives way to sunshine, as more apt to capture the dynamic effects of diversity in teams. We conclude by outlining an agenda for redirecting future research on diverse teams using this more dynamic perspective

Ecologic Niche Modeling of Blastomyces dermatitidis in Wisconsin

Background: Blastomycosis is a potentially fatal mycosis that is acquired by inhaling infectious spores of Blastomyces dermatitidis present in the environment. The ecology of this pathogen is poorly understood, in part because it has been extremely difficult to identify the niche(s) it occupies based on culture isolation of the organism from environmental samples. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated the ecology of blastomycosis by performing maximum entropy modeling of exposure sites from 156 cases of human and canine blastomycosis to provide a regional-scale perspective of the geographic and ecologic distribution of B. dermatitidis in Wisconsin. Based on analysis with climatic, topographic, surface reflectance and other environmental variables, we predicted that ecologic conditions favorable for maintaining the fungus in nature occur predominantly within northern counties and counties along the western shoreline of Lake Michigan. Areas of highest predicted occurrence were often in proximity to waterways, especially in northcentral Wisconsin, where incidence of infection is highest. Ecologic conditions suitable for B. dermatitidis are present in urban and rural environments, and may differ at the extremes of distribution of the species in the state. Conclusions/Significance: Our results provide a framework for a more informed search for specific environmental factors modulating B. dermatitidis occurrence and transmission and will be useful for improving public health awareness of relativ

Shifting suitability for malaria vectors across Africa with warming climates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Climates are changing rapidly, producing warm climate conditions globally not previously observed in modern history. Malaria is of great concern as a cause of human mortality and morbidity, particularly across Africa, thanks in large part to the presence there of a particularly competent suite of mosquito vector species.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>I derive spatially explicit estimates of human populations living in regions newly suitable climatically for populations of two key <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>vector complex species in Africa over the coming 50 years, based on ecological niche model projections over two global climate models, two scenarios of climate change, and detailed spatial summaries of human population distributions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For both species, under all scenarios, given the changing spatial distribution of appropriate conditions and the current population distribution, the models predict a reduction of 11.3–30.2% in the percentage of the overall population living in areas climatically suitable for these vector species in coming decades, but reductions and increases are focused in different regions: malaria vector suitability is likely to decrease in West Africa, but increase in eastern and southern Africa.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Climate change effects on African malaria vectors shift their distributional potential from west to east and south, which has implications for overall numbers of people exposed to these vector species. Although the total is reduced, malaria is likely to pose novel public health problems in areas where it has not previously been common.</p

Tracking a Medically Important Spider: Climate Change, Ecological Niche Modeling, and the Brown Recluse (Loxosceles reclusa)

Most spiders use venom to paralyze their prey and are commonly feared for their potential to cause injury to humans. In North America, one species in particular, Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse spider, Sicariidae), causes the majority of necrotic wounds induced by the Araneae. However, its distributional limitations are poorly understood and, as a result, medical professionals routinely misdiagnose brown recluse bites outside endemic areas, confusing putative spider bites for other serious conditions. To address the issue of brown recluse distribution, we employ ecological niche modeling to investigate the present and future distributional potential of this species. We delineate range boundaries and demonstrate that under future climate change scenarios, the spider's distribution may expand northward, invading previously unaffected regions of the USA. At present, the spider's range is centered in the USA, from Kansas east to Kentucky and from southern Iowa south to Louisiana. Newly influenced areas may include parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. These results illustrate a potential negative consequence of climate change on humans and will aid medical professionals in proper bite identification/treatment, potentially reducing bite misdiagnoses

Creation of a multiple-use recombinant inbred line population for the development of molecular markers in soft white winter wheat

Tese de doutoramento em Física (Pré-Bolonha), especialidade de Física Experimental, apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de CoimbraPositron emission tomography based on resistive plate chambers (RPC-PET) has been proposed for both preclinical and clinical applications. We firstly present imaging results of needle-like and planar 22Na sources obtained with a prototype of a high-acceptance small-animal RPC-PET. The two detector modules utilized in this experiment had an effective front face of 6.4 x 6.4 cm^2 and consisted of 5 gas gaps and 6 glass electrodes with a total thickness of 5 mm. The data included lines of response (LORs) inclined up to 58º, and the depth of interaction (DOI) was accurately measured, demonstrating the parallax-free property inherent to RPC-PET. The maximum likelihood expectation-maximization (MLEM) reconstruction of the acquired data yielded an excellent and stable resolution of 0.4 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM). Concurrently, we pursued studies of a suggested whole-body single-bed RPC-PET. It has been shown by simulation that RPC-PET with an axial field-of-view (AFOV) of 2.4 m is feasible and yields an absolute sensitivity at least one order of magnitude superior to that of typical crystal-based PET scanners. In addition, RPC-PET offers an important time-of-flight (TOF) advantage and provides a potentially very-high spatial resolution at the detector level. In the second part of this work, a fully three-dimensional reconstruction algorithm capable of processing the very inclined LORs from large AFOV systems such as RPC-PET is demonstrated. It relies on the application of a TOF-based-kernel into the MLEM algorithm. With the 300 ps FWHM time resolution, already experimentally demonstrated, a rejection of 63% of the body-scattered events is obtained. We present reconstructed results from blind simulations corresponding to the anthropomorphic phantom, NCAT, with oncological lesions introduced into different locations within the human body. A comparison between 300 and 600 ps FWHM TOF reconstructed images is performed, with an increasing detectability being observed for a better TOF resolution. We finally compare issues related to image convergence speed. An alternative new approach, which consists in dividing the full-body data into nine different image regions that are reconstructed independently with graphical processing unit (GPU) assistance, provides a six times faster reconstruction compared with a GPU-based whole-body reconstruction. For a 300 ps FWHM RPC-PET scanner, this allows reaching a reconstructed image, that results from 1.6 x 10^10 annihilations within 7 minutes and upon injection of 2 mCi, just 4 minutes after the end of data acquisition. We conclude that RPC-PET is well oriented to compete with other commercial PET scanners in the global market.A tomografia por emissão de positrões baseada em detectores do tipo câmaras de placas resistivas (RPC-PET) foi proposta para aplicação em ensaios com pequenos animais e na prática clínica. Neste trabalho, apresentamos primeiramente resultados experimentais obtidos a partir de um protótipo RPC-PET de alta aceitação para pequenos animais. Foram obtidas imagens de fontes do radioisótopo 22Na, uma quase pontual e outra planar. Usámos dois módulos de detectores RPC com uma área activa de 6.4 x 6.4 cm^2 e uma espessura de 5 mm, constituída por 6 vidros empilhados e 5 espaços gasosos definidos entre eles. Os dados adquiridos incluíram linhas de coincidência (LORs) inclinadas até um ângulo de 58º, tornando essencial a medida precisa da profundidade de interacção. A identificação dos espaços gasosos onde ocorreram as avalanches permitiu demonstrar a ausência de erro de paralaxe nas medidas realizadas com o RPC-PET para pequenos animais. A partir da reconstrução dos dados processados com o algoritmo maximum likelihood expectation-maximization (MLEM), obtivemos uma resolução espacial com largura a meia altura (FWHM) de 0.4 mm, excelente e estável. Em paralelo, continuámos a estudar as potencialidades de um protótipo RPC-PET de corpo inteiro e cama única, orientado para pessoas. Já foi anteriormente demonstrado por simulação que um scanner RPC-PET com 2.4 m de campo de visão axial (AFOV) é viável e permitirá o aumento de sensibilidade de pelo menos uma ordem de grandeza em relação aos scanners PET com cristais. Duas outras virtudes do RPC-PET são a sua capacidade de medição do tempo de voo (TOF) dos fotões e a elevada resolução espacial ao nível do detector. Na segunda parte deste trabalho apresentamos um algoritmo de reconstrução, totalmente tridimensional, capaz de processar LORs muito inclinadas em sistemas com um AFOV longo, como é o caso do RPC-PET. Este algoritmo acrescenta um kernel ao algoritmo MLEM, baseado na informação de TOF. Com uma resolução temporal de 300 ps FWHM, já experimentalmente comprovada, é possível rejeitar 63% dos eventos dispersados no corpo humano. Exibimos imagens reconstruídas obtidas a partir de simulações do fantoma antropomórfico, NCAT, com lesões oncológicas situadas em diferentes locais do corpo humano. A comparação entre imagens conseguidas com resoluções temporais de 300 ps e 600 ps FWHM, permite observar uma detectabilidade acrescida associada à melhor resolução de TOF. Por último, são estudados os tempos de convergência da reconstrução. Um método inovador e alternativo, que consiste na divisão dos dados do corpo humano em nove regiões e na reconstrução independente desses dados com recurso a unidades de processamento gráfico (GPUs), permite uma reconstrução seis vezes mais rápida do que a reconstrução de corpo inteiro também com o auxílio de GPUs. A partir de dados de 1.6 x 10^10 aniquilações ocorridas durante uma aquisição de 7 minutos e para uma actividade injectada de 2 mCi, um scanner RPC-PET com uma resolução temporal de 300 ps FWHM permitirá obter uma imagem reconstruída apenas 4 minutos após o fim da aquisição. Podemos assim concluir que o RPC-PET está bem colocado para competir no mercado dos scanners PET comerciais

A novel targeted/untargeted GC-Orbitrap metabolomics methodology applied to Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Introduction: Combined infections from Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus are a leading cause of death in the developed world. Evidence suggests that Candida enhances the virulence of Staphylococcus—hyphae penetrate through tissue barriers, while S. aureus tightly associates with the hyphae to obtain entry to the host organism. Indeed, in a biofilm state, C. albicans enhances the antimicrobial resistance characteristics of S. aureus. The association of these microorganisms is also associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Due to this tight association we hypothesised that metabolic effects were also in evidence. Objectives: To explore the interaction, we used a novel GC-Orbitrap-based mass spectrometer, the Q Exactive GC, which combines the high peak capacity and chromatographic resolution of gas chromatography with the sub-ppm mass accuracy of an Orbitrap system. This allows the capability to leverage the widely available electron ionisation libraries for untargeted applications, along with expanding accurate mass libraries and targeted matches based around authentic standards. Methods: Optimised C. albicans and S. aureus mono- and co-cultured biofilms were analysed using the new instrument in addition to the fresh and spent bacterial growth media. Results: The targeted analysis experiment was based around 36 sugars and sugar phosphates, 22 amino acids and five organic acids. Untargeted analysis resulted in the detection of 465 features from fresh and spent medium and 405 from biofilm samples. Three significantly changing compounds that matched to high scoring library fragment patterns were chosen for validation. Conclusion: Evaluation of the results demonstrates that the Q Exactive GC is suitable for metabolomics analysis using a targeted/untargeted methodology. Many of the results were as expected: e.g. rapid consumption of glucose and fructose from the medium regardless of the cell type. Modulation of sugar-phosphate levels also suggest that the pentose phosphate pathway could be enhanced in the cells from co-cultured biofilms. Untargeted metabolomics results suggested significant production of cell-wall biosynthesis components and the consumption of non-proteinaceous amino-acids

Ecological approaches in veterinary epidemiology: mapping the risk of bat-borne rabies using vegetation indices and night-time light satellite imagery

Rabies remains a disease of significant public health concern. In the Americas, bats are an important source of rabies for pets, livestock, and humans. For effective rabies control and prevention, identifying potential areas for disease occurrence is critical to guide future research, inform public health policies, and design interventions. To anticipate zoonotic infectious diseases distribution at coarse scale, veterinary epidemiology needs to advance via exploring current geographic ecology tools and data using a biological approach. We analyzed bat-borne rabies reports in Chile from 2002 to 2012 to establish associations between rabies occurrence and environmental factors to generate an ecological niche model (ENM). The main rabies reservoir in Chile is the bat species Tadarida brasiliensis; we mapped 726 occurrences of rabies virus variant AgV4 in this bat species and integrated them with contemporary Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The correct prediction of areas with rabies in bats and the reliable anticipation of human rabies in our study illustrate the usefulness of ENM for mapping rabies and other zoonotic pathogens. Additionally, we highlight critical issues with selection of environmental variables, methods for model validation, and consideration of sampling bias. Indeed, models with weak or incorrect validation approaches should be interpreted with caution. In conclusion, ecological niche modeling applications for mapping disease risk at coarse geographic scales have a promising future, especially with refinement and enrichment of models with additional information, such as night-time light data, which increased substantially the model’s ability to anticipate human rabies

Enrichment of antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in pita made from barley

This study aimed to enhance total antioxidant and vitamin E content of pita bread, by replacing 50% of the standard baker's flour with flours milled from covered (WI2585 and Harrington) or hulless (Finniss) barley genotypes, previously shown to have high antioxidant and vitamin E levels at harvest. Pita breads were made from either 100% baker's flour (control) or 50% malt flour, whole-grain flour, or flour from barley grains pearled at 10%, 15%, and 20% grain weight. Antioxidant capacity and vitamin E content of flours and pitas were determined by their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The physical and sensory properties of the pitas were also assessed. All pitas made from either whole grain or pearled barley flour had a higher antioxidant capacity and most also had higher vitamin E content than standard pita. The antioxidant and vitamin E levels were reduced in pearled compared to whole grains, however the extent of that reduction varied among genotypes. The greatest antioxidant and vitamin E levels were found in pita made from malt flour or Finniss whole grain flour. Furthermore, sensory analysis suggested these pitas were acceptable to consumers and retained similar physical and sensory properties to those in the control pita.Thi Thu Dung Do, Beverly Muhlhausler, Amanda Box and Amanda J. Abl

Unstructured treatment interruption: an important risk factor for arterial stiffness in adult Malawian patients with antiretroviral treatment

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of unstructured antiretroviral treatment (ART) interruption on arterial stiffness in adult Malawians who are on ART for at least 35 years. DESIGN: The number of treatment interruption events for at least 60 days during ART treatment was quantified in patients for at least 35 years using retrospective routinely collected clinic data. Treatment interruption data were linked to patient carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV); PWV more than 10 m/s was set as the threshold for clinically significant cardiovascular disease risk. METHODS: PWV was measured in patients (on ART >= 18 months), during routine ART clinic visits in Blantyre, Malawi, between November 2014 and July 2015. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate the change in PWV m/s associated with treatment interruption. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate risk of PWV more than 10 m/s. All models were controlled for demographic and cardiometabolic risk factors. RESULTS: In 220 patients (median age 45 years, range 37–80 years), 86 (37.4%) patients had at least one treatment interruption event. Median length of treatment interruption events was 75 days (range 31 days to 8 years). Overall, 31 (14%) patients had a PWV more than 10 m/s. In multivariable analysis, we found a 0.2 increase in PWV m/s per treatment interruption event (0.2, 95% confidence interval 0.1–0.4) and a two-fold increased risk of PWV more than 10 m/s per treatment interruption event (adjusted odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2–4.0). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment interruption in patients with ART for at least 35 years is a common and important risk factor for arterial stiffness. Therefore, the link between treatment interruption and cardiovascular disease in this setting in which traditional risks factors are less prevalent needs to be explored further