Translating coverage gains into health gains for all women and children : the quality care opportunity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Measuring the speed of the conscious components of recognition memory: Remembering is faster than knowing.

Three experiments investigated response times (RTs) for remember and know responses in recognition memory. RTs to remember responses were faster than RTs to know responses, regardless of whether the remember–know decision was preceded by an old/new decision (two-step procedure) or was made without a preceding old/new decision (one-step procedure). The finding of faster RTs for R responses was also found when remember–know decisions were made retrospectively. These findings are inconsistent with dual-process models of recognition memory, which predict that recollection is slower and more effortful than familiarity. Word frequency did not influence RTs, but remember responses were faster for words than for nonwords. We argue that the difference in RTs to remember and know responses reflects the time taken to make old/new decisions on the basis of the type of information activated at test

Genomic analysis of the role of transcription factor C/EBPδ in the regulation of cell behaviour on nanometric grooves

C/EBPδ is a tumour suppressor transcription factor that induces gene expression involved in suppressing cell migration. Here we investigate whether C/EBPδ-dependent gene expression also affects cell responses to nanometric topology. We found that ablation of the C/EBPδ gene in mouse embryonal fibroblasts (MEFs) decreased cell size, adhesion and cytoskeleton spreading on 240 nm and 540 nm nanometric grooves. ChIP-SEQ and cDNA microarray analyses demonstrated that many binding sites for C/EBPδ, and the closely related C/EBPβ, exist throughout the mouse genome and control the upregulation or downregulation of many adjacent genes. We also identified a group of C/EBPδ-dependent, trans-regulated genes, whose promoters contained no C/EBPδ binding sites and yet their activity was regulated in a C/EBPδ-dependent manner. These genes include signalling molecules (e.g. SOCS3), cytoskeletal components (Tubb2, Krt16 and Krt20) and cytoskeletal regulators (ArhGEF33 and Rnd3) and are possibly regulated by cis-regulated diffusible mediators, such as IL6. Of particular note, SOCS3 was shown to be absolutely required for efficient cell spreading and contact guidance on 240 nm and 540 nm nanometric grooves. C/EBPδ is therefore involved in the complex regulation of multiple genes, including cytoskeletal components and signalling mediators, which influence the nature of cell interactions with nanometric topology

Generation Z\u27s Influence on Campus Discourse: Expectations, Entitlement, and Legal Rights to Freedom of Expression

It is not unusual for colleges and universities to respond to the shifts in student culture. In recent years, shifts in self-censorship, freedom speech and expression, harassment, and student expectations have accompanied Generation Z. Born between 1994 and 2014, this generation requires university leadership to be prepared to respond to student concerns, expectations, and entitlement in innovative ways. This session will include a discussion about Generation Z, its motivations, and the legal framework for determining and addressing speech rights on campus

A four year longitudinal sero-epidemiological study of bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) in adult cattle in 107 unvaccinated herds in south west England

Background: Bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle that presents with a variety of clinical signs, including the upper respiratory tract infection infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). A seroepidemiological study of BHV-1 antibodies was conducted in England from 2002 – 2004: 29,782 blood samples were taken from 15,736 cattle from 114 herds which were visited on up to three occasions. Antibody concentration was measured using a commercial ELISA. Farm management information was collected using an interview questionnaire, and herd size and cattle movements were obtained from the cattle tuberculosis testing database and the British Cattle Movement Service. Hierarchical statistical models were used to investigate associations between cattle and herd variables and the continuous outcome percentage positive (PP) values from the ELISA test in unvaccinated herds. Results: There were 7 vaccinated herds, all with at least one seropositive bovine. In unvaccinated herds 83.2% had at least one BHV-1 seropositive bovine, and the mean cattle and herd BHV-1 seroprevalence were 42.5% and 43.1% respectively. There were positive associations between PP value, age, herd size, presence of dairy cattle. Adult cattle in herds with grower cattle had lower PP values than those in herds without grower cattle. Purchased cattle had significantly lower PP values than homebred cattle, whereas cattle in herds that were totally restocked after the foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001 had significantly higher PP values than those in continuously stocked herds. Samples taken in spring and summer had significantly lower PP values than those taken in winter, whereas those taken in autumn had significantly higher PP values than those taken in winter. The risks estimated from a logistic regression model with a binary outcome (seropositive yes/no) were similar. Conclusion: The prevalence of BHV-1 seropositivity in cattle and herds has increased since the 1970s. Although the study population prevalence of BHV-1 was temporally stable during study period, the associations between serological status and cattle age, herd size, herd type, presence of young stock and restocked versus continuously stocked herds indicate that there is heterogeneity between herds and so potential for further spread of BHV-1 within and between herds

Elastic-Plastic Fracture Mechanics Analysis of Critical Flaw Size in ARES I-X Flange-to-Skin Welds

NASA's Ares 1 Upper Stage Simulator (USS) is being fabricated from welded A516 steel. In order to insure the structural integrity of these welds it is of interest to calculate the critical initial flaw size (CIFS) to establish rational inspection requirements. The CIFS is in turn dependent on the critical final flaw size (CFS), as well as fatigue flaw growth resulting from transportation, handling and service-induced loading. These calculations were made using linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), which are thought to be conservative because they are based on a lower bound, so called elastic, fracture toughness determined from tests that displayed significant plasticity. Nevertheless, there was still concern that the yield magnitude stresses generated in the flange-to-skin weld by the combination of axial stresses due to axial forces, fit-up stresses, and weld residual stresses, could give rise to significant flaw-tip plasticity, which might render the LEFM results to be non-conservative. The objective of the present study was to employ Elastic Plastic Fracture Mechanics (EPFM) to determine CFS values, and then compare these values to CFS values evaluated using LEFM. CFS values were calculated for twelve cases involving surface and embedded flaws, EPFM analyses with and without plastic shakedown of the stresses, LEFM analyses, and various welding residual stress distributions. For the cases examined, the computed CFS values based on elastic analyses were the smallest in all instances where the failures were predicted to be controlled by the fracture toughness. However, in certain cases, the CFS values predicted by the elastic-plastic analyses were smaller than those predicted by the elastic analyses; in these cases the failure criteria were determined by a breakdown in stress intensity factor validity limits for deep flaws (a greater than 0.90t), rather than by the fracture toughness. Plastic relaxation of stresses accompanying shakedown always increases the calculated CFS values compared to the CFS values determined without shakedown. Thus, it is conservative to ignore shakedown effects

A four year longitudinal sero-epidemiology study of Neospora caninum in adult cattle from 114 cattle herds in south west England : associations with age, herd and dam-offspring pairs

Background: Neosporosis caused by the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, is an economically important cause of abortion, stillbirth, low milk yield, reduced weight gain and premature culling in cattle. Consequently, a seroepidemiological study of N. caninum antibodies was conducted in England with 29,782 samples of blood taken from 15,736 cattle from 114 herds visited on three occasions at yearly intervals. Herds were categorised into lower (< 10%) and higher (≥ 10%) median herd seroprevalence. Hierarchical models were run to investigate associations between the sample to positive (S/P) ratio and herd and cattle factors. Results: Ninety-four percent of herds had at least one seropositive cow; 12.9% of adult cattle had at least one seropositive test. Approximately 90% of herds were seropositive at all visits; 9 herds (8%) changed serological status between visits. The median N. caninum seroprevalence in positive herds was 10% (range 0.4% to 58.8%). There was a positive association between the serostatus of offspring and dams that were ever seropositive. In the hierarchical model of low seroprevalence herds there was no significant association between S/P ratio and cattle age. There was a significantly lower S/P ratio in cattle in herds that were totally restocked after the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001 compared with those from continuously stocked herds and cattle purchased into these herds had a higher S/P ratio than homebred cattle. In the model of high seroprevalence herds the S/P ratio increased with cattle age, but was not associated with restocking or cattle origin. Conclusion: There were no strong temporal changes in herd seroprevalence of N. caninum but 90% of herds had some seropositive cattle over this time period. Vertical transmission from seropositive dams appeared to occur in all herds. In herds with a high seroprevalence the increasing S/P ratio in 2–4 year old cattle is suggestive of exposure to N. caninum: horizontal transmission between adult cattle, infection from a local source or recrudescence and abortions. Between-herd movements of infected cattle enhance the spread of N. caninum, particularly into low seroprevalence herds. Some restocked herds had little exposure to N. caninum, while in others infection had spread in the time since restocking

Using selenomethionyl derivatives to assign sequence in low-resolution structures of the AP2 clathrin adaptor.

Selenomethionine incorporation is a powerful technique for assigning sequence to regions of electron density at low resolution. Genetic introduction of methionine point mutations and the subsequent preparation and crystallization of selenomethionyl derivatives permits unambiguous sequence assignment by enabling the placement of the anomalous scatterers (Se atoms) thus introduced. Here, the use of this approach in the assignment of sequence in a part of the AP2 clathrin adaptor complex that is responsible for clathrin binding is described. AP2 plays a pivotal role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, a tightly regulated process in which cell-surface transmembrane proteins are internalized from the plasma membrane by incorporation into lipid-enclosed transport vesicles. AP2 binds cargo destined for internalization and recruits clathrin, a large trimeric protein that helps to deform the membrane to produce the transport vesicle. By selenomethionine labelling of point mutants, it was shown that the clathrin-binding site is buried within a deep cleft of the AP2 complex. A membrane-stimulated conformational change in AP2 releases the clathrin-binding site from autoinhibition, thereby linking clathrin recruitment to membrane localization.We would like to thank the I02, I03 and I04-1 beamline staff at the Diamond Light Source (mx6641) and Chris Oubridge for advice and assistance with SeMet mapping of the hinge residues. D.J.O. and B.T.K. are supported by Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship (090909/Z/09/Z). S.C.G. is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (098406/Z/12/Z). CIMR is supported by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (079895).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the International Union of Crystallography via http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S205979831502158

Online conditional anomaly detection in multivariate data for transformer monitoring

Retrofitting condition monitoring systems to aging plant can be problematic, since the particular signature of normal behavior will vary from unit to unit. This paper describes a technique for anomaly detection within the context of the conditions experienced by an in-service transformer, such as loading, seasonal weather, and network configuration. The aim is to model the aged but normal behavior for a given transformer, while reducing the potential for anomalies to be erroneously detected. The paper describes how this technique has been applied to two transmission transformers in the U.K. A case study of 12 months of data is given, with detailed analysis of anomalies detected during that time