Using a CLTS Approach in Peri-Urban and Urban Environments: Potential at Scale

This note summarises the potentials and limitations of using a CLTS approach in peri-urban and urban environments. It identifies the actions needed to take the approach to scale. It is one output from a workshop convened by the CLTS Knowledge Hub at the Institute of Development Studies, and Plan International Ethiopia in Addis Abba between June 13th-15th 2016. A more detailed report can be found on the CLTS Knowledge Hub website: www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/resource/using-clts-approach-peri-urban-and-urban-environmentsThis series is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation (Sida)

The Psychological Types of Physical Therapy Administrators

The purpose of this study was to describe the distribution of psychological types among physical therapy administrators. Our random sample was taken from the membership roster of the Section on Administration of the American Physical Therapy Association. We used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to assess psychological types and a demographic questionnaire to collect data on the administrators.; The most common psychological types among the participants (n = 45) were found to be ISFJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, INTJ, and ENTJ, respectively. Although no explicitly predominant type was found, a clear preference toward judging (J) was noted

The Addis Agreement: Using CLTS in peri-urban and urban areas

The CLTS Knowledge Hub with the support of Plan International Ethiopia, convened a three day workshop focusing on ‘Using a CLTS Approach and Tools in Peri-Urban and Urban Environments’ in Addis Ababa in June 2016. Over the course of three days participants from across the world and different organisations shared their experiences with urban CLTS and discussed what added value a CLTS approach in the urban context could bring. This Learning Paper has two purposes. It can be read as a record of the different discussions that took place. However, it is much more than a workshop report. Based on practical examples of what has worked it highlights the key stages of any urban CLTS programme. Furthermore, it provides guidance, advice and experiences of these different stages. Its purpose is not a guide but the beginnings of a toolbox for those interested in following a similar approach

Dendrimer-Encapsulated Nanoparticles: New Synthetic and Characterization Methods and Catalytic Applications

In this article we describe the synthesis, characterization, and applications of dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs). These materials are synthesized using a template approach in which metal ions are extracted into the interior of dendrimers and then subsequently reduced chemically to yield nearly size-monodisperse particles having diameters in the 1-2 nm range. Monometallic, bimetallic (alloy and core@shell), and semiconductor nanoparticles have been prepared by this route. The dendrimer component of these composites serves not only as a template for preparing the nanoparticle replica, but also as a stabilizer for the nanoparticle. In this perspective, we report on progress in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of these materials since our last review in 2005. Significant advances in the synthesis of core@shell DENs, characterization, and applications to homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis (including electrocatalysis) are emphasized.U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences DE-FG02-09ER16090U.S. National Science Foundation 0847957Robert A. Welch Foundation F-0032Chemistr

Supporting the Least Able Throughout and Beyond CLTS

Since its conception in 1999, Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) has spread to over 60 countries and resulted in millions of people across the world living in open defecation free (ODF) communities. The approach was a departure from subsidydriven sanitation programming which often led to uneven adoption and only partial use. CLTS enabled communities to own the process and collectively work towards becoming ODF. However, since its implementation at scale a number of challenges have appeared. Emerging evidence is suggesting a need to better support the most disadvantaged with accessible and sustainable sanitation facilities. This Learning Brief presents emerging principles and action points to strengthen intra-community support and introduce external support mechanisms for the least able when necessary and appropriate. It is one of several outputs from an Asia-region workshop convened in the Philippines by the CLTS Knowledge Hub and UNICEF between 24-28 May 2017.Sid

Co-Infection with the Friend Retrovirus and Mouse Scrapie Does Not Alter Prion Disease Pathogenesis in Susceptible Mice

Prion diseases are fatal, transmissible neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system. An abnormally protease-resistant and insoluble form (PrPSc) of the normally soluble protease-sensitive host prion protein (PrPC) is the major component of the infectious prion. During the course of prion disease, PrPSc accumulates primarily in the lymphoreticular and central nervous systems. Recent studies have shown that co-infection of prion-infected fibroblast cells with the Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) strongly enhanced the release and spread of scrapie infectivity in cell culture, suggesting that retroviral coinfection might significantly influence prion spread and disease incubation times in vivo. We now show that another retrovirus, the murine leukemia virus Friend (F-MuLV), also enhanced the release and spread of scrapie infectivity in cell culture. However, peripheral co-infection of mice with both Friend virus and the mouse scrapie strain 22L did not alter scrapie disease incubation times, the levels of PrPSc in the brain or spleen, or the distribution of pathological lesions in the brain. Thus, retroviral co-infection does not necessarily alter prion disease pathogenesis in vivo, most likely because of different cell-specific sites of replication for scrapie and F-MuLV

Significant reductions in human visual gamma frequency by the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine revealed by robust peak frequency estimation

The frequency of visual gamma oscillations is determined by both the neuronal excitation–inhibition balance and the time constants of GABAergic processes. The gamma peak frequency has been linked to sensory processing, cognitive function, cortical structure, and may have a genetic contribution. To disentangle the intricate relationship among these factors, accurate and reliable estimates of peak frequency are required. Here, a bootstrapping approach that provides estimates of peak frequency reliability, thereby increasing the robustness of the inferences made on this parameter was developed. The method using both simulated data and real data from two previous pharmacological MEG studies of visual gamma with alcohol and tiagabine was validated. In particular, the study by Muthukumaraswamy et al. [2013a] (Neuropsychopharmacology 38(6):1105–1112), in which GABAergic enhancement by tiagabine had previously demonstrated a null effect on visual gamma oscillations, contrasting with strong evidence from both animal models and very recent human studies was re-evaluated. After improved peak frequency estimation and additional exclusion of unreliably measured data, it was found that the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine did produce, as predicted, a marked decrease in visual gamma oscillation frequency. This result demonstrates the potential impact of objective approaches to data quality control, and provides additional translational evidence for the mechanisms of GABAergic transmission generating gamma oscillations in humans

Characterisation of the contribution of the GABA-benzodiazepine α1 receptor subtype to [11C]Ro15-4513 PET images

This positron emission tomography (PET) study aimed to further define selectivity of [11C]Ro15-4513 binding to the GABARα5 relative to the GABARα1 benzodiazepine receptor subtype. The impact of zolpidem, a GABARα1-selective agonist, on [11C]Ro15-4513, which shows selectivity for GABARα5, and the nonselective benzodiazepine ligand [11C]flumazenil binding was assessed in humans. Compartmental modelling of the kinetics of [11C]Ro15-4513 time-activity curves was used to describe distribution volume (VT) differences in regions populated by different GABA receptor subtypes. Those with low α5 were best fitted by one-tissue compartment models; and those with high α5 required a more complex model. The heterogeneity between brain regions suggested spectral analysis as a more appropriate method to quantify binding as it does not a priori specify compartments. Spectral analysis revealed that zolpidem caused a significant VT decrease (∼10%) in [11C]flumazenil, but no decrease in [11C]Ro15-4513 binding. Further analysis of [11C]Ro15-4513 kinetics revealed additional frequency components present in regions containing both α1 and α5 subtypes compared with those containing only α1. Zolpidem reduced one component (mean±s.d.: 71%±41%), presumed to reflect α1-subtype binding, but not another (13%±22%), presumed to reflect α5. The proposed method for [11C]Ro15-4513 analysis may allow more accurate selective binding assays and estimation of drug occupancy for other nonselective ligands