41 research outputs found

    The use of provenance in information retrieval

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    The volume of electronic information that users accumulate is steadily rising. A recent study [2] found that there were on average 32,000 pieces of information (e-mails, web pages, documents, etc.) for each user. The problem of organizin

    Prevalence of the dhfr and dhps Mutations among Pregnant Women in Rural Burkina Faso Five Years after the Introduction of Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine.

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    BACKGROUND: The emergence and spread of drug resistance represents one of the biggest challenges for malaria control in endemic regions. Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is currently deployed as intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) to prevent the adverse effects of malaria on the mother and her offspring. Nevertheless, its efficacy is threatened by SP resistance which can be estimated by the prevalence of dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) and dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) mutations. This was measured among pregnant women in the health district of Nanoro, Burkina Faso. METHODS: From June to December 2010, two hundred and fifty six pregnant women in the second and third trimester, attending antenatal care with microscopically confirmed malaria infection were invited to participate, regardless of malaria symptoms. A blood sample was collected on filter paper and analyzed by PCR-RFLP for the alleles 51, 59, 108, 164 in the pfdhfr gene and 437, 540 in the pfdhps gene. RESULTS: The genes were successfully genotyped in all but one sample (99.6%; 255/256) for dhfr and in 90.2% (231/256) for dhps. The dhfr C59R and S108N mutations were the most common, with a prevalence of 61.2% (156/255) and 55.7% (142/255), respectively; 12.2% (31/255) samples had also the dhfr N51I mutation while the I164L mutation was absent. The dhps A437G mutation was found in 34.2% (79/231) isolates, but none of them carried the codon K540E. The prevalence of the dhfr double mutations NRNI and the triple mutations IRNI was 35.7% (91/255) and 11.4% (29/255), respectively. CONCLUSION: Though the mutations in the pfdhfr and pfdhps genes were relatively common, the prevalence of the triple pfdhfr mutation was very low, indicating that SP as IPTp is still efficacious in Burkina Faso

    Calibration of Smearing and Cooling Algorithms in SU(3)-Color Gauge Theory

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    The action and topological charge are used to determine the relative rates of standard cooling and smearing algorithms in pure SU(3)-color gauge theory. We consider representative gauge field configurations on 163×3216^3\times 32 lattices at ÎČ=5.70\beta=5.70 and 243×3624^3\times 36 lattices at ÎČ=6.00\beta=6.00. We find the relative rate of variation in the action and topological charge under various algorithms may be succinctly described in terms of simple formulae. The results are in accord with recent suggestions from fat-link perturbation theory.Comment: RevTeX, 25 pages, 22 figures, full resolution jpeg version of Fig. 22 can be obtained from http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/cssm/papers_etc/SmearingComp.jp

    Exploitation of Other Social Amoebae by Dictyostelium caveatum

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    Dictyostelium amoebae faced with starvation trigger a developmental program during which many cells aggregate and form fruiting bodies that consist of a ball of spores held aloft by a thin stalk. This developmental strategy is open to several forms of exploitation, including the remarkable case of Dictyostelium caveatum, which, even when it constitutes 1/10(3) of the cells in an aggregate, can inhibit the development of the host and eventually devour it. We show that it accomplishes this feat by inhibiting a region of cells, called the tip, which organizes the development of the aggregate into a fruiting body. We use live-cell microscopy to define the D. caveatum developmental cycle and to show that D. caveatum amoebae have the capacity to ingest amoebae of other Dictyostelid species, but do not attack each other. The block in development induced by D. caveatum does not affect the expression of specific markers of prespore cell or prestalk cell differentiation, but does stop the coordinated cell movement leading to tip formation. The inhibition mechanism involves the constitutive secretion of a small molecule by D. caveatum and is reversible. Four Dictyostelid species were inhibited in their development, while D. caveatum is not inhibited by its own compound(s). D. caveatum has evolved a predation strategy to exploit other members of its genus, including mechanisms of developmental inhibition and specific phagocytosis

    An examination of periodontal treatment and per member per month (PMPM) medical costs in an insured population

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    BACKGROUND: Chronic medical conditions have been associated with periodontal disease. This study examined if periodontal treatment can contribute to changes in overall risk and medical expenditures for three chronic conditions [Diabetes Mellitus (DM), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), and Cerebrovascular Disease (CVD)]. METHODS: 116,306 enrollees participating in a preferred provider organization (PPO) insurance plan with continuous dental and medical coverage between January 1, 2001 and December 30, 2002, exhibiting one of three chronic conditions (DM, CAD, or CVD) were examined. This study was a population-based retrospective cohort study. Aggregate costs for medical services were used as a proxy for overall disease burden. The cost for medical care was measured in Per Member Per Month (PMPM) dollars by aggregating all medical expenditures by diagnoses that corresponded to the International Classification of Diseases, 9(th )Edition, (ICD-9) codebook. To control for differences in the overall disease burden of each group, a previously calculated retrospective risk score utilizing Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc. Episode Risk Groupsℱ (ERGs) were utilized for DM, CAD or CVD diagnosis groups within distinct dental services groups including; periodontal treatment (periodontitis or gingivitis), dental maintenance services (DMS), other dental services, or to a no dental services group. The differences between group means were tested for statistical significance using log-transformed values of the individual total paid amounts. RESULTS: The DM, CAD and CVD condition groups who received periodontitis treatment incurred significantly higher PMPM medical costs than enrollees who received gingivitis treatment, DMS, other dental services, or no dental services (p < .001). DM, CAD, and CVD condition groups who received periodontitis treatment had significantly lower retrospective risk scores (ERGs) than enrollees who received gingivitis treatment, DMS, other dental services, or no dental services (p < .001). CONCLUSION: This two-year retrospective examination of a large insurance company database revealed a possible association between periodontal treatment and PMPM medical costs. The findings suggest that periodontitis treatment (a proxy for the presence of periodontitis) has an impact on the PMPM medical costs for the three chronic conditions (DM, CAD, and CVD). Additional studies are indicated to examine if this relationship is maintained after adjusting for confounding factors such as smoking and SES

    Long-term, high frequency in situ measurements of intertidal mussel bed temperatures using biomimetic sensors

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    At a proximal level, the physiological impacts of global climate change on ectothermic organisms are manifest as changes in body temperatures. Especially for plants and animals exposed to direct solar radiation, body temperatures can be substantially different from air temperatures. We deployed biomimetic sensors that approximate the thermal characteristics of intertidal mussels at 71 sites worldwide, from 1998-present. Loggers recorded temperatures at 10-30 min intervals nearly continuously at multiple intertidal elevations. Comparisons against direct measurements of mussel tissue temperature indicated errors of similar to 2.0-2.5 degrees C, during daily fluctuations that often exceeded 15 degrees-20 degrees C. Geographic patterns in thermal stress based on biomimetic logger measurements were generally far more complex than anticipated based only on 'habitat-level' measurements of air or sea surface temperature. This unique data set provides an opportunity to link physiological measurements with spatially-and temporally-explicit field observations of body temperature

    When Plans Change: Examining How People Evaluate Timing Changes in Work Organizations

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