The composition and origin of Ghana medicine clays

This is the final version of the article. Available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this record.The mineral, organic and elemental composition of medicine clays from three shrines in the Tong Hills in northern Ghana (Gbankil, Kusanaab, and Yaane) are assessed to ascertain what additives they might contain and the implications for their recognition, for example in archaeological contexts. These are clays that are widely used for healing purposes being perceived efficacious in curing multiple ailments and which are given a divine provenance, but their collection is ascribed human agency. The Yaane clay is also supplied as part of the process of obtaining the right to operate the shrine elsewhere making it widely dispersed. Organic geochemical analyses revealed a predominance of plant-derived material with a substantial contribution of microbial origin. Based on these (supported by elemental and mineral analyses), no unnatural organic material could be detected, making an exogenous contribution to these clays unlikely. The implications are that these are wholly natural medicinal substances with no anthropogenic input into their preparation, as the traditions suggest. The very similar mineralogy of all the clays, including a non-medicine clay sampled, suggests that, unless the geology radically differed, differentiating between them analytically in an archaeological contexts would be doubtful.The authors are grateful to the Wellcome Trust for funding the research

Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of nanostructured gold near room temperature

A plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) process to deposit metallic gold is reported, using the previously reported Me3Au(PMe3) precursor with H-2 plasma as the reactant. The process has a deposition window from 50 to 120 degrees C with a growth rate of 0.030 +/- 0.002 nm per cycle on gold seed layers, and it shows saturating behavior for both the precursor and reactant exposure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the gold films deposited at 120 degrees C are of higher purity than the previously reported ones (<1 at. % carbon and oxygen impurities and <0.1 at. % phosphorous). A low resistivity value was obtained (5.9 +/- 0.3 mu Omega/cm), and X-ray diffraction measurements confirm that films deposited at 50 and 120 degrees C are polycrystalline. The process forms gold nanoparticles on oxide surfaces, which coalesce into wormlike nanostructures during deposition. Nanostructures grown at 120 degrees C are evaluated as substrates for free-space surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and exhibit an excellent enhancement factor that is without optimization, only one order of magnitude weaker than state-of-the-art gold nanodome substrates. The reported gold PE-ALD process therefore offers a deposition method to create SERS substrates that are template-free and does not require lithography. Using this process, it is possible to deposit nanostructured gold layers at low temperatures on complex three-dimensional (3D) substrates, opening up opportunities for the application of gold ALD in flexible electronics, heterogeneous catalysis, or the preparation of 3D SERS substrates

A Pycellerator Tutorial.

We present a tutorial on using Pycellerator for biomolecular simulations. Models are described in human readable (and editable) text files (UTF8 or ASCII) containing collections of reactions, assignments, initial conditions, function definitions, and rate constants. These models are then converted into a Python program that can optionally solve the system, e.g., as a system of differential equations using ODEINT, or be run by another program. The input language implements an extended version of the Cellerator arrow notation, including mass action, Hill functions, S-Systems, MWC, and reactions with user-defined kinetic laws. Simple flux balance analysis is also implemented. We will demonstrate the implementation and analysis of progressively more complex models, starting from simple mass action through indexed cascades. Pycellerator can be used as a library that is integrated into other programs, run as a command line program, or in iPython notebooks. It is implemented in Python 2.7 and available under an open source GPL license

A novel multi-tissue RNA diagnostic of healthy ageing relates to cognitive health status

Open Access ArticleBACKGROUND: Diagnostics of the human ageing process may help predict future healthcare needs or guide preventative measures for tackling diseases of older age. We take a transcriptomics approach to build the first reproducible multi-tissue RNA expression signature by gene-chip profiling tissue from sedentary normal subjects who reached 65 years of age in good health. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty probe-sets form an accurate classifier of young versus older muscle tissue and this healthy ageing RNA classifier performed consistently in independent cohorts of human muscle, skin and brain tissue (n = 594, AUC = 0.83-0.96) and thus represents a biomarker for biological age. Using the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men birth-cohort (n = 108) we demonstrate that the RNA classifier is insensitive to confounding lifestyle biomarkers, while greater gene score at age 70 years is independently associated with better renal function at age 82 years and longevity. The gene score is 'up-regulated' in healthy human hippocampus with age, and when applied to blood RNA profiles from two large independent age-matched dementia case-control data sets (n = 717) the healthy controls have significantly greater gene scores than those with cognitive impairment. Alone, or when combined with our previously described prototype Alzheimer disease (AD) RNA 'disease signature', the healthy ageing RNA classifier is diagnostic for AD. CONCLUSIONS: We identify a novel and statistically robust multi-tissue RNA signature of human healthy ageing that can act as a diagnostic of future health, using only a peripheral blood sample. This RNA signature has great potential to assist research aimed at finding treatments for and/or management of AD and other ageing-related conditions.European CommissionAlzheimer’s Research UKJohn and Lucille van Geest FoundationNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR)European Medical Information Framework (EMIF)Medical Research Council (MRC)Wallenberg FoundationKarolinska InstitutetSwedish Medical Research CouncilSwedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF

Physical Activity Characteristics across GOLD Quadrants Depend on the Questionnaire Used

BACKGROUND:The GOLD multidimensional classification of COPD severity combines the exacerbation risk with the symptom experience, for which 3 different questionnaires are permitted. This study investigated differences in physical activity (PA) in the different GOLD quadrants and patient's distribution in relation to the questionnaire used. METHODS:136 COPD patients (58±21% FEV1 predicted, 34F/102M) completed COPD assessment test (CAT), clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) questionnaire. Exacerbation history, spirometry and 6MWD were collected. PA was objectively measured for 2 periods of 1 week, 6 months apart, in 5 European centres; to minimise seasonal and clinical variation the average of these two periods was used for analysis. RESULTS:GOLD quadrants C+D had reduced PA compared with A+B (3824 [2976] vs. 5508 [4671] steps.d-1, p<0.0001). The choice of questionnaire yielded different patient distributions (agreement mMRC-CAT κ = 0.57; CCQ-mMRC κ = 0.71; CCQ-CAT κ = 0.72) with different clinical characteristics. PA was notably lower in patients with an mMRC score ≥2 (3430 [2537] vs. 5443 [3776] steps.d-1, p <0.001) in both the low and high risk quadrants. CONCLUSIONS:Using different questionnaires changes the patient distribution and results in different clinical characteristics. Therefore, standardization of the questionnaire used for classification is critical to allow comparison of different studies using this as an entry criterion. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01388218

DATA ASSIMILATION BASED NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS TO ASSIST REAL-TIME SMOKE CONTROL MANAGEMENT IN LARGE SPACES

Abstract The work presented in this paper illustrates the concept of numerical simulations for real-time &apos;Numerical Fire Forecast&apos; (NFF), applied to smoke control management in large spaces. The numerical calculations performed within the Inverse Zone Modelling framework are based on a series of full scale experiments conducted using the Japanese Building Research Institute (BRI) fire test facility. The experimental set-up consists of a large space of 720m 2 floor area and 26.3m ceiling height, equipped with shafts and fans to study different smoke control options. The measurements include the smoke layer interface (from thermocouples, photometers and visual observation), the smoke layer temperature at different heights (using thermocouples) and the mass flows of air and hot smoke through mechanical and natural vents. In the case of natural filling (i.e. no mechanical or natural venting), the assimilation of smoke layer height data within a 30 s window results in more than 4 minutes lead time of the forecast, with a good level of confidence. Predictions are given in terms of smoke layer height and upper layer temperature. The steady-state value of the methanol fire (Q c = 1300 kW) has been estimated after 30 s with less than 10% error. Widening the assimilation window does not improve the forecast. When mechanical ventilation is activated after the assimilation process with a sufficiently high exhaust rate, the forecast shows with a relatively substantial positive lead time, safe levels of smoke interface height. Introduction Fire Safety Engineering is a multi-disciplinary science, which aims at designing fire-safe buildings with appropriate solutions to preserve property and, most importantly, human life. Therefore, before the construction (or the renovation) of a building, architects, fire engineers and regulators need to consider a given set of fire scenarios in order to examine different options and choose the most appropriate one(s). For this purpose, a large amount of tools have been developed across the years in order to provide an answer to various questions that arise when studying the complex phenomenon of a fire. These questions are often related to the integrity of the building (fire resistance of the structure), fire and smoke spread, and evacuation. The tools used range from simple engineering hand-calculations to the more sophisticated computational fluid and solid mechanics. Many fire simulation tools have been developed to provide guidance in a priori studies. The level of complexity already reached in these tools and the required computational resources render their use for real time predictions impossible. Subsequently, fire fighters have to rely on their intuition and experience as to the decisions and actions to take in real fire situations. It is in this context that the concept of sensor assisted fire fighting has emerge

Efficient Visual Search from Synchronized Auditory Signals Requires Transient Audiovisual Events

BACKGROUND: A prevailing view is that audiovisual integration requires temporally coincident signals. However, a recent study failed to find any evidence for audiovisual integration in visual search even when using synchronized audiovisual events. An important question is what information is critical to observe audiovisual integration. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we demonstrate that temporal coincidence (i.e., synchrony) of auditory and visual components can trigger audiovisual interaction in cluttered displays and consequently produce very fast and efficient target identification. In visual search experiments, subjects found a modulating visual target vastly more efficiently when it was paired with a synchronous auditory signal. By manipulating the kind of temporal modulation (sine wave vs. square wave vs. difference wave; harmonic sine-wave synthesis; gradient of onset/offset ramps) we show that abrupt visual events are required for this search efficiency to occur, and that sinusoidal audiovisual modulations do not support efficient search. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thus, audiovisual temporal alignment will only lead to benefits in visual search if the changes in the component signals are both synchronized and transient. We propose that transient signals are necessary in synchrony-driven binding to avoid spurious interactions with unrelated signals when these occur close together in time

Characterization and Comparison of 2 Distinct Epidemic Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clones of ST59 Lineage.

Sequence type (ST) 59 is an epidemic lineage of community-associated (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates. Taiwanese CA-MRSA isolates belong to ST59 and can be grouped into 2 distinct clones, a virulent Taiwan clone and a commensal Asian-Pacific clone. The Taiwan clone carries the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes and the staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) VT, and is frequently isolated from patients with severe disease. The Asian-Pacific clone is PVL-negative, carries SCCmec IV, and a frequent colonizer of healthy children. Isolates of both clones were characterized by their ability to adhere to respiratory A549 cells, cytotoxicity to human neutrophils, and nasal colonization of a murine and murine sepsis models. Genome variation was determined by polymerase chain reaction of selected virulence factors and by multi-strain whole genome microarray. Additionally, the expression of selected factors was compared between the 2 clones. The Taiwan clone showed a much higher cytotoxicity to the human neutrophils and caused more severe septic infections with a high mortality rate in the murine model. The clones were indistinguishable in their adhesion to A549 cells and persistence of murine nasal colonization. The microarray data revealed that the Taiwan clone had lost the ø3-prophage that integrates into the β-hemolysin gene and includes staphylokinase- and enterotoxin P-encoding genes, but had retained the genes for human immune evasion, scn and chps. Production of the virulence factors did not differ significantly in the 2 clonal groups, although more α-toxin was expressed in Taiwan clone isolates from pneumonia patients. In conclusion, the Taiwan CA-MRSA clone was distinguished by enhanced virulence in both humans and an animal infection model. The evolutionary acquisition of PVL, the higher expression of α-toxin, and possibly the loss of a large portion of the β-hemolysin-converting prophage likely contribute to its higher pathogenic potential than the Asian-Pacific clone