Mobile-based and open-source case detection and infectious disease outbreak management systems: a review [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

In this paper we perform a rapid review of existing mobile-based, open-source systems for infectious disease outbreak data collection and management. Our inclusion criteria were designed to match the PANDORA-ID-NET consortium’s goals for capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa, and to reflect the lessons learned from the 2014–16 West African Ebola outbreak. We found eight candidate systems that satisfy some or most of these criteria, but only one (SORMAS) fulfils all of them. In addition, we outline a number of desirable features that are not currently present in most outbreak management systems

Cognitive and behavioral predictors of light therapy use

Objective: Although light therapy is effective in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other mood disorders, only 53-79% of individuals with SAD meet remission criteria after light therapy. Perhaps more importantly, only 12-41% of individuals with SAD continue to use the treatment even after a previous winter of successful treatment. Method: Participants completed surveys regarding (1) social, cognitive, and behavioral variables used to evaluate treatment adherence for other health-related issues, expectations and credibility of light therapy, (2) a depression symptoms scale, and (3) self-reported light therapy use. Results: Individuals age 18 or older responded (n = 40), all reporting having been diagnosed with a mood disorder for which light therapy is indicated. Social support and self-efficacy scores were predictive of light therapy use (p's<.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that testing social support and self-efficacy in a diagnosed patient population may identify factors related to the decision to use light therapy. Treatments that impact social support and self-efficacy may improve treatment response to light therapy in SAD. © 2012 Roecklein et al

Origin of acidic surface waters and the evolution of atmospheric chemistry on early Mars

Observations from in situ experiments and planetary orbiters have shown that the sedimentary rocks found at Meridiani Planum, Mars were formed in the presence of acidic surface waters. The water was thought to be brought to the surface by groundwater upwelling, and may represent the last vestiges of the widespread occurrence of liquid water on Mars. However, it is unclear why the surface waters were acidic. Here we use geochemical calculations, constrained by chemical and mineralogical data from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, to show that Fe oxidation and the precipitation of oxidized iron (Fe^(3+)) minerals generate excess acid with respect to the amount of base anions available in the rocks present in outcrop. We suggest that subsurface waters of near-neutral pH and rich in Fe^(2+) were rapidly acidified as iron was oxidized on exposure to O_2 or photo-oxidized by ultraviolet radiation at the martian surface. Temporal variation in surface acidity would have been controlled by the availability of liquid water, and as such, low-pH fluids could be a natural consequence of the aridification of the martian surface. Finally, because iron oxidation at Meridiani would have generated large amounts of gaseous H_2, ultimately derived from the reduction of H_2O, we conclude that surface geochemical processes would have affected the redox state of the early martian atmosphere

Redefining undergraduate nurse teaching during the coronavirus pandemic : use of digital technologies

During the current coronavirus pandemic, undergraduate nurse teaching is facing many challenges. Universities have had to close their campuses, which means that academics are working from home and may be coping with unfamiliar technology to deliver the theoretical part of the undergraduate nursing curriculum. Emergency standards from the Nursing and Midwifery Council have allowed theoretical instruction to be replaced with distance learning, requiring nursing academics to adapt to providing a completely virtual approach to their teaching. This article provides examples of tools that can be used to deliver the theoretical component of the undergraduate nursing curriculum and ways of supporting students and colleagues in these unprecedented time

Decadal changes of the Western Arabian sea ecosystem

Historical data from oceanographic expeditions and remotely sensed data on outgoing longwave radiation, temperature, wind speed and ocean color in the western Arabian Sea (1950–2010) were used to investigate decadal trends in the physical and biochemical properties of the upper 300 m. 72 % of the 29,043 vertical profiles retrieved originated from USA and UK expeditions. Increasing outgoing longwave radiation, surface air temperatures and sea surface temperature were identified on decadal timescales. These were well correlated with decreasing wind speeds associated with a reduced Siberian High atmospheric anomaly. Shoaling of the oxycline and nitracline was observed as well as acidification of the upper 300 m. These physical and chemical changes were accompanied by declining chlorophyll-a concentrations, vertical macrofaunal habitat compression, declining sardine landings and an increase of fish kill incidents along the Omani coast

Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more

Much research shows it is possible to design motivating work, which has positive consequences for individuals and their organizations. This article reviews research that adopts this motivational perspective on work design, and it emphasizes that it is important to continue to refine motivational theories. In light of continued large numbers of poor-quality jobs, attention must also be given to influencing practice and policy to promote the effective implementation of enriched work designs. Nevertheless, current and future work-based challenges mean that designing work for motivation is necessary but insufficient. This review argues that work design can be a powerful vehicle for learning and development, for maintaining and enhancing employees' physical and mental health, and for achieving control and flexibility simultaneously (for example, in the form of ambidexterity); all these outcomes are important given the challenges in today's workplaces. The review concludes by suggesting methodological directions

Ancient hydrothermal seafloor deposits in Eridania basin on Mars

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/. The file attached is the Published/publisher’s pdf version of the article

Addressing fluorogenic real-time qPCR inhibition using the novel custom Excel file system 'FocusField2-6GallupqPCRSet-upTool-001' to attain consistently high fidelity qPCR reactions

The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss fluorogenic real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) inhibition and to introduce/define a novel Microsoft Excel-based file system which provides a way to detect and avoid inhibition, and enables investigators to consistently design dynamically-sound, truly LOG-linear qPCR reactions very quickly. The qPCR problems this invention solves are universal to all qPCR reactions, and it performs all necessary qPCR set-up calculations in about 52 seconds (using a pentium 4 processor) for up to seven qPCR targets and seventy-two samples at a time – calculations that commonly take capable investigators days to finish. We have named this custom Excel-based file system "FocusField2-6GallupqPCRSet-upTool-001" (FF2-6-001 qPCR set-up tool), and are in the process of transforming it into professional qPCR set-up software to be made available in 2007. The current prototype is already fully functional

Quantitative Photo Activated Localization Microscopy: Unraveling the Effects of Photoblinking

In this work we discuss how to use photophysical information for improved quantitative measurements using Photo Activated Localization Microscopy (PALM) imaging. We introduce a method that reliably estimates the number of photoblinking molecules present in a biological sample and gives a robust way to quantify proteins at the single-cell level from PALM images. We apply this method to determine the amount of β2 adrenergic receptor, a prototypical G Protein Coupled Receptor, expressed on the plasma membrane of HeLa cells

Upregulation of pirin expression by chronic cigarette smoking is associated with bronchial epithelial cell apoptosis

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoke disrupts the protective barrier established by the airway epithelium through direct damage to the epithelial cells, leading to cell death. Since the morphology of the airway epithelium of smokers does not typically demonstrate necrosis, the most likely mechanism for epithelial cell death in response to cigarette smoke is apoptosis. We hypothesized that cigarette smoke directly up-regulates expression of apoptotic genes, which could play a role in airway epithelial apoptosis. METHODS: Microarray analysis of airway epithelium obtained by bronchoscopy on matched cohorts of 13 phenotypically normal smokers and 9 non-smokers was used to identify specific genes modulated by smoking that were associated with apoptosis. Among the up-regulated apoptotic genes was pirin (3.1-fold, p < 0.002), an iron-binding nuclear protein and transcription cofactor. In vitro studies using human bronchial cells exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and an adenovirus vector encoding the pirin cDNA (AdPirin) were performed to test the direct effect of cigarette smoke on pirin expression and the effect of pirin expression on apoptosis. RESULTS: Quantitative TaqMan RT-PCR confirmed a 2-fold increase in pirin expression in the airway epithelium of smokers compared to non-smokers (p < 0.02). CSE applied to primary human bronchial epithelial cell cultures demonstrated that pirin mRNA levels increase in a time-and concentration-dependent manner (p < 0.03, all conditions compared to controls). Overexpression of pirin, using the vector AdPirin, in human bronchial epithelial cells was associated with an increase in the number of apoptotic cells assessed by both TUNEL assay (5-fold, p < 0.01) and ELISA for cytoplasmic nucleosomes (19.3-fold, p < 0.01) compared to control adenovirus vector. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest that up-regulation of pirin may represent one mechanism by which cigarette smoke induces apoptosis in the airway epithelium, an observation that has implications for the pathogenesis of cigarette smoke-induced diseases