1,465 research outputs found
Rural to Urban Migration and Changes in Cardiovascular risk Factors in Tanzania: A Prospective Cohort Study.
High levels of rural to urban migration are a feature of most African countries. Our aim was to investigate changes, and their determinants, in cardiovascular risk factors on rural to urban migration in Tanzania. Men and women (15 to 59 years) intending to migrate from Morogoro rural region to Dar es Salaam for at least 6 months were identified. Measurements were made at least one week but no more than one month prior to migration, and 1 to 3 monthly after migration. Outcome measures included body mass index, blood pressure, fasting lipids, and self reported physical activity and diet. One hundred and three men, 106 women, mean age 29 years, were recruited and 132 (63.2%) followed to 12 months. All the figures presented here refer to the difference between baseline and 12 months in these 132 individuals. Vigorous physical activity declined (79.4% to 26.5% in men, 37.8% to 15.6% in women, p < 0.001), and weight increased (2.30 kg men, 2.35 kg women, p < 0.001). Intake of red meat increased, but so did the intake of fresh fruit and vegetables. HDL cholesterol increased in men and women (0.24, 0.25 mmoll-1 respectively, p < 0.001); and in men, not women, total cholesterol increased (0.42 mmoll-1, p = 0.01), and triglycerides fell (0.31 mmoll-1, p = 0.034). Blood pressure appeared to fall in both men and women. For example, in men systolic blood pressure fell by 5.4 mmHg, p = 0.007, and in women by 8.6 mmHg, p = 0.001. The lower level of physical activity and increasing weight will increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, changes in diet were mixed, and may have contributed to mixed changes in lipid profiles and a lack of rise in blood pressure. A better understanding of the changes occurring on rural to urban migration is needed to guide preventive measures
Monitoring the Bi-Directional Relativistic Jets of the Radio Galaxy 1946+708
We report on a multi-frequency, multi-epoch campaign of Very Long Baseline
Interferometry observations of the radio galaxy 1946+708 using the VLBA and a
Global VLBI array. From these high-resolution observations we deduce the
kinematic age of the radio source to be 4000 years, comparable with the
ages of other Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs). Ejections of pairs of jet
components appears to take place on time scales of 10 years and these
components in the jet travel outward at intrinsic velocities between 0.6 and
0.9 c. From the constraint that jet components cannot have intrinsic velocities
faster than light, we derive H_0 > 57 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 from the fastest pair of
components launched from the core. We provide strong evidence for the ejection
of a new pair of components in ~1997. From the trajectories of the jet
components we deduce that the jet is most likely to be helically confined,
rather than purely ballistic in nature.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted to Ap
A new small-bodied azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England and its implications for pterosaur anatomy, diversity and phylogeny
BACKGROUND: Pterosaurs have been known from the Cretaceous sediments of the Isle of Wight (southern England, United Kingdom) since 1870. We describe the three-dimensional pelvic girdle and associated vertebrae of a small near-adult pterodactyloid from the Atherfield Clay Formation (lower Aptian, Lower Cretaceous). Despite acknowledged variation in the pterosaur pelvis, previous studies have not adequately sampled or incorporated pelvic characters into phylogenetic analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The new specimen represents the new taxon Vectidraco daisymorrisae gen. et sp. nov., diagnosed by the presence of a concavity posterodorsal to the acetabulum and the form of its postacetabular process on the ilium. Several characters suggest that Vectidraco belongs to Azhdarchoidea. We constructed a pelvis-only phylogenetic analysis to test whether the pterosaur pelvis carries a useful phylogenetic signal. Resolution in recovered trees was poor, but they approximately matched trees recovered from analyses of total evidence. We also added Vectidraco and our pelvic characters to an existing total-evidence matrix for pterosaurs. Both analyses recovered Vectidraco within Azhdarchoidea. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: The Lower Cretaceous strata of western Europe have yielded members of several pterosaur lineages, but Aptian pterosaurs from western Europe are rare. With a pelvis length of 40 mm, the new animal would have had a total length of c. 350 mm, and a wingspan of c. 750 mm. Barremian and Aptian pterodactyloids from western Europe show that small-bodied azhdarchoids lived alongside ornithocheirids and istiodactylids. This assemblage is similar in terms of which lineages are represented to the coeval beds of Liaoning, China; however, the number of species and specimens present at Liaoning is much higher. While the general phylogenetic composition of western European and Chinese communities appear to have been approximately similar, the differences may be due to different palaeoenvironmental and depositional settings. The western Europe pterodactyloid record may therefore be artificially low in diversity due to preservational factors
A Hydrophobic Gate in an Ion Channel: The Closed State of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is the prototypic member of the
`Cys-loop' superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels which mediate synaptic
neurotransmission, and whose other members include receptors for glycine,
gamma-aminobutyric acid, and serotonin. Cryo-electron microscopy has yielded a
three dimensional structure of the nAChR in its closed state. However, the
exact nature and location of the channel gate remains uncertain. Although the
transmembrane pore is constricted close to its center, it is not completely
occluded. Rather, the pore has a central hydrophobic zone of radius about 3 A.
Model calculations suggest that such a constriction may form a hydrophobic
gate, preventing movement of ions through a channel. We present a detailed and
quantitative simulation study of the hydrophobic gating model of the nicotinic
receptor, in order to fully evaluate this hypothesis. We demonstrate that the
hydrophobic constriction of the nAChR pore indeed forms a closed gate.
Potential of mean force (PMF) calculations reveal that the constriction
presents a barrier of height ca. 10 kT to the permeation of sodium ions,
placing an upper bound on the closed channel conductance of 0.3 pS. Thus, a 3 A
radius hydrophobic pore can form a functional barrier to the permeation of a 1
A radius Na+ ion. Using a united atom force field for the protein instead of an
all atom one retains the qualitative features but results in differing
conductances, showing that the PMF is sensitive to the detailed molecular
interactions.Comment: Accepted by Physical Biology; includes a supplement and a
supplementary mpeg movie can be found at
http://sbcb.bioch.ox.ac.uk/oliver/download/Movies/watergate.mp
Use of evidence to support healthy public policy: a policy effectiveness-feasibility loop
Public policy plays a key role in improving population health and in the control of diseases, including non-communicable diseases.
However, an evidence-based approach to formulating healthy public policy has been difficult to implement, partly on account of barriers
that hinder integrated work between researchers and policy-makers. This paper describes a “policy effectiveness–feasibility loop” (PEFL) that
brings together epidemiological modelling, local situation analysis and option appraisal to foster collaboration between researchers and
policy-makers. Epidemiological modelling explores the determinants of trends in disease and the potential health benefits of modifying
them. Situation analysis investigates the current conceptualization of policy, the level of policy awareness and commitment among key
stakeholders, and what actually happens in practice, thereby helping to identify policy gaps. Option appraisal integrates epidemiological
modelling and situation analysis to investigate the feasibility, costs and likely health benefits of various policy options. The authors illustrate
how PEFL was used in a project to inform public policy for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in four parts of the eastern
Mediterranean. They conclude that PEFL may offer a useful framework for researchers and policy-makers to successfully work together to
generate evidence-based policy, and they encourage further evaluation of this approach
Fainting Fanconi syndrome clarified by proxy: a case report
BACKGROUND: Rare diseases may elude diagnosis due to unfamiliarity of the treating physicians with the specific disorder. Yet, advances in genetics have tremendously enhanced our ability to establish specific and sometimes surprising diagnoses. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of renal Fanconi syndrome associated with intermittent hypoglycemic episodes, the specific cause for which remained elusive for over 30 years, despite numerous investigations, including three kidney and one liver biopsy. The most recent kidney biopsy showed dysmorphic mitochondria, suggesting a mitochondrial disorder. When her son presented with hypoglycemia in the neonatal period, he underwent routine genetic testing for hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia, which revealed a specific mutation in HNF4A. Subsequent testing of the mother confirmed the diagnosis also in her. CONCLUSION: Modern sequencing technologies that test multiple genes simultaneously enable specific diagnoses, even if the underlying disorder was not clinically suspected. The finding of mitochondrial dysmorphology provides a potential clue for the mechanism, by which the identified mutation causes renal Fanconi syndrome
An analysis of technology gaps and priorities in support of probe-scale coronagraph and starshade missions
This paper provides a survey of the state-of-the-art in coronagraph and starshade technologies and highlights areas where advances are needed to enable future NASA exoplanet missions. An analysis is provided of the remaining technology gaps and the relative priorities of technology investments leading to a mission that could follow JWST. This work is being conducted in support of NASAs Astrophysics Division and the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP), who are in the process of assessing options for future missions. ExEP has funded Science and Technology Definition Teams to study coronagraphs and starshade mission concepts having a lifecycle cost cap of less than $1B. This paper provides a technology gap analysis for these concepts
Space VLBI at Low Frequencies
At sufficiently low frequencies, no ground-based radio array will be able to
produce high resolution images while looking through the ionosphere. A
space-based array will be needed to explore the objects and processes which
dominate the sky at the lowest radio frequencies. An imaging radio
interferometer based on a large number of small, inexpensive satellites would
be able to track solar radio bursts associated with coronal mass ejections out
to the distance of Earth, determine the frequency and duration of early epochs
of nonthermal activity in galaxies, and provide unique information about the
interstellar medium. This would be a "space-space" VLBI mission, as only
baselines between satellites would be used. Angular resolution would be limited
only by interstellar and interplanetary scattering.Comment: To appear in "Astrophysical Phenomena Revealed by Space VLBI", ed. H.
Hirabayashi, P. Edwards, and D. Murphy (ISAS, Japan
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