Epidemic dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus in current and future climates.

A key question for infectious disease dynamics is the impact of the climate on future burden. Here, we evaluate the climate drivers of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an important determinant of disease in young children. We combine a dataset of county-level observations from the US with state-level observations from Mexico, spanning much of the global range of climatological conditions. Using a combination of nonlinear epidemic models with statistical techniques, we find consistent patterns of climate drivers at a continental scale explaining latitudinal differences in the dynamics and timing of local epidemics. Strikingly, estimated effects of precipitation and humidity on transmission mirror prior results for influenza. We couple our model with projections for future climate, to show that temperature-driven increases to humidity may lead to a northward shift in the dynamic patterns observed and that the likelihood of severe outbreaks of RSV hinges on projections for extreme rainfall

Trimethylsilyl tag for probing protein-ligand interactions by NMR

Protein-ligand titrations can readily be monitored with a trimethylsilyl (TMS) tag. Owing to the intensity, narrow line shape and unique chemical shift of a TMS group, dissociation constants can be determined from straightforward 1D 1H-NMR spectra not only in the fast but also in the slow exchange limit. The tag is easily attached to cysteine residues and a sensitive reporter of ligand binding also at sites where it does not interfere with ligand binding or catalytic efficiency of the target protein. Its utility is demonstrated for the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease and the human prolyl isomerase FK506 binding protein.C.N. and G.O. thank the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for a Feodor Lynen Fellowship and the Australian Research Council for a Laureate Fellowship, respectively. Financial project support by the Australian Research Council, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (DK Molecular Enzymology W901 to K.Z.) and by NAWI Graz is gratefully acknowledged

Approximate and exact nodes of fermionic wavefunctions: coordinate transformations and topologies

A study of fermion nodes for spin-polarized states of a few-electron ions and molecules with $s,p,d$ one-particle orbitals is presented. We find exact nodes for some cases of two electron atomic and molecular states and also the first exact node for the three-electron atomic system in $^4S(p^3)$ state using appropriate coordinate maps and wavefunction symmetries. We analyze the cases of nodes for larger number of electrons in the Hartree-Fock approximation and for some cases we find transformations for projecting the high-dimensional node manifolds into 3D space. The node topologies and other properties are studied using these projections. We also propose a general coordinate transformation as an extension of Feynman-Cohen backflow coordinates to both simplify the nodal description and as a new variational freedom for quantum Monte Carlo trial wavefunctions.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

AN ULTRA-FAINT GALAXY CANDIDATE DISCOVERED in EARLY DATA from the MAGELLANIC SATELLITES SURVEY

We report a new ultra-faint stellar system found in Dark Energy Camera data from the first observing run of the Magellanic Satellites Survey (MagLiteS). MagLiteS J0644-5953 (Pictor II or Pic II) is a low surface brightness (μ = 28.5+1 -1 mag arcsec-2 within its half-light radius) resolved overdensity of old and metal-poor stars located at a heliocentric distance of 45+5 -4 kpc. The physical size (r1/2 = 46+15 -11) and low luminosity (Mv = -3.2+0.4 -0.5 mag) of this satellite are consistent with the locus of spectroscopically confirmed ultra-faint galaxies. MagLiteS J0644-5953 (Pic II) is located 11.3+3.1 -0.9 kpc from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and comparisons with simulation results in the literature suggest that this satellite was likely accreted with the LMC. The close proximity of MagLiteS J0644-5953 (Pic II) to the LMC also makes it the most likely ultra-faint galaxy candidate to still be gravitationally bound to the LMC.Peer reviewe

A framework for crosslinguistic nonword repetition tests: Effects of bilingualism and socioeconomic status on children’s performance

Purpose: As a recognised indicator of language impairment, nonword repetition has unique potential for distinguishing language impairment from difficulties due to limited experience and knowledge of a language. This study focused on a new Crosslinguistic Nonword Repetition framework (CL-NWR) comprising three tests that vary the phonological characteristics of nonwords in the quest for an assessment that minimises effects of language experience and knowledge, and thereby maximises potential for assessing children with diverse linguistic experience. Method: The English version of the CL-NWR was administered, with a test of receptive vocabulary, to 4-7-year-old typically developing monolingual and bilingual children (n=21 per group) from mid-high and low socioeconomic (SES) neighbourhoods. Results: Receptive vocabulary was affected by both bilingualism and neighbourhood SES. In contrast, no effects of bilingualism or neighbourhood SES were found on two of our nonword repetition tests, while the most language-specific test yielded a borderline effect of neighbourhood SES but no effect of bilingualism. Conclusions: Findings support the potential of the CL-NWR tests for assessing children regardless of lingual/socioeconomic background. They also highlight the importance of considering the characteristics of nonword targets, and investigating the compound influence of bilingualism and SES on different language assessments

The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study: Protocol of a Natural Experiment to Investigate The Impact of Citywide Park Redesign and Renovation

Background: The built environment plays a critical role in promoting physical activity and health. The association between parks, as a key attribute of the built environment, and physical activity, however, remains inconclusive. This project leverages a natural experiment opportunity to assess the impact of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), a citywide park redesign and renovation effort in New York City, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing. Methods: The project will use a longitudinal design with matched controls. Thirty intervention park neighborhoods are socio-demographically matched to 20 control park neighborhoods. The study will investigate whether improvements in physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing are observed from baseline to 3 years post-renovation among residents in intervention vs. control neighborhoods. Discussion: This study represents a rare opportunity to provide robust evidence to further our understanding of the complex relationship between parks and health. Findings will inform future investments in health-oriented urban design policies and offer evidence for addressing health disparities through built environment strategies

Synthetic RNA Silencing of Actinorhodin Biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

We demonstrate the first application of synthetic RNA gene silencers in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Peptide nucleic acid and expressed antisense RNA silencers successfully inhibited actinorhodin production. Synthetic RNA silencing was target-specific and is a new tool for gene regulation and metabolic engineering studies in Streptomyces.Peer reviewe