Editorial: Special Issue “Innovative Techniques and Approaches in the Control and Prevention of Rabies Virus”

Rabies is an ancient lethal scourge that has plagued humankind for centuries. Globally, 60,000 human deaths are estimated to occur each year from rabies virus (RABV) transmission in domestic dogs, mostly affecting children. While rabies is recognized as a neglected disease, there is cause for optimism in the context of growing global recognition, collaboration and commitment to advance a tripartite agenda to eliminate human deaths transmitted from rabid dogs by 2030, also known as “Zero By Thirty” (ZBT). Nevertheless, the ZBT goal must also confront competing challenge(s) of tracking and mitigating human morbidity and mortality during a global pandemic caused by a viral zoonosis with likely origins from one or more wildlife reservoirs. In this context, the concept of One Health has never been more relevant and symbolic as demonstrated with prevention, control and elimination to end human rabies deaths through the mass vaccination of domestic and wild animal reservoir populations

Understanding Unique Employability Skill Sets of Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review

In recent years, several publications and media outlets have highlighted how the skills and interests of autistic individuals may benefit organizations. However, there is scant empirical research on the topic. The present study\u27s authors conducted a systematic review to find which potential employability skills, strengths, and interests of autistic individuals available research has highlighted. Data extraction methods identified 51 papers related to skills in this population. The skill sets autistic individuals may possess and the research behind these findings were organized, evaluated, and summarized. Based on these findings, investigators discuss implications for employment counseling and future research

Identifying Critical Employability Skills for Employment Success of Autistic Individuals: A Content Analysis of Job Postings

This study aimed to examine the literature on the skill sets of autistic individuals and determine how these skills align with current and projected future labour market needs. Based on a literature review, researchers identified the following skill categories common to autistic individuals: visual skills, attention to detail and systemizing composite skills. Researchers then gathered aggregated data on occupations and industries from over 90 state and federal sources in the United States. Next, they collected data on the most in-demand jobs, their industries and relevant skills by analysing hundreds of millions of online job postings. The results indicate the most viable occupations aligned with each skill category. There is minimal available research using labour market data to generate special education goals and transition plans for autistic students. By providing educators and practitioners with critical information regarding viable employment pathways, all stakeholders can more effectively and equitably prepare autistic individuals for the 21st-century workforce

Changes in ponderosa pine forests of the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness

Ponderosa pine forests in the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness on the Arizona Strip have become dense with young trees and highly susceptible to catastrophic wildfire due to exclusion of the natural frequent-fire regime. As part of a broader regional ecological restoration study, the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness was sampled for fire scarred trees, vegetation, and fuels in 1997 and 1999. Reconstructed fire histories show that fires recurred about every 4.4 years prior to settlement, with larger fires burning every 9.5 years. Frequent fires ceased after 1863 in the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness, coincident with the time of Euro-American settlement around 1870, beginning a fire-free period that has lasted up to the present except for a few small fires and a larger 1989 wildfire. Current forests are dense, averaging approximately 1,200 trees/ha, and dominated by small trees. Throughout the wilderness, tree canopy cover averages over 65(percent) and tree basal area is high, 35- 36 m2/ha. Understory plant cover is about 20(percent) and understory species diversity averages 11.4 species/sample plot. Living and dead fuels, including plants, woody debris, and the forest floor, will easily support high-intensity wildfires. In contrast, the presettlement forest was relatively open, with tree density of approximately 62 trees/ha and basal area averaging 8.9 m2/ha, dominated by large ponderosa pine trees. In ecological terms, prospects are good for restoring the Mt. Trumbull Wilderness to emulate the ecological structure and fire disturbance regime of the presettlement reference condition. The current forest condition is perhaps least affected by recent degradation of any site in the Uinkaret Mountains. However, ecological information is only one component contributing to the debate over appropriate management values and practices in wilderness areas on public lands

Shear localisation, strain partitioning and frictional melting in a debris avalanche generated by volcanic flank collapse

The Arequipa volcanic landslide deposit to the east of Arequipa (Peru) originated from the Pichu Pichu volcanic complex, covering an area ~200 km2. The debris avalanche deposit exhibits internal flow structures and basal pseudotachylytes. We present field, microstructural and chemical observations from slip surfaces below and within the deposit which show varying degrees of strain localisation. At one locality the basal shear zone is localised to a 1–2 cm thick, extremely sheared layer of mixed ultracataclasite and pseudotachylyte containing fragments of earlier frictional melts. Rheological modelling indicates brittle fragmentation of the melt may have occurred due to high strain rates, at velocities of >31 m s−1 and that frictional melting is unlikely to provide a mechanism for basal lubrication. Elsewhere, we observe a ~40 cm thick basal shear zone, overprinted by sub-parallel faults that truncate topological asperities to localise strain. We also observe shear zones within the avalanche deposit, suggesting that strain was partitioned. In conclusion, we find that deformation mechanisms fluctuated between cataclasis and frictional melting during emplacement of the volcanic debris avalanche; exhibiting strain partitioning and variable shear localisation, which, along with underlying topography, changed the resistance to flow and impacted runout distance

Evaluating the rapid emergence of daptomycin resistance in Corynebacterium: A multicenter study

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Levetiracetam-loaded biodegradable polymer implants in the tetanus toxin model of temporal lobe epilepsy in rats

Approximately one-third of people with epilepsy receive insufficient benefit from currently available anticonvulsant medication, and some evidence suggests that this may be due to a lack of effective penetration into brain parenchyma. The current study investigated the ability of biodegradable polymer implants loaded with levetiracetam to ameliorate seizures following implantation above the motor cortex in the tetanus toxin model of temporal lobe epilepsy in rats. The implants led to significantly shorter seizures and a trend towards fewer seizures for up to 1 week. The results of this study indicate that drug-eluting polymer implants represent a promising evolving treatment option for intractable epilepsy. Future research is warranted to investigate issues of device longevity and implantation site

Frictional Behaviour, Wear and Comminution of Synthetic Porous Geomaterials

During shearing in geological environments, frictional processes, including the wear of sliding rock surfaces, control the nature of the slip events. Multiple studies focusing on natural samples have investigated the frictional behaviour of a large suite of geological materials. However, due to the varied and heterogeneous nature of geomaterials, the individual controls of material properties on friction and wear remain unconstrained. Here, we use variably porous synthetic glass samples (8, 19 and 30% porosity) to explore the frictional behaviour and development of wear in geomaterials at low normal stresses ( 641\ua0MPa). We propose that porosity provides an inherent roughness to material which wear and abrasion cannot smooth, allowing material at the pore margins to interact with the slip surface. This results in an increase in measured friction coefficient from <0.4 for 8% porosity, to <0.55 for 19% porosity and 0.6\u20130.8 for 30% porosity for the slip rates evaluated. For a given porosity, wear rate reduces with slip rate due to less asperity interaction time. At higher slip rates, samples also exhibit slip weakening behaviour, either due to evolution of the slipping zone or by the activation of temperature-dependent microphysical processes. However, heating rate and peak temperature may be reduced by rapid wear rates as frictional heating and wear compete. The higher wear rates and reduced heating rates of porous rocks during slip may delay the onset of thermally triggered dynamic weakening mechanisms such as flash heating, frictional melting and thermal pressurisation. Hence porosity, and the resultant friction coefficient, work, heating rate and wear rate, of materials can influence the dynamics of slip during such events as shallow crustal faulting or mass movements

A pilot feasibility randomised clinical trial comparing dialkylcarbamoylchloride-coated dressings versus standard care for the primary prevention of surgical site infection

A surgical site infection (SSI) may occur in up to 30% of procedures and results in significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) examining the use of dialkylcarbamoylchloride (DACC)-impregnated dressings, which bind bacteria at the wound bed, in the prevention of SSI in primarily closed incisional wounds. This pilot RCT recruited patients undergoing clean or clean-contaminated vascular surgery. Participants were randomised intraoperatively on a 1:1 basis to either a DACC-coated dressing or a control dressing. Outcomes were divided into feasibility and clinical outcomes. The primary clinical outcome was SSI at 30 days (assessed using Centers for Disease Control criteria and Additional treatment, Serous discharge, Erythema, Purulent exudate, Separation of the deep tissues, Isolation of bacteria and duration of inpatient Stay scoring methods). This study recruited 144 patients in 12 months at a median rate of 10 per month. Eligibility was 73% and recruitment 60%. At 30 days, there was a 36.9% relative risk reduction in the DACC-coated arm (16.22% versus 25.71%, odds ratio 0.559, P = 0.161). The number needed to treat was 11 patients. A large-scale RCT is both achievable and desirable given the relative risk reduction shown in this study. Further work is needed to improve the study protocol and involve more centres in a full-scale RCT

Antiepileptic effects of lacosamide loaded polymers implanted subdurally in GAERS

The current experiment investigated the ability of coaxial electrospun poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) biodegradable polymer implants loaded with the antiepileptic drugs (AED) lacosamide to reduce seizures following implantation above the motor cortex in the Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rat from Strasbourg (GAERS). In this prospective, randomized, masked experiments, GAERS underwent surgery for implantation of skull electrodes (n = 6), skull electrodes and blank polymers (n = 6), or skull electrodes and lacosamide loaded polymers (n = 6). Thirty-minute electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were started at day 7 after surgery and continued for eight weeks. The number of SWDs and mean duration of one SWD were compared week-by-week between the three groups. There was no difference in the number of SWDs between any of the groups. However, the mean duration of one SWD was significantly lower in the lacosamide polymer group for up to 7 weeks when compared to the control group (0.004 \u3c p \u3c 0.038). The mean duration of one seizure was also lower at weeks 3, 5, 6, and 7 when compared to the blank polymer group (p = 0.016, 0.037, 0.025, and 0.025, resp.). We have demonstrated that AED loaded PLGA polymer sheets implanted on the surface of the cortex could affect seizure activity in GAERS for a sustained period