Billets, bombs and babies: how the state shaped the narrative of birth during the Second World War

The health and social historiography of the Second World War is closely bound to the British national narrative of total war and the conflagration of the home front. The organisation of welfare structures during the conflict put enormous strain on existing socio-political constructs, if only because the state had to intervene in the day to day life of the nation on a scale not seen before. The prime initial concern was to minimise civilian death during enemy bombing, as losses in the hundreds of thousands were expected in the first few months of war. Plans were made to evacuate non-essential and vulnerable inhabitance from major cities and towns of. Displacement on this scale meant that medical and social services were similarly likely in need of significant reorganisation to match patient need and service location. In anticipation of this, the state created the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) to re-organise services within a supposedly more unified, planned national system. Using the Emergency Maternity Service as a case study, this paper seeks to explore the way in which the disruption of total war prompted the state to cross the threshold of the home into what was previously a private sphere - the family

Calorie Restriction Attenuates Terminal Differentiation of Immune Cells

Immune senescence is a natural consequence of aging and may contribute to frailty and loss of homeostasis in later life. Calorie restriction increases healthy life-span in C57BL/6J (but not DBA/2J) mice, but whether this is related to preservation of immune function, and how it interacts with aging, is unclear. We compared phenotypic and functional characteristics of natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, across the lifespan, of calorie-restricted (CR) and control C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice. Calorie restriction preserves a naïve T cell phenotype and an immature NK cell phenotype as mice age. The splenic T cell populations of CR mice had higher proportions of CD11a-CD44locells, lower expression of TRAIL, KLRG1, and CXCR3, and higher expression of CD127, compared to control mice. Similarly, splenic NK cells from CR mice had higher proportions of less differentiated CD11b-CD27+cells and correspondingly lower proportions of highly differentiated CD11b+CD27-NK cells. Within each of these subsets, cells from CR mice had higher expression of CD127, CD25, TRAIL, NKG2A/C/E, and CXCR3 and lower expression of KLRG1 and Ly49 receptors compared to controls. The effects of calorie restriction on lymphoid cell populations in lung, liver, and lymph nodes were identical to those seen in the spleen, indicating that this is a system-wide effect. The impact of calorie restriction on NK cell and T cell maturation is much more profound than the effect of aging and, indeed, calorie restriction attenuates these age-associated changes. Importantly, the effects of calorie restriction on lymphocyte maturation were more marked in C57BL/6 than in DBA/2J mice indicating that delayed lymphocyte maturation correlates with extended lifespan. These findings have implications for understanding the interaction between nutritional status, immunity, and healthy lifespan in aging populations

Thrombosis Is Reduced by Inhibition of COX-1, but Unaffected by Inhibition of COX-2, in an Acute Model of Platelet Activation in the Mouse

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Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegans male mating behavior

Background To survive and reproduce, animals must be able to modify their motor behavior in response to changes in the environment. We studied a complex behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans, male mating behavior, which provided a model for understanding motor behaviors at the genetic, molecular as well as circuit level. C. elegans male mating behavior consists of a series of six sub-steps: response to contact, backing, turning, vulva location, spicule insertion, and sperm transfer. The male tail contains most of the sensory structures required for mating, in addition to the copulatory structures, and thus to carry out the steps of mating behavior, the male must keep his tail in contact with the hermaphrodite. However, because the hermaphrodite does not play an active role in mating and continues moving, the male must modify his tail posture to maintain contact. We provide a better understanding of the molecular and neuro-muscular pathways that regulate male tail posture during mating. Results Genetic and laser ablation analysis, in conjunction with behavioral assays were used to determine neurotransmitters, receptors, neurons and muscles required for the regulation of male tail posture. We showed that proper male tail posture is maintained by the coordinated activity of opposing muscle groups that curl the tail ventrally and dorsally. Specifically, acetylcholine regulates both ventral and dorsal curling of the male tail, partially through anthelmintic levamisole-sensitive, nicotinic receptor subunits. Male-specific muscles are required for acetylcholine-driven ventral curling of the male tail but dorsal curling requires the dorsal body wall muscles shared by males and hermaphrodites. Gamma-aminobutyric acid activity is required for both dorsal and ventral acetylcholine-induced curling of the male tail and an inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor, UNC-49, prevents over-curling of the male tail during mating, suggesting that cross-inhibition of muscle groups helps maintain proper tail posture. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups, through the activity of multiple neurotransmitters, is required for regulation of male tail posture during mating. We have provided a simple model for regulation of male tail posture that provides a foundation for studies of how genes, molecular pathways, and neural circuits contribute to sensory regulation of this motor behavior

Statistical-Mechanical Measure of Stochastic Spiking Coherence in A Population of Inhibitory Subthreshold Neurons

By varying the noise intensity, we study stochastic spiking coherence (i.e., collective coherence between noise-induced neural spikings) in an inhibitory population of subthreshold neurons (which cannot fire spontaneously without noise). This stochastic spiking coherence may be well visualized in the raster plot of neural spikes. For a coherent case, partially-occupied "stripes" (composed of spikes and indicating collective coherence) are formed in the raster plot. This partial occupation occurs due to "stochastic spike skipping" which is well shown in the multi-peaked interspike interval histogram. The main purpose of our work is to quantitatively measure the degree of stochastic spiking coherence seen in the raster plot. We introduce a new spike-based coherence measure $M_s$ by considering the occupation pattern and the pacing pattern of spikes in the stripes. In particular, the pacing degree between spikes is determined in a statistical-mechanical way by quantifying the average contribution of (microscopic) individual spikes to the (macroscopic) ensemble-averaged global potential. This "statistical-mechanical" measure $M_s$ is in contrast to the conventional measures such as the "thermodynamic" order parameter (which concerns the time-averaged fluctuations of the macroscopic global potential), the "microscopic" correlation-based measure (based on the cross-correlation between the microscopic individual potentials), and the measures of precise spike timing (based on the peri-stimulus time histogram). In terms of $M_s$, we quantitatively characterize the stochastic spiking coherence, and find that $M_s$ reflects the degree of collective spiking coherence seen in the raster plot very well. Hence, the "statistical-mechanical" spike-based measure $M_s$ may be used usefully to quantify the degree of stochastic spiking coherence in a statistical-mechanical way.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the J. Comput. Neurosc

Let’s celebrate recovery. Inclusive Cities working together to support social cohesion

Recovery from illicit drug and alcohol use takes place over time and is characterised by a dynamic interaction between internal and external components. An integral part of all recovery journeys is effective community reintegration. After all, recovery is not mainly an issue of personal motivation rather it is about acceptance by family, by friends and by a range of organisations and professionals across the community. Therefore to support pathways to recovery, structural and contextual endeavours are needed to supplement individually-oriented interventions and programmes. One way to do this, is by introducing Inclusive Cities. An Inclusive City promotes participation, inclusion, full and equal citizenship to all her citizens, including those in recovery, based on the idea of community capital. The aim of building recovery capital at a community level through connections and 'linking social capital' to challenge stigmatisation and exclusion, is seen as central to this idea. Inclusive Cities is an initiative to support the creation of Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care at a city level, that starts with but extends beyond substance using populations. This paper describes (and gives examples of) how it is possible to use recovery as a starting point for generating social inclusion, challenging the marginalisation of other excluded populations as well by building community connections

Determinants of passive antibody efficacy in SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Randomised controlled trials of passive antibodies as treatment and prophylaxis for COVID-19 have reported variable efficacy. However, the determinants of efficacy have not been identified. We aimed to assess how the dose and timing of administration affect treatment outcome. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we extracted data from published studies of passive antibody treatment from Jan 1, 2019, to Jan 31, 2023, that were identified by searching multiple databases, including MEDLINE, PubMed, and ClinicalTrials.gov. We included only randomised controlled trials of passive antibody administration for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. To compare administered antibody dose between different treatments, we used data on in-vitro neutralisation titres to normalise dose by antibody potency. We used mixed-effects regression and model fitting to analyse the relationship between timing, dose and efficacy. Findings: We found 58 randomised controlled trials that investigated passive antibody therapies for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Earlier clinical stage at treatment initiation was highly predictive of the efficacy of both monoclonal antibodies (p<0·0001) and convalescent plasma therapy (p=0·030) in preventing progression to subsequent stages, with either prophylaxis or treatment in outpatients showing the greatest effects. For the treatment of outpatients with COVID-19, we found a significant association between the dose administered and efficacy in preventing hospitalisation (relative risk 0·77; p<0·0001). Using this relationship, we predicted that no approved monoclonal antibody was expected to provide more than 30% efficacy against some omicron (B.1.1.529) subvariants, such as BQ.1.1. Interpretation: Early administration before hospitalisation and sufficient doses of passive antibody therapy are crucial to achieving high efficacy in preventing clinical progression. The relationship between dose and efficacy provides a framework for the rational assessment of future passive antibody prophylaxis and treatment strategies for COVID-19. Funding: The Australian Government Department of Health, Medical Research Future Fund, National Health and Medical Research Council, the University of New South Wales, Monash University, Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand, Leukaemia Foundation, and the Victorian Government

Astrobiological Complexity with Probabilistic Cellular Automata

Search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence constitutes one of the major endeavors in science, but has yet been quantitatively modeled only rarely and in a cursory and superficial fashion. We argue that probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) represent the best quantitative framework for modeling astrobiological history of the Milky Way and its Galactic Habitable Zone. The relevant astrobiological parameters are to be modeled as the elements of the input probability matrix for the PCA kernel. With the underlying simplicity of the cellular automata constructs, this approach enables a quick analysis of large and ambiguous input parameters' space. We perform a simple clustering analysis of typical astrobiological histories and discuss the relevant boundary conditions of practical importance for planning and guiding actual empirical astrobiological and SETI projects. In addition to showing how the present framework is adaptable to more complex situations and updated observational databases from current and near-future space missions, we demonstrate how numerical results could offer a cautious rationale for continuation of practical SETI searches.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables; added journal reference belo

Consequences of converting graded to action potentials upon neural information coding and energy efficiency

Information is encoded in neural circuits using both graded and action potentials, converting between them within single neurons and successive processing layers. This conversion is accompanied by information loss and a drop in energy efficiency. We investigate the biophysical causes of this loss of information and efficiency by comparing spiking neuron models, containing stochastic voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels, with generator potential and graded potential models lacking voltage-gated Na+ channels. We identify three causes of information loss in the generator potential that are the by-product of action potential generation: (1) the voltage-gated Na+ channels necessary for action potential generation increase intrinsic noise and (2) introduce non-linearities, and (3) the finite duration of the action potential creates a ‘footprint’ in the generator potential that obscures incoming signals. These three processes reduce information rates by ~50% in generator potentials, to ~3 times that of spike trains. Both generator potentials and graded potentials consume almost an order of magnitude less energy per second than spike trains. Because of the lower information rates of generator potentials they are substantially less energy efficient than graded potentials. However, both are an order of magnitude more efficient than spike trains due to the higher energy costs and low information content of spikes, emphasizing that there is a two-fold cost of converting analogue to digital; information loss and cost inflation