Men’s and women’s migration in coastal Ghana

This article uses life history calendar (LHC) data from coastal Ghana and event history statistical methods to examine inter-regional migration for men and women, focusing on four specific migration types: rural-urban, rural-rural, urban-urban, and urban-rural. Our analysis is unique because it examines how key determinants of migration—including education, employment, marital status, and childbearing—differ by sex for these four types of migration. We find that women are significantly less mobile than men overall, but that more educated women are more likely to move (particularly to urban areas) than their male counterparts. Moreover, employment in the prior year is less of a deterrent to migration among women. While childbearing has a negative effect on migration, this impact is surprisingly stronger for men than for women, perhaps because women’s search for assistance in childcare promotes migration. Meanwhile, being married or in union appears to have little effect on migration probabilities for either men or women. These results demonstrate the benefits of a LHC approach and suggest that migration research should further examine men’s and women’s mobility as it relates to both human capital and household and family dynamics, particularly in developing settings.event history analysis, Ghana, life history, migration, Sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization

Collective modes and electromagnetic response of a chiral superconductor

Motivated by the recent controversy surrounding the Kerr effect measurements in strontium ruthenate \cite{xia:167002}, we examine the electromagnetic response of a clean chiral p-wave superconductor. When the contributions of the collective modes are accounted for, the Hall response in a clean chiral superconductor is smaller by several orders of magnitude than previous theoretical predictions and is too small to explain the experiment. We also uncover some unusual features of the collective modes of a chiral superconductor, namely, that they are not purely longitudinal and couple to external transverse fields.Comment: 8 page

Digynic triploidy: Utility and challenges of noninvasive prenatal testing

Low fraction fetal DNA in noninvasive prenatal testing in the context of fetal growth restriction and multiple congenital anomalies should alert medical professionals to the possibility of digynic triploidy. Single-nucleotide polymorphism microarray can detect the parental origin of triploidy and explain its mechanism

Genome Investigation of Urinary Gardnerella Strains and Their Relationship to Isolates of the Vaginal Microbiota

Gardnerella is a frequent member of the urogenital microbiota. Given the association between Gardnerella vaginalis and bacterial vaginosis (BV), significant efforts have been focused on characterizing this species in the vaginal microbiota. However, Gardnerella also is a frequent member of the urinary microbiota. In an effort to characterize the bacterial species of the urinary microbiota, we present here 10 genomes of urinary Gardnerella isolates from women with and without lower uri- nary tract symptoms. These genomes complement those of 22 urinary Gardnerella strains previously isolated and sequenced by our team. We included these genomes in a comparative genome analysis of all publicly available Gardnerella genomes, which include 33 urinary isolates, 78 vaginal isolates, and 2 other isolates. While once this genus was thought to consist of a single species, recent comparative ge- nome analyses have revealed 3 new species and an additional 9 groups within Gardnerella. Based upon our analysis, we suggest a new group for the species. We also find that distinction between these Gardnerella species/groups is possible only when considering the core or whole-genome sequence, as neither the sialidase nor vaginolysin genes are sufficient for distinguishing between species/groups despite their clinical importance. In contrast to the vaginal microbiota, we found that only five Gardnerella species/groups have been detected within the lower urinary tract. Although we found no association between a particular Gardnerella species/group(s) and urinary symptoms, further sequencing of urinary Gardnerella isolates is needed for both comprehensive taxonomic characterization and etiological classification of Gardnerella in the urinary tract. Importance Prior research into the bacterium Gardnerella vaginalis has largely focused on its association with bacterial vaginosis (BV). However, G. vaginalis is also frequently found within the urinary microbiota of women with and without lower urinary tract symptoms as well as individuals with chronic kidney disease, interstitial cystitis, and BV. This prompted our investigation into Gardnerella from the urinary microbiota and all publicly available Gardnerella genomes from the urogenital tract. Our work suggests that while some Gardnerella species can survive in both the urinary tract and vagina, others likely cannot. This study provides the foundation for future studies of Gardnerella within the urinary tract and its possible contribution to lower urinary tract symptoms

The “Batman Effect”: Improving Perseverance in Young Children

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138336/1/cdev12695.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138336/2/cdev12695_am.pd

Remunerating private psychiatrists for participating in case conferences

BACKGROUND: On 1 November 2000, a series of new item numbers was added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule, which allowed for case conferences between physicians (including psychiatrists) and other multidisciplinary providers. On 1 November 2002, an additional set of numbers was added, designed especially for use by psychiatrists. This paper reports the findings of an evaluation of these item numbers. RESULTS: The uptake of the item numbers in the three years post their introduction was low to moderate at best. Eighty nine psychiatrists rendered 479 case conferences at a cost to the Health Insurance Commission of $70,584. Psychiatrists who have used the item numbers are generally positive about them, as are consumers. Psychiatrists who have not used them have generally not done so because of a lack of knowledge, rather than direct opposition. The use of the item numbers is increasing over time, perhaps as psychiatrists become more aware of their existence and of their utility in maximising quality of care. CONCLUSION: The case conferencing item numbers have potential, but as yet this potential is not being realised. Some small changes to the conditions associated with the use of the item numbers could assist their uptake

A Correlation Between Circumstellar Disks and Rotation in the Upper Scorpius OB Association

We present projected rotational velocities for 20 early-type (B8-A9) and 74 late-type (F2-M8) members of the ~5 Myr old Upper Scorpius OB Association derived from high dispersion optical spectra obtained with the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) on Keck I and the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) on the Magellan Clay telescope. The spectroscopic sample is composed of stars and brown dwarfs with infrared signatures of circumstellar disks, both primordial and debris, and non-excess sources of comparable spectral type. We merge projected rotational velocities, accretion diagnostics, and Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) 24 micron photometry to examine the relationship between rotation and circumstellar disks. The rotational velocities are strongly correlated with spectral type, a proxy for mass, such that the median vsini for B8-A9 type stars is: 195(+/-)70 km/s, F2-K4: 37.8(+/-)7.4 km/s, K5-K9: 13.8(+21.3/-8.2) km/s, M0-M5: 16.52(+/-)5.3 km/s, and M5.5-M8: 17.72(+/-)8.1 km/s. We find with a probability of >0.99 that M-type stars and brown dwarfs having infrared excess suggestive of circumstellar disks rotate more slowly than their non-excess counterparts. A similar correlation is present among F2-K9 type stars, but only at the ~97% confidence level. Among the early-type (B8-A9) members, rotational velocities of the debris-disk and non-disk populations are indistinguishable. Considering the late-type (F2-M8) stars and brown dwarfs, we find a low fraction of slowly rotating, non-excess sources relative to younger star forming regions, suggesting that most have spun up following disk dissipation. The few late-type (F2-M5) debris disk sources, which may be representative of stars that have recently dispersed their inner disks, are evenly divided between slow and moderate rotators.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

EXOGEN ultrasound bone healing system for long bone fractures with non-union or delayed healing: a NICE medical technology guidance

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.A routine part of the process for developing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) medical technologies guidance is a submission of clinical and economic evidence by the technology manufacturer. The Birmingham and Brunel Consortium External Assessment Centre (EAC; a consortium of the University of Birmingham and Brunel University) independently appraised the submission on the EXOGEN bone healing system for long bone fractures with non-union or delayed healing. This article is an overview of the original evidence submitted, the EAC’s findings, and the final NICE guidance issued.The Birmingham and Brunel Consortium is funded by NICE to act as an External Assessment Centre for the Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme

Aerococcus urinae isolated from women with lower urinary tract symptoms: In vitro aggregation and genome analysis

Aerococcus urinae is increasingly recognized as a potentially significant urinary tract bacterium. A. urinae has been isolated from urine collected from both males and females with a wide range of clinical conditions, including urinary tract infection (UTI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), and overactive bladder (OAB). A. urinae is of particular clinical concern because it is highly resistant to many antibiotics and, when undiagnosed, can cause invasive and life-threatening bacteremia, sepsis, or soft tissue infections. Previous genomic characterization studies have examined A. urinae strains isolated from patients experiencing UTI episodes. Here, we analyzed the genomes of A. urinae strains isolated as part of the urinary microbiome from patients with UUI or OAB. Furthermore, we report that certain A. urinae strains exhibit aggregative in vitro phenotypes, including flocking, which can be modified by various growth medium conditions. Finally, we performed in-depth genomic comparisons to identify pathways that distinguish flocking and nonflocking strains. IMPORTANCE Aerococcus urinae is a urinary bacterium of emerging clinical interest. Here, we explored the ability of 24 strains of A. urinae isolated from women with lower urinary tract symptoms to display aggregation phenotypes in vitro. We sequenced and analyzed the genomes of these A. urinae strains. We performed functional genomic analyses to determine whether the in vitro hyperflocking aggregation phenotype displayed by certain A. urinae strains was related to the presence or absence of certain pathways. Our findings demonstrate that A. urinae strains have different propensities to display aggregative properties in vitro and suggest a potential association between phylogeny and flocking