Limitations of the isolated GP-STN network

An in vitro mouse slice preparation from control and MPTP-treated mice in which functional reciprocal GP-STN connectivity is maintained, does not produce oscillatory bursting or synchronous activity neuronal activity. Pharmacological interventions that produce bursting activity do so without concomitant neuronal synchrony, or a requirement for glutamate or GABA transmission. Pre-treatment with MPTP did not alter this behaviour. Thus, we have no evidence that the functionally connected, but isolated, GP — STN network can act as a pacemaker for synchronous correlated activity in the basal ganglia and must conclude that other inputs such as those from cortex and/or striatum are required

Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2•72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2•66–2•79) in 2000 to 2•31 (2•17–2•46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134•5 million (131•5–137•8) in 2000 to a peak of 139•6 million (133•0–146•9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135•3 million (127•2–144•1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2•1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27•1% (95% UI 26•4–27•8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67•2 years (95% UI 66•8–67•6) in 2000 to 73•5 years (72•8–74•3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50•7 million (49•5–51•9) in 2000 to 56•5 million (53•7–59•2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9•6 million (9•1–10•3) in 2000 to 5•0 million (4•3–6•0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25•7%, from 6•2 billion (6•0–6•3) in 2000 to 7•7 billion (7•5–8•0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58•6 years (56•1–60•8) in 2000 to 63•5 years (60•8–66•1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019. Interpretation: Over the past 20 years, fertility rates have been dropping steadily and life expectancy has been increasing, with few exceptions. Much of this change follows historical patterns linking social and economic determinants, such as those captured by the GBD Socio-demographic Index, with demographic outcomes. More recently, several countries have experienced a combination of low fertility and stagnating improvement in mortality rates, pushing more populations into the late stages of the demographic transition. Tracking demographic change and the emergence of new patterns will be essential for global health monitoring. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Layered tungsten bronzes: Tuning the optical properties by changing the layer thickness

We investigated the optical properties of a series of monophosphate tungsten bronzes (P02)4(W03)2m (m=2,4, 6,7) as a function of layer thickness, with special attention on the m=7 density wave superconductor. These materials have several layers of corner-sharing WO6 octahedra separated by one PO4 layer, leading to a tunable octahedral layer thickness with m. In the optical regime, the spectra of the m=2, 4, 6, and 7 materials display an anisotropic electronic excitation, originating from the W intra t2g d to d transition. The intensities and frequencies of these excitations vary with the octahedral layer thickness, consistent with a softer lattice with increasing m. The low-frequency electrodynamics of the monophosphate tungsten bonzes show a gap or pseudogap feature in the infrared, demonstrating a ubiquitous bound camer response. The m=7 density wave superconductor is especially interesting. The variable temperature ab-plane spectra display a suppression of the optical conductivity along the b-axis below 140 K, giving rise to charge localization and anisotropic charge density wave gap formation near 1400 cm-1. This middle infrared charge localization is directly related to the appearance of both flat and dispersive bands along b. Although oscillator strength is redistributed among the free carrier response, charge density wave gap absorption, and d to d transition in the density wave states, the spectral weight is largely conserved below the plasma frequency. Based upon these observations, P4W 14050 is another example of a superconductor with an unusual normal state

Scaling effect on inter-turn short-circuit fault of PM machines for wind power application

This paper proposes a general analytical model of surface-mounted permanent magnet (SPM) machines with series-connected coils under inter-turn short circuit (ITSC) fault. One prominent feature of this fault model is that the air-gap and slot-leakage components of inductances under fault are calculated separately, and the influences of pole number and spatial distribution of coils have been considered in the calculations. In the model, the winding function approach (WFA) is used to calculate the air-gap inductance components by considering all space harmonics whilst slot-leakage inductance components are obtained by using slot permeance method. The proposed fault model built in Matlab/Simulink is validated by time stepping FE simulations for a 3kW 96-slot 32-pole SPM machine. The fault model has acceptable accuracy and is suitable for the fast evaluation of fault performance of SPM machines and its accuracy considering core saturation can be improved using FE-based results. Other power ratings (0.5MW and 3MW) have also been investigated to study the scaling effect on machine fault-tolerant capability. A 12-slot 4-pole small scale prototype has been built to validate the developed fault models