A full gap above the Fermi level: the charge density wave of monolayer VS2

In the standard model of charge density wave (CDW) transitions, the displacement along a single phonon mode lowers the total electronic energy by creating a gap at the Fermi level, making the CDW a metal–insulator transition. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and ab initio calculations, we show that VS2 realizes a CDW which stands out of this standard model. There is a full CDW gap residing in the unoccupied states of monolayer VS2. At the Fermi level, the CDW induces a topological metal-metal (Lifshitz) transition. Non-linear coupling of transverse and longitudinal phonons is essential for the formation of the CDW and the full gap above the Fermi level. Additionally, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism reveals the absence of net magnetization in this phase, pointing to coexisting charge and spin density waves in the ground state

Qualitative Assessment of a Human Trafficking Module Intervention in Pharmacy Education

Description of the Problem: Human trafficking is a critical public health threat in the United States, yet education on human trafficking for pharmacy students has not been evaluated despite pharmacists being the most accessible health care professionals. Description of the Innovation: To evaluate the most valuable aspects of an introductory module on human trafficking, pharmacy students participated in a human trafficking module, and their perception of human trafficking was evaluated after the module. Content on human trafficking was delivered through an asynchronous online presentation followed by a synchronous Zoom class discussion. Fifty-three third-year pharmacy students from the Women’s Health elective in the fall semester of 2020 at the University of Minnesota - College of Pharmacy were included. Consensual Qualitative Research methodology was used for qualitative data analysis. Critical Analysis: Students’ perceptions of the value of this learning module was evaluated through consensual qualitative research.   The findings suggest the module held significant value for students to better understand human trafficking and the role of pharmacists.  Implications: A hybrid model on human trafficking involving discussions, case examples, and questions posed by students was found to have a positive impact on their knowledge on human trafficking. The results of this study will provide direction for future modules, classes, or adaptations to the curriculum on human trafficking for pharmacy students and may prove beneficial for other health care professionals

The ZOON R package for reproducible and shareable species distribution modelling

1. The rapid growth of species distribution modelling (SDM) as an ecological discipline has resulted in a large and diverse set of methods and software for constructing and evaluating SDMs. The disjointed nature of the current SDM research environment hinders evaluation of new methods, synthesis of current knowledge and the dissemination of new methods to SDM users. 2. The zoon r package aims to overcome these problems by providing a modular framework for constructing reproducible SDM workflows. zoon modules are interoperable snippets of r code, each carrying a SDM method that zoon combines into a single analysis object. 3. Rather than defining these modules, zoon draws modules from an open, version-controlled online repository. zoon makes it easy for SDM researchers to contribute modules to this repository, enabling others to rapidly deploy new methods in their own workflows or to compare alternative methods. 4. Each workflow object created by zoon is a rerunnable record of the data, code and results of an entire SDM analysis. This can then be easily shared, scrutinised, reproduced and extended by the whole SDM research community. 5. We explain how zoon works and demonstrate how it can be used to construct a completely reproducible SDM analyses, create and share a new module, and perform a methodological comparison study

Another cluster of red supergiants close to RSGC1

Recent studies have revealed massive star clusters in a region of the Milky Way close to the tip of the Long Bar. These clusters are heavily obscured and are characterised by a population of red supergiants. We analyse a previously unreported concentration of bright red stars ~16' away from the cluster RSGC1. We utilised near IR photometry to identify candidate red supergiants and then K-band spectroscopy of a sample to characterise their properties. We find a compact clump of eight red supergiants and five other candidates at some distance, one of which is spectroscopically confirmed as a red supergiant. These objects must form an open cluster, which we name Alicante 8. Because of the high reddening and strong field contamination, the cluster sequence is not clearly seen in 2MASS or UKIDSS near-IR photometry. From the analysis of the red supergiants, we infer an extinction $A_{K_{{\rm S}}}=1.9$ and an age close to 20 Myr. Though this cluster is smaller than the three known previously, its properties still suggest a mass in excess of 10 000 M_{\sun}. Its discovery corroborates the hypothesis that star formation in this region has happened on a wide scale between ~10 and ~20 Myr ago.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Figure 1 degraded and changed to B&W, Figure 2 degraded to meet size requirement

Downfolding from Ab Initio to Interacting Model Hamiltonians: Comprehensive Analysis and Benchmarking

Model Hamiltonians are regularly derived from first-principles data to describe correlated matter. However, the standard methods for this contain a number of largely unexplored approximations. For a strongly correlated impurity model system, here we carefully compare standard downfolding techniques with the best-possible ground-truth estimates for charge-neutral excited state energies and charge densities using state-of-the-art first-principles many-body wave function approaches. To this end, we use the vanadocene molecule and analyze all downfolding aspects, including the Hamiltonian form, target basis, double counting correction, and Coulomb interaction screening models. We find that the choice of target-space basis functions emerges as a key factor for the quality of the downfolded results, while orbital-dependent double counting correction diminishes the quality. Background screening to the Coulomb interaction matrix elements primarily affects crystal-field excitations. Our benchmark uncovers the relative importance of each downfolding step and offers insights into the potential accuracy of minimal downfolded model Hamiltonians.Comment: 15 pages (+8 pages Supplemental Material), 8 figure

Extreme infrared variables from UKIDSS-I. A concentration in star-forming regions

We present initial results of the first panoramic search for high-amplitude near-infrared variability in theGalactic plane.We analyse the widely separated two-epoch K-band photometry in the fifth and seventh data releases of the UKIDSS Galactic plane survey.We find 45 stars with δK > 1 mag, including two previously known OH/IR stars and a Nova. Even though the midplane is not yet included in the data set, we find the majority (66 per cent) of our sample to be within known star-forming regions (SFRs), with two large concentrations in the Serpens OB2 association (11 stars) and the Cygnus-X complex (12 stars). Sources in SFRs show spectral energy distributions that support classification as young stellar objects (YSOs). This indicates that YSOs dominate the Galactic population of high-amplitude infrared variable stars at low luminosities and therefore likely dominate the total high-amplitude population. Spectroscopic follow up of the DR5 sample shows at least four stars with clear characteristics of eruptive premain- sequence variables, two of which are deeply embedded. Our results support the recent concept of eruptive variability comprising a continuum of outburst events with different timescales and luminosities, but triggered by a similar physical mechanism involving unsteady accretion. Also, we find what appears to be one of the most variable classical Be stars. © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

Oral cholera vaccine use in Zanzibar: socioeconomic and behavioural features affecting demand and acceptance

Cholera remains a serious public health problem in low-income countries despite efforts in the past to promote oral rehydration therapy as major treatment. In 2007, the majority of worldwide cases (94%) and deaths (99%) were reported from Africa. To improve cholera control efforts in addition to maintaining and improving existing water supply, sanitation and hygiene behaviour measures, the World Health Organization has recently started to consider the use of vaccines as an additional public health tool. To assess this new approach in endemic settings, a project was launched in Zanzibar to vaccinate 50,000 individuals living in communities at high risk of cholera with an oral two-dose vaccine (Dukoral). Immunisation programmes in low-income countries have suffered a reduced coverage or were even brought to a halt because of an ignorance of local realities. To ensure the success of vaccination campaigns, implementers have to consider community-held perceptions and behaviours regarding the infectious disease and the vaccine of interest. The main aim of this study is to provide advice to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Zanzibar regarding routine introduction of an oral cholera vaccine from a socioeconomic and behavioural perspective as part of a long-term development for a sustained cholera prevention strategy. Qualitative and quantitative methods of health social science research will be applied on four stakeholder levels before and after the mass vaccination campaign. Rapid assessment individual interviews and focus groups will be used to describe cholera- and vaccine-related views of policy makers, health care professionals and community representatives. The cultural epidemiological approach will be employed on the individual household resident level in a repeated cross-sectional design to estimate determinants of anticipated and actual oral cholera vaccine acceptance. The study presented here is designed to inform about people's perceptions regarding cholera and about socioeconomic and behavioural factors determining anticipated and actual oral cholera vaccine acceptance in Zanzibar. Its pre- and post-intervention design using a mixed-methods approach on different stakeholder levels in communities at high risk of cholera outbreaks will ensure the collection of locally valid data relevant for public health action and planning

Protection from ultraviolet damage and photocarcinogenesis by vitamin d compounds

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. Exposure of skin cells to UV radiation results in DNA damage, which if inadequately repaired, may cause mutations. UV-induced DNA damage and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species also cause local and systemic suppression of the adaptive immune system. Together, these changes underpin the development of skin tumours. The hormone derived from vitamin D, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) and other related compounds, working via the vitamin D receptor and at least in part through endoplasmic reticulum protein 57 (ERp57), reduce cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and oxidative DNA damage in keratinocytes and other skin cell types after UV. Calcitriol and related compounds enhance DNA repair in keratinocytes, in part through decreased reactive oxygen species, increased p53 expression and/or activation, increased repair proteins and increased energy availability in the cell when calcitriol is present after UV exposure. There is mitochondrial damage in keratinocytes after UV. In the presence of calcitriol, but not vehicle, glycolysis is increased after UV, along with increased energy-conserving autophagy and changes consistent with enhanced mitophagy. Reduced DNA damage and reduced ROS/RNS should help reduce UV-induced immune suppression. Reduced UV immune suppression is observed after topical treatment with calcitriol and related compounds in hairless mice. These protective effects of calcitriol and related compounds presumably contribute to the observed reduction in skin tumour formation in mice after chronic exposure to UV followed by topical post-irradiation treatment with calcitriol and some, though not all, related compounds

Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background Improving survival and extending the longevity of life for all populations requires timely, robust evidence on local mortality levels and trends. The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study (GBD 2015) provides a comprehensive assessment of all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2015. These results informed an in-depth investigation of observed and expected mortality patterns based on sociodemographic measures. Methods We estimated all-cause mortality by age, sex, geography, and year using an improved analytical approach originally developed for GBD 2013 and GBD 2010. Improvements included refinements to the estimation of child and adult mortality and corresponding uncertainty, parameter selection for under-5 mortality synthesis by spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, and sibling history data processing. We also expanded the database of vital registration, survey, and census data to 14 294 geography-year datapoints. For GBD 2015, eight causes, including Ebola virus disease, were added to the previous GBD cause list for mortality. We used six modelling approaches to assess cause-specific mortality, with the Cause of Death Ensemble Model (CODEm) generating estimates for most causes. We used a series of novel analyses to systematically quantify the drivers of trends in mortality across geographies. First, we assessed observed and expected levels and trends of cause-specific mortality as they relate to the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary indicator derived from measures of income per capita, educational attainment, and fertility. Second, we examined factors affecting total mortality patterns through a series of counterfactual scenarios, testing the magnitude by which population growth, population age structures, and epidemiological changes contributed to shifts in mortality. Finally, we attributed changes in life expectancy to changes in cause of death. We documented each step of the GBD 2015 estimation processes, as well as data sources, in accordance with Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting (GATHER). Findings Globally, life expectancy from birth increased from 61.7 years (95% uncertainty interval 61.4-61.9) in 1980 to 71.8 years (71.5-72.2) in 2015. Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa had very large gains in life expectancy from 2005 to 2015, rebounding from an era of exceedingly high loss of life due to HIV/AIDS. At the same time, many geographies saw life expectancy stagnate or decline, particularly for men and in countries with rising mortality from war or interpersonal violence. From 2005 to 2015, male life expectancy in Syria dropped by 11.3 years (3.7-17.4), to 62.6 years (56.5-70.2). Total deaths increased by 4.1% (2.6-5.6) from 2005 to 2015, rising to 55.8 million (54.9 million to 56.6 million) in 2015, but age-standardised death rates fell by 17.0% (15.8-18.1) during this time, underscoring changes in population growth and shifts in global age structures. The result was similar for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with total deaths from these causes increasing by 14.1% (12.6-16.0) to 39.8 million (39.2 million to 40.5 million) in 2015, whereas age-standardised rates decreased by 13.1% (11.9-14.3). Globally, this mortality pattern emerged for several NCDs, including several types of cancer, ischaemic heart disease, cirrhosis, and Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. By contrast, both total deaths and age-standardised death rates due to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional conditions significantly declined from 2005 to 2015, gains largely attributable to decreases in mortality rates due to HIV/AIDS (42.1%, 39.1-44.6), malaria (43.1%, 34.7-51.8), neonatal preterm birth complications (29.8%, 24.8-34.9), and maternal disorders (29.1%, 19.3-37.1). Progress was slower for several causes, such as lower respiratory infections and nutritional deficiencies, whereas deaths increased for others, including dengue and drug use disorders. Age-standardised death rates due to injuries significantly declined from 2005 to 2015, yet interpersonal violence and war claimed increasingly more lives in some regions, particularly in the Middle East. In 2015, rotaviral enteritis (rotavirus) was the leading cause of under-5 deaths due to diarrhoea (146 000 deaths, 118 000-183 000) and pneumococcal pneumonia was the leading cause of under-5 deaths due to lower respiratory infections (393 000 deaths, 228 000-532 000), although pathogen-specific mortality varied by region. Globally, the effects of population growth, ageing, and changes in age-standardised death rates substantially differed by cause. Our analyses on the expected associations between cause-specific mortality and SDI show the regular shifts in cause of death composition and population age structure with rising SDI. Country patterns of premature mortality (measured as years of life lost [YLLs]) and how they differ from the level expected on the basis of SDI alone revealed distinct but highly heterogeneous patterns by region and country or territory. Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes were among the leading causes of YLLs in most regions, but in many cases, intraregional results sharply diverged for ratios of observed and expected YLLs based on SDI. Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases caused the most YLLs throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with observed YLLs far exceeding expected YLLs for countries in which malaria or HIV/AIDS remained the leading causes of early death. Interpretation At the global scale, age-specific mortality has steadily improved over the past 35 years; this pattern of general progress continued in the past decade. Progress has been faster in most countries than expected on the basis of development measured by the SDI. Against this background of progress, some countries have seen falls in life expectancy, and age-standardised death rates for some causes are increasing. Despite progress in reducing age-standardised death rates, population growth and ageing mean that the number of deaths from most non-communicable causes are increasing in most countries, putting increased demands on health systems. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS