A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Afrotropical white-eyes (Aves: Zosteropidae) highlights prior underestimation of mainland diversity and complex colonisation history

White-eyes (Zosterops) are a hyper-diverse genus of passerine birds that have rapidly radiated across the Afrotropics and Southeast Asia. Despite their broad range, a disproportionately large number of species are currently recognised from islands compared to the mainland. Described species-level diversity of this ‘great speciator’ from continental Africa-Arabia is strikingly low, despite the vast size and environmental complexity of this region. However, efforts to identify natural groups using traditional approaches have been hindered by the remarkably uniform morphology and plumage of these birds. Here, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships and systematics of Afrotropical Zosterops, including the Gulf of Guinea and western Indian Ocean islands. We included exceptional sampling (∼160 individuals) from all except one subspecies of the 54 taxa (31 species, plus 22 additional named sub-species) currently recognized throughout the region, in addition to a subset of extra-Afrotropical taxa, by exploiting blood and archival samples. Employing a multi-locus phylogenetic approach and applying quantitative species delimitation we tested: 1) if there has been a single colonisation event of the Afrotropical realm; 2) if constituent mainland and island birds are monophyletic; and 3) if mainland diversity has been underestimated. Our comprehensive regional phylogeny revealed a single recent colonisation of the Afrotropical realm c.1.30 Ma from Asia, but a subsequent complex colonisation history between constituent island and mainland lineages during their radiation across this vast area. Our findings suggest a significant previous underestimation of continental species diversity and, based on this, we propose a revised taxonomy. Our study highlights the need to densely sample species diversity across ranges, providing key findings for future conservation assessments and establishing a robust framework for evolutionary studies

Ultra-Sensitive Hot-Electron Nanobolometers for Terahertz Astrophysics

The background-limited spectral imaging of the early Universe requires spaceborne terahertz (THz) detectors with the sensitivity 2-3 orders of magnitude better than that of the state-of-the-art bolometers. To realize this sensitivity without sacrificing operating speed, novel detector designs should combine an ultrasmall heat capacity of a sensor with its unique thermal isolation. Quantum effects in thermal transport at nanoscale put strong limitations on the further improvement of traditional membrane-supported bolometers. Here we demonstrate an innovative approach by developing superconducting hot-electron nanobolometers in which the electrons are cooled only due to a weak electron-phonon interaction. At T<0.1K, the electron-phonon thermal conductance in these nanodevices becomes less than one percent of the quantum of thermal conductance. The hot-electron nanobolometers, sufficiently sensitive for registering single THz photons, are very promising for submillimeter astronomy and other applications based on quantum calorimetry and photon counting.Comment: 19 pages, 3 color figure

Evaluation of microflow configurations for scale inhibition and serial X-ray diffraction analysis of crystallization processes

The clean and reproducible conditions provided by microfluidic devices are ideal sample environments for in situ analyses of chemical and biochemical reactions and assembly processes. However, the small size of microchannels makes investigating the crystallization of poorly soluble materials on-chip challenging due to crystal nucleation and growth that result in channel fouling and blockage. Here, we demonstrate a reusable insert-based microfluidic platform for serial X-ray diffraction analysis and examine scale formation in response to continuous and segmented flow configurations across a range of temperatures. Under continuous flow, scale formation on the reactor walls begins almost immediately on mixing of the crystallizing species, which over time results in occlusion of the channel. Depletion of ions at the start of the channel results in reduced crystallization towards the end of the channel. Conversely, segmented flow can control crystallization, so it occurs entirely within the droplet. Consequently, the spatial location within the channel represents a temporal point in the crystallization process. Whilst each method can provide useful crystallographic information, time-resolved information is lost when reactor fouling occurs and changes the solution conditions with time. The flow within a single device can be manipulated to give a broad range of information addressing surface interaction or solution crystallization

Impact of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Colonization and Invasive Disease in Cambodian Children

Background Cambodia introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in January 2015 using a 3 + 0 dosing schedule and no catch-up campaign. We investigated the effects of this introduction on pneumococcal colonization and invasive disease in children aged <5 years. Methods There were 6 colonization surveys done between January 2014 and January 2018 in children attending the outpatient department of a nongovernmental pediatric hospital in Siem Reap. Nasopharyngeal swabs were analyzed by phenotypic and genotypic methods to detect pneumococcal serotypes and antimicrobial resistance. Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) data for January 2012–December 2018 were retrieved from hospital databases. Pre-PCV IPD data and pre-/post-PCV colonization data were modelled to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE). Results Comparing 2014 with 2016–2018, and using adjusted prevalence ratios, VE estimates for colonization were 16.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.6–21.8) for all pneumococci and 39.2% (95% CI 26.7–46.1) for vaccine serotype (VT) pneumococci. There was a 26.0% (95% CI 17.7–33.0) decrease in multidrug-resistant pneumococcal colonization. The IPD incidence was estimated to have declined by 26.4% (95% CI 14.4–35.8) by 2018, with a decrease of 36.3% (95% CI 23.8–46.9) for VT IPD and an increase of 101.4% (95% CI 62.0–145.4) for non-VT IPD. Conclusions Following PCV13 introduction into the Cambodian immunization schedule, there have been declines in VT pneumococcal colonization and disease in children aged <5 years. Modelling of dominant serotype colonization data produced plausible VE estimates

Dynamic Crystallization Pathways of Polymorphic Pharmaceuticals Revealed in Segmented Flow with Inline Powder X-ray Diffraction

Understanding the transitions between polymorphs is essential in the development of strategies for manufacturing and maximizing the efficiency of pharmaceuticals. However, this can be extremely challenging: crystallization can be influenced by subtle changes in environment, such as temperature and mixing intensity or even imperfections in the crystallizer walls. Here, we highlight the importance of in situ measurements in understanding crystallization mechanisms, where a segmented flow crystallizer was used to study the crystallization of the pharmaceuticals urea: barbituric acid (UBA) and carbamazepine (CBZ). The reactor provides highly reproducible reaction conditions, while in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) enables us to monitor the evolution of this system. UBA has two polymorphs of almost equivalent free-energy and so is typically obtained as a polymorphic mixture. In situ PXRD analysis uncovered a progression of polymorphs from UBA III to the thermodynamic polymorph UBA I, where different positions along the length of the tubular flow crystallizer correspond to different reaction times. Addition of UBA I seed crystals modified this pathway such that only UBA I was observed throughout, while transformation from UBA III into UBA I still occurred in the presence of UBA III seeds. Information regarding the mixing-dependent kinetics of the CBZ form II to III transformation was also uncovered in a series of seeded and unseeded flow crystallization runs, despite atypical habit expression. These results illustrate the importance of coupling controlled reaction environments with in situ XRD to study the phase relationships in polymorphic materials

A Cross-Sectional Study on Attitudes to and Understanding of Risk of Acquisition of HIV: Design, Methods and Participant Characteristics

Background: The annual number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the United Kingdom among men who have sex with men (MSM) has risen, and remains high among heterosexuals. Increasing HIV transmission among MSM is consistent with evidence of ongoing sexual risk behavior in this group, and targeted prevention strategies are needed for those at risk of acquiring HIV. Objective: The Attitudes to and Understanding of Risk of Acquisition of HIV (AURAH) study was designed to collect information on HIV negative adults at risk of HIV infection in the United Kingdom, based on the following parameters: physical and mental health, lifestyle, patterns of sexual behaviour, and attitudes to sexual risk. Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire study of HIV negative or undiagnosed sexual health clinic attendees in the United Kingdom from 2013-2014. Results: Of 2630 participants in the AURAH study, 2064 (78%) were in the key subgroups of interest; 580 were black Africans (325 females and 255 males) and 1484 were MSM, with 27 participants belonging to both categories. Conclusions: The results from AURAH will be a significant resource to understand the attitudes and sexual behaviour of those at risk of acquiring HIV within the United Kingdom. AURAH will inform future prevention efforts and targeted health promotion initiatives in the HIV negative population

Guidelines for reporting embedded recruitment trials

Background: Recruitment to clinical trials is difficult with many trials failing to recruit to target and within time. Embedding trials of recruitment interventions within host trials may provide a successful way to improve this. There are no guidelines for reporting such embedded methodology trials. As part of the Medical Research Council funded Systematic Techniques for Assisting Recruitment to Trials (MRC START) programme designed to test interventions to improve recruitment to trials, we developed guidelines for reporting embedded trials. Methods: We followed a three-phase guideline development process: (1) pre-meeting literature review to generate items for the reporting guidelines; (2) face-to-face consensus meetings to draft the reporting guidelines; and (3)post-meeting feedback review, and pilot testing, followed by finalisation of the reporting guidelines. Results: We developed a reporting checklist based on the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement 2010. Embedded trials evaluating recruitment interventions should follow the CONSORT statement 2010 and report all items listed as essential. We used a number of examples to illustrate key issues that arise in embedded trials and how best to report them, including (a) how to deal with description of the host trial; (b) the importance of describing items that may differ in the host and embedded trials (such as the setting and the eligible population); and (c) the importance of identifying clearly the point at which the recruitment interventions were embedded in the host trial. Conclusions: Implementation of these guidelines will improve the quality of reports of embedded recruitment trials while advancing the science, design and conduct of embedded trials as a whole

Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi

We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson. Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B- --> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications