Jitter-Adaptive Dictionary Learning - Application to Multi-Trial Neuroelectric Signals

Dictionary Learning has proven to be a powerful tool for many image processing tasks, where atoms are typically defined on small image patches. As a drawback, the dictionary only encodes basic structures. In addition, this approach treats patches of different locations in one single set, which means a loss of information when features are well-aligned across signals. This is the case, for instance, in multi-trial magneto- or electroencephalography (M/EEG). Learning the dictionary on the entire signals could make use of the alignement and reveal higher-level features. In this case, however, small missalignements or phase variations of features would not be compensated for. In this paper, we propose an extension to the common dictionary learning framework to overcome these limitations by allowing atoms to adapt their position across signals. The method is validated on simulated and real neuroelectric data.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, minor correction

Effectiveness of One Health approach for control of Kyasanur Forest Disease in Wayanad, Kerala, India

Background & objectives: Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) is a vector borne haemorrhagic fever that is endemic in the Wayanad region located in Northern part of Kerala, India. The region is managing the outbreak well ever since the major epidemic of 2015. This was because of the successful implementation of One Health (OH) initiative concentrating on multisectoral collaboration between regional institutions involved in public, animal and environmental health domains. The article presents how OH was implemented for the first time in the district in the year 2015 and evaluates the degree OH-ness of the Initiative. Methods: The OH approach involved trans-disciplinary stakeholder meetings and reviews, outbreak management and integrated surveillance targeting ticks, monkeys and humans. The degree of OH-ness used for addressing KFD during the year 2015 was evaluated following the protocol developed by the Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH). In detail, we (i) described the OH initiative and its system (Aim, stakeholders, action strategy) and (ii) scored different aspects of this initiative (i.e., OH-thinking, -planning, -working, -sharing, -learning, -organization), with values from 0 (=no OH approach) to 1 (=perfect OH approach). Results: We obtained a median score for each aspect evaluated. We reached high scores for OH systemic organization (1.0), OH thinking (0.83) and OH working (0.83). Lower scores were attributed to OH planning (0.58), OH sharing (0.50) and OH learning (0.33). The OH index was 0.36 and OH ratio was 0.95, indicating a balance between the OH operations and supporting infrastructures. Interpretation & conclusion: With this we could high-light some critical issues related to communication on sharing data as well as learning gaps for consideration to control future outbreaks. The strengths and weaknesses detected may be used to refine the initiative, aiming to provide a basis for the development of shared recommendations in a more OH-oriented perspective. This model of evaluation criteria will serve to create a database of OH success stories in India that will in turn help to institutionalize the approach at ministerial level. Future India is moving towards implementing a One Health, hence, this study data will provide an ideal opportunity for all sectors to control any vector borne diseases

Die zelluläre Immunantwort bei ausgeheilten und chronischen Hepatitis C Virus Infektionen

Die Zielsetzung dieser Arbeit Die akute Infektion mit HCV nimmt in bis zu 80% aller Fälle einen chronischen Verlauf. Ein entscheidender Faktor für die Elimination des Virus ist eine adäquate, zelluläre Immunantwort. Im Gegensatz zu chronisch infizierten Patienten ist bei ausgeheilten Individuen eine starke und multi-spezifische T Zellantwort nachweisbar. Ob ein Patient chronisch infiziert ist oder die Infektion ausgeheilt ist, kann mit Hilfe des Nachweises viraler RNA in den meisten Fällen eindeutig identifiziert werden. Allerdings ist bei einigen Patienten eine eindeutige Diagnosestellung nicht möglich ist. Das ist der Fall, wenn im Rahmen von serologischen Testungen ein reaktives Ergebnis im EIA und eine schwache Antikörperreaktion im Bestätigungsblot nachgewiesen wird und keine Virämie im Serum vorliegt. Die Ursache für diese Konstellation kann entweder eine unspezifische Antikörperreaktion oder eine ausgeheilte Infektion sein, die schon Jahre zurückliegt. Da eine abgelaufene Infektion durch eine starke T Zellantwort charakterisiert ist, besteht die Möglichkeit, über den Nachweis von HCV spezifischen T Zellen zwischen Personen mit unspezifischen Antikörperreaktionen und Patienten mit ausgeheilten Infektionen differenzieren zu können. Beim chronischen Verlauf der HCV Infektion ist die zelluläre Immunantwort sehr schwach ausgeprägt. Die Ursachen dafür sind immer noch nicht geklärt. In den letzten Jahren ist die hohe Expression des Rezeptor PD-1 auf T Zellen mit der Anergie in Verbindung gebracht worden. Zusätzlich scheint eine Infektion von Hepatozyten Einfluss auf die Expression des Liganden PD-L1 zu nehmen. Daher besteht die Möglichkeit, dass dieses Rezeptor-Liganden-System eine entscheidende Rolle bei dem chronischen Verlauf der HCV Infektion spielt. Es ist möglich, dass die antivirale Interferontherapie Einfluss auf das Expressionsmuster dieser beiden Oberflächenproteine nimmt und somit regulierend in die zelluläre Immunantwort eingreift. Ein Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, eine ausgeheilte HCV Infektion von einer unspezifischen Reaktivität der HCV Serologie mit Hilfe der zellulären Immunantwort zu unterscheiden. 1. Im ersten Schritt sollen aktuelle Plasmaproben von Blutspendern, die aufgrund eines fraglichen Befundes in der Vergangenheit von der Blutspende ausgeschlossen wurden, wiederholt auf Antikörper gegen das Virus getestet werden. 2. Im Anschluss wird die zelluläre Immunantwort der Spender analysiert. Dazu soll sowohl die Proliferation als auch die IFNγ Sekretion der T Zellen nach Stimulation mit viralen Proteinen untersucht werden. Als weiteres Ziel soll die Rolle des Rezeptors PD-1 und des Liganden PD-L1 bei der chronischen HCV Infektion und im Verlauf einer Interferontherapie analysiert werden. 1. Zunächst soll die Expression des Rezeptors auf den gesamten T Zellen chronisch infizierter Patienten untersucht werden und inwieweit sie sich unter antiviraler Therapie verändert 2. Des Weiteren sollen HCV spezifische CD8+ T Zellen in die Analyse der PD-1 Expression einbezogen werden und ob die Therapie das Expressionsmuster moduliert 3. Im weiteren Verlauf soll Expression des Liganden PD-L1 auf infizierten Hepatozyten analysiert werden und eine Behandlung mit Interferonen modulierend eingreift. 4. Im letzten Schritt soll die Interaktion von PD-1 und PD-L1 in zellulären Systemen charakterisiert werden und welchen Einfluss sie auf die T Zellen hat

Dictionary learning for M/EEG multidimensional data

International audienceSignals obtained from magneto- or electroencephalography (M/EEG) are very noisy and inherently multi-dimensional, i.e. provide a vector of measurements at each single time instant. To cope with noise, researchers traditionally acquire measurements over multiple repetitions (trials) and average them to classify various patterns of activity. This is not optimal because of trial-to-trial variability (waveform variation, jitters). The jitter-adaptivedictionary learning method (JADL) has been developed to better handle for this variability (with a particular emphasis on jitters). JADL is a data-driven method that learns a dictionary (prototype pieces) from a set of signals, but is currently limited to a single channel, which restricts its capacity to work with very noisy data such as M/EEG. We propose an extension to the jitter-adaptive dictionary learning method, that is able to handle multidimensional measurements such as M/EEG

Maya Phytomedicine in Guatemala - Can Cooperative Research Change Ethnopharmacological Paradigms?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: This paper presents one of the first large-scale collaborative research projects in ethnopharmacology, to bring together indigenous stakeholders and scientists both in project design and execution. This approach has often been recommended but rarely put into practice. The study was carried out in two key indigenous areas of Guatemala, for which very little ethnopharmacological fieldwork has been published. AIM OF THE STUDY: To document and characterize the ethno-pharmacopoeias of the Kaqchikel (highlands) and Q'eqchi' (lowlands) Maya in a transdisciplinary collaboration with the two groups Councils of Elders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The project is embedded in a larger collaboration with five Councils of Elders representing important indigenous groups in Guatemala, two of which participated in this study. These suggested healing experts reputed for their phytotherapeutic knowledge and skills. Ethnobotanical fieldwork was carried out over 20 months, accompanied by a joint steering process and validation workshops. The field data were complemented by literature research and were aggregated using a modified version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and Trotter & Logan's consensus index. RESULTS: Similar numbers of species were collected in the two areas, with a combined total of 530 species. This total does not represent all of the species used for medicinal purposes. Remedies for the digestive system, the central nervous system & behavioral syndromes, and general tissue problems & infections were most frequent in both areas. Furthermore, remedies for the blood, immune & endocrine system are frequent in the Kaqchikel area, and remedies for the reproductive system are frequent in the Q'eqchi' area. Consensus factors are however low. The Kaqchikel, in contrast to the Q'eqchi', report more remedies for non-communicable illnesses. They also rely heavily on introduced species. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS: The transdisciplinary research design facilitated scientifically rigorous and societally relevant large-scale fieldwork, which is clearly beneficial to indigenous collaborators. It provided access and built trust as prerequisites for assembling the largest comparative ethnopharmacological collection, vastly extending knowledge on Maya phytotherapy. The collection represents knowledge of the two groups' most reputed herbalists and is a representative selection of the Guatemalan medicinal flora. ICD-10 proved useful for making broad comparisons between the groups, but more refined approaches would be necessary for other research objectives. Knowledge in the two areas is highly diverse and seems fragmented. New approaches are required to assess how coherent Maya phytotherapy is. The documented'traditional' ethno-pharmacopoeias demonstrate dynamic change and acculturation, reflecting the two linguistic groups' sociocultural history and context. This highlights the adaptive potential of phyto-therapeutic knowledge and calls the equation of local indigenous pharmacopoeias with'traditional' medicine into question. We suggest using the term'local' pharmacopoeias, and reserving the term'traditional' for the study of indigenous pharmacopoeias with a clear delineation of ancient knowledge

Knowledge integration in One Health policy formulation, implementation and evaluation

The One Health concept covers the interrelationship between human, animal and environmental health and requires multistakeholder collaboration across many cultural, disciplinary, institutional and sectoral boundaries. Yet, the implementation of the One Health approach appears hampered by shortcomings in the global framework for health governance. Knowledge integration approaches, at all stages of policy development, could help to address these shortcomings. The identification of key objectives, the resolving of trade-offs and the creation of a common vision and a common direction can be supported by multicriteria analyses. Evidence-based decision-making and transformation of observations into narratives detailing how situations emerge and might unfold in the future can be achieved by systems thinking. Finally, transdisciplinary approaches can be used both to improve the effectiveness of existing systems and to develop novel networks for collective action. To strengthen One Health governance, we propose that knowledge integration becomes a key feature of all stages in the development of related policies. We suggest several ways in which such integration could be promoted

Green Health in Guatemala - How can we build mutual trust and partnerships for developing local medicines’ evidence-base and potential?

The implementation of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) protocols and especially the Nagoya Protocol has created new hurdles for collaborations around Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and international collaborations. Overall, these frameworks push for the development of novel collaborative North-South agendas in order to improve the fair distribution of benefits. The Green Health project (Guatemala) aims to implement a culturally pertinent and mutually accepted framework for sustainable use, access and benefit-sharing (ABS) of traditional medicinal plants. It involves developing a consensus among indigenous groups, government officials, industry, and academia. We describe steps undertaken to design and implement an intercultural transdisciplinary process that promotes trust building and advances herbal medicine research in a respectful and innovative way. This involves joint definition of goals and methods. The consortium co-researched Q’eqchi’ Maya traditional medicine, collected voucher specimens of medicinal plants with traditional healers, identified their taxa, and later developed a literature-based evaluation identifying species for potential product development. No samples for further research and development are collected. By applying the emic-etic concept, the project was able to understand the main drivers of each stakeholder and the associated obstacles for reaching an ABS agreement. This results in the emergence of potential new drivers for developing evidence-based herbal medicine from the perspective of academia, policy and cooperation and grass-roots indigenous movements

Bücher zur Apokalypse I: Kurz rezensiert

Sammelrezension: 1) Catherine Keller: Facing Apocalypse - Climate, Democracy and Other Last Chances. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books 2021. 978-1-626-98413-4.+++2) Michaël Fœssel: Nach dem Ende der Welt: Kritik der apokalyptischen Vernunft. Wien/Berlin: Turia + Kant 2019. 978-3-851-32936-0.+++3) Alexander García Düttmann, Marcus Quent (Hrsg.): Die Apokalypse enttäuscht. Zürich: Diaphanes 2023. 978-3-035-80619-9.+++4) Monika Kaup: New Ecological Realisms - Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and Contemporary Theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2021. 978-1-474-48310-0.+++5) Pablo Servigne, Raphaël Stevens: Wie alles zusammenbrechen kann: Handbuch der Kollapsologie. Wien/Berlin: Mandelbaum 2022. 978-3-854-76920-0.+++6) Pablo Servigne, Raphaël Stevens, Gauthier Chapelle: Une autre fin du monde est possible - Vivre l'effondrement (et pas seulement y survivre). Paris: Éditions du Seuil 2018. 978-2-021-33258-2

Advancing One Health: Updated core competencies

One Health recognises the interdependence between the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. With the increasing inclusion of One Health in multiple global health strategies, the One Health workforce must be prepared to protect and sustain the health and well-being of life on the planet. In this paper, a review of past and currently accepted One Health core competencies was conducted, with competence gaps identified. Here, the Network for Ecohealth and One Health (NEOH) propose updated core competencies designed to simplify what can be a complex area, grouping competencies into three main areas of: Skills; Values and Attitudes; and Knowledge and Awareness; with several layers underlying each. These are intentionally applicable to stakeholders from various sectors and across all levels to support capacity-building efforts within the One Health workforce. The updated competencies from NEOH can be used to evaluate and enhance current curricula, create new ones, or inform professional training programs at all levels, including students, university teaching staff, or government officials as well as continual professional development for frontline health practitioners and policy makers. The competencies are aligned with the new definition of One Health developed by the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), and when supported by subjectspecific expertise, will deliver the transformation needed to prevent and respond to complex global challenges

The state of One Health research across disciplines and sectors:a bibliometric analysis

There is a growing interest in One Health, reflected by the rising number of publications relating to One Health literature, but also through zoonotic disease outbreaks becoming more frequent, such as Ebola, Zika virus and COVID-19. This paper uses bibliometric analysis to explore the state of One Health in academic literature, to visualise the characteristics and trends within the field through a network analysis of citation patterns and bibliographic links. The analysis focuses on publication trends, co-citation network of scientific journals, co-citation network of authors, and co-occurrence of keywords. The bibliometric analysis showed an increasing interest for One Health in academic research. However, it revealed some thematic and disciplinary shortcomings, in particular with respect to the inclusion of environmental themes and social science insights pertaining to the implementation of One Health policies. The analysis indicated that there is a need for more applicable approaches to strengthen intersectoral collaboration and knowledge sharing. Silos between the disciplines of human medicine, veterinary medicine and environment still persist. Engaging researchers with different expertise and disciplinary backgrounds will facilitate a more comprehensive perspective where the human-animal-environment interface is not researched as separate entities but as a coherent whole. Further, journals dedicated to One Health or interdisciplinary research provide scholars the possibility to publish multifaceted research. These journals are uniquely positioned to bridge between fields, strengthen interdisciplinary research and create room for social science approaches alongside of medical and natural sciences. OHEJP PhD project: SUSTAI