Applications of Multivalued Contractions on Graphs to Graph-Directed Iterated Function Systems

We apply a fixed point result for multivalued contractions on complete metric spaces endowed with a graph to graph-directed iterated function systems. More precisely, we construct a suitable metric space endowed with a graph G and a suitable G-contraction such that its fixed points permit us to obtain more information on the attractor of a graph-directed iterated function system

An Environmental Science and Engineering Framework for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

On June 20, 2017, members of the environmental engineering and science (EES) community convened at the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Biennial Conference for a workshop on antimicrobial resistance. With over 80 registered participants, discussion groups focused on the following topics: risk assessment, monitoring, wastewater treatment, agricultural systems, and synergies. In this study, we summarize the consensus among the workshop participants regarding the role of the EES community in understanding and mitigating the spread of antibiotic resistance via environmental pathways. Environmental scientists and engineers offer a unique and interdisciplinary perspective and expertise needed for engaging with other disciplines such as medicine, agriculture, and public health to effectively address important knowledge gaps with respect to the linkages between human activities, impacts to the environment, and human health risks. Recommendations that propose priorities for research within the EES community, as well as areas where interdisciplinary perspectives are needed, are highlighted. In particular, risk modeling and assessment, monitoring, and mass balance modeling can aid in the identification of “hot spots” for antibiotic resistance evolution and dissemination, and can help identify effective targets for mitigation. Such information will be essential for the development of an informed and effective policy aimed at preserving and protecting the efficacy of antibiotics for future generations

Water and sanitation: an essential battlefront in the war on antimicrobial resistance

Water and sanitation represent a key battlefront in combatting the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Basic water sanitation infrastructure is an essential first step towards protecting public health, thereby limiting the spread of pathogens and the need for antibiotics. AMR presents unique human health risks, meriting new risk assessment frameworks specifically adapted to water and sanitation-borne AMR. There are numerous exposure routes to AMR originating from human waste, each of which must be quantified for its relative risk to human health. Wastewater treatment plants play a vital role in centralized collection and treatment of human sewage, but there are numerous unresolved issues in terms of the microbial ecological processes occurring within them and the extent to which they attenuate or amplify AMR. Research is needed to advance understanding of the fate of resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in various waste management systems, depending on the local constraints and intended reuse applications. World Health Organization and national AMR action plans would benefit from a more holistic 'One Water' understanding. In this article we provide a framework for research, policy, practice and public engagement aimed at limiting the spread of AMR from water and sanitation in low-, medium- and high-income countries

Embodying prison pain: women’s experiences of self-injury in prison and the emotions of punishment

This paper explores the meanings and motivations of self-injury practices as disclosed in interviews with a small group of female former prisoners in England. In considering their testimonies through a feminist perspective, I seek to illuminate aspects of their experiences of imprisonment that go beyond the ‘pains of imprisonment’ literature. Specifically, I examine their accounts of self-injury with a focus on the embodied aspects of their experiences. In so doing, I highlight the materiality of the emotional harms of their prison experiences. I suggest that the pains of imprisonment are still very much inscribed on and expressed through the prisoner’s body. This paper advances a more theoretically situated, interdisciplinary critique of punishment drawn from medical-sociological, phenomenological and feminist scholarship

Towards a standardization of biomethane potential tests

8 PáginasProduction of biogas from different organic materials is a most interesting source of renewable energy. The biomethane potential (BMP) of these materials has to be determined to get insight in design parameters for anaerobic digesters. A workshop was held in June 2015 in Leysin Switzerland to agree on common solutions to the conundrum of inconsistent BMP test results. A discussion covers actions and criteria that are considered compulsory ito accept and validate a BMP test result; and recommendations concerning the inoculum substrate test setup and data analysis and reporting ito obtain test results that can be validated and reproduced.The workshop in Leysin, Switzerland, has been financed by the Swiss Federal Office for Energy, and co-sponsored by Bioprocess Control Sweden AB, Lund, Sweden. The authors thank Alexandra Maria Murray for editing the English

MiDAS 4: A global catalogue of full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences and taxonomy for studies of bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants

Microbial communities are responsible for biological wastewater treatment, but our knowledge of their diversity and function is still poor. Here, we sequence more than 5 million high-quality, full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences from 740 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across the world and use the sequences to construct the ‘MiDAS 4’ database. MiDAS 4 is an amplicon sequence variant resolved, full-length 16S rRNA gene reference database with a comprehensive taxonomy from domain to species level for all sequences. We use an independent dataset (269 WWTPs) to show that MiDAS 4, compared to commonly used universal reference databases, provides a better coverage for WWTP bacteria and an improved rate of genus and species level classification. Taking advantage of MiDAS 4, we carry out an amplicon-based, global-scale microbial community profiling of activated sludge plants using two common sets of primers targeting regions of the 16S rRNA gene, revealing how environmental conditions and biogeography shape the activated sludge microbiota. We also identify core and conditionally rare or abundant taxa, encompassing 966 genera and 1530 species that represent approximately 80% and 50% of the accumulated read abundance, respectively. Finally, we show that for well-studied functional guilds, such as nitrifiers or polyphosphate-accumulating organisms, the same genera are prevalent worldwide, with only a few abundant species in each genus

Dipolar cortico-muscular electrical stimulation: a novel method that enhances motor function in both - normal and spinal cord injured mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electrical stimulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems is a common tool that is used to improve functional recovery after neuronal injury.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here we described a new configuration of electrical stimulation as it was tested in anesthetized control and spinal cord injury (SCI) mice. Constant voltage output was delivered through two electrodes. While the negative voltage output (ranging from -1.8 to -2.6 V) was delivered to the muscle via transverse wire electrodes (diameter, 500 μm) located at opposite ends of the muscle, the positive output (ranging from + 2.4 to +3.2 V) was delivered to the primary motor cortex (M1) (electrode tip, 100 μm). The configuration was named dipolar cortico-muscular stimulation (dCMS) and consisted of 100 pulses (1 ms pulse duration, 1 Hz frequency).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In SCI animals, after dCMS, cortically-elicited muscle contraction improved markedly at the contralateral (456%) and ipsilateral (457%) gastrocnemius muscles. The improvement persisted for the duration of the experiment (60 min). The enhancement of cortically-elicited muscle contraction was accompanied by the reduction of M1 maximal threshold and the potentiation of spinal motoneuronal evoked responses at the contralateral (313%) and ipsilateral (292%) sides of the spinal cord. Moreover, spontaneous activity recorded from single spinal motoneurons was substantially increased contralaterally (121%) and ipsilaterally (54%). Interestingly, spinal motoneuronal responses and muscle twitches evoked by the test stimulation of non-treated M1 (received no dCMS) were significantly enhanced as well. Similar results obtained from normal animals albeit the changes were relatively smaller.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings demonstrated that dCMS could improve functionality of corticomotoneuronal pathway and thus it may have therapeutic potential.</p

Sensorimotor Experience Influences Recovery of Forelimb Abilities but Not Tissue Loss after Focal Cortical Compression in Adult Rats

Sensorimotor activity has been shown to play a key role in functional outcome after extensive brain damage. This study was aimed at assessing the influence of sensorimotor experience through subject-environment interactions on the time course of both lesion and gliosis volumes as well as on the recovery of forelimb sensorimotor abilities following focal cortical injury. The lesion consisted of a cortical compression targeting the forepaw representational area within the primary somatosensory cortex of adult rats. After the cortical lesion, rats were randomly subjected to various postlesion conditions: unilateral C5–C6 dorsal root transection depriving the contralateral cortex from forepaw somatosensory inputs, standard housing or an enriched environment promoting sensorimotor experience and social interactions. Behavioral tests were used to assess forelimb placement during locomotion, forelimb-use asymmetry, and forepaw tactile sensitivity. For each group, the time course of tissue loss was described and the gliosis volume over the first postoperative month was evaluated using an unbiased stereological method. Consistent with previous studies, recovery of behavioral abilities was found to depend on post-injury experience. Indeed, increased sensorimotor activity initiated early in an enriched environment induced a rapid and more complete behavioral recovery compared with standard housing. In contrast, severe deprivation of peripheral sensory inputs led to a delayed and only partial sensorimotor recovery. The dorsal rhizotomy was found to increase the perilesional gliosis in comparison to standard or enriched environments. These findings provide further evidence that early sensory experience has a beneficial influence on the onset and time course of functional recovery after focal brain injury