Could guns and rain spell the end for the Karamojong?

Over one million people live in Karamoja, a region found in the north Eastern part of Uganda. To a visitor passing through from the capital city Kampala, Karamoja may look like any other region in Uganda but appearances can be deceptive. The region is characterised by the worst humanitarian and development indicators in Uganda

Denotation and connotation in the human-computer interface: The ‘Save as...’ command

This paper presents a semiotic technique as a means of exploring meaning and understanding in interface design and use. This is examined through a study of the interaction between the ‘file’ metaphor and ‘save as’ command metaphor. The behaviour of these (from a functional or computational basis) do not exactly match, or map onto, the meaning of the metaphor. We examine both the denotation of a term to the user, i.e. its literal meaning to that person, and the term’s connotations, i.e. any other meanings associated with the term. We suggest that the technique applied is useful in predicting future problems with understanding the use of metaphor at the interface and with designing appropriate signification for human-computer interaction. Variation in connotation was expected but a more fundamental difference in denotation was also uncovered. Moreover, the results clearly demonstrate that consistency in the denotation of a term is critical in achieving a good user understanding of the command

Comparison of empirical and predicted ultraviolet aircraft signatures

In light of the potential threat to aircraft from missiles using ultraviolet (UV) wavebands, it is important to understand the signature of an aircraft and how this can be predicted. This study compares empirical UV signature data to modeled data from camouflage electro-optical simulation (CAMEOSIM) to determine how well the contrast between the object and the background can be predicted using local knowledge of the atmosphere. CAMEOSIM uses the standard moderate resolution atmospheric transmission (MODTRAN) model to estimate the radiative transfer through the atmosphere. Both MODTRAN and CAMEOSIM are well validated in visible and infrared wavebands, and MODTRAN can accurately predict UV radiative transfer. Unfortunately, the work so far has concentrated on bulk transfer to describe the sky background in the UV where the aircraft scene is typically a negative contrast “hole” in a positive sky background. Importantly, path-to-path scattering is a key consideration in this scene since it is this that will tend to blur the edges of an object and reduce the contrast associated with it. A developed understanding of the limitations is required. It is determined that prediction is possible up to the ranges of 5 km. The local visibility (in km) is required for this prediction

Testing the performance of the ENRICHD Social Support Instrument in cardiac patients

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations suggest an important role of social support in the outcomes of patients treated for ischemic heart disease. The ENRICHD Social Support Instrument (ESSI) is a 7-item self-report survey that assesses social support. Validity and reliability of the ESSI, however, has not been formally tested in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: The ESSI, along with the Short Form-36 (SF-36), was sequentially administered to a cohort of 271 patients undergoing PCI. The test-retest reliability was examined with an intra-class correlation coefficient by comparing scores among 174 patients who completed both instruments 5 and 6 months after their procedure. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha at the time of patients' baseline procedure. The concurrent validity of the ESSI was assessed by comparing scores between depressed (MHI-5 score < 44) vs. non-depressed patients. The correlation between the ESSI and the SF-36 Social Functioning sub-scale, an accepted measure of social functioning, was also examined. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability showed no significant differences in mean scores among ESSI questionnaires administered 1 month apart (27.8+/-1.4 vs 27.8+/-1.5, p = 0.98). The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.94 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. Mean ESSI scores were significantly lower among depressed vs. non-depressed patients (24.6+/-1.7 vs 27+/-1.4, p < 0.018) and a positive albeit modest correlation with social functioning was seen (r = 0.19, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The ESSI appears to be a valid and reliable measure of social support in patients undergoing treatment for coronary artery disease. It may prove to be a valuable method of controlling for patient variability in outcomes studies where the outcomes are related to patients' social support

Phylogenetic relationships of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) inferred from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences

India has a diverse caecilian fauna, including representatives of three of the six currently recognized families, the Caeciliidae, Ichthyophiidae, the endemic Uraeotyphlidae, but previous molecular phylogenetic studies of caecilians have not included sequences for any Indian caecilians. Partial 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were obtained for a single representative of each of the caecilian families found in India and aligned against previously reported sequences for 13 caecilian species. The resulting alignment (16 taxa, 1200 sites, of which 288 cannot be aligned unambiguously) was analyzed using parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and distance methods. As judged by bootstrap proportions, decay indices, and leaf stabilities, well-supported relationships of the Indian caecilians are recovered from the alignment. The data (1) corroborate the hypothesis, based on morphology, that the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae are sister taxa, (2) recover a monophyletic Ichthyophiidae, including Indian and South East Asian representatives, and (3) place the Indian caeciliid Gegeneophis ramaswamii as the sister group of the caeciliid caecilians of the Seychelles. Rough estimates of divergence times suggest an origin of the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae while India was isolated from Laurasia and Africa and are most consistent with an Indian origin of these families and subsequent dispersal of ichthyophiids into South East Asia

Associations of specific types of sports and exercise with all-cause and cardiovascular-disease mortality:A cohort study of 80,306 British adults

Background/Aim Evidence for the long-term health effects of specific sport disciplines is scarce. Therefore, we examined the associations of six different types of sport/exercise with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk in a large pooled Scottish and English population-based cohort. Methods Cox proportional hazards regression was used to investigate the associations between each exposure and all-cause and CVD mortality with adjustment for potential confounders in 80 306 individuals (54% women; mean±SD age: 52±14 years). Results Significant reductions in all-cause mortality were observed for participation in cycling (HR=0.85, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.95), swimming (HR=0.72, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.80), racquet sports (HR=0.53, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.69) and aerobics (HR=0.73, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.85). No significant associations were found for participation in football and running. A significant reduction in CVD mortality was observed for participation in swimming (HR=0.59, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.75), racquet sports (HR=0.44, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.83) and aerobics (HR=0.64, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.92), but there were no significant associations for cycling, running and football. Variable dose–response patterns between the exposure and the outcomes were found across the sport disciplines. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that participation in specific sports may have significant benefits for public health. Future research should aim to further strengthen the sport-specific epidemiological evidence base and understanding of how to promote greater sports participation

Gas emissions, minerals, and tars associated with three coal fires, Powder River Basin, USA.

Ground-based surveys of three coal fires and airborne surveys of two of the fires were conducted near Sheridan, Wyoming. The fires occur in natural outcrops and in abandoned mines, all containing Paleocene-age subbituminous coals. Diffuse (carbon dioxide (CO(2)) only) and vent (CO(2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane, hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S), and elemental mercury) emission estimates were made for each of the fires. Additionally, gas samples were collected for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis and showed a large range in variation between vents. The fires produce locally dangerous levels of CO, CO(2), H(2)S, and benzene, among other gases. At one fire in an abandoned coal mine, trends in gas and tar composition followed a change in topography. Total CO(2) fluxes for the fires from airborne, ground-based, and rate of fire advancement estimates ranged from 0.9 to 780mg/s/m(2) and are comparable to other coal fires worldwide. Samples of tar and coal-fire minerals collected from the mouth of vents provided insight into the behavior and formation of the coal fires

Functional anonymisation: Personal data and the data environment

Anonymisation of personal data has a long history stemming from the expansion of the types of data products routinely provided by National Statistical Institutes. Variants on anonymisation have received serious criticism reinforced by much-publicised apparent failures. We argue that both the operators of such schemes and their critics have become confused by being overly focused on the properties of the data themselves. We claim that, far from being able to determine whether data are anonymous (and therefore non-personal) by looking at the data alone, any anonymisation technique worthy of the name must take account of not only the data but also their environment. This paper proposes an alternative formulation called functional anonymisation that focuses on the relationship between the data and the environment within which the data exist (their data environment). We provide a formulation for describing the relationship between the data and their environment that links the legal notion of personal data with the statistical notion of disclosure control. Anonymisation, properly conceived and effectively conducted, can be a critical part of the toolkit of the privacy-respecting data controller and the wider remit of providing accurate and usable data

Ipomoeassin F Binds Sec61α to Inhibit Protein Translocation

Funding Information: We thank the Arkansas Nano & Bio Materials Characterization Facility at the Institute for Nano Sciences & Engineering for our imaging studies, and Prof Yoshito Kishi (Harvard University) for the kind gift of synthetic mycolactone A/B used by S.H. and R.S. W.S. is supported by Grant No. R15GM116032 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and startup funds from the University of Arkansas. This work was also supported in part by Grant No. P30 GM103450 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH and by seed money from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI). S.O’K. is the recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Doctoral Training Programme Award (BB/J014478/ 1), and S.H. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (204957/Z/16/Z). The alpha-1 antitrypsin work was supported by the Alpha-1 Foundation (J.I. and M.J.I.). J.I. and M.J.H. were supported by the intramural program of NCATS, National Institutes of Health, projects 1ZIATR000048-03 (J.I.) and ZIATR000063-04 (M.J.H.). R.S. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (202843/Z/16/Z). C.D. received funding from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Med́ icale, and the Fondation Raoul Follereau. N.B.’s synthesis and chemical biology studies of mycolactone were supported by CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Fondations Potier et Follereau, and the Investisse-ment d’Avenir (Idex Unistra). V.O.P. is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grants 289737 and 314672) and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation. Funding Information: We thank the Arkansas Nano & Bio Materials Characterization Facility at the Institute for Nano Sciences & Engineering for our imaging studies, and Prof Yoshito Kishi (Harvard University) for the kind gift of synthetic mycolactone A/B used by S.H. and R.S. W.S. is supported by Grant No. R15GM116032 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and startup funds from the University of Arkansas. This work was also supported in part by Grant No. P30 GM103450 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH and by seed money from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI). S.O'K. is the recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Doctoral Training Programme Award (BB/J014478/1), and S.H. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (204957/Z/16/Z). The alpha-1 antitrypsin work was supported by the Alpha-1 Foundation (J.I. and M.J.I.). J.I. and M.J.H. were supported by the intramural program of NCATS, National Institutes of Health, projects 1ZIATR000048-03 (J.I.) and ZIATR000063-04 (M.J.H.). R.S. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (202843/Z/16/Z). C.D. received funding from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, and the Fondation Raoul Follereau. N.B.'s synthesis and chemical biology studies of mycolactone were supported by CNRS, Universite de Strasbourg, Fondations Potier et Follereau and the Investissement d'Avenir (Idex Unistra). V.O.P. is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grants 289737 and 314672) and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 American Chemical Society.Ipomoeassin F is a potent natural cytotoxin that inhibits growth of many tumor cell lines with single-digit nanomolar potency. However, its biological and pharmacological properties have remained largely unexplored. Building upon our earlier achievements in total synthesis and medicinal chemistry, we used chemical proteomics to identify Sec61 alpha (protein transport protein Sec61 subunit alpha isoform 1), the pore-forming subunit of the Sec61 protein translocon, as a direct binding partner of ipomoeassin F in living cells. The interaction is specific and strong enough to survive lysis conditions, enabling a biotin analogue of ipomoeassin F to pull down Sec61 alpha from live cells, yet it is also reversible, as judged by several experiments including fluorescent streptavidin staining, delayed competition in affinity pulldown, and inhibition of TNF biogenesis after washout. Sec61 alpha forms the central subunit of the ER protein translocation complex, and the binding of ipomoeassin F results in a substantial, yet selective, inhibition of protein translocation in vitro and a broad ranging inhibition of protein secretion in live cells. Lastly, the unique resistance profile demonstrated by specific amino acid single-point mutations in Sec61 alpha provides compelling evidence that Sec61 alpha is the primary molecular target of ipomoeassin F and strongly suggests that the binding of this natural product to Sec61 alpha is distinctive. Therefore, ipomoeassin F represents the first plant-derived, carbohydrate-based member of a novel structural class that offers new opportunities to explore Sec61 alpha function and to further investigate its potential as a therapeutic target for drug discovery.Peer reviewe

High Diversity, Low Disparity and Small Body Size in Plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary

Invasion of the open ocean by tetrapods represents a major evolutionary transition that occurred independently in cetaceans, mosasauroids, chelonioids (sea turtles), ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Plesiosaurian reptiles invaded pelagic ocean environments immediately following the Late Triassic extinctions. This diversification is recorded by three intensively-sampled European fossil faunas, spanning 20 million years (Ma). These provide an unparalleled opportunity to document changes in key macroevolutionary parameters associated with secondary adaptation to pelagic life in tetrapods. A comprehensive assessment focuses on the oldest fauna, from the Blue Lias Formation of Street, and nearby localities, in Somerset, UK (Earliest Jurassic: 200 Ma), identifying three new species representing two small-bodied rhomaleosaurids (Stratesaurus taylori gen et sp. nov.; Avalonnectes arturi gen. et sp. nov) and the most basal plesiosauroid, Eoplesiosaurus antiquior gen. et sp. nov. The initial radiation of plesiosaurs was characterised by high, but short-lived, diversity of an archaic clade, Rhomaleosauridae. Representatives of this initial radiation were replaced by derived, neoplesiosaurian plesiosaurs at small-medium body sizes during a more gradual accumulation of morphological disparity. This gradualistic modality suggests that adaptive radiations within tetrapod subclades are not always characterised by the initially high levels of disparity observed in the Paleozoic origins of major metazoan body plans, or in the origin of tetrapods. High rhomaleosaurid diversity immediately following the Triassic-Jurassic boundary supports the gradual model of Late Triassic extinctions, mostly predating the boundary itself. Increase in both maximum and minimum body length early in plesiosaurian history suggests a driven evolutionary trend. However, Maximum-likelihood models suggest only passive expansion into higher body size categories