Ghosts and Monsters in the Motor City: challenging the trope of Detroit’s decline

In recent decades, the dominant narrative of Detroit has been one of decline. Paul Draus and Juliette Roddy write that this conceit has also become associated with the metaphor of monstrosity which shows the Motor City as a kind of urban nightmare. They write that while some of Detroit’s proponents have embraced this narrative, others have sought to reframe it as one where the city has been preyed on by federal and state neglect. By giving a greater voice to Detroit’s residents, they hope to challenge the city’s ongoing trope of decline

A boundary vector cell model of place field repetition

Hippocampal place cells are thought to form the neural substrate of a global cognitive map. However, in multicompartment mazes these cells exhibit locally repeating representations, undermining the global cognitive map view of place cells. This phenomenon appears to be related to the repetitive layout of these mazes, but still no hypothesis adequately explains it. Here, we use a boundary vector cell model of place cell firing to model the activity of place cells in numerous multicompartment environments. The activity of modelled place cells bears a striking resemblance to experimental data, replicating virtually every major experimental result. Our results support the boundary vector cell model and indicate that locally repeating place cell firing could result purely from local geometry

The importance of perturbations in elite squash: An analysis of their ability to successfully predict rally outcome

This is the authors' post-print of an article published in International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 2014.This study investigated the presence of perturbations within elite squash through the analysis of critical incidents responsible for successful rally outcome

Lurking in the bushes: informality, illicit activity and transitional green space in Berlin and Detroit

This paper offers an exploratory overview of different research literatures examining the relationship between urban nature or green space on the one hand, and marginalized, stigmatized, and illicit activities on the other. We situate this discussion within the geographic literature concerning assemblage theory and informality, and apply these concepts to urban green space. We offer some comparative examples from Detroit and Berlin, two cities known for their green space and illicit activity, but with very different histories and cultural contexts. For this purpose, we draw on our own primary research in both Detroit and Berlin, examining how the dynamics of these interactions produce diverse and distinctive urban places in some cases and associations of danger or insecurity in others, sometimes both simultaneously. We utilize diverse methodologies, including qualitative interviews and focus groups, mobile explorations, photography, and sketching to provide examples of spaces as complex assemblages of actors with diverse, emergent potentials. We conclude by contending that green spaces and urban nature belong on the same map as studies of informal and illicit activities, adopting a more fluid conception of the shifting relationship between people and green space in the evolving city.University of Michigan Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Collaboration on Applications of Cooperative Research in the Social SciencesPeer Reviewe

Decline in an Atlantic Puffin population : evaluation of magnitude and mechanisms

Funding: This study was funded annually by Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk) with contributions from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (jncc.defra.gov.uk). Funding was received from these two sources by Fair Isle Bird Observatory from 1986 to 2013. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust supplied guidance on study design, data collection, analyses, preparation of the manuscript and the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Factors Associated with Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever:

Background. Reliable on-site polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) is not always available. Therefore, clinicians triage patients on the basis of presenting symptoms and contact history. Using patient data collected in Uige, Angola, in 2005, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of these factors to evaluate the validity of World Health Organization (WHO)–recommended case definitions for MHF. Methods. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of PCR confirmation of MHF. A data-derived algorithm was developed to obtain new MHF case definitions with improved sensitivity and specificity. Results. A MHF case definition comprising (1) an epidemiological link or (2) the combination of myalgia or arthralgia and any hemorrhage could potentially serve as an alternative to current case definitions. Our dataderived case definitions maintained the sensitivity and improved the specificity of current WHO-recommended case definitions. Conclusions. Continued efforts to improve clinical documentation during filovirus outbreaks would aid in the refinement of case definitions and facilitate outbreak control

Signs and Symptoms, Management and Outcomes

Data collected during the 2012 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were analysed for clinical signs, symptoms and case fatality of EVD caused by Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), establishment of differential diagnoses, description of medical treatment and evaluation of the quality of clinical documentation. In a quantitative observational prospective study, global epidemiological data from 52 patients (34 patients within the community, 18 patients treated in the Ebola Treatment Centre) were entered anonymously into a database, subsequently matched and analysed. Relevant findings include an over-representation of females among community EVD cases (85.3%) and of community EVD cases in the age group of 15-54 years (82.4%). All ETC patients had fever (55.6% of all 18 ETC patients during their hospital stay) or self-reported fever (88.2% upon admission) at some point of time during their illness. Major symptoms of ETC patients during hospital stay included asthenia (82.4%), anorexia (82.4%), myalgia (70.6%), sore throat/difficulty swallowing (70.6%), arthralgia (76.5%) and nausea (70.6%). Gastrointestinal signs and symptoms (nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting) (76.4%) as well as general pain (94.1%) were frequent in ETC patients. The median duration of EVD was 18 days, while the mean incubation period was 11.3 days. Differential diagnosis of EVD included malaria (28.3%), intestinal parasitosis (10.9%), and infectious syndrome (10.9%). There was also an important variation in clinical evolvement. Quality of documentation was adversely affected by the way patient file contents were transferred from inside to outside the high-risk zone, entailing a mean mismatch value of 27.3% between patient file contents inside vs. outside the high-risk zone. This study adds further description of EVD (frequently non-specific signs and symptoms, non frequent bleeding, a long incubation period, long duration of disease) and emphasizes the need for improving clinical monitoring and documentation in EVD outbreak settings

The Medecins Sans Frontieres Intervention in the Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Epidemic, Uige, Angola, 2005. I. Lessons Learned in the Hospital.

When the epidemic of Marburg hemorrhagic fever occurred in Uige, Angola, during 2005, the international response included systems of case detection and isolation, community education, the burial of the dead, and disinfection. However, despite large investments of staff and money by the organizations involved, only a fraction of the reported number of cases were isolated, and many cases were detected only after death. This article describes the response of Medecins Sans Frontieres Spain within the provincial hospital in Uige, as well as the lessons they learned during the epidemic. Diagnosis, management of patients, and infection control activities in the hospital are discussed. To improve the acceptability of the response to the host community, psychological and cultural factors need to be considered at all stages of planning and implementation in the isolation ward. More interventional medical care may not only improve survival but also improve acceptability