Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) as a feasible tool in detecting adult malnutrition

Objectives: This study aimed to expand on the limited South African malnutrition prevalence data and investigate the feasibility of mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) as a malnutrition screening tool. Design: A cross-sectional, multi-centre, descriptive design was adopted. Setting: The study was undertaken in three tertiary public hospitals in the same urban area within the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Subjects: Adult hospitalised patients volunteered to participate (n = 266). Methods: Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires; obtaining anthropometric measurements; and consulting medical files. For maximum accuracy of various MUAC cut-off points, receiver operating characteristic curves were generated and area under the curve determined. Results: Both body mass index (BMI) and MUAC identified 21% of participants as underweight or malnourished, and 39% as overweight or obese. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) found 23% at increased malnutrition risk. Nurses or doctors detected and referred only 19% of underweight patients (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), to dietetics services. Direct measurements of BMI and MUST were unobtainable in 38% and 43% of patients respectively, whilst MUAC was obtainable in 100%. A statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001) exists between MUAC, BMI and MUST to detect malnutrition or malnutrition risk. MUAC cut-offs for undernutrition were determined at < 23 cm (BMI < 16 kg/m2) and < 24 cm (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), respectively, for the study’s population groups. Conclusion: Malnutrition prevalence was high in this study, but often unidentified, with only a fifth referred to dietetic services. MUAC is a feasible method to identify adult malnutrition and should be considered as a malnutrition screening tool and key nutritional status indicator in South African public hospitals

Measurements of q2 moments of inclusive B →xcℓ+νℓ decays with hadronic tagging

We present the measurement of the first to fourth order moments of the four-momentum transfer squared, q2, of inclusive B→Xcℓ+νℓ decays using the full Belle dataset of 711 fb-1 of integrated luminosity at the (4S) resonance where ℓ=e, μ. The determination of these moments and their systematic uncertainties open new pathways to determine the absolute value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vcb using a reduced set of matrix elements of the heavy quark expansion. In order to identify and reconstruct the Xc system, we reconstruct one of the two B-mesons using machine learning techniques in fully hadronic decay modes. The moments are measured with progressively increasing threshold selections on q2 starting with a lower value of 3.0 GeV2 in steps of 0.5 GeV2 up to a value of 10.0 GeV2. The measured moments are further unfolded, correcting for reconstruction and selection effects as well as QED final state radiation. We report the moments separately for electron and muon final states and observe no lepton flavor universality violating effects. © 2021 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3

The superfield quantisation of a superparticle action with an extended line element

A massive superparticle action based on the generalised line element in N = 1 global superspace is quantised canonically. A previous method of quantising this action, based on a Fock space analysis, showed that states existed in three supersymmetric multiplets, each of a different mass. The quantisation procedure presented uses the single first class constraint as an operator condition on a general N = 1 superwavefunction. The constraint produces coupled equations of motion for the component wavefunctions. Transformations of the component wavefunctions are derived that decouple the equations of motion and partition the resulting wavefunctions into three separate supermultiplets. Unlike previous quantisations of superparticle actions in N = 1 global superspace, the spinor wavefunctions satisfy the Dirac equation and the vector wavefunctions satisfy the Proca equation. The off-shell closure of the commutators of the supersymmetry transformations, that include mass parameters, are derived by the introduction of auxiliary wavefunctions. To avoid the ghosts arising in a previous Fock space quantisation an alternative conjugation is used in the definition of the current, based on a Krein space approach

Extending scientific computing system with structural quantum programming capabilities

We present a basic high-level structures used for developing quantum programming languages. The presented structures are commonly used in many existing quantum programming languages and we use quantum pseudo-code based on QCL quantum programming language to describe them. We also present the implementation of introduced structures in GNU Octave language for scientific computing. Procedures used in the implementation are available as a package quantum-octave, providing a library of functions, which facilitates the simulation of quantum computing. This package allows also to incorporate high-level programming concepts into the simulation in GNU Octave and Matlab. As such it connects features unique for high-level quantum programming languages, with the full palette of efficient computational routines commonly available in modern scientific computing systems. To present the major features of the described package we provide the implementation of selected quantum algorithms. We also show how quantum errors can be taken into account during the simulation of quantum algorithms using quantum-octave package. This is possible thanks to the ability to operate on density matrices

Inferring Mycobacterium bovis transmission between cattle and badgers using isolates from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial.

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is a causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the global cattle industry. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial was a field experiment carried out between 1998 and 2005 in the South West of England. As part of this trial, M. bovis isolates were collected from contemporaneous and overlapping populations of badgers and cattle within ten defined trial areas. We combined whole genome sequences from 1,442 isolates with location and cattle movement data, identifying transmission clusters and inferred rates and routes of transmission of M. bovis. Most trial areas contained a single transmission cluster that had been established shortly before sampling, often contemporaneous with the expansion of bovine tuberculosis in the 1980s. The estimated rate of transmission from badger to cattle was approximately two times higher than from cattle to badger, and the rate of within-species transmission considerably exceeded these for both species. We identified long distance transmission events linked to cattle movement, recurrence of herd breakdown by infection within the same transmission clusters and superspreader events driven by cattle but not badgers. Overall, our data suggests that the transmission clusters in different parts of South West England that are still evident today were established by long-distance seeding events involving cattle movement, not by recrudescence from a long-established wildlife reservoir. Clusters are maintained primarily by within-species transmission, with less frequent spill-over both from badger to cattle and cattle to badger

Antigenic diversity is generated by distinct evolutionary mechanisms in African trypanosome species

Antigenic variation enables pathogens to avoid the host immune response by continual switching of surface proteins. The protozoan blood parasite Trypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis ("sleeping sickness") across sub-Saharan Africa and is a model system for antigenic variation, surviving by periodically replacing a monolayer of variant surface glycoproteins (VSG) that covers its cell surface. We compared the genome of Trypanosoma brucei with two closely related parasites Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma vivax, to reveal how the variant antigen repertoire has evolved and how it might affect contemporary antigenic diversity. We reconstruct VSG diversification showing that Trypanosoma congolense uses variant antigens derived from multiple ancestral VSG lineages, whereas in Trypanosoma brucei VSG have recent origins, and ancestral gene lineages have been repeatedly co-opted to novel functions. These historical differences are reflected in fundamental differences between species in the scale and mechanism of recombination. Using phylogenetic incompatibility as a metric for genetic exchange, we show that the frequency of recombination is comparable between Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma brucei but is much lower in Trypanosoma vivax. Furthermore, in showing that the C-terminal domain of Trypanosoma brucei VSG plays a crucial role in facilitating exchange, we reveal substantial species differences in the mechanism of VSG diversification. Our results demonstrate how past VSG evolution indirectly determines the ability of contemporary parasites to generate novel variant antigens through recombination and suggest that the current model for antigenic variation in Trypanosoma brucei is only one means by which these parasites maintain chronic infections

Stakeholder perceptions of a tackle law variation to reduce concussion incidence in community rugby union: A qualitative study

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of key stakeholder groups, i.e. coaches, players, and referees, of a reduced maximum legal tackle height law variation trial in a collegiate amateur rugby competition. A pragmatic qualitative approach was used. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were performed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three main law trial-related themes and four additional contextual themes were identified. The most important contextual factors include perceptions of resource scarcity of the implementation context, deficient concussion knowledge and lack of education among all stakeholder groups, tackle technique deficiencies, and an entrenched culture of a dismissive attitude towards serious injuries and non-disclosure of concussion by players. Real-world challenges such as inconsistent sanctioning during gameplay, multi-tackler tackles, and player fatigue underscore the gap between the theoretical knowledge of the law and the complex, dynamic nature of its execution. Furthermore, deeply ingrained issues like entrenched tackle techniques, the quality of coaching, and prevailing attitudes towards concussion compounded these challenges, indicating a need for a more comprehensive approach to bridge the divide between understanding and implementation. Despite these challenges, several participants felt the law variation was still more effective than the existing law; and that it created more awareness around concussion, while sending a clear message that player welfare is being taken seriously. Collectively these factors indicate the difficulty of addressing a complex problem such as concussion, with a law variation intervention in a challenging (resource-constrained) setting

Putative novel cps loci in a large global collection of pneumococci

The pneumococcus produces a polysaccharide capsule, encoded by the cps locus, that provides protection against phagocytosis and determines serotype. Nearly 100 serotypes have been identified with new serotypes still being discovered, especially in previously understudied regions. Here we present an analysis of the cps loci of more than 18  000 genomes from the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing (GPS) project with the aim of identifying novel cps loci with the potential to produce previously unrecognized capsule structures. Serotypes were assigned using whole genome sequence data and 66 of the approximately 100 known serotypes were included in the final dataset. Closer examination of each serotype’s sequences identified nine putative novel cps loci (9X, 11X, 16X, 18X1, 18X2, 18X3, 29X, 33X and 36X) found in ~2.6  % of the genomes. The large number and global distribution of GPS genomes provided an unprecedented opportunity to identify novel cps loci and consider their phylogenetic and geographical distribution. Nine putative novel cps loci were identified and examples of each will undergo subsequent structural and immunological analysis

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure