Regional differences in attenuation modelling for Eastern China

This paper describes the development of seismological models for three sub-regions within Eastern China. An important feature of the modelling is that two main types of local data were used to determine parameters for input into the seismological model. Shear wave velocity data was used in Step One of the procedure for deriving the upper crustal factors which are part of the seismological model. Two further steps were involved in incorporating the historical Intensity (MMI) data into the modelling. In Step Two, the simulated peak ground velocity (PGV) values were converted to MMI values, and site factor was calculated by dividing the inferred PGV value by the respective simulated PGV value for each given (short distance) earthquake scenario. In Step Three, the quality (Q) factor of the seismological model for each sub-region was calibrated in accordance with the criterion that site factors inferred from records of long distance earthquakes in the database match with the median site factor obtained in Step Two for short distance earthquakes. Importantly, the Q values obtained by this calibration method were highly consistent with Coda Q values (obtained for each sub-region from a previous study by Jin and Aki based on analysing records of local earth tremors). The calibrated Q values in combination with the developed crustal factors and geometrical attenuation factor constitute the regional seismological model for Eastern China. The seismological model so developed takes into account intra-regional differences and has been used to simulate strong ground motions by the stochastic method for assessing the potential seismic hazards in the region. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.postprin

Isolation and characterization of native Bacillus thuringiensis strains from Saudi Arabia with enhanced larvicidal toxicity against the mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae (s.l.).

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, mosquito vectors are transmitting several etiological agents of important human diseases, including malaria, causing millions of deaths every year. In Saudi Arabia, as elsewhere, vector-control is based mostly on chemical insecticides which may be toxic and cause environmental deprivation. Here, to support the development of bio-pesticide alternatives, a study was conducted to identify native Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) isolates with improved toxicity against the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae (s.l.). METHODS: Sixty-eight Bt isolates were obtained from 300 soil and other samples collected from 16 sites across Saudi Arabia. Bt identification was based on morphological characteristics of colonies, shape of parasporal crystals and biochemical profiles. After characterization of their mosquitocidal activity, larvicidal strains were described through 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing, cry, cyt and chi genes PCR-amplification profiles, and SDS-PAGE protein analyses. RESULTS: Spherical Bt crystals were predominant amongst the 68 isolates (34%), while irregular, bi-pyramidal and spore-attached crystals were found in 32, 13 and 21% of strains, respectively. LC50 and LC90 bioassays showed that 23/68 isolates were larvicidal, with distinct biochemical activity profiles compared to non-larvicidal Bt strains. Eight larvicidal strains showed larvicidal activity up to 3.4-fold higher (LC50 range: 3.90-7.40 μg/ml) than the reference Bti-H14 strain (LC50 = 13.33 μg/ml). Of these, 6 strains had cry and cyt gene profiles similar to Bti-H14 (cry4Aa, cry4Ba, cry10, cry11, cyt1Aa, cyt1Ab, cyt2Aa). The seventh strain (Bt63) displaying the highest larvicidal activity (LC50 = 3.90 μg/ml) missed the cry4Aa and cyt1Ab genes and had SDS-PAGE protein profiles and spore/crystal sizes distinct from Bti-H14. The eight strain (Bt55) with LC50 of 4.11μg/ml had cry and cyt gene profiles similar to Bti-H14 but gave a chi gene PCR product size of 2027bp. No strains harbouring cry2, cry17 + 27, cry24 + 40, cry25, cry29, cry30, or cyt2Ba were detected. CONCLUSION: This study represents the first report of several Saudi indigenous Bt strains with significantly higher larvicidal efficacy against An. gambiae than the reference Bti-H14 strain. The very high toxicity of the Bt63 strain, combined with distinct cry and cyt genes and SDS-PAGE-protein profiles makes it a promising candidate for future applications in mosquito bio-control

A reduced-reference perceptual image and video quality metric based on edge preservation

In image and video compression and transmission, it is important to rely on an objective image/video quality metric which accurately represents the subjective quality of processed images and video sequences. In some scenarios, it is also important to evaluate the quality of the received video sequence with minimal reference to the transmitted one. For instance, for quality improvement of video transmission through closed-loop optimisation, the video quality measure can be evaluated at the receiver and provided as feedback information to the system controller. The original image/video sequence-prior to compression and transmission-is not usually available at the receiver side, and it is important to rely at the receiver side on an objective video quality metric that does not need reference or needs minimal reference to the original video sequence. The observation that the human eye is very sensitive to edge and contour information of an image underpins the proposal of our reduced reference (RR) quality metric, which compares edge information between the distorted and the original image. Results highlight that the metric correlates well with subjective observations, also in comparison with commonly used full-reference metrics and with a state-of-the-art RR metric. © 2012 Martini et al

Building a recruitment database for asthma trials: a conceptual framework for the creation of the UK Database of Asthma Research Volunteers

Funded by Asthma UK as part of the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUK-AC-2012-01). In addition, BN, IS, CS and AS acknowledge the support of the Farr Institute, which is funded by the MRC and its consortium of funders

Asthma prescribing, ethnicity and risk of hospital admission: an analysis of 35,864 linked primary and secondary care records in East London

This work was partly supported by funding from the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research

Multiphoton absorption in amyloid protein fibres

Fibrillization of peptides leads to the formation of amyloid fibres, which, when in large aggregates, are responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Here, we show that amyloids have strong nonlinear optical absorption, which is not present in native non-fibrillized protein. Z-scan and pump-probe experiments indicate that insulin and lysozyme β-amyloids, as well as α-synuclein fibres, exhibit either two-photon, three-photon or higher multiphoton absorption processes, depending on the wavelength of light. We propose that the enhanced multiphoton absorption is due to a cooperative mechanism involving through-space dipolar coupling between excited states of aromatic amino acids densely packed in the fibrous structures. This finding will provide the opportunity to develop nonlinear optical techniques to detect and study amyloid structures and also suggests that new protein-based materials with sizable multiphoton absorption could be designed for specific applications in nanotechnology, photonics and optoelectronics

Measles in HIV-infected children in southern Africa

In recent years, southern Africa has experienced a widespread measles outbreak. Given the high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence in the region, the particular features of measles in HIV-infected individuals are of interest to clinicians, especially as regards children, as are measles immunisation strategies for this population. This review discusses a case ofsevere measles in an HIV-infected child in Botswana, focusing on its implications for clinical case management in Botswana and similar settings and for policies on measles immunisation

What constitutes responsiveness of physicians: A qualitative study in rural Bangladesh

Responsiveness entails the social actions by health providers to meet the legitimate expectations of patients. It plays a critical role in ensuring continuity and effectiveness of care within people centered health systems. Given the lack of contextualized research on responsiveness, we qualitatively explored the perceptions of outpatient users and providers regarding what constitute responsiveness in rural Bangladesh. An exploratory study was undertaken in Chuadanga, a southwestern Bangladeshi District, involving in-depth interviews of physicians (n = 17) and users (n = 7), focus group discussions with users (n = 4), and observations of patient provider interactions (three weeks). Analysis was guided by a conceptual framework of responsiveness, which includes friendliness, respecting, informing and guiding, gaining trust and optimizing benefits. In terms of friendliness, patients expected physicians to greet them before starting consultations; even though physicians considered this unusual. Patients also expected physicians to hold social talks during consultations, which was uncommon. With regards to respect patients expected physicians to refrain from disrespecting them in various ways; but also by showing respect explicitly. Patients also had expectations related to informing and guiding: they desired explanation on at least the diagnosis, seriousness of illness, treatment and preventive steps. In gaining trust, patients expected that physicians would refrain from illegal or unethical activities related to patients, e.g., demanding money against free services, bringing patients in own private clinics by brokers (dalals), colluding with diagnostic centers, accepting gifts from pharmaceutical representatives. In terms of optimizing benefits: patients expected that physicians should be financially sensitive and consider individual need of patients. There were multiple dimensions of responsiveness- for some, stakeholders had a consensus; context was an important factor to understand them. This being an exploratory study, further research is recommended to validate the nuances of the findings. It can be a guideline for responsiveness practices, and a tipping point for future research

Impact of asthma on educational attainment in a socioeconomically deprived population: a study linking health, education and social care datasets

BACKGROUND: Asthma has the potential to adversely affect children's school examination performance, and hence longer term life chances. Asthma morbidity is especially high amongst UK ethnic minority children and those experiencing social adversity, populations which also have poor educational outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that asthma adversely affects performance in national school examinations in a large cohort from an area of ethnic diversity and social deprivation. METHODS AND FINDINGS: With a novel method (using patient and address-matching algorithms) we linked administrative and clinical data for 2002-2005 for children in east London aged 5-14 years to contemporaneous education and social care datasets. We modelled children's performance in school examinations in relation to socio-demographic and clinical variables. The dataset captured examination performance for 12,136 children who sat at least one national examination at Key Stages 1-3. For illustration, estimates are presented as percentage changes in Key Stage 2 results. Having asthma was associated with a 1.1% increase in examination scores (95%CI 0.4 to 1.7)%,p = 0.02. Worse scores were associated with Bangladeshi ethnicity -1.3%(-2.5 to -0.1)%,p = 0.03; special educational need -14.6%(-15.7 to -13.5)%,p = 0.02; mental health problems -2.5%(-4.1 to -0.9)%,p = 0.003, and social adversity: living in a smoking household -1.2(-1.7 to -0.6)%,p<0.001; living in social housing -0.8%(-1.3 to -0.2)% p = 0.01, and entitlement to free school meals -0.8%(-1.5 to -0.1)%,p<0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Social adversity and ethnicity, but not asthma, are associated with poorer performance in national school examinations. Policies to improve educational attainment in socially deprived areas should focus on these factors

Phytochemical profiling, antimicrobial and anticancer potential of Rosmarinus officinalis growing in Kashmir Himalayan region

Currently, medicinal plants are gaining importance in pharmaceutical and scientific communities. Medicinal plants are the most abundant natural source of valuable phytochemicals, which can help treat human diseases. The present study aimed to do phytochemical profiling and assess the antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the methanolic leaf extract of Rosmarinus officinalis. The photochemical profiling of R. officinalis leaves was done by GC-MS analysis. Twenty-six compounds were identified from the leaf extracts with great significance in pharmaceutical science for therapeutically efficient formulations to combat various diseases. The antimicrobial activity was done by the well diffusion method, while the anticancer potential against the A549 lung cancer cell line by MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The highest zone of inhibition was seen against Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 (21 ± 0.7 mm), Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 (19 ± 0.8 mm), Candida albicans ATCC 10231 (18± 0.6 mm) followed by Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (18 ± 0.8 mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11 ± 0.5 mm) with MIC values ranging from 128 to 256 µg/mL. R. officinalis demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.05) anticancer activity against the A549 cancer cell line with IC50 values of 39.70 and 33.60 µg/mL for 24 and 48 hours, respectively. The methanolic extract of R. officinalis can be a potential antimicrobial and anticancer agent and a vital resource for developing new drugs.