An investigation on permethrin-treated military uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions

Background: Military forces are exposed to mosquito bites because of their duties. In addition to the nuisance caused by mosquito bites, they are the vector of some vector-borne diseases in many countries of the world. Impregnation of military uniforms with permethrin is one of the most effective methods of protecting military personnel. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of permethrin-impregnated uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions. Methods: In this study, one of the most common uniforms used in the Iranian military was treated by permethrin (0.125 mg. permethrin ai/cm(2)) and evaluated against the natural population of day-biting mosquitoes, in the rural area with Eight participants, three of them put on the treated uniforms and the other one of them wore the untreated uniforms and Four officers were also appointed as collectors. Results: The average number of bites in those who wore untreated uniforms (control) was 1.8/min/person (107.8/hr), while it was 0.16 (9.83/hr) for treated uniforms. The protection of treated uniforms was about 91. The knockdown rate for Culex and Aedes mosquitoes was 95.92 and 94.44, respectively. The mortality rate in Culex was 98.59 and 98.61 in Aedes mosquitoes when exposed to treated uniforms. Conclusion: In this study, military uniforms impregnated with permethrin showed significant protection against the bites of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. This intervention can be used to protect military personnel from the bites of Culex and Aedes these mosquitoes and to reduce the diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes

Meson Exchange Currents in (e,e'p) recoil polarization observables

A study of the effects of meson-exchange currents and isobar configurations in $A(\vec{e},e'\vec{p})B$ reactions is presented. We use a distorted wave impulse approximation (DWIA) model where final-state interactions are treated through a phenomenological optical potential. The model includes relativistic corrections in the kinematics and in the electromagnetic one- and two-body currents. The full set of polarized response functions is analyzed, as well as the transferred polarization asymmetry. Results are presented for proton knock-out from closed-shell nuclei, for moderate to high momentum transfer.Comment: 44 pages, 18 figures. Added physical arguments explaining the dominance of OB over MEC, and a summary of differences with previous MEC calculations. To be published in PR

Power-law entropy-corrected HDE and NADE in Brans-Dicke cosmology

Considering the power-law corrections to the black hole entropy, which appear in dealing with the entanglement of quantum fields inside and outside the horizon, the holographic energy density is modified accordingly. In this paper we study the power-law entropy-corrected holographic dark energy in the framework of Brans-Dicke theory. We investigate the cosmological implications of this model in detail. We also perform the study for the new agegraphic dark energy model and calculate some relevant cosmological parameters and their evolution. {As a result we find that this model can provide the present cosmic acceleration and even the equation of state parameter of this model can cross the phantom line $w_D=-1$ provided the model parameters are chosen suitably}.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure, accepted by IJT

Teaching Courses in Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy with Bloomberg Analytics

In this article, the authors illustrate the use of Bloomberg for analyzing topics in macroeconomics and monetary policy in economics and finance courses. The hands-on experience that students gain from such a course has many benefits, including deeper learning and clearer understanding of data. The authors describe goals and learning objectives, then compare Bloomberg with Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). In addition, they provide examples of how to use Bloomberg in the classroom, describe how to have students perform sector analysis, show how Bloomberg tools are useful for analyzing monetary policy, discuss how to use Bloomberg to analyze the financial sector, and illustrate the platform’s use in a case study

Behaviour change interventions to reduce second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure at home in pregnant women - A systematic review and intervention appraisal

Abstract Background Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy is associated with poor pregnancy and foetal outcomes. Theory-based behaviour change interventions (BCI) have been used successfully to change smoking related behaviours and offer the potential to reduce exposure of SHS in pregnant women. Systematic reviews conducted so far do not evaluate the generalisability and scalability of interventions. The objectives of this review were to (1) report the BCIs for reduction in home exposure to SHS for pregnant women; and (2) critically appraise intervention-reporting, generalisability, feasibility and scalability of the BCIs employed. Methods Standard methods following PRISMA guidelines were employed. Eight databases were searched from 2000 to 2015 in English. The studies included used BCIs on pregnant women to reduce their home SHS exposure by targeting husbands/partners. The Workgroup for Intervention Development and Evaluation Research (WIDER) guidelines were used to assess intervention reporting. Generalisability, feasibility and scalability were assessed against criteria described by Bonell and Milat. Results Of 3479 papers identified, six studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies found that BCIs led to increased knowledge about SHS harms, reduction or husbands quitting smoking, and increased susceptibility and change in level of actions to reduce SHS at home. Two studies reported objective exposure measures, and one reported objective health outcomes. The studies partially followed WIDER guidelines for reporting, and none met all generalisability, feasibility and scalability criteria. Conclusions There is a dearth of literature in this area and the quality of studies reviewed was moderate to low. The BCIs appear effective in reducing SHS, however, weak study methodology (self-reported exposure, lack of objective outcome assessment, short follow-up, absence of control group) preclude firm conclusion. Some components of the WIDER checklist were followed for BCI reporting, scalability and feasibility of the studies were not described. More rigorous studies using biochemical and clinical measures for exposures and health outcomes in varied study settings are required. Studies should report interventions in detail using WIDER checklist and assess them for generalisability, feasibility and scalability. Trial registration CRD40125026666

Hierarchical Over-the-Air Federated Edge Learning

Federated learning (FL) over wireless communication channels, specifically, over-the-air (OTA) model aggregation framework is considered. In OTA wireless setups, the adverse channel effects can be alleviated by increasing the number of receive antennas at the parameter server (PS), which performs model aggregation. However, the performance of OTA FL is severely limited by the presence of mobile users (MUs) located far away from the PS. In this paper, to mitigate this limitation, we propose hierarchical over-the-air federated learning (HOTAFL), which utilizes intermediary servers (IS) to form clusters near MUs. We provide a convergence analysis for the proposed setup, and demonstrate through experimental results that local aggregation in each cluster before global aggregation leads to a better performance and faster convergence than OTA FL

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with lysosomal storage disorders and restoration of services: experience from a specialist centre

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lysosomal disorders unit (LSDU) at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL), a highly specialised national service for diagnosis and management of adults with lysosomal storage disorders (LSD). Review of home care enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and emergency care, and COVID-19 shielding categories as per UK government guidance. New clinical pathways were developed to manage patients safely during the pandemic; staff well-being initiatives are described. LSDU staff were redeployed and/or had additional roles to support increased needs of hospitalised COVID-19 patients. During the first lockdown in March 2020, 286 of 602 LSD patients were shielding; 72 of 221 had home care ERT infusions interrupted up to 12 weeks. During the pandemic, there was a 3% reduction in home care nursing support required, with patients learning to self-cannulate or require support for cannulation only. There were no increased adverse clinical events during this period. Twenty-one contracted COVID-19 infection, with one hospitalised and no COVID-19 related deaths. In 2020, virtual clinics were increased by 88% (video and/or telephone) compared to 2019. RFL well-being initiatives supported all staff. We provide an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on staff and patients attending a highly specialised rare disease service. As far as we are aware, this is the first detailed narrative on the challenges and subsequent rapid adaptations made, both as part of a large organisation and as a specialist centre. Lessons learnt could be translated to other rare disease services and ensure readiness for any future pandemic