The incidence and clinical burden of respiratory syncytial virus disease identified through hospital outpatient presentations in Kenyan children

There is little information that describe the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated disease in the tropical African outpatient setting. Methods We studied a systematic sample of children aged <5 years presenting to a rural district hospital in Kenya with acute respiratory infection (ARI) between May 2002 and April 2004. We collected clinical data and screened nasal wash samples for RSV antigen by immunofluorescence. We used a linked demographic surveillance system to estimate disease incidence. Results Among 2143 children tested, 166 (8%) were RSV positive (6% among children with upper respiratory tract infection and 12% among children with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). RSV was more likely in LRTI than URTI (p<0.001). 51% of RSV cases were aged 1 year or over. RSV cases represented 3.4% of hospital outpatient presentations. Relative to RSV negative cases, RSV positive cases were more likely to have crackles (RR = 1.63; 95% CI 1.34–1.97), nasal flaring (RR = 2.66; 95% CI 1.40–5.04), in-drawing (RR = 2.24; 95% CI 1.47–3.40), fast breathing for age (RR = 1.34; 95% CI 1.03–1.75) and fever (RR = 1.54; 95% CI 1.33–1.80). The estimated incidence of RSV-ARI and RSV-LRTI, per 100,000 child years, among those aged <5 years was 767 and 283, respectively. Conclusion The burden of childhood RSV-associated URTI and LRTI presenting to outpatients in this setting is considerable. The clinical features of cases associated with an RSV infection were more severe than cases without an RSV diagnosis

Microelectrode array recordings from the ventral roots in chronically implanted cats

ventral spinal roots contain the axons of spinal motoneurons and provide the only location in the peripheral nervous system where recorded neural activity can be assured to be motor rather than sensory. This study demonstrates recordings of single unit activity from these ventral root axons using floating microelectrode arrays (FMAs). Ventral root recordings were characterized by examining single unit yield and signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) with 32-channel FMAs implanted chronically in the L6 and L7 spinal roots of nine cats. Single unit recordings were performed for implant periods of up to 12 weeks. Motor units were identified based on active discharge during locomotion and inactivity under anesthesia. Motor unit yield and SNR were calculated for each electrode, and results were grouped by electrode site size, which were varied systematically between 25 and 160μm to determine effects on signal quality. The unit yields and SNR did not differ significantly across this wide range of electrode sizes. Both SNR and yield decayed over time, but electrodes were able to record spikes with SNR >2 up to 12 weeks post-implant. These results demonstrate that it is feasible to record single unit activity from multiple isolated motor units with penetrating microelectrode arrays implanted chronically in the ventral spinal roots. This approach could be useful for creating a spinal nerve interface for advanced neural prostheses, and results of this study will be used to improve design of microelectrodes for chronic neural recording in the ventral spinal roots. © 2014 Debnath, Bauman, Fisher, Weber and Gaunt

An Electrocorticographic Brain Interface in an Individual with Tetraplegia

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology aims to help individuals with disability to control assistive devices and reanimate paralyzed limbs. Our study investigated the feasibility of an electrocorticography (ECoG)-based BCI system in an individual with tetraplegia caused by C4 level spinal cord injury. ECoG signals were recorded with a high-density 32-electrode grid over the hand and arm area of the left sensorimotor cortex. The participant was able to voluntarily activate his sensorimotor cortex using attempted movements, with distinct cortical activity patterns for different segments of the upper limb. Using only brain activity, the participant achieved robust control of 3D cursor movement. The ECoG grid was explanted 28 days post-implantation with no adverse effect. This study demonstrates that ECoG signals recorded from the sensorimotor cortex can be used for real-time device control in paralyzed individuals

The application of statistical network models in disease research

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Host social structure is fundamental to how infections spread and persist, and so the statistical modelling of static and dynamic social networks provides an invaluable tool to parameterise realistic epidemiological models. We present a practical guide to the application of network modelling frameworks for hypothesis testing related to social interactions and epidemiology, illustrating some approaches with worked examples using data from a population of wild European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with bovine tuberculosis. Different empirical network datasets generate particular statistical issues related to non-independence and sampling constraints. We therefore discuss the strengths and weaknesses of modelling approaches for different types of network data and for answering different questions relating to disease transmission. We argue that statistical modelling frameworks designed specifically for network analysis offer great potential in directly relating network structure to infection. They have the potential to be powerful tools in analysing empirical contact data used in epidemiological studies, but remain untested for use in networks of spatio-temporal associations. As a result, we argue that developments in the statistical analysis of empirical contact data are critical given the ready availability of dynamic network data from bio-logging studies. Furthermore, we encourage improved integration of statistical network approaches into epidemiological research to facilitate the generation of novel modelling frameworks and help extend our understanding of disease transmission in natural populations.M.J.S. is funded by a NERC standard grant (NE/M004546/1) awarded to R.A.M., D.P.C., D.J.H. and M.B., with the APHA team at Woodchester Park, UK (lead scientist is R.J.D.) as project partners

Why is there no queer international theory?

Over the last decade, Queer Studies have become Global Queer Studies, generating significant insights into key international political processes. Yet, the transformation from Queer to Global Queer has left the discipline of International Relations largely unaffected, which begs the question: if Queer Studies has gone global, why has the discipline of International Relations not gone somewhat queer? Or, to put it in Martin Wight’s provocative terms, why is there no Queer International Theory? This article claims that the presumed non-existence of Queer International Theory is an effect of how the discipline of International Relations combines homologization, figuration, and gentrification to code various types of theory as failures in order to manage the conduct of international theorizing in all its forms. This means there are generalizable lessons to be drawn from how the discipline categorizes Queer International Theory out of existence to bring a specific understanding of International Relations into existence

The diplomat's dilemma: Maximal power for minimal effort in social networks

Closeness is a global measure of centrality in networks, and a proxy for how influential actors are in social networks. In most network models, and many empirical networks, closeness is strongly correlated with degree. However, in social networks there is a cost of maintaining social ties. This leads to a situation (that can occur in the professional social networks of executives, lobbyists, diplomats and so on) where agents have the conflicting objectives of aiming for centrality while simultaneously keeping the degree low. We investigate this situation in an adaptive network-evolution model where agents optimize their positions in the network following individual strategies, and using only local information. The strategies are also optimized, based on the success of the agent and its neighbors. We measure and describe the time evolution of the network and the agents' strategies.Comment: Submitted to Adaptive Networks: Theory, Models and Applications, to be published from Springe

Motor-related brain activity during action observation: A neural substrate for electrocorticographic brain-computer interfaces after spinal cord injury

After spinal cord injury (SCI), motor commands from the brain are unable to reach peripheral nerves and muscles below the level of the lesion. Action observation (AO), in which a person observes someone else performing an action, has been used to augment traditional rehabilitation paradigms. Similarly, AO can be used to derive the relationship between brain activity and movement kinematics for a motor-based brain-computer interface (BCI) even when the user cannot generate overt movements. BCIs use brain signals to control external devices to replace functions that have been lost due to SCI or other motor impairment. Previous studies have reported congruent motor cortical activity during observed and overt movements using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Recent single-unit studies using intracortical microelectrodes also demonstrated that a large number of motor cortical neurons had similar firing rate patterns between overt and observed movements. Given the increasing interest in electrocorticography (ECoG)-based BCIs, our goal was to identify whether action observation-related cortical activity could be recorded using ECoG during grasping tasks. Specifically, we aimed to identify congruent neural activity during observed and executed movements in both the sensorimotor rhythm (10-40 Hz) and the high-gamma band (65-115 Hz) which contains significant movement-related information. We observed significant motor-related high-gamma band activity during AO in both able-bodied individuals and one participant with a complete C4 SCI. Furthermore, in able-bodied participants, both the low and high frequency bands demonstrated congruent activity between action execution and observation. Our results suggest that AO could be an effective and critical procedure for deriving the mapping from ECoG signals to intended movement for an ECoG-based BCI system for individuals with paralysis. © 2014 Collinger, Vinjamuri, Degenhart, Weber, Sudre, Boninger, Tyler-Kabara and Wang

Thermodynamic Properties of Holographic Multiquark and the Multiquark Star

We study thermodynamic properties of the multiquark nuclear matter. The dependence of the equation of state on the colour charges is explored both analytically and numerically in the limits where the baryon density is small and large at fixed temperature between the gluon deconfinement and chiral symmetry restoration. The gravitational stability of the hypothetical multiquark stars are discussed using the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation. Since the equations of state of the multiquarks can be well approximated by different power laws for small and large density, the content of the multiquark stars has the core and crust structure. We found that most of the mass of the star comes from the crust region where the density is relatively small. The mass limit of the multiquark star is determined as well as its relation to the star radius. For typical energy density scale of $10\text{GeV}/\text{fm}^{3}$, the converging mass and radius of the hypothetical multiquark star in the limit of large central density are approximately $2.6-3.9$ solar mass and 15-27 km. The adiabatic index and sound speed distributions of the multiquark matter in the star are also calculated and discussed. The sound speed never exceeds the speed of light and the multiquark matters are thus compressible even at high density and pressure.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, 1 table, JHEP versio

Solar Wind and its Evolution

By using our previous results of magnetohydrodynamical simulations for the solar wind from open flux tubes, I discuss how the solar wind in the past is different from the current solar wind. The simulations are performed in fixed one-dimensional super-radially open magnetic flux tubes by inputing various types of fluctuations from the photosphere, which automatically determines solar wind properties in a forward manner. The three important parameters which determine physical properties of the solar wind are surface fluctuation, magnetic field strengths, and the configuration of magnetic flux tubes. Adjusting these parameters to the sun at earlier times in a qualitative sense, I infer that the quasi-steady-state component of the solar wind in the past was denser and slightly slower if the effect of the magneto-centrifugal force is not significant. I also discuss effects of magneto-centrifugal force and roles of coronal mass ejections.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, Earth, Planets, & Space in press (based on 5th Alfven Conference) correction of discussion on a related pape