Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa.

Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa. Charles Piot. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 220 pp.     

Computer Simulation by Molecular Dynamics as a Tool for Modelling of Molecular Systems

Abstract

A survey is given of methods for simulation of molecular systems on a computer. The various assumptions, approximations and limitations are discussed and the possibility of making comparisons with experimental quantities is assessed. Finally, a number of practical applications of molecular dynamics simulation techniques in chemistry are reviewed.     

Functional Morphology as a Tool in General Education

SYNOPSIS. This paper explores the proposition that in morphology,or any other scientific subject, every statement is based onmultiple assumptions already in our minds before we begin toteach or do research in the field. Progress in morphology isintimately related to its philosophical and historical foundations.Personalities, social pressures and cultural traditions alsoplay major roles in the often complex and circuitous routesof scientific discovery. General education provides a foundationfor understanding these many interactions. Morphology, itself,is a metaphor for inter-relatedness, and this metaphor can beused to explore general education in the broadest sense. Morphologyis not only a body of knowledge and processes for producingthat knowledge but also groups of people deciding on directions,collaborating on methods, and consulting on concepts. A morphologistis a member of a community of understanding in a culture composedof diverse and often conflicting influences. I suggest thatexploring these issues is an important pedagogic tool for discoveringand understanding the foundations of morphology as a scientificendeavor. This paper is appropriately dedicated to ProfessorMilton Hildebrand who understands well the interdisciplinarynature of scientific discovery.     

Chlorophyll Fluorescence as a Tool in Cereal Crop Research

Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence is a subtle reflection of primary reactions of photosynthesis. Intricate relationships between fluorescence kinetics and photosynthesis help our understanding of photosynthetic biophysical processes. Chl fluorescence technique is useful as a non-invasive tool in eco-physiological studies, and has extensively been used in assessing plant responses to environmental stress. The review gives a summary of some Chl fluorescence parameters currently used in studies of stress physiology of selected cereal crops, namely water stress, heat stress, salt stress, and chilling stress.     

Biological Control as a Tool for Ecosystem Management

Biological control is proposed as a tool useful for ecosystem management and compatible with the goals of often competing interests regarding the restoration and maintenance of ecosystems. We summarize the effects of introduced species on ecosystems in three broad groups: insects, vertebrates, and weeds. We then discuss the role of biological control for each of these groups in the context of ecosystem management and realistic outcomes. Of the three groups, we show that biological control of weeds appears to have the best chance for success in ecosystem management. We provide two case studies to support our ideas and finally discuss future needs and trends including fiscal considerations, cost/benefits associated with biological weed control, and potential funding sources.     

Strain Analysis as a Tool for Functional Morphology

Strain gauge analysis can provide tremendous benefits to functionalmorphologists by accurately assessing the performance of a particularhard tissue structure in the mechanicalloading environmentsin which it functions. This method replaces estimated calculationsof skeletal stresses or strains with empirical measurements,and thus allows explicit testing of predictions derived fromtheoretical mechanical analyses or models. This direct measurementis particularly useful and important when the assumptions ofmechanical models are violated in the biological world, suchas when the geometry of the element of interest is complex and/orwhen the loads applied to a structure are either poorly knownof dynamically changing. In many, perhaps most, systems of interestto functional morphologists, the assumptions of simple shapeand well-defined loading necessary for most theoretical analysesare untenable; in these situations, strain gauge analysis canprovide considerable crucial information not obtainable anyother way. Although there are important limitations to the useof this approach, it can be applied to a variety of kinds offunctional analyses and may supply information about skeletalperformance that can contribute to meaningful functional interpretationsof morphological design.     

Citizen Science as a New Tool in Dog Cognition Research

Family dogs and dog owners offer a potentially powerful way to conduct citizen science to answer questions about animal behavior that are difficult to answer with more conventional approaches. Here we evaluate the quality of the first data on dog cognition collected by citizen scientists using the Dognition.com website. We conducted analyses to understand if data generated by over 500 citizen scientists replicates internally and in comparison to previously published findings. Half of participants participated for free while the other half paid for access. The website provided each participant a temperament questionnaire and instructions on how to conduct a series of ten cognitive tests. Participation required internet access, a dog and some common household items. Participants could record their responses on any PC, tablet or smartphone from anywhere in the world and data were retained on servers. Results from citizen scientists and their dogs replicated a number of previously described phenomena from conventional lab-based research. There was little evidence that citizen scientists manipulated their results. To illustrate the potential uses of relatively large samples of citizen science data, we then used factor analysis to examine individual differences across the cognitive tasks. The data were best explained by multiple factors in support of the hypothesis that nonhumans, including dogs, can evolve multiple cognitive domains that vary independently. This analysis suggests that in the future, citizen scientists will generate useful datasets that test hypotheses and answer questions as a complement to conventional laboratory techniques used to study dog psychology.     

Hospitalization Records as a Tool for Evaluating Performance of Food- and Water-Borne Disease Surveillance Systems: A Massachusetts Case Study

We outline a framework for evaluating food- and water-borne surveillance systems using hospitalization records, and demonstrate the approach using data on salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and giardiasis in persons aged ≥65 years in Massachusetts. For each infection, and for each reporting jurisdiction, we generated smoothed standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) and surveillance to hospitalization ratios (SHR) by comparing observed surveillance counts with expected values or the number of hospitalized cases, respectively. We examined the spatial distribution of SHR and related this to the mean for the entire state. Through this approach municipalities that deviated from the typical experience were identified and suspected of under-reporting. Regression analysis revealed that SHR was a significant predictor of SMR, after adjusting for population age-structure. This confirms that the spatial “signal” depicted by surveillance is in part influenced by inconsistent testing and reporting practices since municipalities that reported fewer cases relative to the number of hospitalizations had a lower relative risk (as estimated by SMR). Periodic assessment of SHR has potential in assessing the performance of surveillance systems.     

Evaluation of Two Influenza Surveillance Systems in South Africa

Background

The World Health Organisation recommends outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) and inpatient severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) surveillance. We evaluated two influenza surveillance systems in South Africa: one for ILI and another for SARI.

Methodology

The Viral Watch (VW) programme has collected virological influenza surveillance data voluntarily from patients with ILI since 1984 in private and public clinics in all 9 South African provinces. The SARI surveillance programme has collected epidemiological and virological influenza surveillance data since 2009 in public hospitals in 4 provinces by dedicated personnel. We compared nine surveillance system attributes from 2009–2012.

Results

We analysed data from 18,293 SARI patients and 9,104 ILI patients. The annual proportion of samples testing positive for influenza was higher for VW (mean 41%) than SARI (mean 8%) and generally exceeded the seasonal threshold from May to September (VW: weeks 21–40; SARI: weeks 23–39). Data quality was a major strength of SARI (most data completion measures >90%; adherence to definitions: 88–89%) and a relative weakness of the VW programme (62% of forms complete, with limited epidemiologic data collected; adherence to definitions: 65–82%). Timeliness was a relative strength of both systems (e.g. both collected >93% of all respiratory specimens within 7 days of symptom onset). ILI surveillance was more nationally representative, financially sustainable and expandable than the SARI system. Though the SARI programme is not nationally representative, the high quality and detail of SARI data collection sheds light on the local burden and epidemiology of severe influenza-associated disease.

Conclusions

To best monitor influenza in South Africa, we propose that both ILI and SARI should be under surveillance. Improving ILI surveillance will require better quality and more systematic data collection, and SARI surveillance should be expanded to be more nationally representative, even if this requires scaling back on information gathered.     

Fluorophore Binding Aptamers as a Tool for RNA Visualization

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is suitable for the detection of fluorescent molecules in living cells. For the visualization of mRNA, we genetically fused a fluorophore-specific RNA aptamer to the coding mRNA of the green fluorescent protein, as well as to noncoding sequences. Using these constructs, we showed that the aptamer portion of the mRNA still binds the fluorophore in the nanomolar range as determined via FCS. Furthermore, the binding took place in the context of total RNA extract. A tandem construct of the RNA aptamer even exhibited a lower K_d than the monomer. This FCS-based method establishes a tool for minimal invasive detection of RNA at the single molecule level in individual living cells.     

Excitation-Emission Map as a Tool in Studies of Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes

Excitation-emission maps were constructed by measuring emission spectra from tobacco thylakoids and from thylakoids and intact cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. The measurement of such maps is greatly facilitated by the current diode-array detector technology. We show that excitation-emission maps are valuable tools for studies of the structure and energy transfer pathways in photosynthetic systems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Temperature Drop as a Tool for Cold Tolerance Increment in Plants

The experiments were conducted with Cucumis sativus L., Triticum aestivum L., Brassica capitata, Solanum tuberosum, Zea mays L. and Pisum sativum L. Temperature drop increased cold resistance in all studied species. Level of cold resistance under the drop treatments was much higher than under the constant low temperature. It remained at a higher level for a longer period during de-acclimation. It is concluded that DROP technology is a good way for successful transplantation of greenhouse agricultural and bedding plants in early spring.     

Changes in Africa as a Wintering Area for Palaearctic Birds

The birds examined were in poor physical condition, with little or no body fat remaining. Starvation was the proximate cause of death.     

Remotely sensed landscape heterogeneity as a rapid tool for assessing local biodiversity value in a highly modified New Zealand landscape

The widespread conversion of natural habitats to agricultural land has created a need to integrate intensively managed landscapes into conservation management priorities. However, there are no clearly defined methods for assessing the conservation value of managed landscapes at the local scale. We used remotely sensed landscape heterogeneity as a rapid practical tool for the assessment of local biodiversity value within a predominantly agricultural landscape in Canterbury, New Zealand. Bird diversity was highly significantly correlated with landscape heterogeneity, distance from rivers and the Christchurch central business district, altitude and average annual household income, indicating that remotely sensed landscape heterogeneity is a good predictor of local biodiversity patterns. We discuss the advantages and limitations of using geographic information systems to determine local areas of high conservation value.     

Using Adeno-associated Virus as a Tool to Study Retinal Barriers in Disease

Müller cells are the principal glial cells of the retina. Their end-feet form the limits of the retina at the outer and inner limiting membranes (ILM), and in conjunction with astrocytes, pericytes and endothelial cells they establish the blood-retinal barrier (BRB). BRB limits material transport between the bloodstream and the retina while the ILM acts as a basement membrane that defines histologically the border between the retina and the vitreous cavity. Labeling Müller cells is particularly relevant to study the physical state of the retinal barriers, as these cells are an integral part of the BRB and ILM. Both BRB and ILM are frequently altered in retinal disease and are responsible for disease symptoms.There are several well-established methods to study the integrity of the BRB, such as the Evans blue assay or fluorescein angiography. However these methods do not provide information on the extent of BRB permeability to larger molecules, in nanometer range. Furthermore, they do not provide information on the state of other retinal barriers such as the ILM. To study BRB permeability alongside retinal ILM, we used an AAV based method that provides information on permeability of BRB to larger molecules while indicating the state of the ILM and extracellular matrix proteins in disease states. Two AAV variants are useful for such study: AAV5 and ShH10. AAV5 has a natural tropism for photoreceptors but it cannot get across to the outer retina when administered into the vitreous when the ILM is intact (i.e., in wild-type retinas). ShH10 has a strong tropism towards glial cells and will selectively label Müller glia in both healthy and diseased retinas. ShH10 provides more efficient gene delivery in retinas where ILM is compromised. These viral tools coupled with immunohistochemistry and blood-DNA analysis shed light onto the state of retinal barriers in disease.     

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment as a Useful Adjunctive Tool for Pneumonia

Pneumonia, the inflammatory state of lung tissue primarily due to microbial infection, claimed 52,306 lives in the United States in 2007¹ and resulted in the hospitalization of 1.1 million patients². With an average length of in-patient hospital stay of five days², pneumonia and influenza comprise significant financial burden costing the United States $40.2 billion in 2005³. Under the current Infectious Disease Society of America/American Thoracic Society guidelines, standard-of-care recommendations include the rapid administration of an appropriate antibiotic regiment, fluid replacement, and ventilation (if necessary). Non-standard therapies include the use of corticosteroids and statins; however, these therapies lack conclusive supporting evidence⁴. (Figure 1)Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) is a cost-effective adjunctive treatment of pneumonia that has been shown to reduce patients’ length of hospital stay, duration of intravenous antibiotics, and incidence of respiratory failure or death when compared to subjects who received conventional care alone⁵. The use of manual manipulation techniques for pneumonia was first recorded as early as the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918, when patients treated with standard medical care had an estimated mortality rate of 33%, compared to a 10% mortality rate in patients treated by osteopathic physicians⁶. When applied to the management of pneumonia, manual manipulation techniques bolster lymphatic flow, respiratory function, and immunological defense by targeting anatomical structures involved in the these systems^{7,8, 9, 10}.The objective of this review video-article is three-fold: a) summarize the findings of randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of OMT in adult patients with diagnosed pneumonia, b) demonstrate established protocols utilized by osteopathic physicians treating pneumonia, c) elucidate the physiological mechanisms behind manual manipulation of the respiratory and lymphatic systems. Specifically, we will discuss and demonstrate four routine techniques that address autonomics, lymph drainage, and rib cage mobility: 1) Rib Raising, 2) Thoracic Pump, 3) Doming of the Thoracic Diaphragm, and 4) Muscle Energy for Rib 1.^5,11