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Assessing the role of multiple mechanisms increasing the age of dengue cases in Thailand
Get PDFThe mean age of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases increased considerably in Thailand from 8.1 to 24.3 y between 1981 and 2017 (mean annual increase of 0.45 y). Alternative proposed explanations for this trend, such as changes in surveillance practices, reduced mosquito–human contact, and shifts in population demographics, have different implications for global dengue epidemiology. To evaluate the contribution of each of these hypothesized mechanisms to the observed data, we developed 20 nested epidemiological models of dengue virus infection, allowing for variation over time in population demographics, infection hazards, and reporting rates. We also quantified the effect of removing or retaining each source of variation in simulations of the age trajectory. Shifts in the age structure of susceptibility explained 58% of the observed change in age. Adding heterogeneous reporting by age and reductions in per-serotype infection hazard to models with shifts in susceptibility explained an additional 42%. Reductions in infection hazards were mostly driven by changes in the number of infectious individuals at any time (another consequence of shifting age demographics) rather than changes in the transmissibility of individual infections. We conclude that the demographic transition drives the overwhelming majority of the observed change as it changes both the age structure of susceptibility and the number of infectious individuals. With the projected Thai population age structure, our results suggest a continuing increase in age of DHF cases, shifting the burden toward individuals with more comorbidity. These insights into dengue epidemiology may be relevant to many regions of the globe currently undergoing comparable changes in population demographics
“I never really had the right words”: Critical literacies and the collective knowledge building of girls of colour
No full textThe questions explored in this article highlight the insights girls of colour gained through participation in a community-based organization’s core course centreing examinations of power and oppression. Given that the experiences of girls of colour are often essentialized, this study highlights how their varied socio-political realities influence how they utilize curriculum and pedagogy that employs an intersectional lens to make sense of the oppressive ideologies, systems, and structures that impact the material conditions of their lives. The thoughts and perspectives shared by the girls in this study demonstrate how a curriculum that facilitates access to terminology focussed on systems of power and oppression helps them to name, understand, and draw connections to their identities and lived experiences. The girls’ reflections also attest to the transformations and coalitional thinking cultivated through opportunities to engage with the diverse perspectives shared through their individual and collective narratives about their experiences with institutional, interpersonal, and internalized oppression. The knowledge and validation the girls received from their peers and faculty members strengthened their ability to critique and confront social injustice in their daily lives
A Child\u27s Experience Working Through Grief: A Booklet For School Aged Children Navigating Their Grief Journeys
Get PDFThe term grief describes the feelings you experience in response to the death of a person in your life, while the term mourning represents the period in which you feel or express signs of grief or sorrow. A child’s grief experience after the death of a significant person in their life is an often overlooked and understudied topic. The importance of being open and honest with children as they navigate their grief journey is at the forefront of this project. Using research regarding how children process, express, and understand grief, I created, “A Person In My Life Has Died, What Happens Now? A Booklet for School-Aged Children Navigating Their Grief Journey.” This booklet aims to provide school-aged children with information and interactive activities as they navigate their complicated journey of grief. After creation of the booklet, it was distributed to children ages seven to ten at FRIENDS WAY, a grief support group located in Warwick, Rhode Island. Upon delivery of the booklets to coordinators at FRIENDS WAY, I received incredible feedback regarding the activities included in the booklet. FRIENDS WAY staff assessed the booklet as age appropriate and promoting a positive and healthy method of working through grief. Caregivers especially appreciated the booklet’s core message that grief never truly ends, is a lifelong journey, and is different for everyone. This positive feedback and clear understanding of the central principle of the booklet clearly identified its significant value to the children as they navigate their lifelong journey with grief
Library Adoption and Use of GIS as an Information Sharing Tool during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Get PDFDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, libraries closed their physical facilities, offered shorter hours, rearranged and removed furniture, shifted to distance service provision, and used geographic information systems to support information sharing. For several decades, library and information studies have used geographic information systems for multiple purposes, and this occurred more than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research investigated different ways libraries and library agencies have been using geographic information systems to support information and resource sharing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The overarching goal was to demonstrate how libraries provide value to local communities and society. Interview research identified multiple mapping projects undertaken either in relation to or during the Covid-19 pandemic, including maps depicting public access to Wi-Fi Internet, library building status, inter-library loan receiving and sending status of libraries, and library usage data, as well as a state Covid-19 data dashboard. Interviewees reported using geographic information systems for ease of use, interactive data displays, comparing multiple data points, increasing engagement and awareness, tailoring services, and currency of reporting. Now that they have made some maps and seen how helpful the maps are for access, interviewees had many ideas for expansion of new mapping projects going forward
A family of QconCATs (Quantification conCATemers) for the quantification of human pharmacological target proteins
No full textWe have developed a family of QconCAT standards for the absolute quantification of pharmacological target proteins in a variety of human tissues. The QconCATs consist of concatenated proteotypic peptides, are designed in silico, and expressed in E. coli in media enriched with [13C6] arginine and [13C6] lysine to generate stable isotope-labeled multiplexed absolute quantification standards. The so-called MetCAT (used to quantify cytochrome P450 (CYP) and glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes), the liver TransCAT (used to quantify plasma-membrane drug transporters) and the brain TransCAT (used to quantify transporters expressed in the blood-brain barrier) were previously reported. We now report new QconCATs for the quantification of non-UGT non-CYP drug metabolizing enzymes (NuncCAT) and receptor tyrosine kinases (KinCAT). We have also redesigned the liver TransCAT, replacing problematic peptides and the N-terminal tag, for better characterization and expression. All these QconCATs showed high purity, high labelling efficiency with stable 13C isotope (\u3e95%), and high sequence coverage (\u3e88%). They represent a close-knit family of standards for quantifying pharmacokinetic targets, together with a more distant cousin, the KinCAT, used to quantify pharmacodynamic targets. Significance: Multiplexed determination of absolute protein abundances using quantitative conCATemers (QconCATs) has already been successfully demonstrated in different human tissues. We have previously reported two QconCATs; MetCAT and TransCAT, for the quantification of key enzymes (cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) and glucuronosyltransferases (UGT)) and drug transporters. To build on these reports, application of the QconCAT methodology for the determination of non-UGT non-CYP enzymes and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) in human tissue is reported here. This report focuses on development and characterization of two QconCAT constructs for the quantification of 24 enzymes and 21 RTKs. We demonstrate that the developed QconCATs have high purity, high incorporation efficiency and low peptide miscleavage upon proteolysis. Application of these QconCATs for reliable quantification of target proteins was achieved in human liver
Distance-Dependent Solid Electrolyte Interphase Control by Electrochemical Pretreatment
No full textA new method to control the morphology and chemical composition of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the Si anode via electrochemical pretreatment with variation of the distance between the counter electrode and the working electrode has been investigated. This fundamental investigation reveals that the chemical composition and structure of the SEI are dependent on the distance between the electrodes during electrochemical pretreatment. The electrochemical pretreatment in a conventional coin cell or with a narrow gap between the electrodes (0.5 mm) generates a SEI composed of a mixture of Li2CO3 and LiF on the Si anode. However, with a large distance between the electrodes (≥2 mm), a LiF-dominant surface film is generated with well-dispersed LiF nanoparticles (\u3c500 nm), improving the electrochemical performance of the Si anode. This finding provides insight into the potential to use distance between electrodes during electrochemical pretreatment as a method to control the structure and function of the SEI
Chlorophyll bloom enhanced by a mesoscale eddy in the western South China Sea
No full textRemote sensing of ocean color is used to detect phytoplankton blooms and oceanic eddies. In this study, satellite remote sensing was used to detect an eddylike phytoplankton bloom in the western South China Sea in early September, 2007. The eddy-like phytoplankton bloom formed in the middle of August, before the formation of a cyclonic eddy. The time series reveals a lag period of about 1 week between maximum chlorophyll (Chl a) and maximum eddy intensity. This lag may have been related to the Mekong River discharge and its subsequent mixing by the cyclonic eddy. The spatial distribution of the bloom was characterized by a jet of high Chl a. Our data provide evidence that a significant proportion of south-westerly monsoon driven nutrients are used by phytoplankton. We also determined that phytoplankton blooms may support the large-scale advective spreading of high biomass waters to the open ocean by large surface currents. These biomass rich waters are probably important in the food chain dynamics of the outer south-eastern shelf and the coral islands or atolls in the open ocean
Drag Coefficient and Its Sea State Dependence under Tropical Cyclones
No full textThe drag coefficient under tropical cyclones and its dependence on sea states are investigated by combining upper-ocean current observations [using electromagnetic autonomous profiling explorer (EM-APEX) floats deployed under five tropical cyclones] and a coupled ocean–wave (Modular Ocean Model 6–WAVEWATCH III) model. The estimated drag coefficient averaged over all storms is around 2–3 3 1023 forwindspeedsof25–55 m s21.Whilethedragcoefficient weakly depends on wind speed in this wind speed range, it shows stronger dependence on sea states. In particular, it is signif-icantly reduced when the misalignment angle between the dominant wave direction and the wind direction exceeds about 458, a feature that is underestimated by current models of sea state–dependent drag coefficient. Since the misaligned swell is more common in the far front and in the left-front quadrant of the storm (in the Northern Hemisphere), the drag coefficient also tends to be lower in these areas and shows a distinct spatial distribution. Our results therefore support ongoing efforts to develop and implement sea state–dependent parameterizations of the drag coefficient in tropical cyclone conditions
