Reduction of malaria prevalence by indoor residual spraying: a meta-regression analysis.

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) has become an increasingly popular method of insecticide use for malaria control, and many recent studies have reported on its effectiveness in reducing malaria burden in a single community or region. There is a need for systematic review and integration of the published literature on IRS and the contextual determining factors of its success in controlling malaria. This study reports the findings of a meta-regression analysis based on 13 published studies, which were chosen from more than 400 articles through a systematic search and selection process. The summary relative risk for reducing malaria prevalence was 0.38 (95% confidence interval = 0.31-0.46), which indicated a risk reduction of 62%. However, an excessive degree of heterogeneity was found between the studies. The meta-regression analysis indicates that IRS is more effective with high initial prevalence, multiple rounds of spraying, use of DDT, and in regions with a combination of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria.

G protein signaling and vein graft intimal hyperplasia: reduction of intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts by a Gbetagamma inhibitor suggests a major role of G protein signaling in lesion development.

Vein grafting results in the development of intimal hyperplasia with accompanying changes in guanine nucleotide-binding (G) protein expression and function. Several serum mitogens that act through G protein-coupled receptors, such as lysophosphatidic acid, stimulate proliferative pathways that are dependent on the G protein betagamma subunit (Gbetagamma)-mediated activation of p21ras. This study examines the role of Gbetagamma signaling in intimal hyperplasia by targeting a gene encoding a specific Gbetagamma inhibitor in an experimental rabbit vein graft model. This inhibitor, the carboxyl terminus of the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (betaARK(CT)), contains a Gbetagamma-binding domain. Vein graft intimal hyperplasia was significantly reduced by 37% (P<0.01), and physiological studies demonstrated that the normal alterations in G protein coupling phenotypically seen in this model were blocked by betaARK(CT) treatment. Thus, it appears that Gbetagamma-mediated pathways play a major role in intimal hyperplasia and that targeting inhibitors of Gbetagamma signaling offers novel intraoperative therapeutic modalities to inhibit the development of vein graft intimal hyperplasia and subsequent vein graft failure.

Ontological considerations of time, meta-predicates and temporal propositions

A natural approach to representing and reasoning about temporal propositions (i.e., statements with time-dependent truth-values) is to associate them with time elements. In the literature, there are three choices regarding the primitive for the ontology of time: (1) instantaneous points, (2) durative intervals and (3) both points and intervals. Problems may arise when one conflates different views of temporal structure and questions whether some certain types of temporal propositions can be validly and meaningfully associated with different time elements. In this paper, we shall summarize an ontological glossary with respect to time elements, and diversify a wider range of meta-predicates for ascribing temporal propositions to time elements. Based on these, we shall also devise a versatile categorization of temporal propositions, which can subsume those representative categories proposed in the literature, including that of Vendler, of McDermott, of Allen, of Shoham, of Galton and of Terenziani and Torasso. It is demonstrated that the new categorization of propositions, together with the proposed range of meta-predicates, provides the expressive power for modeling some typical temporal terms/phenomena, such as starting-instant, stopping-instant, dividing-instant, instigation, termination and intermingling etc.

An ontological characterization of time-series and state-sequences for data mining

Time-series and sequences are important patterns in data mining. Based on an ontology of time-elements, this paper presents a formal characterization of time-series and state-sequences, where a state denotes a collection of data whose validation is dependent on time. While a time-series is formalized as a vector of time-elements temporally ordered one after another, a state-sequence is denoted as a list of states correspondingly ordered by a time-series. In general, a time-series and a state-sequence can be incomplete in various ways. This leads to the distinction between complete and incomplete time-series, and between complete and incomplete state-sequences, which allows the expression of both absolute and relative temporal knowledge in data mining.

The assassination of time (ζeta-philosophy)

The Digital Art Weeks PROGRAM (DAW06) is concerned with the application of digital technology in the arts. Consisting again this year of symposium, workshops and performances, the program offers insight into current research and innovations in art and technology as well as illustrating resulting synergies in a series of performances, making artists aware of impulses in technology and scientists aware of the possibilities of the application of technology in the arts.

Microwave mediated reduction of heterocycle and fluorine containing nitroaromatics with Mo(CO)(6) and DBU

Heterocycle containing nitroaromatics were reduced by Mo(CO)(6) and DBU in EtOH under microwave irradiation within 15 min. Under the same conditions, 4-fluoronitrobenzene was reduced to 4-fluoroaniline, whereas 2-chloro-1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene afforded a mixture of 3-chloro-4-fluoroaniline and 3-chloro-4-ethoxyaniline. The extent of the competing SNAr/reduction process could be influenced by the nature of the solvent, with t-BuOH the inert solvent of choice. The latter was used as solvent for SNAr/reductions of 2-chloro-1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene with S-nucleophiles to yield 3-chloro-4-mercaptoanilines. Crown Copyright (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On information rates of time-varying fading channels modeled as finite-state Markov channels

We study information rates of time-varying flat-fading channels (FFC) modeled as finite-state Markov channels (FSMC). FSMCs have two main applications for FFCs: modeling channel error bursts and decoding at the receiver. Our main finding in the first application is that receiver observation noise can more adversely affect higher-order FSMCs than lower-order FSMCs, resulting in lower capacities. This is despite the fact that the underlying higher-order FFC and its corresponding FSMC are more predictable. Numerical analysis shows that at low to medium SNR conditions (SNR lsim 12 dB) and at medium to fast normalized fading rates (0.01 lsim fDT lsim 0.10), FSMC information rates are non-increasing functions of memory order. We conclude that BERs obtained by low-order FSMC modeling can provide optimistic results. To explain the capacity behavior, we present a methodology that enables analytical comparison of FSMC capacities with different memory orders. We establish sufficient conditions that predict higher/lower capacity of a reduced-order FSMC, compared to its original high-order FSMC counterpart. Finally, we investigate the achievable information rates in FSMC-based receivers for FFCs. We observe that high-order FSMC modeling at the receiver side results in a negligible information rate increase for normalized fading rates fDT lsim 0.01.

Molybdenum hexacarbonyl and DBU reduction of nitro compounds under microwave irradiation

An ethanolic mixture of molybdenurn hexacarbonyl and DBU mediates the reduction of nitroarenes to the corresponding anilines in excellent yields in 15-30 minutes under microwave irradiation.

The evaluation of time series: their scientific value and contribution to policy needs. Occasional Publication of the Marine Biological Association 22

In 2000 a Review of Current Marine Observations in relation to present and future needs was undertaken by the Inter-Agency Committee for Marine Science and Technology (IACMST). The Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN) was initiated in 2002 as a direct response to the recommendations of the report. A key part of the current phase of the MECN is to ensure that information from the network is provided to policy makers and other end-users to enable them to produce more accurate assessments of ecosystem state and gain a clearer understanding of factors influencing change in marine ecosystems. The MECN holds workshops on an annual basis, bringing together partners maintaining time-series and long-term datasets as well as end-users interested in outputs from the network. It was decided that the first workshop of the MECN continuation phase should consist of an evaluation of the time series and data sets maintained by partners in the MECN with regard to their ‘fit for purpose’ for answering key science questions and informing policy development. This report is based on the outcomes of the workshop. Section one of the report contains a brief introduction to monitoring, time series and long-term datasets. The various terms are defined and the need for MECN type data to complement compliance monitoring programmes is discussed. Outlines are also given of initiatives such as the United Kingdom Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS) and Oceans 2025. Section two contains detailed information for each of the MECN time series / long-term datasets including information on scientific outputs and current objectives. This information is mainly based on the presentations given at the workshop and therefore follows a format whereby the following headings are addressed: Origin of time series including original objectives; current objectives; policy relevance; products (advice, publications, science and society). Section three consists of comments made by the review panel concerning all the time series and the network. Needs or issues highlighted by the panel with regard to the future of long-term datasets and time-series in the UK are shown along with advice and potential solutions where offered. The recommendations are divided into 4 categories; ‘The MECN and end-user requirements’; ‘Procedures & protocols’; ‘Securing data series’ and ‘Future developments’. Ever since marine environmental protection issues really came to the fore in the 1960s, it has been recognised that there is a requirement for a suitable evidence base on environmental change in order to support policy and management for UK waters. Section four gives a brief summary of the development of marine policy in the UK along with comments on the availability and necessity of long-term marine observations for the implementation of this policy. Policy relating to three main areas is discussed; Marine Conservation (protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems); Marine Pollution and Fisheries. The conclusion of this section is that there has always been a specific requirement for information on long-term change in marine ecosystems around the UK in order to address concerns over pollution, fishing and general conservation. It is now imperative that this need is addressed in order for the UK to be able to fulfil its policy commitments and manage marine ecosystems in the light of climate change and other factors.

Summary of time requirements and potential improvements for Marine Recorder data entry.

The contract work has demonstrated that older data can be assessed and entered into the MR format. Older data has associated problems but is retrievable. The contract successfully imported all datasets as required. MNCR survey sheets fit well into the MR format. The data validation and verification process can be improved. A number of computerised short cuts can be suggested and the process made more intuitive. Such a move is vital if MR is to be adopted as a standard by the recording community both on a voluntary level and potentially by consultancies.

Global and local contributions to the optical specification of time to contact: Observer sensitivity to composite tau

First-order time remaining until a moving observer will pass an environmental element is optically specified in two different ways. The specification provided by global tau (based on the pattern of change of angular bearing) requires that the element is stationary and that the direction of motion is accurately detected, whereas the specification provided by composite tau (based on the patterns of change of optical size and optical distance) does not require either of these. We obtained converging evidence,for our hypothesis. that observers are sensitive to composite tau in four experiments involving, relative judgments of, time to, passage with forced-choice methodology. Discrimination performance was enhanced in the presence of a local expansion component, while being unaffected when the detection of the direction of heading was impaired. Observers relied on the information carried in composite tau rather than on the information carried in its constituent components. Finally, performance was similar under conditions of observer motion and conditions of object motion. Because composite tau specifies first-order time remaining for a large number of situations, the different ways in which it may be detected are discussed.