| 1. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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| 2. |
- Amanullah, Rahman, et al.
(author)
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Spectra and Hubble Space Telescope Light Curves of Six Type Ia Supernovae at 0.511 < z < 1.12 and the Union2 Compilation
- 2010
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 716, s. 712-738
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on work to increase the number of well-measured Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high redshifts. Light curves, including high signal-to-noise Hubble Space Telescope data, and spectra of six SNe Ia that were discovered during 2001, are presented. Additionally, for the two SNe with z > 1, we present ground-based J-band photometry from Gemini and the Very Large Telescope. These are among the most distant SNe Ia for which ground-based near-IR observations have been obtained. We add these six SNe Ia together with other data sets that have recently become available in the literature to the Union compilation. We have made a number of refinements to the Union analysis chain, the most important ones being the refitting of all light curves with the SALT2 fitter and an improved handling of systematic errors. We call this new compilation, consisting of 557 SNe, the Union2 compilation. The flat concordance ΛCDM model remains an excellent fit to the Union2 data with the best-fit constant equation-of-state parameter w = -0.997+0.050 -0.054(stat)+0.077 -0.082(stat + sys together) for a flat universe, or w = -1.038+0.056 -0.059(stat)+0.093 -0.097(stat + sys together) with curvature. We also present improved constraints on w(z). While no significant change in w with redshift is detected, there is still considerable room for evolution in w. The strength of the constraints depends strongly on redshift. In particular, at z >~ 1, the existence and nature of dark energy are only weakly constrained by the data. Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under the NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The observations are associated with programs HST-GO-08585 and HST-GO-09075. Based, in part, on observations obtained at the ESO La Silla Paranal Observatory (ESO programs 67.A-0361 and 169.A-0382). Based, in part, on observations obtained at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Based, in part, on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory (Gemini programs GN-2001A-SV-19 and GN-2002A-Q-31). Based, in part on observations obtained at the Subaru Telescope. Based, in part, on data that were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory.
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| 3. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 4. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.522.7) and 16.5 cm (13.319.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 5. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 6. |
- Boldt, Luis N., et al.
(author)
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Near-Infrared K Corrections of Type Ia Supernovae and their Errors
- 2014
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In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 126:938, s. 324-337
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper we use near-infrared (NIR) spectral observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to study the uncertainties inherent in NIR K corrections. To do so, 75 previously published NIR spectra of 33 SNe Ia are employed to determine K-correction uncertainties in the YJHK(s) passbands as a function of temporal phase and redshift. The resultant K corrections are then fed into an interpolation algorithm that provides mean K corrections as a function of temporal phase and robust estimates of the associated errors. These uncertainties are both statistical and intrinsic-i.e., due to the diversity of spectral features from object to object and must be included in the overall error budget of cosmological parameters constrained through the use of NIR observations of SNe Ia. Intrinsic variations are likely the dominant source of error for all four passbands at maximum light. Given the present data, the total Y-band K-correction uncertainties at maximum are smallest, amounting to +/- 0.04 mag at a redshift of z = 0.08. The J-band K-term errors are also reasonably small (+/- 0.06 mag), but intrinsic variations of spectral features and noise introduced by telluric corrections in the H-band currently limit its total K-correction errors at maximum to +/- 0.10 mag at z = 0.08. Finally, uncertainties in the K-s-band K terms at maximum amount to +/- 0.07 mag at this same redshift. These results are largely constrained by the small number of published NIR spectra of SNe Ia, which do not yet allow spectral templates to be constructed as a function of the light curve decline rate.
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| 7. |
- Clark, Peter, et al.
(author)
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LSQ13ddu : a rapidly evolving stripped-envelope supernova with early circumstellar interaction signatures
- 2020
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 492:2, s. 2208-2228
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes the rapidly evolving and unusual supernova LSQ13ddu, discovered by the La Silla-QUEST survey. LSQ13ddu displayed a rapid rise of just 4.8 +/- 0.9 d to reach a peak brightness of -19.70 +/- 0.02 mag in the LSQgr band. Early spectra of LSQ13ddu showed the presence of weak and narrow He I features arising from interaction with circumstellar material (CSM). These interaction signatures weakened quickly, with broad features consistent with those seen in stripped-envelope SNe becoming dominant around two weeks after maximum. The narrow He I velocities are consistent with the wind velocities of luminous blue variables but its spectra lack the typically seen hydrogen features. The fast and bright early light curve is inconsistent with radioactive Ni-56 powering but can be explained through a combination of CSM interaction and an underlying Ni-56 decay component that dominates the later time behaviour of LSQ13ddu. Based on the strength of the underlying broad features, LSQ13ddu appears deficient in He compared to standard SNe Ib.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Fennell, David A., et al.
(author)
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Tourism, animals & the vacant niche : a scoping review and pedagogical agenda
- 2024
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In: Current Issues in Tourism. - : Routledge. - 1368-3500 .- 1747-7603. ; , s. 1-29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The topic of animal ethics has advanced in tourism studies since its inception in 2000, based on a diverse range of studies on species involvement, types of uses and contexts, level of engagement, states of animals, and theoretical perspectives. While there is still considerable scope to amplify research on animal-based tourism, a gap exists in tourism pedagogy amidst the field’s emphasis on a new expanding consciousness platform. We review the depth of existing scholarship on animal ethics in tourism and develop an agenda for advancing animal ethics pedagogy for the future. Our intent is to issue a call to action for curriculum committees, programme administrators, and educators to recognise and act on this critical moral domain in tourism education.
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| 10. |
- Green, Jonathan M. H., et al.
(author)
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Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food, energy, water and the environment
- 2017
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In: Sustainability Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1862-4065 .- 1862-4057. ; 12:2, s. 319-331
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the 'nexus' of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.
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| 11. |
- McDonald, Heather, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Impact of the homeML Format and the homeML Suite within the Research Community
- 2013
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In: Journal of universal computer science (Online). - 0948-695X .- 0948-6968. ; 19:17, s. 2559-2576
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lack of a standard format to store data generated within the smart environments research domain is limiting the opportunity for researchers to share and reuse datasets. The opportunity to exchange datasets is further hampered due to the lack of an online resource to facilitate this. In our current work we have attempted to resolve these issues through the development of homeML, a proposed format to support the storage and exchange of data generated within a smart environment and the homeML suite, an online tool to support data exchange and reuse. A usability and functionality study performed by 8 unbiased members of the research community is presented and discussed. All participants in the study agreed that the homeML format could address the need for a standard format within this domain. Participants also agreed that the homeML suite would be a useful tool to be available to researchers as they perform experiments in the area of smart environments.
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| 12. |
- Mulder, Renée L., et al.
(author)
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Communication and ethical considerations for fertility preservation for patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer : recommendations from the PanCareLIFE Consortium and the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group
- 2021
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In: The Lancet Oncology. - 1470-2045 .- 1474-5488. ; 22:2, s. 68-80
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer who will be treated with gonadotoxic therapies are at increased risk for infertility. Many patients and their families desire biological children but effective communication about treatment-related infertility risk and procedures for fertility preservation does not always happen. The PanCareLIFE Consortium and the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group reviewed the literature and developed a clinical practice guideline that provides recommendations for ongoing communication methods for fertility preservation for patients who were diagnosed with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer at age 25 years or younger and their families. Moreover, the guideline panel formulated considerations of the ethical implications that are associated with these procedures. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology was used to grade the evidence and recommendations. In this clinical practice guideline, existing evidence and international expertise are combined to develop transparent recommendations that are easy to use to facilitate ongoing communication between health-care providers and patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer who might be at high risk for fertility impairment and their families.
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| 13. |
- Soranzo, Nicole, et al.
(author)
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A genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 22 loci associated with eight hematological parameters in the HaemGen consortium
- 2009
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 41:11, s. 38-1182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The number and volume of cells in the blood affect a wide range of disorders including cancer and cardiovascular, metabolic, infectious and immune conditions. We consider here the genetic variation in eight clinically relevant hematological parameters, including hemoglobin levels, red and white blood cell counts and platelet counts and volume. We describe common variants within 22 genetic loci reproducibly associated with these hematological parameters in 13,943 samples from six European population-based studies, including 6 associated with red blood cell parameters, 15 associated with platelet parameters and 1 associated with total white blood cell count. We further identified a long-range haplotype at 12q24 associated with coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction in 9,479 cases and 10,527 controls. We show that this haplotype demonstrates extensive disease pleiotropy, as it contains known risk loci for type 1 diabetes, hypertension and celiac disease and has been spread by a selective sweep specific to European and geographically nearby populations.
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| 14. |
- Stritzinger, Maximilian, et al.
(author)
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THE CARNEGIE SUPERNOVA PROJECT : SECOND PHOTOMETRY DATA RELEASE OF LOW-REDSHIFT TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE
- 2011
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In: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 142:5, s. 156-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) was a five-year observational survey conducted at Las Campanas Observatory that obtained, among other things, high-quality light curves of similar to 100 low-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Presented here is the second data release of nearby SN Ia photometry consisting of 50 objects, with a subset of 45 having near-infrared follow-up observations. Thirty-three objects have optical pre-maximum coverage with a subset of 15 beginning at least five days before maximum light. In the near-infrared, 27 objects have coverage beginning before the epoch of B-band maximum, with a subset of 13 beginning at least five days before maximum. In addition, we present results of a photometric calibration program to measure the CSP optical (uBgVri) bandpasses with an accuracy of similar to 1%. Finally, we report the discovery of a second SN Ia, SN 2006ot, similar in its characteristics to the peculiar SN 2006bt.
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