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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, particularly travel restrictions, have had significant impact on the conduct of global clinical trials. Our clinical trials programme, which relied on in-person visits for training, monitoring and capacity building across nine low- and middle-income countries, had to adapt to those unprecedented operational challenges. We report the adaptation of our working model with a focus on the operational areas of training, monitoring and cross-site collaboration. THE NEW WORKING MODEL: Adaptations include changing training strategies from in-person site visits with three or four team members to a multi-pronged virtual approach, with generic online training for good clinical practice, the development of a library of study-specific training videos, and interactive virtual training sessions, including practical laboratory-focused training sessions. We also report changes from in-person monitoring to remote monitoring as well as the development of a more localized network of clinical trial monitors to support hybrid models with in-person and remote monitoring depending on identified risks at each site. We established a virtual network across different trial and study sites with the objective to further build capacity for good clinical practice-compliant antimalarial trials and foster cross-country and cross-study site collaboration. CONCLUSION: The forced adaptation of these new strategies has come with advantages that we did not envisage initially. This includes improved, more frequent engagement through the established network with opportunities for increased south-to-south support and a substantially reduced carbon footprint and budget savings. Our new approach is challenging for study sites with limited prior experience but this can be overcome with hybrid models. Capacity building for laboratory-based work remains difficult using a virtual environment. The changes to our working model are likely to last, even aft

The International VLBI Service for Geodesy & Astrometry (IVS) regularly provides high-quality data to produce Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP), and for the maintenance and realization of the International Terrestrial and Celestial Reference Frames, ITRF and ICRF. The first iteration of the celestial reference frame (CRF) at radio wavelengths, the ICRF1, was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1997 to replace the FK5 optical frame. Soon after, the IVS began official operations and in 2009 there was a significant increase in data sufficient to warrant a second iteration of the CRF, ICRF2. The most recent ICRF3, was adopted by the IAU in 2018. However, due to the geographic distribution of observing stations being concentrated in the Northern hemisphere, CRFs are generally weaker in the South due to there being fewer Southern Hemisphere observations. To increase the Southern Hemisphere observations, and the density, precision of the sources, a series of deep South observing sessions was initiated in 1995. This initiative in 2004 became the IVS Celestial Reference Frame Deep South (IVS-CRDS) observing program. This paper covers the evolution of the CRDS observing program for the period 1995 to 2021, details the data products and results, and concludes with a summary of upcoming improvements to this ongoing project., Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in PASA 2nd June 2023. Resubmit as a co-author was missed in the arXiv metadata, paper is the same

The radio signal transmitted by the Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft was observed regularly between the years 2013-2020 at X-band (8.42 GHz) using the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (EVN) network and University of Tasmania's telescopes. We present a method to describe the solar wind parameters by quantifying the effects of plasma on our radio signal. In doing so, we identify all the uncompensated effects on the radio signal and see which coronal processes drive them. From a technical standpoint, quantifying the effect of the plasma on the radio signal helps phase referencing for precision spacecraft tracking. The phase fluctuation of the signal was determined for Mars' orbit for solar elongation angles from 0 - 180 deg. The calculated phase residuals allow determination of the phase power spectrum. The total electron content (TEC) of the solar plasma along the line of sight is calculated by removing effects from mechanical and ionospheric noises. The spectral index was determined as $-2.43 \pm 0.11$ which is in agreement with Kolomogorov's turbulence. The theoretical models are consistent with observations at lower solar elongations however at higher solar elongation ($>$160 deg) we see the observed values to be higher. This can be caused when the uplink and downlink signals are positively correlated as a result of passing through identical plasma sheets., Comment: The paper has 13 figures and one table. It has been accepted for publication in PASA and the article will receive its DOI in a week's time

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium vivax forms dormant liver stages that can reactivate weeks or months following an acute infection. Recurrent infections are often associated with a febrile illness and can cause a cumulative risk of severe anaemia, direct and indirect mortality, and onward transmission of the parasite. There is an increased risk of P. vivax parasitaemia following falciparum malaria suggesting a rationale for universal use of radically curative treatment in patients with P. falciparum malaria even in the absence of detectable P. vivax parasitaemia in areas that are co-endemic for both species. METHODS: This is a multicentre, health care facility-based, randomized, controlled, open-label trial in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Ethiopia. Patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria, G6PD activity of ≥70% of the adjusted male median (AMM) and haemoglobin levels ≥8g/dl are recruited into the study and randomized to either receive standard schizonticidal treatment plus 7-day high dose primaquine (total dose 7mg/kg) or standard care in a 1:1 ratio. Patients are followed up weekly until day 63. The primary endpoint is the incidence risk of any P. vivax parasitemia on day 63. Secondary endpoints include incidence risk on day 63 of symptomatic P. vivax malaria and the risk of any P. falciparum parasitaemia. Secondary safety outcomes include the proportion of adverse events and serious adverse events, the incidence risk of severe anaemia (Hb<5g/dl and <7g/dl) and/or the risk for blood transfusion, the incidence risk of ≥ 25% fall in haemoglobin with and without haemoglobinuria, and the incidence risk of ≥ 25% fall in haemoglobin to under 7g/dl with and without haemoglobinuria. DISCUSSION: This study evaluates the potential benefit of a universal radical cure for both P. vivax and P. falciparum in different endemic locations. If found safe and effective universal radical cure could represent a cost-effective approach to clear otherwise unrecognised P. vivax infections and he

Following our study of the radio and high-energy properties of $\gamma$-ray-emitting radio galaxies, here we investigate the kinematic and spectral properties of the parsec-scale jets of radio galaxies that have not yet been detected by Fermi-LAT. We take advantage of the regular VLBI observations provided by the TANAMI monitoring program, and explore the kinematic properties of six $\gamma$-ray-faint radio galaxies. We include publicly available VLBI kinematics of $\gamma$-ray-quiet radio galaxies monitored by the MOJAVE program and perform a Fermi-LAT analysis, deriving upper limits. We combine these results with those from our previous paper to construct the largest sample of radio galaxies with combined VLBI and $\gamma$-ray measurements to date. We find superluminal motion up to $\beta_\mathrm{app}=3.6$ in the jet of PKS 2153$-$69. We find a clear trend of higher apparent speed as a function of distance from the jet core on scales of $\sim10^5\,R_s$, corresponding to the end of the collimation and acceleration zone in nearby radio galaxies. We find evidence of subluminal apparent motion in the jets of PKS 1258$-$321 and IC 4296, and no measurable motion for PKS 1549$-$79, PKS 1733$-$565 and PKS 2027$-$308. We compare the VLBI properties of $\gamma$-ray-detected and undetected radio galaxies, and find significantly different distributions of median core flux density, and, possibly, of median core brightness temperature. We find a significant correlation between median core flux density and $\gamma$-ray flux, but no correlation with typical Doppler boosting indicators such as median core brightness temperature and core dominance. Our study suggests that high-energy emission from radio galaxies is related to parsec-scale radio emission from the inner jet, but is not driven by Doppler boosting effects, in contrast to the situation in their blazar counterparts., Comment: Main text: 15 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables. Appendix: 14 pages, 20 figures, 13 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

© Astronomical Society of Australia 2020; published by Cambridge University Press. The entire southern sky (Declination, d < 30°) has been observed using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), which provides radio imaging of ~2 arcmin resolution at low frequencies (72 231 MHz). This is the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) Survey, and we have previously used a combination of visual inspection, cross-checks against the literature, and internal matching to identify the 'brightest' radio-sources (S151 MHz > 4 Jy) in the extragalactic catalogue (Galactic latitude, |b| > 10°). We refer to these 1 863 sources as the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) Sample, and use radio images (of =45 arcsec resolution), and multi-wavelength information, to assess their morphology and identify the galaxy that is hosting the radio emission (where appropriate). Details of how to access all of the overlays used for this work are available at https://github.com/svw26/G4Jy. Alongside this we conduct further checks against the literature, which we document here for individual sources. Whilst the vast majority of the G4Jy Sample are active galactic nuclei with powerful radio-jets, we highlight that it also contains a nebula, two nearby, star-forming galaxies, a cluster relic, and a cluster halo. There are also three extended sources for which we are unable to infer the mechanism that gives rise to the low-frequency emission. In the G4Jy catalogue we provide mid-infrared identifications for 86% of the sources, and flag the remainder as: having an uncertain identification (129 sources), having a faint/uncharacterised midinfrared host (126 sources), or it being inappropriate to specify a host (2 sources). For the subset of 129 sources, there is ambiguity concerning candidate host-galaxies, and this includes four sources (B0424 728, B0703 451, 3C 198, and 3C 403.1) where we question the existing identification.

Contains fulltext : 207551.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)

In the framework of the TANAMI multi-wavelength and VLBI monitoring, we study the evolution of the parsec-scale radio emission in radio galaxies in the southern hemisphere and their relationship to the $\gamma$-ray properties. In this first paper, we focus on Fermi-LAT-detected sources. We perform a kinematic analysis for five $\gamma$-ray detected radio galaxies using multi-epoch 8.4 GHz VLBI images, deriving limits on intrinsic jet parameters. We analyzed Fermi-LAT data in order to study possible connections between the $\gamma$-ray properties and the pc-scale jets of Fermi-LAT-detected radio galaxies, both in terms of variability and average properties. We discuss the individual source results and draw preliminary conclusions on sample properties including published VLBI results from the MOJAVE survey, with a total of fifteen sources. We find that the first $\gamma$-ray detection of Pictor A might be associated with the passage of a new VLBI component through the radio core. For the peculiar AGN PKS 0521-36, we detect subluminal parsec-scale jet motions, and we confirm the presence of fast $\gamma$-ray variability in the source down to timescales of 6 hours. We robustly confirm the presence of significant superluminal motion, up to $\beta_{app}\sim$3, in the jet of the TeV radio galaxy PKS 0625-35. Finally, we place a lower limit on the age of the Compact Symmetric Object (CSO) PKS 1718-649. We draw some preliminary conclusions on the relationship between pc-scale jets and $\gamma$-ray emission in radio galaxies. We find that the VLBI core flux density correlates with the $\gamma$-ray flux, as seen in blazars. On the other hand, the $\gamma$-ray luminosity does not show any dependence on the core brightness temperature and core dominance, two indicators of Doppler boosting, suggesting that $\gamma$-ray emission in radio galaxies is not driven by orientation-dependent effects., Comment: Main text: 22 pages, 22 figures, 11 tables. Appendix: 19 pages, 10 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

To present the structure and outcomes to date for the Psychiatric Assessment and Brief Intervention (PABI), a pilot program developed at University of California, San Francisco, to improve access of primary care patients to mental health services. PABI offers diagnostic evaluations and brief (up to 3 months) evidence-based treatment, including pharmacologic management and psychotherapy, to medical patients 18 years of age and older. Core PABI features are ensuring prompt access, actively partnering with patients and referring providers, and coordinating seamless transitions of care.Demographic and clinical variables and outcome indicators were collected for all patients seen in PABI from October 2015 to June 2017. Descriptive statistics and mixed-effects linear models were used to analyze the data.During the study period, 139 patients (54% women, mean [SD] age of 48.2 [17.5] years) with a mean of 2 DSM-5 psychiatric diagnoses each (range, 1-5) were seen. Mean time to access was 8 days, with a mean length of stay in the program of 11 weeks. Compared to baseline, final behavioral health measure scores showed significant improvement: the mean Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score decreased by 5.9 points (95% CI, 4.6-7.2), and the mean 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale score was 4.4 points lower (95% CI, 3.2-5.6; both P values < .0001).This brief psychiatric treatment program provides prompt access to quality mental health care for patients with medical comorbidities. Results to date suggest that this program leads to significantly improved clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to determine its long-term sustainability and generalizability.

Cross-identifying complex radio sources with optical or infra red (IR) counterparts in surveys such as the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) has traditionally been performed manually. However, with new surveys from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder detecting many tens of millions of radio sources, such an approach is no longer feasible. This paper presents new software (LRPY -Likelihood Ratio in PYTHON) to automate the process of cross-identifying radio sources with catalogues at other wavelengths. LRPY implements the likelihood ratio (LR) technique with a modification to account for two galaxies contributing to a sole measured radio component. We demonstrate LRPY by applying it to ATLAS DR3 and a Spitzer-based multiwavelength fusion catalogue, identifying 3848 matched sources via our LR-based selection criteria. A subset of 1987 sources have flux density values for all IRAC bands which allow us to use criteria to distinguish between active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star-forming galaxies (SFG). We find that 936 radio sources (approximate to 47 per cent) meet both of the Lacy and Stern AGN selection criteria. Of the matched sources, 295 have spectroscopic redshifts and we examine the radio to IR flux ratio versus redshift, proposing an AGN selection criterion below the Elvis radio-loud AGN limit for this dataset. Taking the union of all three AGNs selection criteria we identify 956 as AGNs (approximate to 48 per cent). From this dataset, we find a decreasing fraction of AGNs with lower radio flux densities consistent with other results in the literature.

Cross-identifying complex radio sources with optical or infra red (IR) counterparts in surveys such as the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) has traditionally been performed manually. However, with new surveys from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder detecting many tens of millions of radio sources, such an approach is no longer feasible. This paper presents new software (LRPY - Likelihood Ratio in PYTHON) to automate the process of cross-identifying radio sources with catalogues at other wavelengths. LRPY implements the likelihood ratio (LR) technique with a modification to account for two galaxies contributing to a sole measured radio component. We demonstrate LRPY by applying it to ATLAS DR3 and a Spitzer-based multiwavelength fusion catalogue, identifying 3848 matched sources via our LR-based selection criteria. A subset of 1987 sources have flux density values for all IRAC bands which allow us to use criteria to distinguish between active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star-forming galaxies (SFG). We find that 936 radio sources (˜47 per cent) meet both of the Lacy and Stern AGN selection criteria. Of the matched sources, 295 have spectroscopic redshifts and we examine the radio to IR flux ratio versus redshift, proposing an AGN selection criterion below the Elvis radio-loud AGN limit for this dataset. Taking the union of all three AGNs selection criteria we identify 956 as AGNs (˜48 per cent). From this dataset, we find a decreasing fraction of AGNs with lower radio flux densities consistent with other results in the literature.

TANAMI is a multiwavelength program monitoring active galactic nuclei (AGN) south of -30deg declination including high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging, radio, optical/UV, X-ray and gamma-ray studies. We have previously published first-epoch 8.4GHz VLBI images of the parsec-scale structure of the initial sample. In this paper, we present images of 39 additional sources. The full sample comprises most of the radio- and gamma-ray brightest AGN in the southern quarter of the sky, overlapping with the region from which high-energy (>100TeV) neutrino events have been found. We characterize the parsec-scale radio properties of the jets and compare with the quasi-simultaneous Fermi/LAT gamma-ray data. Furthermore, we study the jet properties of sources which are in positional coincidence with high-energy neutrino events as compared to the full sample. We test the positional agreement of high-energy neutrino events with various AGN samples. Our observations yield the first images of many jets below -30deg declination at milliarcsecond resolution. We find that gamma-ray loud TANAMI sources tend to be more compact on parsec-scales and have higher core brightness temperatures than gamma-ray faint jets, indicating higher Doppler factors. No significant structural difference is found between sources in positional coincidence with high-energy neutrino events and other TANAMI jets. The 22 gamma-ray brightest AGN in the TANAMI sky show only a weak positional agreement with high-energy neutrinos demonstrating that the >100TeV IceCube signal is not simply dominated by a small number of the $\gamma$-ray brightest blazars. Instead, a larger number of sources have to contribute to the signal with each individual source having only a small Poisson probability for producing an event in multi-year integrations of current neutrino detectors.

COPD is characterised by poorly reversible airflow obstruction usually due to cigarette smoking. The transcription factor clusters of β-catenin/Snail1/Twist has been implicated in the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), an intermediate between smoking and airway fibrosis, and indeed lung cancer. We have investigated expression of these transcription factors and their "cellular localization" in bronchoscopic airway biopsies from patients with COPD, and in smoking and non-smoking controls. An immune-histochemical study compared cellular protein expression of β-catenin, Snail1 and Twist, in these subject groups in 3 large airways compartment: epithelium (basal region), reticular basement membrane (Rbm) and underlying lamina propria (LP). β-catenin and Snail1 expression was generally high in all subjects throughout the airway wall with marked cytoplasmic to nuclear shift in COPD (P < 0.01). Twist expression was generalised in the epithelium in normal but become more basal and nuclear with smoking (P < 0.05). In addition, β-catenin and Snail1 expression, and to lesser extent of Twist, was related to airflow obstruction and to expression of a canonical EMT biomarker (S100A4). The β-catenin-Snail1-Twist transcription factor cluster is up-regulated and nuclear translocated in smokers and COPD, and their expression is closely related to both EMT activity and airway obstruction.

Cross-identifying complex radio sources with optical or infra red (IR) counterparts in surveys such as the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) has traditionally been performed manually. However, with new surveys from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) detecting many tens of million of radio sources such an approach is no longer feasible. This paper presents new software (LRPY - Likelihood Ratio in PYthon) to automate the process of cross-identifying radio sources with catalogues at other wavelengths. LRPY implements the Likelihood Ratio (LR) technique with a modification to account for two galaxies contributing to a sole measured radio component. We demonstrate LRPY by applying it to ATLAS DR3 and a {\it Spitzer}-based multi-wavelength fusion catalogue, identifying 3,848 matched sources via our LR-based selection criteria. A subset of 1987 sources have flux density values for all IRAC bands which allow us to use criteria to distinguish between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxies (SFG). We find that 936 radio sources ($\approx47\,\%$) meet both of the Lacy and Stern AGN selection criteria. Of the matched sources, 295 have spectroscopic redshifts and we examine the radio to IR flux ratio vs redshift, proposing an AGN selection criterion below the Elvis radio-loud (RL) AGN limit for this dataset. Taking the union of all three AGN selection criteria we identify 956 as AGN ($\approx48\,\%$). From this dataset, we find a decreasing fraction of AGN with lower radio flux densities consistent with other results in the literature., Comment: 32 pages, 14 Figures, 9 Tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

TANAMI is a multiwavelength program monitoring active galactic nuclei (AGN) south of -30deg declination including high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging, radio, optical/UV, X-ray and gamma-ray studies. We have previously published first-epoch 8.4GHz VLBI images of the parsec-scale structure of the initial sample. In this paper, we present images of 39 additional sources. The full sample comprises most of the radio- and gamma-ray brightest AGN in the southern quarter of the sky, overlapping with the region from which high-energy (>100TeV) neutrino events have been found. We characterize the parsec-scale radio properties of the jets and compare with the quasi-simultaneous Fermi/LAT gamma-ray data. Furthermore, we study the jet properties of sources which are in positional coincidence with high-energy neutrino events as compared to the full sample. We test the positional agreement of high-energy neutrino events with various AGN samples. Our observations yield the first images of many jets below -30deg declination at milliarcsecond resolution. We find that gamma-ray loud TANAMI sources tend to be more compact on parsec-scales and have higher core brightness temperatures than gamma-ray faint jets, indicating higher Doppler factors. No significant structural difference is found between sources in positional coincidence with high-energy neutrino events and other TANAMI jets. The 22 gamma-ray brightest AGN in the TANAMI sky show only a weak positional agreement with high-energy neutrinos demonstrating that the >100TeV IceCube signal is not simply dominated by a small number of the $\gamma$-ray brightest blazars. Instead, a larger number of sources have to contribute to the signal with each individual source having only a small Poisson probability for producing an event in multi-year integrations of current neutrino detectors., Comment: A&A accepted (edited version), 21 pages, 13 figures

Background: ICAM-1 is a major receptor for ~60% of human rhinoviruses, and non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae, two major pathogens in COPD. Increased cell-surface expression of ICAM-1 in response to tobacco smoke exposure has been suggested. We have investigated epithelial ICAM-1 expression in both the large and small airways, and lung parenchyma in smoking-related chronic airflow limitation (CAL) patients. Methods: We evaluated epithelial ICAM-1 expression in resected lung tissue: 8 smokers with normal spirometry (NLFS); 29 CAL patients (10 small-airway disease; 9 COPD-smokers; 10 COPD ex-smokers); Controls (NC): 15 normal airway/lung tissues. Immunostaining with anti-ICAM-1 monoclonal antibody was quantified with computerized image analysis. The percent and type of cells expressing ICAM-1 in large and small airway epithelium and parenchyma were enumerated, plus percentage of epithelial goblet and submucosal glands positive for ICAM- 1. Results: A major increase in ICAM-1 expression in epithelial cells was found in both large (p < 0.006) and small airways (p < 0.004) of CAL subjects compared to NC, with NLFS being intermediate. In the CAL group, both basal and luminal areas stained heavily for ICAM-1, so did goblet cells and sub-mucosal glands, however in either NC or NLFS subjects, only epithelial cell luminal surfaces stained. ICAM-1 expression on alveolar pneumocytes (mainly type II) was slightly increased in CAL and NLFS (p < 0.01). Pack-years of smoking correlated with ICAM-1 expression (r = 0.49; p < 0.03). Conclusion: Airway ICAM-1 expression is markedly upregulated in CAL group, which could be crucial in rhinoviral and NTHi infections. The parenchymal ICAM-1 is affected by smoking, with no further enhancement in CAL subjects.

Contains fulltext : 161078.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access)

Contains fulltext : 159678.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access)

This is a letter from Samuel Burns Weston, publisher, editor, and founder of the Philadelphia Ethical Society, to Mary Louise Curtis Bok upon hearing the news of Edward W. Bok's death. Mr. Bok was the former editor of Ladies' Home Journal and the founder of the Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower (now Bok Tower Gardens). Mrs. Bok was his wife and the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The letter is hand written in black ink. In the upper left corner in black ink a check mark may indicate a response was sent. Dr. Weston's address is printed in black ink at the top of the page., This is a letter from Samuel Burns Weston, publisher, editor, and founder of the Philadelphia Ethical Society, to Mary Louise Curtis Bok upon hearing the news of Edward W. Bok's death. Mr. Bok was the former editor of Ladies' Home Journal and the founder of the Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower (now Bok Tower Gardens). Mrs. Bok was his wife and the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The letter is hand written in black ink. In the upper left corner in black ink a check mark may indicate a response was sent. Dr. Weston's address is printed in black ink at the top of the page., Computer generated transcript is available upon request., 235 South 15th Street Philadelphia, Penna. Jan, 15th My dear Mrs. Bok: Mr. Bok's death wsa a terrible shock to us. Igreatly admired him as a man and held him in the highest esteem for the splendid object he devoted his life and his forturne to further. It was a great privelege to have been associated with him. His death is a very great loss to the world. You and your two sons have my heartfelt sympathy. Sincerely yours. S. Burns Weston

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs). The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group of diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis, rickettsiosis and thelaziosis, with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many of these diseases can cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in dogs, with a number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population. Today, CVBDs pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in both climatic conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations to previously unknown infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to veterinarians. In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a multidisciplinary group of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets on an annual basis, gathered in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest research on CVBDs and discuss the best approaches to managing these diseases around the world. As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD Forum have developed the following recommendations to veterinarians for the management of CVBDs

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous and biologically poorly understood disease. To tailor CRC treatment, it is essential to first model this heterogeneity by defining subtypes of patients with homogeneous biological and clinical characteristics and second match these subtypes to cell lines for which extensive pharmacological data is available, thus linking targeted therapies to patients most likely to respond to treatment. Methods We applied a new unsupervised, iterative approach to stratify CRC tumor samples into subtypes based on genome-wide mRNA expression data. By applying this stratification to several CRC cell line panels and integrating pharmacological response data, we generated hypotheses regarding the targeted treatment of different subtypes. Results In agreement with earlier studies, the two dominant CRC subtypes are highly correlated with a gene expression signature of epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT). Notably, further dividing these two subtypes using iNMF (iterative Non-negative Matrix Factorization) revealed five subtypes that exhibit activation of specific signaling pathways, and show significant differences in clinical and molecular characteristics. Importantly, we were able to validate the stratification on independent, published datasets comprising over 1600 samples. Application of this stratification to four CRC cell line panels comprising 74 different cell lines, showed that the tumor subtypes are well represented in available CRC cell line panels. Pharmacological response data for targeted inhibitors of SRC, WNT, GSK3b, aurora kinase, PI3 kinase, and mTOR, showed significant differences in sensitivity across cell lines assigned to different subtypes. Importantly, some of these differences in sensitivity were in concordance with high expression of the targets or activation of the corresponding pathways in primary tumor samples of the same subtype. Conclusions The stratification presented here is robust, captures importan, Intelligent Systems, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs).The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group of diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis, rickettsiosis and thelaziosis, with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many of these diseases can cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in dogs, with a number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population.Today, CVBDs pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in both climatic conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations to previously unknown infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to veterinarians.In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a multidisciplinary group of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets on an annual basis, gathered in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest research on CVBDs and discuss the best approaches to managing these diseases around the world.As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD Forum have developed the following recommendations to veterinarians for the management of CVBDs.

We present results of a survey of post-asymptotic giant branch stars (post-AGBs) at high galactic latitude. To date, few post-AGB stars are known throughout the Galaxy and the number of known members of the older populations like the galactic halo is even smaller. This study looks at the number of post-AGB stars which are produced using different synthetic population methods and compare the results with observations. The resulting synthetic populations are compared to observational results from a complete and studied subsample from the photographic Palomar-Green (PG) survey (with high resolution spectroscopic follow-up for post-AGB candidates) and the SDSS spectroscopic database. The results show only two candidate post-AGB stars in a complete subsample of the PG survey spanning 4200 square degrees and one in the SDSS database. We discuss and explore any observational biases which may cause the result. If found to be truely representative of the halo population, one can expect the majority of Population II stars to fail to ascend the AGB and evolve through other evolutionary channels such as the extended horizontal branch., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, Proceedings to the 17th European White Dwarf Workshop, T\"ubingen

The post-World War II U.S.-Japan alliance has long been an anchor of the U.S. security role in East Asia. The alliance facilitates the forward deployment of about 53,000 U.S. troops and other U.S. military assets in the Asia-Pacific, thereby undergirding U.S. national security strategy in the region. For Japan, the alliance and the U.S. nuclear umbrella provide maneuvering room in dealing with its neighbors, particularly China and North Korea. U.S.-Japan relations have been adjusting to the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) landslide victory in the August 30, 2009 elections for the Lower House of Japan's legislature. The victory gave the DPJ, under party president Yukio Hatoyama, control of the government. While most members of the left-of-center DPJ are broadly supportive of the U.S.-Japan alliance and the general thrust of Japanese foreign policy, in the past the party has questioned and/or voted against several features of the alliance, including base realignment and Japan's financial payments for U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The Party has put forward a foreign policy vision that envisions greater "equality" in Japan's relations with the United States, in part through deeper engagement with Asia and a more United Nations-oriented diplomacy. The DPJ's victory appears to mark the end of an era in Japan; it was the first time Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was voted out of office. The LDP has ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted since 1955. Since the DPJ victory, bilateral tensions have arisen over the desire of some Hatoyama government members to alter a 2006 U.S.-Japan agreement to relocate the controversial Futenma Marine Air Station to a less densely populated location in Okinawa. The move is to be the first part of a planned realignment of U.S. forces in Asia, designed in part to reduce the footprint of U.S. forces on Okinawa by redeploying 8,000 U.S. Marines and their dependents to new facilities in Guam., CRS Report for Congress.

Since the late 1990s, and particularly since 2000, the U.S.-Japan alliance has undergone significant changes. During the first term of the Bush Administration, converging U.S. and Japanese objectives in confronting North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and Japan's participation in U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan reinforced the notion of the U.S.-Japan alliance as one of the central partnerships of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in Asia. By 2007, political developments in Japan and diverging policy approaches to North Korea created some distance in the relationship, but defense officials in the Obama Administration continue to work on implementing significant agreements to upgrade the alliance. As U.S. personnel and facilities in Japan are realigned as part of the broader Pentagon strategy of deploying a more mobile force, Japan is expected to take an active role in contributing to global stability. However, political turmoil in Tokyo has led to considerable uncertainty about Japan's future security policies, including its stance towards U.S.-Japan defense cooperation. Japan's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is widely expected to gain seats in the August 30, 2009 Lower House of parliament elections, and it may achieve its goal of replacing the Liberal Democratic Party as Japan's governing party. The election is widely seen as a potential watershed--should the LDP lose its grip on power, which it has held since the 1950s with only a brief interruption, it is unclear whether its successor would be as supportive a security partner for the United States.

The UV-Excess Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane images a 10x185 degree wide band, centered on the Galactic Equator using the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope in four bands (U,g,r,HeI5875) down to ~21st-22nd magnitude (~20th in HeI5875). The setup and data reduction procedures are described. Simulations of the colours of main-sequence stars, giant, supergiants, DA and DB white dwarfs and AM CVn stars are made, including the effects of reddening. A first look at the data of the survey (currently 30% complete) is given., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS, 22 pages, 16 figures

We carried out a spectroscopic investigation of single lined white dwarfs (WDs) in double degenerate (DD) systems and discuss their binary evolution. Simulated spectra of the Halpha region are used to derive upper limits on the temperature of the invisible component and thus lower limits on the cooling age. This is done for a range of hypothetical secondary masses and a minimum cooling age deduced. Results are compared with the well known parameters of the visible primary, which allows us to determine a lower limit for the cooling age difference of both WDs. Most of the ten systems in our sample have a minimum age difference of not larger than 0.5Gyr and their small orbital separation is highly suggestive of at least one unstable mass transfer phase. However, a stable first mass transfer phase is feasible as the age difference is less then 1Gyr. The results imply that unstable mass transfer is the most likely final contact binary scenario to have occurred in DD systems but the first mass transfer phase is not constrained., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings to 16th European WD Workshop Meeting Poster

Space densities and birthrates of Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are highly uncertain. A large range of formation rates has been derived by different studies, which has led to contradicting ideas for the final evolutionary phases of low and intermediate mass stars. We started a project to deduce a birthrate using a sample of PNe within 2kpc. The central stars will be identified in the PNe fields by their photometric colours and then used to establish improved distance estimates. To facilitate this we have created grids of photometric colours which are used to constrain stellar parameters. Our study has concentrated on PNe in SDSS and the INT Photometric Halpha Survey (IPHAS) so far. IPHAS is a nearly complete northern galactic plane survey in Halpha, r' and i' bands. Many previously unknown PNe have been discovered with IPHAS. We investigate implications of a more complete local sample on PN birthrate estimates., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings to 16th European WD Workshop Meeting Poster

This Technical Memorandum provides a macro-level description of the methodology implemented in UNICORN, an optimal weapon allocation computer model. The memorandum provides a discussion of the key UNICORN concepts and, where appropriate, the mathematical development of certain concepts used in the model. This document is intended for use in conjunction with the UNICORN (Version III) User's Manual, SAI-76-047-DEN. The discussion includes a brief model overview including capabilities and limitations, some background material and a description of key concepts.