Search

Apicomplexan parasites cause severe disease in both humans and their domesticated animals. Since these parasites readily develop drug resistance, development of new, effective drugs to treat infection caused by these parasites is an ongoing challenge for the medical and veterinary communities. We hypothesized that invertebrate-bacterial symbioses might be a rich source of anti-apicomplexan compounds because invertebrates are susceptible to infections with gregarines, parasites that are ancestral to all apicomplexans. We chose to explore the therapeutic potential of shipworm symbiotic bacteria as they are bona fide symbionts, are easily grown in axenic culture and have genomes rich in secondary metabolite loci [1,2]. Two strains of the shipworm symbiotic bacterium, Teredinibacter turnerae, were screened for activity against Toxoplasma gondii and one strain, T7901, exhibited activity against intracellular stages of the parasite. Bioassay-guided fractionation identified tartrolon E (trtE) as the source of the activity. TrtE has an EC50 of 3 nM against T. gondii, acts directly on the parasite itself and kills the parasites after two hours of treatment. TrtE exhibits nanomolar to picomolar level activity against Cryptosporidium, Plasmodium, Babesia, Theileria, and Sarcocystis; parasites representing all branches of the apicomplexan phylogenetic tree. The compound also proved effective against Cryptosporidium parvum infection in neonatal mice, indicating that trtE may be a potential lead compound for preclinical development. Identification of a promising new compound after such limited screening strongly encourages further mining of invertebrate symbionts for new anti-parasitic therapeutics., Author summary Apicomplexans are intracellular protozoan parasites that cause significant disease in humans and the livestock we rely on for food. Because these parasites easily develop drug resistance, new drugs are always needed. To identify new anti-apicomplexan drugs, we investigated the compounds produced by symbiotic bacteria of shipworms, marine mollusks that burrow into and eat wood. We screened shipworm symbiotic bacteria for anti-parasitic activity and identified a compound, tartrolon E, with potent, rapid, highly selective and irreversible activity against parasites representing all branches of the apicomplexan tree. This compound was also highly effective in neonatal mice against infection with the intestinal apicomplexan parasite, Cryptosporidium. This study describes the first pan-anti-apicomplexan compound and unveils an unexplored source of anti-parasitic compounds.

Faults inside the primary 15KV windings of transformers usually begin as line-to-line faults, not involving ground, and with current magnitudes far lower than three phase bolted faults or the time-over-current or instantaneous feeder circuit settings. The only protection scheme which could quickly detect line-to-line faults was an expensive differential scheme, applied usually only to transformers 10 MVA or larger. The purpose of this paper is to show that an instantaneous tripping scheme using negative sequence current can also reliably detect a line-to-line fault condition in less than a cycle. Communication based tripping schemes that could provide security from false tripping on downstream line-to-line faults will be briefly described, but left to be developed in later papers.

We examine ethical issues that emerged during a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study in Toronto, Canada, exploring sexual health attitudes and practices among lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people (ages 17–26) labeled with intellectual disabilities. These ethical concerns included: (1) managing the risk of coercion, (2) consent to participate in the study, (3) issues of confidentiality and disclosure, (4) balancing beneficence with self-determination, and (5) role conflict for researcher-practitioners who participate in CBPR projects. Incorporating critical disability perspectives and a heightened awareness of professional role conflict into CBPR practices has the potential to foster development of more inclusive and accessible sexual health initiatives and research environments.

Young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people labeled with intellectual disabilities have unique sexual health needs that are not being met. Denial by others of their right to pleasure and the exercise of heightened external control over their sexuality are commonplace. Current research indicates that these youth are at heightened risk for compromised sexual health. This study aimed to explore the ways in which social and environmental conditions influence vulnerability to adverse sexual health outcomes for this population. We used a community-based research approach to conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups with 10 young LGBT people (aged 17-26) labeled with intellectual disabilities. Participants reported multiple limitations on their autonomy that resulted in having sex in places where they did not feel comfortable and were unlikely to practice safer sex. Attempts by authority figures to protect youth through limits on their autonomy may be unintentionally leading to negative sexual health outcomes.

The article examines two recent documentary films about disability and development; it argues that their seemingly fresh, inspirational narratives of disability and transnational assistance rely upon well-worn images of a crippled, needy Africa and its able, generous Northern counterparts. The disabled African documentary subject helps usher in development work with a sense of urgency in these films, leaving no time to question the way in which imperialism is reproduced within these projects. Through interrogating these seemingly benign 'overcoming' and 'friendship' stories and their celebrations of the virtues and privileges of the North, the authors glimpse the necessary role of Disability Studies in postcolonial theory.

The purpose of this paper is to describe several different methods of protection of tuned capacitor banks, and how the relay protection settings for each are determined. Problems with the different schemes are described, and a new protective scheme is proposed.

Arc flash hazard studies have forced engineers to rethink many of the irrefutable concepts of coordination. Absolute coordination can limit the amount of the power system deenergized by a fault. But is this achieved at the cost of increased damage to equipment and increased hazards to personnel who happen to be near the point of a fault? It can possibly take far longer to recover from a fault that caused extensive damage and/or injury to personnel than from a slightly uncoordinated loss of power where little damage occurs. Why should available arc energy levels be reduced? The required use of hazard category 3 or 4 personnel protective equipment (PPE) for work in high-arc-energy environments can dramatically drive up the difficulty and cost of work that is simple when normal clothing can be worn. If hazard category 3 or 4 hazards exists, then personnel will be exposed to life-threatening hazards and will depend upon all the required clothing and exact adherence to safe work practices for survival.

This paper is a case study of the application of the 67N function in a digital multifunction relay. The directional neutral current relay, function number 67N, is often found to be critical to the proper operation of a protective scheme. Furthermore, a false trip of a 67N will usually be devastating. The 67N is a complex function that always required more wiring than almost any other relay. The 67N is now available as one of many functions in digital multi-function relays. However, in the digital relay the 67N may be even more difficult to set and test than it was as a single function in an old electromechanical relay.

Disability studies has shown how therapeutic professionals and people with disabilities occupy opposite sides of a deep cultural divide, one that artificially bisects normalcy from 'abnormalcy'. The philosophy of political subjectivity provides an opportunity to analyse the fraught nexus that exists between institutions and those who navigate them as professionals and 'clients'. Our essay seeks to theorise the subject positions that emerge as a result of this often volatile intersection by offering up four critical vignettes: (1) an analysis of the systems and networks that characterise disabled transport within the Chicago Transit Authority; (2) speech therapy training and clinical practices designed for those whose articulation is diagnosed as inferior; (3) an African American clinician's analysis of disability taxonomies applied to minority wards of the state of Illinois; and (4) an analysis of scapegoating at the national level in a class-action law suit regarding the 'missed' diagnosis of disability ...

Aims Lanreotide is a novel synthetic somatostatin analogue. A long-acting formulation of lanreotide has been shown to be effective for the treatment of gastroentero-pancreatic hormone-producing tumours but effects on postprandial digestive and absorptive functions remain obscure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of intravenous lanreotide on gastric and biliopancreatic secretions in man as well as the absorption of nutrients and the duodeno-caecal transit time after ingestion of an homogenized meal (500 kcal, 55% carbohydrates, 15% proteins, 30% lipids). Methods Eight healthy male volunteers were studied on two occasions within a 2 weeks interval, using a perfusion method. They received in single-blind and random order continuous i.v. infusion of either placebo or lanreotide (100 μg h−1 after a bolus of 100 μg 15 min before the beginning of the study). Results Lanreotide significantly decreased gastric acid secretion (90%) for the initial 3 h period. Gastric emptying was not significantly molfied by lanreotide infusion. Compared with placebo, lanreotide almost completely abolished both bile salts and lipase responses to the meal. It largely increased the duodeno-caecal transit time and decreased significantly the duodenal absorption of carbohydrates and triglycerides. Conclusions Since lanreotide has powerful effects on gastrointestinal functions, it could be useful in the prevention or in the treatment of pancreatic and bowel fistulas as well as short bowel syndrome.

Because web-based campaigns are an important part of health promotion campaigns for youth, this research examines sexual health websites aimed at youth and explores the messages on HIV/AIDS for their relevance and accessibility for youth with disabilities. The researchers’ underlying understanding of disability is that it is socially constructed and that people with disabilities experience social exclusion. We used a directed content analysis method to analyze 21 websites that met our inclusion criteria based on our indicators of accessibility and relevance and for their key messages. We found that the messaging across all sites was highly consistent: sex-positive, gay-positive, and non-judgmental about youth sexual expression. However, none of the prevention information specifically considered mobility, verbal and cognitive disability, participation and information barriers faced by youth with disabilities, or their heightened sexual vulnerability. Only one site depicted disability in images and none depicted disability and sexuality. There is a clear need to better understand the sexual health information needs of youth with disabilities and to develop safe sex information that is relevant and accessible to them.

Paper plants without generation often have power factor and harmonic current issues to solve, and they have to be solved for the plant to operate. The easiest solution is typically a tuned capacitor bank, but someone has to design the bank. The design of a tuned bank involves selecting total VARs, the number of capacitor cans per phase, the voltage rating of the cans, and the bank tuning frequency. The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in bank performance that result from these selections. Four banks built with different components, all producing about 3 MVAR, are examined in this paper.

This paper draws from a narrative ethnography of women members of disabled people's organizations (DPOs) in Accra, Ghana. Through recounting their autobiographical stories, elicited in multiple interviews, it explores how they navigate tensions among disability status, material survival, family belonging and religious participation Finding themselves neither fully acknowledged in family roles nor as religious community members, disabled women struggle to carve out spaces of self-determination and well-being between families and religious institutions, and between their developing aspirations and the circumscribed options available to them at the intersections of poverty, gender and disability. Women draw from multiple experiences, communities and discourses to interpret disability in complex and varied ways, not solely within the "moral models" often attributed to African cultures. Utilizing three biographical narratives from a 2003-2004 qualitative study, this paper shows how urban Ghanaian women with disabilities work to redefine themselves as social participants, and indeed as fully human, through engagement with religion. Implications for disability activism are discussed in the paper's conclusion.

The instantaneous trip can be used to reduce arc flash energy levels at 600 volt and 5 kV MCCs by minimizing the time to clear faults. The instantaneous is often not used since coordination with large motor starters can be lost. Which is more important? A digital multifunction relay may be able to use the Fourier transform algorithms for the instantaneous trip function to improve coordination with current limiting fuses in starters

[reaction: see text] Chiral nonsymmetric 1,2-diboron adducts are generated by catalytic enantioselective diboration. Oxidation of these adducts provides 1,2-diols in good yield. Alternatively, 1,2-diboron compounds may be reacted, in situ, with aryl halides wherein the less hindered C-B bond participates in cross-coupling. The remaining C-B bond is then oxidized in the reaction workup thereby allowing for net asymmetric carbohydroxylation of alkenes in a tandem one-pot diboration/Suzuki coupling/oxidation sequence.