There has been increasing pressure on farmers in Europe to reduce the emissions of ammonia from their land. Due to the current financial climate in which farmers have to operate, it is important to identify ammonia control measures that can be adopted with minimum cost. The planting of trees around farmland and buildings has been identified as a potentially effective and low-cost measure to enhance ammonia recapture at a farm level and reduce long-range atmospheric transport. This work assesses experimentally what fraction of ammonia farm woodlands could potentially remove from the atmosphere. We constructed an experimental facility in southern Scotland to simulate a woodland shelterbelt planted in proximity to a small poultry unit. By measuring horizontal and vertical ammonia concentration profiles within the woodland, and comparing this to the concentration of an inert tracer (SF6) we estimate the depletion of ammonia due to dry deposition to the woodland canopy. Together with measurements of mean ammonia concentrations and throughfall fluxes of nitrogen, this information is used to provide a first estimate of the fraction of emitted ammonia that is recaptured by the woodland canopy. Analysis of these data give a lower limit of recapture of emitted ammonia, at the experimental facility, of 3%. By careful design of shelterbelt woodlands this figure could be significantly higher.


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Identify the impact of the provision of clinical and translational research training awards on investigators’ pursuit of clinical and translational research careers. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Propensity score matching and qualitative analysis/investigators receiving MICHR’s KL2 research training awards. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: While the evaluations of the impact of this service have shown participants find them to be valuable it is expected that participation in the workshop may be more beneficial to investigators with certain types of prior research experiences and who utilize more CTSA research support. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Because this evaluation of a research service incorporate data representing investigator’s receipt of different CTSA resources, the findings can be used to inform the ongoing coordination of these services in ways that optimize their impact on the production of clinical and translational research. There is an enduring need for evaluations of CTSA programs to account for investigators’ use of different constellations of research services in order to identify what combinations of services over time are most effective at fostering successful clinical and translational research careers.


The authors are to be commended for adding to our fund of knowledge for this burgeoning field. Characterization of at‐risk elite athletes is important because of the risk of arrhythmias and consequently, sudden cardiac death as these may be preventable. A risk prediction model should be established incorporating LA volumetric and strain data from the present study, myocardial fibrosis from the imaging studies, and other established criteria. Future studies should also aim to provide a risk prediction clinical tool to decrease the arrhythmia related morbidity and mortality in elite athletes.The authors declare no potential conflict of interests.


We use self-reported and behavioral data from the HomeLab to comment on the theoretical and methodological implications of integrating objective and subjective measures of experience. To illustrate, we will focus on two domains that vary in the nature of objective and subjective measurements examined. One domain will be decision making where subjective measures include subjective probability and utility and the respective objective measures include probability and actual outcomes. The second domain will be activities of daily living where the subjective measure is perceived effort and the objective measures include various data from sensor such as EDA  and EMG (muscle contraction). The presentation will discuss the benefits of conducting such research in a realistic standardized context such as the HomeLab, which is a fully connected, fully functioning apartment set up as a standardized lab in order to study activities of daily living.


Thirty three states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. This increased access to cannabis products has heightened interest in its use among family caregivers. Clinicians anecdotally report frequent questions from families about the use of these products, but lack sound information to provide an informed response. Some studies suggest cannabis could help to manage behavioral symptoms of dementia,. No studies to date have explored marijuana or cannabis product use by caregivers for themselves or for the person with dementia. Caregivers of persons with diagnosed dementia were invited to take part in a study that included completion of a survey and participation in a focus group that explored self care practices, including the use of marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) products for themselves and the person with dementia. Results of the survey and trends from the focus groups will be presented, with a comparison between English and Spanish speaking individuals.


It is the basic step in the discovery of new drugs or studying the pharmacological actions of already developed one using both preclinical and clinical study designs in a stepwise phase of investigations. However, the investigations in the first phase of experimental pharmacology are usually concluded with assumption hypothesis without any adequate validation of the scientific evidence. Single dose acute toxicology had been conducted on Balb c mice with three different level of doses prepared from each of three different test chemicals  with known median lethal dose (LDThe methods used for data collection were: procurement of test chemicals, investigation of single dose acute toxicity on Balb c mice and quantitative immunoglobulins test. Data was thematically compiled for validation of the findings from each of the sources.The result showed that the dose had never limited the toxic property of tested chemicals but the magnitude of adverse effect and length of time at which adverse effect was manifested on treated Balb c mice. The toxicity of tested chemicals was however limited by the toxic reaction rate of a dose in the biological process of exposed Balb c mice. The toxic effect of tested chemicals became magnified within a short period of time when large amount administered orally. It also remained after a long period of time when small amount administered in the same route.Adequate investigation time for acute toxicity study was therefore essential for comprehensive analysis of pharmacological property of tested chemicals at different level of doses. Experimental pharmacology is a study through experimental design in controlled situations which involves testing of pharmacologically unknown substance and pharmaceutical products in human and animal . It dealExperimental pharmacology is the basic step in the discovery of new drug or studying the pharmacological actions of already developed one using both preclinical and clinical study designs in a stepwise phase of investigations . It is aDifferent species of laboratory animals are used in experimental pharmacology to investigate dose –biological response relationship and pharmacokinetic of different test substances. The laboratory animals mostly used are, Mice, Rat, Guinea pig and Rabbits . ExperimAcute toxicity is the adverse effect produced after administration of a single dose of test substance using one of the routes of drug administration within a period of not exceeding 24 h . It is uAcute toxicity study is routinely conducted in experimental pharmacology as a regulatory requirement in order to avoid infiltration of harmful pharmaceutical products for public consumption . But theIf the objective of acute toxicity study in animal is to provide the primary safety data to aid in the selection of a compound for clinical development, the toxicity study should be well designed to assess dose- biological response relationship and pharmacokinetics in the treated subject through adequate length of investigation time. Clinical and histopathology need to be evaluated at the earlier and termination time of acute toxicology for adequacy of public health safety .d)Administered dose (t) for adverse effect manifestation andElapsed time (ΔIg)The immune response  had been calculated and documented. The biological responses as toxic severity and toxic reaction rate of each doses administered to lab Balb c mice were finally determined using mathematical formula s is toxic severity, r is toxic reaction rate, d is the administered dose, t is the length of time at which adverse effect manifested and ΔIg is change in concentration of serum immunoglobulins at four hour after dosing. The computed result of toxic severity and toxic reaction rate were used to answer the research questions mentioned earlier which may help to define the fundamental principles in experimental pharmacology.An integrated biological approach  was employed in this study to evaluate the different biological responses to test chemicals administered to Balb c mice. First, acute toxicity study was conducted in the biomedical laboratory of pharmacology and therapeutics during which the time elapsed for the manifestation of significant adverse effect on treated Balb c mice was determined and recorded in note book. The immune response had also been evaluated using quantitative immunoassay before dosing as reference test and at four hour after dosing for comparison from which changes in concentration of serum immunoglobulinsus study  where s Three data collection methods were used. These were, procurement of test chemicals, investigation of single dose acute toxicity on laboratory Balb c mice and quantitative immunoglobulins test.50 [. Three different doses from each test chemicals  were prepared using micropipette and stored in separate and sterile, disposable test tubes which were pre-labeled with number and concentration of test chemical. The prepared doses have been stored at room temperature until it was tested on laboratory Balb c mice.Three toxic chemicals  with different LD50 , 11 were.Data collection in acute toxicology has been conducted in the biomedical laboratory of department of pharmacology and therapeutics from 14th to 28th June 2018. First, fifteen female Balb c mice at the age of 10 weeks were procured from college of veterinary medicine, Makerere University and transported to the department of pharmacology and therapeutics where they have been kept in a cage by providing them food (bread and layer’s mash) and water in a daily basis. Even though, the toxicity of prepared test chemicals has been planned to be evaluated on 15 Balb-c mice, six mice were attacked and killed by a rat which was escaped from its cage at night during the experiment. As a result the experiment was evaluated on nine Balb c mice by dividing them in three groups by which three mice were selected by non-probability sampling, labeled at the head, back and thigh with different colours i.e. black, blue and red and kept them in separate cages. After acclimatising them in cages under standard environmental conditions of light and dark cycles for two weeks, about 1 ml of blood specimen for reference quantitative immunoglobulins test was drawn from the tail and facial veins of each Balb c mice using micro test tubes pre-labeled with number corresponding with the label of Balb c mice. After blood specimens drawn for reference quantitative immunoassay, three days have been given to all lab Balb c mice to restore normal bio-physiological state. And then, all sampled mice have been starved for overnight before weighing them and calculating the right dose. The mice from each group weighed separately using an electronic balance. First, the mouse picked from the cage by holding its tail and put in a plastic bottle with its tail off which was already measured. The weight of each mouse has been recorded in note book from which the right dose per body weight was calculated. Three different level of doses which were less than the LD50 [The calculated doses of prepared test chemicals were also measured using micropipettethe LD50 , 11  for content. Subject matters of the study were identified and organized into meaningful categories and sub–categories. For comprehensiveness, data from different data collection methods was compiled to validate and complement the findings from each of the sources.The analysed data from each of the sources presented in form of tables, graphs and use of descriptive statements under the themes mentioned in the result and discussion sections.The researcher was given an introduction letter from the department of pharmacology and therapeutics, and ethical clearance from Internal Review Board of School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University to seek permission and conduct research. Heads of departments, where different sections of the study has been conducted, were contacted. The norms and rules of each department has been highly observed. Laboratory Balb c mice have been treated according to the universal declaration on animal welfare (UDAW) to prevent cruelty and reduce suffering .Aristolochia elegns mast but the length of time at which undesired effect was clearly manifested on treated Balb c mice [50) and effective dose (ED50) of test extracts precisely [r) and toxic severity (s) of each doses administered into Balb c mice in the oral route were calculated using mathematical formulation Doses of test chemicals prepared from Dichlorvos, Chlorpyrifos and Cypermethrin pesticides at three different level of doses  had been administered into laboratory Balb c mice at 10 weeks old and monitored for a maximum period of 5 days. The length of time at which undesired biological effect manifested in treated Balb c mice was inversely related to the amount of dose administered in the oral route. The higher the dose of administered test chemical, the shorter the length of time at which adverse effect manifested on treated Balb c mice  were developed slow respiration and hypo-activity immediately after oral administration Table .Table 5TThree Balb c mice treated with three different level of doses at 10, 50 and 90 mg/kg of Chlorpyrifos pesticide were also evaluated with acute toxicity trial for five days Table . The maiThree Balb c mice treated with three different level of doses at 10, 50 and 90 mg/kg of Cypermethrin pesticide developed signs and symptoms of toxicity within about 9 to 23 min depending on the amount of dose administered orally Table . The BalIgG (immunoglobulin G) and IgM (immunoglobulin M) quantification tests had been conducted to evaluate the immune response against test chemicals administered to Balb c mice in the oral route. Except Balb c mice treated with the highest dose at 90 mg/kg of Dichlorvos which was died at 1:36 h after dosing orally, about 1 ml of blood specimen had been collected from each Balb c mic using micro test tubes before treatment as reference test and at four hour after treatment for comparison Table . QuantitThe negative value of computed toxic severity and toxic reaction rate in Tables The dose literally refers to the amount of a substance, medicine or drug in the field of nutrition, medicine and toxicology respectively to be utilized at a particular time for certain biological or pharmacological purposes –16. The 50) and effective does (ED50) of test substance has no scientific ground to declare at a point of time that the lower dose is safe and the higher dose is unsafe for life. Even if the adverse effect of the lower dose is not significantly manifested at the organismal level within a short period of time, its adverse effect is significantly manifested at the cellular level which could cause impact on the life of an organism in the long run. In the previous study, for instance, the test extract at 500 mg/kg body weight killed treated Balb c mice in the 9th day and the highest dose (5000 mg/kg body weight) killed them in the 4th day after dosing orally [r) is the administered dose (d) over the length of time (t) at which signs and symptoms of adverse effect is manifested minus concentration of serum immunoglobulins change (ΔIg) as counter response to the toxic effect of test chemical on treated study animal [t was considered four hours at which blood specimens for immunoassay were collected after dosing. The toxic reaction rate of test chemical was higher in the higher administered dose and the shorter the length of time at which adverse effect manifested in treated Balb c mice and Vic versa. The length of time in the investigation of acute toxicology was an essential factor to determine the toxicity of a test substance. The longer the period of time at which the undesired biological effect of test substance manifested on treated organism, the smaller the dose and its toxic reaction rate.The different structure of the body of living things  is the metabolic by-product of ingested dose of substances from the environment that involves different metabolic pathways in which one chemical is bio-transformed into another chemical with multiple bio-transformation mechanisms . Metaboly animal . It coulΔIgmg/sec. In thiss) of test chemical is the toxic reaction rate (r) over the administered dose (d) multiplied by one hundred which is expressed in percent per unit time [The toxic severity (nit time . It coul0) %/sec . The higr) indicated safety limit of test chemicals whereas the value of toxic severity (s) predicted the length of time at which adverse effect of test materials could probably be manifested on treated organism. The laboratory Balb c mice treated with the amount of dose whose toxic reaction rate was less than zero survived from death whereas those sampled Balb c mice treated with the amount of dose that had toxic reaction rate more than zero died at different length of time after treatment depending on the toxic severity of tested chemicals.During this study where the toxicological effect of three test chemicals  were evaluated on Balb c mic at the age of 10 weeks, the toxic reaction rate and toxic severity of each tested chemicals were calculated and recorded in different tables as presented under subsection 3.2 in the result section. The value of toxic reaction rate (r) is less than or equal to zero. This means that the administered test substance is successfully neutralized and harmonised with the biological process of treated organism. The result of toxic severity (s) of each administered doses showed that treated Balb c mice with different dose had no equal opportunity to exist in life but equal fate for death at different lifespan depending on the amount of test chemical administered orally. This means that the higher the toxic severity of test substance the shorter the lifespan of treated organism and Vice versa. At the same time, the higher the toxic reaction rate of test substance in the biology of treated organism, the higher toxic severity of test material will be which shortens the lifespan of an organism.It could be a scientific fact to declare that a test substance is safe when the value of toxic reaction rate , is most likely to have a higher risk of health problem in the long run. There is no scientific ground to categorise a single test material as safe dose (ED50) and lethal dose (LD50) at a point of time during the experiment, in other words, the lower dose could not be safe for life when the higher dose is lethal. It might not be manifested at the organismal level like does the higher dose but it could be significantly manifested at the cellular level which perhaps impact the health of treated organism in the long run. It is most likely to be a waste of time and resources to categorise a single test substance as effective dose (ED50) and lethal dose (LD50) and proceed to the next phase of preclinical trial with inadequately validated data.All the three different level of doses prepared from three different test chemicals mentioned earlier  manifested the toxic effect with different magnitude at different length of time depending on the amount of dose administered in the oral route. If the higher dose kills treated organism, the lower dose which is referred to as effective dose (EDThe term immunoglobulin refers to any of a class of proteins present in the serum and cells of the immune system which function as an antibodies . ImmunogThe immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to provide protection to the organism from environmental agents such as microbes or chemicals, thereby preserving the integrity of the organism. The specific immunity is further divided into humoral immunity, the one involved with antibody, and cellular immunity, which is orchestrated by T cells . ThroughThe normal biological component of the immune system is therefore the overall indicator of the wellbeing of an organism whereas the abnormality in the immune system is the indicator of unhealthy conditions of an organism. What is going wrong in the biology of an organism is ultimately reflected as a quick counter response from the immune system that could be detected as abnormal temperature, supressed appetite, and abnormal immunoglobulin concentration in the plasma, physical and biological disintegration and many more to mention depending on the antigen detected by the immune system .When the administered test substance is absorbed and interacted with the biological system of an organism, it is not only the subjective effect but also other multiple effects that could be triggered in the body which is ultimately detected by the immune system. The administered test substance becomes harmful to the life of treated organism when the biological systems of the body has failed to neutralize and harmonise the chemical component of test substance with the molecular counter part of an organism. Thus, an integrated biological analyses in the earliest stage of preclinical trial is crucial to make adequate assessment about the general safety of test material which may help to avoid progressive trail of harmful test chemicals.The study revealed that the dose had never determined the toxicity of tested chemicals but the magnitude of adverse effect and length of time at which adverse effect manifested in treated Balb c mice. The adverse effect of tested chemicals was rather determined by the toxic reaction rate in the biological process of treated Balb c mice. Adequate length of investigation time in acute toxicology was essential to determine the toxic nature of tested chemicals at different level of doses. Finally, the three different level of doses prepared from each test chemicals disproportionately suppressed IgM depending on the amount administered orally.


The central role of primary care within the field of mental health is a global phenomenon with policymakers actively encouraging primary care to take a lead role in developing and delivering mental health services.Involving patients actively in research represents a significant culture change. Public and patient involvement (PPI) describes a whole variety of ways that researchers engage with people for whom their research holds relevance. The challenge is to mainstream PPI in all aspects of research, health policy and structures going forward, which will require significant political leadership and a new overall strategy.


Sir,It has been a general acceptance that early stage of diabetic kidney disease (DKD stage 1) has been underrecognized, and therapeutic prevention of the diabetic kidney disease at this stage has never happened. The significance and importance of the physiologically defensive mechanism and vascular homeostasis in the early stage of diabetic kidney disease has recently been identified . TherefoThe preceding information renders support that DKD stage 1 can be recognized in the early stage with alternative diagnostic markers than creatinine clearance. The most important issue of early recognizing DKD stage 1 is that it is the golden period for implementing the therapeutic strategy to restore the renal microvascular disease as well as renal function, inasmuch as the mechanism of vascular repair and homeostasis is still adequately functioning in this stage. Treatment at this stage has been vulnerable to correct the renal ischemia, and restore the renal function, and effectively prevent the progression toward end-stage renal disease .


Cardiovascular complications are extremely frequent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and death from cardiac causes is the most common cause of death in this particular population. Cardiovascular disease is approximately 3 times more frequent in patients with CKD than in other known cardiovascular risk groups and cardiovascular mortality is approximately 10-fold more frequent in patients on dialysis compared to the age- and sex-matched segments of the nonrenal population. Among other structural and functional factors advanced calcification of atherosclerotic plaques as well as of the arterial and venous media has been described as potentially relevant for this high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. One potential explanation for this exceedingly high vascular calcification in animal models as well as in patients with CKD increased systemic and most importantly local (micro)inflammation that has been shown to favor the development of calcifying particles by multiple ways. Of note, local vascular upregulation of proinflammatory and proosteogenic molecules is already present at early stages of CKD and may thus be operative for vascular calcification. In addition, increased expression of costimulatory molecules and mast cells has also been documented in patients with CKD pointing to a more inflammatory and potentially less stable phenotype of coronary atherosclerotic plaques in CKD. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic renal failure (CRF) develop early on in the course of the disease structural and functional alterations of the heart and the vascular tree that represent a major clinical problem in these patients. In addition, cardiovascular diseases are a major contributor to the high incidence of cardiovascular complications and particularly death from cardiovascular causes in this population , 2. AparIn addition to the cardiac alterations specific structural changes of the extracardiac arteries and veins are present which consist of vessel thickening Figures  but moreAlthough the exact pathogenesis of increased vascular calcification in CKD is not fully understood there are some very plausible hypotheses and candidates: from the very beginning disturbances in the phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) metabolism , 26, altThe above-mentioned recent study by Viegas and coworkers  more empAdvanced stages of atherosclerotic plaques particularly with plaque and vessel calcification are specific features in patients with CKD that might contribute to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in these patients. Our findings of a more inflammatory phenotype of coronary atherosclerotic plaques and particularly of a potential role of MCs for advanced atherosclerosis in CKD might be particularly important in view of recent experimental findings in the animal model of the ApoE knockout mouse  where ph


During the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan, residents continue to express their voices in community meetings. In this study of older adults, the research team conducted participant observation of such meetings in addition to interview older adults. This presentation highlights themes of trauma and resilience as found in the collective; we illustrate the knowledge gained by researchers about the challenging environmental contexts in which study participants are navigating and how narratives that are both personal and collective co-emerge. We examine how these narratives illustrate concerns of health and wellbeing from a life course perspective and index relationships of residents to their spaces. We conclude by offering lessons learned on investigating community meetings as a way of ensuring research is “community based.”


This symposium addresses debates around the theme of precarity and its implications for understanding social and economic changes affecting the lives of older people. To date, the concept of precarity has been applied to several subpopulations by various academic disciplines but has yet to be systematically applied to later life. The symposium will give particular attention to the extent to which the lens provided by precarity can illuminate different types of inequalities experienced through the life course and reflected in public policies directed at older people. Chris Phillipson reviews theoretical perspectives relating to precarity, examining their potential contribution for the development of critical gerontology. His paper also considers the extent to which the concept of ‘precarious ageing’ offers a competing or complementary view to theories of ‘active’ and ‘successful ageing’. Larry Polivka examines the growing precarity of life for older Americans emanating from austerity budgets and privatization of public services. The paper suggests that policies such as health care and long term care are in jeopardy, creating a glide path toward the extension of precarious employment into a precarious retirement for millions of older people. Wenxuan Huang examines how the focus on agency and other individual-level foci obscure understanding of social dynamics. Finally, Amanda Grenier draws on a scoping review of precarity to outline conceptual distinctions between frailty, vulnerability, and precarity. She presents reflections on what these concepts offer in terms of understandings of late life the study of disadvantage across the life course.


The “aging” of populations in the developed world is rapidly altering demographics and presents a number of challenges for science and medicine. Foremost among these challenges is the need to enhance the quality of life for this “aging” majority. Paradoxically, improved prevention and treatment of diseases will only increase the number of individuals who will lose quality of life because of cognitive deficits in learning and memory. Such cognitive deficits are particularly vexing in societies where the ability to deal with information technology has become an increasing necessity. Understanding how the human brain encodes and stores information becomes critical in designing required therapeutic strategies.


Vaccine clinical trials in low‐resource settings have unique challenges due to structural and financial inequities. Specifically, protecting participant and caregiver autonomy to participate in the research study can be a major challenge, so understanding the setting and contextual factors which influence the decision process is necessary. This study investigates the experience of caregivers consenting on behalf of paediatric participants in a malaria vaccine clinical trial where participation enables access to free, high‐quality medical care.II or III malaria vaccine clinical trial in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Interviews were qualitative and analysed using a thematic framework analysis focusing on the embodied caregiver in the political, economic and social reality.We interviewed a total of 78 caregivers of paediatric participants previously enrolled in a phase Caregivers of participants in this study made the decision to enrol their child based on economic, social and political factors that extended beyond the trial into the community and the home. The provision of health care was the dominant reason for participation. Respondents reported how social networks, rumours, hierarchal structures, financial constraints and family dynamics affected their experience with research.The provision of medical care was a powerful motivator for participation. Caregiver choice was limited by structural constraints and scarce financial resources. The decision to participate in research extended beyond individual consent and was embedded in community and domestic hierarchies. Future research should assess other contexts to determine how the choice to participate in research is affected when free medical care is offered. Vaccines play a major role in public health and their development is dependent on clinical trial testing in human populations. Transnational clinical trials operate through collaborative partnerships that involve a wide array of stakeholders and participants from varying sociocultural backgrounds. Each stakeholder enters into clinical trial research with varying degrees of inequity linked to its role in the clinical trial and resource context Phase II and phase III vaccine clinical trials establish the safety of a vaccine and determine its efficacy This study investigates the community context, communication needs and decision‐making processes of the caregivers of participants in a phase II and phase III paediatric malaria vaccine clinical trial. Each of these trials operated in low‐resource settings in multiple African countries. The phase II vaccine trial involved GMZ2 malaria vaccine and was conducted at five clinical trial centres in four African countries The phase III RTS,S clinical trial investigated here has led to the regulatory registration and the roll‐out of the RTS,S vaccine in a phase IV study, making it the first licenced malaria vaccine. These phase IV studies will take place in three different countries, including the Kenyan research centres investigated here While community engagement has been recognised as necessary in ethical transnational research, there is no clear consensus as to its definitive application in different community contexts In order to better understand the experiences and decision‐making processes of caregivers during the paediatric malaria vaccine clinical trial, we conducted a series of in‐depth interviews between March 2017 and March 2018 with caregivers of children who participated in a malaria clinical trial.Interviews were held across four clinical trial sites in Uganda (Iganga), Kenya (Siaya and Kombewa) and Tanzania (Bagamoyo) with caregivers of participants. We used purposive sampling to recruit respondents and in the majority of the cases the mother was the primary caregiver. Participants were selected based on having had a child enrolled in a paediatric malaria vaccine clinical trial. Interviews were conducted until saturation was reached, were semi‐structured and held in the home of the respondent.The RTS,S phase III malaria vaccine trial took place between March 2009 and January 2014 in seven African countries  and spanned 11 clinical trial centres This was a qualitative study that used in‐depth interviews to capture the perspective of the caregiver who had a child enrolled in a malaria vaccine clinical trial. The fieldwork consisted of a scoping trip to the research sites to introduce the study, recruit participants and meet with community leaders. Field visits took place in March 2017 (the scoping visit), and the interviews were conducted between May 2017 and March 2018 with the help of local research assistants. The research assistants from Tanzania were fluent in Swahili . In Uganda, all three female research assistants were fluent in Luganda and conversational in the related Lusoga language of the community investigated. In Kenya, all three research assistants  were fluent in Dholuo. None of the research assistants lived in the community investigated, all were fluent in English and had post‐secondary education. Interviews were semi‐structured and had a focused discussion on the vaccine trial, leaving room to explore concepts as they emerged, such as community dimensions and domestic relationships in the context of the trial. Interviews began by asking open questions and were then funnelled into more specific questions about the respondent's views and experiences within the health system, interaction with researchers, and challenges faced in the community. The interviews were recorded with the informed consent of the respondent and conducted in the local language. They were then transcribed verbatim and translated into English by the research assistant. The interview guide was first piloted in each country and then changed and developed throughout to best explore unanticipated replies as they emerged.The study protocol, informed consent forms and interview guide were reviewed and approved by the following bodies: in Tanzania, National Health Research Ethics Review Committee for the National Institute for Medical Council (NIMR), Ifakara Health Institute IRB (IHI‐IRB), Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH); in Uganda, Uganda Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), the Makerere University School of Biomedical Sciences Higher Degrees Research and Ethics Committee (SBS‐HDREC); in Kenya: Strathmore University IRB (SU‐IRB).The analysis was based on the approach described by Strauss and Corbin 1998) 98 19. Fin = 18), Kombewa, Kenya (n = 20) and Siaya, Kenya (n = 17). Interviews lasted around 31 min on average, with the longest being 56 min and the shortest being 19 min. Seven interviews could not be included in the time calculation due to logistical limitations of the recordings.Of the 78 interviews, 23 were with parents of children enrolled in the GMZ2 Phase IIb trial in Iganga, Uganda. The remaining 55 in‐depth interviews were with parents of children enrolled in the RTS,S phase III study across three sites in Bagamoyo, Tanzania  and is intricately connected to the political, social and economic reality that a caregiver occupies at a given time. Below, we move through these themes and discuss the role local values and beliefs play in research participation.vs. benefit communication in transnational clinical trials What is most striking about our results is the dominance of free medical care as being the prevailing motivator for participation. Limited capacity of local medical services has been raised as a challenge in transnational research when the medical services in the clinical trial significantly surpass local services the village life we are in’. The respondents are embedded in communal lives where other members of the community would suggest their child was going to be killed or face the consequence of a stigmatised condition if they enrolled in the malaria vaccine clinical trial. Failing to recognise the contingency of community and individuality and to overlook the historical experiences that contributed to the generation of these beliefs can derail research studies Beyond the individual, the provision of accessible medical care was also highlighted as the trial component most highly valued by the community. Health care was framed as a community value by respondents. The political leadership which influenced community acceptance of the research suggests a locus of decision‐making that is communal. The leadership decided its position on the research study and then passed this approval down into the community, driven by the desire to promote the health of the children. The provision of health care within the community context in combination with the structural constraints impacts decision‐making structures in clinical trials and provides challenges for the consent process The final analysis of the domestic context also brought the value of healthcare provision to the forefront as the dominating motivator for trial participation. Having a sick child in the home leads to difficulties for others sharing that same domestic setting, whereas having access to health care to treat the sick child leads to greater domestic harmony. Respondents reported that enrolling in the research trial often occurred as a result of the difficulty in accessing medical care and trial enrolment has been reported to be lower in areas with better medical services joy’ in the home. Having a sick child in the home can burden the relationship and make parents more likely to participate in research than when their child is healthy How parents weigh the risks and benefits of participation differed and was related to the structural constraints around healthcare access for the child rumours’ by respondents and those believing them were referred to as a distant third party. Respondents repeatedly emphasised the gratitude they experienced from trial enrolment and the accompanying care. Concerns around potential adverse events outlined in the informed consent documents associated with vaccination did not come up as a significant concern during the interviews. While therapeutic misconception was also evident in some interviews, the offer of medical care overshadowed it in its ability to influence the caregiver's risk perception.The absence of risk in the interviews conducted was also of note. Sceptical beliefs or concerns were often framed as ‘Designing vaccine clinical trials in low‐resource settings such that the communication of risk and benefits is done in a way that is comprehended by participants and their communities is a challenging task. Ethical design of research requires the communication of trial proceedings not to be overshadowed by the provision of free care in resource‐limited settings. To address this in future trials and taking the first step towards more ethical communication means placing the community at the forefront of research design Understanding and addressing the local context will reduce inequalities inherent in transnational clinical trials in low‐resource settings Limitations of this study include the sampling strategy, which recruited caregivers who enrolled their child and therefore would have been more likely to have a reduced risk perception due to the provision of care than caregivers who were approached and refused to enrol their child in the clinical trial. Future work investigating the perception of caregivers in the community who refused to enrol their child could shed further light on this topic. We also did not interview and male caregivers, which is indicative of the traditional caregiving roles where the mother or grandmother has the primary responsibility for the child's health.Through mapping how contextual realities interplay with the decision‐making process of caregivers of paediatric clinical trial participants, this study can strengthen clinical trials in low‐resource settings. Our work shows that individual consent in clinical trials is intricately linked with community consent and family dynamics. Based on this, future research needs to investigate how this interplay varies across contexts and the role free medical care plays in consent in these settings.


The plating efficiency of neurons in culture is highly dependent on the concentration of cells used to establish the monolayer. A discontinuous iodixanol gradient permits both the production of a viable concentrated suspension of neurons and purification from other brain tissue elements. The gradient that is described in this Protocol Article is applicable to brain tissue from rat and also from human biopsy specimens.


This dataset conducted a comparative analysis of sustainable construction practices of foreign and indigenous construction firms in Lagos state, Nigeria using a structured questionnaire survey. The dataset contains the level of awareness and consistency of practice of sustainable development on construction projects between the foreign and indigenous construction firms and the impact of implementing sustainable development practices. Descriptive analysis such as frequencies, percentage and mean score were used to present the quantitative data in form of tables. Further analysis of the dataset highlight the practices of indigenous and foreign construction firms in sustainable development which can be beneficial to stakeholders in environmental protection and mitigating climate change issues. Specifications TableValue of the data•The dataset highlights sustainable strategies that can be implemented for creating safe construction activities which are environmentally friendly by construction firms and stakeholders •The dataset is useful for policy makers in enforcing sustainable practices by construction firms.•The dataset can be replicated in other sectors to understand the sustainable practices used and the level of awareness in those practices.•With rising population and the needs to provide adequate housing, high waste generation by the construction needs to be curtailed. Construction clients through this dataset can set limit on waste generation through efficient sustainable development practices.•Further analysis of the dataset can reveal the rationale of investing in sustainable development practices by indigenous and foreign construction firms.1The dataset presented in this context described a comparative analysis of sustainable construction practices of foreign and indigenous construction firms in Lagos state, Nigeria. The dataset gives a summary of the construction firms’ information, level of awareness, consistency of practice and the impact of implementing sustainable development practices. The dataset was obtained on a firm-level basis using a primary instrument. 2The dataset was obtained from primary sources using the questionnaire instrument. The data article follows the works of previous studies in


The increase in availability of actinobacterial whole genome sequences has revealed huge numbers of specialised metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, encoding a range of bioactive molecules such as antibiotics, antifungals, immunosuppressives and anticancer agents. Yet the majority of these clusters are not expressed under standard laboratory conditions in rich media. Emerging data from studies of specialised metabolite biosynthesis suggest that the diversity of regulatory mechanisms is greater than previously thought and these act at multiple levels, through a range of signals such as nutrient limitation, intercellular signalling and competition with other organisms. Understanding the regulation and environmental cues that lead to the production of these compounds allows us to identify the role that these compounds play in their natural habitat as well as provide tools to exploit this untapped source of specialised metabolites for therapeutic uses. Here, we provide an overview of novel regulatory mechanisms that act in physiological, global and cluster‐specific regulatory manners on biosynthetic pathways in Actinobacteria and consider these alongside their ecological and evolutionary implications. Streptomyces genome sequence, the genus was estimated to have the potential to produce in the region of 150,000 bioactive compounds  in actinobacterial genomes that encode for the production of potentially useful metabolites which are not actively expressed under commonly used laboratory conditions. Prior to the sequencing of the first et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., Streptomycesantibiotic regulatory protein (SARP) protein family to be identified  synthesis and the regulation of antibiotic production in actinomycetes has long been established. ppGpp is a key intracellular signalling molecule, which links nutrient starvation sensing with adaptive responses in a wide range of bacteria including actinomycetes. Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, ppGpp is synthesised by the ribosome bound protein RelA . Moreover, MtrA binds to the promoters of the streptomycetes‐specific cell division genes ssgA and ssgB  of the particular biosynthetic gene cluster in which they are located. Traditionally in actinomycetes, this type of regulation is conducted by either transcriptional activators/repressors or two component regulatory systems  sigma factors are a group of small regulatory proteins normally bound (when inactive) to a cognate membrane‐associated anti‐sigma factor. Once the appropriate inducing signal is detected, the anti‐sigma factor is inactivated either through modifications, conformational changes or proteolysis. This inactivation leads to the release of the ECF and enables it to be recruited by the RNA polymerase core enzyme, therefore allowing transcription initiation from ECF‐specific target promoters. Actinomycetes contain a large number of ECF sigma factors within their genomes compared to other bacterial groups /PKS) assembly line. The M. corallina is initiated by ppGpp synthesis (see above). This precursor is then exported, and once outside the cell, it triggers the release of the cluster specific ECF sigma factor MibX from the membrane‐associated anti‐sigma factor MibW. MibX can now activate transcription of the whole biosynthetic cluster to reach high levels of production of the fully modified and active form of microbisporicin . In this case, planosporicin itself is responsible for the release of the sigma factor to activate transcription of the biosynthetic cluster . For example, the production of a much less active precursor form of the lantibiotic microbisporicin in et al., et al., Given that the specialised metabolite producing Actinobacteria are a widely distributed group of organisms that occupy a wide range of environmental niches with an enormous repertoire of specialised metabolites, it is unsurprising that they have also evolved a vast array of mechanisms with which to coordinate and regulate the expression of molecules with adaptive function. The biosynthesis of specialised metabolites clearly has a larger evolutionary cost to the producing strain than carrying the resistance mechanism to a specialised metabolite where tens of kilobases of DNA are required to encode BGCs whereas only hundreds of bases are required for many resistance mechanisms (Traxler


The dataset contains financial indicators from the financial statements of 250 banks operating in Europe which are collated for the 2015 accounting year. First, the dataset is split into input and outputs measures. Then the preferred number of inputs and outputs in relation to the total number of data is selected according to the rule of thumb in data envelopment analysis (DEA). The dataset is related to the research article entitled “Robust optimization with nonnegative decision variables: A DEA approach”  [1]. The dataset can be used to evaluate the performance of banks and bank efficiency under uncertainty. The nu[5,All the raw data are scaled for uniformity and to reduce round-off errors from excessively large values prior to analysis.


Any density gradient for the isolation of mammalian organelles should ideally only expose the sedimenting biological particles to an increasing concentration of the gradient solute. Thus they will experience only an increasing density and viscosity, other parameters such as osmolality, pH, ionic strength and the concentration of important additives (such as EDTA and DTT) should remain as close to constant as possible. This Protocol Article describes the strategies for the dilution of OptiPrep™ in order to prepare such solutions for mammalian organelles and membranes.


The main objective of this survey is to present data on the perception of the influence of faculty support initiatives on efficacy of job responsibilities using six private university in Nigeria as case study. The population of the study included all faculty members of selected private universities with a total of 1912 faculty members. A sample size of 500 were selected to participate in the survey based on the outcome of the sample size determination formula suggested by Falola et al. (2016)  Specification TableValue of the data•University management can have insight into which of the faculty support initiatives mostly predicts efficacy of faculty responsibilities.•If the data is properly analysed, it can provide a platform upon which universities take decisions that will completely restore the dignity of Nigerian Universities. See •The data provided here can be used for decision making purposes.•This can be used as a platform upon which management of the universities and other stakeholders in the education sector formulate policies.•The questionnaire can be adopted or adapted for a similar studies.1The data presented in this study is quantitative in nature. It comprises raw statistical data on the influence of faculty support initiatives on the efficacy of job responsibilities. The study is descriptive in nature. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the coding of the data collected. The population, sample size and response rate of questionnaire administered as well as demographic characteristics of the respondents are depicted in 2Six best private universities as ranked by National Universities Commission, and webometric ranking were selected from Southwest Nigeria. What informs the choice of the best six private universities in southwest Nigeria was because of their outstanding performance when it comes to research and innovation. The researchers wanted to find out the institutional supports given to the Academic Staff that might be responsible for their performance. Data were collected from the sample of four hundred and forty three faculty members across all the colleges with the aid of structured questionnaire designed by the researcher based on the similar studies of


The cell membrane provides a functional link between the external environment and the replicating DNA genome by using ligand-gated receptors and chemical signals to activate signaling transduction pathways. However, increasing evidence has also indicated that the phospholipid bilayer itself by altering various physical parameters serves as a sensor that regulate membrane proteins in a specific manner. Changes in thickness and/or curvature of the membrane have been shown to be induced by mechanical forces and transmitted through the transmembrane helices of several types of mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels underlying functions such as osmoregulation in bacteria and sensory processing in mammalian cells. This review focus on recent protein functional and structural data indicating that the activation of bacterial and yeast osmosensors is consistent with thickness-induced tilting changes of the transmembrane domains of these proteins. Membrane thinning in combination with curvature changes may also lead to the lateral transfer of the small lipid-anchored GTPases Ras1 and H-Ras out of lipid rafts for clustering and signaling. The modulation of signaling pathways by amphiphilic peptides and the membrane-active antibiotics colistin and Amphotericin B is also discussed. Lippa et al., has found that the periplasmic protein DsbA facilitates the oxidation of the MgrB cysteine residues blocking PhoQ/PhoP signaling activity  is flanked at both the cytoplasmic and at the periplasmic side with two consecutive aromatic residues. This preferential location of aromatic Trp and Phe residues at the membrane/water interphase has been predicted to allow large movements of the TM domain perpendicular to the membrane by acting as a membrane “float” that minimizes energy costs  signaling pathway in fungal cells is known to be activated under a hyperosmotic shock by the rapid loss of cell volume due to water efflux , but the two hydrophobic Ile residues that are present at the periplasmic side, are followed by a segment containing two positively charged Lys residues (KLAK). These positively charged aminoacids upstream of TM2 may be interacting with negatively groups of membrane phospholipids, potentially playing a role in modulating membrane thickness as observed for the TMs of the Ca2+-ATPase  domains that are formed in model lipid membranes . In the Sho1-P120L mutant, the substitution of Pro by a hydrophobic Leu amino acid residue may enhance the interaction of any of the two positively charged lysines with the negatively lipid head groups at the membrane surface. Consequently, the TM4 helix of Sho1 may be forced to tilt with respect to the membrane normal, as it is expected to occur upon the reversal of the membrane thinning induced by the loss of turgor. Similar displacements of a TM domain by a positively charged-lipid anchor at the membrane surface has been demonstrated to play a role in the activation of mechanosensitive bacterial ion channels     to fungal cells exerts an opposite effect that turgor by inducing the loss of salt and water produced via the aqueous pores formed  pathway is another membrane-based signaling mechanism present in fungal cells that is capable to sense turgor pressure Levin, . Thus, mWsc and Mid2 proteins contain a large extracellular o-mannosylated serine-threonine region (STR) that is connected to a single TM domain  of the TM within the bilayer, leading to a conformational change that brings the cytosolic domain closer to form functional multimers that triggering the CWI pathway activation. Consistent with the localization of the CWI pathway sensors in specific lipid rafts, it was found that the CWI pathway is activated by inhibitors of fatty acid synthase (FA), acetyl-CoA carboxylase and myriocin, an inhibitor of sphingolipid synthesis , a higher fungal species, there are two Ras isoforms (Cn Ras1 and Cn Ras2) that share overlapping functions, but also play distinct signaling roles  and the cytoskeleton to regulate specific functions during cell growth and pathogenesis processes. In addition, the increasing evidence that supports the role of biophysical membrane properties in the localization of the Ras and Rho family members into specific lipid nanodomains makes it possible to define new innovative approaches for improving the therapy of fungal and cancer diseases. Efforts in this direction are driven by the remarkable progress made in the use of multiscale computer simulation approaches to understand protein dynamics and its impact on events that can be propagated over long distances such as signaling via Ras and its downstream effectors Papaleo, . HoweverThe author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and approved it for publication.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.