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A theory to predict quantitatively the damage to reef coral assemblages during hydrodynamic disturbances has been developed and tested. The work provides a mechanistic basis for projecting how effects of hydrodynamic disturbances vary with disturbance magnitude, as well as with the size and shape of coral colonies.
Using a technique called gas immersion laser doping, silicon can be doped such that it has a boron concentration of several per cent, and becomes superconducting below 0.35 Kelvin.
The application of small bursts of an oscillating magnetic field can be used to reverse controllably the gyration direction of a vortex core structure, and hence switch the direction of the out-of-plane vortex core polarization. This raises the possibility of using this core switching scheme as a means of magnetic data storage.
Last year the first map of single nucleotide changes was published; now an international consortium has mapped even larger areas of differences, called copy number variants. These variants are at least 1,000-base-pair differences between individual people, and have been linked to both benign and disease-causing changes in the human genome.
An essential component of evaluating and improving global health is access to appropriate diagnostic tools. Through this series of papers we hope to further the dissemination of current knowledge on global health diagnostic needs for the conditions that most severely affect those living in the developing world.
Developing a strategy for investment in diagnostic technologies requires an understanding of the need for, and the health impact of, potential new tools, as well as the necessary performance characteristics and user requirements. In this paper, we outline an approach for modelling the health benefits of new diagnostic tools.
Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are the primary killer of children in developing countries. Many children with ALRIs are not properly diagnosed, and overuse of antibiotics has led to increasing drug resistance. The introduction of simple and widely accessible diagnostic tests could significantly reduce deaths among children with ALRIs and reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.
Stunting affects ~ 147 million children in developing countries. Studies have pointed to a relationship between stunting and different pathogens that are associated with diarrhoeal illness. New easy-to-use tools for diagnosing these pathogens could help to identify children at risk for growth shortfall, and reduce the prevalence of stunting and the large burden of disease associated with it.