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About the Authors: Matthew R. Behrend * E-mail: behrend04@gmail.com Affiliations Neglected Tropical Diseases, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, Blue Well 8, Seattle, Washington, United States of America ORCID logo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5664-0520 María-Gloria Basáñez Affiliation: MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Jonathan I. D. Hamley Affiliation: MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Travis C. Porco Affiliation: Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, United States of America Wilma A. Stolk Affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Martin Walker Affiliations London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research and Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Sake J. de Vlas Affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands ORCID logo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1830-5668 for the NTD Modelling Consortium Introduction The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) thrive mainly among the poorest populations of the world. Onchocerciasis (a filarial disease caused by infection with Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by blackfly, Simulium, vectors) probably provides the best example of impactful modelling, with its long history of using evidence—mostly from the ONCHOSIM and EPIONCHO transmission models [7]—to support decision-making within ongoing multicountry control initiatives (Table 1). Onchocerciasis modelling and policy impact. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008033.t001 From the start of the NTD Modelling Consortium in 2015, there have been several other examples of impactful modelling, which could be divided over three major scales of operations: (1) developing WHO guidelines (e.g., for triple-drug therapy, with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole, against lymphatic filariasis [16, 17]); (2) informing funding decisions for new intervention tools (e.g., the development of a schistosomiasis vaccine [18]); and (3) guiding within-country targeting of control (e.g., local vector control for human African trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [19, 20] and Chad [21]). Relative word frequencies are represented by size of the font. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008033.g002 Scoring the guidance statements Authors coded the data set individually (MRB, TCP, WAS, SJdV) and jointly (M-GB, JIDH, MW), producing five independently coded sets of data (S1 Table).

The icy dwarf planet Makemake has projected axes of 1,430 ± 9 and 1,502 ± 45 km and a V-band geometric albedo larger than Pluto’s but smaller than Eris’s, with no global Pluto-like atmosphere. Makemake shapes up against Pluto and Eris Makemake is thought to be the third-largest dwarf planet in our Solar System, a little smaller than Pluto and Eris, but until now knowledge of its size and albedo were only approximate. This paper reports the results of observations of the occultation of a faint star known as NOMAD 1181-0235723 by Makemake on 23 April 2011. The data confirm that Makemake is smaller than Pluto and Eris, with axes of 1,430±9 km and 1,502±45 km. Makemake's mean geometric albedo — the ratio of light reflected to light received — is intermediate between that of Pluto and that of Eris. All three are icy, making them among the most reflective objects in the Solar System. And the occultation light curves rule out the presence of a global Pluto-like atmosphere on Makemake, although the presence of dark terrain might imply the presence of a localized atmosphere. Pluto and Eris are icy dwarf planets with nearly identical sizes, comparable densities and similar surface compositions as revealed by spectroscopic studies 1 , 2 . Pluto possesses an atmosphere whereas Eris does not; the difference probably arises from their differing distances from the Sun, and explains their different albedos 3 . Makemake is another icy dwarf planet with a spectrum similar to Eris and Pluto 4 , and is currently at a distance to the Sun intermediate between the two. Although Makemake’s size (1,420 ± 60 km) and albedo are roughly known 5 , 6 , there has been no constraint on its density and there were expectations that it could have a Pluto-like atmosphere 4 , 7 , 8 . Here we report the results from a stellar occultation by Makemake on 2011 April 23. Our preferred solution that fits the occultation chords corresponds to a body with projected axes of 1,430 ± 9 km (1 σ ) and 1,502 ± 45 km, implying a V-band geometric albedo p V = 0.77 ± 0.03. This albedo is larger than that of Pluto, but smaller than that of Eris. The disappearances and reappearances of the star were abrupt, showing that Makemake has no global Pluto-like atmosphere at an upper limit of 4–12 nanobar (1 σ ) for the surface pressure, although a localized atmosphere is possible. A density of 1.7 ± 0.3 g cm −3 is inferred from the data.

A priority of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) 2013-2018 strategic plan is to evaluate the potential impact on polio eradication resulting from expanding one or more Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs) to children beyond age five-years in polio endemic countries. It has been hypothesized that such expanded age group (EAG) campaigns could accelerate polio eradication by eliminating immunity gaps in older children that may have resulted from past periods of low vaccination coverage. Using an individual-based mathematical model, we quantified the impact of EAG campaigns in terms of probability of elimination, reduction in polio transmission and age stratified immunity levels. The model was specifically calibrated to seroprevalence data from a polio-endemic region: Zaria, Nigeria. We compared the impact of EAG campaigns, which depend only on age, to more targeted interventions which focus on reaching missed populations. We found that EAG campaigns would not significantly improve prospects for polio eradication; the probability of elimination increased by 8% (from 24% at baseline to 32%) when expanding three annual SIAs to 5-14 year old children and by 18% when expanding all six annual SIAs. In contrast, expanding only two of the annual SIAs to target hard-to-reach populations at modest vaccination coverage-representing less than one tenth of additional vaccinations required for the six SIA EAG scenario-increased the probability of elimination by 55%. Implementation of EAG campaigns in polio endemic regions would not improve prospects for eradication. In endemic areas, vaccination campaigns which do not target missed populations will not benefit polio eradication efforts.

In the upper Parana River floodplain, submerged macrophytes have become dominant. Previously, Eichhornia azurea Kunth was the most important and dominant substrate of epiphytic algae. Thus, it is believed that proliferation and abundance of submerged macrophytes altered the composition and richness of epiphytic algae, both in lentic and lotic enviroments, and on the E. azurea substrate. This contribution aims compare the species of epiphytic algae in distinct substrates in 2000 and 2009, in distinct environments of the upper Parana River floodplain. So, the researchers intend to verify if the presence of submerged macrophytes altered the epiphytic algae species, as well as increased its species richness. Submerged macrophytes, especially Egeria najas, presented the highest number of taxa and together with H. verticillatta, they were responsible for the appearance of new taxa, because they increase habitat complexity. Thus, architecture of plants provides a higher range of micro-habitats, which favours new areas for colonisation, and refuge from predators.

We designed a field survey (the entire river length; not dammed: First and Second plateaus; dammed: Third Plateau) to test the hypothesis that the cascade of reservoirs promoted a reduction in species richness and changed the composition of Oligochaeta assemblage along the Iguaçu River. Changes in environmental variables and in richness and composition of Oligochaeta were summarized by Canonic Correspondence Analysis. Along the Iguaçu River, conductivity, and altitude decreased, whereas temperature increased. Oligochaeta composition showed a significant spatial variation, with higher abundances of the family Tubificidae and the genus Dero (Naididae) occurring in the First Plateau. In the Second and Third plateaus, few species were dominant, with increases in the presence of species of Naididae below dams. We found a clear decrease in species richness along the Iguaçu River. Moreover, we found that Oligochaeta assemblage was influenced by some environmental variables such as altitude, conductivity, substrate type and temperature, and by anthropogenic activities (human occupation and damming). The results supported the use of Oligochaeta as surrogate taxa to predict environmental changes along impacted (dammed and eutrophic) rivers. The validity of this was indicated by the strong and significant gradient registered, from the headwater to mouth of the Iguaçu River. Foi delineada uma pesquisa de campo (toda extensão do rio; não barrado: Primeiro e Segundo planaltos; barrado: Terceiro planalto) para testar a hipótese de que a cascata de reservatórios promove redução na riqueza de espécies e muda a composição da assembléia de Oligochaeta ao longo do Rio Iguaçu. Mudanças nas variáveis ambientais e na riqueza e composição de Oligochaeta foram sumarizadas por Análise de Correspondência Canônica. Ao longo do Rio Iguaçu, a condutividade e a altitude diminuíram, enquanto a temperatura aumentou. A composição de Oligochaeta mostrou variação espacial significativa, com maiores abundâncias da família Tubificidae e do gênero Dero (Naididae) ocorrendo no Primeiro planalto. No Segundo e Terceiro planaltos, poucas espécies foram dominantes, com aumento na presença de espécies de Naididae abaixo de barragens. Foi encontrada uma clara diminuição na riqueza de espécies ao longo do Rio Iguaçu. Além disso, observou-se que a assembléia de Oligochaeta foi influenciada por algumas variáveis ambientais, como altitude, condutividade, tipo de substrato e temperatura, e por atividades antropogênicas (ocupação humana e barramento). Os resultados deste estudo suportam o uso de Oligochaeta como táxon substituto para predizer mudanças ambientais ao longo de rios impactados (barrados e eutróficos). A validade desse estudo foi indicada pelo forte e significativo gradiente, registrado da cabeceira à foz do Rio Iguaçu.

Charon among the stars Stellar occultations, when a Solar System object passes between us and a star and blocks its light, are eagerly awaited by astronomers as they provide a chance to make measurements that are not normally possible. It had been 25 years since a solitary observation of a stellar occultation by Pluto's moon Charon. But on 11 July 2005 another occurred and this time observatories across South America were ideally placed to track it. The resulting haul of data has been used to obtain an accurate measure of Charon's radius, of close to 605 km, and to establish an upper limit (a rather low one) on the density of its atmosphere. Visit tinyurl.com/9c56s for a QuickTime movie of the event. Pluto and its satellite, Charon (discovered in 1978; ref. 1 ), appear to form a double planet, rather than a hierarchical planet/satellite couple. Charon is about half Pluto's size and about one-eighth its mass. The precise radii of Pluto and Charon have remained uncertain, leading to large uncertainties on their densities 2 . Although stellar occultations by Charon are in principle a powerful way of measuring its size, they are rare, as the satellite subtends less than 0.3 microradians (0.06 arcsec) on the sky. One occultation (in 1980) yielded a lower limit of 600 km for the satellite's radius 3 , which was later refined to 601.5 km (ref. 4 ). Here we report observations from a multi-station stellar occultation by Charon, which we use to derive a radius, R C = 603.6 ± 1.4 km (1 σ ), and a density of ρ = 1.71 ± 0.08 g cm -3 . This occultation also provides upper limits of 110 and 15 (3 σ ) nanobar for an atmosphere around Charon, assuming respectively a pure nitrogen or pure methane atmosphere.

Background An increasingly ageing population and the resulting multimorbidity is a growing challenge for healthcare systems. A solution to tackle this problem is interprofessional collaboration. Interprofessional education, as an early meeting point, could foster a future successful interprofessional collaboration. So, the aim of our pilot study was to assess whether the “interprofessional collaboration between medical and pharmacy students to improve medication safety in polypharmacy” (PILLE) project changed the perception of medical and pharmacy students towards interprofessional collaboration. Methods PILLE consisted of three parts: (1) A mandatory 90-minutes interprofessional seminar; (2) A voluntary 120-minutes practical training; (3) A voluntary half-day interprofessional tandem work shadowing at a General Practitioner’s (GP) office. We used a controlled study design. Medical and pharmacy students from the intervention group attended the seminar (1). Medical students of the control group attended an interactive 90-minutes monoprofessional seminar only. Working together on cases was the similarity of both seminars. The students from the intervention group could attend (2) and (3). The outcome of interest was the change in students’ perception towards interprofessional collaboration after participating in PILLE, using pre- and post-questionnaires with the validated German version of Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE-2D) instrument. Descriptive and statistical evaluation was conducted. To assess if there is a significant pre-post-difference in the SPICE-2D overall score within the individual groups, paired t-tests were executed. To investigate if there is a significant change in SPICE-2D overall score difference between the medical students control and intervention group, an unpaired t-test was performed. Results In total, 436 students participated: 96 medical students and 116 pharmacy students in the intervention group, and 224 medical students in the control group. The participating students from both professions already had a pronounced positive perception at baseline. All pre-post-mean-differences within the individual groups and between the medical students control and intervention group were not statistically significant. Conclusion Participating medical and pharmacy students already had a positive perception at baseline. A one-time and short-term mandatory seminar of 90-minutes seems not to be sufficient to measure a change in perception. Future interprofessional education projects should focus on frequent meeting points between students.

Pluto's twin is out in the cold Four trans-Neptunian objects are currently recognized as dwarf planets: Eris, Haumea, Makemake and Pluto. Of these, the 'demoted' planet Pluto has been studied for many years and has a detected atmosphere. The others are difficult to observe because of their extreme distance from the Sun, but a stellar occultation event on 6 November 2010 provided an opportunity for a closer look at Eris. The data obtained reveal Eris as a 'twin' for Pluto in terms of size, and previous work showed the two to have similar surface compositions. Eris, however, has no detectable atmosphere and its surface is bright, possibly a result of atmospheric collapse in an extremely cold environment. The dwarf planet Eris is a trans-Neptunian object with an orbital eccentricity of 0.44, an inclination of 44 degrees and a surface composition very similar to that of Pluto 1 . It resides at present at 95.7 astronomical units (1  au is the Earth-Sun distance) from Earth, near its aphelion and more than three times farther than Pluto. Owing to this great distance, measuring its size or detecting a putative atmosphere is difficult. Here we report the observation of a multi-chord stellar occultation by Eris on 6 November 2010 ut . The event is consistent with a spherical shape for Eris, with radius 1,163 ± 6 kilometres, density 2.52 ± 0.05 grams per cm 3 and a high visible geometric albedo, . No nitrogen, argon or methane atmospheres are detected with surface pressure larger than ∼1 nanobar, about 10,000 times more tenuous than Pluto's present atmosphere 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . As Pluto's radius is estimated 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 to be between 1,150 and 1,200 kilometres, Eris appears as a Pluto twin, with a bright surface possibly caused by a collapsed atmosphere, owing to its cold environment. We anticipate that this atmosphere may periodically sublimate as Eris approaches its perihelion, at 37.8 astronomical units from the Sun.

For federal law to population changes, teacher preparation programs must not only respond to current trends but also reach out to develop educational partnerships with P-12 teachers and administrators. A review of recent educational changes prompted this viewpoint on how professional organizations like Delta Kappa Gamma can provide support, guidance, and a vision for education and, thus, for the preparation of teacher educators. Implications for teacher education as well as resources for teachers, families, and teacher educators are provided.

We designed a field survey (the entire river length; not dammed: First and Second plateaus; dammed: Third Plateau) to test the hypothesis that the cascade of reservoirs promoted a reduction in species richness and changed the composition of Oligochaeta assemblage along the Iguacu River. Changes in environmental variables and in richness and composition of Oligochaeta were summarized by Canonic Correspondence Analysis. Along the Iguacu River, conductivity, and altitude decreased, whereas temperature increased. Oligochaeta composition showed a significant spatial variation, with higher abundances of the family Tubificidae and the genus Dero (Naididae) occurring in the First Plateau. In the Second and Third plateaus, few species were dominant, with increases in the presence of species of Naididae below dams. We found a clear decrease in species richness along the Iguacu River. Moreover, we found that Oligochaeta assemblage was influenced by some environmental variables such as altitude, conductivity, substrate type and temperature, and by anthropogenic activities (human occupation and damming). The results supported the use of Oligochaeta as surrogate taxa to predict environmental changes along impacted (dammed and eutrophic) rivers. The validity of this was indicated by the strong and significant gradient registered, from the headwater to mouth of the Iguacu River.