In this roundtable discussion, five scholars of modern India with diverse methodological training examine aspects of Rupa Viswanath's 2014 book, The Pariah Problem: Caste, Religion, and the Social in Modern India, and assess its arguments and contributions. This book has made strong challenges to the scholarly consensus on the nature of caste in India, arguing that, in the Madras presidency under the British, caste functioned as a form of labour control of the lowest orders and, in this roundtable, she calls colonial Madras a ‘slave society’. The scholars included here examine that contention and the major subsidiary arguments on which it is based. Uday Chandra identifies The Pariah Problem with a new social history of caste and Dalitness. Brian K. Pennington links the ‘religionization’ of caste that Viswanath identifies to the contemporary Hindu right's concerns for religious sentiment and authenticity. Lucinda Ramberg takes up Viswanath's account of the constitution of a public that excluded the Dalit to inquire further about the gendered nature of that public and the private realm it simultaneously generated. Zoe Sherinian calls attention to Viswanath's characterization of missionary opposition to social equality for Dalits and examines missionary and Dalit discourses that stand apart from those that Viswanath studied. Joel Lee extends some of Viswanath's claims about the Madras presidency by showing strong parallels to social practices in colonial North India. Finally, Viswanath's own response addresses the assessments of her colleagues.

Loeys–Dietz syndrome is a connective tissue disorder known to cause aggressive aortopathy in paediatric patients, but it is extremely rare for cardiovascular events to present during infancy. We report the first successful aortic repair in a neonate with LDS presenting in extremis with an early onset, massive aortic aneurysm.

We observed pediatric S. aureus hospitalizations decreased 36% from 26.3 to 16.8 infections per 1,000 admissions from 2009 to 2016, with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) decreasing by 52% and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus decreasing by 17%, among 39 pediatric hospitals. Similar decreases were observed for days of therapy of anti-MRSA antibiotics.

There is remarkably little documented information in the scientific literature on any of the 18 species of buttonquail as they are very difficult to observe in the wild. This lack of information has hampered informed conservation decision making. We undertook the first biome-wide survey for the fynbos endemic Hottentot Buttonquail Turnix hottentottus, using flush transect surveys covering 275 km. We used location data for sightings as well as from records reported by the bird-watching community and modelled distribution using MaxEnt. Encounters were restricted to the fynbos biome, and the top contributors to our prediction of suitable habitat were habitat transformation, slope and time since fire. We obtained a density estimate of 0.032 individuals per hectare which, across an estimated median range of 27,855 km2, provides a population estimate of 89,136 individuals. Given the extent of the range and the population estimate we suggest the IUCN Red List status could be ‘Vulnerable’, rather than ‘Endangered’. Agricultural and alien-vegetation encroachment means that the future of the species is certainly under threat and further studies are needed to inform conservation management.

We analyzed antifungal and antiviral prescribing among high-risk children across freestanding children’s hospitals. Antifungal and antiviral days of therapy varied across hospitals. Benchmarking antifungal and antiviral use and developing antimicrobial stewardship strategies to optimize use of these high cost agents is needed.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:743–746

Giant miscanthus is under consideration as a biofuel crop in the United States; however, there is little information on weed management for the establishment and survival of this crop. Therefore, greenhouse and field studies using ornamental pots were conducted in summer 2011 at Tifton, GA, with the objective of screening potential PPI, PRE, and POST herbicides and herbicide combinations for giant miscanthus when establishing from vegetative rhizomes. For the POST treatments, giant miscanthus was established from rhizomes in 7.6-L containers in the field and treated with 27 POST herbicides to evaluate efficacy. Thifensulfuron, metsulfuron, tribenuron, chlorimuron, halosulfuron, rimsulfuron, cloransulam, pinoxaden, bentazon, and metribuzin did not significantly lower shoot height, reduce shoot dry weight, or increase injury compared with nontreated control (NTC) when evaluated at 4 wk after treatment. Nicosulfuron, trifloxysulfuron, sulfometuron, clodinafop, fluazifop, and pyrithiobac caused the greatest injury, reduced plant height, and reduced dry weights compared with the NTC. Sethoxydim, diclofop, flumioxazin, imazamox, imazapic, and imazethapyr decreased plant heights or resulted in increased injury. PPI and PRE treatments included 21 herbicides and herbicide combinations applied at two rates. Results indicated that most treatments containing atrazine, metribuzin, pendimethalin, acetochlor, metolachlor, and mesotrione did not injure or stunt growth; however, EPTC at 4.5 kg ai ha−1 significantly reduced height and dry weight and oxadiazon resulted in greater injury compared with NTC at both rates. These results indicate that PPI, PRE, and POST herbicides can be utilized for establishment of giant miscanthus from vegetative rhizomes. Considering the invasive potential of giant miscanthus, several POST herbicides evaluated in this study such as fluazifop, pyrithiobac, and sulfometuron may be viable options to control this species if it becomes invasive.

Abundant examples of exoskeletal abnormalities have been known in various trilobites since Portlock's (1843) first report on a teratological pygidium of Phillipsia ornata (cf. Babcock, 2000). Owen (1985) and Babcock (1993) recognized three types of trilobite malformations: healed injuries, teratological conditions, and pathological conditions. It is not always easy, however, to distinguish between the various types of malformations, especially in case of teratological or pathological conditions. In general, healed injuries are considered to have resulted from trauma during molting (Walcott, 1883; Whittington, 1956; Henningsmoen, 1975; Snajdr, 1981; Owen, 1983; Ramsköld, 1984) or wounds by predatory attack (Ludvigsen, 1977; Rudkin, 1979; Ŝnajdr, 1979, 1981; Owen, 1985; Conway Morris and Jenkins, 1985; Babcock, 1993; Pratt, 1998). Many healed injuries are indicated by broken spine stumps, indented and cicatrized edges of exoskeletons, and callused or regenerated exoskeleton around the broken surface (Ŝnajdr, 1981; Owen, 1983; Babcock, 1993). Teratological conditions are represented primarily by the irregular development of glabellar lobes, cephalic borders, and pygidial border spines, and anomalous number of segments on the thorax and pygidium. For example, Owen (1980) described a teratological cranidium of Calyptaulax norvegicus with two additional lateral glabellar lobes between the l p and 2p lobes. On the other hand, pathological conditions are marked by gall-like swellings and vermiform borings on exoskeletons that are thought to have been caused by diseases or parasitic infestation (Lochman, 1941; Ŝnajdr, 1978; Conway Morris, 1981; Owen, 1985).

Emerging evidence from epidemiological studies supports the notion that maternal folate status regulated by dietary and genetic factors early in pregnancy may influence the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this review, we provide an overview of what is known about the role of folate in the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders; summarise relevant biological, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms; and synthesise the evidence from human observational studies and randomised controlled trials that have examined the relationship between maternal folate and ASD or related traits. Much of the existing literature on this topic is subject to limitations such as potential confounding by healthy behaviours and other dietary factors, and exposure assessed within limited exposure windows. As the existing evidence is inconclusive, further research remains to be conducted in order to verify this hypothesis. Complete assessment of maternal functional folate status through the pre- and peri-conceptional periods requires biological measurement of folate, vitamin B12 and homocysteine and genetic variants involved in one-carbon metabolism and epigenetic mechanisms. In addition to more complete assessment of maternal functional folate status, careful consideration of potential confounding is warranted.